There was a general murmur of assent. ‘Good. I’ll just outline what we’re going to do in the next few days then. There’ll usually be two workshops every morning and time for personal tutorials in the afternoons – I’ll pin up a list of times on the notice board, and you can put your names down if you’d like to have one. Otherwise afternoons are free and we start work together again at five. We have a guest tutor coming to talk about the rival merits of rhyme and metre versus free verse – which will give you all a break from me – and the well-known author Jonathan Mercer, who lives in Edinburgh, is going to give a talk on crime writing one morning. Friday evening is performance night when you’ll all have a chance to read to the group from your own work – if you want to, that is. It’s entirely voluntary. Finally I know Giles and Isobel have laid on a delightful concert for you on Saturday – your last night. I know some of you have brought samples of your writing that you want to talk to me about. If you give them to me this evening I’ll do my best to look at them before your individual tutorials – nothing too long though, please. Because you all have different needs and wishes I shall be suggesting certain exercises I think you’ll all find useful and then we can have sessions reading out the results and discussing them. Let’s meet in here after breakfast tomorrow morning at nine fifteen for our first session and please bring pens and paper with you. Any questions?’

Bunty put her hand up. ‘But what about writing for children?’ she asked plaintively. ‘I don’t want to do any other kind.’

‘I hope all the exercises we do will help you with any kind of writing,’ said Catherine, ‘and you can use them afterwards in whatever way you like.’ Bunty looked unconvinced, and stuck her bottom lip out like a child herself.

Catherine got up. ‘Enough for tonight, I think. Some of you have had a long journey and may want early bed and some of you may like to follow Giles’s invitation and go to the bar. I’ll see you all in the morning.’

Most of the group followed Catherine’s suggestion and drifted towards the bar. Christopher Piper walked over to where Louisa was standing. ‘Can I buy you a drink?’ he asked. ‘I feel as if I need one myself and we could do a bit of catching up about our last meeting.’