Revolution, evolution, dissolution

Meghnad Desai - The Rediscovery of India

Desia's speech pattern took a little while for me to tune into so I missed some of the early comments whilst readjusting my receptors.  That old colonial temptation to resist anything other than a British regional accent had to be resisted.  And it was worth the effort.  An interesting point was made about how a bus driver in Sweden earns 50 multiples of the pay of  bus driver in India, even though the driving conditions in Sweden are so much more favourable.  He also pointed out that India's growing economy need not falter in the way of the more developed nations who now have ageing populations.  India may also have the edge over China as it pays for the 'one child' policy.
the tune out and



The Book Show - Mariella Frostrup
Sky is a very slick organisation.  The audience were thanked for attending, each given a horrible canvas bag containing a book mark and given instruction in applause.  Mariella's delivery was professional and precise but she was also warm and engaged the audience.  Very skilled all round.  Interesting guests included the ubiquitous Brian Cox, Henning Mankell talking about his new Wallander story after a 10 year rest from the character and Mark Logue talking about the book of The King's Speech.


Ha Joon Chang - 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism

Serious message delivered in a humerous and light hearted way.  Best illustrated by one of the 'things' being how the washing machine has had a bigger impact on society than the internet.

Chang, a Korean national who has lived in the UK for many years, has the sort of perky charm that makes you listen.  A good foil I should think for the stuffy, boring tweed jacketed type of lecturer.





Tristram Hunt

Interesting content about the English Civil War which is never referred to as a revolution.  Disappointing delivery with limited eye contact with the audience.  Political deflection of questions.

From Marx to Pericles

Eric Hobsbawn talks to Tristram Hunt

The 93 year old Hobsbawm was eloquent and incisive.  His ideas, which would be feared as radical by many, were expressed in a calm manner backed up with evidence.  I found him quite convincing.  Her certainly convinced me to consider buying his book although he did say 'it's not a page turner, its a bit academic'.

The questions caused some reaction from the audience.  One a statement so long and irrelevant that when it finally turned into a question caused the audience to applaud.  Other questions were manipulated and edited by Hunt who didn't want David Cameron and his party to have the last say.


The Hemlock Cup:  Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life

Anyone who ends their lecture exhorting the audience to raise a glass of wine, whatever the toast, gets my vote.  Even more so when the subject of the toast is Socrates.

Bettany's infectious enthusiasm for her subject is a delight to experience.  She spoke at around 140 wpm for a solid hour so that there was no time for questions.  We followed to the bookshop afterwards but because the queue was so long, and slightly hostile, we went to sort out the toast instead.

Will try for a signed copy tomorrow.

My First Time

Wonders of the Universe

First time at Hay and started with the big bang media superstar that is Brian Cox.  He is even more personable and engaging live than he is on TV.  Just the shot in the arm that science needs but it may be a too little too late for the complacent kids of the UK.  Science is hard work and keeping up with the flow of conversation (dumbed down for ordinary folk) was a feat of concentration.






From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

The other event on our first trip was the two person show of Sandy Toksvig and Sue Perkins.  We were not sure what to expect and it would appear that neither did they.  Apparently the show they had planned takes up to 2 hours - an hour or so to gather info from the audience, 20 mins to sort it out and then deliver a lecture on the info gathered.  But each of the Hay sessions is only 60 minutes so they had to dispense with the planning bit in the middle and condense the other bits.  It was remarkably well executed and by far the best piece of info from the audience (and winner of a case of Cava) was one lady's knowledge of the weight of 1inch of rain per acre (113.31 tons - I Googled it).

Heracles to Alexander the Great

Taking a holiday in England is not a sunscreen and shorts affair but it does have the advantage of supplying lots of interesting things to see.  The Ashmolean is currently hosting an exhibition of treasures from the royal capital of Macedon including two astonishingly preserved diadems one in the style of a wreath of oak leaves and acorns (that look more like mini hand grenades to me) the other a mass of myrtle leaves and flowers.  Both utterly stunning.

This was my first visit to the Ashmolean but I will certainly visit again to see the permanent collection if the opportunity arises and I would urge anyone else to.  Its a manageable size packed with amazing objects and in common with other UK museums there is no charge to see the permanent collection.

However, NB the nearest parking is £6.50 for up to 2 hours so be warned.  There is a Park 'n Ride in Oxford and if you can spar the time its a good idea to use it.

Why do the English go outdoors?

As a nation the English are obsessed with the weather.  With good cause it would seem as it is so variable and, mostly, unpleasant.  After years of endless conversations about sudden onset of rain and experience of short spells of warm sunshine sandwiched between prolonged periods of wind, rain and low temperatures why are there still outdoor performances of dramatic works?

On a warm, sunny evening with a slight 2mph breeze, a picnic in a Brighton cemetery followed by a performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It would be idyllic.  The reality however is 20mph wind, half a picnic due to Adrian's late appearance with the rest and a downfall of rain just as the play started.  Fortunately English actors are as stoic as the audience.  Anywhere else in the world the performance would have been abandoned but it being England everyone ignored the rain an it eventually stopped.

The New World Order - Harold Pinter

Melinda and I went to see this promenade play, or more accurately although I didn't realise at the time, 5 short plays, at the Brighton Town Hall.  Brilliant venue for this as it really lent itself to the drama and sinister nature of the work.

As we waited outside beside two sleek dobermans tethered to a security guard wearing dark glasses we were handed a leaflet by what we thought was a passer by.  Both turned out to be part of the play, the leaflet distributor turned out to be the leading man and victim of state initiatives implemented to modify citizen behaviour.  One of the dogs savaged another actor during the performance.  Although this was of course not seen it was all the more sinister for the audience having seen the dogs earlier.

An astonishing work that made you feel like a reluctant voyeur and afterwards I felt a little uncomfortable about my response to some of the action.  The automatic wish to turn a blind eye and to not rock the boat made me feel slightly ashamed.  That may be the response Pinter was aiming for.

Although not a laugh a minute I would recommend this thought provoking drama to anyone brave enough to test their own responses to repression.

Cass Foundation Sculpture Park at Goodwood

pharus by charlotte mayer 2000

untitled by paul neagu 1997

marriage by rob ward 2009

ace of diamonds V by lynn chadwick 2004

singer of tales by jon isherwood 2010

host by peter burke 2003

fish on a bicycle by steven gregory 2005

wolf by sally matthews 2000

endeavour by bill woodrow 2005

endeavour (detail) by bill woodrow 2005

fallen deodar by jilly sutton 2008

Finally took Melinda's advice and visited the sculpture park at Goodwood this afternoon.  In spite of the cool windy weather that forced us to wear our waterproofs to protect us from the wind we followed the trail along without about 4 other visitors.  Recommend to anyone who enjoys sculpture.  Only wish I had £45,000 to buy my favourite one.