Happy Easter!

 

Here's the latest Post Box topper.

I'll be back after Easter. 

Wildlife Art

 Oil and Oak often put on exhibitions in their upstairs room, and at the moment the space is filled with very detailed and realistic paintings of British wildlife by Lyndsay Reid.  I especially like the hares.

New Comic Shop

 

Congratulations to Lauren and Julian of Hay-on-Wye Comics, who have upgraded from the market stall and shelf in Broad Street Books to a shop of their own.  They're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I haven't been able to look inside properly yet, but I know they have lots of interesting stock, and I'll be browsing as soon as I can.

New Exhibition at Lion Street Gallery

 I saw the announcement on Facebook, so I decided to check it out when I went shopping.

The exhibition at Lion Street Gallery is called Emotional Terrain, and is a group of works by Di Metcalfe.

I had the gallery to myself that morning, so i had plenty of time to linger over the landscapes.  The card that goes with the exhibition says: "Her work radiates energy and intensity" and it's true - you can feel the energy in the brushstrokes - or maybe she uses a pallet knife - there's a lot of texture to the paint.  Brent explained that she works on solid panels rather than canvas, because her vigorous style would make the  canvas stretch and go baggy   Most of the landscapes are places in Wales, with exuberant cloudscapes.  I liked them a lot.

Brent also displays work from a regular group of artists, and I like most of them - the interiors of historic houses by Matthew Wood, and the wildflowers standing out of a blurred background by Dylan Lloyd, and at the moment there are some green semi-abstract woodland glades and pools by Sandra Graham that I also liked very much.  The paintings are expensive, but there's a scheme where you can pay installments over several months - which makes it a far more reasonable proposition.  And they are very fine works of art.

Yorkshire Building Society

 I was very disappointed to get an email this morning to say that the Hay branch of the Yorkshire Building Society will be closing down in August.

One of my main reasons for opening a savings account with them - when I was in a position to actually have savings! - was that I could walk into their office and talk to an actual human being, who knew me, and the whole business took about five minutes out of my day.

I understand that the next nearest physical branch is a choice between Abergavenny or Worcester - neither of which are exactly accessible for a visit from Hay.  So instead of walking in while I'm doing my shopping, this would mean a bus ride to Hereford and a train, and take all day.  Or a bus ride to Brecon and bus down to Abergavenny that way, which would also take most of a day.

Looks like I'm going to have to start thinking about moving my savings - I refuse to do online banking.  It's only more convenient for the bank or building society, not for me as a customer. 

Children's Concert

 My neighbour was sitting in her garden this morning when two children leaned over the wall.

"We're in a concert at the church this evening.  You've got to come!"

So we walked down to the church together.  Just in front of us, a kid with a violin case was charging full pelt down the hill, obviously thinking he was going to be late.

As we sat down, the two kids who had invited my neighbour looked back from their seats with thumbs up.  "You came!" 

The first half of the concert was performed by the professional pianist Jelena Makarova and soprano - the children were being introduced to a wide variety of music featuring rivers and the sea, starting with Benjamin Britten's arrangement of the folk song O, Waly, Waly, the Mermaid's Song by Haydn, a setting of a piece for choir done specially for Jessica Summers to sing with the piano by Colin Riley, called Never Coming Back, and At the River arranged by Aaron Copeland - one of those hymns that turns  up in old Westerns.

Then it was the children's turn.  Francesca Kay the poet had worked with Class 5 in four groups, each of which produced a very different river-themed poem, which composer Robert Peate set to music, including a very serious young drummer, a girl on the xylophone, various cymbals and percussion instruments, and two violinists - and the choir.  They all looked as if they were enjoying themselves, and thoroughly deserved the applause after each song, and at the end.  The poet said that she'd love to just go back to the school and write poetry with the kids until they told her to go away!

It was hugely enjoyable, and lots of people were leaving donations for further Outreach events in the future as they left. 

Symphony Orchestra in Hay

 It's not often Hay gets an entire symphony orchestra*, but Hay Music has organised a concert with the Hereford Symphony Orchestra this Saturday at 3pm (doors open at 2.30pm) in St Mary's Church.  

Tickets are £20, under-25s £10.  They will be playing Rossini's An Italian Girl in Algiers, Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony.

And it's a busy week for music lovers, because Songs of the River will be performed, also at St Mary's, on Thursday 26th March at 6pm.  This is a project put together by the musicians and children of Hay School - composer Robert Peate, poet Francesca Kay, soprano Jessica Summers and pianist Jelena Makarova.  This concert is free with a retiring collection in support of Hay Music's Outreach Programme. 

*in fact, this is the first  time!