Bronllys Well Being Park is a Community Land Trust, a not-for-profit organisation which is developing the area around Bronllys Hospital for the benefit of the local community. There's an article in WyeLocal with an advert, all about it.
On Wednesday 9th October, between noon and 3pm, they will be at Hay Library with a presentation, to find out what local people in Hay have to say. They will be asking about the factors that keep people well in the home, local community (Hay, Talgarth and Bronllys) and the region (South Powys), or outside the area. This will help them to develop proposals for the future of the Bronllys site in partnership with the Health Board, County Council and Community. They're thinking about sustainable housing so that people can live close to where there are local job vacancies as well as leisure opportunities and amenities around the existing hospital buildings.
On Thursday 10th October, from noon to 3pm, they'll be at Royston Hall in Bronllys, and from 4pm to 8pm they'll be at Bronllys Hospital Concert Hall.
On Friday 11th October, from 4pm to 8pm, they'll be at Talgarth Town Hall.
Monday 30 September 2019
Sunday 29 September 2019
Planning for Rebellion Part Two
There was a bit of discussion about how to hold a non-violent protest. One of the things that was seen to be important was music - if people are singing and music is playing it's harder to be violent. There are songs and choruses on the XR website, and people with white sashes will be forming an impromptu choir. I mentioned the Quakers protesting at the recent Arms Fair in London, who sat down and held a prayer meeting outside the venue.
Someone asked if this was the right time to hold climate protests, considering the present political climate in the UK. The considered answer was that all the problems over Brexit seemed like a petty squabble compared with the importance of saving the planet. Whatever people's politics are, we all need a habitable planet to live on. In one way, this is a perfect time to protest about climate change, both because of the short time we have to make a difference according to the IPCC report and the volatile nature of British politics at the moment - there may be a General Election soon, and the situation seems to be changing all the time. It was seen as a positive sign that Jane Dodds, the new MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, came to the Brecon protest last week, and was talking about holding a Citizen's Assembly to talk about what can be done in the local area to mitigate climate change.
There was a slide presentation then, from the Extinction Rebellion website, showing what the plan is for the coming protests. They also had a kit list to hand out, with essential items to take along for the people going to London. It was pointed out that most protesters don't make their plans public before they do the protest.
The focus is on government departments this time, with the Hay contingent planning to be part of the much larger XR Wales group, which will be gathering around the Home Office, along with XR Bristol (apparently they've got 500 people coming), XR Rainbow and XR Farmers, who have a pink tractor! I think they said that the communal kitchens would be in that area too.
Each group has a different theme - around the Home Office it's "We are all Crew" - in other words everyone is there to help out. There's going to be a Faith group on Lambeth Bridge, which will also be for Global Food Justice, Re-Wilding groups, a Peace group, and others. Other organisations, like Friends of the Earth, will also be involved. There will also be Non-Violence training sessions going on throughout the protest, and there are also local training days in the days leading up to the protest, at The Koffie Pot in Hereford, the Muse in Brecon, Ross-on-Wye and Bishop's Castle.
On the middle weekend of the protest there will be a time of Grief and Community, coming together to remember people who have died because of climate change and pausing to reflect about what they're doing. The idea is that this will give the protesters fresh impetus for the second week, which will be focussed on Global Justice. The Queen's Speech, to start the next session of Parliament, will be on the 14th October, in the middle of the protests.
The meeting then broke up into groups for actual planning of when people were going to London and what they were going to be doing. As I won't be going, that wasn't something I could participate in.
However, the chap who wanted to walk to London has set off, despite the appalling weather!
Someone asked if this was the right time to hold climate protests, considering the present political climate in the UK. The considered answer was that all the problems over Brexit seemed like a petty squabble compared with the importance of saving the planet. Whatever people's politics are, we all need a habitable planet to live on. In one way, this is a perfect time to protest about climate change, both because of the short time we have to make a difference according to the IPCC report and the volatile nature of British politics at the moment - there may be a General Election soon, and the situation seems to be changing all the time. It was seen as a positive sign that Jane Dodds, the new MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, came to the Brecon protest last week, and was talking about holding a Citizen's Assembly to talk about what can be done in the local area to mitigate climate change.
There was a slide presentation then, from the Extinction Rebellion website, showing what the plan is for the coming protests. They also had a kit list to hand out, with essential items to take along for the people going to London. It was pointed out that most protesters don't make their plans public before they do the protest.
The focus is on government departments this time, with the Hay contingent planning to be part of the much larger XR Wales group, which will be gathering around the Home Office, along with XR Bristol (apparently they've got 500 people coming), XR Rainbow and XR Farmers, who have a pink tractor! I think they said that the communal kitchens would be in that area too.
Each group has a different theme - around the Home Office it's "We are all Crew" - in other words everyone is there to help out. There's going to be a Faith group on Lambeth Bridge, which will also be for Global Food Justice, Re-Wilding groups, a Peace group, and others. Other organisations, like Friends of the Earth, will also be involved. There will also be Non-Violence training sessions going on throughout the protest, and there are also local training days in the days leading up to the protest, at The Koffie Pot in Hereford, the Muse in Brecon, Ross-on-Wye and Bishop's Castle.
