Archive by Author

Sunny children’s event features a flood story that predates Noah’s

14 May
Irvine Finkel talks about the ancient Babylonians who wrote their stories on clay tablets
Tony Hiller leads – or loses control of – the maypole dancing
Festival director Matt and a young helper drive the red tractor at Lower Shaw Farm
Crowds enjoy the juggling and circus skills

So it started like every year my family parking as far away as possible from are actual destination (we might as well have walked to the farm) and as I walk past the sign saying Lower Shaw Farm in big letters and the same philosophical question passes my mind: where is the Higher Shaw Farm? If anyone knows then please inform me in a comment down below (somewhere over the rainbow is not a valid answer!)

Anyway I walk in to see Tony Hillier sitting at the desk asking for tickets. And I suddenly think: “Oh no, will he only let my mum in? Will I have to be a loner standing outside the gate? How will I get the ten pounds for writing up this piece? Goodbye Thanos Battle Lego set, it was nice to think of having you.”

But luckily we were all VIPs so we were allowed in for free and I breathed a sigh of relief! My dream was saved. But this isn’t all about me and my problems: this is an interesting readable post and everyone likes these. If not then you can leave this site immediately and spend the rest of the day not reading this. We’ve gone way off track and most of the passengers in the train have died, so let’s get on with it. Continue reading →

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What have the 1790s and robotics in common? – Rachel Hewitt and Alan Winfield

12 May
Rachel Winfield © Fernando Bagué
Alan Winfield at his book signing © Fernando Bagué
Pee Power at Glastonbury Festival

At first glance I didn’t think a talk about the 1790s and robotics (on the same bill at the Swindon Festival of Literature) would have much in common.

But I was wrong.

For one thing, quack doctor James Graham invented an electrical sex bed in the late 18th century, and, people being people, one of the robotics questions from the audience was, when will we get a sex robot? (Alan is actually chairing a panel discussion in Hay on Wye  about this very thing. It’s sold out.) Continue reading →

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We are all nurses – Christie Watson

12 May
Photo of Matt Holland and Christie Watson

Matt Holland and Christie Watson ©Fernando Bagué

I’m drawn to kindness, and I was pleased to see an event on this subject at this year’s festival. We live in a country of increasing homelessness and poverty (again) – to hear/read about kindness feels more important than ever. 

I’ve also been a psychiatric nurse myself during the 1980’s and 1990’s, in one of those old asylums, and sometimes kindness was not part of care: lack of time and lack of resources always pushed kindness to the outer edges in those cold enormous wards, and people were dehumanised by this. 

Christie Watson’s book is impressive. She raises the awareness of the quality of good nurses through stories that highlight her own twenty years of kindness and dedication: “Sympathy, compassion, empathy: this is what history tells us makes a good nurse.” (p.8).  Continue reading →

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‘Where did all the anger come from?’ ponders former punk guitarist

11 May
Viv Albertine

Viv Albertine

“Where did all the anger come from?!” asks Viv Albertine, the former guitarist with punk group The Slits, who discussed her memoir To Throw Away Unopened at Swindon Festival of Literature.

Although a majority of the discussion was based around Viv’s bubbling anger, she carries a very calming presence with her, as she sat comfortably on stage resting one leg over the other, sharing her story. Continue reading →

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Radical Looking with Ben Okri

11 May
Magic lamp inscription
Ben Okri © Fernando Bagué

So, when I looked into Ben Okri’s book, The Magic Lamp, before his event at the Swindon Festival of Literature, I kinda got it wrong. I thought it was a collection of grown-up fairy tales* with accompanying illustrations.

This wasn’t just a simple error. Nope, this missed the point of Ben’s book.

Ben has an artist friend, the painter Rosemary Clunie. He loved her work so asked if he could borrow a painting for a few months, to live with it. “And then I went into the painting, literally, and came back out with the text.” Continue reading →

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The Life of Michael (not Brian) by Milo, aged 11 3/4s

10 May

When Milo met Michael

First thing I have to say about this man is… he is quite possibly the funniest and ‘niciest’ person I have ever met. And oh yes I have met him, and got to perform some of his poem Chocolate Cake to him which was a real honour.

