Nothing scares me more than boredom. I haven’t yet cultivated the art of doing nothing without getting bored (although I know several people who have it down to a fine art) and I have a propensity to fill every last hour of the week. And then a bit more.
When I left my job – I was working full time as an Inspector in the police service – I was looking forward to seeing the children more, and excited about writing full time, but I was very anxious about how I would cope with the change of pace.
When I suggested to some friends that it might be fun to put on a book-related event in our town, I hadn’t quite thought through the consequences. I didn’t consider that, three years on, I would be spending a day or two each week running a four-day literary festival, arranging hospitality for 80 authors and giving press interviews. I didn’t consider that it might cost more than £30,000 each year, that we’d need scores of volunteer stewards, or that I’d drink quite so many fortifying G&Ts. I didn’t consider that I’d make new friends, that together we would garner support from so many businesses, publishers and authors, and that thousands of tickets would be sold. I didn’t think through any of that. But that’s exactly what happened. And it’s happening again.
Chipping Norton Literary Festival takes place 24-27 April 2014. Authors include Kate Adie, Alan Johnson, Tim Harford, Kate Mosse, Nicci French, John Lloyd, India Knight, Gill Hornby, Lauren Child, Korky Paul, Claudia Roden and many, many more. The festival is organised by a huge team of volunteers, who work tirelessly for most of the year to bring this fabulous event to fruition.