07/03/10 - Final day at Bath Literature Festival

Walking into the centre of Bath this afternoon was quite a tough prospect, as the usual route was blocked by hundreds of runners taking part in the Bath Half Marathon. However, I made it to the Guildhall in time for my last two sessions.

The first was a discussion sponsored by Prospect and entitled ‘Are the French better than us at everything?’ Taking part were political commentator Agnes Poirier, who has lived in England since the age of 23, novelist Kate Mosse and Guardian writer Jon Henley, all kept in order by Allan Little. There were plenty of francophiles on the platform and in the audience, but the general conclusion was that the UK has a lot going for it too. One of the subjects touched on was the French scorn of vegetarianism.  Ironically, the Festival cafe had run out of veggie sandwiches by the time I arrived and I had to settle for a carrot & coriander soup so thick that I could have done with a knife and fork.

The second session was chaired by author and poet Michele Roberts in conversation with Matthew Cobb, history lecturer at Manchester University and author of ‘Resistance’, and Barbara Mellor, who has translated Agnes Humbert’s memoir of her experiences during the Occupation.