Everyone is struggling in this new world. A world that will never be the same, no matter how much we wish. But someone sent me a picture the other day. Just when I was wondering why I was even writing. It was a little bit of magic. At least in terms of cheering me up.
So thank you, Dan.
Knowing that there are still people enjoying reading Wizard’s Guide to Wellington after all these years, is just fantastic.
I wrote Wizard’s Guide as a homage to Wellington, the home city I love so much. My children were the exact same age that A- is now when I started, and so it’s lovely to imagine children out and about on the waterfront discovering all the little secret plaques and places just as we discovered them. But nothing stays the same…
The library is gone.
Many of the other little touches may soon be gone, too.
But I hope the magic remains, and that the next generation will see the wonder of Wellington— maybe even the Witch at the Wellington Library will set up again when the new library opens. (Not that that’s happening in any hurry, or that that book has anything to do with mine, except as vague inspioration.)
We certainly spent a lot of time exploring Wellington, and having fun keeping an eye on the filming of Lord of the Rings that was happening at the time. One of the parades made it into the book, complete with rearing horse. Yes, I suspect that rearing horse was a health and safety secret, but I think enough time has passed for everyone know why horses were not in the subsequent parades. And there was more than that. But great ambition also has a downside, and so does the shine of those movies. It goes to show, the most wondrous things are dangerous and that’s also true of Wellington. You too could discover the terror and the miracles of the coterie that infests the Wellington Waterfront…
And that’s the post. I hope you enjoyed. If you think you or a young family member would enjoy Wizard’s guide to Wellington the hardback Wizards Guide is available from Arty Bees, Childrens Bookshop and Rona Gallery and the softback and ebook are available online:
Have fun reading,
A.J.
Other fun posts:
The Magic of Wellington in Pictures: https://ponderbooks.com/2014/11/21/the-magic-of-wellington-in-pictures/
Wizard’s Guide to Wellington: https://ponderbooks.com/wizards-guide-to-wellington/