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. :-) 

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