Holidays

 I'll be away for a few days, so until I get back, here's a view of Hay from the Castle steps.

Korean Publishers Visit Hay

 Two of my customers today at the Cinema Bookshop introduced themselves as Korean publishers, from Giyeok Publishing (named for the first letter of the Korean alphabet).  They kindly gave me their catalogue, in Korean and English. 

They work out of a place called Bookvillage Harry, which is a cluster of bookshops, libraries, a printing studio and gallery space in a small town by the sea.  (I'm a bit worried by the space on their map labelled "book prison" but labelling the bookshop spaces as "book forest" is a lovely idea!).  There's also a restaurant, a treehouse (with books), a boat to read on, and a Poet's House.  They publish picture books on the themes of ecology, human wisdom, relationships, imagination, and poetry.  I rather like the look of the one entitled "I'm a whale, shrimp are annoying".

They are on instagram at @book_vill

Swimming in Hay

 Gareth Ratcliffe has been on Facebook in the last week thanking all the volunteers who turned up to help to renovate the swimming pool.  They've found people who are willing to be trustees of the pool, and a core group of volunteers to help to run the pool.  However, they still need help with some work around the pool, such as installing PVC doors in the changing rooms, and a new fire door.  They also need help with completing painting jobs, and sanding doors for painting, as well as dealing with a leak in the changing room roof.  They are hoping to reopen soon!

Meanwhile, at the Seven Stars, new health and safety rules mean that their pool cannot be hired out to people swimming on their own - there must be at least two people there.  Treby Swingler posted on the Hay on Wye Community Facebook page to say that they are thinking of setting up a WhatsApp group to pair up solo swimmers.  This may be on a permanent or ad hoc basis, or for people who haven't been before and want to try it out to share a slot.

St. Michael's Hospice Returns to Hay

 

They used to have a shop in Castle Street, near the Blue Boar (now a counselling service), and now they're in the Craft Centre, where EE phones used to be.

They don't have a changing room, if anyone wants to try clothes on, but they do have a 28 day returns policy.

Chamber Ensemble at St Marys

 The next Hay Music concert is on Friday 12th April (so, not long now!).

The New London Chamber Ensemble is playing at St Mary's Church at 7pm.  They are a wind quintet - flute, French horn, clarinet, oboe and bassoon.  Tickets are £20, with a limited number of free tickets for under 25s, as well as the usual half price tickets for under 25s.

They will be playing quite a bit of Mozart, including the Adagio for glass harmonica, as well as Ravel, Beethoven and Rachel Stott.

Murals in Hereford

 

Here is some of the new street art around Hereford.  I also found the painting around the end of Capuchin Lane, and at the Eign Gate underpass, but they were more difficult to take photos of.  There are still a few dotted around the town centre that I haven't found yet.

While I was in Hereford today, I also came across a new use for Maylord Orchards.  As I was cutting through to the bus stop, tables had been laid out for playing all sorts of games, and there was a game library in one of the shops.  I think some of the games were for sale, too.  Quite a few people had turned up to play, of all ages.  I think it's a great idea!

I was also sorry to see that one of my favourite cafes has closed down.  The owners of the Antique Tea Rooms, next to the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, have retired, and the building is now empty.  I did have a lovely bowl of leek and potato soup at the First Light charity cafe, opposite the Catholic church, though, so I will probably go there again.

Easter Post Box Topper

 A jolly Easter Bunny on the Post Box this time!

Rose and Crown Reopens!

 

I've been away over the weekend - and in my absence, the Rose and Crown re-opened with new owners.

It was sad to see the place empty for so long, but the new people have done a great job of re-decorating - they even had to put a new bar in.  Alongside the usual range of beers and lagers, they have three handpumps for real ale.  At the moment they are offering Butcombe and Otter beers, with Butty Bach coming soon.  Also coming soon will be their kitchen, which they hope to have open in two weeks.  

There's a pool table in the back room - which has a gorgeous carved stone fireplace that I didn't know was there.

I hope they do well!

Booksellers' Leaflet

 The new booksellers' leaflet is out today.  Last year's is orange - this year it's purple.

There are a couple of new additions this year, too.

Coming in at number 9 is Gay-on-Wye, the new LGBTQ+ bookshops - they sell new books, as well as tote bags, mugs, badges and so on.

Clocktower Books and Green Ink Booksellers have changed places, at 12 and 13, to make the numbers on the map work more logically.

Then there's the Literature Laboratory at number 14, which describes itself as a child-centred bookshop.  As well as new books, they stock toys and games, and a range of adult books too.

At 15 is the new Red Cross Book Shop, opposite the original Red Cross Shop on the corner of the Pavement.

At 18, North Books can no longer call themselves Hay's newest bookshop, but they are a shop of new books only.

Only one bookbinders is listed this year - there is no listing for the Hay Binders on Lion Street (which was established in 1974) and the Black Mountains Bindery will be working from home, with customers welcome by appointment, as it looks as if the shop next to the launderette will have to close.

Out of town, there is a new bookshop in Westhope near Hereford called Arresting Titles, specialising in murder, mystery and detection.  This shop is only open by appointment, as they are quite remote and hard to find!

There is a dedication in the leaflet to Judith Gardner, of the Children's Bookshop, who died earlier this year.  The Children's Bookshop is still number 1 in the leaflet, and is being run by her son Colin.

Henallt House

 Also known as the Cabinet of Curiosities.

Botany And Other Stories have already put on exhibitions at Henallt House, which is just a little way along Oxford Road from the main car park.  The theme is nature in relation to all the key sectors of our lives.  The front page of the latest Cabbage Leaf has the quotation from Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations as the main title: "Everything everywhere all at once"

This does not refer to the award winning film starring Michelle Yeoh, but to the idea that, in order to tackle climate change, the effort that is needed has to be everything, everywhere, all at once.  The odd green project here and there is not enough any more.  Conspicuous consumption, inequality, corruption, violence and environmental deterioration are everywhere globally, and all interrelated.  We need to see the bigger picture.

And that's what the Cabinet of Curiosities is designed to do - each room in Henallt House has a different theme related to the overall idea, using botanical illustration, books, gardening, art, butterflies and flowers, soil, water, perfumes, information about food, patchwork and fashion dolls, and much more.

They are hoping to make this a more permanent thing, though some work needs to be done on the building first.

Shân Egerton Exhibition at the Castle

 This is a retrospective exhibition, as the artist died last year.  It's a free exhibition, and it spills out of the exhibition room onto boards in the area outside.

Some of the works are for sale, and others come from private collections, and there's an immense variety.  

Shân Egerton used oils and pastels in her work, and she travelled all over the world.  There are pictures of scenes in India, and Ethiopia and Ladakh, as well as local landscapes.  There are also several photo albums it is possible to leaf through, with pictures from all over the world taken over many years.

