BUBBLE, BUBBLE, TOIL AND TROUBLE - MARCH 22 - 1.32pm
Atmospheric, haunting history of the witch
Now if this guy were giving a talk on refrigeration units, trust me, you’d queue.
The fact then that Professor Ronald Hutton was delivering a keynote presentation on witches quite rightly guaranteed the hung-on-his-every-word audience. Indeed, although this is lame (shamefully so I’m afraid) you could say he cast a spell.
First off though, from a purely aesthetic point of view, there couldn’t have been a better person to deliver such a talk. In his perfect matching of Victoriana and ‘Country Life’ attire, he fitted the Hammer Horror portfolio to a tee.
And then there was his delivery - clinical, precise with maybe, maybe just a whiff of Vincent Price.
Perfect.
As for the talk itself, it was bewitching (my second cheap shot but it fits). The audience really were craning forward but not due to acoustic issues but rather rapt attention.