Saturday 13 June 2015

A Day in Hay
Apologies for the lack of posts on the blog. I've had a few busy weeks since half term and although I've managed to keep to deadlines for my writing, it's the blog that has suffered. 

On Wednesday 27th May, my daughter and I went to Hay Festival. We were only able to go on that day and it was relatively quiet but at the weekends it was much busier. There's so much to choose from and I can see why many people stay up there for the whole week so that they can attend every day. 




The weather was kind to us, dry but cold, and we were able to wander around soaking up the atmosphere of the festival. Aren't these deck chairs wonderful?





Our first event was 'Adventures In Stationery: A Journey Through Your Pencil Case'. A strange choice, I hear you say. Jo, my daughter, was always obsessed with stationery when she was little and no holiday to France was complete without a trip to the hypermarket so that she could add to her collection. We were entertained by James Ward, the author, whose lively and hilarious talk made us look at the humble paper clip, post-it note, fibre-tip pen or Pritt stick in a totally new light! For 5 stationery facts to impress your friends at parties, please Click Here.


After lunch we went to the BBC tent and went behind the scenes of Ambridge with the Editor of 'The Archers', Sean O'Connor. The tent was packed and Jo did comment that she was perhaps the youngest member of the audience whereas I was completely at home! We are both avid fans of the programme and from a writing point of view it was interesting to hear how the editor organises a number of writers to present a uniform style. The extensive knowledge of Archers listeners can help shape the show's plots after dragging up story lines even writers have forgotten, we were told.

We did attend a rather more literary event, too. Rose Tremain was ably interviewed by Peter Florence about her short story collection, 'The American Lover'. She read extracts from the book and talked about the soul of her characters.The question and answer session at the end showed how many of her fans in the audience had an in depth knowledge of her books.


We used the shuttle bus to go into the ancient market town of Hay, too, and browsed through the many book shops for which it is world famous. Founded by Richard Booth in 1961, it has become one of the world's largest secondhand and antiquarian book centres. Some of the bookshops specialise whilst others carry general stock.




It was a great 'mother and daughter' day out. Jo and I have promised ourselves we'll plan in advance next year and attend on a number of days rather than restrict ourselves to just the one. 

Did you attend the Hay Festival? Who did you see and what events would you recommend? Thank you for reading my blog. I'd love it if you left a comment. :-) 

You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBayLit and on my Jan Baynham Writer Facebook Page.

16 comments:

  1. Missed Hay this year. Thank you for reminded how good Hay is.

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    1. Thanks for commenting. Julie. Maybe next year.

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  2. I went to Hay for a day out when the festival wasn't on
    It's something I want to do someday. I'd have loved the Ambridge one. Great post, Jan, thanks for sharing:-)--0--#

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    1. Thanks, Sue. I think the town is worth a visit any time of the year. As well as the book shops, Jo and I loved the gift shops and galleries. She bought a lovely limited edition print of a painting and an old map. Glad to hear you are a fellow Ambridge fan! ;-)

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    2. Oh, and thanks for commenting. :-)

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  3. Sounds like a good event. I've only been to a couple of small writing festivals myself, but am tempted to go to more.

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    1. I'd like to visit more, too, Patsy. It was a lovely day. Thank you for popping by.

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  4. Sounds like you and Jo had a great day out together, Jan. Very impressed that you packed so much in! I've been to Hay several times (the lure of the bookshops), but I've never attended the Festival. Thanks for giving such a good flavour of it. It's now on my list of Things To Do.

    PS I want one of those deck chairs!

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    1. Aren't they great, Sue? I can just see them on our back lawn. :-) I can recommend the festival so hope it's ticked off your 'Things To Do' list. Thanks for your comments..

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  5. Mother, daughter days are fab aren't they? I went to Chipping Norton Festival last year with my mum. We had a wonderful time, even though we were dodging humungous raindrops. Due to other commitments this year, I've not been able to schedule in a literary festival but hopefully next year life will be less constrained. Lovely post, Jan!!

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    1. Thank you, Nicola. The Chipping Norton festival is 'do-able' from here so thank you for the recommendation. Perhaps, Jo and I could arrange that one year. I'm glad you and your mum had a great time in spite of the rain. Good luck with next year! Thanks for commenting.

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  6. I've never been to Hay, but it's on the 'some day' list. I'd definitely have joined the throng in that Archers tent. Lovely post - thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Christine. I think Hay is quite a way from you (?) but it's worth a visit if you can. Glad you'd join Sue and I in the Archers tent! It's always good to hear from a fellow fan. :-)

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    2. Thanks for commenting. I hope the novel's going well.

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  7. I'm envious! I used to visit Hay quite often when we lived in Wales - and always returned with books - but I didn't get to the festival. One day ...

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    1. I didn't realise you once lived in Wales, Linda. Book shops are like magnets, aren't they? It's impossible to come out empty handed. I hope you manage to get to the festival one year. Thank you for popping by to leave a comment.

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