10
Words by the Water Festival of Words and Ideas 4 - 13 March 2011 Theatre by the Lake Keswick
Broadcast Partner
Welcome to our 10th Words by the Water
Melvyn Bragg,
Words by the Water’s President
How many years have you been coming to Words by the Water? Did you discover the festival at the start and then mark the days in your diary each year, saying to your family and friends,’No; I’m not available then because Words by the Water is on.”? Or maybe you have always meant to come but the festival has come and gone before you realised it. If you have been coming for 10 years I hope you are feeling pleased that you have taken full advantage of all the festival has offered over the years. You might have been there for Booker Prize-winning writers: Hilary Mantel, Howard Jacobson, DBC Pierre, Penelope Lively. Or at momentous moments in history: Ann Widdecombe arrived late because she was voting in the Commons on the Iraq war; Rageh Omar came when he was just back from reporting the same war; Jon Snow didn’t worry about neutrality when he gave his views. Sadly some writers have died since their visits: Edna Healey, Miles Kington, Simon Gray, Linda Smith. In fact if you have missed the last 10 years of Words by the Water there is a long list of lost opportunities but we aren’t gloating; we are just trying to persuade you not to miss more. Act now. Scan the programme and choose what suits you. I’m sure something will. We hope you have 10 more years of memorable times at Words by the Water.
Kay Dunbar & Stephen Bristow Festival Directors
I’m walking in St James Park London as I send this Anniversary Address. A wonderful location full of ducks, literature and fashion. But not a patch on the Lake District. The only thing it beats us for is ducks but we whop them hollow when it comes to mountains. The Words by the Water Festival now comes around faster than Christmas – that can only be because of razor edged anticipation. Kay and Stephen kindly asked me to hold a President’s Day. Which of you could resist being President of a Literary Festival for a day? I hope you enjoy it as much as so many people have done over the last 10 years and I look forward to coming out of the theatre and seeing that Skiddaw is still safely there and just as Coleridge described it. While on the left Wordsworth’s jewel of a lake will be – turbulent? Mirror pond? Whatever. It will be as always an exhilaration to see it and to wander down to it and perhaps throw in a pebble.
Friday 4 March – Main House
Michael Frayn
Claire Tomalin
2.30pm Main House £8.50
Michael Frayn
4pm Main House £8.50
Claire Tomalin
Inhabitants of My Past Michael Frayn, playwright, novelist and non-fiction writer, sets out to rediscover the lost land of his past through the eyes of its inhabitants. Soon he realises how little he ever knew or understood about them and makes one or two surprising discoveries about himself along the way.
Living With Dickens Much of Claire Tomalin’s life has been dominated by the subjects of her biographies. Charles Dickens has been a regular presence too. In 1990 she wrote her moving life of Nelly Ternan, the young actress with whom Dickens had a relationship. Now she is writing the life of Charles Dickens himself.
Main House Day Ticket - £18 for 3 events (not including 8pm event)
Raymond Blanc
Tony Fitzjohn
5.30pm Main House £8.50
Raymond Blanc
8pm Main House £8.50
Tony Fitzjohn
Kitchen Secrets Raymond Blanc is one of Britain’s best-respected chefs. His hotelrestaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxford, has been awarded two Michelin stars. In his BBC2 series, ‘Kitchen Secrets’, Raymond Blanc shared his knowledge about food. His tie-in book does the same. He will tell how he gained and developed his passion and skills.
Born Wild Tony Fitzjohn has spent over forty years re-introducing lions, leopards and rhinos to the wild. For 18 years he worked with Joy and George Adamson. He is one of the world’s leading field experts on African wildlife. 2010 was the 50th anniversary of ‘Born Free’ and two documentaries are being screened in Spring 2011. He talks of his passion for lions and for Africa.
Saturday 5 March – Main House – President’s Day
Melvyn Bragg
Tony Palmer
This day has been programmed by the President of Words by the Water, Melvyn Bragg, and includes some of his favourite people from the world of the arts and ideas. 10.30am Main House £8.50
12 noon Main House £8.50
Tony Palmer Sex, Lies and Anarchy: Lives of Composers ‘. . . Ferocity, daring . . . intense subjective raptures’ are terms used to describe Tony Palmer’s work. His vast filmography of over 100 films ranges from early works with The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa, to famous portraits with and about Britten, Stravinski, Maria Callas, Wagner, Yehudi Menuhin.
Melvyn Bragg Back Then – Remembrance of Times Past in Wigton Melvyn Bragg has been the President of Words by the Water since its start. During that time he has written and spoken on many books: novels as well as nonfiction. It’s been a busy time for him as a writer and telelvision and radio presenter yet he has been a constant support as President of Words by the Water. Today he talks about his early life in his home town, Wigton.
A.C. Grayling
1.30pm Main House £8.50
A.C. Grayling How to Live and How to Think What lies at the heart of good lives? How do we form affectionate and meaningful relationships? What is the best way to live? A.C. Grayling is a prolific author who, through his books and journalism, explores these important questions. He is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London.
6pm Main House £8.50
Marcus du Sautoy
3pm Main House £8.50
4.30pm Main House £8.50
Event to be confirmed
Marcus du Sautoy It’s a Mathematical World Marcus du Sautoy is Prof. of Mathematics at Oxford University and currently the Simonyi Professor responsible for the public understanding of science. His exhuberant, colourful personality dispels any image of a white-coated, male scientist. He presented the fascinating television series, ‘Mind Games’. With his usual energy and humour he will introduce us to the many facets of our mathematical world.
Main House Day Ticket - £36 for 6 events (not including 8pm event)
Amazing Grace and Amazing Lesley Garrett – interviewed by Melvyn Bragg Lesley Garrett is one of Britain’s most popular sopranos. Whether singing opera or in concerts, on telelvision or on CDs, she inspires affection and admiration from many fans across the world. Where did this warm, talented singer gain her musical knowledge, flair and ability? She talks to Melvyn Bragg about her family and her influences.
Lesley Garrett
Please contact the box office for details. Day tickets and Festival Passes include this event.
