THAT BE BRISTLE: THE BOOK BAG AT CRIMEFEST

The  book bag given at registration was a useful size and full of interesting  books including two about 'Bristle'. 

I don't expect there are many of the pure Bristol accents left now. We Cockneys, Brummies, Northerners, Jamaicans, Welsh and Irish struggled to understand that accent back in 1963, and frequently got lost. 

It was a difficult time and there were bomb sites  all over the city even 18 years after the end of the war. We students knew we were the privileged few given the opportunity by a system of grammar and direct grant schools [the dreaded eleven plus O and A levels] to rise up the social ladder. I wonder what went wrong....

Also in the book bag was a proof copy of Colin Cotterill's latest novel Anarchy and Old Dogs. I mention this because the blurb reads  as follows.

'When a blind retired dentist is run down by a logging truck as he crosses the road to post a letter.....'

I shall have to be careful.

The first panel I attended was the Ian Fleming Centenary Panel-How to Write a Thriller, and it was exciting for a first timer like me to sit near published authors, but I was a bit disappointed by the panel discussion. It was dominated by one of the panel members and as a result seemed slightly unbalanced, perhaps it was a bit too early for some people.

I then had the pleasure of meeting up with the mellifluous Maxine of Petrona and kindly Karen, Euro Crime herself! 

I decided therefore to follow them as they know more about crime fiction than I ever knew about dentistry. 

To be continued......