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Looking ahead to the �鶹Լ�� at Hay 2015

2015-04-24T17:07:30+00:00

Last year, our coverage of one of the highlights of the cultural calendar, the Hay Festival, brought the words and talents of some of the greatest writers, thinkers and performers to many millions of people - essence of Hay captured, bottled and exported across the globe. And this year we're doing it again with talks, live broadcasts and workshops from the �鶹Լ�� Tent.

I love all our output equally, but just to pull out a few highlights...

Radio 4 is bravely producing a new drama from Glyn Maxwell at the site itself - a first - which is a great opportunity for on-site audiences to see how we broadcasters conjure alternatives worlds out of recording equipment, words, great acting talent and a seasoned producer or two.

You’ll be able to see behind the scenes how some of our well-loved programmes work like The Archers to a Q&A and screening about the making of �鶹Լ�� One’s Imagine… Colm Tóibín.

Poet Simon Armitage and director Sue Roberts will be discussing the making of their extraordinary film Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster (commissioned by Learning and transmitting on �鶹Լ�� Four this Autumn), one of the most moving and powerful things I've seen this year.

I'm also looking forward to Vanessa Feltz and Sheila Hancock in conversation for Radio 2. Poet Ian McMillan and Alison Hindell will be doing masterclasses on writing poetry and radio drama respectively as part of the �鶹Լ�� Get Creative campaign. And Radio 3 is bringing the crown jewels again, including Free Thinking, In Tune, The Essay, The Lunchtime Concert and The Verb. And there's much much more from many of our services.

Perhaps the best thing about Hay is that it's a great leveller - not only bringing world-class writers and artists into close proximity with their audience, but the many different ways the �鶹Լ�� comes together in collaboration to bring the best of the arts to everyone.

Jonty Claypole is Director, �鶹Լ�� Arts

You can find out more about what you can see do and hear from the �鶹Լ�� at Hay this year on the Media Centre website and there are full listings on the �鶹Լ�� Arts website.

Hay Diary: Sun, deck chairs and snoozing off lunches

2014-06-01T09:18:45+00:00

In the third and final of his Hay Diaries (if you haven't already, be sure to read his first and second installments), Chris reports on the unthinkable: the sun shining at this year's festival.

With over 700 events over the course of the last two weeks including star names like Stephen Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Horowitz, Julia Donaldson and Paddy Ashdown Hay festival is a unique melting pot of big brains, alternative thinkers and brilliant performers.

Few festivals can claim such a beautiful setting, nestling in the hills on the mid-Wales border and on this final weekend of this years festival the sun shone, picnic tables were brought out and deck chairs gave the weary a chance to read, reflect or snooze off lunches.

With subjects ranging from scientific innovation to punk rock, Hay offers individuals, families and friends an opportunity to learn, engage and reflect on new ideas and benefit from others knowledge.

Chris with Kate O'Hearn, author of the Pegasus series

After many years of attending the festival, my 4 year old daughter’s highlight this year was celebrating the Gruffalo’s birthday in the company of it’s creator, Julia Donaldson. She also went to a reading of the kids book, Shifty McGifty. The story was told by the writers themselves, Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton with help from a budding bunch of eager toddlers.

I am now au fait with Shifty the dog’s world…he’s a robber dog who gives up a life of crime to pursue a cupcakes business. As a parent, that kind of imagination coupled with the performance element is joyous. Or at least it will be until about 8 o'clock when I fear the expectancy will be to produce props and musical accompaniment for bedtime stories.

I was hoping to attend a debate entitled ‘Is the planet full?’ but unfortunately it was full. Really. On this final weekend of Hay 2014 hearing the �鶹Լ�� hit comedy Rev star and writer Tom Hollander discuss the extraordinary success of the show is fascinating. They were joined by the writer of the newly published Rev Diaries, John Canter. Canter recalled his agent contacting him about writing the book…”John, we’ve got a project for you” to which the atheist author replied, “There is a God!” When Hollander was asked by an audience member how they cast the show (with the likes of Oliva Coleman and Miles Jupp) he said it was largely thanks to a fantastic casting agent and also because, “people do things cos they like the writing.” They could have cast Rev a thousand times over.

�鶹Լ�� Wales' Bethan Elfyn also presented from Hay this year.

