A New Chapter for Chapters

 I've just seen the announcement that Mark and Charmaine McHugo are closing their restaurant in Hay after seven years.  Chapters is in part of the building of St John's Chapel, opposite Tomatitos.  They are serving their last meals on 16th May.

Taking over will be chef Matt Sampson.  He intends to serve just twelve covers (Chapters presently serves twenty two covers), and plans a fourteen course tasting menu focusing on fish and shellfish, with a few meat courses - all for £98!

Not the sort of place to pop into for a snack, then - more of a very special night out. 

A Long Walk and a Bus Ride

 I'm really glad I decided to go for a walk up Cusop Hill yesterday, when it was so hot I didn't even need a coat (and I nearly always wear a coat).  I'd been looking at some aerial photos of the area and saw what looked awfully like crop marks on top of Cusop Hill - and my curiosity was aroused.  

The public footpath goes up past Capodolwyn, and I was pleased to see that someone is renovating the house after many years of it lying empty.  On the way up the field, I startled a hare, who loped off into the distance, and when I had a sit down later, higher up the hill, a red kite flew by below me.  There's another ruined building above Capodolwyn, and I was lucky enough to find a piece of a slipware bowl there, probably from the 17th century.  I was up that way because I slightly mislaid the path, so I was following the fence line round until I came to the stile, which is usable though not in very good repair.

The views from the top of Cusop Hill are spectacular - all down the Wye Valley and across the plains of Herefordshire.  The traces of archaeology were less so.  I think that the markings I had taken to be ditches were actually natural features draining the water from boggy areas - though there had been some stone quarrying up there at some point, and there's a fairly modern pond with the spoil heap from digging it out right next to it.

Still, it was a glorious day, and the hedgerows were full of wild flowers as I came back into Hay.

This morning the weather was decidedly chilly and grey, but I had to go into Hereford to do a few things.  The Golden Valley is still blocked off, I think at Peterchurch, so the bus turned round to go down the hill and cross the river, for a non-stop journey to Hereford.  Despite the greyness (and some rain) it was lovely to see all the apple orchards in blossom.

One of the things I wanted to do was to look at the local history section of Hereford Library.  The Library has been in temporary accommodation in the Town Hall for some time now, and it's a very ornate building inside as well as out.  Being temporary, until the new premises in the Shire Hall are ready, there is only a small selection of books available, but I still found something useful.  I also joined the library, so next time I can check out up to twenty books (!).  I was given the choice of four different pictures to go on my new library card, and I chose the one with shelves of books facing each other, with birds flying between them.

On the way back, the bus was labelled the X15 rather than the X44, and again went non-stop on the other side of the river from the Golden Valley. 

River Wye Pollution Case Reaches the High Court

 This morning there was a piece on the Today programme on Radio 4 about a legal case that has just reached the High Court.  There's also an article on the BBC news website.

Leigh Day are suing Avara Foods, who have intensive chicken rearing sheds in the Wye catchment area, and Welsh Water, who have failed to keep the pollution from chicken manure out of the river and have also been releasing sewage into the river themselves.  About 24 million chickens are reared in the catchment area, a quarter of all the chickens in the UK.

This is supposed to be the biggest environmental pollution case ever brought in British courts, as over 4,500 people who live and work along the river have signed up to be part of the action. 

Evidence of the river's declining water quality has been collected over several years by citizen scientists testing the water, and Natural England rated the condition of the river as "unfavourable - declining" in 2023.  There was also a big local campaign to make the Warren into an official bathing area, so that the water had to be officially tested, but it seems to have made very little difference to the pollution.

Supporters of the action turned up at Court this morning with the giant puppet Goddess of the Wye.

 Here's the picture from Paul Powlesland's blog (he's a London campaigner for clean rivers and a barrister).

 

New Post Box Topper

 

Here's Owain the Evri delivery man, and his dog!

Black Mountains Lions Close Down

 When I was at Baskerville Hall on Wednesday evening, the large function room on the other side of the bar was all set up for the Black Mountains Lions meeting, with flowers on the tables and display boards illustrating the history of the group.

Sadly, the occasion was the final meeting for the local group.  After over fifty years, they've decided that they can no longer carry on. In that time, they've supported Dial-a-Ride, provided defibrillators, supported the local football club, and supported all sorts of local charities and community groups.

The Clyro group was part of an international body, and the nearest Lions Club appears to be in Hereford, from the map on their website, with eighteen clubs across South and Mid Wales.

Gareth Ratcliffe was there, as County Councillor, to give a speech thanking the group for all their work. 

Excalibur

 Some years ago I came across a small company which made an audio drama called The Minister of Chance.  It was a sort of loose spin off of Doctor Who (the Minister of Chance was originally intended to be a Time Lord), and it starred some really good actors - Paul McGann and Sylvester McCoy, who had both played the Doctor, Paul Darrow (Avon from Blake's Seven), Jenny Agutter, Jed Brophy, and Julian Wadham as the Minister himself.  It was great fun, and it's now available as a podcast.

The same company, Secret Planet led by Dan Freeman, is now planning a film, set in Wales, and exploring the Welsh myths of King Arthur.  He's very keen to work with local businesses, communities and schools to celebrate Welsh culture.  He said in the Brecon and Radnor Express: "we are not just making a film, we are building something that brings those stories back to the places and communities they come from."  

They're very much committed to working with communities in Wales, and they've already set up sword fighting workshops for people who want to be extras.  They've also partnered with Welsh businesses to raise funds, so you can buy Excalibur themed beer from Purple Moose brewery, or Arthur Mead from Mountain Mead (mountainmead.co.uk). 

They can be found at www.excalibur-film.com  There's even a short clip of film with Sylvester McCoy playing Merlin. 

History Festival Photo

 

Thanks to Sue Hodgetts (in the red and yellow) for posting this photo of us yesterday in Hereford!