Diary of a Festival Organiser - Day 2

Thursday 22nd May 2015 - Part Two

Jen Campbell came to visit us in Friern Barnet Community Library as part of the festival. I've been following Jen on Twitter for some time and it was Jen that introduced me to Mike Carey's novel, The Girl with all the Gifts. Jen is a bit like The Girl with all the Books because she reads at least two a week and has a wealth of knowledge not just about books but about bookshops too. Not just books and bookshops but also the author of bestselling 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' series plus a very interesting Booktube channel. 

Jen gave us some examples of the weird things customers say: 'Do you have this children's book I've heard about? It's supposed to be very good. It's called Lionel Richie and the Wardrobe.'

But behind the fun aspect of Jen's books is the really serious and important message of how books and bookshops educate and inform. The same way as having access to libraries works: for information, other worlds, and a much needed peaceful environment. When a country wants to oppress its people, it often begins by burning books or closing libraries. Jen told us about a bookshop in Kenya that keeps being burnt down, Khaleb Omondi, the man who owns it keeps reopening new bookshops, his resilience is scary, brave and admirable. Book burning becomes emblematic of a harsh and oppressive regime which is seeking to censor or silence an aspect of a nation's culture.

We've had a lot of fun meeting such a diverse group of authors and book people, and there's more events happening. We've joked about zombies and book bugs but behind the festival is a serious message that is all tied up with access to books, access to information and why our theme this year is supporting our libraries. Holding events in libraries is sending a message to our council: we love libraries, we use libraries, we want access to local libraries in our community. We will support Unison and librarians when they strike 1st and 2nd June. We will not be shushed.

Also see The Library Debate

Diary of a Festival Organiser - Day 2

Thursday 22nd May - Part One

Today was calmer sort of day. I enjoyed catching up with Twitter and Facebook friends and comments. It's wonderful to see so many people involved and enjoying this year's festival. Sometimes when you are the one organising, as well as meeting and greeting, it is difficult to relax and just listen. However, today I didn't have that problem. Antonia Honeywell kindly came to Finchley to talk about her new book The Ship.

Earlier in the morning Allen Ashley ran a poetry workshop with an astromony theme 'Sun, Moon and Planets'. Allen said, "Everyone worked really hard to produce some great poems."

Antonia Honeywell

Murni, FLF photographer, attended Antonia's talk and felt inspired: "Today I learnt about realising a dream. Antonia has three young children like me and gives up her job to be a homemaker. The pain of no longer earning is huge, but the support from her husband and in-laws take her to finish her debut novel.
In the British Museum she saw a bemoaning teenager with her parents; she knew 'that child' would be her protagonist sixteen-year-old Lalla. The financial crisis in 2008 further drove the idea forward, for in every crisis there were people who would take advantage of the situation. Against her wish Lalla boarded on the ship her father had built, along with five hundred others people he'd chosen. Everybody was willing but her. Everybody asked no question but her. Where were they going?
The road to her being published is hardly a fairy tale. And yet her wish to be an author is so strong that she wouldn't let it go.
I may not have an English degree like her and English is my second language, but just as her I write. And I'll write until it's finished. One day, I hope I'll hold firmly a book in my hand with my name on the bottom."

I also found myself inspired and moved by some of Antonia's observations. I so enjoyed listening to her intellectual and creative ideas. She came up with some gems for writers: "Be absolutely sure you've come to the end of your commercial journey before getting self published." Writers find it really hard to remove bits of their writing. You don't have to kill your darlings, was Antonia's tip, just 'cut' bits of your writing and put in a temporary file. She said she could count on one hand scenes that went back in, which was hardly any.

When I got home late in the afternoon, I began to feel a little frustrated thinking myself a crap writer because I haven't been writing for some time. Rather than take the path of self-flagellation, I decided to give myself a little treat, as a way to force myself to sit and write. I've signed up for Murder in the Library at North Finchley Library on Saturday at 2.00pm. Like Murni, I'm an Agatha Christie fan and I've been wanting to write a crime drama for some time.

See also Lindsay's account

Diary of a Festival Organiser - Day 1

Wednesday 20th May 2015

The day began with a bit of panic when I discovered most of the organisers and participants had been struck down by a mystery virus, see more here.

This year the festival theme is supporting libraries. We intend to make the most of them while they are still here and we support all the library campaigns all over the UK fighting to save their libraries. 

We were very pleased to be launching the festival at Church End Library with Theresa Musgrove, The Hand that Smoothes the Pillow: Mary Ann Cotton – the Life and Times of a Victorian Serial Killer. 

It seems that Theresa's research is a way to take her mind off the recent election results. She is now "concentrating her mind on the happy subject of serial killers, and death by poisoning, which makes a pleasant contrast to the malodorous subject of politics in the London Borough of Broken Barnet."

