Huge Congratulations to the very talented winners of the Pride in Bournemouth writing competition, where children were asked to finish my short story, Shumba’s Big Adventure. Hosted by the wonderful Beales Bookshop in association with Born Free, the aim was to find children with both a passion for helping wildlife and a gift for writing. Eight-year-old Supna Kerai and Eloise Sparkes (12) were the worthy winners, but a special mention has to be made of Vicky Torquati, an extraordinarily gifted writer and a future novelist, I’m sure. Thanks so much to Beales for hosting the event, to Born Free for supporting it, and to Wild in Art’s Charlie for presenting the prizes. The winning stories are printed below.

Supna Kerai age 8 (winner from the 7 – 11 category)

Shumba leapt out of the cage and darted towards the railings. He grabbed the life ring, bite the rope off and jumped into the water. He kicked his hind legs and used his paws like oars to propel himself through the water.

After a while he had finally made it to dry land. He had made it to Bournemouth. He ran as fast as he could so that the sailors would not find him. He ran so fast, the fastest he had ever run in his whole life.

Poor Shumba was hungry and tired. It was getting dark and he was afraid of what he might find in the strange place of Bournemouth. He so wished he was back with his pride, roaming about freely along the plains of Africa. His Mum was an excellent hunter and hoped he could be as good a hunter as her.

Fortunately there was a shelter nearby and fresh leftovers from a strange concrete structure were thrown into a big square container. He gently pushed back the lid, gently placed his paw inside and to his delight there was his favourite food within reach. ‘Meat, my much loved food ready to eat’ he declared. With his belly full he was sure that he was going to sleep well tonight as he had had a very busy day!

He found some cardboard boxes and curled up to sleep. The light in Bournemouth was a strange yellow glow. It reminded him of the sunset in Africa. ‘I will return there one day’ he thought to himself as he settled down to sleep.

The next morning he awoke to the sound of birds singing and cars driving around. Both sounds he was used to as in Africa humanessess paid a lot of money to visit his pride feeding or asleep on the plains. Shumba never could understand why they wanted to see his pride with the cars zooming around them they always found it hard to eat or sleep in peace!

From being curled up all night his legs were aching. The cardboard box didn’t compare at all with his memories of being snuggled up with his siblings next to their Mum. He got up and stretched out his body and began walking down the alley and onto a pavement.

Shumba began to make his way along the street and into the central gardens. There was a huge balloon with strings attached to a glass capsule. He had seen similar balloons fly over the plains of Africa but the hot air balloons he was used to seeing made a roaring sound with flames shooting upwards.

Humans and humanessess began to scream and run away. Shumba was a friendly lion cub and was very confused by this behaviour. One brave human picked him up. Shumba gave him a great big lick across his cheek. “Yuck” shouted the human. He looked friendly and Shumba knew he could trust him.

The human took Shumba back to his house. A little bit later, the human went into another room and produced a bowl of cat food for Shumba. “Lunch time” he exclaimed with excitement. Shumba stared at the bowl in front of him “yuck, not again I hate cat food” said Shumba but he knew he had to eat something.

The human had eaten a bread like meal and said “right we need a plan to get you back home”. Shumba looked at a screen with moving pictures whilst the human pressed and clicked at different letters in front of another screen. “I’ve got it, the perfect way to get you home!” said the human. Shumba jumped with joy straight onto his paws and leapt into the humans lap and gave him another big slobbery lick!

The human said to Shumba “I have seen an article online which states there is a ship carrying cargo to Africa tonight. We could load you onto the ship” he explained. Shumba let out a purr of joy. He really wanted to get home.

Shumba was loaded into the boot of the human’s car and they travelled along the M3 motorway to get to Southampton port yard. There were many big metal boxes ready to loaded on the ship. “I wonder which one is for me?” wondered Shumba. The human carried Shumba in his arms to meet another human who was dressed in white with blue stripes on his shoulders.

