Derby Book Festival

Derby Book Festival

My fourth appearance at Derby was a delight. As usual there was a substantial audience (over 200), I had a thoughtful and astute interviewer in Professor Keith McLay and it was superbly organised (thank you Sian). But the icing on the cake was that two old friends...
Bath

Bath

The book tour continued on Monday in Bath which in my humble opinion is one of the three most remarkable cities in Britain (the others being Edinburgh and York). I had two books published last year and am promoting both which can be confusing. I arrived at Waterstones...
Fowey Literary Festival

Fowey Literary Festival

My sister Linda is over from Australia, where she’s lived since the early 80s. On Monday we picked her up in London to make the long journey down to Fowey (pronounced Foy) for the literary festival inspired originally by Daphne du Maurier who lived in this wonderful...
Huddersfield

Huddersfield

On  Sunday  afternoon I was in Harold Wilson’s birthplace to talk at the Huddersfield Literary Festival about my biography of the great man.  Despite the many years he lived in London, Harold was always more Huddersfield than  Hampstead. As I say in the book, it was...
Hexham Book Festival

Hexham Book Festival

All book festivals are equal but some are more equal than others – and Hexham has been a favourite since my first appearance twelve years ago. Why? Well, for a start they put you up in the Beaumont Hotel, right next door to the festival venue. It’s a lively...