Latitude - by phone

This time last week I was on my way to perform at the Latitude Festival. I was doing a slot for Salon London with Dr Suzy Lishman the eminent pathologist, and Booker Prize judge, comedian and classicist Natalie Haynes. Suzy was going to do a virtual autopsy of the brain, Natalie was going to talk about how the ancients philosophised about thought and memory, and then I was going to talk about lateral thinking. Sadly, however, someone whose brain wasn't quite working properly mucked it all up for us. A chap got up on the roof of Ipswich Station and was threatening to jump in front of the next train that came his way. Consequently, all trains going in that direction were cancelled and I found myself stranded at Liverpool Street Station in London, along with an ever-growing crowd of frustrated festival goers.

And, as the morning wore on and turned into afternoon, it became more and more crowded and ever so much hotter because the station has a glass roof and it was in the high 80s outside.

At 1.30pm it became intolerable and I also hit the cut off time where I'd be able to get to the Latitude site in time for my slot. Natalie couldn't get there either. So I phoned the organisers for a hasty conflab and we hit upon a cunning plan ... maybe I could do my piece remotely using technology? Using something like the Facetime application on my iPhone would have been ideal but, sadly, the WiFi at the station was next to useless and it wasn't so good at the Latitude site either. However, we were able to rig up a phone link to the speakers in the Literary Arena. So, it was suggested that the crowd give me 10 things to link together, I go away and figure out the connections while the other acts went on, and then I'd return and read my answers to the Latitude audience over the phone.

So that's what we did. As WiFi was rubbish, I knew that a lot of the work would need to be done from memory so I asked the crowd for 10 things beginning with K; having just helped write and record 16 K-themed episodes of QI for the new series, there was a lot of fresh info in my head.

The good news is ... I did it. I won't reveal my answer as it might spoil some of the treats in store when QI returns to your screens in September. All I will reveal is that the 10 things I had to connect were: kittens, kites, knickers, ketamine, knives, kayaks, kissing, knockers, kangaroos and the Kardashians.

And the link I suggested between the final two was that female kangaroos and the Kardashians both have three vaginas.

Such a shame not to get there in person but at least the audience got a show.

A Fat Rascal in Harrogate

It's been a busy week so far ... three more episodes of the new QI 'K' series in the can on Monday and Tuesday, a trip to Yorkshire to speak for Salon North at the Harrogate International Festival and then a whizz back to London for the first production meeting for series 6 of The Museum of Curiosity, which we record mid-June to mid-July.

Harrogate was great fun. I was sharing the stage with cutting-edge geneticist Professor Tim Spector and classicist, comedian and Booker Prize judge Natalie Haynes. Both lovely people and awesomely talented. Our show was themed 'Ch-ch-changes' and began with Tim explaining how the new science of epigenetics is revealing that our lifestyles have a much greater impact on re-writing our genetic code than we previously thought. Then Natalie spoke about the fact that nothing really changes in drama; how the plots of most modern soap operas follow the plots of the great Greek tragedies and comedies. And then I spoke about change within organisations - and also about changing people's attitudes towards tackling problems of crime and disorder. We had a lovely attentive audience and some great Q and A sessions. The event was staged at The Club in Victoria Avenue, a splendid venue of dark wood panels, creaking floorboards and high ceilings ... and banners that read backwards when the breeze catches them.

Also of interest is the hotel that the festival organisers booked me into. It was none other than the Old Swan Hotel, the place at which Agatha Christie was found alive and well after her mysterious disappearance in 1926. If you don't know the story, here's the quick version ...

In December 1924, Christie's husband Archie revealed that he was in love with Nancy Neele, and stated that he wanted a divorce. He then left their home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to join his mistress at Godalming, Surrey. That evening, Agatha disappeared from her home, leaving behind a letter for her secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire. Her car was later found at Newlands Corner, near Guildford. On the back seat was found her driving licence and some clothes. Her disappearance caused an outcry from the public. The Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks, put pressure on the police to find her and a reward was offered. Over 1000 police officers, 15,000 volunteers and several aeroplanes were used to scour the rural landscape. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle took one of Christie's gloves to a spirit medium in order to discover the location of the missing woman. But despite an extensive 10 day manhunt, she was not found.

Then on 14th December she was identified as a guest at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel (now the Old Swan Hotel) in Harrogate, Yorkshire, where she had been registered as 'Mrs Teresa Neele' from Cape Town.

Christie never explained her disappearance. Although two doctors had diagnosed her as suffering from 'psychogenic fugue', opinion remains divided. A nervous breakdown from a natural propensity for depression may have been exacerbated by her mother's death earlier that year and her husband's infidelity. Public reaction at the time was largely negative, supposing a publicity stunt or attempt to frame her husband for murder. Or, if you're a Doctor Who fan, some ludicrous plot involving giant wasps.(All of the above adapted from Wikipedia.)

Cool eh? All I know is they do a cracking breakfast and the breakfast room is glorious.

And, talking about my tummy, you can't leave Harrogate without having tea at Betty's, the famous tea rooms. And, on this occasion, buying a box of Fat Rascals to take home. Oh yes.

Salon at Foyles

On Thursday 7th I took part in the first Salon event of 2013 at one of London's best-loved (and few remaining) bookshops - Foyles. This was a special Salon too as it was awards night; specifically the Transmission Prize for the Communication of Ideas, sponsored by Aeon magazine.

Salon itself is a wonderful thing; regular get-togethers of inspiring speakers, glamorous hostesses, and a clever, curious audience ready for a thought-provoking, convivial evening in wonderful intimate settings.

Coaxed along by some splendid gin cocktails expertly mixed for us by Hendricks, the evening featured a bibliotherapy sesssion between Ella Berthoud and Damian Barr, a talk by me, and then the awards themselves.

A wonderful evening in the company of lovely people. Full set of photographs from the night here.