Ways With Words Festival of Words and Ideas Dartington, Devon 3 – 13 July 2015
Enjoy the Bigger Picture at Ways With Words We are often congratulated on our efficiency; the smooth organisation of the festivals; how calm we seem to be: it is one of the positive aspects of running Ways With Words. Much can go wrong at a festival – and often does – but we try to plan well in advance so the festival can be pleasurable for everyone: the speakers who attend, the visitors who flock to Dartington Hall, ourselves and the staff. What is the point of having a festival where the stress levels are so high no-one feels relaxed or able to enjoy this truly amazing time? This is not to minimise the amount of work it takes to achieve this. There are numerous rotas for each part of the festival. At the start of each Ways With Words we spend a lot of time ordering books, flowers, wine; checking that we know exactly when speakers are arriving and departing; arranging and briefing volunteers – and lots more. But the reason behind the mundane tasks is to deliver a memorable festival: to get people thinking, questioning, talking and laughing; to make sure that visitors have an interesting, challenging and unforgettable time. That is the main purpose of a festival. It is necessary to make sure that the administrative details are arranged but throughout we try not to lose sight of the bigger picture.
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WELCOME to Ways With Words at Dartington Hall. If you like to relax with books, ideas, beautiful gardens, good food, warm conversation, then you will love this festival. Many do and return each year. Join them! Kay Dunbar, Stephen Bristow Chloë and Videl Bar-Kar Festival Directors
President’s Introduction I knew at once – nearly twenty years ago on my first visit – that Dartington was a special, perhaps unique, festival. Nowhere else do so many distinguished speakers inform and entertain in an atmosphere of such informality. Readers and writers, talkers and listeners mix, match and blend. I must miss this year’s festival. But I shall be back for the twenty fifth anniversary celebrations in 2016. I do not need to tell you to enjoy yourselves in my absence. You are at Dartington. Enjoyment is unavoidable. Roy Hattersley Festival President Title Sponsor
Festival Sponsor
Official Bookselling Partner
Event Sponsors
Support in Kind
Friday 3 July – Great Hall
Alice Oswald
Paul Keegan
The Ted Hughes Memorial Lecture
1 2.30pm Great Hall £10
2 4pm Great Hall £10
Alice Oswald and Paul Keegan – In Conversation Ted Hughes Memorial Event Alice Oswald is an eminent poet who, in 2010, won the inaugural Ted Hughes Poetry Award. Paul Keegan worked as Poetry Editor at Faber and Faber where he edited Ted Hughes’ poetry. Together they discuss ‘A Ted Hughes’ Bestiary’, a selection of poems chosen by Alice Oswald. In association with Carol Hughes and Faber and Faber
Paul Heiney The Quest After his son committed suicide, aged only 23, television presenter Paul Heiney decided to set sail on a voyage to Cape Horn to connect with his son’s ‘voice’. This turned out to be an important emotional journey. Paul Heiney currently presents the ITV prime-time show ‘Countrywise’.
Day Ticket: £24 (not including event 4)
3 5.30pm Great Hall £10
Terry Waite Inspiration for Fiction: Life’s Vicissitudes
4 8pm Great Hall £10
Simon Armitage Poet, Walker and Troubadour
Unbelievable that being a hostage in Lebanon with well over four years spent in solitary confinement means you learn to make people laugh, yet Terry Waite has written a charming, funny story that reminds the reader that life is worth living.
As a sequel to Simon Armitage’s acclaimed bestseller ‘Walking Home’ he has written ‘Walking Away’ – the story of his travels on England’s south west coast. He acts as a troubadour – giving poems in exchange for bed and food. He’ll offer poems and stories of his travels today.
Paul Heiney
Terry Waite
Simon Armitage
Saturday 4 July – Great Hall
Margaret Heffernan
5 10am Great Hall £10
sponsored by
6 11.45am Great Hall £10
Karen Armstrong
Margaret Heffernan Competition Celebrity Change: A New Way of Thinking The Olympics, X-Factor, The Rich List, The Nobel Prize: everywhere you look there is competition – for fame, money, attention, status. Being top seems to be everything – but what is it costing us? Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur, CEO and writer. Her motto is, ‘Let’s not play the game, let’s change it.’
Karen Armstrong Religion and Violence Karen Armstrong is one of the world’s leading commentators on religious affairs. She spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun in the 1960s and now is a writer and broadcaster. She is a best-selling author of over 15 books. Her latest is ‘Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence’.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 11)
Stanley Wells
Mary Portas
7 1.30pm Great Hall £10
Stanley Wells Shakespeare Performed
8 3.15pm Great Hall £10
Mary Portas talks to Peter Stanford How Mary Portas Became ‘Queen of Shops’
sponsored by
Stanley Wells (described by Ways With Words’ President Roy Hattersley as ‘Our greatest authority on Shakespeare’s life and work’) gives an assessment of the specific talents and claims to greatness of individual actors. He examines what it takes to be a great Shakespeare actor.
Mary Portas regularly travels around the world advising on retail strategy. Her continued advocacy of our High Streets led to an independent review commissioned from the British Government. She tells of her upbringing in a large, Irish family where she was a magnet for trouble.
Saturday 4 July – Great Hall
Peter Stanford
9 5pm Great Hall £10
10 6.30pm Great Hall £10
John Sergeant
Peter Stanford Judas Writer and broadcaster Peter Stanford deconstructs that most vilified of Bible characters: Judas Iscariot, who famously betrayed Jesus with a kiss. He investigates how the very name Judas came to be synonymous with betrayal and, ultimately, human evil.
Peter Hennessy and John Sergeant – In Conversation The State of British Politics Ways With Words reunites Radio 4’s ‘Broadcasting House’ election pundits: Lord Hennessy, one of the most prominent writers on the political and social history of Britain, and the favourite broadcaster and journalist, John Sergeant, discuss the state of British politics, post-election, today.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 11)
Peter Hennessy
11 8pm Great Hall £10
sponsored by
A.C. Grayling
A.C. Grayling The Challenge of Things Prof. A.C. Grayling’s latest book ‘The Challenge of Things’ encourages readers to engage with the world and to think imaginatively about troubled times. Expect to be enlightened and enlivened by his talk. A.C. Grayling is Professor of Philosophy and Master of the New College of Humanities, London.
Saturday 4 July – Barn – Science of the Body
Joe Herbert
12 10am Barn £10
Joe Herbert Testosterone, Sex and Power
15 3.15pm Barn £10
Lucy Fry Triathlon for the Tri-curious
16 5pm Barn £10
Raymond Tallis The Life that is Lost
Lucy Fry
Jane Haynes and Martin Scurr Doctor, Doctor I feel like a pair of curtains… As pressure mounts on NHS services psychotherapist Jane Haynes and GP Martin Scurr lift the ‘white’ mask to explore doctor/patient relationships, the much-changed role of the GP and to ask what draws someone to the profession in the first place?
13 11.45am Barn £10
14 1.30pm Barn £10
Adharanand Finn The World of Japanese Running From the fabled Marathon Monks who ran a thousand marathons in a thousand days, to the relay race ‘The Ekiden’, Devon runner and Guardian blogger, Adharanand Finn, discusses Japan’s complex running culture and tells what he learnt on the run.
Day Ticket: £40
Sex, aggression, winning, losing, gangs, war: the effects of testosterone are entwined with them all. The Cambridge Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience, Joe Herbert explains how these chemicals, produced in tiny amounts, exert powerful influences on bodies, brains and lives.
A triathlete virgin at thirty-one, Lucy Fry thought she knew her limits, but at thirty-two she completed not just one but five triathlons. She takes us on a personal journey from the sofa, into a sports bra and across the finishing line.
A personal meditation on death by one of our leading thinkers and writers. Raymond Tallis looks back on his world from the standpoint of his future corpse, pondering upon the impossibility of contemplating death, the failing mind and being mourned.
