Ilminster Literary Festival - fun for all the family

I have always had a passion for learning, and a keen interest in exploring all that is out there in the big wide world, hence my involvement as a volunteer in far too many things. If only the day job did not get in the way! With my own huge library of books, gathered over more than 40 years, and mainly devoted to food, wine and travel, it is no surprise that I should want to take part in organising Ilminster’s Literary Festival, now in its second year, and providing 8 days of fun filled activities, during the first week in June. Whilst schools play a vital part in preparing our children for the wider world, giving them the literacy skills to enable them to do so, there is much that the rest of us can do to support this work.

It is heartening to see that the Literary Festival has been selected of one of the recipients of Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ community fund raising scheme and The Rotary Club of Ilminster has for some time provided volunteers at Greenfylde School to sit and listen to pupils while they practice their reading skills. Nay-sayers will argue that the child’s parents or carers should be doing this, but I know from my own work with families, as Children’s Champion and as the former Chair of Somerset’s Corporate Board, that it is not as simple as that; many of their parents may not have the skills themselves, or the time to fulfil this role.

This is one of the reasons that I believe that events like the Literary Festival can help to instil in us, both young and old, a passion for reading that can open-up a whole new horizon. In order to ensure that we help to overcome the innate feeling that reading is a dull activity, great effort goes into organising a wide range of activities to appeal to all sectors of our diverse community. 

Those with a creative mind can indulge their creative urge to write, whether it be prose or poetry. Those who like the limelight will have plenty of opportunity to perform to an eager audience, whilst those who prefer just to observe will be able to hear the pearls of wisdom directly from some of our most well-known authors, with some interesting tales to tell. My own reading habits swerve from chic lit. to the classics, with pretty much everything in between. Whatever our interests, be it gardening, history, illustration, cider making, book binding, there is something for everyone. For my part, I shall enjoy putting everyone through their paces at our Festival Quiz on Wednesday 7^th June, being sure that in doing so I do my best to dispel the myth that anything to do with Literature is too high-brow for the average person. As I have said, something for everyone, and much of it free. What’s not to love?