Wednesday 22 May - Sunday 2 June

Browse all our events here for the 2013 Independent Bath Literature Festival. With over 100 events from 1 to 10 March, you can book online, visit the Box Office in person or call 01225 463362.

What's On

  • Image
  • Event
  • Start time
  • End time
  • Venue
  • Price
  • Code

Friday 01 March

A18-cover
Soldiers and Sailors
10:00 AM
5:00 PM
Bath City Centre
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Bath Poetry Café
11:00 AM
4:00 PM
Bath Central Library
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Poems In Pubs
7:00 PM
11:00 PM
Various City Venues
Free Event
No booking needed

Saturday 02 March

A1+A9-cover
Kids Big Bath Read
10:30 AM
11:15 AM
Midsomer Norton Library
Free but booking required
A1
A4-francis-pryor
How We Have Transformed The Land With Francis Pryor
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
A4
AAlogo
Art Detectives
11:15 AM
1:15 PM
Holburne Museum
£8
A5 Age 8 - 11
A2-allan-little
An Allan Little lecture read by Sheena McDonald
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
A2
A3-owensheers
Sports Writing
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
A3
AAlogo
Heat on the Street
12:00 PM
4:00 PM
Central Bath
Free Event
No booking needed
A8-sarah-hall
Short Story with Tessa Hadley and Sarah Hall
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
A8
A7-miriam-darlington
Miriam Darlington: Otter Country
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
A7
A6-B1-C5-D4-E5-F5-G6-H5-J4-logo
Robert Fisk
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
A6
A12-frank-wynne
Translation Duel: French
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
A12
A10-kate-mosse
Kate Mosse
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
A10
AAlogo
Adam Fergusson: When Money Dies
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
A11
A1+A9-cover
Elen Caldecott
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Holburne Museum
£5
A9 Age 7+
AAlogo
Our Brain: Memory and Optimism
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
A15
Fiction: Dag Solstad
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
A14
A13-pd-james-c-ullamontan
P.D. James with John Mullan
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£10 (£9)
A13
A17-foreign-logo
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Long-List Announcement
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
A17
A16
Will Gompertz: What Are You Looking At?
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
A16
A18-cover
English Folk Songs with Steve Roud
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Mineral Hospital
£15 (£14)
A18
AAlogo
Pitch Perfect
7:30 PM
9:30 PM
St James Wine Vaults
Free Event
No booking needed
A19-elif-shakak
Elif Shafak
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
A19
A20-cover-ROUGH
The Wisdom of Psychopaths
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
A20

Sunday 03 March

AAlogo
Sarah Simblet
10:00 AM
1:00 PM
Holburne Museum
£30 (£28)
C2
AAlogo
Words Alive
1:00 PM
5:00 PM
Central Bath
Free Event
No booking needed
A6-B1-C5-D4-E5-F5-G6-H5-J4-logo
The Pornography Debate
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
B1
B3-cover-ROUGH
Gossip from the Forest
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
B3
B2-john-mullan-ROUGH
John Mullan: What Matters in Jane Austen?
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
B2
A18-cover
Unhappy Love
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
Holburne Museum
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Wish You Were Here…
2:00 PM
5:00 PM
Holburne Museum
Free Event
No booking needed
B4-jerry-brotton
Jerry Brotton: 12 Maps
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
B4
B5-sarah-moss
Iceland and Antarctica
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
B5
AAlogo
Nine Decades of Radio
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
B6
AAlogo
Book Chat
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
Bath Central Library
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Darcey Bussell
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
B7
B8-dylan-evans
Risk Intelligence with Dylan Evans
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
B8
B9-patrick-hennessey
Patrick Hennessey: Kandak
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
B9
AAlogo
Sarah Simblet on Trees
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
B11
B10-paul-mason
China: Paul Mason
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
B10
B12-extra-image
Melanie King: Can Onions Cure Ear-ache?
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
B12
AAlogo
Keynsham Voices
7:30 PM
8:30 PM
Keynsham Library
Free Event
No booking needed
B15-harry-mount
Harry Mount: How England Made the English
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Mineral Hospital
£8 (£7)
B15
AAlogo
Won’t Get Fooled Again
8:00 PM
11:00 PM
The Bell Inn
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
The Last Supper
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
B13
B14-mark-grist
Mark Grist
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
B14

Monday 04 March

AAlogo
Tiny Monuments Collective – ‘My Voice in the City’
10:00 AM
4:00 AM
Bath Central Library
Free Event
No booking needed
C1-F1-F8-G1-image
Bath in 1713
10:00 AM
11:30 AM
Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket)
£7.50 (£6.50)
C1
C4-jean-sprackland
Nature Writing with Jean Sprackland
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
C4
C3-an-wilson-ROUGH
A.N. Wilson on Wedgwood
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
C3
C6-bee-wilson
Bee Wilson: Consider the Fork
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
C6
A6-B1-C5-D4-E5-F5-G6-H5-J4-logo
Environment, Resources and Economy
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
C5
AAlogo
Book Illustration Masterclass
4:30 PM
6:30 PM
Holburne Museum
£10
C7 Age 13+
A18-cover
Lust, Infidelity and Bad Living
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Jason Drew: The Story Of The Fly
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Keynsham Library
Free but booking required
C10
AAlogo
Paul Ormerod: Positive Linking
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
C9
AAlogo
Sandi Toksvig
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£10 (£9)
C8
C11-james-runcie
James Runcie on Keats
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
C11
AAlogo
Poetry and a Pint
8:00 PM
10:00 PM
St James Wine Vaults
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Anatomies with Hugh Aldersey-Williams
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
BRLSI
£7.50 (£6.50)
C13

Tuesday 05 March

AAlogo
Writing in the Social Media Age
10:00 AM
4:00 PM
Holburne Museum
£50 (£48)
D1
AAlogo
Book Chat
10:30 AM
11:30 PM
Keynsham Library
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Meet The Artists: Tiny Monuments Collective
11:00 AM
12:15 PM
Bath Central Library
Free Event
No booking needed
D2-tennyson-ROUGH
John Batchelor on Tennyson
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
D2
D3-susan-swingler
Memoir
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
D3
D5-sarah-lefanu-ROUGH
Sarah LeFanu: S is for Samora
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
D5
A6-B1-C5-D4-E5-F5-G6-H5-J4-logo
The Drugs Trade
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
D4
A18-cover
Traditional Religious Songs
1:15 PM
2:15 PM
Holburne Museum
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Anthologise
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
Free but booking required
D6
AAlogo
Freedom from Torture: Write to Life
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
Free but booking required
D9
D8-richard-ingrams
The Oldie Event
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
D8
AAlogo
Writing Online
4:30 PM
6:30 PM
Holburne Museum
£10
D7 Age 13+
AAlogo
Devoted to Rhyme
6:00 PM
8:00 PM
Roscoff Deli
Free Event
No booking needed
D11-tracey-thorn
Tracey Thorn
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
D11
D10-linda-yueh-ROUGH
China’s Growth with Linda Yueh
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
D10
D3-susan-swingler
Meet the Author: Susan Swingler
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Radstock Library
Free but booking required
D12
AAlogo
After Hours: Poetry Liaison
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
Midsomer Norton Library
Free Event
No booking needed
D14-cover-ROUGH
Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
D14
AAlogo
Clive Stafford Smith: Injustice
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
D13
C12-callum-roberts
Ocean of Life
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
C12

Wednesday 06 March

AAlogo
Tiny Monuments Collective – ‘My Voice in the City’
10:00 AM
4:00 PM
Bath Central Library
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
Writers Surgery
11:00 AM
12:00 PM
Keynsham Library
Free Event
No booking needed
E4-cover-ROUGH
Biography
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
E4
AAlogo
1922: Constellation of Genius
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
E3
AAlogo
Running with the Pack
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
E6
A6-B1-C5-D4-E5-F5-G6-H5-J4-logo
Violent Conflict
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
E5
E4-cover-ROUGH
Meet the Author: Jane Ridley
2:30 PM
3:15 PM
Keynsham Library
Free but booking required
E7
C1-F1-F8-G1-image
Literary Walks Around Bath
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
E8
AAlogo
Rural Life and Occupations
5:30 PM
6:30 PM
Keynsham Library
Free Event
No booking needed
E10-ben-goldacre-c-john-king
Ben Goldacre: Bad Pharma
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
E10
AAlogo
Aminatta Forna
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
E11
E12-james-long
Helen Dunmore and James Long
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
E12

