greenwich book festival – and so she thinks

Greenwich Book Festival – The Art of Convivial Drinking by Alice Lascelles

admin — Thu, 28 May 2015 11:03:00 +0000

It’s one of the busiest talks at Greenwich Book Festival. The El Dorado cocktail which each punter is greeted with as they enter the Queen Mary Court helps, but so does the vivacity and passion with which Alice Lascelles greets such a vivacious and passionate subject – drinking.
Reading from her book The Art of Convivial Drinking and peppering her talk with family tales, like that of the first time she met her husband-to-be’s grandfather and shared some ‘dark, brooding’ navy rum with him, and the run ins she has had regarding the perfect G&T, Lascelles also clearly demonsrates her extensive knowledge. The history of the cocktail is a long one, and she takes us back way before the Mad Man era to the days of prohibition, the first cocktail party in 1917 in Missouri (at 10am), to Charles Dickens’ passion for punch, the frisson Byron added to his rendezvous with the aid of a cocktail or two, and right back to 1600 and the Royal Navy’s penchant for rum, sugar and lemons in a ‘tot.’ She’s not worried about fashion, standing by her controversial preference for an olive on the side of her Martini, and describing punch as ‘party magic’ in the way it draws communities of revellers towards whichever table it rests upon.
Because really The Art of Convivial Drinking, whilst structured around ten cocktails and written by a drinks journalist is more about what surrounds the cocktails. As she says ‘I’d always rather have a bad drink with good company than a good drink with bad company.’

Greenwich Book Festival: The Rise and Fall of the Working Class by Selina Todd

admin — Tue, 26 May 2015 20:35:00 +0000

Selina Todd has issue with the idea of referring to the working class as the ‘forgotten’ or ‘marginalised.’ They, like her when she was growing up and starting her role as a historian, are just living their lives. It’s these lives that she explores in The Rise and Fall of the Working Class. At Greenwich Book Festival the historian, author and Oxford don speaks with the same urgency and humanity with which she writes, weaving together personal and everyday experiences with political views. She does not see the two as distinct, with her own left wing politics being a result of her own experiences and belief that everybody can and should have access to an awesome life.
Todd’s interest in the history of the ordinary started with seeking out the stories of her own family, the seed planted by a school project to ‘interview the oldest person you know.’ It’s an inspiration, with access to archives and libraries facilitating the opportunity for a democratic kind of history in which we can all participate.
In the hour we cover both World Wars, The Great Depression, Bevan and Thatcher, but we also cover the football pools and domestic service – both the big stuff and the little stuff mingle to make The People. rather than reporting, the book and the talk is about exploration and challenging assumptions. Todd questions the idea that lack of social mobility is a sign of lack of aspiration, and the skewed practice of over work in today’s culture. She is not at all convinced by the blaming of trade unions for the changing composition of class structure, and doesn’t believe that there was ever really a ‘golden age’ of the working class.
The working class are not people to whom things are done to by the elite or the 1%. They are – we are – people living our lives. And it’s in these lives that things are happening. The election result was not pleasing to those subscribed to socialism like Todd, but that does not mean there is no hope, and she encourages us to look to movements and organisations for development where it is not happening in government, and be agents of change: ‘They know that we are powerful as a collective.’

Greenwich Book Festival

admin — Wed, 20 May 2015 20:32:00 +0000

Reading is often thought of as a solitary activity, one person curled up with a book and entering into their own world of imagination and exploration. But stories are also something to be shared, words are meant for communication, and ideas brought up for discussion. Powerful and brilliant, there’s even more force in numbers, and a festival for all of these things that brings people into a social space to celebrate their love of literature is a beautiful thing.
Taking place over the May Bank Holiday, Greenwich Book Festival showcases the best of international British, and local talent. Students, tutors, and renowned alumni from the University of Greenwich’s thriving creative writing programme will showcase their work, including Alex Pheby, Cherry Smyth and Charlotte Crisp.
Festival highlights include pop musicians Viv Albertine and Tracey Thorn in conversation, The Miniaturist author Jessie Burton discussing ‘love and obsession in golden age Amsterdam,’ Alexandra Heminsley on Running Like a Girl and journalist Zoe Williams discussing her new book Get it Together: Why We Deserve Better Politics. There’s a genial air to proceedings, with talks on the art of tea making and the beauty of gin o’clock in Ten Cocktails: the art of convivial drinking, as well as creative workshops and cartoon making sessions.
The majesty of the Old Naval College in Greenwich is the perfect spot to pick up a book – and share its ideas and excitement with others.