Wind, Wrinkled Bottoms and the Old Man of Lochnaggar

I judge a good book by its author's ability not to take him/herself too seriously and by Maurice Sendak, he's done it. I'm talking of course of the children's picture book 'The Old Man of Lochnaggar', written by HRH the Prince of Wales.

It's said that he wrote the story to entertain his two younger brothers TRH the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex, so it was written way before I was born - and it was first published in 1980 and then later republished in 1990.

Though it was written decades ago, kids will find this as engaging and entertaining today as they did back then. The nameless old man of the story is a loner who embarks on adventures in each of the chapters of this charming book from the depths of the loch to high over Balmoral and the hills of Scotland. He encounters a host of incredible characters from lagopus Scoticus, a kind of Scottish King Neptune, to the gorms and their king; and a formidable old lady on a train.

Anyone who knows me knows that I've got a penchant for anything scatological - yes, I haven't grown up, but that's been long established- so some of the things that were nicely incorporated into the story were references to wind, wrinkled bottoms and the description of the old man's loo--HILARIOUS!!

I really enjoyed this book and the author really knows how to write a good children's picture book! And that is no easy task! A lot of people in the public eye -and a lot more private individuals - think they can write a good children's book, but a few actually accomplish that. The illustrations by Sir Hugh Casson are brilliant and are perfect for this story.

It's been 34 years since the last print of the book, and I think it would be fantastic if a special anniversary edition book was published, especially now that there's a new member of the family who will definitely enjoy it. A big thanks goes to HRH the Duchess of Cornwall for sending me a copy. It's brill. Thank you, Ma'am!

A Parcel from the Palace!

Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a big royal supporter and I have been incredibly lucky to have had the honour of meeting a few royals over the years, but I have to say that I got the biggest surprise when I received a parcel from the royal post late last week.

the envelope

Now maybe I'm a huge supporter because I'm a children's book author and I've always liked listening to stories about kings and queens, or maybe it's because  support for the monarchy was passed down to me genetically via my British grandmother, but I digress.

I recently  wrote to HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, saying that as a children's book author, I appreciated her championing children's literarcy and that I remembered that HRH the Prince of Wales wrote The Old Man of Lochnaggar, but I had never been able to get my hands on a copy of it. I sent her two copies of my self- published books  for her to read to her grandchildren.

Then late last week I received a registered package in the royal post and I puzzled for a moment and then it struck me. I ripped it open and out fell a copy of The Old Man of Lochaggar! Then I pulled out a small envelope that was embossed with a "C".

I grabbed the letter opener and I found a letter which was addressed to me and I would tell you what the Duchess wrote but that's private and confidential - I know I'm bad, aren't I? Ok, the gist of it was that she thanked me for the books and said that she was sending a copy of The Old Man of Lochnaggar because I hadn't been able to get one here.

I was floored! Gobsmacked! shocked and very, very touched and humbled  that she would take the time to write back and furthermore take time to send me a copy of the book. It's needless to say that I'm thrilled. 

So here's a big thank you to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall for her very kind and thoughtful gesture. It is much appreciated. I look forward to reading HRH's book and will be discussing it on my blog right here! Stay tuned.