The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Kololo Hill by Neema Shah
A love of nature and a Shetland heritage inspire Tamsin Mori, as Caroline Lindsay discovers...
Kololo Hill is the story of a family uprooted, when thousands of Asians were ordered to leave Uganda in 1972. The shadow of British colonialism sets the book in its historical context, as many Indians were brought as indentured labourers to build railways in the previous century. Given just 90 days to flee by brutal dictator Idi Amin, debut author Neema Shah’s characters – from newlyweds Asha and Pran, to elderly Jaya – are confronted with the loss of their home, business and entire community. Shah explores the chaos and fear of ordinary people’s lives during Amin’s rule, weaving personal stories of love and betrayal into heightening tension and violence. A nail-biting airport dash encapsulates the vulnerability of women during conflict, while vivid descriptions invoke the heat and noise of the landscape.
7/10
Although Tamsin Mori has always loved writing, she took a long, winding road to becoming a writer. “After school, I worked in IT, so most of my working life has been spent in an office, later juggling that with being a mum,” she explains.
“Yet throughout my working life, in every moment I could steal – lunchbreaks and in the car park while waiting for the kids – I was writing.
“About a decade ago, I finally worked up the courage to send my stories to a few agents,” she continues.
“I got rejections, of course, but none of them told me to give up and stick to my day job…
“Even so, I realised I had a lot more to learn, so I saved up and applied for a master’s degree in writing for young people.
“By the end of the course, I had a complete first draft of The Weather Weaver and I’d discovered the magical power of editing.”
The Weather Weaver, written for children aged 8-14, tells the story of 11-year-old Stella who is spending the summer holidays in Shetland in the care of her grandpa.
“Stella’s life takes a turn for the stormy when she meets an old woman called Tamar, who convinces her to try and catch a cloud,” says Tamsin.
“Stella succeeds, but when the weather begins to match itself to her mood, she realises that having your own cloud comes with some big responsibilities.
“In part, it’s a story about independence and trusting yourself, but it’s also packed with wild Shetland weather and a good dose of magic.
“My mother’s family are all Shetlanders and though we didn’t live there, we visited often and it was where I felt I belonged. I guess I’m like a limpet – Shetland became my home scar. My Shetland granny’s stories all featured weather, but always as a character, never a backdrop.
“The weather was wild – you had to respect it, be prepared for whatever it might throw at you. That
was the seed of the story – the idea that weather has its own moods and intentions,” she says.
Tamsin reveals that she has always found inspiration by going for a wander in nature. “What sparks my heart is the wild world and our connection to it,” she smiles.
“I find a long walk is a really good remedy for most things in life. Weather was a joy to write about – whenever I needed inspiration, all I needed to do was look up!”
The first thing she does when she first wakes up each day is try to hold the sense of sleep.
“There’s a quiet moment between dreaming and waking where problems suddenly resolve themselves and everything is possible – then, I furiously scribble in my bedside notebook, before seeing the children off to school,” she says.
Currently editing the second book in the Weather Weaver series, Tamsin believes that if something ignites your imagination, that joy will find its way on to the page. “Magic is everywhere – all you need to do is look for it,” she says.
C50 years ago
anada’s flamboyant Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau (51), surprised his country yesterday when he married a 22-year-old graduate secretly in North Vancouver, British Columbia. His bride is Margaret Sinclair, daughter of a former Cabinet Minister and Scottish immigrant, whom he met on the South Seas island of Tahiti three years ago.
The bride’s father, Mr James Sinclair, said the couple wanted a quiet ceremony with nobody around and “we got it”. The bride made her own wedding dress and baked her own wedding cake. The marriage arrangements were a well-kept secret.