Day two, Sunday morning, started rather appropriately with a discussion between two authors, one a former bishop, touching on matters of morality and religion. This was billed as The Minister and The Murderer, which was also the name of participant Stuart Kelly’s latest book. It deals with the relatively recent case in Scotland when a convicted murderer was ordained as a minister in the Scottish Kirk. Discussing the case with him was Richard Holloway who himself achieved a kind of celebrity status by resigning his position as Bishop of Edinburgh in 2002 and who now declares himself as an ‘after-religionist’. Holloway is a prolific author whose latest book ‘Waiting for the Last Bus’ sets out with great honesty, his agnostic views on life and death. The ensuing discussion, with audience participation, focused on forgiveness and the need to overcome resentments and ‘move on’, both for the individual or in a collective sense such as the Irish Peace Accord.
In the later morning, the festival truly showed its international credentials, first with a fascinating insight into the world and personality of Jack Ma, creator of the Chinese web-colossus Alibaba. China expert Duncan Clark described how far their technology has advanced beyond the West, to the extent the online shopping items are delivered within the hour and even the Chinese beggars have had to go cashless. For a country where only 7% of people have a passport, the potential for expansion is still huge. Silicon Valley knows it, and is worried.
This was followed by another programme ‘coup’ when Carles Puigdemont, Former President of the Government of Catalonia, took the stage for a discussion, with many audience questions to answer. Mr Puigdemont had come to Scotland from his present exile in Belgium and the full house signified the intense interest that there is here, whenever independence is mooted, by any country.
The afternoon began with a discussion on the importance of photojournalism as a witness to all manner of global horrors be they political, social or economic. This was led by Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times and Iranian photojournalist Newsha Tavakolian. The award winning exhibition of news photos ‘Hard Truths’ has been on display at the Festival.
The redoubtable William Dalrymple then gave us a preview into his soon-to-be-published book ‘The East India Company: The Original Corporate Raiders’, an expos of the brutal plundering of India in the eighteenth century, not by Britain itself, but by a for-profit corporation – the East India Company, whose wealth and global reach outdid that of most nations. This ‘Empire within an Empire’ had its own fleet of ships and an army whose strength at times outdid the British government. No wonder that fear of this company’s behaviour and methods was a motivating factor in the 1776 US Declaration of Independence.
Throughout the two days at Traquair, close to the Main Tent, there has been a diverse and enthusiastic range of activities in the Walled Garden at Traquair. Particularly memorable amongst many notable items have been Nigel Osborne’s beautiful presentation on the power of music for healing and transformation and the emotionally charged Syrian Voices film and discussion, highlighting the atrocities endured by so many families in the Middle East.
Another successful Festival? Yes. Would I recommend it and will I return next year? Yes and Yes, absolutely. Thanks to all who made it happen.
