This book is set in a very specific period - just before and during the Festival of Britain in 1951. It concerns the efforts of three individuals - a young girl, a young man who's just returned to the UK from the East (and is partly Asian himself) and an older man who's something of a "chancer" - to persuade the people of Farbridge, a provincial town, that they want to be a part of the Festival. Needless to say they meet opposition from some people, but by hook and by crook the Farbridge Festival eventually takes place. There's a good deal of satire on local political factions (of all colours - the portrayal of the local Communist party is particularly cutting, compared with the not unsympathetic picture of the town's Tory MP) and there are some entertaining set pieces, including a description of a play whose author is obviously based on Christopher Fry, whose fame was at its height during these years. Well worth reading if you have any interest in the novels of the mid 20th century. ( )