Sunday 5 July – Barn – Mind Matters
17 11am The Barn £10
Guy Browning A Guide for the Perplexed Most of us consider ourselves the most normal person we know. Humourist and writer of the longrunning ‘How To’ Guardian column, Guy Browning takes a look at how to be ‘uniquely normally normal’. He explores ‘How to Procrastinate’, ‘How to be Simple’, and ‘How to be Vague’.
18 12.30pm Barn £10
Nigel Wellings De-cluttering the Mind
19 2pm Barn £10
Suzanne O’Sullivan It’s All in Your Head
Nigel Wellings has been teaching and writing about the relationship between psychotherapy and Buddhism for many years. He offers tips on meditation and explores many practical ways to get our mindfulness unstuck and establish a regular practice.
Few of us are fully aware of how dramatic our body’s reactions to emotions can be. Consultant neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan looks at the world of psychosomatic illness as she encourages an exploration of the intimate connection between mind and body.
Day Ticket: £40
Julia Ponsonby
Dylan Evans
20 3.30pm Barn £10
Julia Ponsonby Mindful Baking, Mindful Feasting
21 5pm Barn £10
Dylan Evans An Experiment in Living
Head of Food at Schumacher College, Julia Ponsonby, delights in the happiness shared food brings. She feels we should be fully present with the task of cooking. Creating meals also requires discrimination when sourcing ingredients, ensuring they are wholesome, local and seasonal. Without this integrity a dissonance will creep into lives.
To discover what it would be like in a post-apocalyptic world, Dylan Evans founded The Utopia Experiment where a community lived free from modern technology and comforts. He talks about his extreme personal reaction to the experiment.
Sunday 5 July – Great Hall
Marina Cantacuzino
22 11am Great Hall £10
sponsored by
23 12.45pm Great Hall £10
Salley Vickers
Marina Cantacuzino talks to Peter Stanford Revenge and Forgiveness How can you respond to the unforgivable? Can you move on without forgiveness? Marina Cantacuzino has collected stories from those who have much to forgive. She tells of The Forgiveness Project, a charity that helps victims and perpetrators of violence, tragedy or injustice, and explores ideas around forgiveness, reconciliation and conflict resolution.
Salley Vickers Fiction – Short and Long Salley Vickers talks about her new collection of short stories. Former lecturer in literature and psychoanalyst, author of the bestselling ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’ and six other acclaimed novels, including her latest ‘The Cleaner of Chartres’, Salley Vickers’ thoughtful talks always leave the audience asking questions about literature and life.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 27)
Juliet Barker
24 2.30pm Great Hall £10
Juliet Barker The Peasants’ Revolt Why did a diverse group of ordinary men and women unite in armed rebellion against Church and State to demand a radical political agenda? The dramatic and shocking events of the Peasants’ Revolt provide the backdrop to Juliet Barker’s latest fascinating book. The acclaimed historian and distinguished biographer of the Brontës and Wordsworth will talk of this violent incident in medieval England with her usual authority and style.
Sunday 5 July – Great Hall
Will Hutton
Matthew Dennison
25 4.15pm Great Hall £10
Will Hutton Creating a Productive Economy
26 6pm Great Hall £10
Matthew Dennison The Extraordinary Life of Vita Sackville-West
Britain is beset by a crisis of purpose. We don’t have an innovative, productive economy but instead a capitalism that extracts value rather than creates it. There is massive inequality, shrinking opportunity and a society organised to benefit the top 1%. Compelling and sharp insights from the bestselling author of ‘The State We’re In’.
Aristocrat, literary celebrity, Sissinghurst’s ‘Rose Queen’, devoted wife, lesbian, recluse, iconoclast: Vita Sackville-West was many things, but she was never straightforward. Matthew Dennison reveals a renegade, brave and charismatic woman who was often misunderstood.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 27)
Simon Barron and Ros Brady
27 8pm Great Hall £10
Ros Brady and Simon Barron Soil Songs . . . and More Top lyricists and superb musical duo Barron Brady return to the Great Hall. Acclaimed for their fresh acoustic style, articulate, sensitive songs and stylish performance tonight they launch a book of lyrics illustrated by Simon. His illustrations will form a backdrop to tonight’s entertainment.
Monday 6 July – Great Hall
Judith Wolfe
28 10am Great Hall £10
29 11.45am Great Hall £10
Brian Cathcart
Judith Wolfe C.S. Lewis and the Inklings Dr Judith Wolfe is a lecturer in Theology and the Arts at St Andrews University. Her latest book on C.S. Lewis is entitled ‘C.S. Lewis and His Circle: Essays & Memoirs from the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society’. She and her fellow editors spent five years sorting the material to make a selection for this revealing book. She adds her analysis of this enigmatic figure today.
Brian Cathcart Waterloo It took three days for the momentous news of Wellington’s victory to travel from the bloodsoaked battlefield of Waterloo to the decorous dining rooms of Regency London. Brian Cathcart, Professor of Journalism at Kingston University, gives a gripping, entertaining account of this race.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 33)
Jane Hawking
30 1.30pm Great Hall £10 (or £15 to include event 38 at 4.30pm today)
Marc Morris
Jane Hawking Marriage to Stephen Hawking Jane Hawking relates the inside story of her marriage to Stephen Hawking, the eminent physicist with motorneurone disease. She confronts the painful dilemmas of a relationship blighted by the pervasive effects of fame and wealth. sponsored by
31 3.15pm Great Hall £10
Marc Morris The Road to Magna Carta Dr Marc Morris, presenter of the series ‘Castle’ for Channel 4, tells the dramatic story of King John – the greedy, cowardly and cruel villain, familiar from the tales of Robin Hood – whose leading subjects famously forced him to issue Magna Carta, a document binding him and his successors to lead better lives.
Monday 6 July – Great Hall
Waterstones proudly supports
The Telegraph Ways With Words Festival We look forward to seeing you there. Horatio Clare
32 5pm Great Hall £10
33 8pm Great Hall £12
John Hegley
Horatio Clare On the Ocean The acclaimed nature writer Horatio Clare tells of ‘the men who maintain the world’, the ships they sail and the seas they cross. Part-travelogue, part-oral history, his view is sharpeyed and huge-hearted. He gives a moving tribute to those who live and LM2504L2249306.indd work on the great waters, far from land.
John Hegley New and Selected Potatoes
The UK's leading 1 09/04/2015 Book Recommendation website
The UK’s favourite performance poet, comedian and musician returns to Dartington, mandolin in hand, with a collection of pieces new and older, sung, spoken and awoken with dance. He meditates upon family, celery and happier Daleks. Light and lyrical. Deep and daft. Come and sing. ‘Scandalously talented’ Sunday Times ‘Awesomely mundane’ Independent lovereading.co.uk/facebook-twitter-connections
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 33)
16:08
Monday 6 July – Barn – Miscellaneous: Day of Everything
Mat Prowse and Mitch Tonks
34 10am Barn £10
35 11.45am Barn £10
Chris Windle Male Behaviour Why do male friends express affection by casual acts of violence? Why do men pee high up a wall? Journalist Chris Windle attempts to answer these questions and provide reassurance for any man seeking to understand his own actions, or any woman puzzled by male behaviour.
Simon Williams, Susan Taylor, Kirsty Peake and Jade Moon In the Tracks of the Wild Wolf The UK’s wolf ambassador, Kirsty Peake, shares stories about her work with the Yellowstone National Park wolf packs. She is joined by Jade Moon from Bone Song, performing an extract from her version of Red Riding Hood and Susan Taylor and Simon Williams with their poems on wolf lore.
Day Ticket: £37
36 1.30pm Barn £10
Mitch Tonks and Mat Prowse A Small Restaurant by the Sea
37 3pm Barn £10
James Ward A Romp Through Your Pencil Case
38 4.30pm Barn £7 (or £15 to include event 30 at 1.30pm today)
Film – The Theory of Everything (12A)
The Seahorse restaurant in Dartmouth champions some of the best local fish and shellfish. The menu tours Europe’s great fish dishes. Cooking over a charcoal fire is a speciality. Mitch Tonks and co-owner Mat Prowse share their passion to enthuse, cook and inspire others to enjoy seafood.
