I went to visit the lower school at Tettenhall College near Wolverhampton, yesterday. I gave myself a lot of time to get there but, as there was the first fog of the year, the roads were terrible. I came to a standstill on the M5 following and earlier crash. It was slow on the way home too for the same reason.

I had a great time telling stories and many children seemed to like my drawings. I’ve stopped using flipchart pens – they are so unsubtle. Now I use a graphite stick. I think they respond to the pencil drawings much better. Shading with the side of the stick fills in areas very quickly.

I was very taken by the dining hall, the roof of which looked as though it were part of the Eifel Tower or had been built under a bridge. One would normally expect wooden beams in the roof. presumably the closeness to Ironbridge explains why the beams are made of cast iron.

Thanks for a great day and those are lovely trees you are surrounded by too!