Durham Talks
Durham Talks Together: Friday 14 October
On Friday 14 October, join in to make this a special day of great conversation across County Durham.
It’s great to share lunch with family, friends and colleagues; it’s even more fun to meet new people and to enjoy stimulating and interesting conversation. This year, Durham Book Festival wants to support individuals and groups across County Durham to enjoy better conversations. So whether you run a community lunch club, teach in a school, or want to take the challenge of getting your family and friends, workmates or book group together for one special day, we can help you make it a great success.
Introducing our Festival Conversation Tsar, Catherine Blyth
“To me, conversation is the ultimate luxury: fun, good for your health, and the shortest route to pretty much anything you might wish for. Best of all, it’s free”
Catherine has been a gossip columnist, a journalist, and a book publisher and currently works as a writer. Her witty and erudite books are The Art of Conversation and The Art of Marriage.
Free Conversation Menus
We have created a series of specially commissioned witty and engaging Conversation Menus from our Conversation Tsar Catherine Blyth, all of which can be downloaded free from here from the beginning of October. There will be different menus for different age groups, and for situations from eating with friends and work colleagues, to special menus for schools and community groups.
Each menu is devised to offer enough conversational starting points to keep you entertained throughout your meal whether you are lunching on sandwiches or sitting down for a slap up dinner. So all you need to do is to arrange to invite people to lunch or dinner, download a menu and begin to have the sort of stimulating conversations we have all dreamt of having, but so rarely do.
How can I get involved?
You can arrange a private lunch event or organise a special event in your community or workplace. If you’re taking part we’d love you to let us know. In advance. You can also post photos and feedback about your event on our special blog, where we’ll also be posting helpful advice from our Conversation Tsar, Catherine Blyth.
Our army of conversational volunteers
We will also be recruiting and training a volunteer ‘army’ of highly trained conversationalists who, on a first-come first-served basis, can be deployed to ensure that your conversation day event works well. If you are organising a community conversation meal in a school or public venue and would like some extra support please get in touch with the festival office.
If you’d like to volunteer to help out and are a confident conversationalist you can also volunteer your services for the day. There will be a training day in September to help you get to grips with the project.
Please email durhambookfestival@newwritingnorth.com for more information on volunteering or for working with volunteers.