Don't forget to vote on Thursday, down at the Sports Pavilion. This time it's only for the Police and Crime Commissioner, but it's still important to use your vote.
This is also the first time that photo ID has been necessary in order to vote. So I'm planning to go and vote and register my protest, since photo ID has never been necessary before.
North Books hosts a Friday pop-up cafe every week, and on 3rd May they will be hosting a new author. Rachel Clarke will be talking about her new book Tarot - Crossing Worlds, and will be encouraging her audience to create their own Tarot card.
And on Friday 10th May, four poets from the Hay Writers' Circle will be there with new pamphlets of their work.
The North Books events are unticketed and drop-in, but they recommend people to follow them on instagram to get updates.
At the moment, they are hosting black and white prints by Mike Parker in the Reading Room, and have prints by Veronica Guest for sale.
I've just come back from holiday, to the sad news that there have been several deaths around Hay.
Just before I left, of course, Rodders died - he was a well known figure walking around Hay, always very friendly. Lots of people have fond memories of Rodders.
Now I've learned that Ricky Kramer has died. He was South African, though he's lived in Hay for many years. He rode around Hay on his bike with bells dangling from the frame, and his little dog in the basket.
Also Susan Harper has died. In recent years, she suffered from Alzheimers, but before that she was very outgoing and interested in all sorts of things. She always dressed flamboyantly, with lots of badges, and always a blouse and matching tie. She's been photographed by Billie Charity, and interviewed on TV during the Hay Festival. I once accompanied her on a coach tour to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the Tempest, which was a marvellous day out. She had seen many of the old Shakespearean stars perform on stage.
Her daughter Lizzie Harper also lives in Hay, and is a professional illustrator. For instance, she worked with Adele Nozedar on The Hedgerow Handbook about ten years ago.
I'll be away for a few days, so until I get back, here's a view of Hay from the Castle steps.
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Two of my customers today at the Cinema Bookshop introduced themselves as Korean publishers, from Giyeok Publishing (named for the first letter of the Korean alphabet). They kindly gave me their catalogue, in Korean and English.
They work out of a place called Bookvillage Harry, which is a cluster of bookshops, libraries, a printing studio and gallery space in a small town by the sea. (I'm a bit worried by the space on their map labelled "book prison" but labelling the bookshop spaces as "book forest" is a lovely idea!). There's also a restaurant, a treehouse (with books), a boat to read on, and a Poet's House. They publish picture books on the themes of ecology, human wisdom, relationships, imagination, and poetry. I rather like the look of the one entitled "I'm a whale, shrimp are annoying".
They are on instagram at @book_vill
Gareth Ratcliffe has been on Facebook in the last week thanking all the volunteers who turned up to help to renovate the swimming pool. They've found people who are willing to be trustees of the pool, and a core group of volunteers to help to run the pool. However, they still need help with some work around the pool, such as installing PVC doors in the changing rooms, and a new fire door. They also need help with completing painting jobs, and sanding doors for painting, as well as dealing with a leak in the changing room roof. They are hoping to reopen soon!
Meanwhile, at the Seven Stars, new health and safety rules mean that their pool cannot be hired out to people swimming on their own - there must be at least two people there. Treby Swingler posted on the Hay on Wye Community Facebook page to say that they are thinking of setting up a WhatsApp group to pair up solo swimmers. This may be on a permanent or ad hoc basis, or for people who haven't been before and want to try it out to share a slot.
They don't have a changing room, if anyone wants to try clothes on, but they do have a 28 day returns policy.
The next Hay Music concert is on Friday 12th April (so, not long now!).
The New London Chamber Ensemble is playing at St Mary's Church at 7pm. They are a wind quintet - flute, French horn, clarinet, oboe and bassoon. Tickets are £20, with a limited number of free tickets for under 25s, as well as the usual half price tickets for under 25s.
They will be playing quite a bit of Mozart, including the Adagio for glass harmonica, as well as Ravel, Beethoven and Rachel Stott.
While I was in Hereford today, I also came across a new use for Maylord Orchards. As I was cutting through to the bus stop, tables had been laid out for playing all sorts of games, and there was a game library in one of the shops. I think some of the games were for sale, too. Quite a few people had turned up to play, of all ages. I think it's a great idea!
I was also sorry to see that one of my favourite cafes has closed down. The owners of the Antique Tea Rooms, next to the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, have retired, and the building is now empty. I did have a lovely bowl of leek and potato soup at the First Light charity cafe, opposite the Catholic church, though, so I will probably go there again.
It was sad to see the place empty for so long, but the new people have done a great job of re-decorating - they even had to put a new bar in. Alongside the usual range of beers and lagers, they have three handpumps for real ale. At the moment they are offering Butcombe and Otter beers, with Butty Bach coming soon. Also coming soon will be their kitchen, which they hope to have open in two weeks.
There's a pool table in the back room - which has a gorgeous carved stone fireplace that I didn't know was there.
I hope they do well!
