We went into the Castle grounds to stand on the very lawn where croquet was played at a party Kilvert went to, and he also mentioned people going down to the archery field. Oliver didn't know where that was - I called out that it was now the car park. And another person asked if they would consider putting the play on for the Ledbury Poetry Festival. You can see from the photo above that Richard Booth’s Bookshops is simply gorgeous with its striking facade. This bookshop is housed in a converted chapel, which seems apt as I think most people who visit this town worship books. And earlier in the day, I'll be going to a free event - Radio 4 are recording Natalie Haynes Stands up for the Classics. I've really been enjoying the podcasts of this series, so I'd like to see a live performance.

The Tudor Brewery man had brought a couple of boxes of beer to drink on the spot, left over from another festival he'd been to, and he was right by the screen so there may be some interest in that later on.There’s also an enormous basement and a top floor so you could easily spend hours in here (something I’m going to say about a lot of bookshops in this post…). There are plenty of great pubs in the area. For historical character, I'd recommend The Rhydspence Inn, a medieval timber-framed coaching inn about five miles out of town. Llanthony Priory, a former Augustinian monastery, is a real historical gem too. Worth it for the magnificent drive through the mountains as much as the ruin itself. In Hay, don't miss burrowing around the second-hand bookshops of course. They're a veritable warren of secrets and surprises. There are nine trees in the church, including the two flanking the entrance. Each of them are sponsored by different groups, such as the Keith Leighton Neuro Fund, and decorated by other local groups. Hay School did one, and so did the WI. The WI craft group did one with fabric hearts and patchwork; another was all blue and white pom poms, and another was all card angels. Also around the church were information boards about the history of the Christmas tree. The usual stalls (cakes and bread, hand-spun items, veg, baskets and leather goods) are in the Cheese Market. Someone asked if this was the right time to hold climate protests, considering the present political climate in the UK. The considered answer was that all the problems over Brexit seemed like a petty squabble compared with the importance of saving the planet. Whatever people's politics are, we all need a habitable planet to live on. In one way, this is a perfect time to protest about climate change, both because of the short time we have to make a difference according to the IPCC report and the volatile nature of British politics at the moment - there may be a General Election soon, and the situation seems to be changing all the time. It was seen as a positive sign that Jane Dodds, the new MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, came to the Brecon protest last week, and was talking about holding a Citizen's Assembly to talk about what can be done in the local area to mitigate climate change.

There was a retiring collection, rather than an entrance fee, and the money raised goes towards the musicians, and to help up-and-coming young musicians. There are thought-provoking editions of non-fiction, fiction and poetry. Themes include race, feminism, the environment, nature and more. I wanted to snap up every title! The next stop is the Medical Centre, and Medics4Timbuktu have a maternal health project in Timbuktu, with a clinic for ante-natal care and trained birth attendants. There were three really interesting things that I could have gone to see last night - the Walking Festival talks at the Swan, a folk singer at the Globe, and a talk about medieval astronomy at Cusop Church.I've never been up to Vowchurch Common, though I've been past on the bus very often, so I looked it up in a little book called 100 Walks in Hereford & Worcester. This gives a round walk which includes Monnington Court, which I thought was very interesting until I realised that this wasn't the medieval Monnington Court which was reputed to be the hideaway of Owain Glyndwr in his last years after he disappeared (that's at Monnington-on-Wye,), despite what the book says. This was a much later house, though it does seem to have a medieval motte right next to the house.