Given that there’s nothing we can actually DO about the weather, we thought we’d take inspiration from it and put together a soggy wander around some of the weather-inspired events in our programme. Even if it perks up over festival weekend, we’re never a couple of days away from a weather change, so furl your umbrella, slap on some fake tan and let the sunshine into your brain!
Firstly, travel writer Charlie Connelly pairs up with festival-regular John Osborne (John Peel’s Shed, The Newsagent’s Window) to discuss their two very different but overlapping new books, Bring Me Sunshine and Don’t Need the Sunshine, respectively. Although it sounds as though they’re coming from opposing sides, this will be a mash-up of lighthouse keepers, kiss-me-quick souvenirs, how the umbrella was invented, donkey rides and why, oh why, oh why we’re so obsessed with the British weather. These two hugely entertaining writers will invoke mental sunshine even if the hailstones extend into June.
3pm, Sat, June 8th, White Hart, £4. Tickets here.
In a more literary yet no-less entertaining fashion, Philip Hoare, author of the remarkable Leviathan, Or The Whale stays off-shore with his latest book The Sea Inside. His fascination with the sea saw him write & present the BBC Arena film The Hunt for Moby-Dick and direct three films for BBC’s Whale Night. The Sea Inside rediscovers the sea, its islands, birds & beasts, taking in an extraordinary cast of characters along the way.
3pm, Sat, June 8th, Library Gallery, £5. Tickets here.
Although not directly weather-related, we can’t help thinking that Jay Griffiths would definitely advocate encouraging kids to play out in the rain. Her latest book, Kith, is an ‘impassioned, illuminating’ analysis of why many children in Euro-American cultures are unhappier and less fulfilled than those in more traditional cultures. A must for anyone with kids – or anyone who’s ever been a kid.
5pm, Sat, June 8th, Abney Public Hall, £5. Tickets here.
Finally, we highly recommend an activity for which you need both sun AND rain: growing your own veg. Alice Holden, the head gardener at Growing Communities (the people behind the organic farmers’ market on the High Street) will be showing those of us with windowboxes, terraces or gardens how to plant the optimum crop to keep you going through the summer and autumn with lovely fresh, nutritious food.
12:30pm, Sat, June 8th, St Paul’s Church Hall, free.
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