Local author Bridget Ashton officially launched her brand new book with friends and family at an event in Hay Library on Friday, November 21.

In her latest book, My Mother and the Curate, Bridget explores two diaries of life in Hay-on-Wye - one from 1953 by her mother, Mrs Eileen Ashton, and one from 1870 by Revd Francis Kilvert.

A large turnout attended the launch, including members of the Kilvert Society, along with Bridget’s friends and family. The event, held in partnership with the Brecon and Radnor Express, began with Bridget introducing the guests, the book, and explaining how she came to write it. Readings from the book followed, with Bridget taking the role of her mother, Eileen; her younger brother, Stephen, portraying Kilvert; and Bridget’s daughter, Laura, acting as narrator.

The launch was officially celebrated with a popping of champagne, before Bridget held a book signing, as many attendees eagerly took the opportunity to purchase a copy with the author’s signature.

A contingent of visitors then made their way to Kilverts Inn in Hay-on-Wye to continue the celebrations.

The book alternates chapter by chapter between the daily lives of the diarists in 1953 and 1870, revealing intimate personal details as well as stories of both the rich and the poor around them. It features more than 70 historic photographs and illustrations, many of which are being published for the very first time.

The reader is offered a vivid glimpse into the unedited struggles of a hard-up mother of six in post-war Hay, who faithfully recorded her life each night in her Boots Scribbling Diary, contrasted with selections from the Revd Francis Kilvert’s well-known diaries, documenting ten months of his life in 1870.

They reveal their private emotions as they wrote about visits to both rich and poor, daily meals, their sometimes-ambivalent feelings toward children and young women, his Anglican faith and her devotion to the small Roman Catholic church in Hay-on-Wye, and their walks through the surrounding countryside.

The book ends dramatically with the unforeseen sorrows of both diarists.

The author’s mother, Mrs Eileen Ashton, and Revd Francis Kilvert both lived in and near the Welsh border town of Hay-on-Wye, but 80 years apart.

My Mother and the Curate is the latest of Bridget’s books, having already written Hay Before the Bookshops or the Beeman’s Family, Hit the Road, Gals and Cold War, Warm Hearts. Originally from Hay, she is now living in Northumberland with her husband Bill.

My Mother and the Curate is available to buy now from your local bookshop, or can be bought for £20, plus £4 postage.

Brecon and Radnor Express readers who could not attend the launch can purchase My Mother and the Curate for a special price of £18, including free postage. To order, simply email [email protected] and mention that you are a Brecon & Radnor Express reader.

A two-copy offer for Brecon and Radnor Express readers is also available for £34, with free postage, using the same email address.