On the edge of our seats

On the edge of our seats

Just waiting for 'The Four-Billion Story of Life on Earth' to start. Poor old John-Gordon Reid. He seems terrified that no-one's going to turn up but already people are spilling in. Dressed reassuringly in a bow tie (isn't that what all academics are supposed to wear?) he's perfect for presenting a talk on a wedge of world history most of us barely know about Well, now it's started and it turns out John didn't need be worried about all - every seat is taken, full of families and, surprisingly, single people too. "Your left finger is on the Big Bang and mine is on today" says John, calling upon his first under-10 volunteer, "so you'll probably get the first round of applause of today." As indeed he just has. Sadly - and appallingly - Blackwell Hall, which is open to the public, offers no wi-fi so I can't upload this 'live'. So just accept this all happened about 42 minutes ago but the warm after-glow is still percolating through me. "Hopefully we'll get through four-and-a-half billions of history in about... 35 minutes," says John, which he did with the constant help of a multi-pocketed coat and just about as many children as you could fit into a state junior school. Indeed, I don't think a single child was overlooked in John's talk, with some willingly turning themselves into amphibians, and others enthusiastically becoming dinosaurs. Of course with an audience of this type, tales of two-metre long millipedes are going to go down well, but even accompanying parents were on the edge of their seats and desperate to get involved. You know, this is precisely the kind of event the Lit Fest does so well - it's free, utterly accessible and leaves you almost fighting the inevitable: to leave sporting a huge, big, stupid grin. Yes, the noise of baristas banging out people's cappuccinos in the Bodleian cafe was an unnecessary interruption, but John and his audience managed to blank out this unwelcome distraction. I liked this. I liked this a lot, and so far - although of course it's only day two - it's been my favourite event. Indeed, I've left feeling like David Attenborough though near near as intelligent....