Betty Birney’s Blog

 Find Lisa, Lisa’s Peepy, Sally Nemeth, me (front row); Michael Reisman, Dan Santat, Mark London Williams, Sue Casey (back and center). Love the lighting!

Lisa Yee threw huge a LAYAS (Los Angeles Young Adult writers) get-together on Wednesday and it was what you’d expect when you get together a big bunch of people who spend a great deal of time alone staring at a computer: wild and crazy fun. (But as you can see, we did end up in front of the computer.) FYI, when writers get together they talk, laugh, talk, eat, get silly, talk … well, you get the idea. Two out-of-town YA writers, Julia DeVillers and Sarah Darer Littman, happened to be in town at the same time, which made it a great excuse for a party … thanks to Lisa’s generous hospitality.

And as an addendum to the last post, Greg Proops is not only the voice of Humphrey; he’s the voice of Bob the Builder in the U.S. And Bob doesn’t sound like Humphrey at all. in fact, he’s unsqueakably different.

   Bob                        Greg                           Humphrey

      It’s been hotter than hot here in Southern California, with the temperature edging up close to 100 every day. Before air conditioning, before inflatable wading pools were invented, we had other ways of cooling off. Here I am in the watering can at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. (I am much more modest now.) They lived on Humphrey Street in south St. Louis. That’s right. Humphrey, as in hamster.

Still, the heat hasn’t kept me inside. Yesterday morning, Frank and I went to the home of Lisa Yee (http://lisayee.com) author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius and others including her new American Girl book) for the South Pasadena Festival of Balloons parade. Lisa and husband Scott have a beautiful 100 year-old Craftsman house on the parade route with a large front yard. The food and company was so terrific (and it was so, um, warm) we watched from the shaded front porch and I didn’t take any pictures. Dumb. But I had great chats with fellow LAYAs (Los Angeles Young Adult writers) Sally Nemeth (The Heights, the Depths and Everything in Between), Michael Reisman (Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper) and Amy Goldman Koss (The Girls). Amy and I reminisced about our glory days as judges (with Lisa) in this same parade two years ago. And talked extensively also with illustrator extraordinaire, Dan Santat, and family.

Later, granddaughter Remy came over for a cookout (okay she brought her mom and dad, too). We read books and sang at the table (even though Amy Vanderbilt says that’s not polite) and had a rollicking good time. The kids had thought they could see the Studio City fireworks display at CBS Studios from our backyard. Theoretically we should be able to, but the trees are just too tall. I thought of the perfect spot to see them, so Frank drove up with them while I stayed home with Desi (dog) and listened to the fireworks. I couldn’t see a thing but I could hear them quite well! And then I watched Yankee Doodle Dandy - I love corny older films. Unabashedly.

 Tomorrow, Frank and I are going to the Music Center downtown to see A Chorus Line, which I originally saw on Broadway. At first we hadn’t opted for tickets but then I thought even though we’ve seen it before, hearing great music and seeing great dancing is not a bad way to while away a few hours. I hope it is still a singular sensation.

It is 11:00 and almost 100 degrees. The temperature on our patio was 104 yesterday. Thank goodness that a week ago, the weather was absolutely perfect for celebrating the grand occasion of our granddaughter’s 3rd birthday! I’m not sure how many adults and kids there were - maybe 40? 50?

Remy’s mom and dad supplied the entertainment including a long, low table with little chairs and tons of materials for crafts which was very popular. And they hired a “bubble lady” who did all kinds of wonderful things with wading pools and bubbles. There was some real science thrown in, and bubbles of all shapes and sizes. The high point (for the adults) was seeing the kids put inside giant bubbles. Not that many opted to try it but I’m glad Remy did. She’s the girl in the bubble, above. From the kids’ point of view, I think the most popular event was getting to make their own big bubbles from a series of wading pools.

It was a great tryout for the new door to my office. (I have to get a picture to replace the one on the home page.) The little house is a real attraction for three year-olds. One boy called it “The library,” which it looks like with its book-lined walls.  It took awhile to wash off the chocolate and strawberry handprints on the door, way down low but I didn’t mind.