What does ‘shatter-proof resistant’ mean? What are the uses of Blu-Tack? James Ward celebrates the role of the humble biro and answers many stationery related questions. Comedy for those who like quirky facts and curious stories.
This is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Stars Oscar-winning best actor, Eddie Redmayne, and Felicity Jones.
Tuesday 7 July – Barn – Legacy 39 10am Barn £10
Sonia Purnell Clementine Churchill – War and Peace
40 11.45am Barn £10
Daisy Hay The Angel in the PM’s House
41 1.30pm Barn £10
Rob Magnuson Smith The Spirit of Eric Gill
Clementine Churchill was Winston’s emotional rock and trusted confidante whose influence over her husband and the Government would now appear scandalous. Sonia Purnell, investigative journalist and author of Boris Johnson’s biography, sheds new light on this emotionally interdependent partnership.
The devotion between the wild Mary Anne Disraeli and Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is evident in their passionate letters to one another. Daisy Hay discusses the social and political rise of the Disraelis and the stubborn refusal of Mrs Disraeli to conform.
Eric Gill’s unconventional behaviour and enduring influence permeates Rob Magnuson Smith’s novel set in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where nothing is quite as it appears. Magnuson Smith, explains how he came to write this subtle comedy.
Day Ticket: £40
Sonia Purnell
Rob Magnuson Smith
42 3.15pm Barn £10
Hugh Aldersey-Williams Thomas Browne in the 21st Century
43 5pm Barn £10
Andrew Wilson Dark Genius
Sir Thomas Browne, a 17th century physician was fascinated by everything from nature to religion, to new medical practices and to the ‘vulgar errors’ of his patients. His wit, curiosity and remarkable prose inspired writers such as Sebald, Woolf and Borges. Hugh AlderseyWilliams reveals what we’ve kept and what we’ve lost of this extraordinary thinker.
Alexander McQueen first shocked the world with his visionary fashion design and then, aged 40, by committing suicide. Andrew Wilson examines the life of of the bad-boy designer who rose from the tough East End of London to the hedonistic world of fashion design.
Tuesday 7 July – Great Hall
Wiltshire Landscape - Eric Ravilious
44 10am Great Hall £10
James Russell A Remarkable Talent: Eric Ravilious James Russell is the author of a new book on the watercolours of Eric Ravilious, the distinguished British artist. This is published alongside an exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery which James Russell has curated.
James Russell
Deborah Moggach
45 11.45am Great Hall £10
Deborah Moggach Inspiration for Fiction: The Weight of Betrayal
46 1.30pm Great Hall £10
William Waldegrave Entering Politics
What is the inspiration for Deborah Moggach’s latest novel ‘Something to Hide’ a warm, witty and wise novel about the unexpected twists that later life can bring? Has her success with ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ and ‘Tulip Fever’ influenced her subsequent writing?
‘Why did you go into politics in the first place?’ This is a question that the former Conservative Cabinet Minister has found himself asked, and indeed asked himself, over the years. Lord Waldegrave talks of his upbringing and gives some answers. sponsored by
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 49)
Tuesday 7 July – Great Hall
William Waldegrave
47 3.15pm Great Hall £10
48 5pm Great Hall £10
Julie Summers
Polly Toynbee and David Walker Radical Rule In their latest book Polly Toynbee and David Walker warned against dismissing Cameron as bland. He has been more radical than Margaret Thatcher, they suggest. She privatised industries; he planned to dismantle the whole of the welfare state. Come to argue or agree with these Guardian journalists.
Julie Summers Wartime Fashions Julie Summers is the bestselling author of ‘Jambusters’, about the Women’s Institute in the Second World War. Now she turns to the fashions of World War II and gives a talk full of humorous facts and fascinating photos.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 49)
Polly Toynbee and David Walker
49 7.30pm Great Hall £10
Judy Finnigan with Richard Madeley – In Conversation Inspiration for Fiction: Mother Love and Loss Away from the television screens Judy Finnigan has found the time to write her second novel ‘I Do Not Sleep’ the story of Molly Gabriel who lost her 20-year-old son, Joey, in a terrible sailing accident. She discusses with her husband, Richard, how her fiction happens.
Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley
Wednesday 8 July – Great Hall
Jonathan Fenby
50 10am Great Hall £10
Julie Summers Keep the Home Fires Burning
51 11.45am Great Hall £10
Jonathan Fenby Understanding France
The Women’s Institute pulled rural Britain through the Second World War with pots of jam, a spirit of ‘make do and mend’ and loads of vigour. Julie Summers, in ‘Jambusters’, reveals their nitty-gritty approach to the conflict, a story that inspired the major ITV drama series ‘Home Fires’.
Jonathan Fenby, former editor of the Observer and the South China Morning Post, tells of France’s history including its struggle to become the leader of the European union. France has undergone huge social changes and he asks what this nation, which considers itself exceptional, really stands for. sponsored by
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 55)
Dom Joly
52 1.30pm Great Hall £10
Dom Joly Clowning About Dom Joly shot to fame in 2000 with his anarchic Channel 4 hidden-camera comedy programme ‘Trigger Happy TV’. The day it aired everything changed and suddenly Joly was famous; reality was weirder than any fiction he could conjure up. With frankness and self awareness he tells of his adventures in show business.
Wednesday 8 July – Great Hall
Anne O’Brien
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
53 3.15pm Great Hall £10
Anne O’Brien Dartington Hall in Medieval Times
54 5pm Great Hall £10
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown England: Historical and Contemporary Position
Anne O’Brien is a bestselling, historical novelist whose passion is giving voice to the lost women of history. Today she tells the story of Elizabeth of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt and cousin to Richard II, who married John Holand, for whom Dartington Hall was originally built.
One of Britain’s foremost cultural commentators on politics, multiracial societies, faith and human rights, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown tells of her love for England; a country attracted to diversity and difference. She reflects on what it means to be English today.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 55)
Phil Hammond
55 8pm Great Hall £10
Phil Hammond The NHS and You Dr Phil Hammond, an NHS doctor, journalist, broadcaster and comedian, offers advice on both surviving and shaping the UK’s national health system. He presented five series of ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’ on BBC2, encouraging patients to be more involved, assertive and questioning. He appears regularly on national radio and television speaking up for patient power and a more honest and transparent NHS.
Wednesday 8 July – Barn – Rural Writing: WIld Ways
Martin Hughes-Games
56 10am Barn £10
57 11.45am Barn £10
Charlie Elder
Martin Hughes-Games Life in the Wild Martin Hughes-Games has filmed natural history programmes over three decades. The BBC Springwatch presenter shares his perilous adventures on location, involving huge elephant seals, man-eating tigers, bloodthirsty bats and tiny, but very painful, centipedes.
Philip Marsden The Shape of the Land When writer Philip Marsden moved to a remote farmhouse in Cornwall, the intensity of his response to the landscape prompted a journey westward through the Neolithic ritual landscape of the Moors and mysterious china clay country, to the granite tors and tombs of Lands End. He asks why people have strong reactions to certain places.
Day Ticket: £40
58 1.30pm Barn £10
Charlie Elder Diversity on our Doorstep
59 3.15pm Barn £10
Hugh Thomson Old Ways
60 5pm Barn £10
Matthew Kelly Moorscape
Seeking out the beautiful and the bizarre, Charlie Elder searches for Britain’s rarest animals. He shares tales of the hunt for unusual wildlife in Britain’s hedgerows, fields and waterways. No stone will be left unturned – literally!