So his performance was great and he made it very engaging. It is guaranteed that when you listen to Michael you will have hiccups from laughing so much.

His performance was about his memoirs. But even the titles of his books have back stories and the story behind this one is that he wanted to call his book an autobiography but the publishers wanted it to be called a memoir so there was an epic battle and the publishers won so it is now called the silly French-sounding word ‘memoir.’ Continue reading →

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From XTC to FML – two DIY publishers turned professional writers share their stories

9 May
Gill Sims in conversation with Emma Smith of Mum's the Word

Gill Sims in conversation with Emma Smith of Mum’s the Word

As the creator and editor of several publications covering an array of subjects over several decades, from a photocopied magazine about 1990s indie and dance music, to a blog about arts festivals (this ‘un), and a grown-up business news publication with actual advertising on it, I was excited to hear how two authors had embraced the DIY ethos to carve a career in writing.

My first stop was the Reading Room at Swindon Library, where Mark Fisher was talking to an enthusiastic crowd of XTC fans.

For 10 years Mark and his friend Paul Badger wrote and published the band’s fanzine, Limelight.

Surprisingly, the idea for a fanzine came before the idea of writing about XTC.

“Fanzine culture was in the air,” said Mark. “Kids were speaking for themselves rather than relying on the inkies [Sounds / NME / Melody Maker] and you either formed a band, or formed a fanzine about one.

“So the idea of writing a fanzine came first. After that we asked ourselves: who about?” Continue reading →

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Scone or scone? Trevor Cox at the Swindon Lit Fest

8 May
Trevor Cox - voice and gesture

Trevor Cox – voice and gesture

Scone or scone? It was the first time I’d seen a British Isles scone map – not to indicate the availability of a cream tea, but of gone scones and stone scones and, which were you? The Scots and Northerners were decisive (gone scone) and most of the south said stone scone, though Swindon – backed up by a quick audience poll – was a mixed bag of scones.

Interestingly, Northern Ireland said Sc(t)one and the Republic of Ireland said Sc(g)one.

So does this tell us anything about ourselves? Is the scone fight a throwback to our early ancestors, when, if the other tribe sounded the same as ourselves they were probably good sorts or, at least, our sort?

So scone may still cause ructions but what’s happened to the oo arr in arm? And why does the Queen sound so different now than seventy years ago?

What’s happening to our voices?

Trevor Cox took us on an entertaining and fact-filled journey through the history and future sound of our voices. It’s the second day of Swindon Festival of Literature and, as festival director Matt Holland said, he set the bar high. Continue reading →

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Levelling up to Shakespearean

11 Oct

 

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George Fell – a welder by day, guitarist by night (imagine Jamie Dornan, not Flash Dancer Jennifer Beals) – opened the Poetry Swindon Festival Finale with fantastic finger twiddling of self-penned pieces. Inspiration, George shared, came from such sources as trapped bees behind a window and the dawn chorus at Glastonbury Festival mocking his hangover.

Poet and children’s writer A.F. Harrold made his second appearance after the Children’s Open Mic that morning, with added swearing and Greggs the Baker ejection anecdotes. He worried about the ‘judgemental’ big standee of the disconsolate Festival mascot, Dog. After the heavyweight poetry of the last four days, the audience was up for A.F.’s humour, even withstanding the affectionate booing greeting the lack of Dog love. Continue reading →

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The sky shalt never be gunmetal

9 Oct
Olivia, Jessica, Sam Loveless and Teddy enjoy Rishi’s set
Milo’s day-appropriate sock and Rishi

At the post-lunch reading slot at Poetry Swindon yesterday, young local poet and singer Olivia Tuck stepped in for a poorly Camilla Nelson.

Now while I’m sure Camilla would have been great (because Poetry Swindon has impeccable taste), Olivia made the most of her surprise moment. Funny and revealing, Olivia tells the trials and tribulations of youth, with a backdrop of in and out-patient mental health services and dark fantasies like Changeling. Today, chronicler Milo age 11 – still hanging around after the Children’s Open Mic, chilling on a bean bag and catching the reading – can still recall much of Olivia’s poem about her 12-year-old self.

She was in great company with two 2017 highly commended Forward Prize poets, Rishi Dastidar and Jessica Mookherjee. Continue reading →

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