A Scandinavian, a moat and a cracking good party

Lynne Patrick

I’m not sure what will stay in my memory longest about CrimeFest 2009.

 

If you’d asked me last Thursday an hour after we arrived, I’d have said the panic about our Criminal Tendencies celebration event, scheduled for 5.30 on Friday but in the programme as 6.30. Would the word get around about the actual start time? Would anybody come?

 

If you’d asked me at 7pm on Friday, I’d have said the celebration event itself. Word got around. People came. Heck, everybody came. My only concern was how long would the wine last?

 

It lasted long enough to put everyone in a great mood. We raffled a copy of Criminal Tendencies signed by all twenty-six contributing authors (well, it will be by the end of July), and raised £150 for the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline in less than an hour. And I lost count of the times someone said, “Hey, great party!”

 

Other highlights of this brilliant weekend convention included:

 

- the pub quiz, in which the Crème Team did not come last. OK, so we had a little help from Lizzie Hayes, Sarah Rayne and Sheila Quigley, who aren’t strictly speaking Crème de la Crime people, but aren’t these occasions about networking? (For which read having fun with like-minded people.)

 

- a couple of panels in which feelings ran pretty high. That’s what happens when an audience member announces that she doesn’t like anything the panel members write. Or a panel member mis-hears a question and thinks she’s being accused of writing triviality. It all added to the entertainment. All the panels I attended were interesting, but these two had the edge.

 

- Hakan Nesser. If you want to know why, ask any woman with red blood in her veins. About seven feet tall, a lean and hungry look and a dry Scandinavian wit. What more could we ask? One of my authors, the very witty Kaye C Hill, even got to sit next to him on her panel.

 

- Simon Brett. Crime writers are all thoroughly nice people, but surely he is one of the nicest. Though Andrew Taylor is a close second. And they both have stories in Criminal Tendencies.

 

- Gyles Brandreth’s interview with Simon Brett. I make no apology for mentioning him again. I can’t remember when I laughed so much. Mr Brandreth is a class act. Almost his first words when he stepped on the King’s Room stage were, “I used to be a Member of Parliament.” And that’s not a thing anyone admits lightly in these interminable days of whistle-blowing about excessive (and sometimes dodgy) expenses claims. “I wish it to be known,” he continued, “that when I was, I dug my own moat.” He got a round of applause and a lot of cheers.

 

We had to leave on Saturday afternoon, so we missed the Constable & Robinson party (bet it wasn’t as good as ours!) and the gala dinner, which was a great pity. So the above is just a flavour.

 

For the second year in a row – well done, Adrian Muller and Myles Allfrey. I hope you’re enjoying a well-earned rest at the moment. See you next year.

Comments

[Jeff Cohen]

Okay, Lynne--you've made me sorry I couldn't go. Happy now???

[Lynne Patrick]

TypePadI'd be happier if you'd been there. Maybe next year?

[bookwitch]

Maybe we can agree to all meet there? I'm a very green colour at the moment. Envy is not nice. Though I did meet Håkan Nesser last year. And I can do ååå....