WELLS Festival of Literature has celebrated its most successful event ever this year with record sales of tickets.
The nine-day event at Cedars Hall in October ended on a high with comedian Paul Sinha giving a packed audience an insight into his autobiography One Sinha Lifetime.
On this occasion instead of performing the stand-up comedy for which he is famed he gave a humorous and humble discourse on how he swapped medicine for comedy, and how a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease has changed his life.
While big-ticket names such as Sinha’s are part of the festival’s ongoing attraction, chairman Richard Manning says: “Its success is also because our audiences know that festival profits are ploughed back into education projects in over 50 Somerset schools.
“And it is thanks also to the continued generosity of our main sponsors Chubb Bulleid, along with a number of other local businesses and supporters.”
Last year festival profits provided 1,200 books for local schools, along with paid-for visiting authors, theatre trips and poetry workshops.
At this year’s festival it laid on a free event, including transport, for more than 1,000 children from 34 primary schools. The youngsters attended one of four sessions with author Lindsay Galvin at Cedars Hall and afterwards bought more than 1,800 books at a substantial discount.
None of this would be possible without an enthusiastic ticket-buying audience who come to see not just well-known speakers such as Susie Dent or poet Pam Ayres, but to see authors who, while famous in their own fields of expertise, have a lower public profile.
Among the latter were economics commentator Grace Blakely who spoke on Vulture Capitalism – a tough subject for an early Saturday morning slot, you might think, but well attended and riveting nonetheless.
Or Gillian Clarke, former national poet of Wales, whose hushed reflections on the sounds of nature audible during Covid lockdowns were a joy to listen to.
There was also a surprise appearance following food writer Sophie Grigson’s colourful account of life and food in southern Italy in the person of fellow cook and TV presenter Prue Leith, immediately recognisable in her trademark snazzy attire.
Among many other festival highlights were AC Grayling on who owns the moon, Bendor Grosvenor on the invention of British art, and TV presenter John Suchet with an impassioned account of his lifelong devotion to Beethoven.
So, the festival provides for a wide range of tastes as well as encouraging literacy in youngsters.
But perhaps most popular of all this year was the addition of an on-site pizza van, the delicious smells of wood-fired pizza a big attraction for evening audiences. Some tastes never change.
• Picture: AC Grayling signing books (Jo Shepherd)