Latest news with #HayFestival
Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
'Read and Recharge' in Scotland's top Bookcation destination
Travellers are swapping bucket lists for book stacks as reading retreats become the wellness break of 2025. 'Bookcations' are booming across the UK and Europe as burnt out professionals seek digital detox and mental restoration through escapes designed for rest, reading, and cosy literary immersion. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Dimitris Floros, CCO at Welcome Pickups says: 'Bookcations blend the nostalgia of old‑school reading with modern desires for digital detox, wellness, and slow travel. Rather than ticking off tourist hotspots, more people are seeking a different form of R&R - they want to Read & Recharge, and there's no better way to do that than by getting lost in a good book for some meaningful downtime.' Whether you're looking for a solo bookcation or a reading retreat with the whole book club, Dimitris reveals some less obvious bookish destinations that are perfect for literary lovers. Shetland, Scotland Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lerwick at sunset The rugged island of Shetland is a quietly powerful bookish destination thanks to its unique blend of landscape, literary output, and cultural depth. With its windswept coasts, moorlands, and isolation, Shetland offers the perfect backdrop for a bookcation. The island's pace of life encourages slow, immersive reading. Whether in a croft house, by a peat fire, or on a quiet cliffside walk. Shetland has inspired a growing body of both fiction and non-fiction. From crime novels (like Ann Cleeves' Shetland series) to poetic meditations on land and sea, its literary scene is grounded in a deep sense of place. In short, Shetland is ideal for readers seeking solitude, scenery, and stories. Hay-on-Wye, Wales Reading on the beach Arguably the ultimate bookcation destination in the UK, Hay-on-Wye is full of year-round bookish charm. World famous for having over 20 bookshops in a town of just 1,500 people, the small town is also the world's first official 'Book Town'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bookish highlights include 'honesty bookshops' set among castle ruins, where visitors can browse and pay via donation, and also the internationally acclaimed Hay Festival, which draws thousands of readers and authors every year for talks, readings, and workshops. Nestled near the River Wye and Brecon Beacons, Hay offers reading enthusiasts quaint café nooks, market-town charm, and a deep literary spirit welcoming any book lover. Margate, Kent With sandy beaches, big skies, and restorative sea air, Margate invites slow travel and quiet reading, perfect for bookcations. The Kentish coastal town has a vibrant arts and indie culture, with vintage bookshops, literary cafés, and creative hubs that foster the reading (and writing) life. Margate and its neighbouring towns have inspired generations of writers, and the area's Georgian and Victorian resorts, chalk cliffs, and smugglers' bays have featured in the works of writers like T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickens. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There are a number of self-guided walks that will introduce visitors to the bookish highlights of this quintessential seaside town, including one of the unlikeliest Grade II listed buildings in the country: Nayland Rock promenade shelter. It is here where Eliot is said to have written the poem The Waste Land. Dimitris adds: 'The increasing demand for relaxed and uncurated holidays reflects a broader shift towards travel that nourishes the mind and soul rather than just seeing new sights. Bookcations and loosely planned reading retreats fulfill this demand beautifully.
Powys County Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Young Welsh chef to compete at EuroSkills 2025 in Denmark
A young Welsh chef is set to represent the UK on the international stage. Gabi Wilson, a 20-year-old chef from Hay-on-Wye and a member of Team UK, will compete at EuroSkills Herning 2025 in Denmark following her success in national skills competitions. She said: "The apprenticeship helped me a lot because working in a professional kitchen is much different to being a college student. "My advice to anyone wishing to become a chef is to opt for an apprenticeship at a place where there are skilled professionals because you will always learn from the best. "It's a recipe for success. "Graduating was a proud moment for me because my mum and dad attended the ceremony and Cambrian Training staff were praising me." Ms Wilson recently completed her Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery through Cambrian Training Company and was the first winner of the Green Chef Challenge at the 2024 Welsh International Culinary Championships. She began working at Chapters in February and praised the support of head chef Mark McHugo and his team. Ms Wilson said: "It's going really well and I am learning a lot. "We have just finished Hay Festival which was super-busy for 10 days. "I want to learn a wide range of skills before possibly specialising in patisserie. "In the future, I would also like to do stages at different restaurants to learn from other chefs." To prepare for EuroSkills Herning 2025, she will receive support from Andrew Addis-Fuller and Craig Holly, Cambrian Training Company training officers, in fish preparation and butchery. She is also completing a City and Guilds Level 3 Patisserie qualification at NPTC Group of Colleges in Newtown. Ms Wilson, who lives in Rhayader, previously worked at Chartists 1770 at The Trewythen in Llanidloes before moving to Chapters after the former restaurant closed last year. More than 100 apprentices from across Wales attended the Cambrian Training Company graduation ceremony at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd.
