Naturalist Simon King talks wildlife at Blenheim 2016

Naturalist Simon King talks wildlife at Blenheim 2016

BBC Autumnwatch and Springwatch presenter and wildlife photographer Simon King will talk about his new book on spotting and tracking wildlife at this year’s Blenheim Palace Festival of Literature Film and Music.

Meanwhile, actress and festival favourite Maureen Lipman returns this year to do a solo event based on her humourous new book, It’s a Jungle Out There – a satirical look at celebrity.

Other new events added to the programme include director of Compton Verney gallery Steven Parissien and dress collector Liz Tregenza talking about 1950s fashion. The event mirrors a current exhibition at Compton Verney, and, to mark the partnership with the festival, festival-goers can get 50% off the Compton Verney collections and parks admission* online with the code 50DAYADM.

This year’s festival takes place between Thursday October 13 and Sunday October 16.

Tickets are on sale for confirmed events through this website. A telephone box office 0333 666 3366 is open Monday-Saturday, and a walk-in box office is open all week at Oxford Visitor Information Centre, Broad Street (an agents’ booking fee of £1.50 will be added to all telephone and walk-in sales).

*Offer ends Dec 11 2016. Tickets must be bought online, are non-refundable & can’t be used on memberships, workshops, talks

Caldesis bring a taste of Sicily to festival

Chefs, writers and restaurant-owners Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi bring a taste of Sicily to this year’s festival when they present the festival closing dinner and give a short talk on their new book A Taste of Sicily.

The dinner takes place at Eynsham Hall, North Leigh, and guests can take advantage of a special rate on an overnight stay at the hotel of between £70 and £117.50 (depending on accommodation) by calling 01993 885200 or emailing stay@eynshamhall.com and quoting ‘Blenheim literary festival dinner’.

Chinese chef, food writer and broadcaster Ken Hom features in an event with perfumer Jo Malone, pictured left, where the two will talk about how smell, taste and food enhance our lives.

Other food-related events include young Italian food writer Eleonora Galasso giving a demonstration of Roman cuisine; American chef Jeremiah Tower introducing a showing of the film of his life; and food writer and Waitrose Kitchen editor William Sitwell talking about how food supplies were kept up in WWII.