Two things…
The audience
8.09am
Two things spring to mind today -
Yesterday, for the first and ONLY time, I tried to write this blog (any blog for that matter) during a talk. True, my keyboard was on mute and I sat right at the back of the auditorium where not not even MI5 could find me, but nevertheless, I didn't enjoy the experience. It just seemed so disrespectful, both to the speaker and to the audience. This isn't breaking news after all so from now on I'll write about each event AFTERWARDS.
2. The audiences... They're great. Of course, it depends on which talk you choose to attend, but on the whole those who turn up are eager, open and excited. It goes without saying of course that the best audiences, and the most enthusiastic, are those for the children's events. Hell, even the parents are cute. But, take for instance, the talk last night by Sir Ian McKellan. Every single person there, and the Sheldonian was bursting, was simply willing it to be a memorable 60 minutes. And consequently it was.