Gibraltar Literary Festival 2017

Patrick Gale is the author of sixteen novels, including the Costa-shortlisted A Place Called Winter and two Richard and Judy Book Club selections, Notes from an Exhibition and A Perfectly Good Man. He was recently the subject of a BBC documentary, Patrick Gale’s Art of Fiction, in which he was interviewed by Stephen Fry and opened up about the intimate links between his fiction and previously hidden stories of his family. His first original television drama, Man in an Orange Shirt, was the highly praised centrepiece of the BBC’s Gay Britannia season this summer and he has written about how it was partly inspired by a secret in his parents’ marriage. Based on his husband’s farm at Land’s End, he’s a busy man, writing a new novel and two major television projects while playing the cello in the local orchestra and helping run the North Cornwall Book Festival. He talks to XX about his journey from writing on the edges and being marginalised to the gay shelves in bookshops, to being taken to the nation’s heart and opens up about the tricky business of using one’s nearest and dearest as “material”. You can watch and extract from the BBC documentary on You Tube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j10ZGtrWVSY) and find out more about Patrick on his website www.galewarning.org. 

Photo credit (c) Alex Efimoff

In recent years the UK Cabinet Secretary has emerged from the shadows:  Sir Robert Armstrong ran into trouble for being economical with the truth. Sir Robin Butler investigated allegations of sleaze. Sir Richard Wilson faced the responsibility of responding to the 9/11 attacks.  Sir Gus O’Donnell acted as midwife to the Conservative-LibDem coalition.  Yet just what they do and what influence they have had has remained much of a mystery until this history was given unfettered access to government files.

Nowadays it seems incredible that before 1916 there was no formal Cabinet agenda and no record of Cabinet decisions.  Ministers sometimes left the Cabinet room with opposing recollections of what had been decided.

The talk will examine the Cabinet Secretary’s role in major events: the transition from war to peace; the threat of atomic war and of Communist subversion; the debacle of Suez; the move from Commonwealth to Europe; the rise of the Special Adviser cadre; secret diplomacy; the organisation of intelligence; living with sofa government and the Blair-Brown tensions.  Speaking truth unto power.  Not to leave out the official record of a ghost in the corridors of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Tony Buzan achieved global fame as the inventor of Mind Mapping, a technique for note taking and creative ideas which has transformed educational theory and practice around the world. In the course of his career, promoting Mental Literacy and the belief that Genius is present in every one of us, Tony has encountered numerous giant personalities. These include the eccentric singer and superstar Michael Jackson, whose children were taught by Tony; the Dalai Lama, to whom Tony lectured on Mental Literacy at the King of Jordan’s Nobel Prizewinners’ Conference; quintuple Olympic Gold winner Sir Steve Redgrave; ABBA member Benny Andersson and Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, whom Tony commissioned to write a Memory Poem with a difference. It is published here for the very first time. Other luminaries encountered in these pages include Frieda Hughes, daughter of Ted Hughes and the ethereal poetess Sylvia Plath, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Dr Henry Kissinger, Edward de Bono and Bill Gates.

Tony Buzan’s teachings also embrace Speed Reading, Memory, Physical Fitness, Martial Arts, IQ, Concentration and Creativity, all embodied in his foundation of THE RENAISSANCE ACADEMY for business, future leaders and pioneers of the use of Brainpower. This volume recounts his battles to establish the validity of his methods, and explains the key elements, which can be utilised by all those who wish to improve their powers of Mental Literacy in general. The techniques explained here will help everyone, from school and college exam-taking, to those determined to keep their brain fit and functioning maximally into advanced age.

Author, Ray Keene OBE, is a chess Grandmaster, MA from Trinity College Cambridge, where he shared lodgings with HRH The Prince of Wales, Chess Correspondent  for The Times and long term colleague and friend of Tony Buzan. He is also the co-founder with Tony of the World Memory Championships.

Take a look inside the mind of Tony Buzan, the man who invented Mind Mapping and taught the world a whole new way of thinking. Read about the inspirations, influences, discoveries and challenges on his journey to help royalty, global figures, celebrities, governments, business leaders, and how he has transformed educational theory and practice around the world.  