“Hello little one” said the man in white to Shumba “I’m going to be steering the ship and taking you home”. Shumba was grateful to the humans for organising this and looked forward to seeing his pride again very soon.

Shumba began to realise that he would miss the human who looked after him and made him realise that not all humans are like the ones on the ship that brought him to lovely Bournemouth. The captain (the man in white) took Shumba to his cabin and put a blanket on the floor for him to snuggle up on.

Many sunrises and sunsets later the ship docked into port in Africa. The captain took Shumba off the boat and put him into the arms of a ranger. The ranger took Shumba into his truck and drove him to the wide open plains that were so dry, just the way he liked it.

Shumba smelt the grass and saw a figure in the distance roaring and leaping towards him. He recognised the tawny mane and started running towards him. “Dad, Dad I’m home” he cried out.

The whole of his pride came and took him home. “You’re never allowed to leave my sight again!” said Shumba’s Mum angrily as she gave him a lovely lick. “Don’t worry Mum, I’ve seen wonderful sights but the sight and feeling of being with my pride is the best feeling ever!” replied Shumba. With that the whole pride began to walk towards the old rock. “Home sweet home” thought Shumba.

Eloise Sparkes age 12 (winner from the 12 – 16 category)

Shumba had no time to waste, a little swim and he would be there then he could find a way to get home. He hobbled towards the railings feeling pain with every step he took, he hadn’t walked in weeks and the ground was hard not sandy .Shumba hadn’t thought of this, if it hurt walking how could he swim?

Shumba ducked under the railing and immediately began to regret his decision, the water looked uninviting and what was hiding at the bottom? Suddenly the humanness appeared, she had come to capture the animals and lock their cages.

The fear of being trapped in a cage again and eating cat food was too much for Shumba so he jumped!

The water was surprisingly cooling for his bones which soon eased up. Luckily he got the hang of swimming. Soon he reached the mainland.Shumba jumped up onto a rock and sized up the cliffs he had to climb.Shumba was tired and couldn’t face those towering rocks today so he fell asleep.

Shumba woke in the night to a strange sound it was a boat horn.Shumba was scared and couldn’t get back to sleep so decided to start climbing the cliffs immediately.

For a few meters they were easy to climb but after a while the cliffs became steeper but finally he reached the top and collapsed. He knew that he wasn’t safe here because he could hear people talking, but Shumba was too tired to move after an hour of climbing.

Shumba then heard the strange voices coming closer, it sounded like a humanness and a human so Shumba opened his eyes slightly and saw that they were heading straight for him.

Shumba got up and the humanness screamed, she seemed fairly young, maybe ten, but she seemed frightened. They surely must have seen a lion cub before.Shumba was terrified when the human continued to advance.

The next thing Shumba knew, he awoke in a smelly, cold, bright room. He must be dreaming what else could it be? The human and two humanness’ came in chatting.

“We were out on night time patrol for the Purbeck Wildlife Trust, when my daughter Chloe saw him. I immediately called you to sedate him so he presented no threat.”

“Yes you did a great job thank you,” replied the humanness in a white coat bearing the name “Tina”

“But Dad, how did he get there?” asked Chloe

“We think he came from the ship full of animals which hit a sandbank. He was probably brought here to perform tricks as you wouldn’t find a lion cub on the edge of a cliff!”

“Strange I know” said Tina “but what will we do with him as we don’t know which country he’s from?”

“He can’t go into captivity, he has had enough of cages!” said Dad

“He can live with us!” suggested Chloe

“NO!”

“Dad please, we have a huge house with a private beach and two acres of fields he could live on”

“She has a point” said Tina “lions are used to sand”

“But I won’t be there most of the time as I’m always on out patrol”

“Let mum look after him then”

“No, it’s too much to ask, he is a lion cub remember.”

