Success for festival of faith and literature
Top authors and speakers from across the UK entertained enthusiastic audiences at the second Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature at Bloxham School at the weekend.
This year’s event – run in association with the Church Times – was much expanded from the 2011 event, held at St Mary’s Church in Bloxham, and guest speakers and authors explored the concepts of good and evil through a range of activities, addressing this year’s festival theme of Devices and Desires.
Speakers at the three-day event included Jasper Fforde who talked to Church Times editor Paul Handley about his unique blend of comedy-sci-fi-thriller-crime-satire, philosopher Keith Ward who revealed what happens when a philosopher reads the gospels and Marian Partington, sister of Lucy Partington who was murdered by Fred and Rosemary West.
Festival director Sarah Meyrick said she was delighted with the positive response the festival received.
“We sold 1,500 tickets beforehand and many people were buying tickets on the door as well,” she said. “It’s not just for people who are Christians but for a wider audience and anyone who is interested in literature, the arts and the big questions of life.
“People have been really enthusiastic and have been coming out of events saying how much they’ve enjoyed them.”
Church Times editor Paul Handley added: “It’s the first time we have done something on this scale and it has been fantastic. Moving it to the school has been brilliant and staff have been fantastic.
Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry, who is also Second Church Estates Commissioner and was the festival committee’s chairman, came up with the concept for the festival while reading book reviews in the Church Times. He said: “I very much hope that the festival will now become an annual event in the literary festival calendar.”
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Weather for Banbury
Thursday 20 June 2013
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Thunderstorm
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