Kate Adie passionately told the story of women’s plight during the first World War and shared a wonderful story about her grandmother. As the Germans were overhead in a zeppelin, Adie’s grandmother was charged to lay down and take cover. The zeppelin’s gondola was low enough for the German’s to make eye contact with the Brits below…Adie’s grandmother was furious. Furious that the Germans were so low to the ground that they would have without doubt caught slight of her petticoat. It’s charming anecdotes like that, enjoying a live performance on Bethan Elfyn’s �鶹Լ�� Radio Wales stage and knowing that you will always see or hear something random, unexpected or occasionally mind-blowing, that makes Hay special for me.

Here we are in the hills, basically in the middle of nowhere, listening to authors talk about their books; scientists share their theories and philosophers philosophising. It is a unique and extraordinary coming together of very clever people on stage sharing their knowledge, thoughts and oaccisiaonnly, crack-pot theories.

Glastonbury may boast magical leylines, Hay meanwhile offers up line after line of inspiration. To paraphrase Tom Hollander, people like writing. And that writing has left me feeling brighter, smarter and more intelligent…for a couple of days, at least.

Chris Hawkins is a DJ on 6Music

Read Chris' other blogs from Hay - Marvellous in the Mud and Planning Radio.
About the �鶹Լ��'s Hannah Khalil has collected links to some of the Hay coverage produced by �鶹Լ�� Arts in her weekly blog round-up.
Jon Jacob was backstage for Radio 2 during the 500 WORDS Final broadcast live from Hay last week - read about his experiences on the About the �鶹Լ�� Blog.
Radio 4's Broadcasting House was also at Hay for a special programme - journalist Simon Maybin explained how the production team sought contributions from the festival audience.
Director of �鶹Լ�� Arts Jonty Claypole also reflected on the weekend he spent at the Hay Festival.
Highlights from �鶹Լ�� Arts at Hay are available on the �鶹Լ�� Arts website.
Follow @�鶹Լ��Arts on Twitter.

Backstage at the 500 WORDS Final

2014-05-31T12:24:59+00:00

500 WORDS Final, Live from Hay, Friday 30 May 2014

Something magical happens when the �鶹Լ�� goes on the road. When members of the public come to an outside broadcast, eyes light up and warm smiles are readily exchanged whenever they engage with members of �鶹Լ�� staff. I’ve experienced it a few times now. The exchange tempts further analysis:

audience member (adult) is excited to be in attendance at a �鶹Լ�� event;
staffer (me) is pleased to see audience member excited to be in attendance;
warm sensation of pride envelopes the staffer;
both parties beam at one another with mutual respect.

Point 4 can go on for some time, it has to be said. The sight of a colleague running around frantically somewhere in the periphery usually reminds the staffer in question that he or she is really there to work, not beam inanely at a member of the public. After all, as we all know, beaming can sometimes be interpreted as staring. And staring, like pointing, is quite rude.

I experienced the same thing (sort of) again yesterday morning when parents and their children stepped excitedly into the �鶹Լ�� Tent at Hay Festival poised to take part in the 500 WORDS Final. Broadcast during Chris Evans' Breakfast Show on Radio 2 today, the final marked the culmination of 6 months work for the 500 WORDS team. The four year old creative writing competition for youngsters launched in 2011. This year’s youngest competitor was 7 years old. Yes, 7 years old.

Some of the 500 WORDS volunteer readers, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the Final

50 young writers swayed, clapped, cheered and stared during the songs played throughout the programme. All of them, joined by the army of Hay Festival attendants and selection of volunteer judges, were all up for a good time. A testament to the unfailing energy of Chris Evans’ producer Lisa, ever insistent that all present should forget the ungodly hour, and stand up and jig about. No one faked it. No-one was there reluctantly. This was a big deal for all concerned, not least for the finalists and their parents. Just like the 500 WORDS Masterclass where Frank Cottrell Boyce advised young writers to 'dive in, make it your own and have fun' a few months back, the atmosphere in the Tent was infectious.

Only six of them would be medal winners - take a read or a listen to the final 50 in Radio 2’s special podcast and see who you pick out as the winner; decision-making is difficult.

I admit it. I did wonder whether I might feel a tiny bit envious of their talents. I've long had a 'book on the go' - one I've been meaning to write for the past twelve years. Would their talent be precocious? Would their abilities play on my deep-seated insecurities? Would I leave Hay feeling bitter and resentful, tear up my drafts and trample on any remaining creative aspirations in the process?

Chris' wellie boots. Practical and stylish.

No. I didn't. How could I when the writer in question has the face of an angel, an infectious enthusiasm or adorable inquisitiveness for everything going on around him or her? When that reaction is reflected in the faces of the presenters and production team those writers interact with, then it’s not going to be long before you get a sense of how powerful an experience ‘radio on the road’ can be. It’s not a cast on stage entertaining the audience sat in front of them, it's a group of people bringing a multitude of talents into the same space, all bouncing off one another and producing something compelling to listen to. All of this before 7.30am – at this hour I’m normally on my second mug of tea when I’m at home.

So imagine, with all of this loveliness going on, out of nowhere, a familiar face suddenly appears. "I won't tell you who we've managed to get for the show," said Alison, the 500 Words producer on the phone to me, the night before, "I don't want to ruin the surprise for you." I'm glad she didn't. Surprises are the key to any good story.

The Cumberbatch. In the �鶹Լ�� Tent at Hay.

Benedict Cumberbatch had rocked up for his appearance on the show. Cool and calm, he could have easily passed without note backstage, were it not for a live blogger with a weakness for spotting celebrities. I did what any normal adult would do: I texted my nearest and dearest, desperate to share my exciting news. (As it happens, he was in the middle of his cup of tea before he made his journey to work, listening to Radio 2.) “Oh my God. It’s actually Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s standing on the other side of the table from me. I have to get a picture."

To his credit, The Cumberbatch was utterly professional, if a little bemused. He had it easy. When Hugh Bonneville subsequently made an appearance, I was forced to pull out all the stops. Needs must. "Maybe I could get two pictures of you Mr Bonneville, sir? One for the blog … and one for my mother?" The tactic paid off.

Their appearances, alongside that of Paloma Faith, Dick and Dom, Barney Harwood and actor Matthew Lewis reminded me of the extra special prize every writer loves (but usually forgets about): the prize of hearing another voice bringing your story to life. It is an electrifying experience and one affirming one, one which has the potential to fuel future creativity.

That I can experience all of this running a live blog during a live radio programme, sculpted by an experienced production team who have been up since 5am, isn't a testament to me, nor the crew (although their accomplishments shouldn't in any way be played down). Rather, it's because the work of talented youngsters who have committed to a creative endeavour shines through.

Years ago, I embarked on the same thing, entering all sorts of writing competitions (many of them staged by �鶹Լ�� Learning). Winning wasn’t important. Embarking on the creative endeavour was. The 500 WORDS Final reminded me of that early lesson today. As a staffer I am unashamedly proud that the �鶹Լ�� has been and continues to be a part of that.

Jon Jacob is Editor, About the �鶹Լ�� Blog and Inside the �鶹Լ�� website.

The winners and their stories feature on the 500 WORDS website.
Download the 50 shortlisted stories read by members of the �鶹Լ�� Radio Drama Company.
Listen to the Chris Evans Breakfast Show from Friday 30 May during which the winners were announced.
Read the blog post from the 500 WORDS Masterclass staged in the Radio Theatre.

Hay Diary: Planning Radio

2014-05-30T16:51:33+00:00

6 Music DJs Gideon Coe and Chris Hawkins at Hay Festival 2014

The Hay Festival celebrates the power of language and the pleasure of debate. It encourages new thinking with a focus on our planet’s future and the wellbeing of next generations.

Along the way there are bacon sandwiches from locally reared animals, tasty pies brought to the site from the town, less than a mile down the road and breweries in Herefordshire and Powys. I sampled the full range through the course of today.

It’s a day which began in the mud. The Hay app said ‘wet weather parking’ which meant the 10 mile drive from a farmhouse in the hills ended just short of the festival site and required a shuttle bus to complete the journey.

My wife, daughter and I are sharing the farmhouse in the hills with my 6 Music colleague Gideon Coe, his wife and son. DJs don’t always bunk up together for holidays but we’ve made Hay an annual date for five years now. We spent last night indulging in some of Gid’s favourite pastimes - drinking red wine, eating cheese and with Britain’s Got Talent in the background, mumbling about karaoke standard singers on TV.

Gideon has been to two events so far this year. Both have been about war. My day of enlightenment began at 11.30 with Roman Krznaric. This was the philosopher’s one hour opportunity to start an empathy revolution. Krznaric believes the act of stepping into someone else’s shoes and viewing the world from their perspective is a tool for social change and should be a guiding light for the art of living. With that in mind, I spent half an hour this morning experimenting with being Gideon Coe. Alas, with the yardarm before midday, it felt a little early for cheese and wine.

