The Comfort Zone

AKA Hay Festival. Got up at 4.30am and drove down, arriving just before 8.00. Stepped out of the car and started talking to the head of Cannongate publishin, Jamie Byng, who was parking next to us. Half an hour later, we finally managed to leave and go and get some coffee having had a delightful conversation about all things books. He even opened the boot of his car and gave us two as yet unpublished novels for free.

I passed Elif Shafak and David Olosuga at the festival and had brief words with Richard Curtis in a local pub (he was blocking my path to the gents).

On stage we saw Ruth Jones of Gavin and Stacey fame, Suzy Miller (barrister turned playwright) and the improv group Austentatious.

This is Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi, famous chefs and all ‘round fab people, posing with the gorgeous TSM.

The icing on the cake of the day was my team winning their League 1 playoff final at Wembley. Whoop whoop.

Proper write up later in the week when the dust has settled …