Nuclear meltdown in Kelvedon Hatch

Spent a very enjoyable Saturday morning with the writer Ian Sansom and his producer Conor Garrett at the Secret Nuclear Bunker in Kelvedon Hatch. Sansom is presenting a Radio 4 programme on his home county of Essex on Friday February 28 at 11am and was interviewing me about my book The Joy of Essex. Ian, the author of many mystery novels, is an engaging interviewer and was bought up looking back in Ongar, but now lives with his wife in Northern Ireland. He'd heard the rumours of a secret nuclear bunker during his childhood too, but was amazed at the size of the structure concealed beneath a suburban bungalow. We enjoyed the ancient telex machines, Geiger counters, Maggie Thatcher mannequin and the low-key charm of one of the country's most underrated tourist attractions. His Radio 4 programme is also set to include the likes of Bas Vegas, Penny Rimbaud from Crass and history author George Courtauld who is Vice Lord Lieutenant of Essex and Chair of the Essex Women's Advisory Group. Should be well worth listening to.