The people of Hay are largely receptive to the massive influx of festival goers for a fortnight each year. Most are welcoming and many are grateful for the 14 day surge in the local economy. Gideon and I had a ‘power lunch’ off site in the picturesque town today to discuss the show we will present from here on Sunday (2 - 4pm, �鶹Լ�� Radio 6 Music). We agreed on the music, jotted down questions for our guests (Bob Stanley and John Hegley) and absolutely confirmed* that we will engage in a heavyweight debate about the intelligence or otherwise of animals, starting with sheep.

This afternoon, while my wife and daughter learnt how to draw huggable bears with the brilliant illustrator David Melling, I got to see one of my favourite authors up close and personal. Ian McEwan was on the ‘Wales Stage’ with one of the UK’s leading neurosurgeons recounting his triumphs, disasters and the moments of black humour that apparently characterise a brain surgeon’s life.

At Hay, McEwan is usually on the receiving end of questions about a new book - on this occasion he turned inquisitor on the basis that his intricately observed novel ‘Saturday’ centres around the life of a neurosurgeon. For research, he followed a working surgeon in London who was trained by Henry Marsh who, on stage this afternoon, described surgery as a bloodsport. He spoke of the adrenalin rush experienced before a major operation, the heightening of the senses and intensity of manipulating such an indescribably delicate matter under the microscope. When asked how neurosurgery compares to any other kind of surgery, Marsh spared the audience a detailed medical response and simply revealed, “The good thing about brain surgery is that it doesn’t smell."

*Not confirmed

Chris Hawkins is a DJ on 6 Music

Chris Hawkins and Gideon Coe will be hosting a show live on �鶹Լ�� Radio 6 Music from the �鶹Լ�� Tent at Hay on Sunday 1 June, 2.00-4.00pm
Chris will be writing again for the About the �鶹Լ�� Blog on Sunday
Read his first blog from Hay - Marvellous in the Mud

Round Up Week 21 2014

2014-05-30T13:38:43+00:00

Wilfrid Brambell as Albert Steptoe

I am not grumpy about failing to get to Hay again this year. Really. I’m not at all jealous that Jon made it down there to do Radio 2’s live blog for the announcement of the 500 words winner. Hay may be billed as a gathering of people, “a big conversation about discovery and intellectual adventure” but who wants to be involved in that? I’d rather be at home in London. It’s a highly cultural place. Except EVERYONE’S IN HAY. They must be, there was NO ONE on the tube this morning. Just me. So I’m the only one missing out (I am currently doing my grumpy Steptoe face).

That was how I was feeling. Until I remembered the �鶹Լ��'s Hay partnership, and that lots of events are being streamed live from the muddy field. And then many of those recordings are going to be available on the �鶹Լ�� Arts website for four weeks.

So, I will be able to watch Toni Morrison, whose amazing novel Beloved I studied at school, talk about her work and the late great Maya Angelou; Sebastian Faulks author of Birdsong which to my shame I’ve yet to read (it’s on my bedside table though); funny folk Jennifer Saunders and Stephen Fry are also there, as well as former Children’s Laureate Jaqueline Wilson and conductor John Eliot Gardiner. To come this weekend are talks from Huffington post founder Arianna Huffington, and especially exciting for theatre-loving me, Richard Eyre talking about telly adaptations of Shakespeare and The Hollow Crown series. The annual Hamlin Lecture is also available in full – this year given by American satirist PJ O’Rourke.

And if you are just after a little flavour of the Haylights (ahem), rather than full portions, there are clips featuring something for everyone from Chris Tarrant, Ruby Wax, footballers Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, Tony Parsons, Carrie Fisher, Mary Berry, Al Murray, the list goes one – but I won’t you can just browse through the selection here.

So rather than feeling grumpy I’m beginning to feel rather smug that I’ll be able to enjoy a little bit of Hay this weekend from the comfort of my sofa, with slippers instead of wellies on. Hay-ho, I’m virtually there.

Hannah Khalil is Digital Content Producer, About The �鶹Լ�� website and Blog.

Read more blogs about the Hay Festival on the About the �鶹Լ�� Blog

Hay Diary: Marvellous in the Mud

2014-05-30T06:38:29+00:00

Chris Hawkins at a muddy Hay Festival 2014

In the first of three special Hay Diaries, 6 Music DJ Chris Hawkins reveals his love affair with the Hay Festival and shares his experiences this year - apparently it's not all literature, you might brush up against the odd sporting legend too.