I spent quite a long time in the gallery, and I enjoyed it very much.

Water, Water Everywhere

 So, the scheduled water pipe replacement is inching its way along Broad Street at the bottom end of town - they're almost at the road to the bridge, which will cut off Hay from the rest of the world in that direction for a bit.  Traffic will have to come round via Glasbury to Hay, and one of the farmers on the other side of the bridge has offered their field as a car park so that people can park and walk across into town while the work is going on.

Meanwhile at the top of town, by the car park, there has been a burst pipe!  This has caused some disruption with the bus service, and at the moment the road is completly closed - the burst seems to have been fixed, but there's quite extensive resurfacing of the road going on.  They are hoping to have at least half the road open shortly. 

Cute Cushion

 

I saw this cute seal cushion outside the shop in Backfold.  I once worked with a woman who was obsessed with seals, so I sent her the picture and she agreed that, yes, she would still love something like this in her house!

Hay Writers' Circle Poetry Competition

 It's time for the Hay Writers' Circle Poetry Competition again.  It's open to all, and this year the poems should be on the theme of food.  

Poems should be original and unpublished, and a maximum of 40 lines.  Winning poems may be published on the Hay Writers' Circle website.  First prize is £100, with cash prizes for second and third place.

The judge this year is Susan Evans, an award winning artist and writer.  She writes poetry for stage and on the page, on themes including food and travel, and she can be found online at www.facebook.com/SusanEvansPoet

The closing date for the competition is 9th April, and full details of how to take part can be found at https://thehaywriters.wordpress.com

Concerts coming up

 Hay Music are going to be busy over the next couple of months.

The New London Chamber Ensemble will be playing in St Mary's Church on Friday 12th April at 7pm.  Tickets are £20, or £10 for under 25s.  There are also a few free tickets for under 25s on a first come, first served basis.

This is the first time the wind quintet has come to Hay, and they will be playing a mixture of Mozart, Beethoven, Ravel and Rachel Stott.

And on 10th May, the Tippett String Quartet will be playing.

Hay Music is also organising several concerts during Hay Festival.

On Saturday 25th May at 7.30pm at St Mary's Church, the Hay Chamber Choir will be performing The Dymock Poets Reimagined.  Tickets are £15 from the Festival ticket office.  

The concert features settings of works by the Dymock poets by seven contemporary composers.

On Sunday 26th May at 1pm, at St Mary's Church, Clare Hammond will be playing piano.  Tickets are £18 from the Festival ticket office.

The programme starts with Clara Schumann and Beethoven, followed by Samy Moussa, Mozart and Cecile Chaminade.

On Saturday 1st June, The Fidelio Trio will be performing in St Mary's Church at 1pm.  Tickets are £18 from the Festival ticket office.

HOWLS AGM at the Library

 I would have advertised the date of this meeting on the blog - but there was a mix-up with emails.  I knew that the AGM was coming up, but I hadn't got the email telling me the date.  

Then I met Janet, the Chair of HOWLS (Hay-on-Wye Library Supporters) in the Deli on Thursday morning, and she told me it was that evening.

The first thing to report is that there is such a lot happening in the Library now. Siân Platten, from Powys Library Services, gave a run down of all the different clubs and activities that go on in the Library.

Storytime is very popular, especially with small children.  This involves singing, and the Library has some instruments they can hand out, but they need more, and instruments that are more suitable for small hands (and robust!).  This would be things like shaker eggs and other percussion instruments.  HOWLS has some money in the bank account, and it was agreed that someone would look into buying new instruments.  The other thing that would make Storytime better would be finger or glove puppets, and that's being looked into, too.

Lego Club is also popular, mostly for unstructured play, and there is a small Craft Group for adults that they are hoping will grow - that's on Monday evenings.  

Before all the disruptions of lockdown, the Library had a session called Enchanted Hour, which usually had a speaker, often a local author.  They are hoping to revisit the format - but have no budget to pay speakers.  They would also like to expand the format from local authors talking about their work to green issues, which overlaps nicely with the work the Library CIC is doing in promoting local resilience.  

The CIC was responsible for organising the Citizens' Assembly at the Swan in January, discussing local food production, and the results of that meeting are being collated now.  At the meeting, survey forms were filled in to give an idea of what skills people could offer, and it is hoped that those people will be able to get together and carry the project forward.  A film of the meeting is being edited too, which is the sort of thing that could be shown at Enchanted Hour.  

There will be a Climate Week in June, and Mike Eccles, who has been working very hard on all this, is hoping to be able to plan an event to discuss local energy production for Hay.

The Library also runs a Library of Things - the loan of ipads has been very popular, especially for children who need to do homework online, or people doing online courses.  Where the loans have been long term, the county's digital librarian, Tilly, has been able to obtain some reconditioned laptops to be given to those families that need them.

The Library of Things also loans out balance bikes for children who are starting to learn to cycle.

They have a range of bags to borrow, containing sports equipment, games and activities to promote development for children (with information to help parents to use them), and memory boxes for people with dementia.  These are picnic hampers containing objects on a theme, like Gardening, or On the Beach - some of the local residential homes have expressed an interest in them.  They also loan out blood pressure monitors.

Then there are collections of books that can be loaned out on various subjects - for people with dementia and their carers and families, or for people with particular health problems or mental health problems.  There is also a collection on cancer support from Macmillan Cancer Care, and one for children on bereavement.

There is a popular Welsh conversation group.  At the moment the people taking part are mostly fluent Welsh speakers, so there is some thought being taken to start another group for beginners in Welsh.

Some families spend time in the library after school, and the school is keen to work on projects with the Library.

From all of this, it is clear that the Library is not just a place for borrowing books - it is a vital community resource.  The comment at the meeting was "We need a bigger library!"

It will only be possible to keep the library we have if the contract between the CIC and Powys County Council remains in force.  A five year contract was signed, and it has some time to run, but negotiations for a new contract have to start eighteen months before the old one ends.  This would ensure the continuation of provision of library staff, and the present opening hours.  The CIC has contracted to provide £5,000 a year to pay towards the upkeep of the library, which costs about £25,000 a year to run.  If they can't pay that, then the contract is broken.  Around the country, councils are having to make hard decisions about funding, which usually means cutting funding to the arts and services like libraries, so it's very important that we protect Hay Library.

Mike Eccles has been working very hard to get local people or businesses to support the Library by means of standing orders - anything from £500 a year down to £50 a year, and about £3,000 is being raised by this method.  Hay Festival used to provide a grant to the Library, but over the last few years the management team has changed, and the consequences of lockdown have meant that they have had to rethink their financial priorities.  Other big employers in Hay are the Pill Factory, Huws Grey, and Hay and Brecon Farmers.  The Pill Factory chooses a different charity to support every year, so cannot be a source of continuous funding for the library.

So the Library desperately needs new supporters, and Mike had a stack of standing order forms with him.

