Tea and tigers
Mary Ann Hushlak, a seriously good writer and dramaturge came over to interview me about the novel. It was drizzly on Saturday and didn't feel much like summer but we ate cherries, drank lemon tea and she asked about the nature of comic writing while the rain mizzled down. Her tape recorder needed some coaxing into taking us seriously. The kettle was making too much noise, as was the cat. You don't think about these things unless you hear them recorded. We banished the cat and switched off the kettle. Once we got some semblance of silence, she asked about my visits to the zoo. London Zoo features a lot in this novel. What are my favourite animals? I've been to the zoo so many times researching the book that I have a different favourite animal each time I go. It has been the giraffes. And is often the bush babies.The pygmy hippo is fab too.The lions are away at the moment, so I have to say that the new tigers are my current number one. You can get nose to nose with them. Through reinforced glass I hasten to add. Push your way to the front of a crowd of children - no mean feat - and you're an inch away from the most nobel, beautiful and deadliest creature the zoo has on its books. What does this have to do with a comic novel? You'll have to read it to find out. The interview will appear here sometime soon.
