Reasons for no blog all week

Arrived in London late Monday afternoon

Comfortable room and very good fairtrade coffee at MIC Euston

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park (garish fairground and not a gingerbread house in site, but some nice craft stalls)

Beautiful, contemplative nativity screened in a log cabin in Covent Garden (look at Martha Fiennes, Covent Garden, Nativity)

Getting lost in Piccadilly

The real point of the trip, which was to attend the opening of THE ILLUSTRATORS exhibition at Chris Beetles Gallery, including the stunning artwork by Amanda Hall from our Aesop's Fables - yippee!

walking three times round the gallery looking at delightful illustrations by Jane Pinkney and Emma Chichester Clark, and some vintage EH Shepherd

Fun meeting over coffee at the Science Museum with Chris, who was the first ever editor to take one of my stories from the slush pile at a magazine. My first ever story in print, and he went on to publish many more. Just got in touch with him again recently by accident, and he still makes me laugh

Christmas shopping, also at the science museum, and I'm not telling you anything about that in case certain people read the blog

Tea and cake at Apostrophe cafe with wonderful Alison Sage, who masterminded my Treetops books

Meeting with my brilliant agent, encouraging as ever

More secret shopping

Train home Wednesday night, home at midnight

Message on phone from vicar, to say he couldn't do playgroup the following morning, so

As above

catch up with home, correspondence, washing,

babysit

after school club, then finally,

pizza,

and

hello! Here's the blog! How are you?