Sir Rannulph Fiennes, Eric Newby, Lucy Irvine.

2023-09-12

It's autumn again which means it's time for the splendid Cheltenham Festival of Literature again. A few years ago as part of the festival I interviewed Sir Rannulph Fiennes on stage at the Everyman Theatre about his family history book 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'. I remember shaking hands - a non standard formality for him. He told me how he had to adopt a DIY approach to dealing with frost bite in his fingers. In this episode there's a conversation I had with Sir Rannulph later in a London ...

It's autumn again which means it's time for the splendid Cheltenham Festival of Literature again.

A few years ago as part of the festival I interviewed Sir Rannulph Fiennes on stage at the Everyman Theatre about his family history book 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'.

I remember shaking hands - a non standard formality for him. He told me how he had to adopt a DIY approach to dealing with frost bite in his fingers.

In this episode there's a conversation I had with Sir Rannulph later in a London studio, a chat with the legendary travel writer Eric Newby, and the life of the unforgettable Lucy Irvine.

Lucy had replied to an advertisement in 1980 seeking a woman to spend a year on a desert island with a man she didn't know. This adventure became a film starring Oliver Reid. She tells me how she went on to write the story of another island dwelling family in her book Faraway.

Memorable stories.

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