Richard King of Hay - Blog

1st April 2017 - 40 Years of Independent Rule

7/4/2017

The King's Speech on the 40th Anniversary of Independence:

A message from King Richard, Coeur des Livres:
People of Hay, I send you greetings on this the Fortieth Anniversary of Independence for Hay. I am sorry not to be able to join you in person for the magnificent programme of festivities organised on your behalf by the Chamber of Commerce and other loyal citizens. Sadly, at this time although the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak and on this occasion I regrettably will have to be absent from the revels and celebrations, which are to mark the end of the fourth decade of Home Rule for Hay and the beginning of the fifth.
Through Independence for Hay, we have already demonstrated the power of international publicity to create a new international economy in what is a new international world. Hay is now world famous not only for its books and culture, but for the revolutionary spirit of its citizens, who have struggled for forty years against an overwhelming tide of government bureaucrats, quangos and big business corporations, who have sought to stifle our peoples’ originality for the benefit of their own agendas. Many of us recall how in the early days we cried from the barricades “The class war is over, now it’s the war against the officials…”
Moreover, in 1978 Hay led the world by being the first European nation to free itself of the tyranny of the bureaucrats in Brussels and quit the EEC. Following Hay’s Hexit from the EU, it brings me great joy to see that our neighbours and allies, the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have followed our example nearly four decades later, by voting for Brexit – yet another reason for celebrations!
Finally, may I wish each of you every success and happiness in the future; may the Independent Kingdom of Hay flourish during the decades to come, and thank you for your loyal support and allowing me to reign for the past forty years as your King.
I look forward to seeing you all soon…

The King of Hay's Christmas Speech 2014

3/1/2015

Kindly Filmed by Dr. Reg. Clark

The King's Speech at the Opening of the Icelandic Booktown at Selfoss

10/10/2014

I am so pleased to be able to be here for the opening of the Selfoss Booktown in Iceland, and would like to thank you all very much for your warm hospitality.

Booktowns are a new International Economy for a New International World, based on the fact that the New International World is certain to be an International Cocktail …. A Chinaman might fall in love with an Icelandic girl and visa versa ….1

Hay, therefore, drew its inspiration from the International Cocktail of American where we discovered that as the perfect symbol of a Nation’s Culture the Book was the perfect partner of the Tourist Industry and that re-use being ecologically more desirable than re-cycling, so the world’s largest economy was the world’s largest green economy …2

Buying, therefore, the contents of Stechert-Hafner, the largest reference bookshop, and best bookshop in New York, it became obvious that the de-institutionalisation of the Book was vital for its revitalisation. LACAP and infinite other of their programmes failed and millions of books were thrown away … 3

Travelling down from Toronto and then from Buffalo to Boston through New York, numerous farmers, in despair during the agricultural depression of the 1930s had filled their barns with books, which were then universally known as Bookbarns … this created the link with the Rural Economy which I have strongly linked with the Rural tradition of the National Library of Wales … we are the only country to have our National Library in a rural location. Bookselling became aTourist Economy and numerous new Holiday inns sprang up along the route….4

My greatest mistake was to spend too much time on the New York Thruway, rather than the Pennsylvian Turnpike and which was therefore a far longer route into the extra-ordinary ethnic diversity of the Mid-West which was created largely in the Twentieth Century and was therefore much more suitable for Booktowns …. With, however, the best Booktown in America now in Nebraska I hope to remedy that shortly…5

The passion of every immigrant was, of course, the culture of his home country, therefore when they came to America they brought their books with them…..6

I think that the Mouth is more important as an Entrance Point for Food than as an Exit Point for Words and I have said that the end of the Roman Empire was full of Festivals as is now the end of the British Empire….7

My worst attack on the Establishment was when I wrote a Pamphlet called ‘Abolish the Wales Tourist Board’ because living in the Age of the Mass Media, there was a basic conflict of interest between the politician whose future depended on National Media Exposure and a Tourist Policy which could not save Rural Areas, either ecologically or economically, unless we worked towards an International World. They didn’t understand the concept of how important Booktowns could be to International Tourism…8

