The Culture Vulture is spreading his wings and flying to the countryside this weekend. I'm taking him off to Saltash, Cornwall, for the Port Eliot Lit Fest.
I'm hoping that the Vulture is going to furnish me with a touch of class as I blog live from the festival because, to be honest, it all sounds a bit posh. Described by Geoff Dyer in Observer Magazine last Sunday as "the country's most exclusive book group", it takes place in the grounds of Peregrine St Germans' stately home, and there's the chance to "dine in splendour in candlelight" in the ancient house itself and take tea and cake in the Orangerie.
But wait. Although Port Eliot may sound more Glyndebourne than Glastonbury, look closer and the two west country festivals may have more in common than might first appear. While hugely different in terms of size – Glasto is a megatropolis, while Port Eliot boasted 17 paying customers in its first year and is hoping for an intimate 600-1,500 this year – they seem to share a similar eclectic and iconoclastic outlook when it comes to programming and all-round quirkiness.
Port Eliot is billed as a literary festival but it features an intriguing mix of writers, poets, artists and musicians doing what you may not expect them to do (ie anything but reading from their books). So Geoff Dyer will be juggling fire, Hari Kunzru is due to DJ, artist Gavin Turk is hosting a puppet show and Jimmy Cauty (of the KLF and controversial art group the K Foundation) is performing in the Artytechs Parlour. A highlight is likely to be artist Ralph Steadman dressing up as his late friend Hunter S Thompson and talking about his life and work with the gonzo writer. Making the Glasto connection explicit, there will also be a turn from Michael Eavis -who, it emerges, is a great friend of Peregrine St Germans.
All in all, I've no idea what to expect from this weekend. If anybody's been before and wants to help me out, feel free to comment - is it really all ballgowns and Barbours? Nonetheless I'll be reporting back here over the weekend, as it all happens, to let you know. So check back often!
