Hay festival: Gordon Brown in comedy shock
As the rain came bucketing down, Gordon Brown got the festival audience chuckling into their waterproofs - briefly.
A counsel of despair
Alan Rusbridger: The age of empires and foreign intervention is over, said Eric Hobsbawm at Hay, and it is far from clear what will replace them.
The last believer
Gwyn Topham: We were given a health warning before hearing David Pryce Jones' views on France and Muslims: just as well.
The responsibility of the novelist
Libby Brooks: Samir El-Youssed, Mohsin Hamid and Gabriel Vasquez discuss complexity in fiction at Hay.
Hay festival: what a Shaw fire winner
I wanted to learn about George Bernard Shaw, to find out why he's such a revered writer. I certainly found how relevant he still is - in the prison debate if nothing else.
Hay festival: the power of words
Today, the festival sees the launch of a search for the nation's favourite word. What's yours?
Is religion dying?
AC Grayling told his Hay audience it is - and history makes his point.
Boo, hiss: any questions?
Alastair Harper: The largest thrill for the Hay audience was measuring the madness of James Delingpole.
Hay festival: John Major is just… cricket
He didn't light up the room, but there was an anorakish charm about the former prime minister's tales of leather on willow.
Haycast: Beryl Bainbridge on death and Steven Hall on memory
In our daily podcast from the Hay festival, Sarfraz Manzoor talks to Beryl Bainbridge and festival director Peter Florence, and Steven Hall discusses his debut novel The Raw Shark Texts
Hay festivalgoers of the day: No 2
It's day two and the site is now packed ... with Harry Potter and Hairy Bikers fans.
A painfully revealing portrait of Beryl Bainbridge
Charlie Russell's documentary about his grandmother, Beryl Bainbridge, is deeply affectionate portrayal of what she thought was going to be her last year alive.
Hay festival: stand back, it’s all kicking off
Carmen Callil's distaste for poetry and baby signing misunderstanding... what we overheard this morning on the festival site as we got down to serious work on our Guardian bus.
The Hay relay story: chapter two by Rose Tremain
Maria and George walked down to the beach. They did this every night. It was a moment which George savoured; it seemed to be the only time in their day when Maria stopped pointing things out to him.
Hay festivalgoers of the day: No 1
So who goes to Hay, and are there any festival 'types'? Find out who we bumped into today.