blog awards! eek!

I was surprised and delighted to be awarded the prize for Best New Blog at the Manchester Blog Awards ceremony this week!

















This is what the judges had to say about Follow The Yellow Brick Road: "It seems honest, and charming. The personality of the blogger comes across well, and I like how varied it is."

The other winners were:

Best Writing on a Blog: Every Day I Lie a Little
Best Arts and Culture Blog: Northernights
Best Personal Blog: Travels with my baby
Best City or Neighbourhood blog: Manchester Buses
CityLife.co.uk Manchester Blog of the Year: Travels with my Baby

Congratulations everyone!

It was a great night - beer, pizza, plus a brilliant selection of readings from Jenn, Socrates, Sally and Maureen, as well as previous years' winners Maria and Chris. It was great to meet people "in real life" - including, of course, the fabulously glamorous Ms Coco Laverne - and to put faces and names to blogs. Thanks to Kate and the MLF team for putting it all together.

I’ll admit I was slightly terrified when I had to get up on stage (partly just because the step up is enormous and I was convinced I was going to break my neck) and I actually missed hearing most of the nice things being said, because I was in a fever of panic at finding myself suddenly standing on a stage in front of a roomful of people who were all LOOKING AT ME. I am not very good at being in the spotlight. There is a reason I am a writer and not, for example, a performing artist. I would be very, very bad at it.

My prize came accompanied by this rather fine postcard with a recipe for Chorley cakes - strangely apt since I in fact come from Chorley and am a bit of a cake fan. I may even make some this weekend in celebration.



















Thanks so much to everyone for all the lovely feedback, encouragement and congratulations, and especially to my friends for putting up with me throughout the evening!

(Check out some photos from the night here, plus more about the event and the winners here, and here.)