Fuss over 'Monica'

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MAY 26. When the former U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, attended a fund- raising event at a Welsh literary festival today, there was only one problem - a waitress called Monica.

Organisers agonised whether to ask her to change her name lest she should remind their chief guest of that other, more famous, Monica; or to keep her in purdah.

It was billed as a major event with hundreds of ``paid'' guests in attendance, and the last thing anyone wanted was a hiccup just over a name. So, what did they do? There were no confirmed reports but, according to ``rumours'' quoted in a newspaper, Monica was told to settle for another name, though, in the end, probably she didn't even get to serve Mr. Clinton.

Mr. Clinton is reported to have been paid £ 100,000 speak at the annual Haye-on-Wye festival, hailed as one of the most important arts festivals in Europe. More than 1,000 people gave upto $ 100 each to hear him speak on ``conflict resolution'', and later coughed up another $ 150 each to have dinner with him - with the waitress, no longer called Monica, only a call away.

Haye-on-Wye was an obscure Welsh border town until the local tourist board hit upon the idea of turning it into a venue for an annual literary festival. That was 14 years ago, and today Haye- on-Wye is as famous in Britain's literary circles, as it once was among farmers who came there to sell their cattle. For the next 10 days, it would be a hub of cultural activity - discussions, readings, plays, concerts and radio and TV shows. Some of world's best - and promising - names in arts and literature are expected, including Ms Margaret Atwood, Mr. Frank Kermode, Mr. Tobias Hill, Mr. Julian Barnes, Mr. Nick Hornby Germaine Greer and Mr. Abdulrazak Gurnah. There would also be two modest Indian faces - Ruchir Joshi and Ms Anita Rau Badami who lives in Canada.

In the past, people like Mr. Salman Rushdie, Mr. Martin Amis and Mr. Norman Mailer have ``starred'' at Haye-on-Wye. Mr. Clinton was in Oxford on Friday to open a Centre of American Studies, but the news was dominated by his daughter, Chelsea, who featured on front pages for her decision to study at Oxford University. ``Chelsea to follow father at Oxford'', ``A second Clinton for Oxford'' and ``Happy returns: Clinton and daughter in Oxford'' were some of the headlines announcing Chelsea's plans to read history at Oxford where once her father was a Rhodes scholar though as one newspaper reminded its readers, he ``did not get a degree.''

Yesterday's visit was a much warmer event than his last visit in 1994, when as the U.S. President, he was booed for his policies. ``Yesterday, the natives were friendly; Lord Jenkins, Chancellor of the University, told him that he was welcome at any time and in any capacity, just so long as he did not have premature ambitions towards the chancellorship'', The Times said amid speculation that he was considering a future at Oxford.

While most looked star-struck by Chelsea, there were some who retained their Oxonian gravitas and wondered what the fuss was all about.

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