BBC News
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
What's Up Docs? Doctors' Notes: Smiling Special at Hay Festival
In this 'uncut' special episode, recorded before an audience at the Hay Festival in Wales, Chris and Xand discuss the anatomy of the smile, explore its evolutionary origins and examine some of the health claims about the power of the smile. Can a smile really give your brain the same reward as two thousand bars of chocolate? Will putting a pencil in your mouth make you feel happy? And how do you fake the perfect smile when realising you've failed to win a BAFTA for the eighth time?! Expect some science and some silliness and a dog that looks like a loaf of bread. Featuring Professor Ben Garrod from the University of East Anglia, Dr Magdalegna Rychlowska from Queen's University, Belfast, Sinead Rushe from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and jack the African street dog. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@ or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123. Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Professor Ben Garrod, Dr Magdalegna Rychlowska, Sinead Rushe Producer: Rami Tzabar Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree Editor: Kirsten Lass Assistant Producers: Maia Miller-Lewis and Grace Revil Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Social Media: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
The Guardian
19-06-2025
- The Guardian
Letter: Duncan Campbell obituary
In 2010, Duncan Campbell wrote the obituary of my brother Martin Beales, a lawyer and crime writer. He took great care to capture Martin's detailed work on the case of Herbert Rowse Armstrong, executed as a murderer in the 1920s, in his book Dead Not Buried. When it was being debated at the Hay literary festival in 1995, Armstrong's daughter Margaret was able to assert that her father was vindicated, and that he was a victim of injustice and a 'hanging judge'. Duncan understood the importance of truth and justice to Martin, and was a tremendous support to the family.
Newsweek
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Mary Trump Makes 'Fundamental Danger' Prediction About What Uncle Will Do
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Mary Trump issued a prediction about the "fundamental danger" about the way President Donald Trump is approaching the conflict between Iran and Israel. Newsweek has reached out to the White House and Mary Trump for comment via email. Why It Matters The Iran-Israel conflict has continued to escalate after Israel launched strikes at Iran last week with the goal of diminishing its nuclear capabilities. Trump has mulled options about how, or whether, the U.S. should be involved in the conflict, though polls suggest a majority of Americans oppose the U.S. becoming directly involved. The president has urged people to evacuate the Iranian capital, Tehran, and has demanded Iran's unconditional surrender. On Tuesday, he met with his national security team after leaving the G7 summit early this week. Iran, however, has warned of "irreparable damage" if the U.S. joins Israel. What To Know Mary Trump, the president's estranged niece, addressed the conflict in a Substack post published on Wednesday, predicting a "fundamental danger" in how he handles the situation. She questioned Trump contradicting testimony from Tulsi Gabbard, his director of national intelligence, who told Congress in March that there was no indication Iran was building nuclear weapons. The president on Tuesday said he believes Iran was "very close to having it." She wrote that Gabbard is "not scrambling to make it seem as if she and Donald are on the same page." Gabbard, a former Democrat known for her anti-interventionist ideology, has not made public comments about whether she would support U.S. involvement in the war, or addressed Trump's comments that appeared to contradict her earlier testimony. Mary Trump questioned how the two are on the same page "if intelligence says one thing and Donald says the opposite thing." Mary Trump at the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, on May 26, 2025. Mary Trump at the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, on May 26, 2025."I find it deeply troubling that we even have to take such things into consideration, but one fundamental danger we face in this situation, is that the more we have to worry about this, pushback Donald gets, the more likely he is to double down on his threats," she wrote. "As often is the case, he may escalate his threats to wage war to make himself feel better and to make sure that everybody else looks wrong, even if they're not." The president has stood by Israel, but has not commented on if he plans for the U.S. to join the conflict. He has said Iran should have accepted a previous deal and reiterated that he believes the nation cannot have a nuclear weapon. Many conservatives who are usually closely aligned with the president have urged him to not bring the U.S. into the war, and some members of Congress have sought to reassert their authority to declare war. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson are among those who have said the U.S. should not become directly involved in the war as the party remains split on some foreign policy issues. What People Are Saying The White House wrote in a statement on Tuesday: "President Donald J. Trump has never wavered in his stance that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon—a pledge he has made repeatedly, both in office and on the campaign trail." Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to the president: "We warn America of the consequences of engaging in war, because it will suffer severe damage if it decides to do so. War is met with war, bombing with bombing, and strike with strike." Political activist Charlie Kirk said: "There's a major schism in the MAGA online community. Our people do not want war. They want their president focused on fixing this country—not fighting someone else's." What Happens Next It remains to be seen whether U.S. forces will join Israel in the conflict in the coming days or weeks.
