I am currently on a six-month writing-research-homeschool-work-photography-travel adventure with my family. I return to Australia on 1 March when my new book Two Wolves is released.
My mission is to refresh myself creatively, to research a new book, write another book of short stories, to expose my sons to the UK, Europe and South-East Asia and to visit as many famous children’s literature sites as possible. These have included the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour, seeing Matilda on the West End and speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Last week, we visited the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden, England, Dahl’s home for 36 years from 1954 until his death in 1990.
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| Mr Dahl in front of his writing hut. |
The centre filled me with a great sense of wonder, the feeling of warmth and wide-eyed awe that makes you want to go travelling in the first place. I spent the afternoon sorting through Dahl’s letters and photos, gazing at the contents of his writing hut, watching performances of his stories and listening to snippets from his autobiographical books. Here are some pics from my time with the Fantastic Mr Dahl.
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| Map of the Roald Dahl Museum |
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| One of my favourite Roald Dahl quotes. |
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| Two of my favourite writers – Roald Dahl and Ernest Hemingway. |
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| Measure yourself against some of Dahl’s most famous characters. Apparently my height is somewhere between Mr and Mrs Twit. |
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| My lovely wife Amber bought me a book about Dahl’s famous writing hut and six of his beloved pencils – Dixon Ticonderogas. |
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| Writing in a replica of Dahl’s chair. |
Thanks so much for sharing this experience, Tristan. We took our kids on a similar journey back in 2006, homeschooling them. In the UK we also visited Beatrix Potter's house and the Beatrix Potter World and the Museum. All in different places within the Lakes District. Will you also be visiting Seven Stories? Your children will gain so much from this experience.
stuff dreams are made ofs
What a fantastic adventure to take yourself and your family on!
Hey Ramona. Thanks for the comment. It is a fun adventure. (In between all the crazy wrangling and tiredness etc!)
Cheers Rob. Hope you're well. T