Over the past ten years Christopher Joll has written and published fifteen volumes of a sequential series of historically-accurate works of fiction.  Collectively known as The Speedicut Saga, these books cover the period 1821 – 1979.  Interwoven into the narrative are a host of real historical characters, ranging from Queen Victoria to Scarlett O’Hara.  In this talk Christopher explained among other things how he set about researching and writing these books, and the multiple perils posed by copyright lawyers, historians and ‘anoraks’.  “I think you can regard this evening talk as an unqualified success.  He was a very fluent speaker.  Congratulations on a very good start in the world of zoom.” (Paul)

Surviving The House That Sat Down was a positive and uplifting talk based on the events of 2014 when Alice’s house partially collapsed.  She and her husband and 4 children were forced to move into a tent in the garden.  They were on the verge of losing everything.  And yet it was not the end of the world.  Alice used that homeless scenario as the inspiration for her award-winning trilogy ‘The House that Sat Down’.  Using her own personal artwork as illustration Alice’s signature talk gave a flavour of her inspiring journey from the ruins of her home to her life now as an author, artist and speaker.  Packed with humorous anecdotes about family life and full of positivity, this is a tale about life, love and the true meaning of family values.“Inspirational and interesting and she deserves every success with her artistic and writing career particularly having been through such a traumatic experience.” (Marion Griffiths)

In a departure from her usual travel talks, Festival Chair, Sue Ablett, took her audience on a journey unearthing the secrets of family history research.  In this new talk, ‘Delving into the Past’, Sue talked about how she got the family history bug; how she has found out some of the information; some of the gems she has unearthed; and how she put it all together in a book.  An interesting and very enjoyable talk, full of fascinating characters and their social history, with lots of useful information of how anyone can start to ‘delve’ into their own family’s past. Great talk this afternoon Sue, thank you! I really need to ‘write up’ some of the family stories from the reams of info that I have. Thank you for the tips, I think it’s inspired an idea for a starting point.  Claire (Costello)

In these times of pandemic we may be confined to our homes or perhaps even separated from them.  We were thrilled to welcome three acclaimed writers, plus Open Mic poets, who read poems from their collections, inspired by the theme of ‘home’ and what it means to them.  The main line up consisted of Ben Ray, who hails from Ross on Wye but is working and living in Belgium, Zoe Brooks who was born and lives in Winchcombe but spent many years in the Czech Republic, and Anna Saunders who comes from Hoylake in Merseyside but now lives in Cheltenham. “What an absolutely incredibly evening. A real privilege for EFoW to host these amazing poets and Open Mic folk. Such a sense of community from everyone present – the poems were unforgettable as were the performances. Great to get such positive feedback too from everyone who took part. Will certainly hope for a repeat next year.” Sue Ablett

From landmine-sniffing rats to the mysterious ‘red gene’… Bristol novelists Ali Bacon, Jean Burnett, Kerry Postle and Heather Child shared the three most amazing things they found out while researching their books.  We delved into the secrets of famous Italian artists, the birth of photography, the Spanish Civil War, some astonishing quantum physics – and all learned something new! “Really enjoyed it tonight. As you said, great format and some super random quirky hidden gems! Thanks to all!” (Sarah)

Back by popular demand!  In 2019 Liz Rothschild gave an unforgettable performance of her one woman show ‘Outside the Box’.  Her book, Outside the Box – Everyday Stories of Death, Bereavement and Life was published in November 2020.  In this online session Liz offered storytelling and conversation, drawing on the content of the book.  It is described as a book not just for the bereaved and dying but, as the title rightly says, for the living too. “Liz got us all thinking – share those digital passwords now; have those conversations before its too late.  Another amazing event.”  (Sue Ablett

Back once more by popular demand, Festival Chair Sue Ablett once again combined her love of travel with a love of books in what was another fascinating talk. A really fun session, we all went away knowing more about libraries than when we arrived! As an attendee at one of Sue’s previous travel talks with a literary twist said: “It’s always fascinating to try and work out where Sue is going to take us in these talks.” And it really was! “Thank you for a super talk yesterday on Libraries of the World. I too love the sort of trivia you share with us. I have started a notebook in order to try and remember such things, as it’s so frustrating when one can’t recall these interesting snippets.” (Katie Batchelor)

David Howe, a former teacher, school inspector, intermittent historian, is a very popular local speaker with an extensive and varied range of talks.  Over the years he has talked on more than 1,800 occasions to more than 800 plus groups.  Once again, he proved to be an entertaining speaker on a topic that so many of us could identify with, and must now be able to claim to be ‘book addicts! “A great event. David is one of those rare speakers who doesn’t need technology but just talks to his audience. So engaging. We’ll all be thinking how and when we got into books and when the addiction took over!” (Sue Ablett)

The project to open up the site of Evesham Abbey, which was the third largest Abbey in the country, prior to Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries, is the dream-child of Abbey Trust Chairman, Barrie Baldelli.  In this talk and tour, we heard from Natalie Hanson about the vision for the site and how it became a reality – the challenges along the way, and what the ultimate aim for the site entails.  There was an opportunity to walk around the site too. ‘A fascinating and informative tour, delivered with energy and clarity. It was particularly poignant to enter the cloisters, an area only previously admired through the railings!'(Lynn Lucchese)

For this, our second collaboration with the Housman Society, we welcomed acclaimed author Peter Parker whose recent book Housman Country: Into the Heart of England shows how A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad has permeated English life and culture for over a century. Our local Bredon Hill is the focus for one of the best-loved of A.E. Housman’s verses from the famous 1896 collection, and its imagery of “the coloured counties” speaks of a deep feeling for English landscape.  In this wide-ranging talk, which took in poetry, music and topography, Peter Parker explored the allure of the hills, not only for Housman but for other writers and composers. “After a cancelled event last year we were delighted to welcome back Housman Society members to Evesham for a talk by acclaimed author Peter Parker.” (Sue Ablett)

Paul Gillingham taught history in the UK, Canada, Tanzania and Hong Kong before switching to broadcast journalism in the 1970s.  He returned to the UK as a TV news presenter and wrote and presented features for BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service and Classic FM.  ‘Meandering Round the Orkneys’ is the result of his solo cycle tour of the islands, allowing Paul to dip into their history, embrace their culture and discover their quirkiness first hand.  Quite apart from the stunning natural scenery, he shared many fascinating wonders of Orkney – iron age sites which pre-date Stonehenge, the significance of Scapa Flow in both World Wars, the Italian Chapel built by Italian prisoners of war – and how one of the world’s richest women came to be linked to Orkney! ”What a superb talk – so varied, interesting and informative. I hope we can get Paul Gillingham again soon! I could have listened to him for a lot longer.” (Galen Bartholomew)