Lesley Garrett
8pm Main House £12 (Approx. 90 mins. inc. interval)
Miles Jupp Fibber in the Heat After pulling a few strings and telling some lies, an unprepared and unqualified Jupp heads to India with the English press and pretends to be a cricket journalist. “It’s a little like watching an Evelyn Waugh character narrate his hopeless exploits before your very eyes.” The Daily Telegraph
Saturday 5 March – Studio – Art 2.15pm Studio £7.50
Chris Wadsworth
10.15am Studio £7.50
Michelle Payne
Marianne North was a remarkable Victorian artist who travelled the globe to satisfy her passion for recording the world’s flora with her paintbrush. Michelle Payne of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew examines the life and works of this extraordinary adventuress. 11.45am Studio £7.50
3.45pm Studio £7.50
When art critic Martin Gayford volunteered to sit for Lucian Freud, he embarked on a process that would last more than a year and a half. Gayford reveals what it was like to model for the world’s leading portrait painter, and offers a rare insight into the life and working style of this notoriously private artist.
Studio Day Ticket - £25 for 5 events
Julian Spalding The Best Art You’ve Never Seen In the countryside of John Ruskin, Julian Spalding, ex-Master of Ruskin’s Guild of St George and founder of the Campaign for Drawing, talks about his new book, ‘The Best Art You’ve Never Seen’. He discusses how art can be hidden and revealed by words.
Martin Gayford Sitting for Lucian Freud
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Gallery Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth continually has exhibitions that attract art lovers from around the world. The gallery owner, Chris Wadsworth, has curated her choice of pictures for an exhibition at the festival. Her short stories, ‘Hercules and the Farmer’s Wife’, are based on her gallery experiences and won the Lakeland Book of the Year award.
Julian Spalding
Marianne North: Her Botanical Paintings An Illustrated Talk
Chris Wadsworth
5.15pm Studio £7.50
James Taylor Fougasse’s Cartoons An Illustrated Talk Most famous for his ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ series of wartime propaganda posters, Fougasse’s distinctive style, favouring humour and sloganeering, is instantly recognisable. Past curator of the National Maritime Museum, James Taylor, examines Fougasse’s work, from Punch cartoons to public information posters, and explores its timeless appeal.
Sunday 6 March – Studio – Thinking 10.15am Studio £7.50
Simon Blackburn
11.45am Studio £7.50
Alex Voorhoeve
Peter Cave
Why Talk About Ethics?
3.45pm Studio £7.50
Peter Cave
5.15pm Studio £7.50
Andrew Robinson
2.15pm Studio £7.50
Think Clearly! Does it help to think philosophically or does this complicate our actions and our thinking? Prepare to give your brains a work-out as philosopher Simon Blackburn gets us thinking more clearly about what we say, what we do and why we do it.
We’re all familiar with the big moral questions. Can we trust our intuitive judgments of right and wrong? Are moral judgments objective? Why be moral? Drawing on exchanges with leading thinkers from his latest book, ‘Conversations on Ethics’, Alex Voorhoeve considers why a conversation is an especially productive way to tackle these questions.
Michael Baron and Marita Over Think About Poetry – A Reading Michael Baron – a fine poet, conservationist and local activist from Cockermouth – will read from his moving collection of poems, ‘More than a Man in a Boat’. He will be joined by the Eric Gregory Award winner, Marita Over.
Alex Voorhoeve
© Sarah Sloboda
Philosophical Puzzles Would we be happy if we were immortal? Should art ever be censored? Is there anything God couldn’t know? Join philosophy lecturer Peter Cave for a fun and incisive tour of life’s most dizzying philosophical conundrums.
Creativity Explored From Darwin to Einstein and Mozart to Virginia Woolf, biographer Andrew Robinson explores notions of creativity and genius through the lives of the artists and scientists credited with history’s most exceptional creative breakthroughs.
Studio Day Ticket - £25 for 5 events
Sunday 6 March – Main House
Simon Hoggart
Simon Hoggart My Stories and I’m Sticking to Them Simon Hoggart gives a host of anecdotes from his 40-plus years in journalism. He reveals what Alan Clark said about Melvyn Bragg; what really happened at the Lady Chatterley trial; what Cherie Blair said to him and how he riposted; the time John Sergeant drove a flight attendant to a fury, and the day Enoch Powell met Bill Haley. Full of wisdom, insight, entertainment and delight.
Scawdel Cave by Julian Cooper
10.30am Main House £8.50
Cate Haste
Maureen Lipman
12 noon Main House £8.50
Josceline Dimbleby
Cate Haste Sheila Fell: A Passion for Paint As a lifelong supporter of Sheila Fell, artist L.S. Lowry once said, ‘If you asked me seriously, what artist did I like best of artists painting today, I would say Sheila Fell.’ With her flowing lines and rhythmic forms, Sheila Fell’s paintings are some of the most intensive works of the twentieth century. Now Cate Haste has written a comprehensive, illustrated biography of the life, loves and work of this Cumbrian artist who died tragically young in 1979.
2pm Main House £8.50
Maureen Lipman A Long Shelf-Life Maureen Lipman has the knack of making the everyday supremely entertaining, the ordinary absurd and unexpected. She tells stories and jokes and reminisces about encounters in the street, at the hairdresser, in the dressing room, on her travels at home and abroad, indeed wherever she goes. One hesitates to call her a ‘national treasure’ but surely if anyone deserved the label it is Maureen Lipman.
3.30pm Main House £8.50
Josceline Dimbleby
5pm Main House £8.50
Julian Cooper
A Flavoursome Life Food, travels and memories: Josceline Dimbleby writes about all of these in her memoir, ‘Orchards in the Oasis’. She tells stories of her life spent travelling the world, sampling dishes and collecting recipes.
A Life in Art Julian Cooper was born and still lives in Cumbria but his paintings are international in scope and reputation. His distinctive use of mountain as subject-matter suggests wider themes. The exhibition in the Circle Gallery is a rare opportunity to see a uniquely gifted painter. Today he will illustrate and discuss his work of the last two decades.
Monty Halls . . . and Reuben
7.30pm Main House £8.50
Monty Halls Great Irish Escape An Illustrated Talk Monty Halls won the hearts of viewers and readers with his adventures living the crofter’s life on the west coast of Scotland in ‘Monty Halls’ Great Escape’. For this all-new adventure, Monty and his canine companion, Reuben, travel to Ireland’s rugged Atlantic coast, to live and work with the locals and discover the Irish way of life for a major BBC series. With his trademark charm, humour and boundless energy Monty Halls tells of his adventures.
