Simon Dawson, Malcolm Welshman

Simon Dawson will tell the story of how he went from leaving school without a single qualification, to signing a multi book deal with the biggest publisher in the country. Through a series of disappointments and revelations, he wrote for magazines, newspapers, appeared on TV and radio, secured a literary agent and finally signed on the publisher's dotted line, all while wearing welly boots - well almost!

From being savaged by a hamster to being squeezed by an anaconda, learn how animals have influenced Malcolm Welshman's life as a vet, author and cruise ship speaker. He'll relate some hilarious encounters with the likes of a Medium with her spooked cat, a monkey that swallowed some ironmongery, and what happened when Prudle, a parrot in the Guinness Book of Records for speaking 800 words, came to stay.