Mummy and Me Magazine August 2014 September 2014 | Page 35

Early Years

As a Father, has it ever been challenging to
have a good work and family balance?

What would you say is your greatest
achievement to date?
I feel a bit like Spike Milligan when he was
asked the same question. He said his greatest
achievement was that he had reached the age of
seventy (or was it eighty?) and was still friends
with his children.
I’m friends with my children and my wife – and
together, we have an unusually large number of
longstanding friendships. However, you may have
spotted the weakness in this answer. I can’t really
claim this as my achievement! It’s more down to
the patience and tolerance of the aforementioned!
On the work front, I think perhaps The Whisperer
is my best book to date. I’m also quite pleased
that this ‘old dog’ has been able to learn quite a
few new tricks, during the production of the Q
Pootle 5 animated series.
What advice would you give any of
our readers (big or small) who may be
considering following in your footsteps and
writing children’s books?
To grown ups, I would say, it’s not easy to get a
toehold these days. You have to
really want it and not be put off
by inevitable disappointments
and rejection.

To children, I would only say, don’t worry about
making a living at it. Just keep on making up those
stories. Keep on producing all those hundreds of
pictures. Enjoy it. It’s a fair bet ѡ