Hay Day

Our Yurt is brilliant - and even more so once made up with sheet, pillows and duvet. Wind and rainproof, which was good last night, and nice and close to the wood-fired pizza place.

My first Hay event was Simon Russell Beale and the Archbish. I felt a bit hard done by that the discussion was opened by someone from SPCK and then focussed on faith in Shakespeare's works. But it was actually quite interesting, if not very structured - a tour of the plays looking at soliloquy, guilt, change etc. 'Questions' were mostly self-important showings off with a query barely tacked on the end.

Then an hour on the grass with some Welsh cider and the last 100 pages of Someone at a Distance before double-physics in the shape of Prof John Barrow on universes. It's the second time I've gone for an eminent mathematician/physicist talking about big ideas. I'm not going to do it again - I don't know enough to be able to follow the abstract ideas, and they aren't populist enough to ground it all in imperfect analogies.

Lastly, Victor Gregg and 'Rifleman' was amazing. He's 94, born at the end of WW1, served in WW2 and saw an awful lot, then got caught up in espionage during the cold war. He was compelling, wry, heartfelt and considered - a fantastic session. I rushed off to buy the book and get it signed, and am really enjoying it so far.