Printer's Fair

 This Saturday there will be a printers' fair at Hay Castle, spread over two floors and open from 10am to 4pm.  All sorts of different printing techniques will be on display, and these are true craftsmen keeping the old traditions alive for the modern day.  Techniques include etching, letterpress, wood engraving, lino cutting, paper marbling, illustration, book art and calligraphy.

There have been Wayzgooses (as a meeting of printers is traditionally called) in Hay before, at the shop which is now Rambling Rosa and across at Baskerville Hall, and I've always enjoyed them. 

Back to Earth

 I'm back home, after an absolutely brilliant time at EasterCon!

 This is me in my Starfleet uniform, Next Generation era.

It's not just dressing up - there were also fascinating panels on folklore and fantasy, 100 years of Anne McCaffrey, archaeology, how to find hope in a darkening world (with reference to grimdark fantasy), climate change, AI, and there was a lot of emphasis on finding community in a hostile world, and welcoming all sorts of diversity.  Also, I got to hang out with some really lovely people.

We were also sharing space with an anime con - lots of costumes, and generally a much younger fan base, and we all got along so well that we want to do it again, maybe with even more integration between the cons next time.

I'm already looking forward to next year in Glasgow! 

Happy Easter!

 

Here's the latest Post Box topper.

I'll be back after Easter. 

Wildlife Art

 Oil and Oak often put on exhibitions in their upstairs room, and at the moment the space is filled with very detailed and realistic paintings of British wildlife by Lyndsay Reid.  I especially like the hares.

New Comic Shop

 

Congratulations to Lauren and Julian of Hay-on-Wye Comics, who have upgraded from the market stall and shelf in Broad Street Books to a shop of their own.  They're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I haven't been able to look inside properly yet, but I know they have lots of interesting stock, and I'll be browsing as soon as I can.

New Exhibition at Lion Street Gallery

 I saw the announcement on Facebook, so I decided to check it out when I went shopping.

The exhibition at Lion Street Gallery is called Emotional Terrain, and is a group of works by Di Metcalfe.

I had the gallery to myself that morning, so i had plenty of time to linger over the landscapes.  The card that goes with the exhibition says: "Her work radiates energy and intensity" and it's true - you can feel the energy in the brushstrokes - or maybe she uses a pallet knife - there's a lot of texture to the paint.  Brent explained that she works on solid panels rather than canvas, because her vigorous style would make the  canvas stretch and go baggy   Most of the landscapes are places in Wales, with exuberant cloudscapes.  I liked them a lot.

Brent also displays work from a regular group of artists, and I like most of them - the interiors of historic houses by Matthew Wood, and the wildflowers standing out of a blurred background by Dylan Lloyd, and at the moment there are some green semi-abstract woodland glades and pools by Sandra Graham that I also liked very much.  The paintings are expensive, but there's a scheme where you can pay installments over several months - which makes it a far more reasonable proposition.  And they are very fine works of art.

Yorkshire Building Society

 I was very disappointed to get an email this morning to say that the Hay branch of the Yorkshire Building Society will be closing down in August.

One of my main reasons for opening a savings account with them - when I was in a position to actually have savings! - was that I could walk into their office and talk to an actual human being, who knew me, and the whole business took about five minutes out of my day.

I understand that the next nearest physical branch is a choice between Abergavenny or Worcester - neither of which are exactly accessible for a visit from Hay.  So instead of walking in while I'm doing my shopping, this would mean a bus ride to Hereford and a train, and take all day.  Or a bus ride to Brecon and bus down to Abergavenny that way, which would also take most of a day.

Looks like I'm going to have to start thinking about moving my savings - I refuse to do online banking.  It's only more convenient for the bank or building society, not for me as a customer.