A Spendid Afternoon to Walk Out - So starts A Time of Gifts, in which renowned travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor records his walk from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. He set out on 8 December 1933, with war brewing in Europe. He was 18 and armed with The Oxford Book of English Verse.

This year each writer attending the Galle Literary Festival has been asked to give us an opening line for a story, poem or essay as yet unwritten! We’re now inviting any writer or budding writer out there to turn these lines into stories, poems or essays of their own. Send in your entries today!