 Today I’m staying in my air-conditioned office and writing. Desi the dog is in here, too. I’m trying to limit her time outside, though she prefers to be outside.

And if it gets any hotter, I might just crawl into a great big bubble of my own!

  Our recent house repairs and renovations have turned up plenty of wildlife. Some unwelcome furry critters, some nasty old termites and last Thursday, we looked outside my office window and saw this on our back wall.

This is the second bee swarm we’ve had. At our last house about 40,000 bees (estimated) swarmed our barbecue grill and built a substantial hive in a few hours. I can’t bear the thought of killing such useful insects (unlike termites) so we found a beekeeper to come and remove them. I recently had a friend tell me she couldn’t find anyone to take away live bees but we looked in the yellow pages and found someone who came out in an hour.  Bees have alarmingly disappeared recently, endangering such crops as almonds, so I was relieved to recycle them to a bee farm.

We recently had our electrical panel redone and apparently they left a few small holes. The queen got in and the work began. The beekeeper told us to stay inside (didn’t have to ask me twice) and we watched as he located the queen and put her in a box. The vast majority of bees follow because without their queen, they’re nothing! But many remained and so he released some smoke, which helped encourage some others to move on.

However, a group remained. We were told that they were the bees out collecting nectar who returned to the spot and wondered what the heck happened to their queen. We called and were told that they should be gone by Saturday - that they’d find a new queen - but to call if they weren’t. Actually this is Tuesday and there are no 10 bees remaining, but we haven’t called because they aren’t really bothering anything. 

We do have a busy group of bees working in the garden on the side of our house - lavender and roses there.  And there’s a lot (too much) clover in our backyard. That would be some yummy honey.

As for the birds, I had news from my friends at the Shaw School in U.K. They email from time to time and I visited there in March, where I met their hamster named Humphrey.

Apparently Humphrey recently got out of his cage (it is suspected he had a little human help) but after 24 hours they found him and he’s doing fine. They also had some baby birds hatch in a nest outside a window - they had a video camera so the students could watch the eggs’ progress. When they hatched, the children named them Betty and Birney. I have never been so honored! I’m sure they’re well out of the nest now. Bon voyage, Betty and Birney!

I do love birds. In fact, I talk to the birds in the yard outside my office. Some of them - like the mockingbirds - talk back.

When I’m out of state and I talk about our wildlife in the backyard (skunks, possums, squirrels, r___s - and twice I’ve seen coyotes in the front yard), people say, “Oh, so you don’t live in L.A.” But I do. L.A. is not all concrete. It is lush, verdant, mountainous and we are at the bottom of a canyon with two wildlife preserves at the top. We have avocados, lemons and limes. Our neighbors have oranges, apricots, avocados and figs. The house behind us has a banana tree. Animals love these things as much as people. 

Our backyard is a paradise and completely private. But we live on a busy street. Nobody really understands L.A.!

With Jill Dorfman at Richboro Elementary

 Bucks County is obviously a great place for writers, since Pearl Buck (Nobel Prize winner), James Michener (Pulitzer Prize winner)  and Oscar Hammerstein II (Oscar winner - a lyricist but no less a writer - and a genius) all resided here (not all at the same time). Margaret Mead, Stephen Sondheim, Moss Hart, S.J. Perelman, the Berenstains of Bear fame, Bob Dylan and Dorothy Parker also lived there at one time or another - no slouches at writing, any of them!

It’s a beautiful part of the country. I especially love the old stone houses. But I didn’t have a lot of time for sightseeing because my assignment was to visit schools! After I left Mill Creek and Warrinton (previous post) I moved to Newtown, which is a very old town, and the Brick Hotel.  My first day was spent at Goodnoe Elementary with librarian Laura Follmer and assistant Kathy Labold. A more enthusiastic group of Humphrey fans I have never encountered. (Okay, the sentence is backwards. Poetic license.)

