I've been at the Hay Literary Festival this week and a bit too soggy to blog. After last year's quagmire I thought things couldn't get worse, but within arriving I was promptly up to my ankles in mud.

On the plus side I was also promptly up to my ankles in cultural entertainment. I'd missed Cherie Blair's appearance – though she is a woman that it is pretty difficult to miss – and opted to open with comedy. Or former comedy anyway. I remember when Patrick Marber was a daft stand-up who used to play a plastic trumpet onstage. These days he is an acclaimed playwright and was at Hay-on-Wye to talk about his new short romantic film, Love You More, which was directed by artist Sam Taylor-Wood and is based on the Buzzcocks song of the same name. Certainly an evocative short film, although I don't remember suburban female punks having quite such glossy red lips in 1978.

There were not many laughs there, but there were plenty later in a set from Rich Hall in the guise of redneck recidivist Otis Lee Crenshaw. Like an American Pub Landlord, Crenshaw is the master of snappy audience interaction and the quick comeback. Talking to a builder called Howard, Crenshaw asked how long he had been in that line of work. "Four years" was the reply. "I guess that's an estimate," said Crenshaw, as speedy as a streak of lightning.

More rain the following day curtailed my cultural intake as I went off in search of a B&B to dry my socks in, but I did catch Toby Young and film producer Steven Wooley introducing clips from the upcoming movie version of Young's book, How to Lose Friends And Alienate People. Simon Pegg looks hilarious as the Brit munching his cack-handed way through the Big Apple's media jungle. Much better looking than Young and, I guess, younger. There is a great gag in the movie, which I won't reveal, but cineastes may suggest is a knowing nod to Wooley's previous hit, The Crying Game.

Finally a chance to see The Early Edition the next day. This is the daily lunchtime show fronted by Marcus Brigstocke and Andre Vincent that I've never quite been able to see at the Edinburgh Festival because of either work or sleep. Vincent was in terrific form, revealing his encounter with the Hay police after loitering outside the tent where anti-war campaigner George Monbiot attempted to carry out a citizen's arrest on US politico John Bolton, accusing him of war crimes over Iraq.

The local bobbies warned Vincent about acting suspiciously, completely unaware of who he was. Alerted to the fact that he was appearing at the festival, one constable hazarded a guess as to the identity of the heavily bearded performer, saying to his colleague: "I think you've just nicked Brian Blessed."