So, as previously mentioned the weekend just gone was Bloody Scotland 2026. I remember when the program first came out I wasn't hugely enthused on my first flick through. Second time I was feeling a bit more constructive and I marked down a few things I'd like to go to. Later when I thought I really should think about actually getting some tickets I concentrated hard, struck off a few things that had previously been marked as 'of interest', some because they no longer looked quite as interesting and some because I'm not wandering around the streets of Stirling on my lonesome quite that late at night. Lest you think it was a less good festival than previously that wasn't the case. This sequence of events is par for the course!
I booked one event for Friday which was called Death on the Island. This was set to feature Alex Gray, Lin Anderson and Andrew Raymond. I like Alex Gray's books, I quite like Lin Anderson's although I feel they now tend to the 'a bit too long', and of Andrew Raymond I had never previously heard. But two out of three again is par for the course.
I was slightly disappointed to receive an e-mail on Thursday informing me that due to unforeseen circumstances Lin Anderson was now unable to attend, and although I couldn't have a refund I could swap my ticket for another event if I liked. But I just shrugged my shoulders and thought, well longer for the other two, no big deal. However when I got to the venue I discovered that they had found a substitute for Lin Anderson.
If you've been here for a while you can look at the poster and see immediately why, when I saw who the substitute was, my heart sank. Yes J M Dalglish, writer of the dullest set of detective novels ever set in Norfolk and possibly the entirety of Great Britain. Reviewed on the blog in February, March April and May, a sequence whihc chronicled my increasing disappointment, and I started with a low level of enjoyment with the first one I read. Even worse, he has just started a new series set in Orkney and he talked about that for some time. In the first five minutes he made three glaring errors despite, apparently, having been to Orkney on a research trip, so you know .... Even even worse he told a mother - in law joke. I thought they had rightly gone out of fashion when the last 1970s 'comedian' died, but it seems they are still alive and kicking in some minds.
I was quite bored all the way through this event. This was partly due to the presence of Dalglish who is quite as dull in person as his books, with an added dollop of self importance. Raymond was quite interesting but not interesting enough that I rushed off to buy any of his books. Alex Gray seemed to be on autopilot but then I expect she has done a lot of events like this, since she's been writing her books for 20+ years.
Again, as with the Arts Society talk, my reaction could have been partly coloured by the fact that I was still feeling under par after the flu injection - who knows? I left wondering doubtfully if the whole weekend was going to be a washout. (Spoiler - it wasn't).
Similarly to you,I have been put off going to events at this year's Birmingham Literature Festival because it would mean wandering round the city centre on my own late at night. It's a shame because there are some interesting sounding talks. I suppose I could get a taxi home, but at £20 plus the cost of the event tickets it starts to become a bit unaffordable.
ReplyDeleteIt IS a shame. I suppose organisers want to cram in as many events as possible to attract more people but it gets self defeating if the people they want to attract can't attend because of safety worries. There was of course, a survey that came round after Bloody Scotland was over and I'd hoped to mention it there but there wasn't an appropriate space sadly. I might e-mail them though and suggest they make more of their later talks available to watch on-line. They do some like that, but tend to concentrate on the headliners who are speaking late morning/early afternoon.
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