Main House Day Ticket - £30 for 5 events (not including 7.30pm event)
Monday 7 March – Main House
Kathleen Jones
12 noon Main House £8.50
Deborah Devonshire
Kathleen Jones Katherine Mansfield: The Storyteller
Martin Wainwright
3.30pm Main House £8.50
Martin Wainwright
5.30pm Main House £8.50
David Ward
As a teenager in London Kathleen Jones found a copy of Katherine Mansfield’s journal in a secondhand bookshop. Her fascination with Mansfield culminated in a sparkling, intimate biography of this brilliant writer. Kathleen Jones has written poems, short stories and several striking biographies. ‘A Passionate Sisterhood’ is her biography of the women of the Lakeland poets. 2pm Main House £8.50
Deborah Devonshire The Youngest Mitford Sister At the age of ninety, Debo (as she is known to all her friends) looks back at her extraordinary sisters; her long married life spent at Chatsworth House and her love of the countryside. It is an action-packed, story-filled, people-packed life.
David Ward
True North As a Northerner and as The Guardian’s highly respected Northern Editor, Martin Wainwright, has observed a region that is flourishing socially and culturally and that is inhabited by indomitable, inventive Northerners. He examines and dispels the usual myths: slagheaps, funny accents, grit and gloom, and replaces them with his positive picture of the North today.
Royal Shakespeare Company: New Stage, Old Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Company has just completed a multi-million pound transformation of its principal theatre in Stratford. David Ward, commissioned to write the official account of the project, tells of one scheme that went wrong and another that went right; of the rush to build a temporary auditorium in a tin shed; of a major
row; and of the making of 160,000 beautiful hand-made bricks. David Ward is literary consultant at Theatre by the Lake. 7.30pm Main House £8.50
Brian Moore On and Off the Pitch In January, Brian Moore published his heart-piercingly candid autobiography, ‘Beware of the Dog’. This star of the rugby pitch talks about the effect abuse and adoption had on his life. He reflects on his successful career on the rugby field and as a sports journalist for the Daily Telegraph.
Main House Day Ticket - £24 for 4 events (not including the 7.30pm event)
www.bookscumbria.com
Brian Moore
We are pleased once again to be supporting ‘Words by the Water’, and look forward to seeing you at the Festival Bookshop at Theatre by the Lake. We also welcome you to our shops Bookends 56 Castle Street Carlisle Tel 01228 529067 Bookends 66 Main Street Keswick Tel 017687 75277 and Bookcase 17 Castle Street Carlisle Tel 01228 544560, for rare and secondhand books and new classical CDs
Monday 7 March – Studio 2.15pm – 3.45pm Studio £7.50
Nicholas Royle, Christopher Burns and Elizabeth Stott with Tom Fletcher
What makes a good short story? How is it different from the novel? How long is its current renaissance in the UK likely to last? Three practitioners of the form discuss these and other questions and introduce a reading of a new story by Tom Fletcher from short story specialist, Nightjar Press.
What Makes a Good Short Story?
This event is run in assocation with SLATE
SKY ARTS DEN Visit the Sky Arts Den and kick start your creativity or simply relax and pass some time before your next event of the day.
Buying a ticket for this event entitles you to £2.50 off the cost of a full price ticket for Kathleen Jones’ event on Katherine Mansfield: The Storyteller (Main House 12 noon).
EXHIBITIONS Fri 4 March - Tue 26 April
Excavations New paintings by Julian Cooper and Linda Ryle Circle Gallery
Enjoy performances by local artists or learn something new with workshops throughout the day – every day – all completely free. Help will be on hand to enable you to apply for the ‘Sky Arts Get Creative Fund’ where you can win £1,000 to put towards a creative course of your choice. For details of the workshops and performances visit the Words by the Water website, www.wordsbythewater.org.uk
Thu 3 - Mon 28 March
Curator’s Choice A personal selection from Castlegate House Friends Gallery
Tuesday 8 March – Studio – Travel
Henry Worsley
10.15am Studio £7.50
11.45am Studio £7.50
2.15pm Studio £7.50
Henry Worsley
3.45pm Studio £7.50
Angela Locke
John Man
Tristan Gooley The Natural Navigator Tristan Gooley set up his natural navigation school after feeling people were losing the art of finding their way using nature’s own signposts, from the feel of a rock to the look of the moon, stars, sea, land. Put away your map and welcome to this rare art.
On 9th January 1909, having walked over 800 miles, Ernest Shackleton halted his pioneering Antarctic expedition just 97 miles from the South Pole - a point never before reached by man. Facing certain death if he continued, he took the agonising decision to return down the same route to ensure the safety of his three fellow travellers. Henry Worsley recounts the story.
The Himalayas: A Spiritual Journey Everyone who travels to Nepal speaks of it as a life changing experience. With the sublime beauty of the Himalayas as a background, Angela Locke immersed herself in the life of the country and experienced a spiritual awakening which led to her forming the charity The Juniper Trust.
Michael Jacobs The Andes Stretching for over 5,500 miles, and containing the highest active volcanoes in the world, the largest salt flat, the highest lake, and peaks rivalled in size only by the Himalayas, the Andes impress by statistics alone. But beyond the range’s sheer immensity, is its concentration of radically contrasting scenery and climates. Travel writer Michael Jacobs journeyed across seven different countries to retrace the footsteps of previous travellers. Share his wonder at this magical land.
In Shackleton’s Footsteps
5.15pm Studio £7.50
John Man and Lesley Downer Japanese Culture Many people are fascinated with the ancient traditions of Japanese culture: geishas, courtesans, Samurai. These two writers, travellers and experts on this mysterious country, tell of their research and travel.
