Week 3 : 15th-21st June

GUO YUE
Music, Food and Love

Guo Yue is an internationally renowned master of the Chinese Bamboo Flute whose playing has been likened to Chinese brush painting with music. He will also tell the story of his experience of growing up in Beijing during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. His instinctive love of music, nature and cooking enabled him to find a means of self expression at a time when freedom and individuality were suppressed by the policies of Mao Zedong.

Guo Yue will be joined by Ben Murray (piano and accordion).
‘A magical experience’
Peter Gabriel

LYNGO THEATRE COMPANY: WATCH THE BIRDY

A show for the over three's about an egg that doesn't want to hatch. Percy is asked to look after Birdy until the spring, but can he stop the eagle having him for breakfast? With flying eggs, feathery snow, luminous eggs, a bear who gets fatter as you watch, disappearing eggs and eggs full of feathers, 'Watch The Birdy' is packed full of tricks, surprises, transformations and eggs!

Sponsored by The Toy Tree  and Roses Ironmongers 

THE FESTIVAL FILM : CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
A tribute to Paul Newman who died last year

Director: Richard Brooks, USA 1958, 108 minutes, Cert 15
Starring: Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood and Larry Gates

‘A rich American plantation owner, dying of cancer, finds his two sons unsatisfactory: one is a conniver, the other a neurotic who refuses to sleep with his wife. A slightly bowdlerised version of Tennessee Williams’s most straightforward melodrama, watchable for the acting, but still basically a theatrical experience.’ Halliwell’s Film Guide

LYNGO THEATRE COMPANY: WATCH THE BIRDY

A second opportunity for over threes to see this delightful show (see above).

Sponsored by The Toy Tree  and Roses Ironmongers 

WADWORTH BREWERY TOUR

The final opportunity during this Festival to marvel at the skills that produce the famous brews in this independent brewery.

Limited to 20

CAFÉ SCIENTIFIQUE
with Professor JOHN BRYANT

Has modern medical science over-stepped our moral boundaries?

After a very successful launch last year, Cafe Scientifique returns to the Festival.

Modern medicine promises much - ‘miracle’ cures, freedom from genetic disease, repair of damaged or worn-out tissues - but also raises significant moral concerns over such issues as the genetic selection of embryos and the use of embryonic stem cells. These areas provide the main focus of our discussion tonight.

John Bryant is Professor Emeritus of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Exeter. He is a frequent speaker, broadcaster and writer both on science and on bioethics. Recent books include Life in Our Hands (co-authored with John Searle) and Introduction to Bioethics (co-authored with Linda la Velle and John Searle).

Price includes Pasta Supper and glass of wine

Sponsored by Mark Wilkinson Furniture Ltd

ALEXANDRA DARIESCU

Born in Romania in 1985, Alexandra Dariescu studied at a specialiast music school, making her debut as a soloist at the age of nine. In 2004 she entered the Royal Northern College of Music where she won the Gold Medal, the Chopin Prize and the Recital Prize. Making her UK debut in the Bridgewater Hall, she performed in the 2006 Piano Festival, broadcast on BBC Radio 3. She has given recitals in the USA, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, Spain and Moldavia. She is currently studying for her Masters’ at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

‘Her playing combines effortless technical control with an individual approach to sound, particularly exemplified in her playing of Chopin.’
Manchester Recital Series 2008

Alexandra appears under the auspices of the Young Concert Artists Trust

SIMON HOGGART
Parliamentary Sketches and Loony Letters

Simon Hoggart, the Guardian’s chief political sketch writer, is recognised by MPs of all parties as one of the most astute commentators on the British political scene. For many years he chaired the satirical News Quiz on Radio 4 and he has also been wine and music correspondent for the Spectator.
Simon will provide a unique insight into British Parliamentary Life having been close to the Westminster Village for over 40 years. He is an established author with such titles as: The Hamster that loved Puccini and The Cat That Couldn’t Open The Fridge - two bestsellers on the sins of the posey Christmas round robin letter Don’t Tell Mum - bestselling hair raising travellers’ messages home from Gap year Bizarre Beliefs - the human desire to believe the unbelievable Punchlines - a crash course in English with John Prescott.
Simon will be signing copies of his books after the talk.

Sponsored by Gazette & Herald

NATURE WALK ON MORGAN’S HILL
led by the Warden

Situated on the edge of the North Wessex Downs, Morgan’s Hill is a beautiful Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Reserve, with spectacular views over the North Wiltshire countryside. The Reserve is specifically managed to encourage downland flora and there is the chance of seeing rare and interesting flowers and butterflies.

Park in Smallgrain Picnic Area (Bishop’s Cannings to Quemerford Road - grid reference SU 025 672) in time to leave promptly at 10.30am.

Numbers limited to 20 - advance booking only

No dogs please

sponsored by T H White
in collaboration with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust