Packing

 No time for posting for a few days - only packing....

Well-Being Assembly

 This was the third of the Citizen's Assemblies organised by Mike Eccles.

To open the proceedings, he gave us an update on what has been achieved so far.  

Hay is now part of the South Powys Food Loop.  Our part in that is to set up an online supermarket of local food, and to encourage local people to use it to buy their groceries as much as possible.

On the  energy front, three consultants are working with the group in Hay - one from CAT, one from a group in Leominster, and I didn't catch who the other one was.  Setting up our own energy company is complicated, so the target is to have it up and running by 2035.  So far they are at the stage of mapping suitable local energy generation sites and having talks with the landowners.

This Assembly was on Mental Well-Being, and apparently it's something that has never been tried before.  They are hoping that, if it is successful, a similar model can be rolled out across Wales, via the library services.

The slogan of the Assembly was "It's OK not to feel OK, but it's not OK to not talk about it."

The idea is that Hay as a community should be able to identify people who are struggling with anxiety or loneliness or low level depression, and give assistance before it gets bad enough to involve the NHS.  NHS services have seen serious cuts in recent years, so even if someone is ill enough to need medical help, they can be a long time on a waiting list before they get it. 

As part of the discussion process, they are trialing some new software to record and analyse the conversations on each table which is AI assisted.  My comment was that AI is Evil - but this seems to be one of the more ethical uses of the technology, as it is not being trained on copyright material stolen from the authors, but just looking at the conversations in the room.

So the question we were considering was: How can we catch people before they need medical help?  How can we create a supportive community?

Before we started the discussions, we were shown a short film from Cambridge, interviewing schoolchildren and mothers who were suffering from climate anxiety - the worry about how the climate is changing and how it will affect the children who are growing up now.  One lady being interviewed said that, if people aren't worried, there must be something wrong with them - there's a lot to be worried about!  Everyone involved seemed to think that doing something practical helped a lot, even if it's only something small and local.

Then we had a short speech from Marie Brousseau-Navarro, who is the Deputy Commissioner and Director for Health in the Future Generations Commission for Wales.  This body ensures that decisions taken in the Senedd take into account the consequences for people in the future - more long term thinking than is usually the case in politics.  They produce a report every five years assessing how well the Senedd is doing.  Mike met Marie at Hay Festival, and she was so interested in what he was doing that she wanted to come along and see the Assembly in action. 

On our table we had a mix of people who are long term residents of Hay, who know the history of what has been done before, and some newcomers, which was useful because we could compare notes on how easy it was to find out what was going on in Hay and how easy (or not) it was to access groups of fellow residents with similar interests.  There's a lot going on in Hay, and that's one way to help people who feel isolated, if there is an easy way of finding out where those groups are.

During the coffee break, the lady who was filming the event set up her camera in another room to do interviews with volunteers.  I went along because no-one else on the table felt brave enough to do it!

It was mildly terrifying, but I think I made sense, and the camera lady said I'd given her some useful content.

The last part of the process was for a person from each table to stand up and share what had come out of the discussions - each table had a note taker using post-it notes, and a moderator to keep the discussion on track and make sure everyone was heard.

Just about everyone agreed that what Hay needs is a central hub where people can go and meet and find out what's going on.  At the moment the Library has this role - but Hay used to have a proper community centre, and that's really what's needed again.  (there is a long, long history of Hay trying to get a new community centre which I will not repeat here).

Several tables also suggested that it would be a good idea to give some sort of training to people in the community so they could recognise people who were struggling and offer support.

One table suggested making Hay a Town of Well-Being, and our table suggested a group at the Thursday market called something like Happy in Hay that could share information and lend a friendly ear.  (the British Legion has a very good Tea and Chat session regularly, but not everyone wants to go into the British Legion).

There was some worry about the younger people growing up in the community, and the need for inter-generational activities was stressed, as well as the suggestion that there should be a Young People's Assembly so that they could decide for themselves what they needed.

There was also mention of the perennial problem in Hay of groups needing to collaborate more - and publicise the fact that they exist better.  The Hay Community Facebook page is a useful resource, but not everyone is on Facebook, and there needs to be a way of communicating without being online as well.

Finally, there was an emphasis on the benefits of nature - getting out walking, working with farmers to improve local biodiversity, and creating nature based projects.

When I went along to the Assembly, I wasn't sure what I'd be able to contribute, but it turned out to be a very useful session and I'm very glad I went.