In Raymond Keene’s comprehensive book, hear from Tony in his own words about his passion for Mental Literacy and his and the belief that Genius is present in every one of us.  

Philosopher Stephen Law immunises against the wiles of cultists, religious and political zealots, conspiracy theorists, and various other nutcases by clearly setting out the tricks of the trade by which such insidious belief systems are created and sustained.

Wacky belief systems abound. Members of the Heavens Gate suicide cult believed they were taking a ride to heaven on board a UFO. Muslim suicide bombers expect to be greeted after death by 72 virgins. And many fundamentalist Christians insist the entire universe is just 6,000 years old. It’s not only cults and religions that promote bizarre beliefs. Some believe that aliens built the pyramids. Others that 9/11 was an ‘inside job’. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed in fairies. How do such preposterous views succeed in entrenching themselves in the minds of sane, intelligent, educated people, turning them into the willing slaves of claptrap?

Law is Reader in philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London, and the author of many popular introductions to Philosophy, including The Philosophy Gym, The Great Philosophers, and (for children) The Complete Philosophy Files.

Nick Rankin talks to Gibraltar Chronicle's Brian Reyes about his new book. 

Two months before he shot himself, Adolf Hitler saw where it had all gone wrong. By failing to seize Gibraltar in the summer of 1940, he lost the war. 

The Rock of Gibraltar, a pillar of British sea-power since 1704, looked formidable but was extraordinarily vulnerable. Though menaced on all sides by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Vichy France and Francoist Spain, every day Gibraltar had to let thousands of people cross its frontier to work. Among them came spies and saboteurs, eager to blow up its 25 miles of secret tunnels. In 1942, Gibraltar became US General Eisenhower’s HQ for the invasion of North Africa, the campaign that led to Allied victory in the Mediterranean. 

Nicholas Rankin’s revelatory new book, whose cast of characters includes Haile Selassie, Anthony Burgess and General Sikorski, sets Gibraltar in the wider context of the struggle against fascism, from Abyssinia through the Spanish Civil War. It also chronicles the end of empire and the rise to independence of the Gibraltarian people.    

This is a very entertaining and vibrant show, as Nicholas Parsons takes his audience on a humorous and nostalgic journey through the memorabilia of his long and eventful life, seeing the funny side of every situation as he highlights with superb and often hilarious observation those events that have shaped his career.  His early struggles to enter the difficult and unpredictable world of show business and to achieve something in that amazing and challenging world.  Also the stories of how he survived in the demanding and heady world of entertainment and achieved the position he now commands.

As a mimic and impressionist he not only recalls the incidents and events, he recreates them with vivid and amusing impersonations of the personalities involved.  His comic timing and accurate observation creates a cast of characters that make this an unusual evening of comedy which has the audience entertained and laughing throughout, whether the programme runs the normal two hours or is abbreviated to one hour. 

Maggie Gee and Jacob Ross will be addressing the role of protest in literature, the subtle and overt ways in which it has shaped modern attitudes and thinking, and more specifically, Jacob's own process in building a convincing fictional narrative from factual research. Jacob will read an extract from his story and address the case of the New Cross Fire which was one of the triggers for the Brixton Riots in the 1980s. 

Maggie and Jacob will also be questioning what we mean by the term 'protest literature' since so much of English literature is 'protest' -- although that aspect is often overlooked or ignored.

One of the great strengths of Laurence Rees’ new work on the Holocaust, according to reviewers, is the powerful eyewitness testimony that the book contains.

In this lecture, Rees discusses four people that he met personally, carefully chosen out of the hundreds of interviews conducted for his various television series on the Nazis and the Holocaust over the last twenty-five years. Each of these four people offers a different perspective on the Holocaust.

Two of them suffered at the hands of the Nazis. One as a Polish political prisoner in Auschwitz, and the other as a Jewish Sonderkommando in the death camp of Sobibor. The remaining two interviewees were perpetrators – and both were convicted of war crimes after the conflict ended. One is a former SS man who worked in Auschwitz, and the other a Lithuanian who murdered Jews at the behest of the Nazis.

