The Islay Book Festival (8th-9th September) was a real pleasure to attend. Housed in Port Ellen Primary School with a parallel twin-track series of talks aimed at children and adults, it featured enthusiastic audiences, efficient but low-key organisation, and scrummy home baking. All this on an island with a population that doesn’t top 4,000. My thanks to Diana Buller and her team for the wonderful hospitality, and to the other authors for the convivial, round-the-table weekend socialising. I don’t attend that many Mass Author Events, so having congenial companions was a boon. And anyone holidaying in the area could do worse than check out the wonderful XXX Croft run by Gill and Rob Thompson (XXXX). I’d also like to thank the island of Islay for providing such an excellent bevy of standing stones to visit.