Well… look who I had the pleasure of meeting on Sunday:
Christopher Eccleston! He was there to discuss Antigone, as he is starring in the new production directed by Polly Findlay. I joined the end of the queue (you know… to make sure no-one else joined as they only had a certain amount of time… yeah…) and grabbed an autograph from both of them, as well as a photo (or two)! I think the look on his face is because when I told him my name he looked confused and asked me to spell it – well that’s what I’m hoping…
I really didn’t know what to say to him though. I didn’t want to discuss Doctor Who because that’s not what he was there to talk about. I did tell Polly about my degree and interest in classics though, so at least I managed some sort of conversation!
That was the first exciting part of the day. The second was seeing (well catching a brief glimpse of, behind the crowds) Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series. Although I haven’t read the books for years, and only read the first few – I didn’t realise there were so many! – it was exciting seeing an author that I was a big fan of as a child. Unfortunately, I was unable to grab a photo of him, as the tent was heaving, unsurprisingly.
I also spoke very briefly to Brooke Magnanti, author of Belle du Jour: the Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, as her publicist wanted to know where she needed to go for signings. Other interesting people who were at the festival on Sunday, but I didn’t manage to see include Neil Oliver, Paul Hollywood, various cast/crew members of Call the Midwife and Downton Abbey, Rupert Everett and T.C. Boyle.
Mary Beard had a couple of events on Sunday but I was unable to attend them so I put aside a book for her to sign. Sadly I couldn’t get it dedicated, but I tweeted her and she replied, yay! I think she is the epitome of a classicist – eccentric and truly, truly passionate about what she does, and her recent TV series Meet the Romans with Mary Beard was great.
Monday was my day off, but looks to have been as exciting a day as any other – P.D. James, David Stuttard, Bel Mooney, Esther Rantzen, Orlando Figes, (‘what I call’) Patricia Hodge, Will Greenwood and Greg Searle, amongst others.
And that brings us to today – my shift started at 8am, which meant getting a bus at 6.20am; I am shattered! The hours go so quickly, I can barely believe I was working for seven and a half hours, and I only feel the tiredness on the journey back home. I’m working the same time tomorrow, so it’s another early night tonight… I managed to see Caroline Shenton, Head Parliamentary Archivist who has just written her first book, and the poet Simon Armitage, as well as Mark Hill (of Antiques Roadshow fame) and Judith Miller. This afternoon/evening’s guests include Clare Balding, Frankie Dettori, Emma Bridgewater, Kate Summerscale (which reminds me, I really need to read The Suspicions of Mr Whicher) and Sue Townsend, to name but a few.
I really can’t express just how much I’m loving this experience! I’ve never know a job to pass so quickly, I don’t really want it to end. I’ve met some great people, both famous, those I’m working with and customers, and I hope to meet many more before the week is up. Unless I write up another review before then, my next post will be on Friday evening, covering both Wednesday and Friday, as Thursday is my day off.
Rinn Reads 