The Lansdowne Literary Festival

I'm just back from a long weekend in London, where I took part in the Lansdowne Club's Literary Festival. A year ago I was delighted to take part in the Club's first festival, a one-day event which was such a success that Veronica Hollander and her team decided not only to have another festival this year, but to turn it into a weekend event - and to invite me back again. And a great deal of fun it was.

The Club is a splendid venue and it was an added pleasure to spend the weekend in the company of Andrew Taylor, who has for many years been one of my favourite writers, and his wife Caroline. There was a delightful dinner on Friday evening, while on Saturday morning Andrew and I were involved in recording, of all things, a featurette for a forthcoming Hammer movie blue-ray release of a crime film that has long been unavailable. More about this at a future date, but it was an extremely interesting experience. To be a 'bonus extra' is a first for both of us!

On Saturday afternoon, Andrew and I were in conversation together. Over the years, we've worked together on many occasions and the hour flew by. Later events included an interview with Frank Skinner, followed by dinner in the company of some of the festival attendees (the photo above gives an idea of the splendour of the setting). Sunday morning saw Andrew and I conducting a three-hour crime writing workshop with some very promising writers, while lunch was preceded by Rory Ross, the journalist, interviewing his nonagenarian mother Gill Johnson about her memoir Love from Venice.

All in all, it was a delightful festival, and I enjoyed chatting with so many interesting people. Unfortunately, as I got home, I received the sad news that a very old friend of mine, who has been very ill lately, had died. She was a crime fiction fan who reconnected with me thanks to this blog after we'd lost touch for many years, and she has gone far too soon. At a future date, I'll write more about her, but for now, I keep in mind that she, like me, was a believer in making the most of every day, and that's what I hope to do.