On the middle weekend of the protest there will be a time of Grief and Community, coming together to remember people who have died because of climate change and pausing to reflect about what they're doing. The idea is that this will give the protesters fresh impetus for the second week, which will be focussed on Global Justice. The Queen's Speech, to start the next session of Parliament, will be on the 14th October, in the middle of the protests.
The meeting then broke up into groups for actual planning of when people were going to London and what they were going to be doing. As I won't be going, that wasn't something I could participate in.
However, the chap who wanted to walk to London has set off, despite the appalling weather!
Saturday 28 September 2019
Planning for Rebellion Part One
As I headed down to Cusop Hall last night I saw a heron fishing in the Dulas Brook, just below the bridge.
It seemed appropriate - that's the sort of thing that Extinction Rebellion are trying to save. I'd been looking at videos of huge protest marches around the world on my Twitter feed earlier in the day.
I was greeted with tea and fruit cake - and the lone man in the room asking plaintively: "Is it only women who want to save the world?"
A couple more men did turn up later, but the meeting was mostly female.
After a fairly general session last week, this meeting was more focussed on the up-coming climate action on October 7th and the weeks following that.
The chairs were arranged in a circle, and the meeting started with everyone introducing themselves and saying a few words about why they were there. The structure of the meetings is important to Extinction Rebellion as part of what they call Regenerative Culture. It's also why the organisation is as non-hierarchical as they can manage to make it. We were also introduced to the idea of hand signals to make communications easier - from a simple raising a finger if we want to speak next to "jazz hands" when we agree with something another person has said.
About half of the group said they wanted to go to the protest in London at least for one day. One lady commented: "I'm taking rubber gloves in case I do some washing up."
There was some talk about Affinity Groups - where a group of people who know each other stick together, and have different roles to play within the group. One lady said she'd gone down to Abergavenny last week for the protest there, because it was the only one locally she could get to, and it was more difficult for her because she didn't know anyone there. So when the group blocked a road, she had no idea how long the action was going to last, or what the group had planned beforehand.
A part of the meeting I found very useful was the (no longer lone) man in the group going through the printed handout about the aims and objectives of Extinction Rebellion.
He started by saying: "The world is burning." Since the big climate summit of 1992 50% more CO2 has been added to the world's atmosphere - after a meeting where everyone knew that CO2 had to be reduced. So something drastic has to happen, and the action that Extinction Rebellion has decided to take is Non-Violent Direct Action. One early example of this method working to change government policy is the Salt March in India led by Ghandi, where they were protesting about taxation of salt.
Protest marches are all very well - one of the ladies at the meeting had been on the march against the Iraq war, but of course, the UK still went to war against Iraq. So members of Extinction Rebellion are committed to disrupting normal daily life, like blocking the bridges in London at Easter and occupying Oxford Circus, and sacrifice - being prepared to be arrested for what they believe in.
We're in the middle of the sixth Mass Extinction of species on this planet, and summit meetings aren't enough - we need our governments to mobilise against this threat to life on earth in the same way that they did during World War Two. Trying to change the world by consumer choices just isn't enough - and has been tried over the last forty years, to very little effect. It's no use saying things are happening behind the scenes, either - let's see it happening in public.
So Extinction Rebellion wants governments, and corporations like the fossil fuel giants who have been lying about the problem for forty years, to Tell the Truth about the scale of the problem, and what they intend to do about it.
They also want to go Beyond Politics, and have a People's Assembly. This was done successfully in the Republic of Ireland over the issue of abortion, and was followed by a referendum in which the ban on abortion was overturned.
We're heading for a 2 degree rise in global temperature, which will have serious consequences - and is already having serious consequences for the world's weather. If we want to keep the Earth to a limit of a 2 degree rise, the UN will have to triple the efforts it is currently making. If we want to keep to a limit of 1.5 degrees, we will need to make five times the effort we're currently making. This is not something individuals can do on their own.
Extinction Rebellion have estimated that, for real change to happen, 3.5% of the world's population needs to be engaged in actively wanting it. Someone asked what that meant for Hay, and a quick calculation revealed that something like 70 people were needed - "We've got that many on our Facebook page!"
It seemed appropriate - that's the sort of thing that Extinction Rebellion are trying to save. I'd been looking at videos of huge protest marches around the world on my Twitter feed earlier in the day.
I was greeted with tea and fruit cake - and the lone man in the room asking plaintively: "Is it only women who want to save the world?"
A couple more men did turn up later, but the meeting was mostly female.
After a fairly general session last week, this meeting was more focussed on the up-coming climate action on October 7th and the weeks following that.
The chairs were arranged in a circle, and the meeting started with everyone introducing themselves and saying a few words about why they were there. The structure of the meetings is important to Extinction Rebellion as part of what they call Regenerative Culture. It's also why the organisation is as non-hierarchical as they can manage to make it. We were also introduced to the idea of hand signals to make communications easier - from a simple raising a finger if we want to speak next to "jazz hands" when we agree with something another person has said.