That evening, I had dinner with Jill Dorfman and her family. Jill arranged the whole visit. She and her husband, Dennis, son Jeremy and daughter Rachel took me to an Italian restaurant where I indulged in my passion for mussels. Jeremy is a recent NYU film school grad and Rachel is in high school. I thank them for a great welcome.

I spent the next day at Richboro Elementary, Jill’s school, where I was the recipient of even greater hospitality -a major morning feast including a cake with my name on it - followed by presentations to Humphrey and Sassafras fans.

That night, I was taken to dinner by David and his parents, Eric and Peggy, at the Temperance House, one of those very old taverns with a fireplace so big,  a family of 4-6  could stand in it! David was the very astute Mill Creek student who, when he realized I was coming to Bucks County, alerted his school. Then I was contacted by first grade teacher, Cynthia Ventresca, who arranged for my visit there. Eric, the dad, grew up in my hometown of St. Louis so we did a little strolling down memory lane. He went to Kirkwood High. My sister, Janet, and her husband live in Kirkwood and  Steve is a Kirkwood grad as well.

 Sharon Blumenthal, me, Arlene Williams

Up and early the next morning I headed to Holland Elementary where Arlene Williams and assistant Sharon Blumenthal gave me another warm welcome.  It was a BUSY-BUSY-BUSY day, but Arlene rewarded me with authentic PA pretzels - I’ve never had pretzels that good, even though my husband is from PA - and then dinner with a group of  teachers, planned by Arlene so I could have an authentic Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. (Although this is quite controversial - some feel “authentic” means Cheese Whiz - thankfully, this nice Italian restaurant used Provolone.) It was great - and different than I expected.

Tired but happy, I left the restaurant and receive a beautiful reward for two weeks away from home: a double rainbow! I followed it all the way back to my hotel and if I just could have gotten into those woods, I know I would have found my pot of gold!  But wait - are we sure that wonderful lyricist’s name wasn’t Oscar Hamsterstein?

 I did have a wonderful birthday on Saturday. My biggest present: being home for the first time in a while! And a very nice  stack of presents from my husband and other relatives. But no time to relax because it was off to UCLA for the annual LA Times Festival of Books. Unbelievably, 70,000 people plus come each day- all in celebration of books. Originally, I wasn’t too happy about my timeslot right at the Festival opening. But it was unbelievably hot and I ended up being very grateful I wasn’t signing at 2:00. There was already quite a crowd at 10. I got to sign with fellow LAYA, Michael Reisman, who just had his first book published to great success - starred reviews, movie deal - all well deserved! The book is Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper and there will be more. LAYA Paula Yoo (her almost brand new book is Good Enough) also stopped by - I didn’t get her picture, darn.

We browsed a bit, then returned home for a lovely, long call from son Walshe and his girlfriend, Ania, then off to Beverly Hills for dinner with Becca, Gary and darling granddaughter, Remy. Becca and Gary took us to a favorite restaurant, Kate Mantilini’s. You can see that Remy was a lot more interested in helping me blow out that candle than with photography. When we returned home, I saw that Desi had a little celebration of her own. Desi is a 12 year old puppy - and I do mean puppy. She doesn’t play with her toys a lot but that night, she pulled her entire toy basket out of the corner of the den and scattered toys everywhere. I wish I’d had a hidden camera filming that! Whoopee!

So another year has come and gone and it was a very, very good year, for which I’m grateful.

Why did the cookie go to the doctor?

Because she was feeling crummy.

 This cookie’s been feeling crummy for two full weeks and there’s not an end in sight. Yet I’m leaving Monday for three days of long-anticipated school and library visits in Farmington, MI.  I’ll make it - I’m just not sure about my voice.  

Looking backward … I’m still savoring my U.K. visit.

