Thirty years ago, in 1992, a small group of book lovers in Wells laid plans for the first ever Wells Festival of Literature. That same year Sir John Major, Prime Minister at the time won the general election beating Neil Kinnock of the Labour Party, who had consistently been ahead in the opinion polls.

To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Wells Festival of Literature, Sir John Major will be coming to Wells for a very special invitation only event on Monday 4 July. He will discuss the history of Music Hall and the many characters who made it famous, as well as referring to his book, 'My Old Man'. There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions of Sir John after his talk.

To claim your invitation to this event you need to become a Friend of the Festival. As a Friend you will be supporting the work of the Festival, which is put on every year due to the enormous commitment and hard work of volunteers.

The aims of the Festival are to promote a love of the written word, by running an inspiring and entertaining Festival, and also to encourage the next generation to embrace a love of literature. All profits from the Festival fund educational projects in state schools in the wider local area. Authors and poets are funded to go into schools, books are purchased for young people and literary events are put on for them.

As well as an invitation to attend an exclusive pre-Festival event each year (like the Sir John Major talk) where the Festival programme is first made public, Friends receive the Festival brochure which outlines the full programme for the year, with notes on all the speakers, delivered to their home and enjoy priority booking with a 10% discount on all tickets. All Friends are added to our mailing list to receive email updates about the Festival.

So why not become a Friend today and support your local community, become a patron of the arts and claim you invitation to what promises to be an entertaining and informative event. All details as to how to become a Friend, and other information about this year's Festival, can be found on our website www.wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk