Silverfish Sushi

As I lay on the bed last night I felt a cold trickle over my shoulder. It felt like a drop of water:

'Was that a spider?' says Barbara.

Yes! It's running around over the duvet. I rush for the nearest available container; a clear plastic bug box, the type with the magnifying glass lid, which is sitting on my desk. I've been keeping a silverfish in it which I rescued from the sink in the morning and which I'd intended to draw for the diary.

I manage to pop the spider into the bug box without releasing the silverfish and I replace the lid ready to take the pair of them outside and release them. Too late!

The silverfish races around like a Train a Grande Vitesse while the spider goes into Predator mode and soon pounces on its prey. It drags its large fish supper to the edge of the container. In the morning there's nothing left but the empty shrivelled skin of the unfortunate silverfish. I release the spider in the front garden; it's a jungle out there but I don't think this fellow will have any difficulty surviving.

The Complete Final Version Yes, I know you've seen so many versions of my Rough Patch cover already but, honestly this is the final version; no more tweaks, I promise. This proof came from the printers this morning and we were delighted with it, it sums up the book without resorting to a multiple images. Through all the previous versions, the back cover (right) has remained the same. I don't think I could improve on that. The frog (netted by my great nephew George) expresses so well how I feel at times, and why, therefore, I like to have the garden as a welcome escape route, right outside my own back door. Seal of approval: Danny Gregory's son Jack, aged 10 and no pushover, says: 'Wow! That's REALLY good.'

Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk