Today I took the car out for a run. I headed up to Fairford where Paul Cornell was doing a home town launch event for his Witches of Lychford novella. Fairford is a small country town on the edge of the Cotswolds, so I got to drive along a lot of those twisty country roads that are lined by the stone walls of country estates, and where the trees are carved into tunnels by the passage of double-decker buses. I wish Kevin had been with me, it was lovely.

I got to see the church where Paul’s wife, Caroline Symcox, is vicar. The signs you see on entering the town actually note that the church is world-famous, though whether that’s because of the vicar or for some other reason wasn’t made clear.

The event, which was in the town library, was well attended, apparently mostly by members of Caroline’s congregation. Aside from a friend of Caroline’s, I think I might have been the youngest person in the audience. They all listened patiently to Paul’s explanation of a story of witchcraft in a small, English country town, and they all bought the book so he must have explained it well.

There were lots of good questions, and I got to hear Paul effectively doing rehearsals for the comics panel I’ll be hosting on Friday. If we get more of that sort of thing it will be well worth attending.