Studio Day Ticket - £25 for 5 events
Tuesday 8 March – Main House
Rachel Hewitt
10.30am Main House £4
Peter Snow
Alexis Kirschbaum and Kay Dunbar Penguin Modern Classics / Words by the Water Competition
Christopher Somerville
2.30pm Main House £8.50
Peter Snow
4pm Main House £8.50
Christopher Somerville
Entrants for this competition wrote about 10 books that mattered to them. The three winners will read their entries and the judges will discuss the qualities that made prize-winning essays. In light of the publication of Penguin Modern Classics the discussion will extend to what makes a modern classic. 12 noon Main House £8.50
Rachel Hewitt Ordinance Survey Maps: A Biography Many of the people walking in the Lake District have a map in a plastic case around their necks. It’s probably an Ordinance Survey map. Rachel Hewitt has written the story of these maps that reliably record every inch of the British Isles. The book won the Jerwood Prize for the finest non-fiction work. She shares her findings on this national institution.
To War With Wellington What made the Iron Duke one of the greatest military commanders of all times? Peter Snow, one of our most respected authors, journalists and broadcasters, investigates how the sensitive schoolboy violinist became the feared, tough military man. Peter Snow was ITN’s diplomatic and defence correspondent, a presenter on BBC2’s Newsnight for many years and, unforgettably, the lynchpin of Election Night reporting.
Places, Walks, The Great Outdoors Christopher Somerville has been writing about country walks for over 30 years. His books have been called ‘walking books for the thinking man’. His book, ‘Coast’, accompanied the television series. His latest book tries to compensate for the parlous state of most people’s knowledge of the geography of The British Isles.
AN AFTERNOON AT GRETA HALL Keswick, Tuesday 8 March, 2 – 5pm
Kathleen Jones Writing workshop, tea and talk.
6pm Main House £8.50
7.30pm Main House £8.50
Robin Hanbury-Tenison
Gervase Phinn An Oldie With Attitude Looking back on more than sixty years of family life, teaching, inspecting schools, writing and public speaking, Gervase Phinn tells his witty stories of the oddities and absurdities of the daily round. With his usual warmth and wisdom he gives his views on many topics from marriage to manners and mobile phones.
This fine Georgian house, situated just 5 minutes walk from Keswick town centre, will be the venue for an afternoon of literary activities. Most will take place in front of the fire in Southey’s study. 2pm – Writing workshop led by Kathleen Jones. 3.30pm – tea and cakes. 4-5pm – Kathleen will talk on her book, ‘A Passionate Sisterhood’, her group biography of the women who featured in the lives of the Lakeland poets.
Robin Hanbury-Tenison Great Explorers Described as the greatest explorer of his generation, Robin HanburyTenison has led over twenty expeditions to the most remote and dangerous places on earth. He tells of his own adventures and experiences, and of those of other great explorers across the centuries. In association with The Royal Geographical Society.
Main House Day Ticket - £30 for 5 events (not including 7.30pm event)
COST: £20
Greta Hall, Keswick
Gervase Phinn
Greta Hall was built around 1800 and was the former home of the Lake poets, Coleridge and Southey. Southey was poet laureate from 1813 – 1843 and lived there for 40 years. Many literary personalities visited: the Wordsworths, Lamb, Hazlitt, Shelley, Ruskin and Scott.
Wednesday 9 March – Main House
Jane Brown
10.30am Main House £8.50
12 noon Main House £8.50
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Juliet Barker
Jane Brown
it has been republished, revised and updated. Internationally regarded as a foremost expert on the Brontës she introduces this astonishing family.
Capability Brown Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown changed the face of 18th century England, designing country estates and mansions, moving hills and making flowing lakes and serpentine rivers. This English landscape style spread across Europe and the world. In this beautifully illustrated biography, garden historian Jane Brown paints a colourful picture of the man, his work, his happy domestic life, and his busy world.
Juliet Barker The Brontës Revisited In 1994 Juliet Barker wrote a definitive biography of the Brontë family. It was a spectacular achievement: a vivid picture of nineteenth-century Yorkshire, a treasure trove of new information and, most of all, an engrossing and intimate chronicle of an astonishingly creative family. Now
2.30pm Main House £8.50
Christopher Stevens Born Brilliant: Kenneth Williams Unhappy, bitter, frank, brutal as well as entertaining, inspired, charming, hilarious: Kenneth Williams, the manic star of many Carry On films and Radio 4’s ‘Just a Minute’, was complex and interesting. Christopher Stevens, biographer and Telegraph journalist, assesses this complicated character.
Emma Bridgewater
4pm Main House £8.50
5.30pm Main House £8.50
Matthew Rice
Simon Sebag Montefiore Jerusalem: The Biography With the same insight that went into his much admired biographies of Stalin, Simon Sebag Montefiore gives an intimate history of Jerusalem through the lives of its kings, conquerors and creators. It results in an exciting and accessible history of the Middle East.
Justine Picardie
7pm Main House £12 – to include event and film
Justine Picardie
8.30pm
FILM: Coco and Igor
Emma Bridgewater and Matthew Rice Stoke-on-Trent: Our Muse Emma Bridgewater’s first visit to Stoke-on-Trent inspired her to start her hugely successful pottery business there but she and her husband, the designer, painter and writer, Matther Rice, have witnessed the ruthless destruction of this great industrial city. Matthew has produced a beautifully illustrated book, a fanfare for this lost city. Emma wrote the introduction. Together they offer a lament and an appreciation.
Coco Chanel: The Legend and The Life From being an abandoned child and spending her early years in a convent orphanage, Coco Chanel became an icon of the fashion world. Chic, passionate, revered and feared, Coco Chanel made herself into her own most powerful creation. Justine Picardie, author, fashion columnist and previous editor of the Observer magazine, unveils the legend.
After a short break Justine Picardie’s talk will be followed by a screening of this film about Coco Chanel’s relationship with Igor Stravinsky.
Main House Day Ticket - £30 for 5 events (not including 7pm / 8.30pm event)
Wednesday 9 March – Studio – Wildlife
Fi Martynoga
10.15am Studio £7.50
11.45am Studio £7.50
Luke Jennings
2.15pm Studio £7.50
Fiona Martynoga
3.45pm Studio £7.50
Luke Jennings
5.15pm Studio £7.50
James Attlee
Keith Richardson Trees of Lakeland Keith Richardson’s third book uses a selection of very special trees from across the Lake District as a theme line for exploring history, people, place and the environment. These trees act as a barometer of our times. Illustrations for the book are provided by leading photographer Val Corbett.