Theresa Musgrove

Murni, a Greenacre Writer and FLF photographer, said about the event, "I learnt about a woman, the same age like mine, who was sent to the gallows in 1873 because of her crimes. The arsenic queen, Mary Ann Cotton, killed four of her husbands, her lovers, her step children and her OWN ones that make twenty one victims in total. Little known until recently, she is more murderous than her contemporaries Jack the Ripper and Dr. Harold Shipman." 

Her descendant Theresa Musgrove @brokenbarnet spoke about her life and Mary Ann Cotton's personae as part of Finchley Literary Festival."

Theresa, who incidentally is a descendant Mary Ann Cotton, is now writing what she hopes will be the definitive study of the life of the Victorian poisoner, Mary Ann Cotton.

Later that evening, we decamped to Friern Barnet Community Library for Mike Carey's event. I discovered that Mike and his wife Linda had worked as volunteers when the library was occupied.

Lindsay just after she'd bitten me. And me zombiefied (Mike unaware he is about to be bitten)

                                 Mike reading from The Girl.           J.P. O'Malley interviewing Mike                           

More zombies (Mike is of course wearing a human mask -he'd already been struck down with the Zombie Book Bug!)

I think the photographs tell the story of the evening quite well. For a more detailed description see Lindsay Bamfield's blog.

Something Strange is happening in Finchley

The Girl with all the Gifts is not the type of book that I would usually read. Even back in my teenage days when I was addicted to horror, the novels I read were more likely to have their storylines based in some sort of reality, like The Rats, by James Herbert. In those days, I never read Science Fiction. 

So when I saw a tweet from Jen Campbell, about a new online book club I decided to take part, mainly because I didn't feel I was doing enough reading. I never thought that I would be reading a book about Zombies. Jen also did an interview with the author, Mike Carey where he talks about his writing and where the idea for The Girl came from.

I went to Muswell Hill Bookshop and looked for the book in the fiction section without really knowing what I was looking for apart from I knew it had a bright yellow cover and was about a young girl. When I couldn't find it I was very disappointed, so I asked behind the issue desk.

'Oh, that'll be in the Science Fiction Section,' said the assistant and went off down the shop to get it.

'Oh'. I murmured to her retreating back and wondered what on earth I was buying.

I wished she'd hurry up because I was hungry even though I'd only had my lunch half an hour before.

When I got outside the bookshop, I read the back cover again (I'd already seen it online). I went for a coffee, some sandwiches, some cake and chocolate and I was still hungry. I opened the book and began to read. Almost from the first page, where the reader meets ten year old Melanie who's in some sort of a prison and who is interested in fairy tales, I found myself caring about the character and I was hooked.

"Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh."

I continued reading. However, I was a bit concerned at my behaviour, just buying a book without really knowing what it was. When I got back to Finchley later that day, I noticed there was a strange smell in the air and I began to feel a bit dizzy. And when I got home, I was so hungry again. But nothing I ate satisfied me. I even found myself sleepwalking and eating food from the fridge and the cupboards. The only way I could forget the hunger was to read.

As I delved further into the narrative, I became quite concerned for my mental health. I felt as if I was in a film that was real, the descriptions pulled me into a post apocolyptic world where I desperately wanted to save Melanie and eat the zombies. I made myself stop reading past 6.00pm because the images in my head needed time to settle down. For the first half of the book, I went to sleep petrified. And all the time, I could hear strange mumblings outside my window at night.

The Girl with all the Gifts deals with a dystopian future in which most of humanity is wiped out by a fungal infection. It's a good plot though it is the characters that drive the story, through Finchley and other north London landmarks including the artsdepot overun with zombies.

Zombies! Why was I reading a book about zombies. There seems to be a lot of interest in Finchley about these strange creatures. Last week the local press contacted the festival organisers for a photoshoot but all they were really interested in was Mike Carey's book. I couldn't attend as I was at work. But the others went along and as our theme this year is supporting local libraries, they met outside Church End Library. Is it me or is there something a bit odd about the photograph? They seem to be lurching from side to side?

Murni who appears on the left, wanted me to be in the photo too and so she took some photos of Lindsay, myself, Mike and Robert a few days ago. But even these seem a little odd, perhaps it's because it was early in the morning and none of us looked our best. There is something happening in Finchley, the earth is rumbling, there's a funny smell in the air, we're all hungry and we're all buying books...the zombies are coming...

                       Lindsay       Rosie          Mike         Robert

Mike and Jen will be at this year's Finchley Literary Festival. Mike will be discussing The Girl with all the Gifts, Wednesday 20th May 7.00pm and Jen will be discussing her latest book The Bookshop Book on Thursday 21st May 6.00pm at Friern Barnet Community Library

Finchley in Fiction - Part Two

Continuing on from last week, I have found some more links to Finchley in Fiction:

Mr. Finchley is a fictional character in three comic novels by Victor Canning (unfortunately no relation to me), a novelist who later gained great success with thrillers. He first appears in Canning's very first book, Mr. Finchley Discovers his England, published in 1934 and as Mr. Finchley's Holiday in the USA in 1935.

