Anni Bisson of AB Design, who is responsible for our wonderful website, was inspired to write this post after seeing Spud and Yam at the LitFest.

[caption id="attachment_612" align="alignleft" width="206"] (c) Chris George[/caption]

My eight-year-old daughter was excited to see Spud and Yam again: having seen them twice at the last Festival, she was looking forward to greeting them like long-lost friends. We arrived at the Hub with 10 minutes to spare and managed to grab front row seats. 'Of course I want to be in the front row, Mummy!' Well okay then. The rest of the audience was made up of toddlers and young mums, a few young primary school children and one other 'older' girl, like my daughter. I was a little bit worried she was too old now and wouldn't enjoy it so much anymore.

To my surprise Spud and Yam did greet us like long-lost friends, in fact they greeted everyone like long-lost friends, and instantly made us all feel welcome.

The show started, the kids were bouncing and soon we were all invited to sing along. In the small, intimate atmosphere of the GLF Hub, you could feel the initial hesitation of parents and grandparents, but join in we did. There were stories, songs, instruments and Spud and Yam themselves, who made everyone feel at ease and managed to get the Hub rocking with rhyming songs and drum beats. By the time we were all handed an instrument to make lots of noise with, the kids were on their feet, dancing and enjoying themselves. Too old at eight? I don't think so. Too old at 38? Well, I never looked at my watch for the whole hour and only handed back my shell shaker when I was asked to.