Thursday 11 March 2010

Out and About


Out and about over the last two weeks with Alexander McCall Smith. Events took place in Edinburgh with Fidra books with a delightful group of children from Bruntsfield Primary school reading from his latest book; London and a packed-out annual event with Daunt books in Marylebone High Street – the 11th event we’ve done with Alexander in this supportive and truly wonderful shop; Wivenhoe where he met and took tea and scones with the ‘ladies who knit’ at the Wivenhoe bookshop; Felsted School in Essex for an event within the Essex book festival (Alexander in conversation with the headmaster and one of the pupils to a packed hall with an audience from all areas of Essex and well beyond) and then back to Scotland for a second event in Edinburgh with Fidra at St Cuthberts Church; and two events with Main Street Trading (who serve the best coffee in Scotland) in a converted barn behind their shop in St Boswells near Melrose in the Scottish Borders. The weeks also included a live interview on BBC Radio 4 Start the Week, a recorded interview for BBC 3 Requests with Fiona Talkington and press interviews around the country. Coverage in the fortnight included a very moving article in The Observer magazine on a year spent in Belfast at the height of the troubles.
While on the road I had the opportunity to meet up with former actor and now writer, Max Benitz. A delightful young man with a very promising future as an author.
(Jan Rutherford, Marketing Director)

Trip North


Yesterday, Tom Johnstone and Jim Hutcheson drove up north to Loch Tay to visit Keith Brockie, the wildlife artist. He lives near the old village of Fortingall (where legend has it, Pontius Pilate was born)
Keith is returning to the Isle of May on the east coast to follow up the famous work he did there back in the early eighties. It looks set to be an exciting project.