The Hereford Times

Inspector Morse creator at Leominster Festival

1:23pm Thursday 8th May 2008

A VISIT by the creator of Inspector Morse, Colin Dexter, will be one of the highlights of the 2008 Leominster Festival, which runs from Friday, May 30, to Sunday, June 8, and this year promises something for everyone.

Colin Dexter will take a literary journey through some of his own work, juxtaposed with his favourite passages from such masters as Hardy, Dickens, Charlotte Bronte and A E Housman, read by the actor Gabriel Woolf, his “all time favourite BBC Radio voice”.

Music lovers can choose from the Anglo-Polish Concert performed by Leominster Choral Society; Baroque music in the form of Carnival of the Seasons from the acclaimed group Red Priest; jazz from the Mike Piggott Jazz Trio, who celebrate the life of Stephane Grappelli; a concert featuring classical guitar and singing from the Arden Duo, Gareth and Lynden Rees-Roberts; and a concert by regular visitors to the festival, the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra.

The festival also features a trip to see Berkeley Castle; the popular river walk; entertainment from Simon Hoggart, compère of Radio 4’s News Quiz and Siyaya, with Zimbabwean song, dance and music; a visit by Tony Kirkham, seen on TV in A Year at Kew; the story of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War with Mark Baldwin and the annual art exhibition featuring four local artists.

The festival box office in The Buttercross, Leominster will be open from Tuesday, May 6, telephone 01568 611190.