The clouds lifted

Another day and more words. And today we were not missing a lovely sunny day – it was a good day to be inside at Words by the Water. 

During the Keswick Festival there is always a day, called Bookcase Day, which features books published by Bookcase, which is part of Bookends, the wonderful Bookshop in Carlisle and Keswick, the Festival Bookshop. Bookcase publishes books with a local interest and today we went to three talks featuring some of their recent publications. 

Michael A. Mullett gave a very scholarly, but yet enthralling, account of Penrith through the seventeenth century, the focus of Volume 3 of his history of Penrith. Some of this I knew, a lot I didn’t know, but it was all fascinating.

Stephen Matthews, who is the owner of Bookends, gave a very entertaining account of how Carlisle has featured in literature over the centuries. He read brilliantly from old ballads, from Walter Scott, from Dickens and many more. He argued that Carlisle, as the Border City, has attracted many writers and songsters over many years

Jim Cox gave a fascinating account of the true story of the Monocled Mutineer. I referred to this story here, in this talk we got so many cleverly researched details.

All speakers were well known, local people and they attracted large and enthusiastic audiences. A good day.  

The photo was taken as we left Keswick. The clouds were lifting and the last of the sun was lighting up the slopes and peaks of the Skiddaw range.