Secret Wine Bar

 

One of the many things that will be happening on Saturday (and Sunday, in this case).

There's also a concert at St Mary's Church in the afternoon, about the life of Clara Schumann.  It starts at 3.30pm, and is free, with a retiring collection in aid of church funds.

The car park will be full of the sports village, and a big screen to watch the cycle race.

And I think I'll be off to Hereford for the Pagan Picnic at Castle Green.  Usually the local pagan events are in the evenings, so there are no buses back to Hay, but this one runs from 11am to 2pm, so I can actually get there and back.   

A Shop Called Alice

 

Hay's newest bookshop is now open for business - specialising in Alice in Wonderland books.

Parking during the Cycle Race

 Some good news from Gareth Ratcliffe's Facebook page - extra parking has been arranged for the Saturday of the Cycle Race at Brecon Road and the Football Club on Forest Road.  Proceeds from the parking charges will go to charity, specifically the switching lights project (Christmas lights???).  There will also be extra parking at the end of Brecon Road near the Festival site, and possibly something across the river at Clyro.

The finishing line of the cycle race will be on Brecon Road, which will be closed so they can put up all the usual barriers and bollards and so on around the finishing line.

The main car park will be used as a sports village during the day.  People will be able to see the cyclists after the race and there will be a big screen showing the race as they come down from Llanidloes, with commentary.  The race organisers are expecting around 4,000 people to turn up, on top of the usual holiday crowds that come to Hay.

The race will be coming through Clyro, down to Glasbury and over the river at Glasbury bridge to end up in Hay, and the roads will only be closed when the race is moving through that stretch. 

Launching Our Lady of the Wye

 

Here's the boat about to set off down the River Wye, with the statue of the Virgin Mary firmly attached.  

The morning started with a short Mass (no hymns) at St Mary's, followed by a procession through Hay and down to the canoe landing stage.  On the way, I chatted to a lady from Presteigne.  She had come down because she knew Father Richard, who now lives there, and seems to have settled in well after his time in Hay.  Another lady had come from Abergavenny to take part.  

Also this year a couple of ladies from the Friends of the River Wye had brought collection tins to rattle as we walked through the town.  They were also handing out copies of the Riverside Code.  It's a little booklet with a hand-drawn map of the river catchment area in the middle, with lots of useful information about the river, the situation with pollution, and what people can do to help, either through their own actions or by joining a variety of local groups.

The statue went down to Whitney on Wye, stopping at The Boat for evensong at Ss Peter and Paul on Saturday afternoon.

Today there was the Patronal Mass at St. Mary's Hay in the morning, and Vespers at St Thomas and St Bede Catholic Church in Weobley. 

Tomorrow they're going down the river from Whitney to Bredwardine Bridge, and evensong is at S Michael and All Angels, Moccas, with monks from Belmont Abbey doing Gregorian chant (and also wine and canapes). 

On Tuesday they go from Bredwardine Bridge to Hereford Cathedral for evensong, followed by a party in the Old Chapel.

On Wednesday, they're going from Hereford Cathedral to Hoarwithy, for the final evensong at St Catherine's, Hoarwithy with Ross Parish Church Choir.

The river is very low indeed, and a lady in a bikini actually waded out into the channel to make sure that it was deep enough to launch the boat.

 

National Fire Alert

 We've been three months without rain (apart from one evening of drizzle that didn't do much to help the parched plants) and last night I heard a strange electronic beeping.  It didn't sound like any of the electronic devices I own, so it was a puzzle.  Then it went again, and I thought to check my phone - to find a National Alert from the government about the dangers of wildfires.

Nice to know the system works, but it wasn't exactly news - we've been smelling smoke from wildfires in the area for days in Hay, and seeing the haze in the air.

As a result of the warning, though, the barbecue at Cusop Village Hall has been called off - it was going to be held on Sunday, but they've decided not to risk setting the grass alight. 

Cycle Race

 Yellow signs have been going up around town to close roads - and the car park - for a big cycle race on Saturday (where tourists are meant to park while the car park is closed is another matter!).

I checked the one on the road to the church, and it won't affect the procession in the morning carrying the statue of the Virgin Mary down to the river to be launched on this year's pilgrimage.  That road closes at 1.30pm.

The race itself is pretty prestigious.  It's the Tour of Britain Women race, attracting top cyclists from around the world.  They start at Cockermouth in Cumbria, with a stage that goes through the Lake District.  Then it's Clitheroe to Blackpool in Lancashire, finishing along Blackpool Promenade.

Stage 3 moves down to North Wales, from Mold to the Great Orme.

We're involved in Stage 4, Llanidloes to Hay - which explains why they need the car park, for the finish.

The final stage moves to the Midlands, doing a circle around Leamington Spa.

So watch out for cyclists on Saturday - they'll probably be going very fast! 

[Updated to add:  the cycle race is on 22nd August, and the Virgin Mary sets off down the Wye on the 15th, so the procession wouldn't be affected anyway!] 

Afternoon Concert

 There was a time when I would deliberately avoid concerts with a classically trained singer with piano accompaniment - but I really enjoyed this one, possibly because I know the singer and the pianist.

Lucy Green and Rosemary Firmin gave a wonderful concert at St. Mary's, which was free, with a retiring collection in aid of church funds.  Lucy sang in French, German and Italian, from a wide variety of composers, and Rosemary also played a couple of pieces for piano, one of which was by Clara Schumann.  There was also an excellent choice of cakes and drinks at the back (they really do work hard to make the concerts a success).  I enjoyed the lemon drizzle cake.

There will be another concert on Saturday 22nd August which tells the story of Robert and Clara Schumann.  Rosemary will be on the piano again, and she will be joined by Birgitta Claus, narrating, and Steve Goodridge, narrating and singing tenor.

The tag line on the poster is "Passion, determination, tragedy and beautiful music!"  It sounds fascinating!

The concert will start at 3.30pm.