ANOTHER FEST BLOGGED

I've been seeing green all weekend. Not only has my good pal Janet de Neefe soaked in the sights and sounds of the Auckland Writers Festival, she's also met up with one half of the Indian Ink Theatre Company. That's only the beginning. She's attended several sessions, expectedly charmed people and here the green gets greener - she's been hanging out with Vikram Chandra - who gets her full stamp of approval.

Having missed all the action, I was hoping to catch all the post morts through the media reports, but the bloggers have been at it. And how.

Janet sent me the link to Beattie's Book Blog and what a superb read it's turned out to be. I've been going through the wonderful posts and wishing yet again that I were there.....

TRAVEL KARMA

To think I was there a fortnight ago.

To think one of the writers I've been so wanting to hear happens to be there.

To think one of my best pals is perhaps sipping her wine, even as I pen this.

To think of the literary conversations that are about to begin in the City of Sails.

It's the Auckland Writers Festival which kicks off tomorrow with some splendid discussions all the way till Sunday. I've missed it by that proverbial whisker. Darn!

They've got Vikram Chandra and that's only the beginning. There's Pico Iyer, Will Hutton, Lionel Shriver, Tim Winton, Kate Grenville among a host of others.

The session titles are sorely tempting. 'How to Drink a Glass of Wine', 'Buy Champagne, Pour Tea, Cook Rice, Write Bestseller', 'Treading the Boards with the Bards', 'Haven't they got Anything Better to do?' Oh the seriousness of it all makes me long for a jet plane.

If wishes were horses, you know who'd be riding them. For now though, I'll have to rest content with the stuff that's made it to the news.