Ed Book Fest.
Mud. Boots. Ducks. Books.
Mud ...
Mud ...
Mud ...
Which kind of sums up the Edinburgh Book festival so far. I don't actually know whether it's the wettest festival ever, but it must be in the running. Fortunately the tents are wonderfully waterproof these days, and there are duck boards everywhere. (Question: why are they called duck boards? Aren't ducks supposed to SWIM? Although it has to be said that the yellow plastic ducks have given up, and are floating miserably on their sides ...) I can remember a time (ancient, me) when the tents weren't nearly so grand, and the water would collect in a pool in the middle of the canvas. Some well intentioned youngster would then sprint into the tent and poke at the bulge with a stick, and there'd be shrieks of anguish from outside as some unsuspecting punter drowned noisily in gallons of icy rain water. Luckily we're spared that these days, but the poor unfortunate staff in the Spiegal tent were dishing out coffee with a fair quantity of Best Quality Sky Juice yesterday. I did have a brief Health and Safety moment about the urn and the electric gadgets generally, but apparently Book Festival Electrics are watched over by a generous god.
The yurt (a massive Mongolian style tent, with many side rooms and off shoots,and secret places to hide luggage) is the gathering place for authors, illustrators and anyone else connected to the festival in a professional way. Although prone to the odd drip or two, it seems to have managed to avoid sinking into the mud so far - but further reports on this later. (One of the struts is looking decidedly dodgy.) It's a great place to meet people, although some of us have to dive for a programme to check on the name of a face that looks terribly familiar ... but who ARE they? I do think I would have recognised Gordon Brown, though. The PM was there as the Mystery Guest to open the festival, and I managed to miss him - bad timing or what? I'm told he was brilliant, which doesn't make me feel any better. The yurt is presided over by a hugely efficient team; as you arrive you are given a badge on a ribbon, and a splendid Ed Book Fest book bag with goodies inside. (It's a good STRONG bag, too. No rubbish. I carried ten pounds of potatoes home the other night, and it didn't squeak once.) Any problems, any difficulties, just tell them - and they sort you out in the nicest possible way.
Events? Ah ... so many.
The levels of enthusiasm seem undimmed by the weather. Authors have come and gone, and children and adults have queued for (literally) hours in the rain for that magic moment when they meet their hero. Darren Shan's line snaked across the signing tent, out of the door and half way down the gardens. It didn't help that he's a chatty bod who likes to make time for each child as he signs their books; I do hope the last couple of families had ready access to hot baths and cocoa afterwards. They were beyond drenched. If they'd jumped in the Firth and swum for half an hour they couldn't have looked any wetter.
There seem to have been a lot of events for babies and young children this year; at almost any time you can hear songs and stories. Bookstart Edinburgh and Craigmillar Books for Babies have been doing a fantastic job enthusing lots of teeny tiny future readers, and there are some great book related drawing and colouring activities as well. They seem very cool about adults joining in, just as long as you don't keep the Special Pink colouring pen too long. (Or go off with it. A certain amount of gentle frisking as children leave is usually advisable.) The huge collection of small fairies who came to Sue Heap's Midnight Fairy Feast were more restrained, and actually did some tidying up after constructing a truly wonderful array of plates of cakes and biscuits and jellies and ice sausages. (That's what fairies always eat at midnight feasts. Didn't you know?)
Nicola Davies was, as ever, AMAZING. I overheard two children discussing her event while waiting to have a book signed, and they were both still in a state of trance. 'WOW!' one breathed. 'She knows more about animals than ... than ... than my animal dictionary twice over!' And he was quite right. It was great to see copies of her book Home on sale as well; I've always loved that book. It's one of the joys of the festival - they don't just show the books authors are specifically talking about, but also bring in a wide selection of their other work.
Which reminds me. I should be heading for the bus stop. Tanya Landman is talking this evening, and Mal Peet is around, and so is Anthony Browne. Yee ha!
More later...
Viv.