[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-henley-literary-festival":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"This was my first time to the \u003Ca href=\"http://www.henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk/\">Henley Literary Festival\u003C/a>, and the high points were having an excellent piratey event with the kids, and getting into the world's largest pair of knickers with writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.stevehartley.net/\">Steve Hartley\u003C/a>, holding a giant inflatable bogey aloft. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_steve_hartley-c79c45e025.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe low point was the walk back to the Green Room. Imagine you are walking by yourself along the riverside, which is absolutely chok-a-blok with sunbathers and posh, drunk boaters, and you are carrying a bag visibly full of festival complimentary booze and DRESSED LIKE A PIRATE. Oh, and because you are carrying your own bag with one hand and the booze bag with the other hand, your skirt keeps hiking up but you don't have a free hand to keep pulling it down. Oh, yes. I think I averaged a comment or \u003Ci>significant look\u003C/i> every four steps. *blushes deeply*\\r\n\\r\nJust to make the day even more surreal, look what I passed on my way from the railway station. I had no idea Dusty Springfield was buried in Henley.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_dusty_springfield-c79f51c798.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more photos under the cut-->\\r\nThings all got a bit silly in the Green Room. Here are the festival's \u003Cb>John Ryan\u003C/b> and writer/translator/event moderator \u003Ca href=\"http://www.translatedfiction.org.uk/show/feature/Translation-Daniel-Hahn\">Daniel Hahn\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_johndanny-6d8092152b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nDanny let me see a beautiful book he's working on, called \u003Cb>\u003Ci>Happiness is a Watermelon on Your Head\u003C/i>\u003C/b>, translated from the Portugese text by Stella Dreis, but then completely rewritten by Danny into rhyming verse. You can get a peek at it \u003Ca href=\"http://www.phoenixyardbooks.com/view_book.php?id=17\">here on the Phoenix Yard Books website\u003C/a>, it launches in the UK on 1 Feb and it's going to be lovely.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_dannyhahn-5d231e3193.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI got to meet the Yorkshireman writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.gervase-phinn.com/\">Gervais Phinn\u003C/a>....\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_gervase_phinn-aafd1f91ec.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n... and have a quick run around the \u003Ca href=\"http://www.rrm.co.uk/\">River & Rowing Museum\u003C/a>'s \u003Ci>Wind in the Willows\u003C/i> exhibition with all its little modelled scenes from the book. (This one's the weasel feast at Toad Hall.) Big thanks to the museum for hosting my event, it was a lovely venue.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_willows-ebc979a6b4.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI also spotted an amazing garden map in one of the cases. You can't make it out if I post the whole thing, but here's a lovely little detail.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_map2-9c05ba1630.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd I'm always a sucker for china decorated by British artist \u003Ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Ravilious\">Eric Ravilious\u003C/a>. There's another big Boat Race pot in the National Maritime Museum in London, and I often look out for it.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_ravilious-0ea061cc74.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's Steve deflating his giant bogey before he gets on the train to Manchester. He actually has an \u003Ci>electric deflator\u003C/i>. Gadget Man!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11__stevehartley-fd8e6102f5.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd since they live locally, my cousin Sheila and her daughter, Alex, showed up. Hello, family!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_alex_sheila-57c2325cfa.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks so much to everyone at Henley who are making the festival happen! On the way back home, I saw the poster for \u003Ca href=\"http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/grayson_perry.aspx\">this exhibition by Grayson Perry\u003C/a> and thought, I absolutely must go see that.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/grayson_perry.aspx\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_grayson-a2c6e61ffc.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nNo more events for a few days, my brain is fried.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/henley11_johndanny2-c26d1bbb4a.jpg\">","2011-10-01T22:55:00.000Z","henley-literary-festival",[],"henley literary festival",1776628720759]