"My family's connections with Hay go back over 150 years. Great-grandfather, Thomas Pugh, was born in Llandeilo Graban in the Welsh county of Radnorshire. He married Mary Lewis from Aberllynfi, Breconshire, in St. Peters Church, Glasbury, in 1853. Thomas was a skilled shoemaker. They came to live and work in Hay in the August of that year.

Consequently, I was born in Hay into a family that had been involved in local commerce throughout the ensuing years. My father and mother had a confectionery and tobacconist shop on 'The Pavement' and almost all of my relations, on both sides of the family, were involved in some way or another in local business in the town.

Hay is my home town, and, naturally, there is nowhere else on earth that compares. It may have changed over the years but it still retains its nostalgic charisma.

The town is steeped in history with its Norman Castle, the remains of a mediaeval town wall and many other places of antiquity. This feeling of historical attachment pervades the town and gives rise to my own great interest in local history.

When I was a little boy, the Second World War had not long been underway. By the time I had begun to recognise the world around me, it seemed to be filled with young men in uniform who were temporarily stationed in Hay and in transit to their overseas postings. Naturally, they frequented my parents shop for their cigarettes and sweets.

I remember one local lad, who was home on leave from the Royal Navy, bringing me a banana, which I proudly carried to school where most of the children - including myself - had never seen one, let alone touched one before. Unfortunately by the time I got it home it had become quite inedible.

Hay was a quite different town then. Everyone knew everyone else (and everyone elses business, too!). Most of the populace had been born and brought up within the town. The shops never seemed to change their proprietors or their trades.

In these immediate post-war years the place had become a little rundown, although it was still very busy for Market Day on Thursdays and, especially on the twice yearly Fair Days. The town on a Thursday was filled from early morning with local farmers and their wives, who had usually walked into town laden down with heavy baskets filled with produce to sell, and then reloaded with enough groceries to last the following week. Market stalls filled Castle Square and stretched all the way from the Town Clock right down Broad Street. These stalls sold everything from buckets and churns to ducklings, chicks and eggs.

The increased use of the motor vehicle eventually saw the decline of busy Thursdays. The farmers and their families could easily jump into their car, or even a tractor, and pop into town for their needs at any time during the week.

I had to leave my beloved Hay after my schooldays. I left to attend college in London, completed my National Service and then had to travel many miles every day from Hay for employment.

Many of my contemporaries had to do the same, some having to leave home completely. I was lucky in of my chosen trade that early in the 1960s there seemed to be an opening in town to service the rapidly expanding usage of television. I opened my own shop in Hay in 1963.

During this period another young man from Cusop, which is almost part of Hay, came home and decided to start a second-hand bookshop in the town. He seemed to have a flair for attracting publicity. When he declared Hay's Independence from the rest of the UK, the town suddenly became host to visitors and press from all over the world.

Since then the town has changed enormously. It is now busy and bustling throughout the year. Richard Booth certainly put Hay on the map and it is now known throughout the world as the 'Town of Books'.

These visitors brought a new prosperity and encouraged new residents, who had been attracted by the atmosphere of our quaint old market town with the Black Mountains within walking distance, the River Wye flowing through and the beauty of the surrounding countryside. These new locals have brought a fresh vigour to Hay and we have welcomed their contribution to keeping the town alive and busy. It is very unusual now to see an empty shop or a poorly-attended function.

Naturally, some resent the passing of the old times and the more sedate and quiet way of life which existed in Hay in earlier years. Most, however, recognise that life everywhere has changed and so has Hay. Old locals are now inclined to accept it gracefully and make jokes about our hordes of visitors throughout the busy summer months. Recently I was greeted by a local inhabitant who exclaimed 'Well, how are you? It's a nice change to meet someone I know!'

Popularity does bring its problems, however, and Hay is no exception. There is a sad lack of affordable housing, as any property within the town and district is way beyond the means of young people. Unfortunately they still have to move away to find more substantially affluent employment, which in a town the size of Hay is not available. Not surprisingly, though, when they reach retirement age they do their utmost to return home to spend their later years.

Visitors now come to Hay throughout the year, and we have an enormous influx for the annual Festival of Literature, when the town becomes almost a no-go area for people from the immediate district. The town is always busy, especially during bank holidays. Unfortunately, many visitors do not seem to realise that Hay is only a small market town of some 1,450 souls. They seem to think that we should have the facilities of a small city, especially during the ten days of the festival.

This small annoyance apart, they are usually welcomed so well and become so enamoured with Hay that they keep returning year after year. Long may this continue."

Written by Eric Lewis Pugh from Hay-on-Wye.