One little addition: I wish I’d put Marcus Chown’s website up when I talked about World Book Day. It’s www.marcuschown.com. He’s a fascinating person! I wish he’d been my science teacher.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures at the Royal High School in Bath. There were some tech problems which still didn’t mar the day for me. The school is situated on a hilltop overlooking the unbelievably beautiful and unusual city of Bath. Rebecca Hindmarsh, who arranged my visit, just emailed me some pictures. A windy morning on a high hill … and a wonderful memory. She also emailed the link to their website where they talked about my visit. They did a better job of explaining World Book Day than I have so far!

 http://www.royalhighbath.co.uk/junior/news_events/recent_news/VisitFromWorldBookDayAuthor.html

Meanwhile … back at the ranch …..

 At our ranch-style California bungalow, after three months, we have a kitchen! And I love it. The refrigerator was finally moved out of the dining room a week ago. Those lemons in the sink are from our Meyer lemon tree. I couldn’t even figure out what they were when we first moved in. Now, about nine months of the year I can go outside and pick a fragrant and delicious Meyer lemon.

  The second week flew by. On rainy Monday, we chose the British Museum, about a block from our hotel. I’m there with the Elgin Marbles - amazing the amount of treasures moved there … and well, should they give them back or not?

The rest of the week: I adored Westminster Abbey even more than I expected and got very sentimental at all the writers memorialized in Poet’s Corner. Frank was looking for a plaque memorializing his fifth-great-uncle George Walsh. We asked at the information desk and the docent looked it up, but no, it wasn’ t in the book. The docent apparently took a dim view of us Americans claiming to have a relative there, but she grudgingly said we could go to the library and research it there. (Frank remembered seeing the plaque years and years and years ago.) We were walking through the Cloisters on our way to the library when Frank looked up and it was there, larger than life, huge and very legible - dear old Great Uncle George. We also found Magdalena Walsh, said to be a relative, but I’m not sure how. Hey, I just married into the family. I did name my son “Walshe” - using the family spelling with the “e” which was supposedly added after Uncle George gave his life for his country as a kind of honor - or? A family castle would have been nice but the “e” is distinctive. By the way, we went back to tell the docent we found the plaque but I’m not sure she believed us. I hope she took a walk over there later - you could hardly miss it. (By the way a couple of years when Walshe was visiting there, he asked about the plaque and was told they’d show him - for a substantial fee. He didn’t take up the offer.)

We ALMOST got into Parliament but at the last minute, they had too many invited guests. So we took a long walk up past Downing Street - there was some kind of activity going on at #10 but hard to see. because of the amazing security, which I understand. And just steps away, we happened to arrive at exact moment of the Changing of the Horse Guards (this is different than the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace) - beautiful horses and they knew just what to do.

We spent a very windy and blustery few hours at the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and thoroughly enjoyed it. The pomp and circumstance is a funny contrast to us human rabble gaping on the sidewalk and the horseriding Bobby and her white horse both thoroughly entertained us - she, with her dry wit and the horse, with his subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) ability to get people to move.

Wind howling, we made our way across Hyde Park to a pub recommended by our neighbors, Don and Mary, from when they lived nearby.  I hesitate to tell anyone about it because it could be ruined by tourists and it’s small and cozy and we sat and chatted with the proprietress, Cynthia, and ate an absolutely delicious lunch and lingered. There were people from Cape Cod there … one woman whose daughter goes to my son’s alma mater, Boston College … a cute dog … a roaring fire. There’s even a ghost. It’s supposedly in that book, 1001 Places You Should See Before You Die … at least I’ve hit one of them.

Okay, I’ll give you a link. http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=193 From there we trekked to Harrods for shopping and viewing the food court and picked up nibblies to take home for dinner.

