"Hey, ho, the wind and the rain...."

We got off pretty lightly in the big storm, though Castle Street was closed in the afternoon, after the market had packed up, because tiles were flying off the roof of one of the shops there. It used to be Grants, one of the oldest businesses in Hay, and the main newsagents'. At one time they even had their own printing press. John Grant and his wife died a few years ago, though, and the nearest relative was in Australia, so the shop was sold, and is now Number Two Shoes, with the fashion shop Number Two just along the road.

One bright spot in the day was my first sight of snowdrops this year. It's something I always look out for. We moved to Hay at the end of January about 15 years ago, and the first thing that we noticed was the snowdrops everywhere. They quickly became my favourite flower.

A less bright note was this week's Stitch n Bitch, held for the first time at the British Legion. Or rather, not held, since only I turned up. I suppose the bad weather had something to do with it, but it was a bit of a disappointment all the same. The back room is a good size for our purposes, though they'll have to get the heating sorted out - the girl on the bar didn't know where the switch was. The lady who runs the place said she'd put it on in the morning, but the radiators were stone cold when I arrived - and when I left; fiddling with the thermostat had no effect either.