Greenbelt talks Simon is giving two talks at the Greenbelt Arts Festival. They are both on Saturday, August 23rd, and the venue is The Hub. The talks are... Shelf Life: a newspaper column of supermarket soap 11.15am, The Hub Saturday 23 August This year, Simon has been writing a weekly column for the Daily Mail, based on his experiences of working for three years in a supermarket. We visit the supermarket aisles, where he worked the tills, stacked fruit and veg, and chaired the shop union. But then, instead of: "Buy one, get one free", we'll reflect on the art, glory and nightmares of sustaining a weekly column in a national newspaper. Language, abuse, truth and laughter – "Tell the truth but tell it slant." The Beautiful Enneagram 3.15pm, The Hub Saturday 23 August Behind Simon's book The Beautiful Life is the idea that truth is one; that some things are psychologically true for all people. Behind The Enneagram (Simon's new book, just published), is the idea that psychological truth is a rather personal affair. Is there a contradiction here? Or are there just different levels of language and theme, to reflect different levels within ourselves? Camels can carry us further than frogs – but frogs are good at catching flies. Or as they say at Cheltenham, "horses for courses". On our journey towards beauty, we will need more than one language. Click to join my mailing list More retreats     © Simon Parke