Rees focuses on what these four individuals can tell us, about not just the nature of this terrible crime, but the human condition itself. 

Join Christopher Lloyd at the launch of a brand new timeline book called “The Story of Gibraltar” which tells the story of the Rock from earliest times to the present day using a fabulous 2m-long four-out timeline. The launch will be a fun evening with stories from the book presented by some of Gibraltar’s very own school children, highlighting special moments in the history of the Rock.”

Tickets are free and on a first come, first served basis.

Forthright, intrepid and engaging, Ann Widdecombe was at the centre of Conservative politics for over twenty years,  During her time in opposition she wrote her first novel, THE CLEMATIS TREE, which was published in 2000 and became a Sunday Times bestseller.  It tells the moving story of a family torn apart after their son is severely injured in an accident.  Ann has gone on to write a further three novels and one detective novel, THE DANCING DETECTIVE.  In 2013 she published her memoir STRICTLY ANN which again was a Sunday Times bestseller.  In her talk, Ann will focus on her career as an author and her life following her retirement from politics in 2010 which got off to a thrilling start with her performance in BBC1’s 2010 Strictly Come Dancing.  Ann has gone on to perform in Donizetti’s ‘La Fille du Regiment’ at the Royal Opera House as well as starring in a number of pantomimes.   A regular contributor and presenter of television documentaries, she appeared most recently in Sugar Free Farm on ITV.  Ann lives on Dartmoor in Devon, writes a weekly column for the Daily Express and is currently working on her fifth novel, AN ACT OF BROTHERHOOD, which is the final book in the trilogy formed by AN ACT OF PEACE and AN ACT OF TREACHERY.

photo credit Poppy Berry 

Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Ireland – every crewmember aboard the Spirit of Falmouth had served in one of these trouble spots, had had almost unimaginably traumatic experiences there, and then had trouble readjusting to civilian life. Some were hospitalised, others ended up living on the streets, many of them found themselves alone and isolated. Steven Price Brown tells the unique and inspiring account follows the Spirit of Falmouth’s June 2016 voyage around the country these men had sworn to protect. The tall ship is the last remaining Merseyside Pilot Schooner, and the voyage was organised by veterans’ charity Turn To Starboard to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the pilot service. The route took the men from Falmouth back to Liverpool, where the service started in 1766, the long way. This is the story of the Spirit of Falmouth’s crew – dramatic, uplifting, moving, and told with the inevitable darkly hilarious humour of those who have served.

It’s twenty years since Tony made his crazy hitchhiking adventure and then wrote the best selling book ‘Round Ireland With A Fridge’. The journey had a profound effect on him and actually changed the way he tried to live his life henceforth. In this talk he discusses the merits of ‘fridge philosophy’ and highlights how important it is to find room for silliness in your life.

Tony is a regular guest on radio 4’s top comedy programmes Just a Minute, and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and The Unbelievable Truth

Tony is a regular after dinner speaker at corporate events up and down the country and his warm, dry style and aptitude for ad-libbing makes him a popular choice as a host for award ceremonies. He hosted The British Book Awards (The Nibbies) for three consecutive years, as well as numerous others.

He recently produced and starred in the film versions of his two books Round Ireland With A Fridge and Playing the Moldovans at Tennis – the latter of which is donating all profits to The Tony Hawks Centre for children with cerebral palsy in Chisinau, Moldova. More details on the films at www.roundirelandwithafridge.com

and www.moldovansmovie.com

For more information visit www.tony-hawks.com 

Mixed cities were once common in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Ottoman Empire. Their characteristics included multiple races, religions and languages; the importance of ambassadors, consuls and commerce; modernity; and vulnerability. Constantinople, Aleppo, Smyrna, Alexandria and Beirut were mixed Ottoman cities. They are both precursors of, and warnings to, today’s mixed ciities.

For in the end mixed cities depend on the state which protects them. When the state weakens or turns hostile, they do not survive. The hinterland always bites back. In the last hundred years all Ottoman mixed cities have suffered from civil wars and nationalism. The hinterland always bites back. Smyrna was burnt, and lost its Greeks and Armenians in 1922, Constantinople was Turkified after 1922, and Alexandria Egyptianised after 1952. Since 2012 Aleppo has been gutted by civil war . Most refugees from this formerly tolerant half-Chirstian city hesitate to return. Gibraltar is, with Marseille, one of the last historic mixed cities of the Mediterranean.

