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her. She won’t have anything to do with us, except just at Christmas and on my birthday she sends me a present and I write to thank her, but that is all. She doesn’t want to see us or even for me to ring her up. This is because she thinks we are beneath her. She was my dad’s mum, and she was very angry when he and Mum got married.

       Unfortunately she is the only nan I have as Mum was brought up in a children’s home and has no family. She and Dad were so happy together! There is a photo of them holding hands and looking all smoochy into each other’s eyes. But my dad died when I was only three and so I never really knew him and I have never met my nan at all as she cut us off and retired to live in her dark and spooky house and never see the light of day. Dad was her only child so perhaps when he died it unhinged her mind, but Mum says she is a very proud and unforgiving woman and so I cannot really feel too sorry for her. Mum is the one I feel sorry for. I think it is so unkind, the way she has been treated.

       You are lucky to have a mum AND a dad AND a sister (even if it is not always fun) AND two nans and a granddad. I am not being jealous when I say this but I would like to at least have a nan. Mum says Mrs Cathcart is “as good as” but Mrs Cathcart has children of her own and always goes off at Christmas to stay with them. So then I am completely nan-less! It is just Mum and me. Even Arthur has a family.

       I hope this letter doesn’t sound too glum and gloomy. It is not meant to. But you did ask! About my nan, I mean. I am not feeling sorry for myself, I am just telling you how it is.

       The reason you have half-term at a different time from everyone else is because you go to a posh school and posh schools do everything differently from everyone else! I expect you have to be quite rich to go to your school. I don’t mind if you are rich! My nan is rich. Mum says she has more money than she knows what to do with. Mrs Cathcart says, “It is a pity she doesn’t spend some of it on her granddaughter,” but Mum says, “We can do without her charity.”

       I have not yet done another maze, but here is a joke! I just made it up.

       Question: What kind of robbery is the easiest?

       Answer: a safe robbery!

       I think that is quite good.

       And now I must tell you something. I have had this totally brilliant and earth shattering idea! You know in one of your letters you said how it would be great if you could write stories and I could do pictures to go with them? Well, we could do a magazine! Like Go Girl, only we could make it funny. You could do the writing bits and I could do the drawings. Do you think this is a good idea? We could have problem pages and letters pages and short stories and poems and articles. And then when we had done it you could maybe make copies on your computer and I would do a cover for it. Say if you want to! You don’t have to. I mean, like if you’re too busy or anything. Or if you think it would just be a drag. But if you would like to you could send me something next time you write and I would do the pictures straight away.

       I hope this letter is not so long that you have stopped reading it! I must close now as my hand is beginning to ache. I suppose that would be one good thing about having a computer. Mum says maybe next year. I will keep my fingers crossed!

       Lots of luv from

       Katie xxxxxxxxxx

      I told Mum about Katie’s dad, and about her nan being too proud and unforgiving to have anything to do with Katie and her mum. (I didn’t tell Lily as she was still calling Katie the Blob and so I didn’t think she deserved to be told. Plus she would probably only say something stupid and annoying.)

      “It’s so sad, isn’t it?” I said to Mum.

      Mum agreed that it was. “But it’s nice that she’s told you. She obviously felt ready for it. And it explains why she’s always seemed so close to her mum, if there’s only the two of them.”

      “At least she has Arthur and Mrs Cathcart,” I said. “I know it’s not the same, but it’s better than nothing.”

      I was so excited by Katie’s idea of writing stories and poems for our own magazine. It is just exactly the sort of thing that I really love to do! I sat down immediately and wrote a poem and sent it to her.

       Dear Katie,

       I will write a proper letter soon. I love the idea of doing a magazine! Here is a poem I have written for it.

       xxx Violet

       PS What shall we call it? The magazine, I mean.

      POEM

      I’M HAVING A VERY BAD HAIR DAY,

      MY HAIR SIMPLY LOOKS SUCH A SIGHT!

      IT STICKS UP IN SPOKES, ALL OVER THE PLACE,

      IT WONT DO ANYTHING RIGHT!

      

      OH, WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY HORRIBLE HAIR,

      HOW CAN I MAKE IT BEHAVE?

      I’M OFF TO A PARTY TOMORROW,

      IT’S GOING TO BE QUITE A BIG RAVE!

      

      HOW CAN I GO WITH MY HAIR IN THIS STATE?

      IT IS SUCH A TERRIBLE MESS!

      AND TO THINK THAT I’VE BOUGHT SOME NEW SHOES,

      AND A HUGELY EXPENSIVE NEW DRESS!

      

      I KNOW WHAT I’LL DO! I’VE GOT A GOOD PLAN.

      I WONT GO AND SULK IN MY BED.

      I’LL INVENT A NEW FASHION, I’LL BE REALLY COOL,

      I’LL JUST WEAR A CAT ON MY HEAD!

      

       Dear Violet,

       Your poem is really funny! It made me laugh. I have tried to draw some funny pictures for it. I hope you like them. XXX Katie

       PS How about GIRLZONE (Girls’ Own… Girlzone! Geddit?) But you can suggest something else if you prefer.

       Hi, Katie!

       The pictures are ace! And I think GIRLZONE is cool. Now I have made up some problems for a problem page. I will type them out on the computer and send them with this letter. But I have not done the answers as I think it would be better if you did those.

       Your last letter that you wrote me was not in the least glum and gloomy though I am sorry if I upset you by asking about your nan. I know that I am very lucky to have a family even if I do sometimes complain about my sister. She is quite a tiresome sort of person, but in future I will try to complain a bit less and just put up with her.

       It is true you have to pay to go to my school, but we are not rich!!! Mum said to Lily just the other day that “We are not made of money”. This was because Lily was nagging about these new riding boots she wants. She says her old ones are naff, and she can’t be seen in them. She has to have SPECIAL ones like her friend Francine has. So Mum told her she couldn’t and Lily got into one of her sulks and that was when Mum snapped we weren’t made of money.

       I have asked Mum if we can sponsor you for your walk! She says that we can and we would like to give you a pound for every mile. Just let me know how many you do! We got Horatio from a lady that comes into Mum’s shop, but if ever we get another cat we will go to the Cats’ Protection League. That is a promise!

       I look forward to hearing your answers to my problems!

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