Habs welcomes Sir Michael Morpurgo

On the evening of Friday 18 October, Habs had the tremendous pleasure of welcoming celebrated children’s author, poet, playwright, and librettist Sir Michael Morpurgo to give a much-anticipated talk to pupils, parents and staff in a packed Bourne Hall.

The author of 140 books, Sir Michael Morpurgo, began by explaining that his visit to Habs felt very much like coming home as he had spent the first months of his life in ‘a little-known place called Radlett’ having been born up the road in St Albans.

He then plunged into the rich history of his storytelling career, touching upon moments in his life which had inspired his countless books. He reflected that his latest work ‘Boy Giant: Son of Gulliver’ while being influenced by Jonathan Swift’s classic story, was ultimately inspired by the lives of modern-day migrants trying to find their way to safer lands.

After reading an extract from ‘Boy Giant’, Sir Michael told the rapt audience how stories and tales came to him from a myriad of places and often unsolicited sources. ‘Butterfly Lion’ had begun as a memory of his unhappy time as a boarding school pupil in Sussex and how he had once tried to abscond to return to his home 100 miles away. Then, an overheard story at a dinner party centring on a convalescing soldier who witnessed the slaughter of a circus train of animals combined with a chance meeting with Virginia McKenna of the Born Free Foundation to cement the nascent theme for Sir Michael’s prizewinning book.

Sir Michael was full of wit and humour throughout the evening, entertaining parents and children alike with his tales from real life and fiction. The Question and Answer section at the end of the evening allowed Sir Michael to explore in greater detail more specific moments of his life including the writing of ‘War Horse’ and his enjoyment of live theatre (on the occasions he visits dramatic productions of his epic tale of Joey the horse and Albert his owner, he often finds himself on stage singing in the chorus) and what had fired him to write ‘Meeting Cezanne’ and ‘Mr Skip’. After such a thrilling and captivating hour in Sir Michael’s company it was no surprise to be told, when asked: ‘If he wasn’t an author, what would he be?’ The response came: “an actor”.

Before he left, Habs was honoured to provide Sir Michael with a cheque for £2,000 which will be donated to his charity ‘Farms for City Children’. Founded by Sir Michael Morpurgo and his wife Lady Clare, the charity offers urban children across the country the opportunity to live and work together for a week on a real farm in the countryside. The charity, which has been running since 1976, currently has three working farms welcoming 3,200 children and 400 teachers every year.

It was a fantastic opportunity for all to witness Sir Michael live. As Manav from Year 6 said: “It was not only enjoyable, but informative and inspiring.”

The School would like to thank Sir Michael Morpurgo for visiting Habs and addressing our excited Prep pupils, parents and staff. Thanks must also go to Mr Bloch for organising the event. It was a truly wonderful and memorable evening.

Habs welcomes Sir Michael Morpurgo

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