Patrick Barkham The Butterfly Isles Fuelled by a childhood passion for butterflies and concern for their dwindling numbers, Guardian features writer, Patrick Barkham, embarked on a year-long journey around the British Isles to see all of our 59 native species, from the endangered Duke of Burgundy to the commonest Cabbage White. With infectious delight and curiosity he takes us on the journey.
Woodlanders If you love woods, trees, gathering wild food, spotting wildlife or going on outdoor adventures you’ll want to hear this talk. It is for everyone who has discovered a personal connection with woods.
Fathers, Friendship and Fishing Combining natural history with gripping autobiographical narrative, Luke Jennings offers a dazzling evocation of a life lived on the water’s edge. By searching beneath the surface he suggests you connect with your own deep histories. Lynn Barber wrote that she would never pass a stream or a canal without remembering his haunting memoir.
The Night Sky Potent, beautiful, mysterious, moonlight has been a muse for writers, artists, composers and visionaries throughout history. What better place to explore its power than at a festival on the shores of Derwentwater? Travel writer James Attlee’s talk will be followed by a 15-minute nocturnal stroll on the shores of the lake.
Studio Day Ticket - £25 for 5 events
Thursday 10 March – Studio – History 10.15am Studio £7.50
Francis Spufford Red Plenty Once the dream of red plenty was serious – an attempt by the Soviets to ‘beat’ capitalism on its own terms; to make its citizens the richest in the world. For a short while, it looked as if it might just be coming true. Francis Spufford explores how the system operated and why it ultimately failed. Francis Spufford
11.45am Studio £7.50
2.15pm Studio £7.50
Sinclair McKay The Secret of Bletchley Park Drawing on first-hand accounts from the people who lived and worked there, Sinclair McKay delves into the history of the legendary wartime codebreaking centre.
3.45pm Studio £7.50
Mathew Lyons takes a fresh look at the intense relationship between Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Ralegh, exploring the complexity of human emotion, ambition and ritual within the restricted confines of the Tudor court.
Studio Day Ticket - £25 for 5 events
David McKie Forgotton Visionaries of Britain Unassuming streetscapes are transformed into beguiling, eccentric and uproarious sites of action as David McKie explores the triumphs and failures of the visionaries who have helped shaped Britain’s history.
Mathew Lyons The Favourite: Sir Walter Ralegh
Jean Baggott
5.15pm Studio £7.50
Jean Baggott A Wartime Childhood Focussing on her wartime childhood in the industrialised Black Country, Jean Baggott creates an extraordinary picture of an ordinary life set against the twentieth century’s most momentous events.
Thursday 10 March – Main House
Patrick French
Roy Hattersley
12 noon Main House £8.50
Patrick French
2.30pm Main House £8.50
Roy Hattersley
© Jane Bown
India: A Portrait Patrick French gives a colourful portrait of India. His human stories explain a larger national narrative and get to the heart of this complex and frequently contradictory country. Previous biographies of Patrick French’s, ‘Young Husbandman’ and ‘VS Naipaul’, have won prizes and many accolades.
David Lloyd George – The Great Outsider Lloyd George was the politician credited with winning the war for England in 1918. He pioneered old age pensions, sickness pay and unemployment benefit. His contempt for the conventions of society explains the subtitle of Roy Hattersley’s carefully researched life.
Ben Crystal
4pm Main House £8.50
Valerie Grove
Ben Crystal and Adam Russ Sorry, I’m British! These two actors, with their razor sharp observations, examine all that is eccentric, and often hilarious, about being British. From stiff upper lips to football hooliganism, small talk to superiority, they portray our national characteristics with fearless clarity.
5.30pm Main House £8.50
Valerie Grove
Peter Hennessy
7pm Main House £8.50
Peter Hennessy The Secret State What part did Britain play during the Cold War in preventing a global nuclear disaster? In Peter Hennessy’s ‘The Secret State’, he tells the story of Whitehall’s involvement in the Cold War by drawing on a rich seam of previously classified documents. This is a must for anyone who has ever considered how lucky we are to be alive.
So Much to Tell Valerie Grove has chosen as her latest subject the Puffin editor, Kaye Webb, who in the 1960s opened the world of good books to a generation of children. She will introduce us to this extraordinary woman who transformed children’s publishing with her charm and inventiveness. Previously the acclaimed biographer and journalist, Valerie Grove, explored the lives of Laurie Lee, Dodie Smith and John Mortimer.
Main House Day Ticket - £24 for 4 events (not including 7pm event)
Friday 11 March – Main House
John Crace
12 noon Main House £8.50
John Sutherland
Christopher Andrew and Peter Hennessy The History of MI5 For its centenary in 2009, the Security Service authorised an independent scholar to write an ‘open’ history of the Service and appointed Professor Christopher Andrew, a leading historian of Intelligence. He was given virtually unrestricted access to its files (almost 400,000). With Professor Peter Hennessy, the expert on Contemporary British History, he discusses his findings.
2pm Main House £8.50
John Crace and John Sutherland Surprising Literary Tales John Crace is the creator of The Guardian’s ‘Digested Read’ column. Each condensed read amounts to a literary assassination. Now he has written bite-sized summaries of classics of the last 100 years. John Sutherland, in ‘Love, Sex, Death and Words’, offers 365 dazzling literary nuggets - one for each day of the year. Together they cast an irreverent eye over the literary world.
Jackie Kay
3.30pm Main House £8.50
John Gray
Jackie Kay Memoirs of an Adopted Daughter
Joanna Trollope
7.30pm Main House £8.50
Joanna Trollope
9pm Main House £8.50
Val Corbett
Inheritance is much more than genes. We are shaped by songs as much as cells and our internal landscapes are as important as those we live amongst. Jackie Kay tells her heart-stopping life story with humour and compassion and leaves us wondering about our own identity. 5pm Main House £8.50
John Gray What it Means to be Human An obsession with the nature of death is a common human experience yet for the last 100 years people have started to believe in the possibility of immortality; there has been a strange quest to cheat death. John Gray, whose recent books include ‘Black Mass’ and ‘Straw Dogs’, has been labelled ‘the most prescient of British public intellectuals.’ He discusses living and dying and raises questions on existence.
Daughters-in-Law In Joanna Trollope’s latest novel a mother with three sons finds that she is becoming less important to them as their wives become more relevant to their lives. With her usual wisdom and insight Joanna Trollope examines the fraught relationship of mothers, sons and daughters-in-law.
Winter Landscapes Val Corbett works as a freelance photographer of the Lake District, focusing on the lesser known beautiful outer fringes of Cumbria. She is also known for her garden photography which is frequently published in magazines such as Country Life and Period Living. She will show photographs of winter in the Lake District from her latest book.
Main House Day Ticket - £24 for 4 events (not including 7.30pm or 9pm events)
Friday 11 March – Studio – Homes and Families 10.15am Studio £7.50
11.45am Studio £7.50
Charlotte Moore My Home and My Family Charlotte Moore is a novelist and the author of ‘George and Sam’, an account of life with her two autistic sons. Now she brings to life the Tudor house where she grew up and still lives today. Her ancestors wrote everything down and never threw anything away, and this miscellaneous archive illuminates life at Hancox at the turn of the twentieth century.
Dominic Bradbury
5.15pm Studio £7.50
Robin Bayley
6.30pm Studio £7.50
Jackie Kay
Katherine Swift Morville: A Year in the Life of the Garden ‘The Morville Hours’ won widespread praise from critics and readers alike for the crisp beauty of Katherine Swift’s prose as she described the birth and development of her garden at the Dower House at Morville in Shropshire. Now Katherine Swift, one of the most-admired gardening writers of her generation, tells the story of a year in her garden.
2.15pm Studio £7.50
3.45pm Studio £7.50
Manju Kapur Indian Family Life Manju Kapur lives in New Delhi and is frequently number one on the bestseller list in India. She won the Commonwealth Prize for her first novel and has acquired international acclaim for her empathetic portrayals of Indian family life.
Homes In his books and his jounalism Dominic Bradbury looks at ways of living and being. Ecological considerations are an integral part of our everyday lives and he has lots of practical ideas for living stylishly, sensibly and sustainably.
Mexican Family Life ‘The Mango Orchard’ is the account of Robin Bayley’s journey in his great grandfather’s footsteps around Latin America, in which he encounters witches, drug dealers, bandits... and his ancestor’s secret Mexican family of over 300 people.
A Little Moment of Belief: A Poetry Reading Throughout her wide-ranging career – encompassing poetry, plays, children’s writing, short stories, prose and the novel – Jackie Kay’s work has continued to gravitate towards key themes of identity, and the importance of poems and stories as affirmations both of individuality and of human connectedness. She reads from her new volume of poetry.
Studio Day Ticket - £30 for 6 events
the book show at cumbria Sky Arts brings its acclaimed series of The Book Show to Cumbria. Join Mariella Frostrup for an exclusive recording of The Book Show at the ‘Words by the Water Literature Festival’. The inside story for book lovers. BroAdCAST pArTner
thursdays at 7pm sky.com/books
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Saturday 12 March – Main House
Mariella Frostrup
Television recordings for
9:40am – 11am Main House £5
12:10pm – 1:30pm Main House £5
Polly Toynbee
2.30pm Main House £8.50
Broadcast
Broadcast
The Book Show with Mariella Frostrup This is your chance to catch another three of our top festival writers interviewed by Mariella Frostrup for a recording of The Book Show for Sky Arts; the UK’s leading weekly show dedicated to books. The Book Show broadcasts Thursdays at 7pm on Sky Arts 1 HD.
Polly Toynbee and David Walker The Verdict: Did Labour Change Britain? Two of the UK’s best-known commentators discuss this question when they look at the impact of Labour’s time in office. Are we happier, healthier, wealthier and wiser because of the last 13 years? How will our lives change with a different government? No two writers are in a better position to comment.
The Book Show with Mariella Frostrup Our Broadcast Partner, Sky Arts brings ‘The Book Show’ to Cumbria. This is your opportunity to be part of the UK’s leading weekly show dedicated to books, as three of our top festival authors are interviewed by Mariella Frostrup. The Book Show broadcasts Thursdays at 7pm on Sky Arts 1 HD.
David Walker
4pm Main House £8.50
John Simpson Unreliable Sources For almost forty years, John Simpson, the World Affairs Editor of the BBC, has been covering the biggest news stories of the day. He is widely regarded as one of our foremost commentators. Now, after decades of groundbreaking television journalism, he looks at the way the British press has reported key moments in our history.
John Simpson
5.30pm Main House £8.50
Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart The Derwentwater Lecture Afghanistan: Rhetoric and Reality Rory Stewart is is the Conservative M.P. for Penrith and the Border. From 2000 – 2002 he walked across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Nepal, a journey of 6000 miles. His multi-prizewinning book, ‘The Places in Between’, described his walk across Afghanistan, as well as his cultural development work there as the Executive Chairman of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation. Later he was Deputy General of a province of occupied Iraq. He has argued frequently against foreign intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq. He’ll offer his informed, yet controversial views. In association with Keswick Fair World Alliance
Main House Day Ticket - £30 for 5 events (not including 7pm and 8.30pm events)
Chris Mullin
7pm Main House £8.50
Salley Vickers
Chris Mullin Dear Diary, Dear New Labour Chris Mullin was Labour MP for Sunderland South and earned a reputation as one of Parliament’s most distinctive characters. His bestseller, ‘A Very British Coup’, became a hit TV series in the 80s. When Labour leader, John Smith, died in May 1994 Chris Mullin began a secret diary that would chart the rise and fall of New Labour with insight, frankness and humour. He shares his observations of political life.
8.30pm Main House £8.50
Salley Vickers Differing Shades of Love Love given, love withheld, love craved and lost, love met and disappointed; the differing shades of loves between friends, between parents and children, between children and other adults, are all explored in Salley Vickers’ new collection of short stories. She examines the complex geography of the human heart.
Saturday 12 March – Studio – Science
Sally Magnusson
Lewis Wolpert
10.15am Studio £7.50
Michael Sydney
11.45pm Studio £7.50
Lewis Wolpert
3pm Mirehouse FREE
Whitehaven Dispensary
2.15pm Studio £7.50
Ted Nield
3.45pm Studio £7.50
Sally Magnusson
5.15 pm Studio £7.50
David Wootten
Eighteenth century Whitehaven was devastated by outbreaks of contagious fever and epidemics of smallpox. The sole physician of the Whitehaven dispensary, Joshua Dixon devoted his life to the care of the sick and the poor in the town while using some very strange remedies. Michael Sydney brings the fascinating story to life.