Elsewhere, however, mixed cities are, thanks to globalization,  again increasingly normal. From New York to Hong Kong,  more and more cities contain an increasing proportion of people from foreign countries. 800 languages are spoken in New York, 300 in London.  

London, according to David Cameron,  is ‘the most diverse city in the world’. The latest figures show that the population of 8.2 million is 45% white British. In Dubai  immigrants far outnumber the original inhabitants. Hong Kong tries to maintain its identity against the pressures of the Chinese state. In a rapidly globalising world, perhaps the future belongs to mixed cities, rather than national states. 

The course

Whether you’re a beginner in creative writing or a more advanced writer looking for new ideas and inspiration, this one-day event may be exactly what you need. Designed by two professional writers with long experience of teaching at university level, the programme will address the writer’s art and craft in ways both practical and thought-provoking, involving both writing and the discussion of writing. The programme’s focus will be broad, making it useful to writers of poetry, fiction or creative non-fiction.

The course has been devised with a group of 30 in mind; however, the presence of two tutors means that, apart from a 15-minute period at the beginning of the course and another at the end, the teaching will take place in groups of 15. Each group will have two sessions with each tutor.  

The sessions

9.30 - 11.00: Session 1.Why do we write?/ Working with memory

11.00 - 11.30: Coffee

11.30 - 1.00: Session 2. Working with the imagination

1.00 - 2.00: Lunch

2.00 - 3.30: Session 3: Voice and vision

3.30 - 4.00: Tea

4.00 - 5.30: Session 4: Inspiration and plain hard work/ Drawing it all together

Session 1. Why do we write?/ Working with memory

There are many reasons for writing. We shall briefly discuss these before breaking into two separate groups for a session on the role of memory in our writing.

Session 2. Working with the imagination

Building on the work carried out in the first session, we shall go on to discuss and (hopefully) experience the operation of the creative imagination.

Session 3: Voice and vision

We shall address matters relating to dialogue, as well as the question of narrative voice, whether in poetry, fiction or creative non-fiction: how do we find the voice or voices appropriate to our vision?

Session 4: Inspiration and plain hard work/ Drawing it all together

We shall discuss the sources of our writing and look at practical means of helping ourselves to get the writing done, before the two groups come together for a brief final discussion.

The tutors

Jem Poster is Programme Advisor to Cambridge University’s MSt in Creative Writing and author of a collection of poetry, Brought to Light (Bloodaxe, 2001) and two novels, Courting Shadows and Rifling Paradise (Sceptre, 2002 and 2006). Sarah Burton is Director of Cambridge’s MSt in Creative Writing and author of Impostors (Penguin, 2000) and A Double Life: A Biography of Charles and Mary Lamb (Penguin 2003).

Kate Adie talks to us about her life and career and how she's written 5 books, about her work, about women and war, and about some key social issues.

Paul will delve into the whys of his book and books and the many morals he touches upon. His talk will deal with the principle expressed again and again in this and every book, that no one has the right to tolerate evil. This all couched in an adventure story with children as the main protagonists, those same youngsters who are being deprived of the richness of childhood that the older amongst us enjoyed, by the advance and misuse of technology all in the name of profit for the multi nationals. 

In 1482, Abu Abdallah Muhammad XI became the twenty-third Muslim King of Granada. He would be the last. In this first history of the ruler, known as Boabdil, whose disastrous reign and bitter defeat brought seven centuries of Moorish Spain to an end, Elizabeth Drayson tells an action-packed story of intrigue, treachery, courtliness, bravery and tragedy.

Basing her vivid account on original documents and sources, she traces the origins and development of Islamic Spain. She describes the thirteenth-century founding of the Nasrid dynasty, the cultured and stable society it created, and the feuding which threatened it and had all but destroyed it by 1482, when Boabdil seized the throne. The new Sultan faced betrayals by his family, factions in the Alhambra palace, and increasingly powerful onslaughts from the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella, monarchs of the newly united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon.

