your comments
Barbro Ergetie from Mellosa Sweden
Hw lovely to read the BBC article about dear Mr Richard Booth. Yhanks to him and his devotion and love for books we have the Book Town of Mellosa since 2001. On 30th May 2009 thre will be a new little seasonal Book Town on the beautiful island of Gotland and on 7 June a Childrenīs Book Town will be opened near the Mellosa booktown.All thanks to Richard.
Fri Apr 3 09:09:24 2009
Nick from Faversham & Talgarth
I'm glad to see that at 300+ years old you're still going strong Peter. Keep up the good work! Incidentally, did you ever drink in the British Legion? I may have served you up some cider "back in the day".
Thu May 22 09:04:01 2008
Peter, still at Hay , for over 300 years
...my family have lived here a lot longer than he or his ancestors and I know that most real hay people detest what hay has become...yes we really did like it the way it was before this book rubbish.Postscript 2008- happily the book trade in hay is now in serious decline.
Fri Apr 11 09:04:56 2008
Lemaire Mike
Good on you Richard. I enjoyed carting your books around Hay with my horse and four wheeler.
Thu Sep 14 11:12:59 2006
Nick from Faversham
With respect to Peter I don't know what social costs he's referring to in his reply. Like most towns in Mid Wales Hay-on-Wye would be just another dying agricultural backwater were it not for the tourist industry. At least it provides jobs and an income to some. The social ills Peter refers to are not the consequence of tourism but rather the decline of agriculture in Britain. As for people liking Hay as it was before tourism - I don't doubt it but you can't hold back progress. As a matter of interest I wonder where Peter goes for his annual holiday?
Mon Jun 19 16:29:32 2006
Glyn Alban Roberts, Central, Hong Kong
Richard: what's this I read on this web page of your migrating to Germany? Is this the place we went to with your German Book Town colleague and Sue Peter on a winter's day 100km SE of Berlin some years back?
The Old Panzer base and training ground from the Kaizer Wilhelm days? Tell me where you are, so that we can visit this summer
please.
Glyn 19 May 2006
Fri May 19 09:11:19 2006
Gwyn Tilley, Pontypool, Gwent
As a published author myself, I visit Hay-on-Wye regularly. The only problem I have is dragging myself away!
Sun Mar 12 14:44:07 2006
Peter , Hay
"transformed Hay from a sleepy market town" ... so that's a good thing?
Well perhaps Nick from Faversham ought to consider the fact that many people living there liked it that way. No-one mentions the high social costs of tourism here.
Tue Jan 10 01:13:08 2006
Nick from Faversham/Talgarth
As a former employee of King Richard I can confirm that he is even more eccentric in real life than he has been portrayed in the media. It's a while since I worked for the "great man" and with the vantage point of 8 years I look on my time with him with a certain skewed nostalgia. It was once rumoured that Richard only employed defrocked priests and alcoholics ! [Not true but a good theory...]
I hear he's selling up and concentrating on his booktown propaganda. A shame. He transformed Hay-on-Wye from a sleepy market town into a vibrant tourist destination. Richard bought up half the world's secondhand books and transported them to Wales!
Wed Oct 5 15:01:08 2005
Robert D Ottaway Christchurch N.Z
I have recently re-read an article concerning Richard in a 1982 issue of "the World's Greatest Cranks and Crackpots". I thought that I'd have a look to see on the computer what he was doing now. I was pleased to read that he has in fact become an "institution" and has been acknowleged for that and his work and efforts with an MBE in 2004. Hurrah for eccentricity, the old school tie and increasing volumes of nostalgia.
Best wishes from Robert D Ottaway, down under, formerly Alleynes Grammar School, Stevenage '53 - '58.
Sat Apr 2 08:53:37 2005
Tell us what you think here.
Self-proclaimed King of Hay and creator of the world's first Book Town.