To find out more about the different activities at the Library, or to pick up a standing order form (or to borrow a book!) visit the Library:

Monday 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm

Thursday 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm

Friday 1.30pm to 6pm

Saturday 10am to 12.30pm

And visit the Powys County Council website and StoriPowys for information about all the services the Library provides.

Local Events at Hay Festival

 Booking opens to the public on Friday 15th March at noon - tickets are already available to the Friends of the Festival - and there are a lot of local events this year, many of them walking events.

Local authors Jasper Fforde and Owen Sheers will be speaking - this year Owen Sheers is talking about a childrens' book.

Local photographer Billie Charity will be talking to farmer and drag queen Boo La Croux (who organises Hay Pride) and farmer Ben Andrews, who is involved in Agrespect, a farming organisation for LGBTQ+ issues.

Mary Morgan will be talking about local monuments and memorials.

The man who wrote the new Muffin the Mule book, which has been on sale in just about every shop in Hay, is giving three talks.

Father Richard will be playing the organ accompaniment to A Cottage on Dartmoor in St Mary's church - I saw him do this a few years ago, and it was brilliant.  It was the last silent film to be made in Britain, and has scenes showing the changeover from silent films to talkies - as well as a jealous barber and unrequited love!

Hay Writers Circle are doing an event too.

And then there's music - the Hay Shantymen will be singing, and so will the Hereford College of Arts Vocal Ensemble, the Hereford Chamber Choir and the Hay Community Choir.  The Hereford College of Arts Theatre Students are performing twice - I rather like the sound of their version of Midsummer Night's Dream - or Four Weddings and a Fairy!

Angela, who wrote a book about Wild Swimming in the Wye, will be leading swimming sessions from the Warren - though tickets are on the pricey side at £30 each.  There will also be an illustration workshop with the theme of Save the River Wye.  Since the talks last year, nothing much has changesd as far as pollution of the River Wye is concerned, sadly.

Tom True will be giving a guided tour of Hay Castle.

There's also a chance to visit Snodhill Castle, as one of the organised trips out - it's a lovely castle hidden away in the Golden Valley.

There are also Farm Walks at Trevithel Court, Maesllwch, and Llwynberried.

And there are Wayfaring Walks - the one visiting local ancient trees is already sold out, but there is also Enjoying the National Park, The National Park and its Five Missions, and a walk with a National Park Warden.

Or there's Mountain Biking in the Wye Valley.

Meanwhile there are all the big names that one might expect at Hay Festival - Lenny Henry, Rowan Williams, Judi Dench, Robert Macfarlane, Tom Holland, Rory Stewart, George Monbiot, Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Nish Kumar - and lots more. 

I'm quite excited about Robin Wall Kimmerer, who wrote the wonderful book Braiding Sweetgrass, talking about plants and combining indigenous knowledge (she's a Native American) and scientific knowledge.  I'm also looking forward to Maggie Pocock-Aderin, who I saw at a Winter Festival - she'll be talking about the constellations of the night sky.

Father Richard's Retirement

 Father Richard Williams has been the priest in charge of St Mary's Church and St John's Chapel, Hay, St Eigon's in Llanigon and Capel-y-ffin since 2001, and he will be retiring just after Easter this year.  His last Mass will be on April 14th.

He isn't moving too far away - he will be living in Presteigne, which is close enough that he will be able to come back to perform organ recitals, and accompany the silent films shown during Hay Festival.  He was responsible for acquiring the magnificent organ in St Mary's and he's done a lot to promote good music in Hay.

The church wardens, church council and members of the congregation would like to mark this special occasion by opening a fund for donations to give Fr Richard a gift to remember his time here.  

The Church Treasurer will accept cash, or cheques made payable to St Mary's Church, with "Fr Richard Gift" written on the back.  Cash or cheques can also be given to the churchwardens of the three parishes, Terry Watson or Stuart Pritchard in Hay, Jan Watkins in Llanigon and Toby Buckler at Capel-y-Ffin.

More information at info@stmaryschurchhayonwye.co.uk

Authors at North Books

 Jules at North Books is hosting a book launch on Friday 22nd March from 10am.  The author is Alan Heeks, and his book is Natural Happiness.  He's a local author, and there will be coffee and cake.

Then on Good Friday, 29th March, Mike Parker will be holding a book signing.  He has written On the Red Hill and On the Wide Border.  If anyone would like a book signed, but can't get to the shop on the day, contact Jules and she will organise it for you.  

The paperback edition of On the Wide Border has just come out, and there will also be a display of black and white prints of photographs that appear in the book around the shop.  Plus also coffee and cakes, because Fridays are the days they have a morning cafe session.

The Friday cafe session has also had an upgrade, courtesy of Tom Owen of Gay-on-Wye, who has made them a cabinet on wheels.

Hobbycraft in Hereford

 I always seem to choose the most vile weather to travel into Hereford!

On Friday, I went into Bartrum's for some coloured paper for an art project I was in the middle of, and I happened to mention that I didn't know where to get frames from now that Wilko's has closed down.

"What about Hobbycraft?" the lady behind the counter suggested.

I had no idea there was a Hobbycraft in Hereford - and when she described where it was, I realised that it was because I'd never walked out that far from the city centre.  It's in a big area of out-of-town stores near the racecourse.  But it was walkable.

So on Saturday, I waited for the bus in the rain, and by the time we'd got to Dorstone, it was thick snow - very pretty, but slushy on the roads, and then the big puddles started to appear, and once we got past Peterchurch it was heavy rain again.  I had an umbrella with me, but by this time I was starting to think I really didn't want to walk all that way.  I was getting off the bus at the railway station anyway, so I did something I would never normally do - I got a taxi.

It was worth every penny (£5.30).

I got exactly the frames I needed in Hobbycraft, and made a few mental notes of what else they stock for the future.

I did walk back into the city centre - and treated myself to a half of Rev. James bitter in the Lichfield Vaults.  They now have their own tshirt, with the slogan Wish You Were Beer, and a parody of the famous Pink Floyd album cover with the white light hitting a triangle and becoming the whole visible spectrum - only in this case the light is hitting a pint glass.

It was still raining on the way back, with most of the usual puddles along the Golden Valley full of water, but the snow had stopped.  I got chatting to a lovely chap from Pontypridd, who was intending to go out early on Sunday morning up to Storey Arms to climb the hill to see the sunrise. 

Patriotic Post Box Topper

 

                                                        Dragon, Leek and Daffodils!

Grand Opening of the new Red Cross Shop

 I took this picture from the old Red Cross shop, looking towards the new Red Cross shop.  The old Red Cross shop will continue to sell clothes, while the new shop will sell books in the unit closest to the door, and home furnishings and knicknacks in the further unit.  There's also a rack for LPs in the further unit.

This corner has been empty for quite a while, so it's nice to see it occupied again.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus

 

Happy St David's Day to all book hoarding dragons!  This picture is by Devin Elle Kurtz.

Electricity Cut and Veg Stall Confusion

 

This was the view from my window earlier this morning, as the men from Welsh Water were waiting for the men from the electricity company to arrive to mend the cable.  They had cut the cable while they were digging the trench for the new water pipe because they hadn't known it was there - it wasn't marked. 

So far, they've come along the road outside the Cinema Bookshop, down Belmont Road, and are now heading along Broad Street.  They are going to be digging test trenches at the top of Newport Road in a month or so to find out where the pipes are, and they've had a lady with electronic equipment walking back and forth across the road outside Broad Street Book Centre - where she reported that there were three pipes in different places across the road!  It's a more complicated job than it first appears!

So we were about 3 hours without power at Y Gelli Chambers, which meant that the Old Electric Shop had to close because of the lack of lights.

It's been a day of confusion all round - when I went up to the market, the veg stall had been laid out the opposite way to normal, and nobody was sure which way to queue!  Usually the fruit is nearest to the Cheese Market and the veg is nearest to the Castle, and the queue goes from the onions to the oranges.

Borderlines Film Festival and Weekend of Mistakes

 I've suddenly realised just how close to the weekend it is, and I still haven't mentioned two events that are starting on 1st. March.

The first is at Hay Castle, and it's called Weekend of Mistakes.  It's a series of talks on money, mostly.  The Library of Mistakes is an Edinburgh based charity, dedicated to learning from the lessons of financial history.  The full weekend tickets are sold out, but there are still tickets available for individual events.  There are talks on money-laundering, financial crisis, con artists, banks, the geopolitical ramifications of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the financial plight of Sir Walter Scott - and the Leith Whisky Bubble of 1898!

More information is on the Hay Castle Trust website.

Borderlines Film Festival starts on 1st March, and runs until 17th March, with films showing all over Herefordshire, and as far north as Oswestry!

In Hay, Booths Cinema is showing Monster on Thursday 7th March at 5pm, Blackbird, Blackbird, Blackberry on 8th March at 7pm, La Chimera on Saturday 9th March at 7pm, Snow Leopard on Sunday 10th March at 5pm.

Near to Hay, at Michaelchurch Escley, Tokyo Story is showing on Wednesday 6th March at 7.30pm, and Past Lives on Tuesday 12th March at 7.30pm.

At Brilley, the films are The Eternal Daughter on Thurday 7th March at 7.30pm and Past Lives on Thursday 14th March at 7.30pm.

Monster is a Japanese film with English subtitles, and is described as a coming of age film and thriller.

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry is a Swiss/Georgian production, in Georgian with English subtitles, and is adapted from a novel by Georgian author Tamta Melashvili.

La Chimera is an Italian/French/Swiss production in Italian and English, with English subtitles, and involves a British archaeologist in Tuscany.

Snow Leopard is a Tibetan film, in Tibetan and Chinese with English subtitles, as a family disagrees about what to do with a snow leopard that has been mauling sheep.

Tokyo Story is a Japanese film with English subtitles, about an elderly couple visiting their children in Tokyo.

Past Lives is a US/South Korean production, in Korean and English with English subtitles, and is a love story that crosses continents.

The Eternal Daughter is a Welsh film, starring Tilda Swinton, about a hotel with a mysterious past.

Many films for the festival are showing at the Courtyard in Hereford.  

More information can be found at borderlinesfilmfestival.org

Welsh Architectural Awards

 Hay Castle has been shortlisted for the RSAW Welsh Architecture Awards for 2024.

From this angle, the modern rebuilding looks quite brutalist, but what you can't see are the window shutters that were all individually made to fit, and the etching on the glass panels along the edges of the balconies.  Then there's the art gallery room, and the way they've reconstructed the roof.  It really does work - and it's a lot better than the ruin at that end of the building that they started with!

Lots of Bananas

 This Wednesday, there were boxes of bananas at the Zero Waste stall.  When I went on Friday, one of the ladies in the queue said that there had been so many that they couldn't get rid of them all at the stall, so took them down to the school, where there were enough for every child in Hay School to get a free banana!

Gaza at the Globe

 

There will be an evening of events dedicated to the situation in Gaza and Palestine at the Globe on Sunday 25th February, from 5pm.  This includes talks about the current situation in Gaza, music from Shark Bait Art Collective, Johanna Warren and Charlie James, arts and crafts and meditation from River Flow Yoga.  Also there will be a raffle.

Changes for the Cheese Stall

 This week, the Cheese Stall moved from its usual position with its back to the Castle to the end of Kieran the greengrocer's stall along the side of the market.  He has taken over the running of the stall, so he's now a greengrocer and cheesemonger.  There's only a small selection of the stuff the original Cheese Stall had at the moment, but he's planning to expand.

Japanese Events at Belmont House

 There are two interesting events coming up at Belmont House.

The first is a Sashiko workshop.  Sashiko is the Japanese style of embroidery, usually done in white on a dark blue background.  This will take place on Sunday 25th February, from 1pm to 4pm, and costs £32.  All the materials to make four coasters will be provided, and the tickets are available from Booth's Bookshop.

On the following Sunday, 3rd March, there will be a Hinamatsuri banquet and tea ceremony.  It is Japanese Girls Day, and is open to ladies only.  The cost is £50, and it begins at 6.30pm.  As Belmont House does not have a drinks license, anyone who would like to have an alcoholic drink with the meal should bring their own drinks.

Refurbishment at Spar

 Spar has closed for a major refurbishment this week.

Last night I forgot the date and went in after work for a pint of milk, and the cooler cabinets were already empty (though someone was buying a bottle of wine).

This evening there are lorries from Yorkshire, taking advantage of the closure of Belmont Road for the water pipes to park at the top of the road without any danger of other traffic trying to pass them (though I suppose there might be one or two cars trying to get in and out of Carlesgate).  As I passed, a sort of forklift on caterpillar tracks was lifting a cooler unit into the back of one of the lorries.

It'll be interesting to see how much they change the layout of the store - I remember when the present shelves went in, and it seemed more cramped than the previous layout, though everyone got used to it pretty quickly.

Beware of Toads

 It's breeding time for toads at the moment, being so mild, and there is a danger that they will be squashed on the roads on the way to their breeding ponds.  People have been stepping in to help, by carrying them across in buckets, but drivers should be wary, especially up Forest Road.

New Books in Hay

 My mum sent me a request for the latest book in the series she's reading, and my first thought was that I'd have to go into Hereford and look in Waterstones.

Then I remembered that we now have a perfectly good bookshop selling new books in Hay - North Books on Castle Street.

When I went in on Friday morning, they were in the middle of their weekly coffee and cake session, but I didn't really have time to stop.  I did find the book mum wanted, though.

