Leo Baxendale, and how I nearly became a cartoonist
 
By Ross Welford
27 Apr 2017
 

Leo Baxendale, and how I nearly became a cartoonist


When I do school visits, the Q&A often includes the question: “If you had not been a writer, what would you have been” The answer, usually, is “a cartoonist”.  (More accurately, I suppose, a cartoonist is what I would have liked to have been, rather than what I would  have been.)  The inspiration for this is Leo […]

Me and the world’s greatest magician (and Keith Chegwin)
 
By Ross Welford
11 Mar 2017
 

Me and the world’s greatest magician (and Keith Chegwin)


Uri Geller is at it again, and proving once more that our appetite for his particular brand of film-flam remains remains unsated. Check this out: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/uri-geller-cia-wanted-turn-weapon/ Yes, this is Uri is on the front page of the UK’s Daily Telegraph today with a story picked up by most of the other newspapers. He is claiming (yet again!) that, back in his […]

World Book Day and the nicest school I have ever visited
 
By Ross Welford
5 Mar 2017
 

World Book Day and the nicest school I have ever visited


  I have now done two World Book Days as an author, and I always think back to the ones when my own two children (now 14)  would dress up for school as a favourite book character. We did, among others, Angelina Ballerina (a fairly easy costume, that one, largely achieved with face-paint and a […]

Lost ‘Two Ronnies’ sketch
 
By Ross Welford
25 Jan 2017
 

Lost ‘Two Ronnies’ sketch


Well, by “lost” I mean “not on Youtube” which, I realise, is a different thing altogether, but I’d love to see it again. It’s one of their wonderful songs: they are street sweepers and that’s about all I can remember, other than it was hilarious.  Every now and then I check to see if someone […]

You’ve GOT to see this (honest!)
 
By Ross Welford
24 Jan 2017
 

You’ve GOT to see this (honest!)


A ragtime version of Fur Elise?  Bring it on!   It got me thinking: is Fur Elise the best-known “classical” piano piece?  Or is it just a staple of British piano lessons? Anyway, this is great, and gets better.  Just when you think, “Oh yeah, I get it, very clever…” he turns it up a […]

The first copy!
 
By Ross Welford
20 Dec 2016
 

The first copy!


  Exactly a year ago, I was eagerly awaiting the appearance of Time Travelling With  A Hamster in the shops. If you had asked me if there would be another book in a year’s time, I’d have said, “I hope so,” with little idea of what that would entail. In fact, I knew there would be another: I […]

“Blue Peter” and me
 
By Ross Welford
5 Dec 2016
 

“Blue Peter” and me


From the age of about six to twelve, one thing marked the passing days as surely as swimming with Dad on Saturday, church on Sunday, scouts on Friday, and that was – every Monday and Thursday on BBC-1 at 5.00pm – Blue Peter. Even the Blue Peter year had its own internal calendar: the lighting of […]

Accent mystery solved!
 
By Ross Welford
21 Nov 2016
 

Accent mystery solved!


In my last post,  I queried the accent given to the late Duke of Windsor by the actor Alex Jennings in the Netflix series “The Crown.’ A reader, Mr RT of New York, emailed an explanation for the apparent failure of the actor to reproduce faithfully the “received pronunciation” of the time, and to pronounce words […]

“The Crine” and an accent mystery
 
By Ross Welford
14 Nov 2016
 

“The Crine” and an accent mystery


Mrs W and I are thee episodes into Netflix’s mega-budget offering “The Crown,” and are loving it.  (Though I am developing a slight obsession over one character’s accent.) It’s not just that every shot is beautifully-composed, or that the costumes are gorgeous, and that even the CGI’d locations and sets are indistinguishable from – probably […]

“Hamster” and the Geordie accent
 
By Ross Welford
14 Oct 2016
 

“Hamster” and the Geordie accent


  No – obviously, hamsters don’t have a Geordie accent.  It just made a good headline. But seeing as Time Traveling With  A Hamster (note the absent extra “L”) was released in the US last week, I thought it would be helpful for the American readers to get an idea of how they speak in the […]

The Monkey Who Fell From The Future

The hilarious, moving and adventure-packed new novel for readers of 9 and up from Ross Welford, the bestselling and Costa-shortlisted author of Time Travelling with a Hamster

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Into the Sideways World

When Willa and Manny stumble upon a seemingly perfect world without pollution or conflict, they try desperately to make people in their own troubled world believe them.

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When We Got Lost in Dreamland

When 11 year-old Malky and his younger brother Seb become the owners of a “Dreaminator”, they are thrust into worlds beyond their wildest imagination. But impossible dreams come with incredible risks...

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The Kid Who Came From Space

A small village in the wilds of Northumberland is rocked by the disappearance of twelve-year-old Tammy. Only her twin brother, Ethan, knows she is safe – and the extraordinary truth of where she is. It is a secret he must keep, or risk never seeing her again.

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The Dog Who Saved The World

My pet dog is called Mr Mash. We named him that because he's a mishmash. A total mongrel. He smells terrible. He'll eat literally anything. He can't see very well. But I love him more than anything. (Sorry dad.) And without him, the world is going to end...

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The 1,000-year-old Boy

There are stories about people who want to live forever. This is a story about someone who wants to stop.

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What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible

Turning invisible at will: it’s one way of curing your acne. But far more drastic than 13 year-old Ethel Leatherhead intended when she tried a combination of untested medicines and a sunbed.

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Time Travelling With A Hamster

My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty nine, and again four years later when he was twelve.

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