By stratagem, diplomacy and courage Boabdil prolonged his reign for ten years, but he never had much chance of survival. In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella, magnificently attired in Moorish costume, entered Granada and took possession of the city. Boabdil went into exile. The Christian reconquest of Spain, that has reverberated so powerfully down the centuries, was complete. 

Take an epic voyage with timeline storyteller Christopher Lloyd on a journey through the history of Britain. Using a giant 8m version of the his British history timeline, developed in partnership with the National Trust as a backdrop, and donning a new coat of many pockets, join him on an unforgettable ride through 10 key moments in the story on what promises to be a unique whistlestop tour. Talk suitable for all ages 6 – 106.

Lady Carnarvon will be in conversation about entertaining at Highclere Castle over the years, the subject of her latest book entitled ‘At Home: Entertaining at the Real Downton Abbey’. The book looks at how the Castle has been at the centre of drama, music and laughter, as well as high politics through the years. The 8th Countess explains the domestic arrangements, showcases recipes, and reports the anecdotes and letters, which surround the living history of Highclere Castle. Each Chapter takes a particularly special visit as its jumping off point: in 1866 the political drama as the 4th Earl and John A Macdonald negotiated the Canadian Constitution which created the Dominion in 1867, in 1886 as Henry James spent time completing two novels, in 1898 when His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales-later King Edward VII-came for a traditional but suitably extravagant shooting (long) weekend, and 1936 when Malcolm Sargent was a guest, reinforcing a history of association between Highclere and the musical word that continues to this day. 

The Spain-UK relation has become increasingly significant in terms of trade, direct investment, tourism, fisheries and the number of Britons living in Spain, by far the largest group of British expats in any European country.

 Consequently, Spain has good reasons for wanting the best possible Brexit deal, but without allowing the UK to be better off outside the EU than inside it. A ‘hard’ Brexit could be particularly damaging for Spain. Could the nation whose Armada threatened

England in 1588 and was defeated become London’s ally in the arduous Brexit negotiations?

A potential stumbling block is the age-old problem of Gibraltar, the UK overseas territory, ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and long claimed by Spain. Gibraltar voted 96% in favour of remaining in the EU. 

The UK’s exit from the EU will make the Rock’s border with Spain an external and not an internal EU frontier and inan extreme situation could be closed. Some 12,000 people who work in Gibraltar cross the border every day from Spain. Madrid offered Gibraltar co-sovereignty as a way for the Rock to continue to be part of the EU, but this was quickly rejected.

'Zipp’s Trips' follows an alien (Zipp) who crashes from planet Skipp into the garden of our other main character Luna. Luna is a fearless young girl who faces discrimination in her everyday life due to her race. Zipp follows her around in school while trying to find parts to fix his ship and is shocked by the inequality Luna faces.

Join us on 18th of November for a fun and interactive reading of our book.

Christopher Lloyd unveils his latest book, inspired by four visits to the Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Festival, which features a giant timeline with more than 100 moments in the amazing history of the Rock from the Neanderthals to Brexit. Which objects will come out of his pockets this time? Watch him connect our everyday world with aeons of history that have taken place on this spectacular shard of Mediterranean limestone. Talk suitable for ages 6-106.

Charles Dickens was a distinctly modern author who travelled widely, went on book tours, promoted himself and his works through constant marketing, and performed tirelessly. His novels enjoyed unprecedented success during his lifetime and their popularity has never waned. When the word “celebrity” was first coined, Dickens was one of the first people to whom the word was applied, and that level of fame and adulation still remains constant almost 150 years after his death. In this talk, the author and historian Lucinda Hawksley will explore the lives of her great-great-great-grandfather and his extensive circle of friends and associates. Dickens surrounded himself with writers, artists, actors, thinkers, politicians and social reformers. Rather than courting people for their fame, Dickens made friends with men and women who intrigued him and whose work he admired. In Charles Dickens and his Circle, Lucinda Hawksley investigates the life of her ancestor and the people who knew him. 