Thus, I believe a whole Tourist Policy should begin again at the beginning without the pseudo-democracy of enormous wealth Mass Media brings with it ….9

Once we have escaped the horrors of English Language Democracy, I believe that there will be hundreds or even thousands, of Booktowns worldwide….10

Thus, I hope that the billions spent on International Tourist Advertising, which were aimed more at big commercial mass media concepts like Theme Parks which don’t have a real economy, can be more profitably applied in Booktowns. …11

In a New International World a Renaissance of the Book and a Reformation of the Tourist Economy is better than the debasement of information for commercial self-interest which currently rules us through the Mass Media…..12

Thank you for listening, and I wish all enormous success for the future.

The Royal University of Cusop Dingle: Travel and The Book

7/8/2014

Believing that the Book is the perfect symbol of a Nation’s Culture, I also believe that it is the perfect partner for the Tourist industry.

Hay has, therefore, the opportunity to lead a new International Economy in a New International World.

a)      Because thirty Booktowns worldwide have turned to me for advice and in September I am opening a Booktown in Iceland with the support of The President.

b)      Because the original Booktown in Montolieu in Carcassone in the South of France is now eager to revitalize Second Generation Booktowns after some mistakes were made in our original twinning with Redu.

c)      Working to the mantra “The New Book promoted by its Author is a National Economy; the Secondhand Book promoted by its Subject is an International Economy. The New Book is for the Ego, the Secondhand Book is for the Intellect,” both because it returns Hay to the original inspiration which created it from ideas by my Uncle William King at the British Museum, and because on this basis Hay was the Official Rural Tourist Attraction in 1976 and was visited by the American Ambassador, Anne Armstrong.

Putting together, therefore, the two major sources on inspiration in civilization, the Book and Travel, can have spectacular results for the Future of the Book, Self Sufficient Rural Tourism, and in breaking the political domination of the Tourist Industry which dooms all Rural areas worldwide to destruction.

With such substantial issues at stake, we are fortunate to have in Cusop, John Bramble, the most brilliant Classics Don of his generation, from Corpus Christi College Oxford, whose Father was amongst those responsible for the breaking of the Enigma Code and thus shortening the Second World War.

He will act as my Facilitator and will be anxious to find other Facilitators and to add to the list of other Speakers that the Royal University of Cusop Dingle can find on the Relationship between the Book and travel. It will meet regularly in The Swan, and Patricia Daly will be Membership Secretary (01497 820088). We need democratic input from the Secondhand Booktrade in Hay in every possible way, because;

a)      Ninety-five percent of the Tourist revenue is in the International World and can only be reached by the ordinary Secondhand Book.

b)      Hundreds of Booktowns worldwide are waiting to open and will be linked by an international Atlas of Literary Topography which has enormous Welsh support.

c)      Re-use being ecologically more efficient than re-cycling, the World’s Largest Economy of Poverty becomes the World’s Largest Green Economy.

I very much ope that you can come, because he decision by the Welsh Assembly to give £14 million to Amazon will mean the destruction of billions of secondhand books.

Next Meeting is at The Swan at 7.30pm on Thursday 11th September

King in his Regalia 1978

3/4/2014

Hay was declared Independent in 1977. Below are three photographs of a young King in his regalia taken in 1978. Many thanks to Reg Clark.

A Letter I Was Recently Very Honoured To Receive

19/11/2013

Dear Mr Booth - Your Majesty -

We have been intending to write to you for some time, and the nice lady in the 'King of Hay Bookshop' said she thought you would not mind. We would just like to express our thanks and great appreciation for all the great pleasure that you - by means of your wonderful bookshops - have given us over the years.

