Something For The Weekend: It’s a Date

From literary gems to upcoming festivals, contributing editor Margaret Hussey rounds up some of the best forthcoming dates for your diary.

Going Green 

If you like colour-coding your bookshelves, it’s time to put Penguin Modern Classics’ crime and espionage series on your list. 

They are raiding the archives to bring a whole raft of thrilling stories with the famous bottle green jackets.

The first tranche takes us from California to a macabre Tokyo flat, through English country estates to the streets of Harlem. With titles from John le Carré’s Call for the Dead to Edogawa Ranpo’s Beast in the Shadows and Dorothy B. Hughes’ In a Lonely Place, there’s something for any crime aficionado. 

The first ten novels in the series are due this July. For more visit penguin.co.uk

Cocktail Hour

Keeping with the bookish theme, the Bath Festival returns this month and guests at The Francis Hotel can enjoy cocktails named after two of the UK’s most famous literary heroines.

The hotel’s Boho Marché restaurant is offering up the Jane Austen and Agatha Christie – two women who helped put Bath on the literary and cultural map. 

The Jane Austen is made up of Absolut Vodka, St Germain, lemon, sugar and Prosecco with a soda top, while the Agatha Christie is Hendricks Gin, Midori, lemon, sugar and slimline tonic. Both cost £11.

The Bath Festival runs from May 12th to 21st. Room rates at The Francis Hotel Bath start from £139 inclusive of breakfast and VAT. For more visit www.francishotel.com.

Surf’s Up 

If the outdoors and wellbeing is more your thing, then one for the diary is the Spring Classic Festival in Devon.

The surf and wellbeing event in Woolacombe sees a host of biodiversity experts, surf professionals, rewilding talks, cold water swimming, music and more. Acts this year include Arrested Development and Raggamuffin. 

The festival has also teamed up with the National Trust to restore biodiversity across the region. 

It runs from June 1st to 4th. For more visit springclassic.co.uk

Viva La Diva

Image: Mark Sullivan by Contour by Getty Images

You may not have got tickets to see Elton John at Glastonbury, but you can catch his towering powdered wig and train, designed by Sandy Powell for his 50th birthday celebration, at London’s V&A in June. 

The Diva exhibition also features Shirley Bassey’s couture pink gown, designed by Julian MacDonald, and her diamanté-studded Wellington boots, worn by the Goldfinger singer at Glastonbury in 2007. 

The exhibition examines the history, creativity and ambition of divas and also features looks worn by Tina Turner, P!nk and Cher.

Diva runs from June 24th to April 7th next year. Tickets from £13. For more visit https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/diva

Back For Good 

If seeing Take That at the Coronation concert made you feel all nostalgic, it’s time to book your tickets for the Back 2 Festival.

This unashamed party of blasts from the past has everyone from Example, Boyzlife, Gareth Gates, Cascada, to Blue, Belinda Carlisle as well as Martin Kemp DJing his Totally 80s set.

Dust off your glow sticks and put on the glitter for the four day event which runs at Catton Park, Derbyshire from June 30th to July 3rd.

For more visit https://ontick.co.uk/event/back-2-festival-2023

Images: courtesy of PRs

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