Ed Vaizey praises competition winners and gets ideas from Book Festival

The Culture Minister Ed Vaizey was a guest at the Chiswick Book Festival at the weekend, where he met authors such as Andy McNab (Dead Certain) and Deborah Cadbury (Chocolate Wars) and the organisers of the Young People's Poetry Competition.

Mr Vaizey, who was brought up in Chiswick, was a pupil at Belmont School and praised the efforts of the pupils who entered the poetry competition.

The Festival director Torin Douglas introduced Mr Vaizey to Father Kevin Morris, the vicar of St Michael & All Angels, which hosts the Chiswick Book Festival, and to other guests at a drinks reception on Saturday evening.

The Culture Minister is helping to organise a book festival in his constituency - Wantage in Oxfordshire - and said there were lots of ideas he would like to borrow!

At Sunday lunchtime, three of the stars of Downton Abbey signed copies of the new book of the ITV1 series, The World of Downton Abbey, written by Jessica Fellowes. Over a lunch of Downton snacks and drinks, the author spoke with two of its cast - Phyllis Logan, who plays the housekeeper Mrs Hughes, and Lesley Nicol, who plays the cook, Mrs Patmore. They pointed out there was a surprise guest in the audience - Brendan Coyle, who plays Mr Bates in the series - and all three mingled with the audience aftewards, chatting about the series and signing books.

September 22, 2011