Update on the River Wye

 There's a full two page spread in the Brecon and Radnor Express this week about the River Wye.

The first story is about the legal case brought by River Action against the Environment Agency.  They are arguing that the Environment Agency has failed to enforce important environmental regulations (which is, after all, its job), and therefore has acted unlawfully.  They also argue that the Environment Agency has failed to protect the Special Area of Conservation along the River Wye from the agricultural pollution that has caused so much of the recent ecological collapse of the river.

The case was being heard in Cardiff, and a group gathered outside the court with Save the Wye banners.  Feargal Sharkey was among the crowd - he was a member of the Undertones, and he's been campaigning for clean rivers across the UK.  Also in the crowd was the ten foot high puppet of the Goddess of the River Wye - and there was a steel drum band.

Much of the pollution which is going into the river comes from chicken farms which supply Tesco with meat and eggs.

The legal costs of bringing the case are estimated to be around £60,000, so River Action have set up a Crowdfunder to raise the money.

On the facing page, the story is about the bid for bathing status for the Warren.  I was at the meeting in the Parish Hall at the end of 2022 where the decision was made to go for this, but the wheels of bureaucracy grind very slowly, so it hasn't happened yet.  Oliver Bullough, who is leading this initiative, makes the point that the bid for bathing status is the only tool the public has to get Natural Resources Wales to test the water in the river regularly (at least between May and September, the bathing season), and to do something about it if the levels of pollution are higher than the legal maximum.  

The bid is supported by Hay Festival, Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and local businesses like the canoeing firm Places to Paddle.

The public consultation runs until February 19th, and there is a form to fill in at 

www.gov.wales/bathing-water-review-wales-2024

Meanwhile in the Hereford Times, the ten foot puppet of the Goddess of the River Wye turned up at the Herefordshire Council's offices in Plough Lane.  She was escorting a container of water from the River Wye to display in the atrium of the building - a reminder of the importance of the health of our rivers, for the councillors to take into consideration when they are making decisions.

Golden Plovers and Other Rare Birds

 Ellie Spencer, on Facebook, shared a post from the Radnor Bird Blog which is quite concerning.

It seems that Powys County Council plan to use some of their "Levelling Up" money to improve the surface of the Monks Trod path up the Elan Valley to make it suitable for motorised off roaders (such as 4x4s and scrambler bikes).

The funds are usually used to improve roads and public transport rather than footpaths across peatland which is home to a number of rare birds - golden plovers nest there, as well as curlew, merlin, ring ouzels and red grouse.

Motorised transport was banned on the Monks Trod in 2002, because of the damage it was causing, but in 2021, motorbikes were again allowed.  The byway crosses a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation, so it's one of the most legally protected areas in the country.  Theoretically.  Before 2021, and the opening up of the byway to motorbikes again, a Habitat Regulations Assessment was carried out by Natural Resources Wales, and they recommended  that the path should not be resurfaced at the moment.

The Monks Trod was originally built by Cistercian monks in the 12th century, so they could walk from Abbey Cwm Hir to Strata Florida Abbey, a distance of about twenty miles.  A blog called Exit Street View describes a walk along the Monks Trod last summer, when the writer took photos of the damage caused by 4x4s along the route - it's a fragile landscape, and the scars linger.  

There is a bothy along the trail for walkers to stay overnight.

There will be a meeting at Powys County Council next week about this proposal, and anyone who is concerned should contact Councillor Jackie Charlton on cllr.jackie.charlton@powys.gov.uk

Hay Pride Events

 Hay Pride are holding a couple of events over the coming weeks.

Queer Rural Connections and Queering the Wye are holding a free screen printing workshop with the Yard Print Studio at the Globe from 4pm to 7pm on Thursday 22nd February and from 4pm to 7pm on Monday 26th February.  Everyone is welcome, from complete beginners to seasoned artists, but booking is essential - contact @queeringthewye for further details.

Piano Music at St Mary's Church

 The next Hay Music concert will be on Sunday 18th February at 3pm.  Tickets are £17.50, or £8.00 for under 25s, and refreshments will be available.

Emilie Capulet will be playing a range of music on the piano, including Claude Debussy, Ravel, Beethoven, and two composers I'm unfamiliar with - Henri Tomasi and Litha Efthymiou.

Then on Friday 15th March at 7.30pm at Hay Castle, the Mikeleiz-Zucci Duo will be performing Contradance, music for accordian and saxophone.  Tickets are the same price as the earlier concert.  The line up of music includes Spanish and Romanian dances, Bach and tango.

On Saturday 16th March, the Duo will be at the Globe from 8pm for Tango from the Globe.  Tickets are £12 or £6 for under 25s.  There's also the opportunity to have a pre-event supper at the Globe's restaurant.

All the details are at www.haymusic.org.

Pro-Palestine Demonstration in Hereford

 I needed to go into Hereford on Saturday, for some Important Business, and I came across a small but enthusiastic pro-Palestine demonstration, complete with samba band and placards calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

It was the samba band I heard, at first, so I wandered over to the corner by the HSBC bank to see what was going on, and had a short chat with one of the ladies involved.  They weren't specifically targetting HSBC - they were doing a circuit of the town centre.  There were a couple of placards naming HSBC, but I didn't get close enough to the people holding them to find out what the bank's involvement might be.  

So I did the things I needed to do, and caught up with them again outside Barclays bank, where I had a lovely chat with one of the chaps involved.  Here, they were drawing attention to Barclays bank's complicity in the situation in Gaza.  To quote their leaflet: 

"Whether intentionally or not, Barclays has helped facilitate Israel's indiscriminate killing of more than 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza."  They are also calling for a boycott of Barclays until the bank ends its support of Israel, and more generally are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

I hope the governments of the world listen to all the calls for a ceasefire, and do something to stop the Israeli government, before even more people are killed (many of them, of course, children - half of the population of Gaza is under the age of 18).

Happy Chinese New Year

 

                                                                It's the Year of the Dragon!

Vampires and Valentines

 There's a special event at Hay Castle on Saturday 17th February, at 7.30pm.  It's a performance by candlelight, in the Great Hall, based on the novella Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu, a tale of vampiric infatuation!  Or rather, the supernatural being in question is an oupire, from Slavic myth, a living being who has been cursed or possessed by evil spirits - but like classic vampires, they have a weakness to sunlight and can be killed by a stake through the heart.

Laura is played by Gemma Aukett

The Book is by Graeme Hobbs,

and the music is written and performed by Dafydd Roberts and John Whatling.

Tickets are £10.

Judith Gardner and the Children's Bookshop

 Yesterday was the funeral of Judith Gardner, of the Children's Bookshop, at Hereford Crematorium, with tea and sandwiches afterwards at the Parish Hall in Hay.

