Holidays

 I will be away for a week or so - which means I will miss the Cider Festival this weekend, and the Hay Music Festival on the theme of Exiles and Emigres.

In the meantime, here's a picture of Hay Castle from 2015:

 

Mass at St Mary's

 Normally I'm at work on Sundays, so it's very rare that I get the opportunity to go to a proper Sunday service.  This week, though, I'm getting ready to go on holiday, and there is someone at work who can cover the front desk, so I had the time to do it.

It's even better now that I can cut through on the little public footpath behind the Almshouses and come out right at the church.

Poor Father David was only assisting at Mass this morning, because his arm is in a sling, and for some things the presiding priest needs two hands.  He did preach, though, on the Gospel reading about Jesus warning people not to take the place of honour when they were invited to dinner parties, and to throw banquets for the poor instead.  He did say that he's not on co-codamol any more, though - so he's not as high as a kite, and he is getting better!

I didn't know all the hymns, but hymns are generally designed to be easy for the congregation to pick up, so that was all right, and I was able to belt out Tell Out, My Soul as the last hymn.

After the service, I was asked to mention the next concert at St Mary's.  Rhapsody in Blue is a concert by Mike Hatchard, assisted by Susanna Warren and Jeremy Young, and there will be jazz, and Chopin, Ravel, and Flanders and Swann.  Tickets are £15 from WegotTickets or on the door.  OAPs are £12, and it starts at 7.30pm.

Also, on Saturday 6th September, there will be coffee in the church from 10.30am, followed by the monthly organ recital at 11am, with Barrie Magill. 

A little later I met Simon the Poet in town, and he asked me if I'd like to sign up for the Parish magazine, Way-on-High - so he took my address and £10 on the spot and will add me to the list.

It means I'll have advance warning of things like Parish trips - for instance, yesterday there was a trip up to Capel-y-ffin for the annual Father Ignatius Memorial Pilgrimage.  They start at Llanthony Abbey, and go from there to Capel-y-ffin, finishing off at the ruined monastery church.  One of the banners in St Mary's Church is of Our Lady of Capel-y-ffin - a schoolboy had a vision up there in 1880.

And next year there will be the Parish pilgrimage to Walsingham - I visited Walsingham when I lived in Norwich many years ago, and it is a place with a very special atmosphere, so I'd love to go back. 

 

Electrifying Rose Hips

 I was invited to a private party at the Cabinet of Curiosities a couple of nights ago - a thank you from Francoise and Pierre to all the people who had helped them, before the renovation work starts.

They asked people to bring their own glass, and had local cider, Weobley Ash apple juice and Lucky 7 beer available (but no wine). 

They'd also subtly changed the displays throughout the house, as they do every time they open to the public.  I'm sure there were more of the dressed little mannequins around the house - those wooden models that artists use to get poses right when they're drawing.  I noticed a little fisherman this time.  They're made by an artist called Maizie Healy (I think I have the name right - I wasn't taking notes!).

My favourite this time, though, was a large 19th century book which was open on a page of experiments.

I don't know what the book was - it would have been rude to move it to see the cover - but the author was describing an experiment where he electrified rose hips with "electrical fluid" (with the help of his servant!) to see if they would grow better than a control group of rose hips that had just been steeped in water.  And he was successful! 

Film Crew

 There's a film crew in Castle Street - they seem to have nearly finished now, but I don't walk past that way as often now, so I missed them starting off.

Apparently, there's a design show on TV, and they're doing a makeover of Oil and Oak and the guitar shop Wye Fret.  I must say, the guitar shop looks very comfortable inside now, with leather sofas in the middle of the shop.  It's harder to see inside Oil and Oak!

They should be on TV sometime next summer. 

Beautiful Bus Stop

 First there was the new bus stop, and now the area around it is looking even more welcoming to visitors.

Two of the wooden planters that were scattered around town a few years ago have been relocated to either end of the bench (also recently refurbished by Mac).  They've got new plants in them, too, thanks to Francoise and Pierre, who will be keeping an eye on them.

Francoise is also keeping an eye on the timetable situation, and if one doesn't appear very shortly after 1st September, when the bus companies change, she will be chasing them up!

 

Vintage Car

 

A rather gorgeous Bristol car, made in 1947, and first registered in Stoke on Trent according to the Chiltern Vehicle Preservation Group list.

Secret Japanese Wine Bar

 I went to Belmont House for their Secret Garden weekend around lunchtime on Saturday, and it was already busy.  Tables had been laid out around the garden, and the serving tables were at the top, the food table under the kitchen window so that food could just be passed down, and the wine table just round the corner.

I had the vegetarian gyoza (little dumplings).  They also had pork gyoza, a burger, chicken bits and a couple of other things - all of which looked quite interesting.  The wine was from Black Mountain Winery, and I had Shouting at Weather, a sparkling white wine.

I found a bench to one side of the garden.  I remember this garden when it was an allotment, but now it's been transformed with curved flower beds, and many of the plants have literary associations.  Gareth, who does the bookshop for Hay Festival, helped them with the planting.  I was sitting on the camomile lawn (from the book by Mary Wesley), and that's how I found out that I have camomile growing in my garden - some of the wildflower seeds that I sowed earlier in the year came up after all!  

There were several roses ("Roses are easy to find," I was told) - for instance Jane Austen and Lady of Shalott, and other plants included Bertrand Russell, Tom Thumb, Gabriel Oak from Tess of the D'Urbervilles - there were about forty plants in all, with little slate labels.

So, good food and wine, beautiful garden, and a view across the Wye Valley - I hope they do it again some time.