Maureen sits with us for an in conversation event about her career, latest play 'Lettice and Lovage' interspersed with a few of her monologues.

The Hon Dr Joseph Garcia MP, Deputy Chief Minister of Her Majesty’s Government  of Gibraltar will be speaking at the Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival 2017. Dr Garcia will be talking about the 1967 Referendum.

Gibraltar has this year celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum. This was the first time that the people of Gibraltar were given the choice to remain British or to come under Spanish sovereignty.

On 14 June 1967, UK Minister of State at the Commonwealth Office Judith Hart told the Westminster Parliament that a referendum would be held in Gibraltar on 10 September that year. There would be two options on the ballot paper open to the people of Gibraltar. The first to pass under Spanish sovereignty in accordance with the terms proposed by the Spanish Government to Her Majesty’s Government on 18 May 1966. The second choice was to voluntarily retain the link with Britain, with democratic local institutions and with Britain retaining its existing responsibilities.

The referendum took place on 10 September 1967. On a turnout of 95.8%, 12,138 people voted to remain British and only 44 voted for Gibraltar to become a part of Spain. This was the first time that the Gibraltarians had been given the choice and encouraged to exercise it. They spoke with devastating clarity.

The talk will coincide with the release of a booklet that the Government is publishing on the Referendum and all those attending the event will receive a free copy.

Science writer and broadcaster Dr Adam Rutherford explains how we all carry the history of the human race – births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration and sex – in our genes like an epic poem.

Rutherford argues that our genes tell us a lot less than we are led to believe about us as individuals, but more about us as a species. He explains what our genes tell us about history and what history tells us about our genes – providing a portrait of who we are and how we came to be.

Rutherford studied genetics at University College London and was part of a team that identified the genetic cause of a form of childhood blindness. He has written and presented award-winning series and programmes for the BBC including BBC Radio 4’s weekly Inside Science, BBC Four’s The Cell, and Playing God on creation and synthetic biology for Horizon. His first book, Creation, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Prize.

World-renowned explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell talks about his life and career in conversation.

The then Captain Blashford-Snell was selected in 1968 to lead a 60-strong expedition down the Blue Nile at the invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie. The success of that expedition led Blashford-Snell to organise and lead more than 100 expeditions across the world, including the first vehicle crossing of the complete Darien Gap in 1971/2 and navigating almost all the 2,700 miles of the great Zaire (now Congo) River in 1974/5. His innovative method of tackling white water in an inflatable boat has become a sport, and he has been instrumental in the founding of many organisations including the Scientific Exploration Society and Operation Raleigh.

Blashford-Snell is author of an autobiography, Something Lost behind the Ranges, and many other books including In the Steps of Stanley and A Taste for Adventure.

Without writers actors would have nothing to say, but what does a screenwriter actually do? Sharing the personal experiences of a career spanning two decades, screenwriter Gaby Chiappe talks about what it really means to write for film and television. Using clips and examples she explores what goes into the making of screen drama and addresses key questions - what’s the difference between plot and story? What makes good dialogue? How do you deal with deadlines? What’s the worst line you’ve ever written? (spoiler alert - It’s a stinker).

For people interested in knowing more about how screen drama is put together, as well as for those interested in screenwriting themselves.

Take an epic voyage with timeline storyteller Christopher Lloyd on a journey through the history of Britain. Using a giant 8m version of the his British history timeline, developed in partnership with the National Trust as a backdrop, and donning a new coat of many pockets, join him on an unforgettable ride through 10 key moments in the story on what promises to be a unique whistlestop tour. Talk suitable for all ages 6 – 106. 

Entertainer Nicholas Parsons brings some guests, including actress and comedian Maureen Lipman, Tony Hawks, Felix Francis and a fourth celebrity guest for a special festival version of the long-running BBC Radio 4 show Just a Minute.

Panel members are challenged to speak for one minute without repetition or deviation on any subject that comes up. Be prepared for the sort of entertainment that has kept the BBC show going for more than 900 episodes over the last 60 years.

