I have just come from Out Loud, the event where pupils who have written poems through the Poets in Schools programme read their work.

Any of the pupils who read today could be budding poets and it is very special to have so much talent, potential and imagination in one room.

One of the hardest things about the Festival is that I am at work all the time and don't get to see much of my daughter, so she gets dragged along to all the children's events.

She is not quite three years old, and yet she has had a great time. She loves being part of an audience full of children to giggle with. She was amazed by Val Bloom and then sat next to her to watch the tennis in hospitality afterwards, giving Val a running commentary on the game (which I am sure Val found very illuminating)

She was all ears when Michael Rosen did his poem on chocolate cake, complete with vivid actions and sounds, down to the very creak of a stair. She will probably be giving me tips on programming the Festival before too long.

Chloe Garner

Director

Ledbury Poetry Festival