Book Festival favourite Tom Conti was another big name gracing the annual four-day literary extravaganza’s opening night.
Speaking to The Southern in a sunlit Harmony Garden in the shadow of Melrose Abbey, the Paisley-born star of stage and screen said he enjoyed coming to the festival.
“I like everything about it, it’s a really nice place to come and there’s a very friendly and easy atmosphere,” Conti, 71, told The Southern ahead if his sell-out festival show.
“You don’t feel a lot of tension here. It’s a pleasure to do it really.”