About half of the group said they wanted to go to the protest in London at least for one day. One lady commented: "I'm taking rubber gloves in case I do some washing up."
There was some talk about Affinity Groups - where a group of people who know each other stick together, and have different roles to play within the group. One lady said she'd gone down to Abergavenny last week for the protest there, because it was the only one locally she could get to, and it was more difficult for her because she didn't know anyone there. So when the group blocked a road, she had no idea how long the action was going to last, or what the group had planned beforehand.
A part of the meeting I found very useful was the (no longer lone) man in the group going through the printed handout about the aims and objectives of Extinction Rebellion.
He started by saying: "The world is burning." Since the big climate summit of 1992 50% more CO2 has been added to the world's atmosphere - after a meeting where everyone knew that CO2 had to be reduced. So something drastic has to happen, and the action that Extinction Rebellion has decided to take is Non-Violent Direct Action. One early example of this method working to change government policy is the Salt March in India led by Ghandi, where they were protesting about taxation of salt.
Protest marches are all very well - one of the ladies at the meeting had been on the march against the Iraq war, but of course, the UK still went to war against Iraq. So members of Extinction Rebellion are committed to disrupting normal daily life, like blocking the bridges in London at Easter and occupying Oxford Circus, and sacrifice - being prepared to be arrested for what they believe in.
We're in the middle of the sixth Mass Extinction of species on this planet, and summit meetings aren't enough - we need our governments to mobilise against this threat to life on earth in the same way that they did during World War Two. Trying to change the world by consumer choices just isn't enough - and has been tried over the last forty years, to very little effect. It's no use saying things are happening behind the scenes, either - let's see it happening in public.
So Extinction Rebellion wants governments, and corporations like the fossil fuel giants who have been lying about the problem for forty years, to Tell the Truth about the scale of the problem, and what they intend to do about it.
They also want to go Beyond Politics, and have a People's Assembly. This was done successfully in the Republic of Ireland over the issue of abortion, and was followed by a referendum in which the ban on abortion was overturned.
We're heading for a 2 degree rise in global temperature, which will have serious consequences - and is already having serious consequences for the world's weather. If we want to keep the Earth to a limit of a 2 degree rise, the UN will have to triple the efforts it is currently making. If we want to keep to a limit of 1.5 degrees, we will need to make five times the effort we're currently making. This is not something individuals can do on their own.
Extinction Rebellion have estimated that, for real change to happen, 3.5% of the world's population needs to be engaged in actively wanting it. Someone asked what that meant for Hay, and a quick calculation revealed that something like 70 people were needed - "We've got that many on our Facebook page!"
Friday 27 September 2019
Castle Gateway
When I wandered past the Castle gateway this morning, I saw that the two trees that were being trimmed last week have now been cut down, and also that the old staircase leading down from the gateway has been removed. This will be the first step to creating a new entranceway going through the medieval gateway and down into the town square.
Saturday 21 September 2019
Extinction Rebellion Meeting
About fifteen people turned up to the first XR Hay meeting last night at the Parish Hall. They weren't just from Hay - there were people there from Llowes, Llanigon, Glasbury and Cusop. A couple of chaps from the Golden Valley group had come along to explain how their meetings work and to give advice. The Golden Valley group is part of a regional network with groups in Hereford (meeting at the Koffie Pot), with groups up into Shropshire and across towards Birmingham. Hay, as ever, is on the edge of that, or could choose to be on the edge of a Welsh network with the nearest group in Brecon and heading down to Bristol.
Most of the people in the room had been to the climate strike marches in either Hereford or Brecon, and were very impressed at the numbers of people who had turned out to take part - about 600 in Hereford and almost as many in Brecon. Jane Dodds, the new MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, had been at the Brecon march, and was talking about setting up a Citizens' Assembly to work out local responses to climate change. Meanwhile, the Powys Education Authority had issued an official letter to say that any children who came out of school for the climate strike would be marked down as having an unauthorised absence. Despite this, one chap had taken his two children out of Hay school for the day, and had no regrets about taking them to the march.
One lady had even taken part in the "die-in" at Primark, though she'd been very nervous about it. Some of the people there had also been to the big Extinction Rebellion rally in London at Easter, and had been most impressed by the way it was conducted.
It struck me that a lot of the people there were not the sort of people who normally went on protest marches. In fact, some said that this was the first time they had ever done anything like this, and two ladies mentioned that they were now grandmothers, and they were worried about the sort of world their grandchildren were going to grow up in.
The chap from the Golden Valley explained that Extinction Rebellion is not a hierarchical movement. There is a central Hub that co-ordinates things, but they have no authority over the local groups, which organise themselves. This can be a good thing, but it can also cause problems, such as when the Heathrow group decided they wanted to fly drones at the Airport. Despite a lot of argument, they decided to go ahead, and several were arrested, and no-one at the Hub had the authority to tell them not to do it.
However, one of the most important things about Extinction Rebellion is that it is committed to Non-Violent Direct Action. So, it's not just protest marches - there have been other groups over the years which have marched, and got nowhere with the powers that be. It's direct action, like blocking roads, or people gluing themselves to doors, and being prepared to be arrested.
It was emphasised that only a minority were prepared to get arrested, and there was plenty of scope for people to take part at whatever comfort level they had. Support roles are also important, such as cooking for big events, or being a "well-being co-ordinator" to make sure members of the group are looking after themselves and taking adequate breaks. At the Easter action, they found that there was a shortage of people who were prepared to hang around outside police stations to wait for the people who had been arrested to be released - and since 1,100 people were arrested, and processed in police stations across London, this was quite an important job that they would be trying to do better next time.
People who say they are willing to be arrested if necessary are encouraged to go to the training days that are being offered in Hereford and Malvern, so they know what to do and how to resist non-violently. There are also training days for Legal Observers, who are there to make sure that people are arrested properly and that everything is done in accordance with the law.
The Hay group has been set up just in time for the run up to the big action in London which starts on 7th October. They are hoping that it will last for about two weeks, like the Easter action, and people can commit to going down for the whole thing, or just a day, or anything in between - or they can support the action from home, by making banners beforehand, or being on the end of a phone. One lady said she would be willing to bake cakes for the people who were going.
The chap with kids at Hay School asked if it would be safe to take them. The action will be taking place on several different sites around London, run by different regional groups, and there will be communication between them so that people know if any trouble is likely. Having said that, there will be child-friendly activities going on. It was emphasised that, if anyone felt uncomfortable they could leave, and return later. If, for instance, a policeman told them to step off the road, it was up to them whether they refused, with the risk of arrest, or complied, and rejoined the protest at another spot.
One chap wants to walk from Hereford to London - so he'll have to start soon! He was advised to build in rest days, particularly as he got close to London, as some people had walked across the country at Easter, and arrived in London too tired out to do anything!
For those who don't want to walk, there are places available on an electric bus which will be leaving from Hereford.
XR Hay are having several meetings between now and the big action, including one on Sunday 29th September from 10am to 1pm to do block printing for banners. They're asking people who come along to bring some food to share for a vegetarian lunch.
The next XR Hay meeting will be on Friday 27th September, at Cusop Hall at 7pm.
Hereford XR group are planning a street theatre event on Saturday 28th September, in the middle of Hereford.
After the big action, there are lots of positive things that local groups can do. There's a re-wilding project on land at Lord Hereford's Knob, for instance, and the group wants to collaborate with the Re-Wilding group in Hay, and the Low Carbon group that the Town Council have set up. There are also local campaigns about chicken sheds (and intensive farming generally) and Hereford by-pass that are relevant to climate change.
Most of the people in the room had been to the climate strike marches in either Hereford or Brecon, and were very impressed at the numbers of people who had turned out to take part - about 600 in Hereford and almost as many in Brecon. Jane Dodds, the new MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, had been at the Brecon march, and was talking about setting up a Citizens' Assembly to work out local responses to climate change. Meanwhile, the Powys Education Authority had issued an official letter to say that any children who came out of school for the climate strike would be marked down as having an unauthorised absence. Despite this, one chap had taken his two children out of Hay school for the day, and had no regrets about taking them to the march.
One lady had even taken part in the "die-in" at Primark, though she'd been very nervous about it. Some of the people there had also been to the big Extinction Rebellion rally in London at Easter, and had been most impressed by the way it was conducted.
It struck me that a lot of the people there were not the sort of people who normally went on protest marches. In fact, some said that this was the first time they had ever done anything like this, and two ladies mentioned that they were now grandmothers, and they were worried about the sort of world their grandchildren were going to grow up in.
The chap from the Golden Valley explained that Extinction Rebellion is not a hierarchical movement. There is a central Hub that co-ordinates things, but they have no authority over the local groups, which organise themselves. This can be a good thing, but it can also cause problems, such as when the Heathrow group decided they wanted to fly drones at the Airport. Despite a lot of argument, they decided to go ahead, and several were arrested, and no-one at the Hub had the authority to tell them not to do it.
However, one of the most important things about Extinction Rebellion is that it is committed to Non-Violent Direct Action. So, it's not just protest marches - there have been other groups over the years which have marched, and got nowhere with the powers that be. It's direct action, like blocking roads, or people gluing themselves to doors, and being prepared to be arrested.
It was emphasised that only a minority were prepared to get arrested, and there was plenty of scope for people to take part at whatever comfort level they had. Support roles are also important, such as cooking for big events, or being a "well-being co-ordinator" to make sure members of the group are looking after themselves and taking adequate breaks. At the Easter action, they found that there was a shortage of people who were prepared to hang around outside police stations to wait for the people who had been arrested to be released - and since 1,100 people were arrested, and processed in police stations across London, this was quite an important job that they would be trying to do better next time.
People who say they are willing to be arrested if necessary are encouraged to go to the training days that are being offered in Hereford and Malvern, so they know what to do and how to resist non-violently. There are also training days for Legal Observers, who are there to make sure that people are arrested properly and that everything is done in accordance with the law.
