October 20, 2013
It's Friday afternoon, all over Oxford people are making that last phone call, replying to one final email, apart, that is, from the privelidged band who are settling down at The Playhouse to hear Tim Hardford speak.
Oxford local, author and radio 4 regular, Tim specialises in making economics less, well, complicated. The one hour talk took the form of the life story of economist Bill Phillips - look him up, he's an interesting chap. Holding the audience in the palm of his hand for an hour, Harford swung from comic anecdotes about car engines to a prisoner of war camp with ease, and an hour later I'd learnt something I didn't know before, surely the point.
I'd recommend seeing Tim Harford if you can, and certainly laying your hands on one of his books for a more human take on just what's up with the world right now. The real star here though is the 'Friday at 5' format which sees the Playhouse invite interesting people to tip a little bit of knowledge into your head just in time for the weekend. I'll be booking up for the next one for sure.