New shop in Hay - and good news in Bronllys

I was walking up by the clock tower this morning when I noticed a clutter of antique type objects at the side of the road. It seems that La Maison, the dress shop (which also does a fun line in animal egg cups!) has managed to rent out their cellar area, to a shop which is called Sage Femme, selling vintage French articles, including linen. (Looks like we're getting our own French Quarter!).
My husband used to wax lyrical about wearing silk next to the skin, but I far prefer linen. One of the best buys I ever made was my 'medieval' linen undertunic, which is actually a turn of the century French shift, from Marina when she had the antique shop next to the Wheatsheaf. I also got a wonderful Hungarian shirt from her. Warm when it's cold, cool when it's hot, and looks fantastic with my skirts from Nepal Bazaar!
The cellar has a separate door, down steps from the road, and it's had several different uses over the years. The first I know of, other than ordinary cellar, is that this is the place that the performing bear with the fair used to be kept when the fair came to Hay. More recently, it's been a very good little coffee bar, when the shop upstairs was a restaurant.

The sunshine today has brought out the first busker of the year (that I've noticed, anyway), a young lad with a guitar who is playing in aid of Oxfam.

Meanwhile, good news for the Bronllys ambulance station. The money has been found to upgrade their premises, with a special sluicing area to clean the instruments used in the ambulance, and showers. The alternative would have been to move the ambulances to the other station in Brecon, which would have had serious consequences for reaction times to emergency call outs towards Hay.
I hope that this is a sign that the Powers that Be are starting to think again about closing Bronllys Hospital, which would also have serious consequences for this area, and for the surrounding hospitals which are already overstretched.