Cheltenham Literary Festival, 14 October

I don’t often get nervous about speaking in public, but when you turn up at a function and you stumble upon Melvyn Bragg and Martin Bell in the first 10 minutes you’re there, it does tend to raise the stakes a bit.

Inviting me to speak at the Cheltenham Literary Festival is a bit like asking Liam Gallagher along to play at a jazz recital but nevertheless, I proudly accepted the opportunity to appear at one of the country’s top book events.

That’s until they sent me a brochure and it dawned on me what stellar company I was in. And sure enough, as soon as I stepped out in to the warm autumn sunshine in the centre of the town, a wave of literati flooded over me. And it was made worse when I found out that I was conducting three talks and tastings in the stunning old Spiegeltent right in the heart of the festival, and that each of my three events would be packed.

I had an events manager, was registered in to the Authors’ tent where free food and drink was available, was supported by a small army of helpers, and was given the most professional backing I’ve ever had at a speaking function.

“We don’t muck around here,” said the smiley and very helpful Alexis. “This is the Cheltenham Festival you know.”

Boy, did I know.

They tell me that more people now attend literary festivals in Britain than music ones, and while I find that hard to believe, there can be no doubt that these events are tapping in to a deep seam of curiosity and exploration. I have long argued that while globalisation is all well and good, the counter reaction to it will be a thirst by individuals for something unique, unusual, and/or challenging, something they can find for themselves.

And of course thirst is the right word when it comes to premium spirits, and it’s for that reason that I’m speaking in Cheltenham.  It’s that old provenance and heritage thing – people want to find out about bespoke and boutique products and will seek out help in doing so.

In the end the Festival goes like a dream for me. Most of the 90 people who attend my three sessions are young and, as is increasingly the norm these days, more than a third are female. The standard of questions is excellent. By the end of it, I feel emboldened to seek out Melvyn Bragg for a bit of a literary chat. But I’ve have had a few whiskies by now, and realise that this would be a mistake, so I return to my hotel for a spot of X Factor and Match of The Day.

Liam Gallagher would be proud…