May Gibbs Children's Literature Creative Time Fellowship Days 12, 13, 14

Friday was a great writing day.  I needed to make good progress and I did.  For whatever reason, a whole lot of threads started to unravel, characters came into focus and I can see where I want to take things.  Heading up to 40,000 words with about 16,000 to go - so the end is in sight.

Eight hours of solid writing was followed by a visit to Pegi Williams Bookshop in Walkerville.  The lovely Rebecca Bird came to pick me up and we headed to the store to do an interview for their website.  James Williams was on the camera and Rebecca asked the questions.  Afterwards we went out to dinner in Norwood with James's lovely wife Chrissy and their two gorgeous little boys Jonah and Tobias.

After dinner I got back to the apartment and Ian and his mother arrived shortly afterwards, having flown in from Sydney for the week.  Joan is staying at a nice little apartment a few streets away.  I couldn't believe when she hobbled in, having strained her knee getting off the plane.  Fortunately things have improved over the weekend.  Probably helped by sampling a couple of the very tasty wines at some of the local vineyards :).

On Saturday morning we headed out for breakfast and then back to the apartment for some work.  At 1pm I had a signing at Dillon's Bookshop in Norwood.  I was thrilled to see a group of children already milling about when we arrived and the children kept coming for over an hour.  At one stage I looked up and the queue snaked up the road to the Nordburger shop on the other side of the mall.  The children were so lovely and there were quite a few 'number 1' fans among them.  It would be lovely to be doing more school visits while I'm here but it's about balancing the writing and work for the Trust.  I can certainly foresee a trip back to Adelaide next year and a very big school tour.

 

We finished up around 2.15pm.  The staff at Dillon's were wonderful - so well organised.  I loved the balloons and the colouring competition which I had the pleasure of judging.  It was great to see Abbey and her little brother and their gorgeous rabbit Boston too.

 

After the signing we decided to spend a couple of hours in Hahndorf.  It's not far up the mountain and is such a pretty place.  A lot like Berrima in the hills.  There are plenty of quaint cottages and crafty shops as well as the obligatory lolly shops.

We had afternoon tea and took a stroll.  Joan managed a reasonable distance too.






On Sunday morning I was keen to write and capitalise on Friday's progress.  But I was also hoping to explore as we currently have a hire car.  So we took off to McLaren Vale at midday.  Ian had booked a table at a lovely small winery called Coreole.  They served delicious platters to share for lunch with kangaroo, chicken salad, some stunning cheeses and sour dough bread.  My diet went out the window!

We then decided to make the most of the lovely weather and drive on to Victor Harbour, another 40 minutes further to the coast.  It is a gorgeous place and we were so lucky to get there just before a huge storm blew across the peninsular.  We saw a baby whale frolicking off The Bluff and watched a steel grey sky engulf the coastline.

I would love to have a holiday in Victor Harbour - and take a proper walk to Granite Island.  It's absolutely beautiful and I'm sure a favoured holiday destination with Adelaide locals.

You can just see the little whale coming up in the picture below.