Meeting an old friend at the Cheltenham Literature Festival

Decided to resurrect this rarely-used blog to write a little about stuff this year at the Cheltenham literature festival.that really makes me think. Firstly, on a personal note, it was great to catch up with an old friend who I haven't seen since primary school. (For those of you who don't know me: that's over 20 years ago!) It was a real pleasure to chat to him, and I found the experience quite inspiring (for a start: I'm here writing properly again for the first time in a while).

A reflection on this experience: I really had little idea what Alex was going to be like anymore, for several reasons: 1) We haven't been in touch until very recently (through a social network) 2) at the age of 11, how much can we know about one another? I think I was less cluttered by stereotypes and preconceptions, but in that admirable state of innocence, are we also less able to make the kinds of judgements about someone's character, background etc. that we find so natural to make as adults? 3) A lot of our adult identity is worked out gradually through our teenage years, and much of it is shaped by our pubescence- not just our physique and sexuality. 4) my memory of those years is pretty poor (Alex, by contrast, was able to recall some scenes from 'back then' with astonishing vividness).

In short, Alex could have become in the interim years a Marxist, a lawyer, a convict, a 6 foot rugby player, a rapper, or a ballet dancer. He could have left school at 16 or be about to take a second PhD.

As it happens, he turned out to be highly intelligent, interested in philosophy, and an accomplished artist and talented illustrator who is actually responsible for the Cheltenham festival artwork!

http://www.alexbeechingtheartist.com/

http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature/2012/alex-beeching