Susie Dent's coming to Folkestone

Susie Dent of Countdown's "Dictionary Corner" is coming to Folkestone as part of Folkestone Literary Festival 2008. At least I hope it's the same Susie Dent. We watch Countdown every day on 40D, so this will be nice.

She has a regular publication called The Language Report, plus really squillions of other books. Would it be bad form for me to pick up some bargains from ABE and take them to get signed, rather than paying the full Waterstones RRP on the day? A signed Susie Dent is not going to instantly quintuple it's money like last week's Terry Pratchett did but they're nice to have anyway.

I've still not actually read the Roy Hattersley or Terry Jones books that I picked up last year, however I have nearly finished The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House (my impulse buy from our last trip to Canterbury, even cheaper now on Amazon, or there's a signed first edition for £45). I'm only a few pages away from also by the the same author, but I think there is still more to be revealed... It's been an interesting sort of book, an in depth study of a big important murder case that inspired the likes of Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It's a bit dry in places, and occasionally it feels like things were revealed in the wrong order - it is not a novel - but I'm sure things will come good. It won the BBC4 Samuel Johnson prize you know.

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What's on here and across the Channel?

Well someone just emailed to suggest picking up a copy of "Coast To Coast" magazine (does it have Fred Dinenage and Fern Britten on the cover?) but you can also see what's going on the homepage of the Gerald...

MORE than sixty summer festivals and events are listed in the latest edition of Coast to Coast, the seasonal guide published jointly by the Discover Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh tourism partnership and its across-Channel counterpart, Le Boulonnais.

Twenty thousand copies - 10,000 in English and the same number in French - have been produced for distribution on both sides of the Channel.

The guide is one of a number of initiatives by the Anglo-French public and commercial sector partnership to boost tourism to, in and between destinations in the 'Channel region'.

The project, part-funded by the EU, was co-ordinated by the Boulogne Shepway Co- operation Organisation (BOSCO) whose members include Shepway District Council and local authorities in and around Boulogne.

Discover Folkestone manager Chris Kirkham said that the guide aimed to encourage residents and visitors on both coasts to discover the great variety of attractions, festivals and events on offer at resorts on the opposite side of the Channel.

The guide can be picked up locally from Shepway District Council and Folkestone Town Council offices, Discover Folkestone information points, public libraries and some shops and hotels.

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What I have done been reading

Just finished Underground London, and enjoyed it very much... Haven't reported in what I've been reading since I griped about The Moonstone I don't think, I really dragged through that one but enjoyed it by the end. Hmm, I'm a great reviewer of books. Underground London is a Louis Theroux style stalk through the lives of people who work or play underground in London. Not sure why I got this book, as I remember it looked at my Amazon basket one day and there it was, maybe I was drunk. It covers all of London history from Roman times to the current cross rail project and adventures with the Subterranea Brittanica lot, and it is a jolly interesting non-fiction read. Before that I think I read a Cadfael book, One Corpse Too Many, which took a while to get into, but once I'd got into his style I enjoyed too. It's not overly twisty and turny or gripping, there are huge blaring signs saying "this is what's going to happen next", it's a Sunday Evening TV kind of a book, but not bad. It was a car boot sale bargain, and I might look out for more. Also from the same boot fair I got Bill Bryson Down Under, looks good but I have to wait for Clare to finish it. Next in line for me is Dublin, which I'm a bit intimdated by. I enjoyed London by the same author, but I know more about the history of London. It's a big slab of a book and if it follows the same formula it will be a dramatised history of the city, following a family from Roman times up to the present day.

That's the only good thing about our daily commute, catching up with reading. Today's journey in was rubbish, had some idiot couple sat on our table chattering all the way in. If it was you, please don't sit near me again. Really, some time soon, I will make some "quiet carriage" signs.

Off to Oxford this weekend, so checking out www.oxfordtube.com, supposedly a luxury coach service between London and Oxford. A lot cheaper than the train will be at rush hour I'd think, and though it takes a bit longer it's not a problem as we're leaving early and have plenty of time.

Full On Food is back on TV tonight, SMART. They seem to have changed the presenters since the first series, hope it's as good.

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