There's still time to book for Oggy Boytchev's talk, Simpson & I, at the LitFest. Thanks to Oggy for writing this post for us.

Since my defection from communist Bulgaria during the Cold War, I have lived in London for nearly 30 years but have hardly travelled in the British Isles outside the sprawling metropolis. This is because during my long career as a journalist at BBC News I spent most of my time in some of the most dangerous and hostile places around the world.

That’s why I am now looking forward to my visit to picturesque and calm Guernsey, one of the unusual places in the world, under the Crown and defended by the British government, and yet formally not in the UK. I do hope the September weather is kind to me because I hear that Guernsey is a place of the great outdoors, and I am an outdoor person.

What brings me to Guernsey is the Literary Festival. My most memorable foreign assignments - in war zones and reporting undercover from places with hostile regimes - were as producer for the BBC’s foreign affairs editor, John Simpson. My book Simpson & I documents some of the most exciting and high-profile stories we covered for the Ten O’clock News.

I’ll talk to pupils at the Grammar School too, about what it’s like to be a journalist in the most dangerous places on earth, and how understanding history can help us prevent future conflict. At the festival itself, I’ll talk about what it’s like to be in a journalistic partnership under fire.

Friday 18th September, 13:15-14:15 at the GLF Hub. Book tickets on http://www.guernseyliteraryfestival.com