HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Aquila

I've written a new two-part story called Carla and the Cuddlecrunchie. The first episode appears in December 2010's issue of the magazine Aquila. If you haven't encountered it, you ought to see if your school keeps it in the library. It's a very good magazine, with lots of interesting articles and suggestions for things to do.

Email Problems

Someone posted previously to say that they couldn't email me via the site. We've checked, and it seems to be working perfectly okay. Go to The Divide page, then to Contact Me.

Galapagos

I have just come back from an absolutely amazing holiday in the Galapagos Islands. Snorkelling alongside turtles and sea lions and marine iguanas is something you don't forget in a hurry. The animals have no fear of man, and come right up to you. The landscape is dramatic - particularly South Plaza Island, with its weird red vegetation!

Banham Zoo

Banham Zoo is situated near Thetford, in Norfolk, and has a lot of really nice animals.

Perseids

The Perseids are a meteor shower that happens every August, and is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere. It's caused by debris from Swift-Tuttle, a huge comet that swings through the inner part of our Solar System every 133 years and leaves behind a trail of dust and gravel.

When Earth passes through the debris, specks hit our atmosphere at 140,000mph and disintegrate in flashes of light. Some of the meteors are more spectacular than others - a fireball is when it's brighter than a star. Last night there was a brief break in the cloud and I managed to see one, despite the light pollution from London, which isn't too far away. Its tail was like a silver firework, very bright and a lot bigger than I expected. It was worth getting up at 3.30 in the morning to see it!

Pamukkale

I've just come back from week in Turkey. I've been there many times, but this time I managed to visit Pamukkale, a place I've always wanted to see. The name means 'Cotton Castle', and the natural terraces are formed from a sedimentary rock called travertine, which is deposited by the hot springs there. The ancient city of Hierapolis was situated here, and there's a big amphitheatre nearby.