What an exciting evening I've had. It's not every day you get an invite from the First Minister of Scotland to a reception celebrating the opening of Edinburgh's International Festival(s!).
There's me thinking, 'lucky I didn't wear my red dress.'
Nicola (yes, I eventually just called her Nicola. Was that alright, etiquette wise? It felt okay)...Nicola made a lovely impromptu welcome speech about how important it was - now, more than ever, to support the Arts and foster better communication and understanding.
She went on to praise the Book Festival's newly-erected marquees outside Bute House. The process of building the book festival was so noisy, she could hardly hear Boris. I may have guffawed. I tried to do it politely.
I met two great women from Edinburgh Science Festival. I loved how enthusiastic and passionate they were about science. The opposite of Donald Trump.
Yes, we need Arts more than ever, but we desperately need science too. We need the Arts to speak for science. I feel a link to Extinction Rebellion coming on.
Arts, Science and the Climate Emergency, are all passions and preoccupations, as if you didn't know, if you've ever glanced at my Twitter feed.
So, friends; a week to go before I will be reading at Edinburgh Book Festival. Monday 12th, 6pm. The show is part of the Throwing Voices sequence and you can book tickets and learn more here. It would be lovely to see you there for coffee and scones, poems and songs. And maybe a few guffaws.
