A University of Sunderland graduate has just release her debut novel. Sue Batten has written a children’s book: Colin and Carrie Stories. This is a series of short stories about two companions, who despite a nervous introduction, become friends and embark on adventures together.
Sue, from Bedfordshire, said: “They are stories about friendships being made, anxieties being dispelled and fun in the outdoors on caravan holidays, from the point of view of the car and the caravan”.
“I wrote the first story and printed it on half the page so that the children could draw the pictures, to keep them amused on wet afternoons away in our caravan when they were small. The stories are true; they are more or less what happened at the beginning of our caravanning life, just from the point of view of the car and the caravan. It was all a bit of fun”.
She continued: “I hope the children’s parents might be intrigued enough to think about caravanning as a hobby, also it might appeal to families with caravans already to give their children something to read on wet afternoons or bedtime when they are on holiday themselves.”
Sue graduated with a degree in Pharmacy from the Sunderland Polytechnic in 1983. She then went on to complete a MSc in Analytical Chemistry from the University of London. She currently works as a Quality Assurance consultant to the pharmaceutical industry but spends her time enjoying music and travelling with her caravan.
Talking about her time at the University of Sunderland, Sue said: “I did enjoy most of my course, it was very intense and hard work from what I remember. We had full days 9-5 or 5.30 on 4 days a week and a half day (I think from 2pm) on the fifth day, and around that we had to do the essays, lab reports, research etc when our friends wanted to go out and had much more free time than us, or so it seemed.
“I think what influenced me most was a trip to London in the third year, when we visited a real hospital pharmacy department and I thought ‘That’s what I want to do’. I since learned it was Northwick Park Hospital, and I ended up working in a neighbouring hospital (Edgware) for 14 years.”