Hay Festival 2012 in Beirut: Notebook, day two Adrenaline plays a part, but only to keep them alive by teaching them the mistakes to avoid, like not taking a road with no civilians (a bad sign). Curiosity motivates them, and a hunch that they are not being told the truth about the conflict in question, be it Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or now Syria. But above all they have a common desire to bear witness and bring us what they see. In Iraq Anderson helped a boy whose arms had been blown off and decided deliberately to describe in searing detail the violence that hit him and his family. Beirut is buzzing despite the mist of tension seeping over from Syria. It's the festival season, and anyone who hasn't escaped to Paris or the Cote d'Azur is having fun watching the stars descending on Lebanon for concerts in Beirut and beyond. B.B. King sold out in Byblos, Charles Aznavour and Chris De Burgh are headlining in Jounieh. And Enrique Iglesias played to a packed audience on the harbour here this week. Locals keep an eye on all sorts of small indicators to tell them what the security situation is doing. No celebrity cancellations is a good sign. On the roof terrace of Le Gray's Hotel, the chic-est bar in town, the thing to drink is the house speciality, a passion fruit martini, while watching the sun set over the reconstruction of Beirut. Gordon Campbell Gray, the luxury hotelier with a passion for the city, is in the vanguard of British businessmen who have spotted an opportunity here. The new harbour area is filled with bars and restaurants opened by Brits who want Beirut to supplant Dubai as the essential destination. And it's closer. Summer is also the season when the well-off - and there are plenty of them in Beirut - head for the playgrounds of Europe. London is a favourite destination, but this year Britain is being snubbed. Our new immigration rules mean the rich who want to spend their cash on Sloane Street can't bring their maids and butlers, while businessmen who want to do billion-pound deals in Mayfair are being asked to queue for visas and give their fingerprints. So they are taking their money elsewhere. One vastly rich man was considering rival British and Italian proposals to build a £50m super-yacht. He flew in to the south of England on his private jet to inspect a yard and was grilled by immigration officers for 90 minutes on his motives. He gave up and ordered his pilot to fly him home. An Italian boatbuilder got the job.