Husky Galore

I nearly turned tail from last week's Waterstones event, the Spy Fiction Book Club on Len Deighton's The IPCRESS File, on seeing that there were only four other attendees of whom one was Mike Ripley, who gave the previous week's talk, and another the brains behind The Deighton Dossier.

But no, I thought, I have paid £3, I am going to have a glass of wine. And I'm glad I did; it was a fun discussion even though I contributed little, and it turned out that Deighton himself had been informed of the event and emailed us his best wishes, which was nice.

Afterwards I ended up going to the pub with two of the participants. When I eventually got home after two coffees, a pint of Coke and two hours' talking about Bond, I was WIRED AS HELL.

This week wrapped up the Waterstones events with Charles Cumming talking about The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. I have only read one of Cumming's spy novels and I didn't much like it, but now I know that it was his first, and that his literary aim is to be a cross between le Carré and Nick Hornby, I am prepared to give him another try.

The evening was also a chance to meet and talk to several people I internet-know, as well as one guy I didn't but who was wearing a fab T-shirt.

And tonight is the big one: John le Carré in conversation at the Royal Festival Hall for the release of A Legacy of Spies. I will, no doubt, report in due course.