On Ageing Why must we age and how do we cope with our physical decline?What are the scientific reasons for ageing and can or should we prevent it? Lewis Wolpert, distinguished scientist and octogenarian, tackles all aspects of ageing from euthanasia to antiwrinkle cream. It’s a topic none of us can ignore.
Mirehouse Poetry Competition A reading of the winning poems. Introduced by Jackie Kay.
Learn to Love the Meteorite In his witty, accessible style Ted Nield, a leading world geologist, introduces the science of the cosmos. In a talk packed full of stories and myth de-bunking he makes the claim that meteorites are a good thing; the new black in fact.
The Life of Pee Humans make enough pee to replace the entire contents of Loch Lomond each year. Our urine footprint is just as indelible as our carbon one. Not surprisingly it gets everywhere. Urine has made bread rise, beer foam, dyes stick and given us gunpowder, stained glass and Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’. Find out more about this wonder liquid.
The Trial of Galileo The trial of Galileo is the most famous trial involving questions of scientific knowledge and free speech. Recently, with the opening of the Inquisition’s archives, new documents have been discovered. Why was Galileo charged for publishing a book that had been approved by the censors? This talk will give a new account of the trial of Galileo, the man and the scientist.
Studio Day Ticket - £25 for 5 events
Sunday 13 March – Studio – Your Say
Michael Buerk
Julian Baggini
11.45 am Studio £7.50
Julian Baggini
2.15pm Studio £7.50
George Pitcher
Do They Think We’re Stupid? With this lively philosopher discuss ways in which you feel you are being duped by cunning rhetoric, spin, obfuscation and sometimes downright lies, from people in power. Don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes. Share your own favourite / most hated examples.
A Time to Live: A Case Against Euthanasia There is a view, rapidly gathering support, that it is compassionate and moral to allow those facing death to choose both the moment and the method. Surely, the argument goes, it is time our laws were reformed? Rev. George Pitcher, Religion Editor and columnist at The Daily Telegraph, vehemently disagrees. He believes that such a change in our attitudes to life and death can never be justified socially, culturally, politically, medically or on religious grounds. You may think differently. Have your say.
3.45pm Studio £7.50
Studio Day Ticket - £15 for 3 events
Michael Buerk The Whole World – Follow-on Discussion This morning Michael Buerk gave a 2-part, passionate, informed talk on why he feels people across the world have developed in very different ways. He leads this discussion for those who heard his talk and maybe some who didn’t. Either way come and give your views on global diversity.
Sunday 13 March – Main House
Michael Buerk
10.30am – 12.30 pm Main House £12
Julian Baggini
Michael Buerk The Whole World in His Hands Legendary broadcast journalist, Michael Buerk, will deliver a unique two-part talk that links journalism and anthropology. From a long and distinguished career in BBC News, spanning 30 years, Michael Buerk will draw on his immense global experiences in an attempt to explain why people across our geographically diverse planet have developed in such radically different ways. (includes 30 min interval)
2pm Main House £8.50
Blake Morrison
Julian Baggini The Ego Trick Are you still the person who lived 15, 10 or 5 years ago? 15, 10 or 5 minutes ago? Can you plan for your retirement if the you of 30 years hence is a different person? What and who is the real you? Does it remain constant over time and place, or is it something much more fragmented and fluid? Is it known to you, or are you as much a mystery to yourself as others are to you? With his usual wit,infectious curiosity and bracing scepticism, Julian Baggini, editor and co-founder of The Philosophers’ Magazine and author of many books on philosophy, sets out to answer these fundamental and unsettling questions.
Main House Day Ticket - £28 for 4 events
Roger Scruton
3.30pm Main House £8.50
Blake Morrison Friendship, Jealousy, Sexual Revenge, Passion These are the themes Blake Morrison tackles in his latest novel, ‘The Last Weekend’. Whether in his memoir of his parents, his study of the Bulger case, his journalism or his fiction, Blake Morrison, who teaches creative writing at Goldsmith’s College, takes on big issues that resonate with his readers.
5pm Main House £8.50
Roger Scruton How to Think Seriously About the Planet Roger Scruton is a philosopher who has written about aesthetics, politics, music and the land. Now he offers a fresh solution to what he considers the most urgent political problem of our age: ensuring the future safety of the planet.
Competitions
Words by the Water / Mirehouse Poetry Competition
Special 10th Anniversary Competition
COMPETITION THEME:
“But what am I?”
Penguin Modern Classic / Words by the Water Writing Competition
(Tennyson)
To be interpreted freely.
Jackie Kay – JUDGE: Poet, fiction and memoir writer. PRIZES Ist Prize £350. In addition, the prize-winning poem and eight highly commended poems will be displayed on the Mirehouse Poetry Walk and appear on the Mirehouse website. The eight highly commended poets will each receive a box of new books (value £100). There will be a reading of these nine poems at an event with Jackie Kay at Mirehouse on Saturday 12 March at 3pm. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY : • Entries are invited for original poems of no more than 40 lines. • Entry fee £4 per poem. • Entrants may submit as many poems as they wish. • No entry should have been accepted for publication, read on radio/television or stage or have been awarded a prize in any other competition. FORMAT FOR ENTRIES : • Two copies of each poem must be submitted. • Entries should be typed on one side of paper. • Entrants must not put names or addresses on the work but must put name, address and titles of poems on a separate sheet. • Cheques payable to ‘Words by the Water’ and sent with entries to: Mirehouse Poetry Competition, Droridge Farm, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6JG Closing Date - Monday 14 February 2011 Winners notified by Tuesday 1 March 2011 Entrants should enclose an s.a.e. for notification of results. Entries cannot be returned.
The Mirehouse Poetry Prize has been given to celebrate Mirehouse’s longstanding literary connections with writers including Wordsworth, Southey, Tennyson, Fitzgerald, Carlyle and Thackeray.
TOPIC : These I Have Loved: Ten Books That Shaped Me Write about 10 books that have mattered to you. They can be from any stage of your life and cover all genres from A.A.Milne to Amis. The entry will be judged on the quality of the writing not the selection. JUDGES : Alexis Kirschbaum (Editorial Director, Penguin Modern Classics) Kay Dunbar (Words by the Water, Festival Director) PRIZES : Three prize winners will each be issued with a list of Penguin Mini Modern Classics from which they can chose 20 books. Also each winner will receive £50 of vouchers from Ways With Words to use at any festival. DATES : Closing date for entries – Wednesday 9 February Winners will be informed by Tuesday 1 March Event at the Words by the Water Festival – Tuesday 8 March at 10.30am The judges will introduce the winning pieces which will be read at this event. Alexis Kirschbaum will talk about editing the Penguin Modern Classics list. The audience will have a chance to give their views on what qualities make a modern classic. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY : • Entries must be original works of no more than 1000 words. • Entry fee is £4 per piece. • Entrants may submit as many pieces as they wish. • No entry should have been accepted for publication, read on the stage, radio or television, nor have received a prize in any other competition. FORMAT FOR ENTRIES : • Two copies of each entry must be sent. • Entries should be typed using one side of the paper only. • Names and addresses must be included on a separate sheet. • Cheques payable to ‘Words by the Water’ and sent to: Penguin Modern Classic / Words by the Water Competition Droridge Farm, Dartington, Totnes Devon, TQ9 6JG Entrants should enclose an s.a.e. for notification of results. Entries cannot be returned.
Booking and Other Information In Person Visit the box office at Theatre by the Lake open 9.30am – 8.00pm daily. Online Book online at www.theatrebythelake.com (N.B. Festival Passes are not available on-line.) By Phone Call the general booking line 017687 74411. Payment Methods Cash, credit or debit cards (Mastercard/ Visa/Switch/ Delta/Electron/Maestro) are accepted or cheques made payable to Theatre by the Lake. Ticket Delivery Tickets booked up to seven days in advance will be posted out for a charge of 70p. Tickets booked within seven days of the performance date will be held for collection from the box office. Reservations Reserved tickets not paid for within five days, or no later than one hour before the performance, will be released. Words by the Water (WBTW) Refund and Exchange Policy If you cannot attend a WBTW event we will offer to exchange your tickets for another WBTW 2011 event (subject to availability). There is a £1 administration charge for this service. Unfortunately we cannot offer a refund or hold a credit on your customer record if you are unable to attend a WBTW event. If a speaker is unable to attend but an alternative is offered in the same slot, no refunds are available. If the event is cancelled outright – Individual tickets: we will offer you a refund or credit. Day ticket holders: a proportion of the ticket will be refunded. Festival pass holders: unfortunately no refund will be offered.
NB.TICKETS ARE NOT FOR SALE FROM WAYS WITH WORDS.
Priority Booking Friends of Ways With Words and Theatre by the Lake can book tickets from Thursday 16 December. General booking starts on Monday 3 January.
Festival Passes • Festival Pass ‘A’ at £145 gives entry to all Main House events on Fri 4 - Tues 8 March inc. • Festival Pass ‘B’ at £145 gives entry to all Main House events on Wed 9 - Sun 13 March inc. Passes can be collected from Theatre by the Lake at the start of the festival.
Group Bookings For organisations / groups wishing to bring a group of 10 or more people a reduction of £1 per ticket is available. Please contact the box office by phone for details and reservations.
Young Person Standby Tickets People aged 24 and under can buy tickets normally priced at £8.50 or £7.50 for just £4 if purchased 24 hours or less before the event’s start time. Proof of age will be required when you collect your tickets.
Getting There Theatre by the Lake is a 5-minute walk from the centre of Keswick - follow the yellow AA signs for the festival. There is a pay and display car park adjacent to the theatre. Keswick has bus links with Ambleside to the south, Carlisle to the north, Penrith to the east (to mainline trains) and Cockermouth and Workington to the west.
Thank you to: The Advisory Group Members: Sue Allan Michael Baron (SLATE) Christopher Burns Sophie Curtis (Theatre by the Lake) James & Janaki Fryer Spedding (Mirehouse) Patric Gilchrist (Theatre by the Lake) Philippa Harrison Gwenda Matthews (Bookends) Elizabeth Stott (SLATE) Helen Towers (Reader Development Officer)
Broadcast Partner:
Our Venue Host:
The Publishers: Allen Lane, Anova Books, Arrow, Atlantic Books, Aurum Press, Bantam Press, Bloomsbury, Chatto & Windus, Constable Robinson, Ebury, Edinburgh University Press, Faber and Faber, Frances Lincoln, Granta, Guardian Books, Hamish Hamilton, Harper Collins, Hodder & Stoughton, Icon Books, John Murray, Kew Publishing, Little, Brown, Lund Humphries, Macmillan, Monarch Books, O Books, Oneworld, OUP, Penguin, Picador, Preface, Profile Books, Puffin, Rough Guides, Saraband, Simon & Schuster, Stainburn Publications, Thames & Hudson, Transworld, Viking, Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Yale University Press.
Support in kind:
And Another Thing . . . As well as the Words by the Water festival, Ways With Words organises other festivals in the UK and also holiday courses. For full details on all of these go to wayswithwords.co.uk or phone 01803 867373 to join our free mailing list.
Fingals Hotel South Devon Memoir Writing Course 15 – 20 May 2011
Dartington Hall, Devon The 20th Telegraph Ways With Words Festival of Words and Ideas 8 – 18 July 2011
Umbria, Italy Art, Writing and Discussion Groups 24 September – 1 October and 1 – 8 October 2011
Southwold, Suffolk Ways With Words Southwold Literature Festival 10 – 14 November 2011
. . . And back in Keswick for Words by the Water 2012, 2 – 11 March
Raymond Blanc Melvyn Bragg Michael Buerk Deborah Devonshire Michael Frayn AC Grayling Monty Halls Cate Haste Roy Hattersley Peter Hennessy Simon Hoggart Jackie Kay Maureen Lipman Brian Moore Simon Sebag Montefiore Chris Mullin Tony Palmer Gervase Phinn Justine Picardie Marcus du Sautoy Roger Scruton John Simpson Peter Snow Rory Stewart Claire Tomalin Polly Toynbee Joanna Trollope Salley Vickers – and more
www.wordsbythewater.org.uk 017687 74411