You nominated in your hundreds – literally! I had to enlist a committee of fabulous bloggers (Ali, Geoff and Hugh) to help organise all the nominations and sort them into this, the official voting post. To find out more about the #BloggersBash event have a look at this, this or this.

Before we begin voting, there’s one more thing to add. The lovely Geoff decided we needed to stand out from the crowd so that y’all can find us at the British Library on the 1st August. So he has ordered some Annual Bloggers Bash t-shirts. The committee will be wearing them, but it was cheaper to bulk buy, so inevitably we have spares. SO, if you win one of the awards then a t shirt is yours! But if you would like a t-shirt anyway then they will be £6 on the day. Geoff is…

Hello there, I am Lucy Brazier although some you may know me as PorterGirl, from the Secret Diary Of PorterGirl blog. I have just released a book of the same name and Chris has kindly invited me along to say a few words about it.

Like many of us who peruse these eminent pages, I came to writing quite young and often wrote stories for my school friends, usually featuring ourselves as the heroes. I wrote a lot of science fiction back then, I have no idea why. My Mum has kept many of these illustrious tomes and they are delightfully bad, as you might imagine.

Once into adulthood, I didn’t write much for many years, apart from a song or two here and there and my dream of being an author was all but forgotten. Until, that is, I randomly took a job at an Oxbridge College as…

Q: “Excuse me, do you work here?”

A: “No, I absolutely love this mass produced, sweat box uniform, so I just wear it for the crack.  Also, I love voluntarily getting on my knees in random stores and helping out obnoxious, rude people for free.”

Q: “How much is this?”

A: “Hmm, I don’t know.  Let me just consult my onboard computer and access my worldwide price App that I have built in.  I had no idea I looked like a walking price-list, I must talk to my plastic surgeon.”

Q: “Where are the toilets?”

A: “Well, if you follow the huge directional signs that this particular company has spent thousands of pounds on perfecting to ensure people like you can find them, it’ll take you right there.  I know, I know, its extremely silly of me to think that you could lift your head and look for yourself.”

Q:…

She smiled, awhile I tarried there, fashioned castles out of air. She laughed, set my heart aflame, tis love, or my overactive brain.

I think of her but who is she? A bird encaged longing to be free? Is she content in her cage? Or does she beat the bars with rage? Do I put my thoughts on her? Building castles in the air? Who am I? who is she? Both are struggling to be free.