A very merry Christmas from Cheltenham Festivals...

A Very Merry Christmas from Cheltenham Festivals...

'Tis just weeks before Christmas, and here at Cheltenham Festivals we're beginning to feel distinctly, well, Festive! To celebrate this jolliest of seasons we asked the stars of this year's Literature Festival to share with us a special Christmas Memory.

Every day of advent we'll be unwrapping a different Christmas Memory for your delight and delectation. And as an extra-special treat, every Festive-Friday we'll be hearing from our Festival Directors and giving away Festive-al prizes galore!

So sit back, grab a mince pie and unwrap a very special Festive-al memory...


Saturday, 24 December 2011

24th December: 'Twas the night before Christmas...

...and all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

As advent draws to close, our Festive-al advent competition reaches its grand finale with an extra special prize - a luxurious stay at Lower Slaughter Manor in Gloucestershire, a Cheltenham Festivals Membership and, of course, a festival goody bag! 

Such a fabulous prize deserves a fabulously festive question.


A whole host of our guests from The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2011 have joined together to wish you a very Merry Christmas... and we want you to name our Festive-al stars!

There's 28 in total including actors, comedians, politicians, authors, famous faces, and even a couple of well known literary characters... For your chance to win just watch the video below and identify as many Festive-al stars as you can.



To be in with a chance of winning just tell us who our festive-al stars are in the form below. The winner will be the person with the most correct answers, and in the event of a tie, will be drawn from all correct entries. 

UPDATE: The competition is now closed. The correct answer is as follows:

  1. Tony Benn
  2. Julia Donaldson
  3. Malorie Blackman
  4. Jeremy Paxman
  5. Sebastian Faulks
  6. Francesca Simon
  7. Penny Smith
  8. Grace Dent
  9. Patrick Kielty
  10. Jarvis Cocker
  11. Mr Darcy
  12. Larry Lamb
  13. Joanna Lumley
  14. Ian Hislop
  15. George Lamb
  16. Stephen Poliakoff
  17. Robert Lindsay
  18. William Shakespeare
  19. Kwasi Kwarteng
  20. Lee Child
  21. Adam Hart-Davis
  22. Mark Kermode
  23. Witi Ihimaera
  24. Duncan Bannatyne
  25. Fern Britton
  26. Celia Imrie
  27. Roger McGough
  28. Jonathan Ross

Congratulations if you got them all correct!

Friday, 23 December 2011

23rd December: A theatrical treat...

We've got an extra special treat to be won today courtesy of our friends at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Just identify today's mystery festive-al star for a chance to win four tickets to the RSC's brand new play The Heresy of Love on 6th February 2012.

The Heresy of Love by Helen Edmundson is inspired by the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and opens at the Swan Theatre in Stratford on 2nd February. You can find out all about it on the RSC website.

We spoke to today's mystery star at the Music Festival in July. He's a superstar pianist who played in our concert for schools - so we asked him for advice to inspire budding young musicians, press play below to hear his answer…

23 Dec - who said that? by Cheltenham Festivals

The competition is now closed.


UPDATE: the mystery festive-al star was... James Rhodes! Listen to the full interview from Music 2011 here:

James Rhodes interview - #cheltmusicfest 2011 by Cheltenham Festivals

Thursday, 22 December 2011

22nd December: Dreaming of a literary Christmas...

Just two days until Christmas, and we're taking a trip back to the Literature Festival in October.

Today's prize package includes two great books to entertain you through the winter nights. The prize includes a signed copy of The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex by Mark Kermode, a copy of Eleven by comedian Mark Watson, and a festival goody bag.


To be in with a chance of winning just identify today's mystery star who we met at the Literature Festival. We asked him what books he loves,  press play below to hear his answer…

22nd Dec - who said that? by Cheltenham Festivals

The competition is now closed.


UPDATE: the mystery festive-al star was... Jarvis Cocker! Watch the full interview from Literature 2011 here: