Granny Morag took her precocious grand-daughter Olivia to the Primary One ‘Induction Day’.
Here is the tale of what might have happened.
Click here to download the PDF.
Dominic the Donkey was written for “The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust”.
Dominic has his genesis in another story called “Theo the Donkey”.
(Theo is currently being illustrated by my friend, Marlen.)
I sent a copy of Theo to Heather Armstrong at TGHADT.
Heather emailed to ask if I would do a re-write Theo for the kids who attend Stella’s School, a complementary charity which operates alongside TGHADT.
A separate story was provided by my Muse.
Most of the characters in Dominic are ‘real’.
And yes, like us, the Gambians have a water dragon myth, very like our Nessie.
Their water dragon is called Ninky-Nanka.
At the request of TGHADT, the illustrations were provided by the wonderfully talented and generous Nick Hinton, a man I have yet to meet.
Nick kindly donated his time and talents to make sure this tale could become accessible to the children in The Gambia.
(Nick has also illustrated “Korban the Krokka”, soon to be uploaded.)
Click here to download the PDF.
The “Ghosts etc” title was suggested as a challenge by the lady who sparked “Hook, Lin and Sinker!” into existence. She set it was the title for a story-writing challenge aimed at seven-year-olds and under, as I recall.
Francesca, my wonderful and long-suffering insegnate di Italioano, had recently had a baby, Julia Ailsa.
Although it was written for Julia, then aged around six months, it was really for her Mamma.
A few weeks later, Francesca told me that when Julia was a few months old she would often lie happily awake, gurgling and looking up at the ceiling of her nursery, staring at a particular corner, and seemed to be ‘seeing’ something or someone up there that no one else could see. Answers on a postcard please.
I still have a notion to write a story called The Girl in the Grey Bonnet.
Click here to download the PDF.