SWINDON FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE: WHEN Guy Browning was invited to the Swindon Festival of Literature he was worried he wasn't 'literature'.

And his appearance at the old Railway Museum was often more like a comedy act than a literary discussion.

The Guardian columnist chatted casually about his life, frequently going off on tangents, but that did not make the event any less enjoyable.

He also involved the audience all the way through the event, firstly testing the festival organisers' claim that attractive, intelligent and charming people come to the festival by asking anyone sitting next to an attractive, intelligent and charming person to put up their hand.

There was a false get-out for anyone who didn't like audience participation though all they had to do was put up their hand to opt out. So it was no surprise when Mr Browning admitted he was once a stand-up comedian and that he was returning to that at the Edinburgh Festival.

Mr Browning even mocks his earlier books but does seem happier about his latest effort, Never Hit A Jellyfish With A Spade, which is a collection of his How To columns from the Guardian Weekend magazine.

He treated the audience, packed with How To fans, to a reading of How To Be Deep, which includes such valuable advice as to regularly let out bitter hollow laughs.

But there was only real laughter at the Old Railway Museum.

Isabel Field