Take a ramble along drover-paths, tracks and trails through 400 miles of countryside with travel writer and TV documentary maker, Hugh Thomson, who has travelled from the centre of England to its outermost edge taking excursions into neglected areas of English history.
Much debate surrounds modern Dartmoor as South West Water seeks to sell parcels of ‘redundant’ land. Devon-born Matthew Kelly discusses the past, present and future of the moor. Did druids officiate there? Can bogs be drained and crops grown? Is it the place for a prison? Today’s events are supported by The Ronald Duncan Literary Foundation which exists to encourage and support creative excellence in the arts, especially poetry, drama and literature and to sustain interest and research in the work associated with its namesake, the poet and playwright, Ronald Duncan.
TICKET SALES
Name Address
• ONLINE www.wayswithwords.co.uk (from 20 May)
• BY PHONE Tel: 01803 867373 Telephone lines are open from 10am - 5pm, Monday - Friday. Please have your event numbers and your payment card ready before phoning. We accept Visa and Mastercard.
• BY POST Please complete this form and send with payment and stamped s.a.e. to: Ways With Words Festival Box Office, Droridge Farm, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6JG Make cheques payable to ‘Ways With Words’. Please date and sign the cheque but leave the rest blank. On the crossed section (where it says A/C Payee) write: “not to exceed: (the amount of your order in words)”. This is in case some of your order is not available, in which case we shall complete your cheque for the lesser amount.
• IN PERSON During the festival the box office, on-site at Dartington Hall, will open 30mins. before the first event of the day and will close after the start of the last event of the day. Please note: Before the festival starts the box office operates off-site and is open for telephone, postal and online sales only.
Postcode Tel. E-mail BOOKING FOR FRIENDS STARTS WEDNESDAY 13 MAY - max. 2 tickets per event. - for phone and postal bookings only. GENERAL BOOKING STARTS WEDNESDAY 20 MAY CONCESSIONS: People aged 24 or under and people on any benefit related to the forthcoming Universal Credit can buy tickets normally priced at £10 or less for just £5 if purchased in person during the festival. We operate a ‘carers go free’ policy for people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance. Proof of entitlement for the above will be required. DATA PROTECTION: Ways With Words will not pass on your details to any other organisation. TERMS & CONDITIONS: The right is reserved to substitute speakers and vary the advertised programme if necessary. All information is correct at the time of going to press. Please refer to our website (wayswithwords.co.uk) for full details of our policy on cancellations, ticket refunds and exchanges, and on lost tickets.
event
£
no.
total
event
eg
A.N. Author
10
3
30
MONDAY 6 JULY
1
Oswald & Keegan (Ted Hughes)
FRIDAY 3 JULY
£
28
Judith Wolfe
10
10
29
Brian Cathcart
10
30
Jane Hawking
10
event 30 & 38 - Talk & Film
15
2
Paul Heiney
10
3
Terry Waite
10
4
Simon Armitage
10
31
Marc Morris
10
GH Day Ticket (1 - 3)
24
32
Horatio Clare
10
SATURDAY 4 JULY
33
John Hegley
12
GH Day Ticket (28 - 32)
40
34
Chris Windle
10
35
Williams, Taylor, Peake & Moon
10
10
36
Tonks & Prowse
10 10
5
Margaret Heffernan
10
6
Karen Armstrong
10
7
Stanley Wells
10
8
Mary Portas
9
Peter Stanford
10
37
James Ward
10
Hennessy & Sergeant
10
38
Film - The Theory of Everything
7
11
A.C. Grayling
10
Barn Day Ticket (34 - 38)
37
GH Day Ticket (5 - 10)
48
12
Haynes & Scurr
10
39
TUESDAY 7 JULY Sonia Purnell
10
13
Adharanand Finn
10
40
Daisy Hay
10
14
Joe Herbert
10
41
Rob Magnuson Smith
10
15
Lucy Fry
10
42
Hugh Aldersey-Williams
10
16
Raymond Tallis
10
43
Andrew Wilson
10
Barn Day Ticket (12 - 16)
40
Barn Day Ticket (39 - 43)
40
SUNDAY 5 JULY
44
James Russell
10
17
Guy Browning
10
45
Deborah Moggach
10
18
Nigel Wellings
10
46
William Waldegrave
10
19
Suzanne O’Sullivan
10
47
Toynbee & Walker
10
20
Julia Ponsonby
10
48
Julie Summers (1)
10
21
Dylan Evans
10
49
Finnigan & Madelely
10
Barn Day Ticket (17 - 21)
40
GH Day Ticket (44 - 48)
40
WEDNESDAY 8 JULY
22
Marina Cantacuzino
10
23
Salley Vickers
10
50
Julie Summers (2)
10
24
Juliet Barker
10
51
Jonathan Fenby
10 10
25
Will Hutton
10
52
Dom Joly
26
Matthew Dennison
10
53
Anne O’Brien
10
27
Barron & Brady
10
54
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
10
GH Day Ticket (22 - 26)
40
55
Phil Hammond
10
GH Day Ticket (50 - 54)
40
56
Martin Hughes-Games
10
57
Philip Marsden
10
58
Charlie Elder
10
59
Hugh Thomson
10
60
Matthew Kelly
10
Barn Day Ticket (56 - 60)
40
no.
total
event
£
no.
total
event
THURSDAY 9 JULY
£
61
Dominick Tyler
10
96
Priya Parmar
10
62
Danny Dorling (1)
10
97
Jenny Balfour-Paul
10 10
63
Vanessa Tait
10
98
Katherine Norbury
64
Kurt Jackson
10
99
Georgia de Chamberet
10
65
Danny Dorling (2)
10
100
Holden & Clarke
10
66
Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi
10
Barn Day Ticket (96 - 100)
40
67
George Monbiot
10
101
Caroline Lucas
10
GH Day Ticket (61 - 66)
48
102
Martin Bell
10
Alistair Carr
10
103
Alice Roberts
10 10
68 69
William Atkins
10
104
Giles Radice
70
Christine Toomey
10
105
Ben Okri
10
71
James Attlee
10
GH Day Ticket (101 - 104)
32
72
no.
total
SUNDAY 12 JULY
Mark Huband (1)
10
Barn Day Ticket (68 - 72)
40
FRIDAY 10 JULY
. . . but also 106
Kim Devereux
6
107
Tom Cox
6 6
73
D.K. Wilson
10
108
Arts Live
74
Thomas Grant
10
109
Virginia Baily
6
75
Mackintosh & Haynes
10
110
Mark Diacano
6
76
John Carlin
10
111
Mark Huband (2)
6
77
Laura Thompson
10
112
Clive Fairweather
10
Barn Day Ticket (73 - 77)
40
113
Starting Out and Returning
6
78
Ann Widdecombe
10
114
New to Oversteps
6
79
Graham McCann
10
115
Birds, Beasts and Botany
6
80
Michael Smith
10
116
The Great Escape
6
81
Jan Robinson
10
Oversteps Day Ticket (113 - 116)
20
82
Lively, Arditti & Sheers
10
117
Andy Christian
6
83
Joyce Grenfell at Work
10
FE1
Christopher North
20
GH Day Ticket (78 - 82)
40
SATURDAY 11 JULY 84
Rachel Billington
10
85
Penelope Lively (RLF Talk)
10
86
Steve Hilton
10
87
Alan Johnson
10
88
Linda Blair
10
89
Michael Buerk
10
GH Day Ticket (84 - 88)
40
90
Ziauddin Sardar
10
91
Gerard Russell
10
92
Ben Stewart
10
93
Peter Pomerantsev
10
94
Jules Pretty
10
95
Caroline Craido-Perez
10
Barn Day Ticket (90 - 95)
48
TICKET TOTAL
£
Add Annual Friends’ Membership (£15)* TOTAL
£
* Friends receive, by post, a printed copy of each programme for Ways With Words in Dartington, Cumbria and Southwold.
Rover Tickets and Accommodation Packages ROVER TICKETS
ACCOMMODATION PACKAGES
Rover tickets give admission to the numbered events in the programme over a particular period. They can be bought separately or as part of an inclusive accommodation package.
Ways With Words offers 10-night accommodation packages (ranging from £888 - £1596 pp) and two 5-night packages (from £509 - £854 pp) in Higher Close or in the Courtyard at Dartington Hall. We also offer two 3-night weekend packages (from £330 pp) and a 4-night midweek package (from £464 pp) in Higher Close.
‘Festival Extras’, marked ‘FE’ must be purchased separately. A Rover ticket guarantees a seat for every event in the Great Hall. We hold a set number of seats for Rover ticket holders in the Barn and other, smaller venues. These are on a first come, first served basis. To purchase Rover tickets please write the number you require in the box and then make payment as indicated on the front of the booking form.
10-day Rover ticket (Price: £350) • admission to all numbered events 5-day Rover ticket (Price: £240) • 1st 5-day Rovers begin with event 1 on Friday 3 July and end at 12.45pm on Wednesday 8 July. • 2nd 5-day Rovers begin with the 1.30pm event on Wednesday 8 July until the end of Sunday 12 July. • Midweek 5-day Rovers run from Monday 6 July to Friday 10 July. Weekend Rover tickets (Price: £155) • 1st weekend Rovers begin with event 1 on Friday 3 July and end with the last event on Sunday 5 July. • 2nd weekend Rovers begin on Friday 10 July at 1.30pm until the end of Sunday 12 July.
Accommodation varies from comfortable, en suite bedrooms right in the heart of the festival site to single, student bedrooms (which share bathroom facilities) about 2 mins. walk from the main site. Along with your room and breakfast, packages include dinner, or lunch and dinner. All packages include a Rover ticket in the price. If you are interested in an accommodation package please phone 01803 867373 and we can advise on availability and give more details. BED & BREAKFAST Bed & Breakfast accommodation is available in Higher Close (single rooms sharing bathroom facilities) at £32 pp/pn. There is a 2-night and 2 tickets per night’s stay minimum purchase.
TO MAKE A RESERVATION for an accommodation / Rover package or for B&B please phone 01803 867373. Payment in full is required at the time of booking. Cancellations cannot be refunded. Customers are strongly advised to take out holiday insurance.
BAILLIE GIFFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL SPONSORSHIP
AT BAILLIE GIFFORD WE BELIEVE IN THE VALUE OF GREAT LITERATURE AND IN LONG-LASTING SUCCESS STORIES.
Imagination, inspiration and a commitment to the future. Baillie Gifford is delighted to continue to sponsor some of the most renowned literary festivals throughout the UK. We believe that, much like a classic piece of literature, a great investment philosophy will stand the test of time. Baillie Gifford is one of the UK’s largest independent investment trust managers. In our daily work in investments we do our very best to emulate the imagination, insight and intelligence that successful writers bring to the creative process. In our own way we’re publishers too. Our free, award-winning Trust magazine provides you with an engaging and insightful overview of the investment world, along with details of our literary festival activity throughout the UK.
To find out more or to take out a free subscription for Trust magazine, please call us on 0800 280 2820 or visit us at www.bgtrustonline.com Baillie Gifford – long-term investment partners Your call may be recorded for training or monitoring purposes. Baillie Gifford Savings Management Limited (BGSM) produces Trust magazine and is an affiliate of Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, which is the manager and secretary of seven investment trusts. Your personal data is held and used by BGSM in accordance with data protection legislation. We may use your information to send you details about Baillie Gifford products, funds or special offers and to contact you for business research purposes. We will only disclose your information to other companies within the Baillie Gifford group and to agents appointed by us for these purposes. You can withdraw your consent to receiving further marketing communications from us and to being contacted for business research purposes at any time. You also have the right to review and amend your data at any time.
Thursday 9 July – Great Hall
Dominick Tyler
61 10am Great Hall £10
62 11.45am Great Hall £10
Vanessa Tait
Dominick Tyler Landscape Language Zawn, clitter, shiver, cowbelly: these are just a few of the words that Dominick Tyler gathers into his visual glossary of the British countryside. Dominick Tyler is a documentary photographer who has worked for the Guardian, Le Monde and Medecins Sans Frontier. He worked on Kate Rew’s book, ‘Wild Swimming’. This is an event for those who love words and landscape.
Danny Dorling Economic Inequality and Geographical Optimism Inequality is increasing in the UK, driving more people toward the poverty line and affecting social mobility, life expectancy, educational and work prospects. Danny Dorling, a British social geographer and Oxford Professor of Geography, gives his entertaining and provocative views.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 67)
Kurt Jackson
63 1.30pm Great Hall £10
Vanessa Tait Inspiration for Fiction: Wonderland and Great Grandmother
64 3.15pm Great Hall £10
Kurt Jackson The Role of Sketching
Vanessa Tait, the great-granddaughter of Alice in Wonderland, grew up with all of Alice’s memorabilia. Through her novel ‘The Looking Glass House’ she sheds new light on one of the greatest children’s books ever written.
Kurt Jackson is one of Britain’s leading artists. The pages of his sketchbooks reveal how often hastily executed images can help him to work out what he wants to achieve on canvas; they are key to understanding his inspirations as an artist.
Thursday 9 July – Great Hall
Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi
65 5pm Great Hall £10
Danny Dorling The Housing Problem
66 6.30pm Great Hall £10
Katie Caldesi and Giancarlo Caldesi Venice – A True Taste
House prices in London and the South East continue to rise at very high rates along with rents. Meanwhile the existing housing stock is being used less efficiently, with more flats and rooms in houses than ever before being left empty. Come to discuss the problem and hear Danny Dorling’s views.
Owners of La Cucina Caldesi restaurant and cookery school, Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi transport us to Venice where they have unearthed recipes including hot polpette (salty pork rissoles) and sweet fritelle (fried custard-filled dumplings) that have been served on the streets for centuries.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 67)
Danny Dorling
67 8 – 10pm Great Hall £10
George Monbiot
George Monbiot The Politics of Hope Journalist and environmentalist, George Monbiot, suggests a new, positive environmentalism in which nature finds its own way of repairing our damaged ecosystems. He presents his ideas and his philosophy of hope and wonder. (inc. 30 min interval)
Thursday 9 July – Barn – Journeys 68 10am Barn £10
Alistair Carr Desert Travel
69 11.45am Barn £10
William Atkins The Moor – South to North
70 1.30pm Barn £10
Telling tales of rebellion, lost civilizations and explorers, Alistair Carr takes us on a dangerous journey across the remote and inhospitable Sahel Desert in North Africa. Colin Thubron said of his book, ‘It makes you want to go.’
As he strides among bell heather, peat porridge and asphodel, over moorlands from Cornwall, across Dartmoor via the Pennines to the Borders, William Atkins is guided by the books he reads and the people he meets: farmers, monks, ornithologists, gamekeepers, prisoners, soldiers and walkers.
Mark Huband
71 3.15pm Barn £10
James Attlee Writer on a Train
72 5pm Barn £10
Mark Huband Travels Around the World: Poetry from America
Christine Toomey Buddha’s Daughters Foreign correspondent, Christine Toomey, follows the Saffron Road, tracing the spread of Buddhism in women from the remote Himalayas to the New Mexican desert. She examines the spiritual paths of ‘kung fu’ nuns, a princess, a former BBC journalist and a concert violinist.
Day Ticket: £40
Alistair Carr
When James Attlee became First Great Western’s Writer on the Train he was given the freedom to explore the line as he wished. He urges us to reconnect with the very act of travelling by train, to wonder where we are and remind ourselves that the blurred vistas we pass at speed are human stories.
As an author and award-winning journalist (the Financial Times, Observer and Guardian) Mark Huband has spent the past 25 years travelling the world, from Africa and the Middle East to South-East Asia and the Americas. ‘American Road’ is his debut collection of poetry.
Friday 10 July – Barn – Crime and Punishment
John Carlin
Laura Thompson
73 10am Barn £10
D.K. Wilson The Murder of Hans Holbein
74 11.45am Barn £10
Thomas Grant Courtroom Drama
Historian and novelist D.K. Wilson discusses an unsolved Tudor crime: the murder of Hans Holbein, King Henry VIII’s portrait painter, in 1543. The mystery of what actually happened remains just that.
As a practising barrister, Jeremy Hutchinson QC defended the notorious and the infamous, with clients such as Christine Keeler, Great Train Robber Charlie Wilson and Howard Marks. His biographer, Thomas Grant, scrutinises some of Hutchinson’s most remarkable trials, providing an insight into Britain’s post-war social, political and cultural history.
Day Ticket: £40
75 1.30pm Barn £10
Clare Mackintosh and Elizabeth Haynes Crime Fighters to Crime Writers
76 3.15pm Barn £10
John Carlin The Fall of the Blade Runner
77 5pm Barn £10
Laura Thompson The Story of Lord Lucan
Clare Mackintosh spent twelve years in the police force, including time in the CID, and now writes crime fiction full-time. She is inconversation with Elizabeth Haynes, a police intelligence analyst and novelist. They discuss their transition from crime fighters to crime writers.
On Valentine’s Day 2013 South African Olympian and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, four times through a bathroom door. He was found guilty of culpable homicide. Journalist and author John Carlin explores Pistorius’ journey from sporting icon to convicted killer.
In November 1974 a nanny named Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in a Belgravia townhouse. The following morning, her employer, the Earl of Lucan, disappeared. He hasn’t been found since. Acclaimed biographer Laura Thompson forensically examines the possible truths behind one of post-war Britain’s most mysterious murders.
Friday 10 July – Great Hall
Ann Widdecombe
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 83)
Michael Smith
78 10am Great Hall £10
Ann Widdecombe Inspiration for Fiction: Dancing and Dartmoor
79 11.45am Great Hall £10
Graham McCann Yes Minister – the Background Story
Ann Widdecombe was at the centre of Conservative politics for over 20 years. The nation’s attention was focussed on her in BBC1’s 2010 ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Now she has written her first detective novel ‘The Dancing Detective’ which is set against the backdrop of a prime-time TV celebrity dance show and the wilds of Dartmoor.
‘Yes Minister’ continues to be watched and referenced regularly. Entertainment historian Graham McCann goes in search of the real political fiascos that inspired it. He reveals how this subversive satire became one of the most cherished sitcoms of Thatcher’s Britain.
Friday 10 July – Great Hall
Jan Robinson
Owen Sheers
80 1.30pm Great Hall £10
Michael Smith The Women of Bletchley Park
81 3.15pm Great Hall £10
Jan Robinson Beyond Widowhood
82 5pm Great Hall £10
A key member of the board of trustees at Bletchley Park, Michael Smith recalls the women who played key roles in deciphering codes of the Enigma machines and tells how they came to be there, doing ‘their bit’ for the war effort.
The form grief takes is unpredictable. There are no set rules. When Jan Robinson’s husband died suddenly and unexpectedly she asked other widows for tips on how to deal with widowhood. She shares what she learnt.
Penelope Lively, Michael Arditti and Owen Sheers Inspiration for Fiction These three eminent writers discuss what inspires them, how ideas come to them and how these are transposed into their books.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 83)
Michael Arditti
Penelope Lively
83 Joyce Grenfell at Work 8 - 9.30pm ‘Joyce Grenfell at Work’ is a oneGreat Hall woman play about Britain’s much£10 loved woman entertainer, written by her biographer Janie Hampton who has drawn on personal memories, letters and family anecdotes to illuminate Joyce’s working method, relationships and eccentricities. Performed by Cheryl Knight, well-known for her portrayal of Joyce Grenfell in the show, ‘Turn Back the Clock’. Directed by Paul Knight. Introduced by Janie Hampton who will also takes questions at the end of the show. Janie Hampton
Cheryl Knight as Joyce Grenfell
Saturday 11 July – Great Hall 85 11.45am Great Hall £10
Rachel Billington
84 10am Great Hall £10
Penelope Lively
Rachel Billington Inspiration for Fiction: The First World War and Family Rachel Billington’s latest novel, ‘Glory’, was inspired by a collection of family letters, her grandmother’s diary and her grandfather, Thomas, Earl of Longford, who was killed at Gallipoli. She tells about the young soldiers and the women in England caught up in the fighting.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 89)
The Royal Literary Fund Talk Penelope Lively How I Became a Writer Dame Penelope Lively, past winner of the Booker Prize and Carnegie Award is the author of adults’ and children’s books, fiction and nonfiction. She talks about what made her a writer, the greatest influences on her work and the range of her writing career. The Royal Literary Fund was set up in 1790 to help professional authors. Past beneficiaries have included Coleridge, Joseph Conrad, DH Lawrence and Dylan Thomas. Last year it helped 200 writers, though not all of them are quite so famous yet. www.rlf.org.uk
Saturday 11 July – Great Hall
Steve Hilton
Alan Johnson
86 1.30pm Great Hall £10
Steve Hilton Human Scale
87 3.15pm Great Hall £10
Alan Johnson The Sequel
Steve Hilton, former senior adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, offers the latest research across industry, politics, education, design and philanthropy, to show what can happen when we make the world more human which he suggests will make for more productivity, more fulfillment and greater happiness.
By the age of 18 Alan Johnson was married, a father, and working as a postman in Slough. ‘Please, Mr. Postman’, the sequel to his bestselling memoir ‘This Boy’ paints a vivid picture of Britain in the 1970s and reveals another fascinating chapter in the life of a much-loved public figures.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 89)
Linda Blair
Michael Buerk
88 5pm Great Hall £10
Linda Blair How to Streamline Your Life
89 8pm Great Hall £10
Michael Buerk Inside the Human Zoo: What’s Real about Reality Television?
After her great appeal at last year’s festival, talking about her book on Mindfulness, Linda Blair, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, returns to talk about simplifying life and cultivating calm. Her ideas are designed to promote balance, purpose and tranquility.
We can’t promise that this will be answered today, but at least Michael Buerk (of BBC Radio 4’s The Moral Maze and recently featured in ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’) is bringing his superb mind to the question of the unreality of reality television.
Saturday 11 July – Barn – Global Issues
Ziauddin Sardar
Caroline Criado-Perez
90 10am Barn £10
Ziauddin Sardar The Heart of Islam
91 11.30am Barn £10
Gerard Russell Disappearing Religions of the Middle East
Mecca is the direction towards which Muslims turn at prayer; the birthplace of Muhammad; and the sacred city that draws millions of pilgrims to it each year. Ziauddin Sardar unravels its significance.
Former diplomat, Gerard Russell, lived alongside the Mandaeans and Yazidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt all of whom have survived for centuries under Muslim rule. These religions represent the last vestiges of ancient civilizations, yet, with the Middle East in turmoil, they face an uncertain future.
Day Ticket: £48
92 1pm Barn £10
Ben Stewart Arctic 30
93 2.30pm Barn £10
Peter Pomerantsev Adventures in Modern Russia
94 4pm Barn £10
Jules Pretty Vanishing Lands
95 5.30pm Barn £10
Caroline Criado-Perez Speaks Like a Woman
Activist and journalist Ben Stewart’s book ‘Don’t Trust, Don’t Fear, Don’t Beg’ began with notes scribbled on napkins in a St Petersburg café. He was collecting stories from the recently released Arctic 30 – a group of Greenpeace activists who in 2013 scaled a Russian Arctic oil platform. He tells their story.
A trip into the glittering, surreal heart of modern Russia reveals a world erupting with money and power. Through a series of colourful encounters, Peter Pomerantsev discovers that nothing is true but everything is possible in a country where illusion and glamour hide a dangerous, amoral core.