Thursday 07 March

H16-pat-barker
Pat Barker
9:50 AM
9:50 AM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
H16
H1+G9-Sara-Sheridan
PR for Writers
9:52 AM
9:52 AM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
H1
E13-cover
Ninja
9:56 AM
9:56 AM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
E13
AAlogo
We Make Books
9:57 AM
9:57 AM
Holburne Museum
£50 (£48)
E1
AAlogo
Helen Cross: Creating Expressive Characters
10:00 AM
4:00 PM
Holburne Museum
£50 (£48)
F2
C1-F1-F8-G1-image
Bath in 1813
10:00 AM
11:30 AM
Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket)
£7.50 (£6.50)
F1
AAlogo
Meet The Artists: Tiny Monuments Collective
11:00 AM
12:15 PM
Bath Central Library
Free Event
No booking needed
F4-cover-ROUGH
Social History
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
F4
H2-jonathan-bate
Jonathan Bate on First World War Literature
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
H2
AAlogo
Cecil Beaton’s Theatre of War
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
F3
A6-B1-C5-D4-E5-F5-G6-H5-J4-logo
What happens when good religion goes bad?
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
F5
AAlogo
The Hidden Lives of Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
F6
A18-cover
Folk Tales
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
Holburne Museum
Free event
No booking required, suitable for all ages
H11+H18+J10+J18-cover
To Kill A Mockingbird
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£15 (£12)
H11
F7-lindsey-davis
Lindsey Davis
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
F7
AAlogo
Extraordinary Writing
4:30 PM
6:00 PM
Holburne Museum
£10
F9 Age 13+
H13-still-life-c-museedorsay-bridgemangallery
Alex Danchev on Cézanne
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
H13
AAlogo
The Bookshop Band
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
Free but booking required
F8
AAlogo
Writers Surgery: Speculative Fiction
6:00 PM
7:30 PM
Roscoff Deli
Free Event
No booking needed
F10-gavin-esler
Gavin Esler: Lessons from the Top
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
F10
A18-cover
Songs of Death and Destruction
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Radstock Library
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
The Undiscovered Country: Journeys Among the Dead
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
F11
AAlogo
Pitch Perfect
8:00 PM
10:00 PM
St James Wine Vaults
Free Event
No booking needed
AAlogo
BBC Stories
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
Free but booking required
F13
The State of the World Atlas
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
F12

Friday 08 March

How to get published
10:00 AM
1:00 PM
Holburne Museum
£30 (£28)
G2
AAlogo
Tiny Monuments Collective – ‘My Voice in the City’
10:00 AM
4:00 PM
Bath Central Library
Free event
No booking required
C1-F1-F8-G1-image
Bath in 1913
10:00 AM
11:30 AM
Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket)
£7.50 (£6.50)
G1
G4+G12-william-sieghart
Poetry Prescription
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
G4
G3-jennifer-scott
Jennifer Scott
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
G3
AAlogo
The Real Jane Austen with Paula Byrne
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
Theatre Royal Bath
Tickets from £10
G5
G7-michael-jacobs
Michael Jacobs: A River Journey Through Colombia
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
G7
A6-B1-C5-D4-E5-F5-G6-H5-J4-logo
Extremes with Kevin Fong
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
G6
AAlogo
Writers Surgery
3:30 PM
5:00 PM
Jacob’s Café
Free event
No booking required
AAlogo
How does publishing work
3:30 PM
4:15 PM
Radstock Library
Free but booking required
G8
AAlogo
The Mystery of writing a Mystery
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
G9
A18-cover
Lovers’ Tricks, Disguises and Obstacles Overcome
5:30 PM
7:30 PM
Bath City Centre
Free event
No booking required
G10-polly-toynbee
Polly Toynbee and David Walker: Dogma and Disarray
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
G10
G11-michael-brooks-ROUGH
The Secret Anarchy of Science
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
G11
G4+G12-william-sieghart
Poetry Prescription with William Sieghart
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
Midsomer Norton Library
Free but booking required
G12
G13-ned-boulting
Tour de France 100
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
G13
G14-jk-rowling
J.K. Rowling
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Forum
£15 (£12)
G14
AAlogo
What A Performance!
8:00 PM
10:00 PM
St James Wine Vaults, Gallery Room
Free event
No booking required

