Return of Hay on Fire

 There are plans to hold Hay on Fire again in 2027.  

I was there at the very first Hay on Fire, when the procession went through the town and ended up on the riverbank where the canoes are now.  There was a fire labyrinth, and people out on the river playing with fire.  I was involved in the charity bucket collections - including the very, very wet year when we had to pour the buckets into a sieve over a sink to get the coins out (we didn't get any notes that year - they would have disintegrated!).  That was the year the theme was Midsummer Nights Dream, and there were some very soggy fairies about!

I also remember the vicar at the time (before Father Richard) believing that Hay on Fire was Satanic, and ringing the church bells to drive away the Devil!

Later the fireworks moved to the Warren, where the fireworks - and the cars with flamethrowers - were kept well away from the audience.  I remember the Mayor of Timbuktu, with wellies under his robes, going down the track to watch when he came to visit Hay.

And then it stopped happening - I think there were problems with getting insurance, amongst other things.

Now a new group wants to revive Hay on Fire, for the fiftieth anniversary of Hay Independence, and they're holding a fund raiser on Saturday night at the Globe to start raising the money to put it on again next year.  It'll be mostly in the garden of the Globe, because there will be fire juggling from Pyro Cymru!  They will be encouraging people to have a go, from people who are already performers to complete beginners.  And Goffee, the creator of the original Hay on Fire, will be there to give them his blessing.

Entry is free. 

 

Flu Jab

 I had my first flu jab yesterday afternoon (I should have had one last year, but I didn't get round to organising it).  I was impressed at how smoothly it all went, from the lady in the hi-viz vest standing outside the waiting room, the short queue, and the friendly nurses.

It only took about twenty minutes from me leaving work to walk round to the surgery to me getting back to the bookshop, so very quick and efficient - and well worth having. 

Friends of the River Wye at Westminster

Friends of the River Wye have been in Westminster to lobby MPs to vote against the government's proposed Poultry Growth Strategy.  There has been no local community engagement by DEFRA and the big chicken factory farm owners, and here's a map of the chicken units that already exist in the Wye catchment area:

 Campaigners are arguing that this is already too many chickens, and the River Wye is already negatively affected by the pollution from these farms.

 

Digging for Cusop

 Tim Hoverd, the archaeologist who was in charge of the Cusop Castle Dig this summer, will be giving the interim report on the findings next week, Wednesday 28th October at 7.30pm.  Donations of £2 are requested on the door.

The venue is Clyro Village Hall, which is larger that Cusop Village Hall.  The dig committee wants there to be enough room for everyone who is interested - 112 volunteers took part in the dig!  They won't all be able to be there, but there are plenty of other people locally who are interested, too.

Mithras Trio - More Hay Music

 The next Hay Music concert will be performed by the Mithras Trio.  They play piano, violin and cello, and will be performing works by Mozart, Enescu and Brahms at St Mary's Church on Friday 23rd October at 7pm.  Tickets are £20, and £10 for under 25s, and as usual there will be a bar.

 

An American Werewolf at Hay Castle

 For Hallowe'en, Hay Castle are putting on the film American Werewolf in London, in the Great Hall at 8pm on Friday October 30th (bring a cushion!).  Tickets are £15.

Although I've known about the film for years, and knew that some of it was filmed in this area (the Slaughtered Lamb pub is a house in Crickadarn, for instance), I've never seen the film itself.

So that's what I'm doing for Hallowe'en. 

Gwernyfed Walled Gardens

 

I was having such an interesting conversation that I forgot to take any photos until we were leaving!  Here's the sculpture of the heron next to the duckpond, which is drained at the moment.

 

I've never been to Gwernyfed Walled Garden before, mostly because I thought it was more difficult to get to than it is.  Just up the drive to Gwernyfed School there's a side turn, and the walled garden is just there.  So it's really close to the bus stops, and I can get there easily on my own when I go again.

A friend was treating me to lunch, which we had in the old glass house after a stroll round the garden.  It's full of produce and flowers at the moment.  She also pointed out the part of the garden wall which has been rebuilt in breeze blocks - a reminder of the explosion in the munition dump during World War Two!

I had the Thai curry, she had the parsnip soup, and we shared a pot of tea between us.  I noticed that there were some delicious looking cakes on display too - maybe next time!

As we left, we passed some building work in progress, where they are adding an extension.  It will be interesting to come back next year to see the results.