Visiting My Former School Richmond House on Book Tour

It’s a uniquely particular expertise visiting your former college as an grownup, particularly when your expertise there made such an indelible impression in your life and profession. Nice schooling ought to have an enduring influence.

That’s what Richmond House did for me.

This excellent prep college instilled unflappable confidence in me from a younger age, it inspired me to talk up, to share no matter I’d learnt generously with others (I gave a speech to a youthful class when my geography venture on Australia was revered) and to decide to pushing out of my consolation zone whether or not that was on stage in performs, taking part in netball competitively or memorising Wordsworth in English.

Throughout my formative time there, I bear in mind following by with an thought I needed to create the primary college journal, photographing each image, and writing the editorial inside it, celebrating the varsity. This was duly photocopied, laminated and given to potential mother and father on Open Days and it additionally bagged me the Design Know-how cup at prize giving. A few years later I grew to become the editor of Movie & Festivals Journal. I suppose I embody the time period multipotentialite, working throughout totally different sectors and having pivoted in my profession from filmmaking to TV broadcasting, content material creation and writing books.

I visited Richmond Home yesterday to share my second guide and bestselling debut kids’s guide Greek Myths, Folktales & Legends revealed by Scholastic UK and never solely was it described as a excessive vitality, enjoyable, informative and inventive meeting, it was deeply transferring for me to retrace my steps and provides one thing again to kids who had been as soon as sat in that meeting corridor, the place I as soon as was 35 years in the past! 

Sharing a guide studying, writing myths collectively in addition to sharing workouts the place kids matched the parable to the TV present or film adopted by a signing and Q & A with the intense, affable and engaged college students, it was a memorable day hopefully for the entire college students in attendance in 12 months 3, 4 and 5, and undoubtedly for me.

The youngsters adored the traditional Greek impressed hair piece Claire Austin England designed for me.

I sit up for returning once more. Thanks Richmond Home!

Beneath I share a chunk I despatched to the varsity on my recollections of my time there together with a photograph from all these years in the past of my brother Solos and I!

I’ve many fond recollections of my time at Richmond Home. I cherished performing and appearing in a lot of college productions held within the meeting corridor. 

Enjoying Miss Honey in Matilda was a stand out second for me, as had been the assorted comedy roles I typically invented, largely as outdated males, in different productions (a lot to the rapture laughter from the mother and father in attendance)!

I had an thought to create the very first college journal for Richmond Home too, taking the entire photographs and writing in regards to the great amenities and alternatives on supply on the college. Miss Pettingale, the Headteacher on the time proudly confirmed it to potential mother and father for a very long time after. I later grew to become the editor of Movie & Festivals journal, writing for The Guardian throughout my time at college earlier than then. 

One other spotlight was giving a presentation to a number of the youthful years, the place I shared my geography venture on Australia, a rustic I’ve nonetheless not managed to go to but! 

I gained the Geography, DT and Artwork Cup at Speech Day throughout my time there, and nonetheless have the books given to me by the varsity as a memento when the cups had been returned.  

Richmond Home gave me the arrogance to hone my voice, construct self-confidence and stand proud in entrance of an viewers. This has fared effectively in my profession as I’m additionally an everyday contributor on ITV’s Good Morning Britain information present, having labored with them for nearly a decade, in addition to showing on BBC Radio 4 and 5 sharing my insights into breaking information affecting kids and fogeys. I’ve even been invited to talk in Parliament a number of instances on roundtables discussing the web security invoice, and maternity rights, respectively. 

My former English trainer Mrs Sullivan taught me to consider in my energy as a author throughout my time at Richmond which has helped me as an creator. 

My debut non fiction guide Mumboss grew to become a bestseller and was deemed one of many high 10 enterprise books written by ladies by the Impartial, and my latest kids’s guide Greek Myths, Folktales & Legends is already in its second reprint after simply 3 weeks, when that normally occurs after a 12 months, so it’s proving fashionable with kids and adults alike! 

As a British Greek Cypriot, it’s great to move on my ancestors’ magical, typically strange tales, adapting them to be extra trendy items that can hopefully resonate with younger readers. Thanks for having me again at Richmond Home, to share the unbelievable world of historical Greece with you!

All skilled photographs by Ben Harris and shared publicly with permission.