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. 

Medieval Festival

 I went into Hereford today, and there were flags all over the city centre for the Medieval Festival.

The Festival itself is next weekend, the 15th and 16th August, and they seem to be throwing themselves into the spirit of the thing. 

They're starting with a medieval feast in the Cathedral on the Friday evening. 

Most of the activity seems to be taking place around the Cathedral, with archery, the Museum on the Move, hog roast, all sorts of stalls, a blacksmith display, re-enactor's village and arenas for combat demonstrations.

Then in High Town there's story telling, stocks and trying on armour.  Members of the public can try out weapons training, archery, and medieval dancing, and the re-enactment group involved seems to be the Shrewsbury Levy. 

Around town there will also be guided history walks, ghost walks, and children's horrid history walks. 

It all sounds like brilliant fun, and now I'm torn, because Saturday 15th August is also the day of the beginning of the River Pilgrimage, taking the statue of the Virgin Mary down the Wye from St Mary's Church.  I hope there'll be enough water in the river for them to launch the boat! 

Photoshoot

 At the beginning of the year, I was contacted by a lady who was putting together an exhibition of photos of women involved in pagan practices around the country.  I have been known to do the occasional ritual, and I did go to the Pagan Picnic in Hereford the other year, so I just about qualify!

So last week, she contacted me again, and said that she now had funding for the project, so yesterday she came round to take some photos.  I took her to Swan Well, which is extremely photogenic, especially now that people have started leaving flowers there.  Then I took her down to the Warren and talked about the Friends of the River Wye and how all the pagan activities I've done seem to involve water in some way.  This includes himalayan balsam bashing!  Some pagan activities can be very practical - it's the intention that counts.  I've also successfully dowsed for water - which is a useful talent at the moment!

Then I took her home and showed her my collection of Tarot card decks.

It was all great fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing copies of the photos she's taken.

Her exhibition will be on at the Portico Library in Manchester later this year. 

Trip to Brecon

 I needed to look at an article in Brycheiniog journal, and for that I needed to go to the library in Brecon.

When the library was in the older building at the top of Ship Street, I used to use the local history reference section a lot.  Back then it was in a corner of the main library.  

Now it's in a little room upstairs, and half of the cabinets are locked because they've had some problems with theft.  The staff are all very helpful, though, and I was soon sitting down with the relevant volume and taking notes.

Before I left, I made sure that my library card was re-activated, because I haven't used it for a while, because I'm sure I'll be going back to look at other things in the collection.

There's also a Meg Stevens exhibition on, which I didn't have time to see.  I love her paintings of wild flowers and landscapes. 

Having done my research, I just had time to have a quick look round the town centre, dodging the roadworks - they're pedestrianising the centre of town, apart from one narrow lane for traffic - and I ended up in the Brecon Tap with a half of Good Old Boys, which was very pleasant.  I didn't see what brewery it came from, as the price label obscured the pump.  They were pretty busy, and I was pleased to see that they are still doing pies and pints.

I had a brief moment of anxiety at the bus station.  The bus to Hay used to go from the first stand, which is marked T4.  The bus came in at about the time I was expecting - but it was the Brecon to Merthyr Tydfil T4.  The X44 now goes from the second stand - and it came in about five minutes later.