Yesterday I said goodbye to Gromit (sniff).
I'd got quite used to him sitting on top of the piano gently watching our family life, but it was time for him to start the second part of his journey.
Gromit was off to The Rotary Inertact Club of St Albans via St Albans Girls School (STAGS).
This group of STAGS student meet once a week during their lunchtime to organise different fundraising events to raise money for local, national and international charities. 
It was wonderful to meet the girls and let my Gromit meet theirs (cleverly decorated with all their fingerprints)
The photo on the right shown the formal handover of Gromit to the organiser Aliyah Jail and below you can see me with all the members of the STAGS Rotary Interact Club of St Albans.
I am looking forward to my author visit on 27 Feb and wish the clubs all the best with their future fundraising efforts.
I will blog when the Gromits are up for auction but that's all for now folks. Fun!

The painstaking, but sort of therapeutic, sticking continued until Gromit was covered entirely by words from Jarred Dreams.
He looked pretty good, but he needed his nose and eyes painting. I managed that.
He was looking even better, but then there was a a problem; some of the words were flaking off. Also he looked too white. 
What to do?
My husband, Ade, suggested the vanish he used on the table so I rummaged around in the shed and got it out.
I painted on the first coat and let it dry. It wasn't enough. I did a second and a third. In the end it took SIX coats before I was happy.