Judith and her husband Bob set up the Children's Bookshop in 1978 (Bob repaired clocks), so they were among the first booksellers to be attracted to Hay after Richard Booth launched the town as the world's first Book Town.  Initially, the shop was in Lion Street, where Addyman's is now, but they soon moved out to a new building next to their home at the Toll Cottage on the Clifford road, where the shop still is today.

Judith's son Colin will be keeping the shop going in the future.  He's been working there for many years.

Some of the longest established booksellers in Hay came to the Parish Hall - Derek Addyman and Ann Brichto were there, and Marijana Dworski came down from Presteigne.  It's a sad fact, which was commented on at the time, that other booksellers who knew Judith well have already died, like Paul Harris (who moved to Spain, where he died), Peter of Boz Books, and some of the original staff of Booth Books. 

Deborah Rose in Concert

 Deborah Rose is the lady with the beautiful voice who has sung at Hay Forum a couple of times.

She's holding a concert at St Mary's Church on Saturday 24th February, at 7pm.  Tickets are £10 in advance and £12 on the door, tickets available through Eventbrite (there's a QR code on the posters) or by emailingdeb@deborahrose.co.uk

Performing with her is Sonia Hammond on the cello.

Deborah has performed with folk singing greats like Judy Collins, and was on Radio 2 to commemorate the anniversary of Eva Cassidy, who is one of her inspirations.  She has a new album coming out soon, and her single I Lift My Eyes to the Hills won the national Totally Psalmic competition, to write a psalm as a song for a modern audience.  She recorded the song at Capel-y-Ffin, in front of the window engraved by Eric Gill which inspired the song.

Hay Forum - Icons

 

It was lovely to go into St Mary's yesterday to see this exhibition set up, with Gregorian chant as background music.

These are just a few examples of Christina Watson's work.  On the other side of the church she had the Roman style portraits that were put in tombs in Egypt, and she'd also brought examples of the pigments she uses, the rabbit skin glue, linen, and the white paint (gesso?) for the backgrounds.  Some of her paintings were on off cuts of laburnum from Alan Powell's carpentry workshop, and others were on boards from art shops.  The linen is glued to the base (it's the same glue that is used in bookbinding), and then painted white 12 to 15 times.  Then it's sanded down to a very smooth finish and only then is the artist ready to trace the lines of their picture onto the base.  She also uses egg tempura to fix the paint onto the board.

Before an icon painter begins work for the day, there are special prayers that should be said - it's a contemplative process, especially when the icons are intended to be used as a focus for prayer when they are finished.  Christina went on a course about ten years ago to learn the art properly, after a holiday in Cairo.  She was already an artist, and has painted many signs for shops around Hay.  She said she wants to continue painting icons (or 'writing an icon') forever! 

Christina will be holding an exhibition of her work at St John's Chapel over Hay Festival this year, along with Ukrainian icon painters.

To keep us in a contemplative mood, Jenny Bullough came along to do another humming session with us.  She was talking as well about how birds are the motion in a garden and bees are the voice of a garden, and quoted a line about "a buzzing with a bee in it".

There was also some live music from Father Richard, Christina, Terry and Jill, who sang a chant for the dead from Kiev, which is used at funerals, with Fr Richard at the organ.  His organ recital that morning was highly praised.

There was no news from Primrose Farm this month from Hawk and Louise, because it was Hawk's birthday, but they will be back in April to talk about what vegetables are in season.

There will be no Hay Forum in March, because Mary Ann will be in South Africa (she is the organiser).  The next Hay Forum will be on Saturday 13th April, at 6.30pm, because the nights will be lighter, just after Evensong, which is at 6pm.  Peter Ford will be talking about his new book Weston Hamlet, in which he has discovered some little known facts about Hay's history.

News from the Swimming Pool Meeting

 I wasn't able to go to the meeting, but I did see the post about it on Gareth Ratcliffe's Facebook page (the Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe News and Updates page).

It seems there is support for the swimming pool to re-open, but the upgrading of the facilities will be expensive, and what they really need are new trustees to carry the work forward.  They also need people who can help in the day to day running of the pool.

If anyone is able to help, they should email hayswimmingpool@gmail.com

Meanwhile the present trustees are looking into how much the various renovations will cost.

They are hoping to have another meeting on 29th February, so any interested parties are urged to contact them before the 19th February.

Valentine Post Box Topper

 

                                                    Love is in the air for Valentine's Day!

Discussion Groups at the Food Assembly

 So, the question we were considering, in our groups around the tables, was this:

"How might we support Hay-on-Wye, as a community, to become as self-sufficient as possible in sustainably-grown local food?  Eventually producing enough to feed the town and its environs, much as in the 1950s and 1960s?"

Around our table, the farmer (Richard, I think?) had recently joined a group of farmers called the Hay-on-Wye Cluster - he farms near Painscastle.  The group mostly produce meat, but they are applying for a loan to buy a grain mill for locally produced grain to make local bread, which would also include something called the Social Loaf.  They don't have any members that grow much in the way of vegetables yet.  I asked if Primrose Farm was involved, but they haven't been approached yet.  There was some discussion of the possibility of Keiran at the greengrocers being able to co-ordinate vegetable growers, since he sources as much as he can locally, so knows who is doing what.

It was felt, around the table that it was important to involve the small shops in Hay like the greengrocers and Small Farms butchers - building on a framework that already exists.  Geraint Powell had said in his short speech that he sold meat direct to the public - but none of us around the table knew how to find out who was doing that or how to get involved as customers.

Allotments and market gardens were also felt to be very important.  John the retired farmer was very keen on the idea of getting as many local people as possible to grow their own food, whether on an allotment or as volunteers in a CSA or other model of market garden.  One thing that nobody wanted was for some outside group to come in and start a market garden - this was something that had to come from the grassroots of Hay as a community.  Someone mentioned that there are around 300 market gardens across Wales at the moment, but to have a good chance of feeding the majority of the population, something like 1,000 are needed.  Allotments and market gardens can produce much more food per acre than conventional fields with single crops.

We talked about the HADSCAL plans for the community hub around the doctors' surgery, and how their plans for allotments could start right away, without waiting for any of the other parts of their plan.

After about half an hour of discussion, each table was asked to provide three main points to the assembly.

Table 1 had been talking about vegetable boxes and Incredible Edible.

Table 2 suggested vending machines around Hay for fresh produce, and stressed the need for co-ordination between everyone who wanted to get involved.

Table 3 wanted more CSAs, but access to land is a problem, so their next point was to communicate with landowners to identify land that could be used.  They also wanted to see more education around food and cooking.

Table 4 wanted to map the assets that already exist, and find out what the demand is locally, as well as the needs of local people.  They were also keen on education in cooking and growing food.

Table 5 mentioned sourcing land, and education.

Table 6 wanted to see a co-ordination of information - networking, as well as upscaling from any small initiatives, and mentioned access to land, especially for allotments.  Planning law is also a problem for market gardens, because of the difficulty of getting permission for growers to live on their land while they are working it.