“I could help too!” said Chloe,

“I said no and I’m not changing my mind, he’s a lion and could hurt someone”

“Excuse me! This is a veterinary surgery so stop arguing, it’s too dangerous to keep him, what will happen when he turns into a fully grown lion? I’ll take him to the Royal Bath Hotel – they have lovely gardens and a room for him to stay in, it will only be for a few days until he gets a new home, “said Tina.

It was all agreed and the Royal Bath Hotel said they didn’t mind if Shumba was well behaved. So the next day Shumba was in a car being taken to the hotel when Tina suddenly decided to stop as she was passing the shops, so she could buy a present for her son’s birthday.

Tina braked hard, sending Shumba’s cage rolling over and hitting the boot door with a loud BANG! Shumba looked up and saw his cage and the car boot had clicked open in the force of the collision.

When Tina had left, Shumba saw an opportunity to investigate his surroundings and leapt out of the car and ran towards Beales. Once inside he saw two lions!  He padded over excitedly to them but they didn’t respond. He looked up and saw two sales assistants talking.

“They’re lions from The Pride in Bournemouth wild art event” said an assistant “One is called Temba and the other is Winston.”

Both lions were lovely thought Shumba, and was glad he had made friends.

Shumba crept quietly back to the car. When Tina returned she was surprised to find the boot open but thought she had left it unlocked by accident. She put her shopping inside and made sure the boot was firmly closed before setting off for the hotel again.

Upon arriving, Shumba was very happy as the hotel room was beautiful and the staff had left him a dog bed to sleep in and some real meat to eat. However Tina was not happy as she had not found him a permanent home.

That evening Tina saw Shumba on the television – he had become a tourist attraction at the Royal Bath and was lead item on the news!

The next day, Tina received a call from a lady who was very touched to hear Shumba’s story and offered Shumba and the lions of The Pride in Bournemouth a home on her private island in Poole Harbour. Tina was so happy Shumba had a home where he could live in peace with other wild animals.

The very next day Shumba found himself on Round Island sleepily watching the sun setting in the flame red sky.

Supna

Dead Man’s Cove, the first in my new Laura Marlin mystery series, has won both Favourite Story and Book of the Year in Blue Peter’s Book of the Year Awards! And before you ask, no you can’t have my Blue Peter Badge. It’s under lock and key!

For those in the US and beyond, Blue Peter is the UK’s most loved and iconic children’s show and I’m hugely honoured to have won, especially since the books are voted for by children. My prizes are two coveted ship trophies and a Blue Peter Badge, and in the eyes of my friends and publishers there’s no competition. Everyone in the country, including the cab driver who took me to Peterborough School for an event yesterday morning, wants the badge. They’re obsessed by it!

For the last two days, all I’ve been capable of doing is walking round is a state of bemused happiness. My publicist, Kate, and I had a wonderful time filming at the BBC. We were given a celebrity-sized dressing room next to Jessie J’s (she wasn’t in residence) and had the best day on set with presenters, Barney and Andy, and the judges, a panel of the kind of bright, courteous, articulate children who give one hope for the future of the planet. I loved meeting them all. The atmosphere on the set itself was one of calm professionalism. The staff were universally warm and welcoming. One of the parents described the experience as “nurturing,” which it was. Afterwards, Kate and I went to the Covent Garden Hotel for a celebratory lunch and pink champagne and that rounded off a perfect day.

What made it particularly poignant is that the following morning I went to Peterborough, which is about an hour north of London, for a school visit. When I was 21 I spent 18, extremely poor months, living in Peterborough – six months sharing a house with two or three crazy strangers and nearly a year in a flat entirely empty of any furniture except a camp bed (a canvas sheet with a couple of short metal legs). There was no fridge. In the winter, I kept my food in the snow. Returning for the first time since then, knowing that Dead Man’s Cove had won Blue Peter’s Favourite Story and might shortly be voted Book of the Year, was quite surreal but very nice. It’s proof that if you keep reading and keep dreaming, you can accomplish anything.

