Queen of Teen

Wow!  So the other day (Friday 6^th July) I had this big posh pink day out in Godalming in Surrey to take part in the Queen of Teen award ceremony.

And what an amazingly fun event it was!

It was also a day of firsts for me.  Even though, I’m now 91 years old, there were loads of things I did that I’ve never ever done before.

1.      I went to Godalming.  It’s nice.  If you haven’t been, you should visit.

2.      I drove through the one-way system in the centre of Guildford.  This was less nice, if I’m honest – which I always try to be on this blog.  Honest, I mean.  I don't try to be less nice.  And if I'm going to be really brutally honest, I may have sworn a bit.

3.      I drove past Charterhouse School – the very famous public school – and had a nosy.  It didn’t look like the school I went to.  Not one bit.

4.     I wore a pink dress.  Oh yes!  I embraced the pink theme full on!  And, surprisingly – seeing as how I’m the least girly girl/woman in the world, I felt very at home in my pink dress.  I might start wearing it when I’m watching telly.

5.     I wore a tiara!!!  I felt very at home in it.  I will also wear this while I’m watching the telly.

6.     I wore a purple sash.  Blah blah…at home… blah… telly.

7.     I got to ride in a pink limousine.  Actually, I’d never ridden in a limousine of any colour before that Friday.

8.   I got to meet my superfan!  She’s called Zarina and the speech she made about why she likes my books was one of the lushest things I’ve ever heard.

9.     I got to meet loads of incredibly talented authors.  I hadn’t met any of them before.  I felt very honoured to be in their company.

10. I got to sit on a throne.  Briefly.  I didn’t win.

  11.  I chatted to the amazing Cathy Cassidy in the pub.  Now this was very exciting for me because I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cathy.  And it’s not a book thing – well, it is obviously because she’s written a flipping shedload of them – but, personally, for me, it’s the excitement of talking to someone who actually worked on Jackie magazine and had a hand in the problem page and everything.  Jackie magazine was a big part of my teenage life.  I used to rush home from school on Wednesdays to read very important stuff … like photo stories and advice about hair gel and articles about Simon Le Bon. So meeting Cathy and boring her to death with my questions was fun for me.  I now just need to meet someone who worked for Smash Hits magazine and my life is complete.

So, as you can see, I really did have a lot of firsts.

But it could not have happened without the support of all those people who nominated me and got me on the shortlist. 

So thank you.

And thanks too, to all those people who then voted for me.

And finally, a massive congratulations to Maureen Johnson who got the most votes and was crowned Queen of Teen. J