Tibby and I were in Edinburgh from 11 – 18 August 2025, our first trip back to the festivals since before COVID. We attended 19 events at the Edinburgh Book Festival, that focused on recent books of authors, but we also attended two Fringe Festival events. And of course we had to attend the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Paula Akpan – author of When We Ruled – This was a disappointing start to our Book Festival experience this year. Akpan has written a book about twelve African queens and warriors south of the Sahara. This sounds like a fascinating subject, and I plan to read the book. However, Akpan showed no discipline when answering questions and even forgot what the question was a few times. She was not helped by a similarly undisciplined interviewer who expressed too many of her opinions. Akpan was insistent that her work be considered a serious…