Thanks to all the lovely readers who’ve bought Dead Man’s Cove and the judges who voted for it. The paperback will be out in the next few days in the UK or on www.amazon.co.uk. The sequel, Kidnap in the Caribbean, will be out in July.

Keep reading and follow your dreams!

Just back from three weeks in Africa. Three weeks of dust, silky cobalt skies and warm smiles. Of dawn choruses of birds, afternoon choruses of Christmas beetles and deafening frog orchestras in the dead of night. Of thunderstorms preceded by the iron smell of rain. Of rowdy lunches in the Brass Bell in Cape Town’s Kalk Bay, wild waves lashing the windows. Of brunches in the Olympia cafe. Of whale watching at Cape Point and warthog watching at Victoria Falls. Of picnics in Franschoek and mountain walks in Greyton, every minute of which was pure magic.

All of it was heavenly, but the highlight of the trip was without doubt our trip to the Born Free sanctuary at Shamwari Game Reserve near Port Elizabeth, on a pilgrimmage to see the leopards.

In 2009 I was fortunate enough to join Born Free’s founder, Virginia McKenna, vet John Knight and many more of their big cat rescue experts on a mission to rescue and rehome three leopards from Limassol Zoo in Cyprus.

Leda, the mother leopard, had spent almost the whole of her 19 years behind bars, and her daughters, Roxanni and Rhea, had been born in captivity 11 years earlier. Leopards are by nature shy and solitary. They are predominantly nocturnal. It’s quite possible to spend your entire life in Africa and never once glimpse one in the wild. These leopards lived in a cage that for many years was so small they’ve all had the ends of their tails chewed off by bears and other animals in adjoining cages. Less than a hundred yards away, a theme park blared rock music late into the night. People pelted them with objects through the bars so that they would snarl and look more savage in photographs.

You’d have thought that the years would have broken the spirit of the leopards. That they’d be resigned to their fate. In fact, the opposite was true. Leda in particular was as wild as she was the day she’d entered the zoo, crazed with rage and so stressed and unhappy that she spent almost the whole two days of our trip to Cyprus growling, snarling, pacing and flinging herself at the bars of her cage. One of her daughters, Roxanni, just lay on the concrete like the most broken-hearted leopard on earth.

More than a year after the rescue, I went to Shamwari expecting to see a change but not a miracle. Abagail Gardiner, who manages Born Free’s sanctuaries at the reserve, had told me that Leda, the mother leopard, was now so gentle and content that she blinked when she saw the Born Free staff, a cat’s way of smiling. Christine, director of Born Free’s education programme at the reserve, and Martin, the wonderful Zimbabwean who takes care of them, had both said that Leda walked with Martin in the morning when he patrolled the fenceline. It was hard to take in. The Leda I’d encountered on the rescue tried to kill every human who came near her through the bars of her cage.

At Born Free’s northern sanctuary at Shamwari, it is so silent you can hear nothing but the wind whispering through the grass. It is a wild place, a place of healing. When I arrived, Leda was lying on her climbing frame, 200 yards or so into her vast enclosure. Even from a distance she looked utterly at peace. Roxanni and Rhea were in what’s known as their hospital camp. Both were tranquil, although Rhea likes pulling faces. Martin describes Roxanni, my favourite, as quiet and sweet. She still bears the scars of her Cyprus life, but her body language was calm and even playful. She lay under a bush and nibbled at twigs. She strolled about without fear, regarding us with shy curiosity.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. Leda, the mother leopard, jumped down from her climbing frame some 200 yards away, and made her way over to us. She stopped nearby and sat regarding us with what can only be described as a smile on her face. ‘She remembers you,’ Christine said to me, and while I’d never kid myself that that was the case, that’s what it felt like. A gift. She sat for a while looking beatific and then, instead of leaving, she moved nearer. It was one of the most deeply moving experiences of my life.

