Monday, September 21, 2009

hay-on-wye

books castle

That is my ideal place for retirement. If I have loads of money, I really like to buy a house in Hay. It's a small town with no train connection, but its remoteness also sets a good vibe for this town of books, isolated, far from the madding crowd, with only second-hand, mouldy and dusty books. Old books always give a strange kind of charm, travelled far in terms of time and space, they always have their own story to be told, besides the stories written within. I like to think about the identity of the original owner, where the book came from, the number of different owner in-between... did it come from a personal library of a book collector, or was it just part of the domestic decoration of a pretentious snob? It is like a mysterious thread connecting different people, or even different centuries. Like those lending records attached to the books of public libraries, I always feel intrigued by the previous readers. I've bought a small book of poetry of lord bryon. All pages were yellowed and the cover was creepily stained by human touch. This book must have been loved by its previous owner(s). I can almost feel the fanatical savour of this person to the book. Another book I've bought, charles lamb's essays of elia, it looks brand new though it was published in the early 20th Century. It must be placed on the shelf for a long time as "decoration" only. I hope I will give the books the respect they deserve by reading them sometimes, though I am afraid (and pretty sure) that the books in my house generally are also becoming part of the fixtures and fittings only, I read too slow. Sorry, books.

7 comments:

galaxy said...

除非後生就退休, 否則老人家住得太remote, 有乜頭暈身熱, 死左都無人知喎。

kittyshambles said...

就算住在閙市,一樣可以死左都無人知,時常有類似新聞。

Vv said...

Wow! I haven't been Hay before, is it a good place to retire? Tmk has already been planning for her early retirement in her motherland, very envy!! We have to work till very old!!! How much does a small house cost? Hope I'll be able to visit u !!!!

Anonymous said...

I still have to work for long long time before i can retire...poor mate!

kittyshambles said...

Vv, don't tease me, i said IF AND ONLY IF so it's my dream only, i haven't got any investment / insurance plan as you, so probably it's you who can retire early and travel around the world, very envy...

poor mate, you have iron bowl and pension, you can't complain.

Anonymous said...

The investment plan can also make me work longer time than someone who didn't invest!!! Vv

kittyshambles said...

but then you will have a secured life, little rich girl!