I visited Malmesbury in Wiltshire today and told stories in the Town Hall as part of the carnival and The Summer Reading Challenge. I had a great time and everyone did fantastic drawings of the Pizza Man.

I was very taken by the Norman Abbey, which had the most fabulous carved Doorway entrance, which has succumbed quite a bit by the ravages of time.It looks like there are a lot of  bible stories and historical stories carved on there. It seem the King Athelstan, the Grandson of one of my heroes, Alfred the Great, is buried there. Alfred fought off the Vikings to establish the first instantiation of England. Athelstan fought them back and united the country to become what we call England to day, so we can say he was the first King of all England, but I would say that Alfred the Great was the the first true King of the English.

Malmesbury is a very pretty and very old town that seems to be built on a bit of a hill that must have originally been chosen for its defensive properties. Well worth a visit if you are n the area.