Parsons first came to the fore in the late 50s in a comedy partnership with Arthur Haynes.  Alongside Just a Minute, he is well known for presenting Sale of the Century and for his chat show at the Edinburgh Fringe, which has run for 13 years. He has presented Just a Minute for the last 50 years without a break. His West End roles include Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and The Rocky Horror Show. 

Christopher Lloyd unveils his latest book, inspired by four visits to the Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Festival, which features a giant timeline with more than 100 moments in the amazing history of the Rock from the neanderthals to Brexit. Which objects will come out of his pockets this time? What him connect our everyday world with aeons of history that have taken place on this spectacular shard of mediterranean limestone. Talk suitable for ages 6-106.

Violinist Min Kym talks about her musical life that began as a child prodigy and was devastatingly interrupted when her rare 1696 Stradivarius was stolen from a railway station café. She performs some of the works that have played a key part in her story.

Kym was born in Korea and raised in the UK. At 7, she was the youngest ever pupil at the Purcell School of Music and at 16 the youngest ever foundation scholar at the Royal College of Music. At 21, she found the perfect violin for her build and temperament, a 1696 Stradivarius. Her career took off, she recorded a Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned. Then, in 2010, the violin was stolen. Kym explains the intense loss and betrayal she felt and the bond a musician has with her instrument. She tells of the devastating impact the theft had on her music and how she eventually recovered and found meaning again. The talk will be interspersed with performances by Kym of Brahms, Paganini, Massanet, Gluck, Bach and Fauré.

Here she talks to BBC news presenter and journalist Gwenan Edwards, whose credits include the BBC Proms, Wales at Six on ITV, and Newsroom South East and Watchdog on BBC1.

This event lasts 90 minutes

Dr Ahmed Boukhobza is an academic, politician and author.  He holds a PhD on the political and social attitudes towards Al’ Andaluz during medieval times and was a professor of History and Geography between 1983 and 2014. Dr Boukhobza has research interests in the history of Islamic culture in the West and is also working on the history of Morocco in ancient times. Dr Boukhobza is a Member of the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds and since 2003 has been an elected member of the municipal council of Tetouan.

Amongst  Dr. Boukhobza's publications are:  The attitudes of Andalusian scholars to political imperatives of the 11th century (2016);  together with his colleagues in Tetouan he has published; The general result of the Parliamentarians Mohammed Idaomar and Ahmed Boukhobza between 2011 and 2016 (2016). Forthcoming in 2017 is his book The attitudes of Andalusian scholars in the 11th century. 

The history of Britain, presented as you’ve never seen it before, through twenty-one women whose lives enthral and beguile, intrigue and inspire.

‘Ideal to press into the hands of young women studying politics and history.’ Independent

Boadicea battled the Romans. Nancy Astor fought in Parliament. Emmeline Pankhurst campaigned for female suffrage. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became a pioneering physician in a man’s profession. Mary Quant revolutionised the fashion industry.

Britain has traditionally been defined by its conflicts, its conquests, its men and its monarchs. It’s high time that it was defined by its women. In this unique history, Jenni Murray tells the stories of twenty-one women who refused to succumb to the established laws of society, whose lives embodied hope and change. Famous queens, forgotten visionaries, great artists and trailblazing politicians – all pushed back boundaries and revolutionised our world. In Murray’s hands their stories are enthralling and beguiling; they have the power to inspire us once again. 

The Sunday Times foreign editor Peter Conradi argues that the West has made a powerful new enemy in Russia because it has consistently failed to understand the country and its motives.

Conradi says that Russia emerged battered and humiliated from the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, and there are striking parallels with post-World-War-I Weimar Germany. Now a new Russia has emerged with an upgraded arsenal of weapons and a determination to assert its interests in places such as Chechnya, Georgia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, NATO is undertaking large-scale manoeuvres and stockpiling weapons close to the Russian border.

Conradi witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union first-hand as a foreign correspondent in Moscow. He is also author ofHitler’s Piano Player and co-author of The King’s Speech, which inspired the Oscar-winning film.

Join all the celebrated speakers and performers at this year’s literary festival on the Rock, for the splendid closing dinner prepared by the chef of the Sunborn Yacht Hotel.

The price of this event includes reception, three-course meal, wines and coffee.