What ever LOLA wants LOLA gets – Linton celebrates its people and history

THE main street of Linton has never seen anything like it before.

A couple of boxes piled on top of each other left in the middle of the footpath suddenly sprang to life.

A secret lid lifted at the front unveiling a purple velvet box containing a cylinder phonograph from which crazy music blared.

Then the boxes started to move, chasing onlookers attending LOLA – the Linton On Literary Arts festival- down Sussex street last weekend.

This crazy animatronic, containing a Bakelite black telephone inside a red velvet box that wanded the footpaths was just one of an eclectic number of exhibitions and performances at the inaugural event.

Linton’s End of the World gallery is the home of experimental artistic duo Jesse Stevens and Dean Petersen, creators of the moving boxes and other humorous mechatronic sculptures on display during the festival.

Photographer Victoria Smith’s more traditional display – Rogues Gallery: The Faces of Linton – adorned the walls of Rosemary’s Speakeasy, also the venue for On the Couch.

It was here that storyteller and LOLA committee member Anne E Stewart interviewed local resident 92-year old Betty Grigg.

Mrs Grigg was delighted to share stories of her life in Linton having arrived in 1947.

While further up Sussex Street, The Known World Bookshop was the venue for a writing workshop –

The Writers Voice – run by author Paddy O’Reilly.

Topping it all off the Linton and District Men’s Shed was holding an open day, with snags in bread a winner with the festival goers.