Well, all I can say is ‘Wow’. Well, I will actually say a little bit more than that. I just wanted to tell you all that this is my first ever experience of the Hay Festival – and I am in heaven!  All this culture on our very own doorstep. How lucky can one get? Firstly, let me tell you that I am no culture vulture – a lot of what goes on is far too high-brow for me, but I am very happy with what I have seen so far.

Last Friday Robert and I went to The Barclays Wealth Pavilion to see Sandi Toksvig perform her blissful one-woman show. We both enjoyed it tremendously. She’s my sort of person.

The next night we saw Jan Ravens, The Dead Ringers and Spitting Image satirical impressionist. Excellent stuff. How anyone can do impressions like those is completely beyond me. Her ‘Ann Robinson’ was absolutely amazing. Her ‘Queen’ was pretty good too, which she did after the interval. A few people came back in a little late after the interval and she was telling them to hurry up and sit down, as if she were berating the corgis!  She looked and sounded so like The Queen, I got the feeling that some of the latecomers really thought that it WAS the Queen giving them a rollocking!

On Monday, my daughter Hannah and I went to see Ed Stourton of Radio 4 fame give a talk on Political Correctness. Personally I think we are a nation that has gone PC mad, so I was really looking forward to this. He was less funny than I thought he was going to be – perhaps he felt that he had to be Politically Correct! One topic raised was “Why on earth should we shy away from Christmas Festivites for fear of upsetting Muslims??” Need I say more ……

Later that day Hannah and I went to see Olly and Suzi introduce the film screening of a documentary about their work. This is Olly Williams and Suzi Winstanley, two unique wildlife artists who simultaneously work on the same painting of exotic and endangered animals while on location in the wildest corners of the earth. How they are still alive and breathing beats me, the risks they take!

Last night Robert, Hannah and I went to see the delicious Ben Fogle and equally delicious James Cracknell  present a talk and slide show about their amazing ‘Race To The Pole’ on foot, against two Norwegian teams. What heroes! Hannah managed to ask them a question after the talk. “Are you planning another expedition together in the near future?”. They both agreed that it was a possibility, but next time would go somewhere a bit warmer!  They kindly signed their book for us and I took a photo of Hannah with them, and she took a photo of me with them. Poor guys, but it made our night. We girls think that their wives are very lucky having such gorgeous husbands! Hannah took no time at all to get the photos up on her Facebook profile! Our younger daughter Emily was driving home from St Andrews Uni, for the last time, yesterday. She graduates this summer. She was less than pleased at having to miss Ben and James!

So, that’s it for the time being. We are visiting the Festival a few more times before it finally comes to an end, so will report back again next week.

Clare