The Hay group has been set up just in time for the run up to the big action in London which starts on 7th October. They are hoping that it will last for about two weeks, like the Easter action, and people can commit to going down for the whole thing, or just a day, or anything in between - or they can support the action from home, by making banners beforehand, or being on the end of a phone. One lady said she would be willing to bake cakes for the people who were going.
The chap with kids at Hay School asked if it would be safe to take them. The action will be taking place on several different sites around London, run by different regional groups, and there will be communication between them so that people know if any trouble is likely. Having said that, there will be child-friendly activities going on. It was emphasised that, if anyone felt uncomfortable they could leave, and return later. If, for instance, a policeman told them to step off the road, it was up to them whether they refused, with the risk of arrest, or complied, and rejoined the protest at another spot.
One chap wants to walk from Hereford to London - so he'll have to start soon! He was advised to build in rest days, particularly as he got close to London, as some people had walked across the country at Easter, and arrived in London too tired out to do anything!
For those who don't want to walk, there are places available on an electric bus which will be leaving from Hereford.
XR Hay are having several meetings between now and the big action, including one on Sunday 29th September from 10am to 1pm to do block printing for banners. They're asking people who come along to bring some food to share for a vegetarian lunch.
The next XR Hay meeting will be on Friday 27th September, at Cusop Hall at 7pm.
Hereford XR group are planning a street theatre event on Saturday 28th September, in the middle of Hereford.
After the big action, there are lots of positive things that local groups can do. There's a re-wilding project on land at Lord Hereford's Knob, for instance, and the group wants to collaborate with the Re-Wilding group in Hay, and the Low Carbon group that the Town Council have set up. There are also local campaigns about chicken sheds (and intensive farming generally) and Hereford by-pass that are relevant to climate change.
Friday 20 September 2019
XR Hay - Extinction Rebellion
Hay now has its own Extinction Rebellion group, XR Hay, and there is a meeting tonight at the Parish Hall at 7pm. Today people are marching in Hereford and Brecon, and all over the world in a mass climate strike, to demand action on climate change. (I'm not marching today, but I did march last November, and earlier this year, in Hereford.)
The Writers' Society, meanwhile, is doing the opposite of a strike, and encouraging its members to speak out about climate change from whatever platform they can.
Today is the first step in a series of actions culminating in a big protest march on October 7th in London - but you don't have to go to London to take part. The group welcomes everyone, and everyone can do something to help.
Extinction Rebellion is committed to Non-Violent Direct Action, and Herefordshire XR have been holding training days so that people know what to do when they are confronted with violence while protesting peacefully.
There are Facebook pages for the groups at Extinction Rebellion Herefordshire and XR Hay. I'm sure there's one for Brecon, too - I just haven't found it yet.
MEETING TIMES AND DATES
FRIDAY 20th SEPTEMBER HAY PARISH HALL 7-9
FRIDAY 27th SEPTEMBER. CUSOP HALL. 7-9pm
SUNDAY 29th SEPTEMBER CUSOP HALL 10am-1pm. BLOCK PRINTING ON CLOTHES AND FABRICS, LUNCH.
Food is provided, but please bring some vegetarian food to share if you wish.
WEDNESDAY 2nd OCTOBER CUSOP HALL 7-9 pm
SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER CUSOP VILLAGE HALL TIMES 7-9pm.
There's a good book explaining what Extinction Rebellion is all about. It's called This is not a drill: the Extinction Rebellion Handbook, and it is available at Hay Library, The Old Electric Shop (which is where I got my copy) and Eighteen Rabbit. Eighteen Rabbit have also been selling the little book by Greta Thunberg, No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.
The Writers' Society, meanwhile, is doing the opposite of a strike, and encouraging its members to speak out about climate change from whatever platform they can.
Today is the first step in a series of actions culminating in a big protest march on October 7th in London - but you don't have to go to London to take part. The group welcomes everyone, and everyone can do something to help.
Extinction Rebellion is committed to Non-Violent Direct Action, and Herefordshire XR have been holding training days so that people know what to do when they are confronted with violence while protesting peacefully.
There are Facebook pages for the groups at Extinction Rebellion Herefordshire and XR Hay. I'm sure there's one for Brecon, too - I just haven't found it yet.
MEETING TIMES AND DATES
FRIDAY 20th SEPTEMBER HAY PARISH HALL 7-9
FRIDAY 27th SEPTEMBER. CUSOP HALL. 7-9pm
SUNDAY 29th SEPTEMBER CUSOP HALL 10am-1pm. BLOCK PRINTING ON CLOTHES AND FABRICS, LUNCH.
Food is provided, but please bring some vegetarian food to share if you wish.
WEDNESDAY 2nd OCTOBER CUSOP HALL 7-9 pm
SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER CUSOP VILLAGE HALL TIMES 7-9pm.
There's a good book explaining what Extinction Rebellion is all about. It's called This is not a drill: the Extinction Rebellion Handbook, and it is available at Hay Library, The Old Electric Shop (which is where I got my copy) and Eighteen Rabbit. Eighteen Rabbit have also been selling the little book by Greta Thunberg, No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.