We first 'discovered' your bookshops in Hay some thirty years ago. Since then we have taken many trips over to Hay, where we have spent a great many happy hours in your bookshops. It was like beach-combing, hunting, seeking, hoping to find treasure. We loved poking around' in the dim and dusty basement or the creaky-floored upper story of the big shop, or in the corners of the specialist science fiction shop that used to be on the slope near the entrance to the castle, where we would chat to the nice lady who was then always there; and sure enough, we always did find 'treasure'!

To our great pleasure we found books we had been seeking for years, such as an old much-loved 1930's fairy story book I had once had as a child and lost; we discovered old forgotten and unexpected 'finds' of out-of-print ancient books of eastern philosophies; books on art, and cookery, classic literature, biographies, 'blood&guts' crime stories; classic science fiction books from the genre's best writers of the 'golden era'; old ones, new ones, loved ones, forgotten ones - we always found something (frequently Jots of 'somethings' !) to suit our interests.

So, we now feel that it is only right and proper that two of your devoted subjects should

offer Your Majesty our humble and grateful praise, and many thanks for your bounty. We

are indeed truly appreciative, and our full bookcases are a continuing tribute to your endeavours!So,althouglth we do miss your presence and influence in the bookshops, we both hope that you are now enjoying a wonderful and well-earned retirement.

With best wishes for the future, we remain your grateful and loyal subjects,

Wales Needs the King of Hay ..... The King of Hay Does Not Need Wales

21/8/2013

The idea of a booktown is a simple one .... the two main inspirational dynamics of Civilization are a book and travel.

It is time they worked together in opposition to the National Socialist policies of the Mass Media who are spending millions through SkyArts at Hay Festival to ensure the Imperial succession of their CEO James Murdoch and to make him the richest man in the world.

As it is only in the last twenty years that one hundred Booktowns have been created worldwide to establish the enormous international power of the book, so only now is it time to argue why a corrupt election for Mayor in 2000 put lies in the mouth of Bill Clinton in 2001, and a total holocaust of democracy in the Welsh Assembly revealed an ignorant, damaging, and obviously false theory of Booktowns.

The advantages of the true theory are enormous.....

"The Future of the Book," depends on its exploiting its privileged access to the international world under the mantra .... "The New Book promoted by its Author is a National Economy, the Secondhand Book promoted by its Subject is an International Economy. The New Book is for the Ego, the Secondhand Book is for the Intellect." Under The Celtic Booksellers Association this will lead to a Renaissance of the book and a Reformation of the Tourist Industry.

Re-use being ecologically more efficient than re-cycling, the world's largest economy of poverty becomes the world's largest green economy, and we do not have to go to the Third World with our discredited industrial economy, but with our most precious possession.

The anti-nuclear lobby can join the green lobby through fifty years experience of bookselling.

When, therefore, I go to Trevstrand in 2013 I will go as a countryman who knows the rural economy must be closely linked to the rural ecology and knowing that European Booktowns are a tiny part of the whole.....

The National Anthem of Hay 2013

2/2/2013

As booktowns create one million jobs
Hay festival is just for yobs
Men of Hay unite
and Murdoch smite.
Women of Hay
Go on the Pill
The Cavalry are coming
Over the Hill

Men of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany and Wales
Tell us your booktown tales,
All of us are true rural Celts,
Wear some braces as well as belts.
Women of Hay ...
Go on the Pill
The Cavalry are coming
Over the Hill

The Welsh Assemby and it's creation
Betrayed our much beloved nation
Our life is absolutely rural
Their sins are absolutely plural
i think we've reached the very dregs
With the Welsh Assembly Plebs
Woman of Hay.
Go on the Pill.
The Cavalry are coming
Over the Hill.

Once again let us praise the Lord
For the stupidity of the Wales Tourist Board
They seek only to bretray us
The International world can save us
Women of Hay,
Go on the Pill.
The Cavalry are coming
Over the Hill.

A Pardon from the The King of Hay
will pardon 3 presidents of the USA.
The gasbag as had his day
More importatn than the Dutch
Are Caio Evans and Lord Sutch.
CHORUS: Women of Hay ...

by Merrry Jerry, a Hay-on-Wye Citizen of over 50 years.