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.
