Kentish Express Ashford & District
Morpurgo reading missed by too many
Having spent two wonderful weekends enjoying The Stour Music Festival at Boughton Aluph (not subsidised by Ashford Borough Council) I decided to miss the Handel concert on Sunday afternoon and go and hear Michael Morpurgo do a reading of his new book ‘The Mozart Question’ at Revelation St Mary’s in Ashford’s parish church. The ticket that I had purchased in advance stated that the reading would start at 3.30pm.
I arrived at 3.10pm to find that the reading was well under way, as they decided to start at 3pm, and could not go to my seat until there was a suitable gap.
I asked for a programme but I was told that there weren’t any.
I asked the name of the quintet playing and they didn’t know.
I asked who the players were, they didn’t know.
After the reading, which was amazing, and left many people in tears, I apologised to Michael Morpurgo, (we were at school together 57 years ago), for all the empty seats, and tried to explain that Ashford didn’t really understand architecture, culture or the arts.
He was very understanding and forgiving, he had only come up from Devon after all!
If I was a younger man I would form a dictatorship and sort Ashford out once and for all.
But as it is, I will stick to fishing. At least I can barbecue my quarry, which, sadly, is more than you are allowed to do with Ashford councillors. Richard Beaugie, Manor Farm, Shadoxhurst