Trekking with Innu people, sailing with ice-fishermen and boating in southern African swamps, Jules Pretty discovers life in cultures close to extinction and considers the wonders we are losing.
What does it mean to be female in cultures where power, privilege or basic freedoms are mostly equated with being male? The woman who took on the Bank of England, Twitter and the criminal justice system, speaks of her encounters with pioneering women from Antarctica to Afghanistan.
Sunday 12 July – Barn – Life Writing 96 10.45am Barn £10
Priya Parmar Vanessa, Virginia and the Bloomsbury Group
97 12.30pm Barn £10
Jenny Balfour-Paul Missing Pieces
98 2pm Barn £10
Priya Parmar explores the life of post-impressionist painter Vanessa Bell and charts her tumultuous relationship as the overshadowed sister of the writer Virginia Woolf. The sisters’ journey is one of intrigue, love and betrayal.
The word ‘indigo’ drew Jenny Balfour-Paul to the illustrated journals of forgotten Victorian traveller, Thomas Machell. She relates her adventures tracking Machell (whose life has striking parallels with her own) to India’s indigo and coffee plantations, Polynesian Islands, the China Seas and deserts of Arabia.
Priya Parmar
99 3.30pm Barn £10
Georgia de Chamberet Lesley Blanch – A Bohemian Abroad
100 5pm Barn £10
Wendy Holden and Eva Clarke Miracle Babies of the Holocaust
Katherine Norbury Sea to Source – A Journey Upstream to Self-Discovery After a heart-breaking miscarriage and cancer treatment, Katherine Norbury undertook a journey to follow a river upstream to its source. Family, adoption, grief and the lifeaffirming nature of journeying are all explored as she also maps her own life to her source.
Day Ticket: £40
Wendy Holden and Eva Clarke
Lesley Blanch lived to 103. Having loved and lost her husband to another woman, she travelled across Siberia, Iran and the Sahara to ‘escape the boredom of convention’ of the 20th century. Her goddaughter Georgia de Chamberet talks about Blanch’s exploits and bohemian life.
Journalist and biographer Wendy Holden tells the remarkable story of three ‘miracle babies’ secretly born in the German slave labour camp, Mauthausen during World War II. United by their experiences, they now consider each other ‘siblings of the heart.’ Wendy Holden will be joined by Eva Clarke, one of the ‘miracle babies’.
Sunday 12 July – Great Hall
Caroline Lucas
Alice Roberts
101 11am Great Hall £10
Caroline Lucas Parliament and MPs
102 12.45pm Great Hall £10
Martin Bell National Service
Part diary, part reflection, part passionate call-to-arms, this is a unique talk by an exceptional politician and activist. Caroline Lucas was the MP for Brighton and leader of the Green Party from 2008 - 2012. She has several times been voted ‘Ethical Politician of the Year’ and in 2014 was voted ‘MP of the Year’.
Following the discovery of a pile of old letters in his attic, Martin Bell has written a book about National Service and his time in the Suffolk Regiment in Cyprus from 1957 to 1959. Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and independent politician.
Day Ticket: £32 (not including event 105)
103 2.30pm Great Hall £10
Martin Bell
Alice Roberts The Creation of Humans Alice Roberts, television presenter, author and Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham has presented ‘Coast’, ‘Horizon’ and several series about human evolution on BBC2. She describes a remarkable journey, revealing the path from a single cell to a complex embryo to a living, breathing, thinking person.
Sunday 12 July – Great Hall
Giles Radice
Ben Okri
104 4.15pm Great Hall £10
Giles Radice Political Pairings
105 7.30pm Great Hall £10
Ben Okri A Magical Life
There are many interesting pairs of political leaders from Churchill and Attlee to Cameron and Clegg. Sometimes these result in intense rivalry, while others illustrate the profound political impact of a successful working relationship. Lord Radice was Labour MP for Durham North and Chairman of the Treasury Committee until he was appointed a Life Peer.
When Ben Okri talks to audiences they find the experience profound and transforming. His words lead to unexpected, poetic and metaphysical revelations. He is the author of The Booker prize-winning novel ‘The Famished Road’ and now has written ‘The Age of Magic’ his first novel in seven years. Expect an enchanting and unusual event.
Day Ticket: £32 (not including event 105)
... but also
If we didn’t have a sense of irony we’d call these events ‘niche’. We do and they’re not; they just take place in other venues at unpredictable times. So don’t dismiss them. Take a look.
Sunday 5 July 106
10am
Kim Devereux Writing Rembrandt
Kim Devereux
Dukes Room
£6
The life and art of Rembrandt has fascinated Kim Devereux from childhood. Her meticulously researched novel enters the turbulent world of the master painter and the three women who shaped his life, seen through the eyes of his last great love, his housemaid Hendrickje Stoffels. 107
11.30am Dukes Room
Tom Cox Meet the 21st Century Yokel
£6
Recording his new life in Devon in his Guardian blog, 21st Century Yokel, Tom Cox, writes about cats, his dad and walking in the countryside. He says he likes walking because it’s healthy, cheap, there’s no internet and you can say hello to horses using a fake, posh voice. 108
2.30pm
Arts Live Journeys
Dukes Room
109
Tom Cox
4pm
Dukes Room
Virginia Baily Turning Ideas into Stories
£6
How do you turn ideas into stories and drafts into published books? Founder and co-editor of the short story journal Riptide and prize-winning author, Dr Virginia Baily, talks about inspiration and her creative process as her second novel ‘Early One Morning’ is released. 6.30pm
Dukes Room
Trade Winds
Free (no ticket required)
Trade Winds is a long established seeding ground for poets, singer-songwriters and storytellers, new and experienced. Turn up at the start with a short performance piece to get a spot in the show. All welcome.
Tuesday 7 July
£6
Through photographs, poetry and music, Carol Ballenger, John Powls, Susan Taylor and Simon Williams celebrate journeys, including a voyage on the ‘Grey Ghost’ of the North Atlantic, the quest of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, walking meditation and the iconic US Route 66.
110
2pm
Dukes Room
Mark Diacano Beyond the Vegetable Patch
£6
More of us are growing some of what we eat. Mark Diacano reflects what’s going on in cities, allotments and on window sills. He talks about growing unusual and forgotten foods along with the familiar.
Thursday 9 July FE1
10am - 1pm
Friday 10 July Dukes Room
Christopher North Back to the Garden – A Creative Writing Workshop
£20
“We’ve got to get ourselves back to the Garden” advised Joni Mitchell. This morning’s creative writing workshop will do exactly that. In Dartington Gardens this workshop will involve close observation, imagination, memory and selfdiscovery in writing. Part outdoors, part indoors, good footwear, a notebook and pen are all that is needed.
111
10am
Dukes Room
£6
Mark Huband Economics and The Election – a Post-Mortem Is it only politicians who care about economic arguments? Mark Huband, founder of Livingstone and Company – a leading business intelligence firm, offers colour, a few laughs and some serious economics. 112
11.30am - 1pm
Dukes Room
Clive Fairweather A Masterclass on W.B. Yeats – A Terrible Beauty
£10
W.B. Yeats is one of the poets whose lines and images come soonest to mind when reflecting upon the contradictions of life. To mark the 150th anniversary of the poet’s birth this masterclass investigates the resonances. Copies of the poems to be explored will be provided on the day.