Tanzanian Cuisine

 I needed to go into Hereford for the bank yesterday.

I normally go in the morning, and have a late lunch when I get back, but yesterday the removal man was coming round in the morning to see how much stuff I have to move, so I took the 11.50 bus.  The next bus back was 16.20, so I had quite a while to hang around.

The May Fair has moved on now, but there are signs of the terrible fire that engulfed a burger van the other day.  They did a brilliant job of clearing it up, though, and even had members of the Showman's Guild from Birmingham come down to help them.  A couple of nearby shops need new signs and paintwork.

My next job was to find the furniture warehouses/showrooms.  When my mum heard I was moving, she said brightly: "Oh, I'll buy you a sofa as a moving in present."  Which is incredibly generous of her, but I'm pretty sure there won't be room for a sofa, so I talked her down to a comfy chair.

90% of the chairs on offer seemed to be recliners, and I didn't really want a recliner.  But there was a very nice one at the oak and pine place behind the Green Dragon.

The only other furniture warehouse I could find was the one I got my bed from a few years ago, near the multistorey car park.  They had a bigger selection, again mostly recliners, but there is one very nice high backed armchair that looks perfect.  It even comes in 4 different colours.  So as soon as I'm settled in, I can go back and order it.

It was definitely time for a late lunch now.  There's a little food court in the Market, and I noticed a sign for Tanzanian cuisine.  I'm pretty sure I've never eaten Tanzanian food, so I got the lady at the stall to talk me through what the choices are.  I'm very sure that I've never come across ugali before - it's a slab of boiled maize.  The lady said it was pretty bland in itself; the flavour comes from the curry it's served with.  I chose the beef curry, and it was delicious.  Next time I need a meal in Hereford I'm going back to try some other things on her menu.

And from the other window on her stall, she sells hand made soaps.

Moving House

 I've signed all the paperwork, set up the standing order with the bank, and I'm just waiting for a date from ATK Removals, and I'll be leaving the little flat over the Old Electric Shop.

It's all happened very quickly - three weeks ago I had no intention of moving!  But now I have been offered one of the Harley almshouses, and it was too good an opportunity to miss.

(The charity has a very sensible rule about not discussing the almshouses online, so this is the only time I will mention anything about it).

Of course, this means that I now qualify as a little old lady, though one of my friends said that couldn't be right, because I'm too tall!

And one of my colleagues at work said: "They're a bit hobbit-y, aren't they?"

I think this can only be a good thing.  After all, Tolkien said that hobbit holes mean comfort.

It's Not All at the Co-op

 I don't know if anyone will remember the old advert "It's all at the Co-op Now!" but today I went down and I've never seen the shelves so empty.  No veg apart from a few turnips, and gaps all round the store.

Fortunately they still had everything I needed.  I've stocked up on some ready meals so I don't need to worry about cooking for a week or so.

The chap on the till said it was due to computer difficulties.

Exhibition at The Chair

 I've been running around doing Behind the Scenes Stuff (which is still ongoing), but I was impressed enough to stop and look at the new exhibition at the Chair gallery.

It's a comparison between clothes made from derivatives of oil ("clothes from the oil fields") versus clothes made from natural fibres ("clothes from the farmers' fields").  Superficially, the two outfits in the window look very similar - but when you look closer, and think about it, the natural fibres are renewable and sustainable and the clothes from the oil fields - aren't.

I'm not sure if I'll have time to pop in to chat to the exhibitors - I'm sure it will be very interesting. 

[Edited to add: I did have time to pop in today, and as well as the comparison between different sorts of clothing there were also some examples of visible mending, natural dyes from the lady who has the spinning wheel on the market, and a nurse's cape decorated with patchwork and crocheted squares.]

A Walk Round Hay

 It's Market Day, the streets are buzzing, the sun is shining, and I went for a wander after my shopping was done.

The little purple shop next to Murder and Mayhem has closed down, but there are paint tins in there and it looks as if someone new is going to move in very soon.

Meanwhile, Haywain Antiques, close to Kilverts, has closed down.  It's quite a large space, with lots of good windows, so it'll be interesting to see who takes it on. 

Mac has given the bus shelter on the Hereford side of the road a new coat of green paint, which makes it look much better, and the sedum roof has appeared on the new bus shelter at the top of the car park.

I would have photos, but my new laptop is not talking to my old camera at the moment.  I'm sure I'll be able to work something out, though.