EVERY year we wait to see who is appearing at the Swindon Festival of Literature, and every year we discover it’s even better than the one before.

Today marks the start of the 22nd festival and once again Matt Holland and his team have done us proud.

The guiding principles of the festival have always been that it offers something for everybody and that everybody who attends will be given something to think about.

Even so much as a cursory glance at the line-up reveals that these principles are adhered to as strongly as ever.

The hardy souls who braved the early morning Bank Holiday chill for the traditional Dawn Chorus have helped to usher in one of the most diverse festival rosters yet.

Participants include much-loved chronicler of life Tony Hawks, veteran comedian Helen Lederer, impressionist Rory Bremner, staunch LGBT and social justice campaigner Peter Tatchell, philosopher AC Grayling and Swindon’s own Mike Pringle, who is in the midst of a magnificent ongoing project to commemorate World War One.

The much-loved Swindon Slam! and Youth Slam! are back to provide sounding boards for local poets, and there is an array of workshops and other opportunities for public participation.

When the first festival was mooted all those years ago, there were plenty of voices raised - far too many, in fact - in opposition.

Some of the naysayers seemed to believe that by planning such an event, Swindon was somehow getting above its station.

If such attitudes prevailed elsewhere, many of humanity’s great events would never have taken place, and Cape Kennedy would be a swamp.

Long may the festival continue to remind us of this community’s limitless potential.