Scoop is a 1938 novel by the English writer Evelyn Waugh, a satire of sensationalist journalism and foreign correspondents: ‘That evening, Mr Salter, foreign editor of The Beast, was summoned to dinner at his chief’s country seat at East Finchley.' What a wonderful title for a newspaper, we've had more than enough Beast reporting leading up to and beyond the Election.

Bluebottle, a character in the 1950s BBC radio series The Goon Show, hails from East Finchley. Peter Sellers, who played Bluebottle, lived in the area at one time.

The Monty Python's Flying Circus comedy sketch, The Funniest Joke in the World (1969), is set in Finchley. The premise of the sketch is that the joke is so funny that anyone who reads or hears it promptly dies from laughter. Please don’t laugh while reading this!

The Russian poet Joseph Brodsky wrote a poem c 1978 with the title 'East Finchley', but it's been quite difficult to find a copy. Finchley Boy, Allen Ashley leads a poetry workshop with an astronomy theme. Sun, Moon and Planets is aimed at writers of all levels. Find out more here.

In the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Susan Pevensie says that she and her siblings, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, are from Finchley, despite no mention of Finchley being made in C. S. Lewis's book

In Ben Elton's Blind Faith (2007), loosely based on Orwell's 1984, the setting is a flooded London: '[Finchley] was not an easy place for Trafford to get to, as it involved crossing Lake London with his bicycle and disembarking at the Paddington jetty …'

Two for Sorrow (2011) by Nicola Upson takes place in East Finchley being about the notorious Finchley baby farmers and is a traditional detective novel using Josephine Tey, a real writer(!), to investigate a modern day killing. A bit odd to use a real writer as your fictional detective and I do wonder if she pulled it off.

At last year's Finchley Literary Festivel, we were very lucky to have Caitlin Davies as one of our speakers. The Ghost of Lily Painter (2012) is also about the baby farmers of East Finchley. Davis' exhaustive research shines through all her novels, plunging the reader into a literary time machine. You can find out more about her research and writing here.

One summer’s night, while drunkenly crossing Trent Park Golf Course, Hal Maybury, errant husband, ale drinker and Finchley resident, finds in a canyon where the 17th hole should be something that will change his life forever and something that London will never forget. (And no it wasn’t Brian Coleman) Hal is the protagonist of The I AM, (2012) by Robert Samuels.

Foul Deeds And Suspicious Deaths In Barnet, Finchley And Hendon (2009) Nick Papadimitriou chooses over 20 notorious cases that give a fascinating insight into criminal acts and the criminal mind. It seems as if there has been a lot of murder in Finchley both in real life and in fiction. If you'd like to find out about crime writing join Murder in the Library, a Finchley Literary Festival workshop that stimulates your imagination, gets your plot in a twist and kills all your enemies on paper only.

Another crime and another writer, Mark Billingham mentions Finchley in Bloodline (2010). Emily Walker is found beaten and suffocated with a plastic bag in her Finchley home, she appears to be the victim of a domestic dispute.

Moon over Soho (2011) by Ben Aaronovitch mentions Finchley, “Jerry Johnson was one of the latter type of non-Londoner, born in Finchley in 1940 by the grace of God and died in a bungalow on the outskirts of Norwich…”

Finchley wouldn't be the same without a mention of John Betjeman, who was the first Patron of The Finchley Society. Betjeman, along with Spike Milligan fought to save Hawthorndene, the historic house at the entrance to Strawberry Vale Estate. When congratulating the society on saving the building, Betjeman wrote: “Long live Finchley and its sudden steep hills, tree-shaded gardens, and memories of a civilised prosperity.”

Spike Milligan lived in Finchley and Finchleyites hold him in very high esteem, I really can't do justice in a few lines, but join Paul Baker, a qualified City of London guide, who leads a special Finchley Lit Fest walk to find out more about this Finchley hero. More details here.

Kate Atkinson mentions Finchley numerous times in 'Life After Life' (2014). The protagonist, Ursula’a sister lives in Finchley. We have a huge amount of literary talent in Finchley, if you'd like to listen to some local authors reading their work, then join us in Finchley's only literary cafe, Cafe Buzz for a Celebration of Local Writing

Wonder Women (2013) by Rosie Fiore-Burt, mentions Finchley nearly twenty times, possibly because the protagonist, Jo lives there! Rosie joined Caitlin at last year's festival along with Miriam Halahmy and Alex Wheatle. Alex is back this year, appearing at Waterstones to discuss his highly acclaimed new YA novel Liccle Bit (2015). Alex will be joined by two other YA writers, find out more here.

And finally, Mike Carey’s Girl with all the Gifts (2014), has what is soon to become a famous scene as well as a re-enacted scene, artsdepot in North Finchley, overrun with zombies, filming began this week. If you want to find out more about this unusual book, come to the Finchley Literary Festival, taking place in Finchley with lots of Finchley authors and possibly a few zombies....

If you’d like to learn more about literary Finchley, do come along to one of the FLF events and say hello.