Speakers Corner at the Richard Whiteley Pavilion
For the first four years, the Festival received tremendous support from the late Richard Whiteley who was a Patron of the festival and who, each year , and out of the goodness of his heart, "did a turn" for us.
One year he was taught to make chocolates, finishing up covered in the stuff. Another year he was kidded that he was barbecuing a ferret (it was actually a rabbit). Only weeks before he died, he turned up uncharacteristically late, said he wasn’t feeling too good but did not want to let us down and he and his partner, Kathryn Apanowicz, threw themselves into a hilarious "Ready Steady Cook".
We therefore thought it appropriate to commemorate Richard's commitment to the Dales Festival of Food and Drink by naming our speakers marquee and bandstand "The Richard Whiteley Pavilion". Kathryn liked the idea and was our first speaker the following year.
The high point of each day at 2pm is an interesting and entertaining talk by a different guest speaker. Another great supporter and patron of the Festival is the justly famous humorous author Gervase Phinn. Gervase is speaking on the Sunday this year when the Pavilion will be full to bursting. If you have laughed at his humorous writings, prepare to laugh a lot more . He is even funnier in the flesh.
Our Saturday speaker will be David Winpenny, the author of 'UP to a Point', the only book about the pyramids in the British Isles! On his trail around Britain and Ireland, David has uncovered forgotten corners of history and highlighted unusual discoveries, like Britain’s only cast-iron pyramid, a Scottish Formica pyramid, an Irish pyramid that sheltered the IRA and a Welsh one made of roadsigns. Fresh from filming with the BBC, he will tell us more about his search for the pyramids and the eccentrics who built them. So come along and be enthralled!
