On the street in Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye is a Welsh market town located on the border between England and Wales beside the River Wye. It has become world famous in recent years for its bookshops and the book festival that is held in the town each year. More recently it has also become the location for the music and philosophy festival ‘How the Light Gets In’ which is held annually at the same time as the book festival. Given the town’s unique character, I took the opportunity to practice some street photography as there were some interesting looking people doing some interesting looking things.
Hay-on-Wye was established as the Town of Books by Mr Richard Booth in 1961 and since then it has become the world's largest Second hand and antiquarian book centre. Some of the bookshops specialise in specific genres whilst others carry general stock. At the centre of the town is Hay Castle, where on 1st April 1977 entrepreneurial bookseller Richard Booth declared Hay-on-Wye an independent kingdom and he its king. His royal subjects created regalia fitting for such an illustrious figure. The crown is decorated with glass jewels from a dog collar, the sceptre was fashioned from brass plumbing pipes, and the orb from a toilet ballcock.