My first ever visit to Hay in 2007 began bleakly - it rained heavily. A group of us stayed in the only holiday home available at short notice - a bleak house that accommodated six and on day one involved a grim drive through an apocalyptic storm to a place which seems to be claimed by both the English and Welsh. Though it tinkers on the border of the two, Hay On Wye, is in Powys, Wales, just north of the Black Mountains and is the National Book Town of Wales. I’m certain there are more book shops in the tiny town of Hay than remain in central London and each of them is fabulous, curious and unique. They burst with pride and although they are a year-round tourist attraction, they do best business during the Festival of Literature and the Arts.

During that first visit to the festival, and thus the picturesque town, our gang (who had previously attended the V music festival together) arrived on site assuming we would collect wristbands and head straight for the bar. Lesson 1 about Hay was quickly learnt: you don’t pay for it. What you actually do, is pay for the events you want to attend and so with small change from £10, we found ourselves at an audience with Barry Cryer. Like most images of UK festivals, it was muddy under foot, the rain lashed on the canvas above but Cryer was magnificent and was just one of the star names on the bill again this year. I’ve not missed a Hay since that first experience.

Lesson 2 was also learnt in year one - check the programme and book what you want to see as soon as possible. The festival takes place just outside the town centre in a field no bigger than a football pitch. There are tents of varying sizes (1,750 capacity for the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch) while niche events are more like a high powered village coffee morning discussing anything from alternative energy to the science of Star Wars.

As a 6 Music DJ and passionate music lover, the first event I plumped for this year was an afternoon’s conversation based on Philip Wallings book, Counting Sheep, a celebration of the pastoral heritage of Britain. Obviously. I now know there are 7 million sheep in Wales, that a fleece these days is worth £15 whereas in medieval times would have been worth the equivalent of £150 and that, according to Wallings, “Sheep are not stupid but they are sheep and they do what sheep do and they are very good at it."

Chris Hawkins and Ossie Ardiles

With a locally made ice cream in between, I went from sheep talk to a stellar line-up of footballers debating the world’s most high profile sport. I cannot believe I was there for this… Geoff Hurst, Osvaldo Ardiles (pictured above), Ricardo Villa and Alan Smith. All in one tent. As a massive football fan this was an hour of heaven (Lesson 3 at Hay is to make the most of every session - few events are longer than an hour). Geoff Hurst is legendary for being the only man to score a hat trick in a World Cup Final (I’m pictured with him below). So how did he and the team celebrate their victory? Hurst revealed the evening was spent at Danny La Rue’s nightclub in London’s West End, saying, “It was a Saturday night and I wasn’t sure if we’d get in.” This, despite the fact that he had just won the World Cup. When asked if he secretly always hopes that England will get knocked out early, to keep his incredible record intact, he modestly replied: “No. This year they will do well. Quarter Finals probably."

After 10 days of the festival, Hay shares one significant similarity with any other British festival. Mud. But with every event undercover and the promise of better weather, the leaden skies have done nothing to dampen the prospect of an exciting, inspiring and thought-provoking weekend which kicked off with the Radio 2 Chris Evans Breakfast Show coming live from the site with the final of this year's 500 WORDS this morning. And as well as Chris' show, audiences will be able to enjoy coverage across �鶹Լ�� TV, Radio, Online and globally with �鶹Լ�� World News.

Chris Hawkins is a DJ on 6 Music

Chris Hawkins and Gideon Coe will be hosting a show live on �鶹Լ�� Radio 6 Music from the �鶹Լ�� Tent at Hay on Sunday 1 June, 2.00-4.00pm
Read more Hay blogs on the About the �鶹Լ�� Blog
There's more from Hay at the �鶹Լ�� Radio 2’s 500 Words Final including the winners of this years Competition as revealed during the Chris Evans Breakfast Show this morning.

The �鶹Լ�� at Hay Festival

2014-05-27T08:09:53+00:00

Don't you love it when a plan comes together? After the frenzy of the last few months - the planning meetings, negotiations and brainstorms - suddenly there it is: a big �鶹Լ�� tent at the heart of the Hay Festival, equipped for broadcast and a packed schedule of events and world-class guests. It's a huge achievement and one that has needed the enthusiasm and commitment of most of the �鶹Լ��'s services and teams all across the country to pull off. What this means is that over the course of this week, we are bringing the best of Hay (and therefore the best of British talent) to millions and millions of people, not just in the UK but across the globe. This is the �鶹Լ�� doing what only the �鶹Լ�� can do.

And why wouldn't we? You only have to be on site for five minutes to realise what is so extraordinary about Hay. For ten days, some of the greatest thinkers, writers and performers in the world are all pressed into the same muddy field on the Welsh borders to try out their latest theories, swap stories and - like the rest of us - be inspired. I'm not sure there's anywhere else where you can see Richard Dawkins, Stephen Fry, Jennifer Saunders and Carrie Fisher in the same afternoon. And for the �鶹Լ��, this is an irresistible opportunity - any show can get a guest list to die for. Just look at the line-up for Radio 3's In Tune this week: William Dalrymple, Sebastian Faulks, Ruby Wax and Alfred Brendel.

Jennifer Saunders talks to Francine Stock about her book Bonkers: My Life in Laughs.

But we began the weekend with a string of non-broadcast events. Amanda Vickery came and spoke about her terrific series on women and art; Julien Temple on his dizzying Imagine film about Rio; Alan Yentob on his revealing Philip Roth biopic; a lively session from Paddy O'Connell on Broadcasting House; and I had the privilege of interviewing one of my heroes, Simon Armitage, about his forthcoming The Great War: An Elegy. I've had Simon make a number of films over the years for the Arts department, in most of which he has endured unnaturally bad weather. Even as we began talking about it, the skies opened up above us and we had to talk louder and louder to be heard over the downpour.

The main broadcasts were just beginning this morning. I had the bizarre experience of seeing a looky-likey of The Verb's Ian McMillan queuing to watch the show, only to find out it was in fact Ian himself who likes to get in the mood by waiting with his audience. He was joined by the mesmerising Karl Ove Knausgard, whose six volume My Struggle (the similarities with Hitler's autobiography end there) is causing a stir for making the banal unputdownable. Also on the show was children's author Philip Ardagh talking about the difference between his public and private persona - apparently there isn't one, except the former wears more clothes.

From here, it's a packed week. Chris Evans will be giving the results of the 500 Words short story competition for Radio 2. Radio 3's Free Thinking has PJ O'Rourke and the authors of Freakonomics. Radio 4 has special editions of The Write Stuff, Midweek, With Great Pleasure and Front Row. Good Morning Wales is broadcasting every morning. While Mark Radcliffe, Stuart Maconie, Cerys Matthews, Gideon Coe and Chris Hawkins are all there for Radio 6. There's also broadcasting for �鶹Լ�� One, �鶹Լ�� Four, World News and �鶹Լ�� Arts Online.

Writer Owen Sheers at the Hay Festival

And it's worth saying that we aren't just confined to our tent like Achilles (it's Hay so I need to use a literary metaphor). One of the exciting things has been seeing our teams out and about throughout the festival, drawing crowds and capturing all the best things going on. I have developed an uncanny talent for appearing in Martha Kearney's eye-line whenever she is about to do a piece-to-camera for a �鶹Լ�� Four documentary, The Town That Loves Books, which goes out on Sunday. It was also a real kick seeing the festival's largest stage (I don't know what the capacity is but there seemed to be well over a thousand people there) given over to a brilliant Talking Books interview with Razia Iqbal and Jung Chang.

And let's say a prayer for the �鶹Լ�� Arts Online team who are working like troopers in a portacabin round the back of the festival site, which can only be accessed by wading through a treacherous mudbath, and are live streaming events throughout the day for all those who want to enjoy the festival from the dryness of their homes.

Amidst all this, I even had time to get out and see some non-�鶹Լ�� events - Simon Schama delivering a tour-de-force lecture on the History of the Jews; Hans Ulrich Obrist on contemporary art; and Lily Cole and Brendan O'Hea reading extracts from Simon Armitage's new play The Last Days of Troy.

The only downside has been the rain - lots of it. From Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, it didn't stop. In a moment of optimism, I'd decided to camp across the road from the festival site. Picking my way through the flooded field on Sunday morning, mud splattered up my trousers, wash bag and towel under my arm, I wondered if it had been such a clever idea. Strange to go from that to rubbing shoulders with the great and good within an hour. But then, Hay is all about variety - intellectual, emotional and meteorological.

