The BBC arranged for a special screening of The Private Life of the Royal Academy at the Hay Festival, prefaced by a discussion chaired by Mark Bell, the BBC’s Commissioning Editor for Arts Programmes.   When I first saw the programme, I wasn’t sure what the response was, but it has become increasingly clear to me that people appreciate its honesty and warmth, that it is not trying to whitewash the institution, nor necessarily to promote it, but to depict it in depth and with humanity.   It was a long way to go, but worth it, if only for lunch at the other River Café:-