Of tall tales, strange characters and stirring up your bookshelves
I have always been fascinated by the notion that characters in books can mix with each other across stories and across bookshelves on certain nights of the year. No idea where that came from - it may even have been something I made up as a child (always had heaps of imagination, plenty of day dreams and a good dose of "fey"). In fact, 36 years ago (!!!!) I wrote a pantomime - helped by 2 of my colleagues and friends at that time - John McCran - who sadly is no longer with us, and Tony Hadley - not _the_ Tony Hadley, but a Welsh physio. The basic plotline was mine, John and Tony helped with details and with the script - which I seem to remember having to censor on many, _many_ occasions. The plot line followed something like this: 7 years after the Snow White/Prince Charming happily ever after and the 7 year itch was beginning to show cracks in the marriage. The wicked queen had heard that the Holy Grail can give immortal youth and beauty and she wanted some of that, so she