Hay On Wye Literary festival: BLOG 2

“What a good looking young boy” says the hotel owner MrGwynne as Mrs Gwynne busies herself past him and back into the kitchen for thekeys to my room. They’re cheery enough.  Theycould be two friendly voles in toad of toad hall.  This small bed and breakfast Belmont House,is warm and friendly and perfectly situated in the centre of Hay. I am here forthe Hay on WyeLiterature festival, the most famous literary festival in the UnitedKingdom tucked gently  but confidently intothe collar bone of TheBlack Hills of Wales.

After downing my bags I return down stairs on my way out, tochat to hovering Mr Gwynne about his business. There's nothing a self employed guy likes more than rattling on about hisbusiness so I ask him about his.  “had enough of it” he saysbriskly “thirty seven years in this house and I’m done”.  He’s not grumpy. I glimpse the pictures of hisgrown son and daughters on the fireplace. They’ve flown the nest and now the transient nature of the B and B is maybea cruel reminder that in his life, everyone seems to have moved on.   He’s notdepressed, simply resigned that he’s not moving anywhere and now nature moves relentlessly towards him.

I close the door and walk out into the fresh Welsh air andin within about five minutes pass  Mark E Smith walking upthe road.  I know him of sorts, fromManchester days.  My career can be mappedby  the various meetings with Mark – notthat he would remember any of them. The first was on a TV show with Anthony HWilson called Another Side of Midnight in 1988. Bizzarely there contribution tothat show  is on Youtube.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wygQmJ59E4Q  . I remember the disgusted (and possiblysnobby) make up person   discussing theknickers that the one of his  musicianshad left in her dressing room.  I wasyoung and it formed an impression, they were not clean! Jeez that was in 1988.

  I’m making my wayto the festival bus stop “nice to see a friendly face” he says to me   and then asks how to get somewhere. Havingjust arrived I have no idea how to get wherever it is that he is marchingtoo.  He’s on tour at the momentpromoting his autobiography.   This whole literary thing,  It’s a newworld for him.