Dartington International Summer School 2015 CONCERTS AND EVENTS Highlights
Week 2: Monday 10 August 2015, 5.15pm - Great Hall
Week 1: Tuesday 4 August 2015, 10.00pm - Great Hall
TICKETS: £8
Alice Oswald (spoken poetry) and Griselda Sanderson (nykelharpa) Tithonus: Waiting for the Dawn TICKETS: £8
James Runcie (novelist) Poetry and Silence: An illustrated lecture
Week 2: Monday 10 August 2015, 7.45pm - Great Hall Mhairi Lawson (soprano) and Joanna MacGregor (piano) Haydn, Mozart, Scots and Schumann: Featuring the songs of Robert Burns TICKETS: £18.50 RESERVED /£14 UNRESERVED
Saturday 11 July - Oversteps Day A day of events by OVERSTEPS POETS arranged and introduced by Alwyn Marriage
Recent Publications 113
10am
Dukes Room
Starting Out and Returning
£6
The day starts with two poets who have published their first collections, and a couple who have now published two collections with Oversteps. Robert Cole, Ann Segrave, Mark Totterdell and Denise Bennett. 114
11.30am Dukes Room
New to Oversteps
£6
The poets in this group have published previous collections, but are new to Oversteps. Helen Overell, James Turner, Rose Flint, Michael Thomas
Here, There and Everywhere There will be plenty of variety in this afternoon’s fast-moving readings, with different poets contributing to the two themes. The poets who read this morning will now be joined by Jennie Osborne, Christopher North and Alwyn Marriage. 115
2.30pm
Dukes Room
Birds, Beasts and Botany
Part of the work of a poet is to inspire the reader to see the world with fresh eyes. This applies particularly to the wonder of nature. In the first of this afternoon’s readings these poets will look in detail at the world, in order to deepen appreciation of the flora and fauna that are sometimes taken for granted. 116
4pm
Dukes Room
The Great Escape
Day Ticket: £20
£6
£6
The day finishes with exciting new poetry which looks further afield. In these poems take to the road, travel on holiday, experience the less familiar. Those with itchy feet, climb aboard and hold tight with Oversteps poets.
Sunday 12 July 117
3.15pm
Andy Christian Boro
Dukes Room
£6
19th century workers in northern Japan treasured recycled scraps of cotton kimonos from southern cities to make clothes and futon covers. As products of poverty they were an embarrassment to establishment Japan. Andy Christian unravels the story of Boro and how pieces by ‘innocent’ makers became so collectable.
Bursaries to Ways With Words Each year at the Dartington Festival we give away about 30 Bursary Passes to young people between the ages of 17 – 25 so that they can attend all (10 days) or some (5 days) of the festival FREE OF CHARGE. This is a fantastic opportunity to become immersed in the festival, be introduced to new ideas, new authors and make new friends. For details and application procedure email admin@wayswithwords.co.uk
There’s Lots to do at Dartington Explore the beautiful Dartington Gardens with major sculptures by Henry Moore, Willi Soukop and Peter Randall-Page. Walk by the River Dart which flows through the Dartington Hall estate. Watch Films – the Barn Cinema shows films each night of the festival. Browse new Books – there is a large, comfortable Waterstones bookshop upstairs in the Upper Gatehouse, opposite the Great Hall. Explore the Ship Studio – stalls selling second hand and antiquarian books and quality locally made crafts open each day from 10am - 5.30pm.
At The Shops at Dartington there is a lot more to offer than our unique mix of shops and cafes! • The Haven Spa can offer a shot of pampering • For outdoor adventures on the beautiful Dartington Estate, or a high zip wire trip over the trees, visit Dynamic Adventures • Pottery lessons from Crazy about Clay • Berserks, our fused glass workshop • Soap making at Arran Aromatics • Artisan glass blowing on Saturdays
Open 7 days per week with plenty of parking. Shinners Bridge, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6TQ. T 01803 847 500 www.dartington.org/shops
General Information – Travelling to Dartington
• • •
Dartington is roughly 25 miles southwest of Exeter and about a four hour drive from London. By car, take the M5, A38 and A384, then follow yellow AA signs to the festival. From the west, take the A38 from Plymouth, the A385 and then follow the AA signs. By train – Paddington is the mainline station from London. Totnes is the station nearest to Dartington Hall. Dartington Hall is a five minute taxi ride from the station.
Parking
Parking charges now apply on the Dartington Estate. Please leave plenty of time to get to your event as you may need to park at a distance from the venues and there may be queues at the ticket machines. (NB. Residents will receive a permit on booking which entitles the holder to free parking in the designated car parks during your stay.)
With thanks to . . . The Publishers
Allen Lane, Alma Books, Arcadia Books, Atlantic Books, Aurum Press, Bloomsbury, Chatto & Windus, Cornell University Press, Ebury, Faber & Faber, Granta, Green Books, Guardian Books, Hardie Grant, Harper Collins, Head of Zeus, Hodder & Stoughton, IB Tauris, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, John Murray, Leaping Hare Press, Little Brown, Live Canon, Lund Humphries, Medina Publishing, Michael Joseph, Mira Books, Orion Publishing Group, Oxford University Press, Pan Macmillan, Penguin Books, Profile Books, Quarto Publishing Group, Quercus Books, Random House, Saltyard Books, Simon & Schuster, Somerset House, Transworld, Verso, Vintage, WH Allen, Yale University Press
Ways With Words’ Patrons
Jonathan Dimbleby, Nicholas Evans, Sir Michael Holroyd, Dame Penelope Lively, James Long, Blake Morrison, The Rt. Hon. The Lord Owen, The Lord O’Hagan, Peter Stanford, Salley Vickers
Good, Close and Best Friends Colin Goldsmith, Marlene Eyre, Moira Sykes, Brenda & John Wynn
Accessible parking is provided in the main car park (8 spaces) and in the Barn car park. A drop off point for the Barn is situated in front of the archway approximately 30 metres from the Barn. A drop off point for the Great Hall is situated at the White Hart approx. 50 metres from the Hall.
Ways With Words Staff
Mobility Access
Thank you to the generous and energetic team of volunteers who support the festival in a variety of ways before, during and after the festival.
There is wheelchair access to the Great Hall, Barn and Upper Gatehouse, but please let us know when you buy your tickets as wheelchair spaces are limited and must be reserved in advance. There is no wheelchair access to the Dukes Room. There is access to the White Hart bar and dining rooms and to some bedrooms.
Hearing Impairment
There is a loop system in place in the Great Hall (please ask the stewards where to sit to take advantage of this) and an Infra Red assisted hearing system in the Barn.
Festival Curators: Leah Varnell and Jane Fitzgerald Box Office Manager: Philip John Venue Managers: Ben Long, Jess Morris, Caroline Wilson Our team of Festival Interns. Technical Advice: Chris Edwards
Tej Walia and his team at Dartington Accommodation and Catering Services Ltd. Jim Whittle and staff at the Barn Cinema.
Photo credits
Shaun Armstrong, Jane Bown, César Nunez Castro, Harley Evans, Rich Hardcastle, Mark Green, Tim HoyGriffiths, Seth Jackson, Rehan Jamil, Patrick Jennings, Bid Jones, Gareth Iwan Jones, Josh Kearns, Michael Lionstar, Caitlin Mogridge, Christoph Mueller, Rugby School, Urszula Soltys, Delia Spatareanu, Abbie TraylerSmith, University of Birmingham, JJ Waller, Bill Waters, Wolfgana Webster, David Yeo.
Diary Dates Over the next 12 months Ways With Words will be running events in the UK and in Italy.
Umbria, Italy 26 September – 3 October and 3 – 10 October 2015
Keswick, Cumbria 4 – 13 March 2016
Fingals Hotel, Devon May 2016
Southwold, Suffolk 5 – 9 November 2015
. . . and returning to Dartington to celebrate 25 years 8 – 17 July 2016
wayswithwords.co.uk 01803 867373
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Simon Armitage Karen Armstrong Martin Bell Michael Buerk Judy Finnigan A.C. Grayling Phil Hammond Jane Hawking Paul Heiney John Hegley Peter Hennessy Steve Hilton Will Hutton Alan Johnson Dom Joly Caroline Lucas Richard Madeley George Monbiot Deborah Moggach Ben Okri Alice Oswald Mary Portas Giles Radice Alice Roberts John Sergeant Polly Toynbee Salley Vickers Terry Waite William Waldegrave Ann Widdecombe