Saturday 09 March

AAlogo
Tiny Monuments Collective – ‘My Voice in the City’
10:00 AM
4:00 PM
Bath Central Library
Free event
No booking required
A18-cover
Happy Relationships
10:30 AM
12:30 PM
Midsomer Norton Library
Free event
No booking required
H3-cover-ROUGH
The Geek Manifesto: Why Science Matters
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
H3
AAlogo
Make an App!
11:30 AM
1:00 PM
Holburne Museum
£12
H4, Suitable for ages 6 – 11
H7-parker-bilal
Crime: How to Plot
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
H7
H6-daniel-stedman-jones
Hayek, Friedman, and the Birth of Neoliberal Politics
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
H6
AAlogo
The Suffragette and The Jockey
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
H8
AAlogo
The Wind in the Willows goes Digital
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Holburne Museum
£7.50 (£6.50)
H12
H10-simon-garfield
On The Map
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
H10
AAlogo
New Voices: Anthea Nicolson, Beatrice Hitchman and Katie Ward
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
H9
H15-charles-emmerson
The World before the Great War
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
H15
A18-cover
Poachers, Highwaymen and Other Criminals
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
Free event
No booking required
H14-jim-crace
Jim Crace: Harvest
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
H14
H11+H18+J10+J18-cover
To Kill A Mockingbird
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£15 (£12)
H18
H19-alice-rawsthorn
Hello World
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
H19
AAlogo
Jennie Rooney and Amity Gaige
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Holburne Museum
£7.50 (£6.50)
H20
H17-gareth-dale-ROUGH
Karl Polanyi and The Great Transformation
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
H17
H21-hilary-mantel
Hilary Mantel
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
Forum
£12 (£10)
H21
AAlogo
QL (Quite Literate)
8:30 PM
10:00 PM
Bath Spa Live, Burdall’s Yard, London Road
Free event
No booking required

Sunday 10 March

J2-rachel-joyce
The Novel
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
J2
J1-john-gray
The Silence of Animals
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
J1
H8-cover
Di Atkinson on Mrs Norton
11:15 AM
12:15 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
J3
AAlogo
Ban This Filth!
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
J5
AAlogo
From the Ruins of Empire
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
J6
J9-cover
An Optimist’s Tour of the Future
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
J9
J8-nadeem-aslam-ROUGH
Nadeem Aslam with Kamila Shamsie
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
J8
J7-christopher-clark
Christopher Clark: The Sleepwalkers
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£8 (£7)
J7
H11+H18+J10+J18-cover
To Kill A Mockingbird
2:45 PM
3:45 PM
Guildhall
£15 (£12)
J10
AAlogo
Book Chat
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
Jacob’s Café
Free event
No booking required
J12-cover-ROUGH
Uncomfortable Truths
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
J12
J11-david-crystal
Spell It Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8)
J11
AAlogo
Tracy Chevalier and Rupert Thomson
4:30 PM
5:30 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
J13
J14-cover-
Jon Ronson: Lost at Sea
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£9 (£8
J14
AAlogo
The Phantom Army of Alamein
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Masonic Hall
£8 (£7)
J16
AAlogo
Georgina Harding and Michèle Roberts
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Holburne Museum
£7.50 (£6.50)
J17
AAlogo
Poetry and Fascism with Lucy Hughes-Hallett
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Guildhall
£7.50 (£6.50)
J15

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Announcement of new Artistic Director for Literature Festival
April 9, 2013

                  Bath Festivals is delighted to announce the appointment of critic, columnist and broadcaster Viv Groskop to the role of Artistic Director ...…

Daily Poems: Sunday 10 March
March 10, 2013

Postcard of a Dying Woman Left elbow up, arm coiled, hand cups the ball of bone where spine joins skull; as if she’s deckchair-bound, looking up, tracing the distant ...…

Daily Poems: Saturday 9 March
March 9, 2013

Poste Restante For a while, my brother collected stamps. Never using tweezers, he casually poked them into see-through pockets, or slid them under glassine sheets, preserving them in their own ...…

Today’s Daily Poem: Friday 8 March
March 8, 2013

Quail Puff And the quail puff rode, as the huffalump strode, and the bickle and bimble by, and the frogman mowed, on the back of a toad a hedgerow mosaic ...…

Daily Poems: Thursday 7 March
March 7, 2013

Cappuccino   Sometimes I’m consumed with living, dead but never more alive. Like spooning the froth in the chocolate head of a second cappuccino. The air is thin, an ...…