The water was wild . . .

. . . down by the Lake, but the Words by the Water were sublime.

It was the first day of the Keswick Festival of Words and Ideas and we were there this afternoon. The weather was atrocious – gale force winds, rain, mist over the hills and so cold. I had a quick foray down to the edge of Derwentwater, but soon sought refuge in the Theatre.
 
We listened to a talk by Claire Tomalin, an author I have always admired for her highly researched, but ultimately readable biographies. The one she talked about today was The Invisible Woman, a book about Nelly Ternan the mistress of Charles Dickens. She was big part of his last years, but was kept a secret. I read the book last year and really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to hearing her thoughts on it. Claire talked about the story itself, her research, the reaction to her book and, most interesting of all, her involvement with the film of the same name based on her book. She spoke from deep knowledge, but was highly entertaining at the same time. Absolutely perfect.
 
After a break we went back and watched the film. I loved it, as did everyone in the audience it looked like. (You can always tell, when no one is in a rush to get out.) What an excellent afternoon/evening. And there’s more tomorrow!!
 
Still wild round here. Calm down . . . !