Left to right: Frances, Felice, Emma. Photo: © P.Hardy
…in the Wiltshire Countryside
On Saturday 18th October I took part in the second Heywood House Literary Festival, which was a weekend-long event in a gorgeous Jacobean manor house built for the Earl of Marlborough. It’s set in thirty-five acres of parkland between the towns of Westbury and Trowbridge in Wilshire. I was on a panel called The Hand of History with Frances Liardet and Emma Bache. Frances writes fiction based around the Second World War – the same time period as my own book. Emma is a journalist and graphologist, analysing the handwriting of people today and from the past.
Emma is probably best known for her analyses of Donald Trump’s signature in Epstein’s birth book on Sky News. At the Heywood House Festival, she interviewed us about our books and then analysed Frances’ and my handwriting – and also our grandmothers’ handwriting. It was fascinating stuff and she was so right about Liesl being a determined and energetic woman who placed great importance on doing the right thing.
After our talk, I stayed on to listen to Richard Dawkins‘ fascinating talk about his latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead. It was incredibly thought-provoking and I learnt more about cuckoos than I’d ever known before. He also told us about reptiles that use camouflage to catch their prey. Until the talk, I only knew about chameleons, but now I also know about the spider-tailed horned viper!
View of the White Horse from Heywood House. Photo: © F.Hardy
