Brilliant Bill

American British-based writer Bill Bryson, 68, was in fine humorous form at the Granada, when he spoke about his extensive work as part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures program.

Bryson, who first visited the U.K. in 1973 as part of a European tour, decided to stay after landing a job at a psychiatric hospital and now lives in Hampshire in southern England.

From 2005 to 2011 he served as chancellor of historic Durham University, succeeding actor Sir Peter Ustinov, having come to prominence a decade earlier with A Short History of Nearly Everything, which was nearly 500 pages long. It followed Notes from a Small Island eight years earlier, an exploration of Britain with an accompanying TV series.

Five years ago he wrote one of my favorites The Road To Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island, nine years after receiving an OBE – Order of the British Empire – for his contribution to literature. He has also been honored as a member of the Royal Society, the first non-Brit to receive the honor.

At a pre-talk reception in the McCune Founders Room, guests acting terribly tribal toe tapping and elbow and fist bumping because of coronavirus concerns, included Paul and Jane Orfalea, Roger Himowitz, Rich and Luci Janssen, Gretchen Lieff and Miles Hartfeld, Tipper Gore, Jeff and Hollye Jacobs, Richard and Annette Caleel, Bill Allen, Leslie Bhutani, Todd and Allyson Aldrich, and Michael and Kimberly Hayes.