North Norfolk Festival of Literature and Landscape

Over to Wells next the Sea today - just 25 minutes from home - to see two talks as part of the North Norfolk Festival of Literature and Landscape. The programme this year was excellent.

I had two tickets for two events. There were also some paintings by Fred Ingrams, one of my favourite contemporary artists.

The weather was unseasonably warm - no fleece needed. The town was busy with holiday makers still. 

First up was Nicholas Crane. He was interviewed with another author - and someone who has written a great deal about Norfolk and nature: Patrick Barkham.

It was great to hear the words geography and geographers said very prominently numerous times.

There were some good elements unpicked. From the time span of the book: 12 000 years, from one period of climate change to another: the end of the ice age to the dawn of the Anthropocene. There was discussion of the arrival of the horse, and the era of the motor cars. Several stories were shared from the book, which is excellent by the way.

Then it was a pint in ‘The Crown Hotel’ and fish and chips on the quay from French’s.

Has to be haddock of course.

This was followed by Geoff Dyer. He is one of the most creative authors working. His recent memoir ‘Homework’ brought back so many memories. I loved his ‘White Sands’ travel book, and he’s also written about Tarkovksy’s ‘Stalker’. He was humorous and shared some great readings from the book. The passage on swimming lessons at school, verucas and decaying Victorian baths resonated with me, along with the early vending machines with the terribly thin cups and hot drinks. He's also a big fan of prog rock.

Description from the programme:

Childhood, class, and the absurd joys of growing up in a world that no longer exists. What if the past wasn’t just something you remember, but something you study – with the curiosity of a historian and the wit of a mischief-maker? In his memoir, Homework, Geoff Dyer turns his razor-sharp eye to his own childhood, revisiting the scraps and moments that shaped him: the football cards and conkers, the doomed beachballs, the toy Tommy guns and the school exam that rewrote his future. Set in a 60s and 70s England caught between post-war austerity and rapid change, Dyer’s story isn’t just about growing up – it’s about a world that has disappeared, yet lingers in every corner of our collective memory.

Here's Geoff in conversation about his book: