Hay Festival Diary – 01st June

10:00am
Reaching our cultural and financial limits, SSP rings the press office to try and set up an interview with Armando Iannucci without having to go on site. Unable to grasp the concept that we can’t handle another day of wallowing in our own self-satisfaction they gloss over our obvious faux pas and enquire, "you are coming on to site today aren’t you?" SSP concedes the point.

5pm
With only enough change for one and a half Hay pints we leave it until the last minute and yet still manage to arrive before Armando. We’re told that he’ll probably be going straight into his event and that our best bet is to come back after. With Robin Ince following on at 7, it’s not looking good
5.27pm
SSP bags a seat in the third row only to double take and see Rory Bremner (or his doppelganger) and partner in the adjacent seats!
5.30pm
Hoping for more of Iannucci’s thoughts on the death of sit-com, SSP is disappointed as interviewer Francine Stock fails to delve too far below the superficial. When the questions are turned out to the audience we get half an hour of exploring the minutiae of Alan Partridge’s persona, yawn
5.45pm
Bremner/Bremner’s look-alike looks a touch embarrassed as his partner asks a "topical" question/satirical in-joke about the price of MP’s handbags and clearly feels as if she’s sharing a momentary one-on-one with Iannucci
6.40pm
Armando quickly disappears post-show extinguishing any chance that SSP might get a few moments with him. A shoulder brush with Emma Thompson as we wait for the toilet softens the blow a little. Then Neil Pearson struts by… scant consolation if we’re honest
6.55pm
Robin Ince falls foul of the Welsh smoking ban, being evicted from his own venue in front of his queuing audience. Very amusing

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