Thursday 19 September 2019
Local Writing Talent
Congratulations to Kandace Siobhan Walker, who has just won the Guardian 4th Estate short story prize!
The prize money is £1,000, and the competition is for short stories by black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. It's the fourth year of the competition, which was created to encourage talented writers who have historically been marginalised by mainstream publishers.
Kandace works at Booths Bookshop (look out for the purple hair!) and grew up in Llanigon - she went to Gwernyfed High School and then Christ College Brecon, and went on from there to study English with creative writing at Goldsmiths in London, where she did her MA.
Her mother Marva Jackson Lord runs G-riots Arts locally, doing website design for musicians and other creative people, and occasionally staging music and poetry events in Hay.
Kandace's story is called Deep Heart, and can be read, along with the shortlisted entries, at www.4thestate.co.uk/prize-2/ It's a magical, beautiful and disturbing story.
She is currently working on a novel. I'm already looking forward to reading it.
The prize money is £1,000, and the competition is for short stories by black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. It's the fourth year of the competition, which was created to encourage talented writers who have historically been marginalised by mainstream publishers.
Kandace works at Booths Bookshop (look out for the purple hair!) and grew up in Llanigon - she went to Gwernyfed High School and then Christ College Brecon, and went on from there to study English with creative writing at Goldsmiths in London, where she did her MA.
Her mother Marva Jackson Lord runs G-riots Arts locally, doing website design for musicians and other creative people, and occasionally staging music and poetry events in Hay.
Kandace's story is called Deep Heart, and can be read, along with the shortlisted entries, at www.4thestate.co.uk/prize-2/ It's a magical, beautiful and disturbing story.
She is currently working on a novel. I'm already looking forward to reading it.
Wednesday 18 September 2019
Climate Strike
I've just been reading the news that the Greenland ice-sheet has suffered it's greatest losses ever recorded this summer, and is melting four times faster than previously thought.
So this seems a good time to mention the Climate Strike on 20th September.
The nearest Climate Strike march to Hay is in Hereford, starting from the Sixth Form College at 11.15am, and marching into the centre of town. The biggest rally is expected to be in London.
The owner of Fodder, the organic shop near the Cathedral, has announced that the shop will be closed to observe the strike, and so will Timothy Hawkins Gallery and Fine Furniture in Church Street.
[Edited to add: I've just got this week's Brecon and Radnor Express, and there will also be a climate strike rally in Brecon, starting at 9.30am at Bethel Square. There will also be two talks- at St. Mary's Church, Brecon, on Saturday at 7pm and at The Muse on Sunday at 3pm, by climate scientist Dr. Aaron Thierry. The talks are free, but donations will be asked for.]
This will start a week of action, with people in 120 countries taking part, including Universities, trade unions, Council workers, 1,200 businesses across Australia, museums, the Writers' Guild, independent music labels, and even architects.
As many Councils, including Hay and Hereford, have declared a climate emergency, this is the time to make sure they're doing something about it (Hay is actually quite committed to this, and Hereford has been making some positive moves since the makeup of the County Council changed in recent elections).
So this seems a good time to mention the Climate Strike on 20th September.
The nearest Climate Strike march to Hay is in Hereford, starting from the Sixth Form College at 11.15am, and marching into the centre of town. The biggest rally is expected to be in London.
The owner of Fodder, the organic shop near the Cathedral, has announced that the shop will be closed to observe the strike, and so will Timothy Hawkins Gallery and Fine Furniture in Church Street.
[Edited to add: I've just got this week's Brecon and Radnor Express, and there will also be a climate strike rally in Brecon, starting at 9.30am at Bethel Square. There will also be two talks- at St. Mary's Church, Brecon, on Saturday at 7pm and at The Muse on Sunday at 3pm, by climate scientist Dr. Aaron Thierry. The talks are free, but donations will be asked for.]
This will start a week of action, with people in 120 countries taking part, including Universities, trade unions, Council workers, 1,200 businesses across Australia, museums, the Writers' Guild, independent music labels, and even architects.
As many Councils, including Hay and Hereford, have declared a climate emergency, this is the time to make sure they're doing something about it (Hay is actually quite committed to this, and Hereford has been making some positive moves since the makeup of the County Council changed in recent elections).
Tuesday 17 September 2019
Castle Gate
Tree surgeons have been trimming back two trees by the Castle gate - they look very bare now! Work is going on round there as there will be new steps and a ramp leading down to the Square, so that people can walk into the Castle by the original gateway.
Saturday 14 September 2019
A Weekend of Music and History
There's a lot happening in Hay at the end of this month, the weekend of 27th -29th September.
I don't often mention the very fine classical music that is performed regularly in Hay, at St Mary's Church and Booths Bookshop in particular (there's also jazz at the Black Lion, but jazz is a style of music I've never been able to take to).
However, this is going to be something rather special - the Fitzwilliam String Quartet will be performing at St Mary's Church on Friday 27th at 7pm, with a pre-concert study session in the afternoon to discuss the Schumann and Elgar piano quintets which will be played later that evening.
