Teacher's memories of life in the Dales

He will be reading excerpts from his latest children's poetry book, It Takes One to Know One, when he appears at The Platform in Central Library on Tuesday, May 15, at 7.30pm, as part of the Reading the City festival.

Dubbed 'the James Herriot of schools', he will also be talking about his memoirs - the best-selling The Other Side of the Dale and its sequel Over Hill and Dale - which chronicle his time as a schools inspector in the Yorkshire Dales.

Festival organiser Tom Palmer said: "Gervase Phinn has been to Bradford before and it's wonderful to see him here again - it proves we must have impressed him.

"He's a great talker and tells some very funny tales, and he's an absolute joy to listen to."

Sponsored by the Telegraph & Argus, the seven-week literary extravaganza will also see him at A Touch Of.. - a new reading promotion aimed at the visually impaired.

Organiser Jane Heap said the event would give people who can't read standard print the opportunity to try out what was on offer.

"There are talking books and large print available so people needn't think there is just braille," she said.

"As Gervase Phinn's first event has sold out it will be another opportunity for his fans to see him."

She said Mr Phinn will talk from about 2pm at the event, which runs from 10am to 4pm in the Morley Street resource centre in Bradford on Thursday, May 17. City author Martyn Bedford will be on hand to help readers find the right book and

Mr Phinn taught in a range of schools and became general advisor for language development in Rotherham. He is now a freelance lecturer and schools advisor, and visiting Professor in Education at the University of Teesside. He lives with his family in Doncaster.

He has published collections of his plays and stories, and his own anthology of poems is about to be released in a new volume.

l More details about the festival, which runs until June 7, are available on (01274) 754096.