Late last Friday, Lorenzo and I rolled back into Bristol after spending the week entertaining and educating the children of Liverpool and its surrounding environs with our own brand of comic tomfoolery, ably supported by Tony from the wonderful Pritchards bookshop in Formby. It was BRILLIANT!
During 10 workshops, we managed to meet over 1100 children from 15 or 16 different schools!
The response from the students and the teachers was overwhelming. Their genuine passion for storytelling and creativity was a timely reminder that if you can create something engaging you will attract even the most reluctant reader.
We'll post photos from the schools as soon as they've been sent (so if we visited you and you'd like to see your face up here, just ask your teacher to mail the shots to theetheringtonbrothers@hotmail.co.uk)
But going on tour isn't all about WORK. Ohnonono. It's about seeing the sights. And Southport did not disappoint! On the first day we advised to go and explore the pier.
We were greeted by a seagull sitting peacefully on a cyclists bum. Not the most auspicious of starts but a nice reflection on the connectivity between art and the natural world ... or something.
Anyway - MERRY-GO-ROUND!
Looks fun, right? Wrong. It's no fun at all if you don't meet their CRAZY height standards!!!
But we were not to be dismayed and striding confidently up the beautiful pier (the second longest in Britain, opened in 1860) Lorenzo suddenly whooped with delight and did a little jig.
The reason for his joy? We'd stumbled upon a Penny Arcade!
Back in ye olden times (think Yore!) every pier, amusement park and fair would feature an arcade filled with wonderful mechanical contraptions from pinball machines to fortune telling devices - all costing just a single penny to play. Well, we Etheringtons spent a few that day, I can tell you. Check out these bad boys!
Fun for ALL the family.
Part two of our Tour blog (tomorrow) will feature pics from World BOX Day, a Hall of Mirrors AND my very own fortune, as told by Madame Zasha (see 4 pics above)
See you soon!