Our last day was just fabulous. We went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which most people either remember as being built by Sir Christopher Wren and/or where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married. From there we went to Sir John Soanes’ Museum - the very quirky home of a very quirky collector, highly recommended by my sister and everyone I asked in London and now, by me. From there, we walked to Covent Garden and were glad we did - great shops and restaurants and the best “buskers” ever. Amazing performers. We hated to leave but we had theater tickets! We walked down Charing Cross in the drizzle to the old Garrick Theater and saw Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular, starring Jane Horrocks (we loved her as Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous and as the Academy Award nominated star of Little Voice) and other familiar faces from BBC and Masterpiece Theater. Wonderful performance, very funny, Jane Horrocks was everything we could have expected. We were struck by the casualness of the somewhat shabby but historic theater. People with trays selling sweets and ice cream - sort of like in Shakespeare’s day. And people took crisps, bar drinks and candy to their seats and ate. Which is fine in a movie theater in the U.S. but never in the “legit” theater.

A wonderful end to a visit we didn’t want to end at all.

There so much I didn’t get to see but I will return. And the trick of enjoying the week was concentrating on seeing what we could see without obsessing over what we couldn’t fit in this time.

  Our home away from home 

 No cars to pick us up, no helpful handlers … Frank and I were on our own for the second week in London and managed to survive. The first free day, Saturday, I was laid low by digestive problems (nothing new for me, especially when traveling), so we enjoyed our very nice room and then took a walk in the drizzly weather to a very nice Waterstone’s Bookstore where I signed some stock and we stocked up on books. We also investigated our neighborhood more closely. We were in the Bloomsbury section of London (where many noted writers, such as Virginia Woolf, lived). And just a block or two from the Fitzrovia section, once a hangout for artsy “Bohemians.” Just about every townhouse has a plaque saying someone famous lived there. Directly across the street from us was the University of London (the College of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases) but RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) was there as well - one of their buildings - we passed another one elsewhere. We were a short block to Tottenham Court Road, which turns into Charing Cross and took us almost everywhere on foot. But on Saturday, we rested.

Sunday I felt great and we headed off to Charing Cross Station, across the Thames to Kent, where we were met by a devoted UK fan, Anna, and her very generous parents, Julie and Robert, who had extended an invitation to visit. They were kind and patient (even when we foolishly missed our stop at Orpington and they had to drive to Seven Oaks to pick us up. Seven Oaks - wasn’t that Scarlett O’Hara’s plantation? Now I know where that came from). We headed off to Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s beautiful home. The weather was alternately drizzle and sunshine but there were daffodils blooming!

  With our new UK friends at Chartwell

 Anna in front of the Chartwell playhouse - how I wanted one of those when I was growing up!

We had tea at Chartwell, then Robert gave us a tour of the area around where they live: charming villages, beautiful countryside, we got a glimpse of Hever Castle, which was Anne Boleyn’s family home … Biggin Hill, an RAF airfield important in World Wars I and II … and the Wilberforce Oak, on the estate of William Wilberforce whose antislave trade campaign was memorialized in the recent film, Amazing Grace.

While we were tempted by the offer of a cream tea, I wasn’t sure my system was ready for an onslaught of sweets, so instead we opted for good, solid British fare at The Little Brown Jug, a delightful family place and excellent food.  

  I want to go back to the Little Brown Jug!

Such a lovely train ride back, across the Thames at night with Big Ben, Parliament and the London Eye (that’s the big wheel) all lit up.

Many thanks to Anna, Julie and Robert.

  It all sounds just fabulous - right?

But it wouldn’t have happened without

a) the generosity of the entire Faber family (especially managing director Stephen Page and my editor, Julia Wells)  and …

b) Helena Zedig

Helena is publicity manager at Faber. I’m sure both she and I were hoping for the best when we began this journey, because Helena was the person we spent the most time with - a total stranger who was taking us to Bath and spending the whole weekend with us … taking us to St. Albans as well … and getting me to the Guardian and back. She was the key. And it worked so well.

I can’t speak for Helena but I can speak for Frank and me - she was fabulous. We were well taken care of every step of the way but even better, we enjoyed her company thoroughly. She’s a woman of many interests and facets. 

So this is my thank you to Helena, who along with Rebecca and Emily, got us in and out of cars, in and out of trains, made sure we ate and slept and had the right equipment every step of the way.

Why am I sooooo appreciative? Because I was a publicist once myself.

 Jolly good show!