Lola Jaye

AND I’M STILL ON A HIGH…. It started off brilliantly this morning as I did a short talk and book signing at a lovely hotel in Bishops Stortford for Union Learn members.  I then raced back to London to put on my green shoes,  an even greener dress,  slide on the lip gloss, then out again to a very, very famous address… (one of the most famous addresses in the world…)10 Downing Street!!!!!! Yes, home of the PRIME MINISTER!!!! (you probably knew that bit!)I’d been invited for, get this, a reception with the Prime Minister’s wife SARAH BROWN! It was a lovely evening  and felt so surreal being surrounded by all those authors.  I was forever looking at someone passing by with a glass of wine and thinking ‘I know her’ without figuring out where I might have seen the face before (probably on the back of a book or a TV?). I loved very moment of it. It was great.  I took pics outside and succeeded in behaving like an overhyped tourist. I also shamelessly introduced myself to everyone I remotely recognised; Levi Roots (’Do you remember me, I emailed you? And you replied? pant, pant!) , Alvin Hall, Gilda O’Neil  (who has since invited me to dinner!) Alison Weir, Ali Smith, Jo Brand and John O’farrell (to which I horridly started the conversation with, ‘do you remember me, we did a talk together??- Luckily , they did),  Mike Gayle (we are Facebook friends and have a mutual friend but had never met until now); come to think of, I must have sounded like a crazed fan today, but I couldn’t help it. It was awesome!!!! And I was in a very happy place!I didn’t get to introduce myself to so many others, including Tracy Chevalier who looked very beautiful.AND…….  ….I got talking to some very lovely staff and asked them about President Obama and erm… where he sat when he came to visit and I WAS TAKEN TO  ’PRESIDENT OBAMA’S CHAIR!’  I SAT IN A CHAIR THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA SAT IN!!!  Clearly, 3 hours later, I am still excited about my evening at 10 Downing Street.Pictures weren’t permitted inside the home, but official photographers have taken loads and I will soon be downloading them from a ’special website’.  It’s been a long and fabulous day; HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY FOLKS!!!!