Jonty Claypole is Director, �鶹Լ�� Arts.

More blogs by Jonty about �鶹Լ�� Arts are available to view on the About the �鶹Լ�� blog.
Read Peter Maniura's blog 'Introducing �鶹Լ�� Arts Online'
Live coverage of events from the Hay Festival is available on the �鶹Լ�� Arts website.
Read Simon Maybin's blog post about Broadcasting House at the Hay Festival.
Follow @�鶹Լ��Arts on Twitter.

Broadcasting House at Hay

2014-05-27T07:53:51+00:00

Radio 4's Broadcasting House donned their wellies spent the weekend at the Hay Festival. It rained a little, so much so that Paddy O'Connell's camera got a little steamed up in the marquee. We asked broadcast journalist Simon Maybin to talk us through the weekend.

What happens when you take Broadcasting House - Radio 4's Sunday morning news magazine programme - out of the Broadcasting House building and plonk it in a field in Wales?

We found out this weekend and were quite pleased with the result. By happy coincidence, the BH team ended up in this particular field at the same time as the Hay Festival (who says the Radio 4 schedulers don't know what they're doing?) and that meant we were joined by 200 odd fans of the show for our broadcast.

The audience all seemed very nice actually, but it is slightly odd to trudge through the mud and rain to come and sit in a chilly tent at 8.30 on a Sunday morning.

Cooped up in our central London office, wondering if W1A is meant to be a satire or a documentary, we usually jump at the chance to take the programme out on the road. But it's not just the Welsh hill air that appeals; it's also the opportunity to get up close and personal with the BH listeners.

We didn't want the audience interaction to start and end with Sunday's programme, so we put on an event as part of the festival programme on Saturday morning and called it "Talkback: Broadcasting House with Paddy O'Connell" (he's the presenter, for the uninitiated).

The idea was to tell people a bit about how we put a programme together but mainly to hear from our listeners what they think of what we do and what we could do better.

Just before 10, as the Saturday morning rain (which turned out to be remarkably similar to the Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening rain) drummed out a rhythm on the canvas of the �鶹Լ�� tent, festival goers took their green plastic seats in the makeshift auditorium.

Immediately it was clear they were a somewhat smarter bunch than the BH team, their full wet-weather gear and umbrellas highlighting the inadequacy of our we-thought-summer-started-last-week attire.

Once we got going, there was praise for Paddy's humour and the programme's tone. One woman even compared BH to crack. It sounded like praise, anyway.

But people weren't shy about saying what they didn't like too. One man said, as someone who lived in in provincial England, he heard far too much about America and far too many American voices on Radio 4.

A woman at the back felt there should be more religious broadcasting on Sunday mornings.

After a chat about the programme in general, Paddy talked the audience through our running order for Sunday's show. People chipped in on the length of different items and what should fill the slot we had at the start of the programme.

Paddy revealed we had a gap on our press panel and were wondering if someone from the audience could join the author Lauren Child and journalist David Aaronovitch reviewing the Sunday papers. This idea got an enthusiastic response with one man suggesting it might be an improvement on some of the pros we put on.

So as Paddy gossiped with the audience before the programme started on Sunday, he asked if anyone had read any newspapers yet. He was met with a worrying silence. Even the rain had gone quiet (it would be back shortly).

Would anyone like to have some papers, Paddy wondered, read through them and then talk about them on national radio in under an hour's time?

Amazingly, two hands shot up like this was a moment they'd been waiting for all their lives.

So Liz and April were plucked from the audience, sat at the front, and given a set of papers, which they immediately began devouring.

As they beavered away, Paddy and the rest of the audience got on with the show. There were tough questions from the tent for Labour MP Alan Johnson on Ed Miliband's leadership and interesting contributions to a discussion about the World War I centenary celebrations.

The audience participation wasn't entirely hiccup-free though. The paper reviewers Liz and April had helpfully been one in a red jacket and the other in a blue one. But by the time Paddy came to them the jackets were off and so were Paddy's notes on who was who.

Despite that and the cold (the heaters were kept off in case the electricity used knocked out the power to the broadcast truck), the programme finished with warm applause inside the tent.

The festival goers shuffled off to their next events, and we packed up our kit and headed back to the studio, where there's always a teeny tiny bit of you that wonders if there's actually anyone listening out there.

Simon Maybin is a broadcast journalist on Broadcasting House and PM

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