A Few Updates

The rug shop has now been sold, so the Closing Sale will be finishing very shortly. It'll be interesting to see what takes its place.

Last week there were tents and stalls all over the terraces of the Castle - this week signs have gone up on one of the terraces saying "Danger Keep Off". The wall there is unmortared, and is starting to sag noticably, despite the wooden baulk that's been keeping it up for years. I hope Richard gets the same men in who did the Backfold wall to rebuild it. They did a really good job there.

The launderette has put its prices up. It's now £2.50 for a wash, but the dryers remain the same at 20p per five minutes.

On the way to Hereford the other day I got talking to an American gentleman who had come up to Hay from London for the day! He was taking the last bus of the day. He wanted to know all sorts of things about the area.
Was there a shop that sold local woollen goods? Yes, Wool and Willow on Backfold.
What about in Hereford? Not that I know of.
What crops grow in this area? I told him about the potato tractors that converge on Dorstone during the harvest, and the cider orchards.
Is cider alcoholic? Yes.
Are there any vineyards? There's one near Bromyard, and there may be others.
Is this a good area for herding dogs? We talked about border collies (Islay was with me, so she got her dubious ancestry given out again - half border collie, half something else we're not sure of), and spaniels and other gun dogs.
He asked me about Arthur's Stone. The bus had stopped on the awkward corner just out of Dorstone and before the cottage called Coppy Sally to let other traffic past (it's a very narrow road there) and he saw the brown sign pointing up the hill. I had to admit that this was nothing to do with the famous Sword in the Stone, but is in fact a prehistoric burial mound - with wonderful views, and a very good example if you like burial mounds.
Then the bus driver chimed in and asked me if I knew what the satellite dishes at Madley were for, and I had to admit that I had no idea. I'm sure I was told once, but I've forgotten.