So off to the Edinburgh book fair with the cherub today, to see Darren Shan talk about his work. For those who are not aware of the Darren Shan phenomenon, he is the one writer today who is almost guaranteed to get boys between 11 - 16 back to reading books. This man is such a draw that the Cherub and I have had our tickets booked since early July.

And of course half of book reading Edinburgh was there today - all wanting books signed. And to give Mr Shan his due, he will sign every book given, and talk to each child he meets. The downside of this is that book signings can last up to three hours and longer.

Now I need to stress that I am not pushy, I am not knowingly a drama queen, and generally have the patience of a minor later day saint. BUT as the cherub and I queued patiently for the first hour it became apparent that we were not going to meet Mr Shan before having to rush back.

I looked around at all the other kids with whole families in tow, and quite frankly thought, stuff it. There has to be some way of wringing a silver lining out of this cloud. Reader, I actually went up to the organisers, and pleaded for my kid to jump the queue given that this could be the only high point in his life before his dad died.

The technical word for this is shameless, and I am so seriously not proud. However thank you everyone at Edinburgh book fair for arranging for the Cherub's books to be quietly signed.