Hay Festival 2013

Join us in making Mini Spanish Omelettes, Welsh Sushi, Giant Chocolate Waffles, Sicilian Chicken and No Bake Cheesecakes. The menu will be rotated between sessions on a daily basis.

 
5–8 years – children must be accompanied

They say she has been banned in Bognor and censored in Solihull. Here to hellraise in Hay for one day only, the creator of the world-conquering Georgia Nicholson and Tallulah books and Queen of Comedy – Louise Rennison – will give you a sneak preview of The Taming of the Tights.

Duration 60 mins.

11+ years

In this hilarious tale of teen angst, discovering his parents are secret nudists is just one of the cringe-making events Mike Swarbrick has to deal with. A very funny new writer for teens.

Duration 45 mins.

13+ years

The historian tells the story of the British forces as they invade Afghanistan in 1839 and re-establish Shah Shuia ul-Mulk on the throne. The British faced little opposition to the invasion but, two years later, the Afghans rose in answer to the call for jihad and ultimately consigned the British to their most humiliating military defeat of the C19th.

The novelist brings back her hero of Restoration: Robert Merivel, physician and courtier to Charles II, loved for his gift to turn sorrow into laughter, now faces the agitations and anxieties of middle age.

Why is there something rather than nothing? Over the past thirty years, scientists have learned that two little-understood components – dark matter and dark energy – comprise most of the known cosmos, explain the growth of all cosmic structure, and hold the key to the universe’s fate. (This is way beyond rocket science – but riveting and really entertaining.)

The campaigning journalist argues for the mass restoration of damaged ecosystems, the reintroduction of wolves, lynx, beavers, moose and boar to Britain, and a life richer in adventure and surprise. Chaired by Horatio Clare.

The chef patron of Hix Oyster and Chop House and Hix Oyster and Fish House in Dorset, conjures anything that can be cooked in the dry heat of an oven, from a honey-baked ham to a sophisticated saffron custard tart.

What’s been happening in the environmental world during Festival week? We pick through the best and worst, sort the bizarre from the banal and generally sift the global media. The comedian and the journalists discuss. Chaired by Andy Fryers.

Koala brothers Dude, Bro and Squirt love doing…nothing. They can do nothing all day. But their little sister has other ideas and soon leads them into another Koala Calamity.

Duration 45 mins.

7+ years

Meet Atticus Grammatticus Cattypus Claw, the world’s greatest cat burglar. This tabby spells trouble. Find out all about his latest adventure Atticus Claw Settles a Score.

Duration 45 mins.

6+ years

Join us in making Mini Spanish Omelettes, Welsh Sushi, Giant Chocolate Waffles, Sicilian Chicken and No Bake Cheesecakes. The menu will be rotated between sessions on a daily basis.

9–12 years – children must be accompanied

An introduction to the map layout, symbols and scales on paper and digital devices; the Ordnance Survey grid system, including being able to take four figure and six figure grid references; how to use a compass effectively and how to take compass bearings.

Suitable for all ages 7+ years

A two-year revolution saw reforming heroes of the richest and most landed Cabinet in history, against their own interests, determined to bring liberty to the country in The Drama Of The Great Reform Bill 1832.

The lawyer examines the options that the world faces as it stumbles like a sleepwalker into the perils of a new nuclear age, while Iran, Israel and America face-off over nuclear capability. Chaired by Nik Gowing.

A conversation about the nature of travelling and stories between the biographer of Patrick Leigh Fermor and the man many would acclaim as his successor as the greatest living travel writer, the author of The Old Ways.

A rare opportunity to meet the Californian food superstar, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defence Of Food and Food Rules, as he champions the fundamentals of cooking – a defining human activity which sits at the heart of our cultures and shapes family life.

Warpaint by Alicia Foster is a compelling tale of truth and lies, tragedy and black comedy, loosely based on the lives of four painters of the time. The Sea Change by Joanna Rossiter is a haunting and moving novel about a mother and a daughter, caught between a tsunami and a war. In Francesca Rhydderch’s The Rice Paper Diaries, four interweaving accounts relate the intimate havoc wrought by military conflict on individual lives. Chaired by Lisa Dwan.

Wise, romantic, magical and funny, Ness’ The Crane Wife is a hymn to the creative imagination and a celebration of the disruptive and redemptive power of love. In Haig’s The Humans Professor Andrew Martin of CambridgeUniversity solves the world’s greatest mathematical riddle. Then he disappears. When he is found walking naked along the motorway, Professor Martin seems different. Chaired by Tanya Seghatchian.

Readings of stories from new collections by two of Wales’ most inventive and powerful novelists: Trezise’s Cosmic Latte and Ray’s The Answer And Other Love Stories.