Book Festival - Part 1: Man in sports jacket

Yes, this morning we went to hear the Prime Minister. He was the special guest at the opening event of this year's Book Festival. Brown was interviewed by author Ian Rankin (of Inspector Rebus fame) in front of a respectful but not adulatory audience.

In this relaxed environment Brown came across far better than I've ever seen him in more formal settings on television. Mrs F&W thought that he was better looking and seemed younger and slimmer than when on the box.

Most of the event was taken up with discussing his book on Courage. Unfortunately the PM wasn't available to sign books for individuals - I was looking forward to having him dedicate one to Freedom and Whisky...

A lady sitting in front of us asked him about the nanny state. He clearly didn't think that such a thing existed. Other than that, we didn't learn much except that he writes his books first thing in the morning, uses a computer but doesn't pay too much attention to the spellchecker.

(DISCLOSURE: shocking though this may be to younger readers but I too wear sports jackets. It's about the only thing that I have in common with Mr Brown.)