The spectacular weather and blazing hot temperatures gave the breathtaking city of Bath a mediterranean air this weekend. I was there for the Bath children’s book festival, with an event at the truly stunning (and recently refurbished) Holburne Museum.
The city looked especially lovely with the bright autumn sunlight picking out architectural details. The warm coloured stone positively glowed amongst trees just starting to turn gold. Just walking past the famous Pump Room and Roman Baths, or over the bridge inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence was unplifting and inspiring (although I resisted the temptation to sing Puccini’s “O mio Babbino Caro” which mentions the Ponte Vecchio!). The Holburne Museum itself, with a sweeping drive and surrounded by gardens, makes a huge impression. Inside are artefacts and paintings, mostly from the collection of William Holburne (who gave his name as well as his treasures to the museum). Amongst the impressive collection are fine paintings from the Golden Age of British Art, including Turner, Constable and Gainsborough (who spent much of his life in Bath). Sitting beneath a vast Gainsborough portait was a thrilling setting to talk about Katie and the British Artists.
As usual, I told a story or two. In particular, I chose the tale of Benito the Pirate, which not only links to Turner’s Fighting Temeraire (as used in the book), but also William Holburne, who joined the British Navy in 1805 and fought at the Battle of Trafalgar, alongside Nelson, the Temeraire, and of course, Benito! It was a small world even back then! As always, the children were very taken with the shark’s eye lens, from a shark my grandfather caught while searching for Benito’s treasure on Cocos Island in the 1930s.
After the storytelling session, the children were able to go to the art room for a chance to create their own masterpieces. And after that, I had the chance to meet other authors at the festival: Jeremy Strong, the Bath festival author-in-residence, and Mackenzie Crook, star of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Naturally he was very interested in the shark’s eye lens, but I refused to let him swap it for his wooden eye!
Leave a Reply