Table 7 also liked the idea of vending machines, finding ways to create more demand for local food, and support to growers.

Table 8 wanted to see children involved in cooking, which they said was no longer part of the National Curriculum, and to see more communal eating opportunities, like Bethesda Chapel's communal meals.

and Table 9 wanted information sharing and investment in infrastructure.

After that, we all filled in forms.  One was to indicate what we could do to help practically, and one was for the Welsh government as a requirement for them releasing the second half of their funding. The other sponsors of the event were Extinction Rebellion.

 I always have problems thinking about what to say to open ended questions, but for the question about getting more involved I mentioned that we needed a more frequent bus service, and for the question about what was stopping people from getting more involved, I said that people need enough time and energy to commit to something like this, and getting a Universal Basic Income scheme off the ground would help a lot!

Then there was time for a few questions from the floor, and Michael mapped out what would be happening next.  The points recorded by all the note-takers were going to be taken away and analysed, and they would be looking through the forms for practical help which would give an indication of what it was possible to do, given the people who were available to do it.

One lady from the audience invited people to contact her so that she could get something started about a vending machine.

So that's what the state of play is at the moment.

Hay Food Assembly

 I arrived a little early at the Swan, to drop off my donation of biscuits to go with the free tea and coffee that was being provided.  Michael was giving some last minute direction to the facilitators who would be working with the rest of the people there during the afternoon.

Inside the function room, there were 9 or 10 round tables to sit at - I found a place just under the TV camera, at table 6, along with Janet from HOWLS, the Hay Library group, and a lady from Swansea who was acting as the note-taker for the table - she'd come up with some others because a group in Swansea wanted to try something similar, so she was seeing how it worked in practice.  There were also a couple of farmers on our table (one retired) and a lady who just wanted to see what was going on.  And Wayland, our facilitator, of course, who was there to keep the conversation going and stop anyone who was speaking over other participants.  (we were a very civilised group, so he didn't need to do much to keep us on track!).

There were a couple of tables at the back for anyone who didn't want to be filmed or photographed.

The idea for the forum came out of Hay Library CIC, and this is the first of three forums on different topics - the others are energy (can Hay do anything to generate our own energy?) and well-being (intervening with mental health problems before it gets bad enough for the NHS to become involved).

So this one was about food.  Can Hay get anywhere near self-sufficiency in food?  It used to be the case that local farmers fed local people, but now the supply chains can be very long indeed.  Even Kieran at the greengrocers has to travel to Birmingham to get some of his stock, though he tries to source as much as he can nearer to home, and some of the produce he buys in Birmingham will have come from much further away (we still can't grow bananas very well in the UK!)

The meeting started with a series of short films or speeches about the sort of things that are happening around the country to improve local access to fresh produce.  

First, the Mayor of South Yorkshire gave a quick introduction to how Citizen's Assemblies work - he organised one in his area to get an idea of what the local communities needed to be done.

Then there was a short film on Permaculture, which is a way of designing the landscape to provide food and shelter and all the other necessities of life in a sustainable way.

Katie Hardy spoke about Growing Local, the 20 acre site near Hereford where she's Head Grower.  This is a CSA - a Community Share Agriculture scheme where share holders pay in advance for food boxes, and the market garden grows the food.  They're also planning a cafe and a learning garden for schools.

The next film was for Incredible Edible, showing a scheme in Wrexham where volunteers plant fruit trees and vegetables in public spaces for anyone to harvest.  The council allowed them to plant on a piece of waste ground in one of the housing estates, on the basis that they couldn't make it any worse!

Then there was a film about LEAP - an organisation that provides loans for all sorts of growing and farming projects.  Funding can be a real problem for initiatives like this, but as well as LEAP there are grants available if you know where to apply for them.

Finally Geraint Powell, from Cabalva Farm, talked a bit about Regenerative Agriculture and what they are doing at Cabalva.

So, the audience now had an idea of what was possible - the next stage was to discuss it around the tables....

Hay Food Resilience Meeting

 I've just come back from an afternoon at the Swan.  The function room was packed (and there was a waiting list for the free tickets, which is why I didn't publicise it here ahead of time), but it was a fascinating meeting, and I'll be writing more about it over the coming days.

Open Art Show at the Castle

 I went up to the Castle a few days ago to have a look at the new art show.  It's mostly local artists, though some come from a bit further afield, and the quality of the work is very impressive.

There are local landscapes, huge seascapes, a couple of hand made spoons, a slate sculpture with a white stone ball balanced on the curved black slate.  Sally Matthews has contributed a picture of a stag (she's exhibited in Hay before, most notably at the Globe where she had giant pictures of cows on the walls and wire sculptures of deerhounds that were incredibly lifelife).

Anyway, it's well worth seeing, and most of the pictures are for sale.

Long Tailed Tits

 I took advantage of the frosty, sunny afternoon yesterday to walk along the river - and saw three longtailed tits darting about in the branches.

Lucky Find on the Market

 

I am ridiculously pleased with this!  I found it on the stall in the corner of the market square, next to the veg stall.  I have always wanted one!

The photo is taken on the bench outside Booths Bookshop.

This is, of course, only the first step towards building my own Tardis!

Too Cold to Open!

 

Seen on the door of Adela's Dress Agency!

Sad News from the Children's Bookshop

 I've just heard today that Judith Gardner, of the Children's Bookshop on the road to Clifford just outside Hay, has died.  She was 84.

I worked for Judith for several years, and her husband Bob and son Colin, and they were a pleasure to work for.  It was one of my favourite jobs in Hay (and I was able to take my dog to work with me - she had a collar tag that said "Member of Staff"!).  They were very good to me when I was going through a difficult time in my life.

Judith had been in poor health for some time, but the news still comes as a shock.

I understand that Colin, her son, intends to keep the shop open.

Hopeful Message

 

The Lavender Farmers are looking forward to the future!

Hay Swimming Pool

 While I'm thinking about community sports facilities, Hay Swimming Pool needs help!

There will be a meeting on Wednesday 31st January, at 7pm at Hay School to discuss options for the future and hopefully to find new trustees.

The pool is 50 years old, and it needs major structural investments and refurbishment.  Originally it was built with a life span of 25 years in mind.  Particular problems are the wooden structure, and the pool ventilation system.

They also need volunteers to help clean and manage the pool, as well as trustees to run it.

If they can't get the help they need, the pool will have to close down completely.  It's already closed down as a temporary measure.

Plans for Community Facilities

 I went to the HADSCAL (Hay and District Sports and Community Association Ltd.) consultation after work, and found the group doing the presentations sitting round a table in the middle of the library.  They'd been on the go since 1.30pm, and a lot of people had come in to find out about the proposals, so they were pretty tired!  

