"WHAT would he have become? For those of us who knew him he was a god - and he wore the most beautiful shirts..." This was how Jane Asher - who seems to have discovered the secret of eternal youth - began this celebration of the life and poetry of Rupert
FORMER Daily Telegraph editor Sir Max Hastings launched a scathing attack on tabloid journalism during his appearance at the festival. And his vitriol didn't end with the red tops - he went on to attack his old adversaries on the Times. While I wasn't
TOP war correspondent Kate Adie and Daily Telegraph defence editor Sir John Keegan came together at the festival to discuss the reporting of modern warfare. Sir John felt that journalists must be able to write fast, accurately and interestingly and to
MAGNUS Magnusson grew up being told the Icelandic Sagas at his mother's knee and revelled in the tales of saga heroism and derring-do. And we revelled in them too as Magnusson captivated us with his lyrical Icelandic lilt. Sagas are profound and sometimes
DESPITE the fact that she was 20 minutes late because she was stuck in traffic, Mo Mowlam was lively and energetic when she eventually stepped on stage at the town hall in front of a packed audience. A fascinating discussion ensued with broadcaster Simon
CIRENCESTER'S Better Butties Cafe which employs and trains people with learning difficulties closed last week because despite its successful track record, it doesn't qualify for government cash. Now an appeal has gone out to local businesses to save the
IF like me you attended several events at the festival - you may well have seen the same person on the stage several times. David Freeman introduces himself as the man who makes his living out of interviewing authors. He interviewed nine on stage at the
VETERAN war reporter John Simpson looked slightly out of place standing on stage at Cheltenham Town Hall wearing a smart suit. I'm more used to seeing the BBC's world affairs editors wearing a flak jacket, dodging bullets in Afghanistan or the West Bank
THE case for a new biography of Wilfred Owen was that it gave author Dominic Hibberd the chance do essential research which had not been done before and he had had huge fun discovering details which disputed what had previously been written. Many of the
OF all historic events the causes of the Great War must be some of the most hotly debated. Professor Sir Michael Howard gave us his view at Cheltenham Festival and his lecture was as clear and succinct as his recently published slim volume, "The First
THIS year's Cheltenham Festival of Literature was a huge success with a range of guest writers, critics, historians, actors, playwrights, psychologists and philosophers. Here are a selection of some of the speakers reviewed by Standard writers. Click
THE REFEREE ISSUES A CARD TO NEWPORT'S BEN BREEZE BREEZE GETS CAUGHT UP IN A SCUFFLE SIMON RAIWALUI
IAN Rankin came from a secure family background with loving working class parents and no childhood traumas. But in his early schooldays he was writing dark tales - one involved a suspected serial killer who turned out to be someone from a mental institution
"WE in Britain must sing from the same hymn sheet as Europe." That was the message from Will Hutton, author of The World We're In, in Cheltenham Festival's European lecture. We must remember that we are Europeans too and that the English Channel is not
WRITER and activist Arundhati Roy was a joy to listen to as she reflected on her work and campaigns in India on behalf of the underprivileged and dispossessed. Her soft voice lit up the town hall as she read extracts from her acclaimed debut novel The
STOW-on-the-Wold was awash with colour and crowds when hosting its biannual gypsy horse fair. Hundreds of gypsies from across Britain converged on the picturesque Cotswold town for the one-day event, held just into neighbouring Maugersbury parish. Maugersbury
CONFESSING that his rendering of the poems that make up A E Houseman's The Shropshire Lad and his commentary on the life of the poet owed more to enthusiasm than to lengthy research, actor Andrew Bannerman proceeded to give a performance that was both
TALES of life in "brutal rural Spain" brought mirth and merriment to a packed audience of fans in the Everyman Theatre who seized a rare chance to see Chris Stewart. His first book Driving Over Lemons told of how he escaped Thatcher's Britain and went