More importantly, it was eloquent testimony, if testimony were needed, to the extraordinary work done by Born Free’s incredible Shamwari team, Martin, Christine, Abagail and wildlife manager, Glen, and their international experts, and  to the commitment of Shamwari Game Reserve in general to animal welfare and conservation. Contact www.bornfree.org.uk to find out how you can sponsor the leopards.

Speaking of Shamwari, we spent four blissful nights there, two at Long Lee Manor, a luxuriously elegant Colonial mansion, and two at Eagle’s Crag, where Brad Pitt, John Travolta, Tiger Woods and a host of other celebrities have stayed. The luxury is nice, of course, but the best part about going to Shamwari is the game reserve – 25,000 hectares of pristine African landscape rich in bird, plant and wildlife. It is an ecological wonderland.

The game guides – Franz in particular – are superb, and we saw rhino, elephant, lion, oryx, zebra, waterbuck, dozens of giraffe, hundreds of warthogs and several pairs of cheetah to name a few. Leda aside, my favourite encounter was with pocket-sized lion, Simbad, who lives at Born Free’s southern sanctuary. Everyone who sees him falls in love with him. He has a face like a lion from a fairytale, a face like Aslan. A beautiful, innocent, teddy bear face. Everyone who sees him wants to cuddle him. It isn’t wise to attempt that but, as with the leopards, you can adopt him. Go to www.bornfree.org.uk to find out how. There’s no better Christmas present.

To book a holiday at Shamwari go to: http://www.shamwari.com

Thank you to all my fans for your support this year. It’s been another amazing year and to top it off my latest novel, Dead Man’s Cove, has been shortlisted for the Blue Peter Award. Winners will be announced in March 2011 around World Book Day.

Wishing you a fantastic Christmas and a fabulous New Year of reading.

Brian Chikwava and Lauren St John will be speaking at the Royal Geographical Society on 21 October 2010. Please come along if you can and help support an incredible cause, HIZ’s work with vulnerable and destitute elderly folk in Zimbabwe. For ticket information go to: www.hiz.org.uk

On a hot summer’s day a few weeks ago, I spent ten hours painting an elephant (not a real one) at the High Street Kensington branch of Waterstone’s in London. Afterwards, I felt as if I’d done ten aerobics’ sessions. It might have taken less time had I used something larger than a three-haired watercolour brush, but there is no way to rehearse the painting of an elephant (as anyone who has watched the Peter Sellars’ film, The Party, will know). Sore muscles aside, however, it was the most fun I’ve had in ages, thanks largely to Waterstone’s lovely staff and the children of Holland Park School, who visited for an hour and painted elephant pictures alongside me. If you’re at a loose end, the elephant will be in store until September, after which it’ll be retiring to the library of Holland Park School.

In case you’ve missed my Twitter dispatches, Dead Man’s Cove is out in the UK now. Read the reviews and see Max’s feedback on my Laura Marlin Mysteries’ page. I’ll be signing books and talking about it at Festivals and in bookshops throughout August and September. See my Events Diary for updates. In between I’ll be hard at work on the final draft of Kidnap in the Caribbean, the sequel. At least, that’s what I tell my publisher. More usually, I’m watching Max chase the squirrel round the back garden, or eating homemade chocolate brownies, or going out to the French baker for croissants.

Cause for celebration this month: the relaunch of Patricia Leitch’s classic Jinny at Finmory series. For the Love of a Horse and a Devil to Ride are two of my favourite horse books of all time, and when I was asked to ride a foreword for them I jumped at the chance. Between the ages of eleven and sixteen, when I was totally horse-obsessed and my whole world revolved around my black colt, Morning Star, I read, re-read and read again all twelve books in the Jinny at Finmory series. Like Jinny, I loved to paint and the walls of my room were plastered in paintings and sketches of Jinny’s chestnut Arab, Shantih, and the red horse of her dreams. They’re wonderful, timeless novels. Treat yourself. Oh, and buy the paperback of The Elephant’s Tale while you’re at it!