It's been a busy few days, though I've spent most of my time sitting and listening.
There have been a number of events with vastly different speakers presenting on a wide range of subjects and it's sparked all sorts of ideas for me, and added to the list of books I want to read!
On Wednesday, of course, we were treated to a one man show by Gyles Brandreth at The Riverside as he introduced his new book 'The Seven Secrets of the Hundred-Year Life'.
I was redundant as an interviewer as Gyles preferred to hold the stage, and he was incredible in giving an entertaining presentation without hesitation, repetition or deviation (or at least very little). He shared something of his childhood and early years, as well as his hopes for living well for longer, and there were lots of well known names he dropped into his story too, of course - everyone from TS Eliot to Queen Elizabeth!
Yesterday I went to an event where I learnt about a shepherdess now living in Suffolk who has worked with sheep all over the world. She talked about how the verses throughout Psalm 23 have been particularly significant for her in doing so. She was an impressive character and they were amazing sheep!
And today I went to the Poetry in Aldeburgh festival and heard Malika Booker give a lecture about her work. This also looked at the Bible, as Malika reimagined passages from the King James Version from the perspective of a Creole woman.
Malika explained how she has used the sonnet as the form with which to engage in the stories of the Levite woman and Samson's mother in the Old Testament. She talked of coupling in sonnets as well as the sonar sonnet - it was very educational! She reignited my interest in the poetry of Shakespeare and also Edmund Spencer, as well as some poets writing today, including Keith Jarrett who introduced her session.
What a mix of topics and speakers! It's been stimulating, inspiring, energising and surprising and has reminded me to take up these opportunities whenever I can (and I hope you'll consider joining me to hear Hermione Lee speak in a couple of weeks' time - scroll down for details).
Thank you for reading.
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