Yesterday evening took bus to Bristol Festival of Ideas to hear Geoff Mulgan on Good Power/Bad Power. Ex-number 10 policy wonk, escaped with frontal lobes well intact, as evidenced by his ready endorsement of the idea of an Index of Human Rights.
Next seminar was a look at What Happens to Ideas? with Carmen Cahill (Virago publisher) Geoff Mulgan again and Lesley Chamberlain, author of book on the intellectuals banished by Lenin (for their own good, Lenin said. If they stayed, they would have to be shot. Nice man.)
I said the emergent big idea is the green view of the world. Last year would have been howled down. This year respectful acceptance.
I love intellectuals. They are quick to recognise that they have been hit in the face by a rake they have just stepped on.
Then out into the rainy streets to gravitate to the sound of brassy jazz music to find the Ambling Band consecrating the rainfreshed air with happiness, and find Ralph Hoyte, Bristol poet and sculptor listening too and we agree together that this is really all that humanity needs - food, drink, ideas, and music in the streets.
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