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Published: June 18th 2023
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It was the eldest daughter's idea. An author friend of hers was presenting at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival. No, unfortunately I was not offered a place to talk about A Patient Obsession, but you can always order it on Amazon and let me know what you think! My launch was at the Newcastle Writers Festival (NSW) and I have given a talk on writing, but only at the local Nambucca library to a group of interested ladies and a few male interlopers!
So, the tickets were booked and we were taking Gino, the newly 'made over' Chausson motorhome for a trial run for this year. Hearing that the parking was difficult it seemed sensible to book a camping spot at the Swan Inn, Letton. A lovely small camping site adjacent to the pub over the border in England. We had left warm sunny skies in Dorset and stopped for lunch at Tyntesfield, a National Trust property. I had wanted to visit Clevedon Court but somehow we sailed past and being such a narrow road we continued on to Tyntesfield. A large Summer house for a wealthy non-noble family, their fortune made, sadly, from Asian slaves collecting guano from Argentina. It
was suitably splendid, all the same.
What was I expecting of the Hay Festival? I'm not sure but certainly not the huge crowds on our first day which coincided with a Bank Holiday, so really I shouldn't have been surprised. Glorious sunny days always bring out the locals! We started off by hearing one of my favourite authors, Barbara Kingsolver, who having just won the Pulitzer prize was interviewed in a packed auditorium. The Poisonwood Bible would always be a hard act to follow but she seems to have been successful with Demon Copperhead, the retelling of David Copperfield set in the Appalachians. She told of how she channelled Dickens from a house he wrote in (can't remember where! Margate? Eastbourne?) and how she found Demon's voice. Great stuff! Next up was a stoush between a great environmental journalist, George Monbiot and the head of the NFU, Minette Batters. Both argued passionately but George's ideas won for me especially when Minette suddenly exclaimed that we would have no cake, nor biscuits if we took up his ideas! She lost me. It was a specious argument to do with sugarbeet, I presume she didn't get the memo about natural sugars
occuring in so many other things we use in baking! Dates etc.
Next day we saw Lyse Doucet, a renowned international reporter and journalist who graciiously took time to talk to my daughter about women and Afghanistan. We also heard a lecture from the lovely Doctor Michael Scott a classicist and historian of TV fame and the author of many great books. He told of the discovery of Macchu Picchu, which having been and walked the Inca Trail for my 50th birthday with my daughters we were very intrigued to hear about.
Our last event was Jonathan Coe the satirist and social commentator who thinks he is just an author! Will read Bournville soon!
The hoped for stop at Clevedon Court did not transpire as someone I hold dear had a golf game he had to return for.
Lasting impressions of Hay? A good walk out of the town to the venue. Sunny days with visitors in deckchairs and groups of youngsters reading their newly purchased books. Terrible coffee in the town! Beautiful walks abound, one of which we took on our last afternoon, a circuit in the hills above the town. Well organised
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