On Saturday 28th, the pre concert study session is with the Fitzwilliam Quartet and the Dragonfly Trio, discussing Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir de Florence" before it is performed later in the evening at Booth's Bookshop - the concert will also have music by Borodin, Dohnanyi and Suk. I'm most interested by the Suk piece, after hearing Suk's beautiful and haunting Fairy Tale music being used as the theme music of an obscure audio SF drama called The Minister of Chance. Tickets for the concerts, and the pre-concert study sessions, are £15 each, but I think it will be well worth it.
There are two pre-concert sessions, at £7.50 each, the second one being an interview with the members of the Fitzwilliam Quartet by Richard Wigmore.
Meanwhile at Booths Cinema, they're showing Elgar - The Man Behind the Mask at 2.30pm on the Saturday, followed by a discussion with Diana McVeagh, a writer on British music. The tickets for this are £10.
And on the Sunday, the pre-concert session will be discussing Shostakovich's 10th and 11th String Quartets (tickets are £7.50 each) at the Swan Hotel from 10 - 11am. The concert takes place at Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon that afternoon, starting at 3.30pm and is called Shostakovich Inspired! As well as the string quartets, there will be readings from Shostakovich's diaries and memoirs.
So that's the weekend for classical music lovers.
Meanwhile the history lovers will be enjoying Hay's contribution to the Brecknock History Festival, which has events all over the area. There's music involved in this too, as they are celebrating 100 years since the death of Adelina Patti the opera singer, who lived at Craig-y-nos in Powys. They used to have one of her stage costumes on show at Brecon Museum - maybe they will again when it finally re-opens....
In Hay there will be a pop-up museum from 12 noon to 4pm on Sunday 29th September at the Parish Hall. Hay History Group and Cusop History Group have teamed up for this, and it will be a good chance to talk to local historians about the research they've been doing, and the history of the local area.
At 4pm there will be a talk by Tim Hoverd, the Archaeology Projects Manager for Herefordshire, who will be presenting a round-up of recent research on Marcher castles. He's involved in research and conservation works at Snodhill Castle at the moment, which should be fascinating, and further afield he's been working on a community project at a gunpowder factory!
Entry is free, and there will be tea and cake to buy.
I don't often mention the very fine classical music that is performed regularly in Hay, at St Mary's Church and Booths Bookshop in particular (there's also jazz at the Black Lion, but jazz is a style of music I've never been able to take to).
However, this is going to be something rather special - the Fitzwilliam String Quartet will be performing at St Mary's Church on Friday 27th at 7pm, with a pre-concert study session in the afternoon to discuss the Schumann and Elgar piano quintets which will be played later that evening.
On Saturday 28th, the pre concert study session is with the Fitzwilliam Quartet and the Dragonfly Trio, discussing Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir de Florence" before it is performed later in the evening at Booth's Bookshop - the concert will also have music by Borodin, Dohnanyi and Suk. I'm most interested by the Suk piece, after hearing Suk's beautiful and haunting Fairy Tale music being used as the theme music of an obscure audio SF drama called The Minister of Chance. Tickets for the concerts, and the pre-concert study sessions, are £15 each, but I think it will be well worth it.
There are two pre-concert sessions, at £7.50 each, the second one being an interview with the members of the Fitzwilliam Quartet by Richard Wigmore.
Meanwhile at Booths Cinema, they're showing Elgar - The Man Behind the Mask at 2.30pm on the Saturday, followed by a discussion with Diana McVeagh, a writer on British music. The tickets for this are £10.
And on the Sunday, the pre-concert session will be discussing Shostakovich's 10th and 11th String Quartets (tickets are £7.50 each) at the Swan Hotel from 10 - 11am. The concert takes place at Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon that afternoon, starting at 3.30pm and is called Shostakovich Inspired! As well as the string quartets, there will be readings from Shostakovich's diaries and memoirs.
So that's the weekend for classical music lovers.
Meanwhile the history lovers will be enjoying Hay's contribution to the Brecknock History Festival, which has events all over the area. There's music involved in this too, as they are celebrating 100 years since the death of Adelina Patti the opera singer, who lived at Craig-y-nos in Powys. They used to have one of her stage costumes on show at Brecon Museum - maybe they will again when it finally re-opens....
In Hay there will be a pop-up museum from 12 noon to 4pm on Sunday 29th September at the Parish Hall. Hay History Group and Cusop History Group have teamed up for this, and it will be a good chance to talk to local historians about the research they've been doing, and the history of the local area.
At 4pm there will be a talk by Tim Hoverd, the Archaeology Projects Manager for Herefordshire, who will be presenting a round-up of recent research on Marcher castles. He's involved in research and conservation works at Snodhill Castle at the moment, which should be fascinating, and further afield he's been working on a community project at a gunpowder factory!
Entry is free, and there will be tea and cake to buy.
Friday 13 September 2019
Come to the Circus!
Pinder's Circus will be setting up on Cae Mawr next week, for performances at 4.30pm and 7pm on Tuesday and 4.30pm on Wednesday. It's a non-animal circus, and describes itself as Wales favourite circus.
