This evening, I passed by where the sweet shop used to be, and Le Beautique were having their opening party, with a purple and white cake and wine (the wine was not purple and white). It's moved a long way from the oriental carpet shop that it was when I first came to Hay.
Meanwhile, over the road, lights were on in what used to be the Hat shop, as the people from Carlisle's got ready to re-open there. The shop by the clock tower is now closed.
I'm told (I haven't been past to check yet) that there's a sign up at Chattels saying that they have no plans to close - I suppose there's been some confusion in the rumour mill because Carlisle's used to be up there with Chattels.
And at lunch time, I passed by Bookends-as-was at the end of Castle Street, and saw the people from Adela's dress agency looking it over.
A personal view of life in the Town of Books
Eigon
Save the River Wye
The Kingdom of Hay
Long Live Hay-on-Wye!
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- And on a Lighter Note....
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- Hay In Danger
- Important Meeting
- Doing Too Much!
- Changing shops over the years
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About Me
- Eigon
- Hay is a fascinating town - but there's more to it than bookshops! I like to take a look behind the scenes, at what the locals are doing. I also maintain the Fairtrade Hay blog, and Morwenna's Tower, a blog about my writing and other interests.
8 comments:
We should get the whole town together to pray for this!!!
Pray for what?
My goodness....what is going on...hay is changing!!!!!! maybe for the better who knows..So what if somebody was seen looking at a premises....its private!!!!!!!!! i think hay should concentrate on the idea of a large super market coming to the town....who will care about the small businesses then..seems funny that council members are for it when it will not effect there business....what about londis?????? spar????? fruit and veg shops???? health food shops? nobody seems to care...Good luck to any new business in hay i say.x
I'd say that the kind of town where a local 'notable' is noted noting something is the kind of town that isn't genetically predisposed to having what's being proposed.
Q.E.D.
P.H.
Good luck to all of us surviving too!
It's been a tough few years but if you are still in business we should all salute each other. I almost went down 10 months ago but still here to tell the tale, and yes have seen some changes here over the years. Just hope no one gets hurt IF this Tescos thing really is happening as they now say for sure. Remember this peeps - SERVICE is what will always keep locals coming back to the smaller businesses and always has.
There have been thousands of small businesses up and down the UK smashed by the likes of Tesco, and the fact that they might have been offering the kind of 'service' you would think might set them apart and keep them alive wasn't much use. If Tesco or anyone else wants to set up in Hay, they'll be doing so in their belief that they will take existing market share. They are sophisticated enough to succeed, and they will only be beaten if they're not allowed in in the first place. To wave them in and to expect Hay to to survive in a recognisable fashion would be incredibly naïve.
P.H.
I have to agree with PH (is that you, Paul?). I've seen it before, in other towns.
Personally I am very loyal to this town and will buy from here WAY before the shops in Hereford (say) - especially when you factor in the expense of travelling there. It is up to us to continue to support the local businesses - Hay is still small enough that we know and love the keepers of these shops. If Tescos were to come in (I also don't support this change), I'd still use the smaller ones. I just hope every one else feels the same
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