Day 3

It was a lovely drive along Bass Lake to Keswick - positively springlike. I had time to nip down to Derwentwater for a Blip before the first talk by Philip Collins “Finding the Right Words at the Right Time”. A speechwriter himself, he explored the key components to a great speech from Cicero to Jefferson, Elizabeth 1 and Martin Luther King, examining inspirational words that have brought hope and progress in times of difficulty and political disenchantment. It was one of the best we’d attended. He judged I Have a Dream as the best ever. It certainly brings tears to my eyes.

My second one was by a clinical psychologist Linda Blair, who explored how to deal with sibling rivalry and how to help create a bond between siblings. As an only child, I did not realise it was so complicated. I’m surprised my three daughters survived to be so close because I’m pretty sure I didn’t know any of the very sensible if somewhat complicated strategies to be used.

It’s been a great festival. I’m home now, and happy to report our passports, complete with visas, are due to arrive tomorrow. However it has been advised that we start again with the Russian ones. Whether we ever get there will be down to Theresa and Vlad I suspect!