All tickets on the Tuesday are £5 - no discounts will apply. On the Wednesday, full price tickets are £12 for adults and £10 for children, but the discount vouchers available around town will apply to give £4 off a full price ticket, and one kid free with one full paying adult.
Doors open 30 minutes before each show, and there is no way to pre-book - it's first come, first served.
I haven't been to the circus for years (Blackpool Tower Circus was a special treat when I was a kid - a bit bigger than a tent on Cae Mawr!).
All tickets on the Tuesday are £5 - no discounts will apply. On the Wednesday, full price tickets are £12 for adults and £10 for children, but the discount vouchers available around town will apply to give £4 off a full price ticket, and one kid free with one full paying adult.
Doors open 30 minutes before each show, and there is no way to pre-book - it's first come, first served.
I haven't been to the circus for years (Blackpool Tower Circus was a special treat when I was a kid - a bit bigger than a tent on Cae Mawr!).
Tuesday 10 September 2019
Extinction Rebellion Meeting at the Globe
This is an introductory meeting to see how people in Hay can help.
Saturday 7 September 2019
h.Art Week
It's h.Art week starting today, and there are lots of studios open around Hay this year. There are a lot of very talented people in Herefordshire!
Up Cusop Dingle, Tim Rawlins has his studio at the Old Stables, where he works with bronze.
Also up Cusop Dingle is Sartori Gallery, where Andrea Sartori and Omar Majeed are exhibiting oil paintings and sculpture.
In Hay itself Ty Tan has two artists exhibiting (opposite the Blue Boar). Jeremy Stiff is a sculptor and portraitist - the busts of people, and a cat called Arthur, are his. And round the walls are paintings by Menna Angharad.
The Table on Lion Street is full of pictures of Welsh country cottages by Simon Dorrell, and some raku fired ceramic Welsh houses by Amanda Banham.
At the Old Electric Shop, Toose Morton is exhibiting sculpture and drawings.
At Ty Glas on Gipsy Castle, just past the church, Deborah Gillingham is exhibiting her paintings and drawings.
At Church Terrace nearby, Lizzie Harper is exhibiting a collection of her botanical and natural history illustrations, and The Woodee is showing fire pits and all the accessories you need to make a roaring wood fire. They will be demonstrating every day, showing how to light a wood fire and how to cook foraged foods - for which some of the books that Lizzie Harper has illustrated will come in useful, when she collaborated with Adele Nozedar on Foraging with Kids and The Hedgerow Handbook.
Near to Hay, there's also an exhibition at the River Café in Glasbury, of food paintings by Alice Straker, and at the Chapel on the Green in Glasbury Susan Adams and Jo Mazelis have created an installation formed of drawings, video and a giant sculpture making the Tivoli Fish Bar.
There are artists exhibiting throughout Herefordshire, in towns and down narrow country lanes. They are painters and sculptors and ceramicists and work with bronze and glass and textiles, and make jewellery and baskets and furniture.
Up Cusop Dingle, Tim Rawlins has his studio at the Old Stables, where he works with bronze.
Also up Cusop Dingle is Sartori Gallery, where Andrea Sartori and Omar Majeed are exhibiting oil paintings and sculpture.
In Hay itself Ty Tan has two artists exhibiting (opposite the Blue Boar). Jeremy Stiff is a sculptor and portraitist - the busts of people, and a cat called Arthur, are his. And round the walls are paintings by Menna Angharad.
The Table on Lion Street is full of pictures of Welsh country cottages by Simon Dorrell, and some raku fired ceramic Welsh houses by Amanda Banham.
At the Old Electric Shop, Toose Morton is exhibiting sculpture and drawings.
At Ty Glas on Gipsy Castle, just past the church, Deborah Gillingham is exhibiting her paintings and drawings.
At Church Terrace nearby, Lizzie Harper is exhibiting a collection of her botanical and natural history illustrations, and The Woodee is showing fire pits and all the accessories you need to make a roaring wood fire. They will be demonstrating every day, showing how to light a wood fire and how to cook foraged foods - for which some of the books that Lizzie Harper has illustrated will come in useful, when she collaborated with Adele Nozedar on Foraging with Kids and The Hedgerow Handbook.
Near to Hay, there's also an exhibition at the River Café in Glasbury, of food paintings by Alice Straker, and at the Chapel on the Green in Glasbury Susan Adams and Jo Mazelis have created an installation formed of drawings, video and a giant sculpture making the Tivoli Fish Bar.
There are artists exhibiting throughout Herefordshire, in towns and down narrow country lanes. They are painters and sculptors and ceramicists and work with bronze and glass and textiles, and make jewellery and baskets and furniture.
Tuesday 3 September 2019
Something Happening at the Old Library
As I was taking a short cut home past the Old Library the other day, I came across a couple of people with surveying equipment.
Rumour has it that the Library building has now been sold, but Powys County Council have not announced who the buyer is yet.
Rumour has it that the Library building has now been sold, but Powys County Council have not announced who the buyer is yet.
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