Posted: 15th June 2016

Now that the dust has had time to settle, we can look back at the successful debut made by the department at this year’s Hay Festival. Mike Wooldridge, Ursula Martin, Leslie Goldberg and Jason Nurse gave lectures to packed-out and enthusiastic audiences, while Peter Millican ran a programming workshop for teenagers. Quite a brave undertaking when you are relying on technology in a marquee.

Lecturing in a Welsh field is quite a change from the kind of environment our academics are used to working in, and at a festival you must always expect the unexpected. From challenging audience questions and celebrity involvement (Dara Ó Briain asked a question from the back row of Ursula’s lecture), to the rather un-Welsh sunshine. The very smart department fleece jackets we took with us were just too warm to wear!

The academics who took part all had a great time and we certainly hope that our first ‘Five go to Hay’ adventure won’t be our last.