MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES!
Book lovers enjoyed a weekend at the UK’ s biggest literary festival.
Hoping for dry weather, a group of Lower Sixth students boarded a bus to Wales at the start of the May half-term. We were bound for the Hay Literary Festival, an annual celebration for bibliophiles from across the UK and beyond. The multi-day event offers the chance to hear speakers spanning a huge range of disciplines, from politics to science to literature.
Over the course of the weekend, we heard talks from Alastair Campbell, Anne Applebaum, Suzie Miller and more – a particular highlight was witnessing the acclaimed author Elif Shafak( a personal favourite) receive the annual Hay Medal for Prose. We were incredibly lucky to be able to speak with her in person later, after braving a very long book-signing queue!
On our way to Wales, we also stopped off for a walk through the Forest of Dean, from which we had a magnificent view of Tintern Abbey from the Devil’ s Pulpit, at which point we enjoyed a wonderful reading of Wordworth’ s‘ Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey’ by Mrs Bartleet. The trip was an amazing opportunity to explore interests outside the IB curriculum, especially for those of us aiming to study English and other humanities subjects in higher education.
Even amidst the busy days, we had plenty of time to explore Hay, spend time together, and read all the new books we had acquired( my tote bag was significantly heavier at the end of the trip than it had been at the start)! We spent an afternoon exploring the surrounding town of Hay-on-Wye, complete with numerous bookshops, cafes, and its own castle. We had to be given strict time limits before we got lost in the second-hand bookshelves! At the end of the trip, we headed back to the festival site and had the great privilege of witnessing the premiere of the‘ lost’ Jane Austen play‘ Dial Emma for Murder’, performed by the brilliant improv group Austentatious.
Thank you so much to Mrs Bartleet and Dr Hartley for organising the trip, and driving us all the way to Wales and back!
Eve Ward, Lower Sixth
96 TRIPS, CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES