Saturday 26 November 2022

The mountaineer and adventurer is a veteran of a score of epic ascents, including Everest, but specialises in free-climbing the most technical peaks and biggest walls in the world.

What drives him? How does he assess risk and how does he balance this with teaching his own children the lessons he has learnt in some of the world’s most dangerous and extreme places? Honest, raw and exhilarating, this is a ‘warts-and-all’ insight into Houlding’s extreme life and the losses he has faced.

In conversation with adventurer Tori James, the first Welsh woman to climb Everest.

This illustrated talk by the Professor of Fine Art at the University of the Arts in London explores the role of printmaking through the work of Dürer, Rembrandt and Morandi, as well as contemporary artists Paula Rego, Patrick Caulfield and Willie Cole. Why do artists make prints and what differentiates an original print from a reproduction? The speaker’s practice

includes printmaking, sculpture, book works and installation, and his work features in the current Hay Castle exhibition, The Printed Line.

The Nigerian-British poet reads from his new collection, Manorism, charting the vulnerabilities and rich nuances of Black masculinity, and exploring family, survival, generational trauma and the complexities of belonging. It takes aim at the legacies of the British Empire – racism, classism and toxic masculinity. Woven with references to white cultural figures from Shakespeare to Caravaggio, this thrillingly original work asks what it means to live as a Black man in Britain today. The poet is a recipient of the 2019 Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship and was shortlisted for The Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021.

‘Thrilling... once-in-a-generation’ – Jackie Kay

A celebration of our great community at the changing of the season. Hay Community Choir will be joined by Hay Shantymen for a one-off evening guaranteed to get you in the festive mood. With shanties, world songs, excerpts from Handel's Messiah and some surprises to get your feet tapping, this is not your average carol concert.

Enjoy the current Hay Castle exhibition with informed commentary from one of the artists featured.

Ever wondered how Mike’s great-aunt Zusa made it from Poland to Luton with a war nipping at her heels? Here’s your chance to find out.

As seen on Taskmaster and Man Down (both Channel 4) and Would I Lie To You? (BBC One) and heard on Small Scenes (BBC Radio 4), the podcasts St Elwick’s Neighbourhood Association Newsletter and the Three Bean Salad podcast.