2009's Photos...
Baroness Shirley WIlliams
Thank you!
As many will know, Sir Ranulph Fiennes is a staunch supporter of Marie Curie Cancer Care, following the death of his first wife. As a result, the organisers of the Chorleywood LitFest decided to make a donation to the charity to thank Sir Ranulph for attending the festival. In addition, two of the charity's nurses attended with an information stall, and collecting boxes were circulated amongst those attending.
We would like to give our thanks to all those who kindly donated a total of £419.83, in addition to the £500 donated from ticket sales.
Lifest news 2009
Chorleywoood Litfest 2009 was our best year yet. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! How did it go?
Baroness Shirley Williams gave us an insight into the world of politics - past and present - as she explained her life's work, covering a range of topics including the different categories the press place female politicians in, the challenges of breaking in to such a male-dominated enclave as Parliament in the mid 1960s - and an "insider's view" on the current public perceptions of politicians.
Writer Conn Iggulden put in a surprise appearance at Lizzie Duncan's children's illustration workshop where children flocked to get the opportunity to draw their own Tollin!
Toby Litt shared his talent and insight in one of the best writing workshops many of the seasoned creative writers had been part of. A great opportunity to learn from a true expert. We learned about good dialogue and how to avoid the pitfalls of bad dialogue - a challenging skill to master.
Tears for a special kind of hero as Max Arthur's retelling of some of the poignant tales he has collected from World War I & II veterans spoke of a special kind of heroism - ordinary people enduring extraordinary times. There was scarcely a dry eye in the audience as he spoke with great fondness of the last of the heroes of the "war to end all wars", Harry Patch and Henry Allingham, the remarkable veterans who passed away earlier this year.
A sideways look at the ageing process brought an hour of laughter to Chorleywood as Virginia Ironside shared her outlook on life at 65.
Charming Daphne Selfe, sleek in a designer frock enchanted her audience with her life as a model at eighty and how she got there. Finding recent fame as Britain's oldest model, Daphne is a fabulous role model for how life can still be as full and exciting as ever whatever your age and that everyone can make the best of themselves.
More laughter as Gervaise Phinn played to a packed Memorial Hall and shared his warmth, humanity and love of people and language. At times hilarious, at times deeply poignant, Phinn demonstrated his gifts of observation and humour with the tales of his life as a school inspector in the Yorkshire Dales.
The atmosphere turned steamy as Christian Wolmar gave us an entertaining trip through the early history of the railway, and the widespread influence it had on the development of the modern world as we know it. Even the universal popularity of that great British institution - Fish & Chips - can be attributed to the train.
Ranulph Fiennes brought his adventures to life before a packed audience, who relished the chance to meet the greatest explorer of our day. Chorleywood Literature Festival presented Ranulph Fiennes with a donation to Marie Curie Cancer Care, one of the major charities he supports.
Writer Penelope Lively entertained with great insight into her life as a writer, her inspirations and her research looking back over a rewarding career. Chorleywood
BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? rounded off a week of exceptional events at Chorleywood Literature Festival 2009. Jonathan Dimbleby introduced the panel of Lord Steel, Harriet Harman, Phil Hammond and Tristram Hunt in a lively debate, and the audience enjoyed the warm-up session hosted by Kerry Thomas, Editor of the Today programme.