Feature: Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival September 11 to 13
Published: 8 September, 2011
by DAN CARRIER
From the tragic story of how Spurs double-winning hero John White was killed by lightning at the height of his career, as told by his son, to a discussion of criminal law fronted by Noel “Razor” Smith, a man with 58 convictions, this year’s Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival, organised by the London Jewish Cultural Centre in partnership with the Ham&High, is packed with writers talking shop.
Scottish winger John White was a key component in Bill Nicholson’s Spurs side, but his life was cut short when he was killed in 1964.
His son Rob – whose book The Ghost of White Hart Lane (Yellow Jersey Press), discusses his life, including interviews with team mates, fans and family – will be joined in conversation on Sunday (2-3pm. £7) by his co-author, Julie Welch, and Spurs-supporting Guardian journalist, John Crace.
Sarah Brown, wife of former PM Gordon, will be speaking on Tuesday evening (6.45-7.45pm, £12) about her new book, Behind The Black Door (Ebury Press).
She says that when she thinks about her time in Downing Street, she realises how busy she was: “Looking back at my time at Number 10 I can see that I packed a lot in, ranging from daily family life to official visits and engagements to taking up my own campaigns for women and children.” And she hopes her book will reveal a little of the life you lead when you are at the centre of power, providing matrimonial support to the chief executive.
“I wanted to write a book to open up exactly what it was like for a Prime Minister’s wife – from the kitchen table to the G20 top table,” she says. “It was huge privilege and, for me, an opportunity to shine a spotlight on some of the important causes like maternal mortality, cancer care and educational support that needed to be addressed.”
And writing up her notes, she could draw on well-kept daily diaries that detailed her time at Number 10. “I had such detailed records of my daily schedule that I could follow all my movements looking back,” she says. “I sat down to write the book quickly in just a few weeks while it was all fresh in my mind.
Having edited several anthologies of both short stories and non-fiction for my charity PiggyBankKids, I was familiar with the publishing process, but this was the first time I had written a book – cover to cover – myself, and I enjoyed the experience enormously.”
Dickens expert Professor Michael Slater, who lives in Bloomsbury, will be talking on Sunday afternoon (3-4pm, £7) about the life and times of his favourite author with journalist Sam Leith. On Tuesday evening (8.30-9.30pm, £10), Alan Hollinghurst will be talking to Guardian books editor Claire Amistead about his new novel, The Stranger’s Child (Picador); and on Tuesday morning (11am-12, £7), Diana Athill will be in conversation with Trudy Gold of the London Jewish Cultural Centre about her time in
publishing, retirement, her own writing, growing fame and encroaching old age.
• Featuring 140 speakers in 70 events, the Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival runs from Sunday, September 11, to Tuesday, September 13. The talks are held at The London Jewish Cultural Centre, Ivy House, 94-96 North End Way, NW11. Tickets can be booked in advance online or by calling 020 8511 7900. Some tickets available on the door,
on a first come, first served basis. 020 8511 7900, www.hamhighlitfest.com