Many years ago, there was a plan to build a community centre on the land next to the doctor's surgery which is owned by HADSCAL, but sadly it didn't work out in the end.  This plan is a bit different.  It still includes a community building, with space for the Dial-a-Ride office and the Youth Club, as well as rooms to hire out, but there is more going on outdoors.  This includes a bike track and a small sports court, for things like basketball and five a side football.  They also want a gym, and behind the surgery they want to have a community growing area to produce food and give space to socialise.  There was a young lady there who was asking about play space for smaller children - she said she brings her children into the library all the time.

There is also space near the road for some Business Starter Units.  The income from the business units would be used to fund the majority of the running costs for the site, with further income coming from the hiring out of rooms and offices.  All the buildings will be as environmentally friendly as possible (which also makes financial sense) with solar panels and solar tiles on the roofs and on canopies over the parking areas, and grey water recycling.

They said that there had been some interest during the day from councillors from Cusop Community Council - they took away some of the flyers to show at their meeting, which is this evening.  They have plans for some sports facilities in Cusop, but they don't want to duplicate anything that is planned in Hay.  Someone from Llanigon Council showed an interest, too.

HADSCAL are running a survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7SYHQYF or people can make their views known by emailing info@hadscal.org

HADSCAL consultation

 

HADSCAL is holding a public consultation at Hay Library on Wednesday 10th January, between 1.30pm and 7pm, to find out what facilities local people would like to see developed in Hay.  They have plans, and want to know what people think of them.

They also have a Facebook page, for anyone who can't get to the Library on that date.

Stillness at St Mary's

 Hay Forum was fun yesterday afternoon.

I walked down with my neighbour, who had never been before, and he said he'd enjoyed it at the end, too.

The main speaker was Jenny Bullough, who has taught yoga for many years, so much of what she was saying was drawn from that tradition.  It's not just 'tying yourself up in knots'!  Exercise is part of yoga practice, but it's also about slowing down if your brain is working too fast, or speeding up if your brain is stuck and stagnant, to a balance of stillness somewhere in the middle.  I liked the description that the extremes are water buffaloes and drunken monkeys!  

She also demonstrated the idea with a clay bowl and oil - you need the structure of the bowl (a routine in your daily life) or the oil (all that energy) will go everywhere chaotically.

She started off with a roving mic, since she had props dotted around the space, but only the fixed mic at the lectern worked, so she had to dash off and demonstrate and then dash back to the mic to tell us about it.

Quotations on her theme came from the children's book Ferdinand the Bull (he liked to stop and smell the flowers), and the poem Innisfree by Yeats - she got the audience to hum, and in the silence after that she read the poem.

Music came from Deborah Rose.  First she sang one of her own compositions, Capel-y-ffin, inspired by the quotation from the psalm cut into the glass of the chapel window - "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills", and later she sang Amazing Grace.  She has a beautiful voice, and will be giving a concert at St Mary's on Saturday 24th February at 7pm with the cellist Sonia Hammond.  Tickets are £10 in advance and £12 on the door.

And there was also the first of a series of updates from Primrose Organic Farm.  In keeping with the theme of stillness, January is their quietest month, in between the last harvesting and the first planting for next year.  They had a slideshow of the Farm to show us, though - they manage to pack an awful lot into 1 3/4 acres!

The next Hay Forum will be on 3rd February, and will feature Christina Watson talking about icon painting.

Concerts in Honour of Ligeti

 Hay Music are putting on a special series of concerts in honour of the centenary of the Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti - a composer I confess to being unfamiliar with, even though his music featured in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I've seen twice, and all I remember is the famous Strauss sequence.  I'm always aware of music in the soundtrack of a film, but it doesn't really sink into my brain unless I listen to it separately from the action.  Tickets are £5, with under-25's free, available from the website or Hay Tourist Information Bureau, and on the door if there are any tickets left on the night.

On Thursday 18th January, at 7pm, at Richard Booth's Cinema, there will be a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Tickets are £14 with some concessions for children.

So those two events set the scene for the concert in St Mary's Church on Friday 19th January at 7pm.  The music will be played by the Ligeti Quartet, and the music will either be by Ligeti, or inspired by him.  Before the music starts there will be a 15 minute discussion between Freya Goldmark and Patric Dawkins of the Ligeti Quartet and two people who knew the composer well, Professor Robert Steinitz and Sally Groves.  Professor Steinitz wrote the biography of Ligeti, and one of his compositions will be played in the concert, and Sally Groves was Ligeti's agent.  Tickets are £20, or £10 for under-25s.

New Post Box Topper

 

A new Post Box topper for the New Year, featuring two very special people - Mac Eager, who retired from his job with the Council recently, and Susan Jenkins, this year's Citizen of the Year!

Dial a Ride Drivers Needed

 Dial a Ride is looking for new volunteer car drivers, because of the increased demand on the service.

Hay Forum

 This month's Hay Forum is on Saturday 6th January, at 3.30pm at St Mary's Church.

The main speaker this month is Jenny Bullough, talking about gaining stillness and equinamity in a time of chaos and disharmony in the world and our personal lives.  She's been working in the field for over 40 years, using reflection, breathwork and movement, and it's something anyone can do, regardless of age or fitness level.

Deborah Rose will be singing I Lift My Eyes to the Hills, inspired by a visit to Little St Mary's at Capel-y-ffin.  Apparently, when she sang Amazing Grace at a previous forum, there wasn't a dry eye in the house!

And Primrose Farm will be making the first of regular appearances, with news from their organic gardens - what to plant, what fruit and vegetables are in season, and keeping up with the natural cycles of Nature (that should help with stillness and equinamity, too!)

The tickets are £5 on the door, and the money goes to local people and animals in need.

Floods!

 I needed to go into Hereford this morning, and I only just got back!

There were puddles all along the Golden Valley on the way in, and then it kept on raining, so by the time I caught the bus back it was only just able to get through, and there was some doubt as to whether the later buses would be running.

One stretch, just before the Bage, was actually one continuous puddle for about half a mile, and at that point an alarm started to sound on the bus, which went on continuously until we got to Hardwick!  The bus driver had to turn the engine off and on again, and that was the first properly dry bit of road she could do it on.

Checking Facebook, I see that the Letton road is also closed because of flooding, so it's not just the bus route that's affected.

ATM Out of Order

 Well, that was a good start to the New Year!

First of all, I couldn't get the lid off my new jar of jam (homemade gooseberry), until I tried putting the jar upside down in boiling water.  The theory being that the metal lid expands in the heat, but the glass doesn't, so it loosens the lid.  Even then, I was actually walking to the bin to throw the whole lot away when the lid finally came off!

Then I walked up to the Craft Centre to get some money out of the ATM, and it's out of order.  The display says they suspect "customer tampering".

I hope it's back in working order soon.

So I walked down to the Co-op and used their machine instead, and did my shopping there for a change.