It’s taken these surreal times for me to appreciate the outstanding locations and crowded book launches I’ve enjoyed. The most special was the launch of Oxford Castaways in the Cast Gallery of the Ashmolean  which  Sir Roger Bannister wound up, with appropriately, statues of ancient Greek athletes behind him.

 

OC3 was in the superb Maths Institute and was compered by Roger’s daughter and fellow castaway Rev Charlotte Bannister Parker the founder of the Oxford Faith Walk and Director of the Children’s Radio Foundation UK.

Brushstrokes in Time was launched in Blackwell’s – below my friend the best selling Italian author Simonetta Agnello Hornby  whom I met when we both moved to Kennington as young mothers. Seen here with Justin who lived with her for a while when he was at UCL.  On the right is  Oxford Blue Guide and friend Felicity Lewington . In the crowd   Euton Daley, Nancy  Mudenyo Hunt  & Richard O.Smith .  Out of view Weimin He, Maria Jaschok , Bill Heine and many more Oxford Castaways and China expert Professor Maria Jaschok,  Professor Simon Altmann  and Ray Foulk  who  all endorsed the novel .

and Sculpting the Elephant in the Jam Factory – which is the name Gill Hedge and I gave Coopers Oxford Marmalade Factory when we ran an art and antiques centre there. Can you see Legs Larry Smith (so named by George Harrison of the Beatles) , Dwina Gibb, Katlin and John Matthews , Ray Foulk , James and Joanna Harrison and  Shrenik Rao the editor of The Madras Courier ?

My family and villagers mostly came to Kennington Village Centre where we had an Indian evening with food, film , dance and music and Weimin He sketched and compered by Korky Paul.

 

 

Poems in an Exhibition was in the location of oldest library in Oxford in St Mary’s, with this amazing view from the window of the Bodleian.  Dwina Gibb read her poignant poem dedicated to her husband Robin.

Yesterday Nancy Mudenyo Hunt and I held  copies of Not so Black and White but in these surreal times  we cannot look forward to the exciting  fundraising launches ( for the Nasio  Trust) we had planned. The best we can do is offer to take part in zoom Q&As for book groups , libraries and community groups . If you are interested please let me, Nancy or  the Nasio Trust know . You can read it as a gripping story  or use it to think deeply about some issues as descibed by …

REV’D CHARLOTTE BANNISTER-PARKER

(Associate Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, Associate Minister, The University Church) 

‘Not so Black and White’  looks at the cross-cultural life of an inspiring young woman Precious, caught between two worlds of the UK and Kenya. The authors manage to weave these worlds together in a proactive way that challenges the reader to take a fresh look at critical issues that are of huge importance in our world today. From gang violence and racial tension in London to arranged marriages, girl child education, and tribal expectations in Kenya. An uplifting and captivating read.