One Midsummer's Day: Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth

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Besides leading one of the top museums in the world, Tristram Hunt is an accomplished historian with several acclaimed books under his belt. At the Festival, he will talk about The Radical Potter, his biography about Josiah Wedgwood who, on top of creating the iconic blue and white jasperware bearing his name, was a pioneering forerunner of manufacturing efficiencies that permanently shaped Britain’s industrial development. Tristram will also talk about what lies ahead for the V&A and what it’s like to captain the world’s most international museum brand. The bestselling author of Crow Country and writer of The Guardian's Counrtry Diary tells the story of all life on Earth through a single day spent in the company of swifts. Luke Harding, the Guardian’s front-line correspondent covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will share some of the experiences and impressions captured in his new book, Invasion: Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival, in addition to giving us an update on the conflict. As both the Moscow bureau chief of the newspaper and someone who has found himself directly in the cross-hairs of Putin, Luke is uniquely well positioned to analyse and report on the war.

If like me you love swifts, this one is for you, but its scope and appeal takes in a far wider range of summer wildlife, too * Bird Watching, *Book of the Month* * Magnificent ... One Midsummer's Day situates both swifts and humans in the universe in a way that I've not seen done for any species... a beautifully poised book -- Charles Foster, author of BEING A BEAST A wonderful book that weaves half a century of natural history expertise around a vanishing bird. Informative, personal, universal and thrilling" A rich and elegant exploration that takes us to unexpected places. With the swift as our lift, we leave the garden on an extraordinary tour that takes in the moon, amongst many other wonderful destinations Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree Magnificent [...] One Midsummer's Day situates both swifts and humans in the universe in a way that I've not seen done for any species [...] a beautifully poised book"Veteran editor Mark Hedge talks about the challenges and rewards of leading Country Life, the magazine synonymous with British country living, for the past seventeen years.

A passionately written study of these mysterious creatures of air, fascinating and constantly thought-provoking -- Ann Wroe, author of SIX FACETS OF LIGHT A passionately written study of these mysterious "creatures of air", fascinating and constantly thought-provoking" The bestselling author of Crow Country and writer of the Guardian's Country Diary tells the story of all life on Earth through a single day spent in the company of swifts If like me you love swifts, this one is for you, but its scope and appeal takes in a far wider range of summer wildlife, too" A beautiful, brilliant, mind-stretching and soul-flying book. Genius Horatio Clare, author of A Single SwallowMany swifts spend 99% of their time flying, eating and sleeping on the wing, and some never land at all As BBC Radio 4’s longest serving presenter with front-line experience reporting some of the biggest global news stories of the 90s, Justin Webb shared his observations about how journalism, news, audiences and the media industry have evolved since he began his career and how we can clean up or upgrade the media environment so that the news can fulfil its original and most important purpose – accurately and objectively informing the public about important events that affect civic discourse. The winner of the 2022 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Shunta Morimoto, will dazzle us with a solo recital of Mozart, Brahms and Rameau. Swifts are among the most extraordinary of all birds. Their migrations span continents and their twelve-week stopover, when they pause to breed in European rooftops, is the very definition of summer. They may nest in our homes but much about their lives passes over our heads. No birds are more wreathed in mystery. Following on from her experience as “The Ethical Carnivore”, when she ate only what she killed or found over the span of two years and authored a book of the same title, Louise Gray has now shifted her attention to fruit and veg. At the Festival, she will discuss her new book Avocado Anxiety and reveal the results of her investigations into some of our favourite fruits and vegetables – the agricultural and commercial systems behind them and how these impact their carbon footprint and nutritiousness.