The presence of Dan Manea, the author of the book Sinaia, Land of the Elites at the 8th edition of TAL Festival in Thame, Oxfordshire, an international arts and literature festival, which took place during 11th-15th October, was considered a real success by the organisers and public.
Representing Sinaia town, the author shared to the public his passion for the architecture and history of this town, which he said he’s in love with. During the presentation of his book, Sinaia, Land of the Elites, Dan Manea revealed the attributes that define the elitism of this town, as well as the reasons that led to the common history of Sinaia and the Romanian Royal Family, inviting the British audience to visit Sinaia.
The public’s interest towards the book and also the twinning town with Thame since 2012 was reflected in the number of participants to the event, which seems to have been one of the festival attractions, the tickets being sold-out before the festival even started.
The presence at this event couldn’t have been possible without the support from the TAL Festival organisers, Thame-Sinaia Friendship Association and Sinaia-based ASPE Cultural Association, to whom I would like to thank for all their efforts.
Here are a few articles published by the local press shortly after the festival closing.
One of several sellout festival events was Dan Manea’s talk about his love for Sinaia, a beautiful Romanian mountain town twinned with Thame. The public had the opportunity to hear from the author of ‘Sinaia, Land of the Elites’ who invited the public to a virtual walk into the town’s historical buildings and its glorious past. (www.thametoday.co.uk)
Dan Manea said: “This book invites you to stroll not only on the streets of the town, but also inside its history, which for the last 130 years has been strongly woven into the history of Romania itself.” The author reminded the public about the connection between the Royal Families of the UK and Romania. Queen Marie, mother of King Michael of Romania, was one of Queen Victoria’s nieces. (www.thame.net)