Stand Up for Timbuktu

I've just come back from the Globe Gallery, where there's an all day event going on to celebrate the links between Hay-on-Wye and Timbuktu.
In the morning, there was a workshop put on by the Hay Theatre Group, leading up to an actual performance in the afternoon, and during the day there are stalls in the main hall. There's a strong Fairtrade presence there, with Tools For Self Reliance, Anacuna who sell plant dyed wool and woven rugs from Chile, Hay2Timbuktu with the Tuareg silverwork and leather boxes, Zimele with their crafts, and Love Zimbabwe, all of whom have been at the Hay Fairtrade Christmas Fair at one time or another.
The weather has been blustery and wet, so few people were making their way up to that end of town, which was a pity, because there's a lot of good quality stuff there. However, there will be another opportunity to buy from some of them at the Fairtrade Christmas Fair this December.
I met Martha from Love Zimbabwe. She's just back from a visit to the Czech Republic, where she's been talking about Fairtrade (and visiting a swimming pool and sauna - to find that Czech people take everything off when they go swimming!). Next Tuesday she will be at the House of Lords, to talk there about her Fairtrade work.

Later this evening there will be comedians in the Lower Gallery, followed by music from Sheelanagig and finally DJ Aubrey Fry.