Water Debate in Parliament

 Recently I wrote to our Lib Dem MP, David Chadwick, about the upcoming debate in Parliament on the water companies across the UK and what should be done about them polluting rivers, streams and lakes - and the sea around beaches that are used by holidaymakers.  This includes the River Wye and its tributaries.

Sadly, he was unable to attend the debate because he had previous commitments in his diary, but he did send a letter back to me setting out the Lib Dem position on the debate.  

They want mutually owned public benefit water companies that are professionally managed but owned and accountable to the customers who depend on them, with profits re-invested in the water system rather than siphoned off to shareholders.

Several of David Chadwick's Lib Dem colleagues spoke in the debate - he sent me a link to the Hansard entry - and they were pretty scathing about the state of the UK's rivers, and agreed that Ofwat have been pretty useless, and should be replaced with a new Clean Water Authority that actually does the job.  They also paid tribute to the citizen scientists (there are lots along the River Wye) who have been collecting the data on the pollution in our rivers, and talked about wetlands, and collection of rain water and other ways that water management can be done in harmony with the natural environment.

They also all agreed that privatisation is a failed model for the water industry, and it should be taken back under public control.

Even though Welsh Water is not-for-profit, and doesn't have shareholders, they have also been failing to keep the local rivers healthy for years.

The debate in Parliament has not, as yet, led to any new legislation, so there is still a need for the citizen scientists and groups like Friends of the River Wye.  There's still a court case rumbling on in the background organised by the law firm Leigh Day, concentrating on the chicken farms as well as sewage allowed into the river by Welsh Water. 

Owl Sanctuary bookshop

 Over the summer, the Wobbly Owl shop opposite the Blue Boar has been putting a few books out the front on a table or chair, with a bucket for donations of £1 a book.

Of course, books tend to multiply in a space, and now they have a whole room upstairs with books on two tables, and on shelves round the edges of the room, and on the floor!  I went up there this morning, and came away with two books - there's a pretty good and wide selection.  

And it helps the Ebbw Vale Owl Sanctuary to keep going. 

New Exhibition at the Table

 The Table is being shared by two artists at the moment, and they've both got very good work on display.

Gavin Roweth is a sculptor, making pieces for the home or garden.  There's a lovely bowl carved with five hares around the rim in the window, and I liked the giant Polo mint, too.

He can be contacted at www.wingartgallery.com, and he has an Instagram account at @gavroweth

Jane Ford, who was there when I went in today, paints in oils.  I really liked her pictures of the moon with added insects.  She said that she had coloured the moon based on the pictures that came back from the Artemis space mission, and some of the pictures have Star Trek inspired titles like "To Boldly Go" or "To Seek Out New Life".  There's also a rather good picture of a hare leaping through a hoop, and a squirrel and two mice balancing on spinning tops.

She has a website at www.janefordart.com 

Back to School

 

The latest topical post box topper.

Back from Holidays

 I've been on a short mid-week break to Glastonbury, which is quite similar to Hay, but with witchy/pagan shops instead of bookshops.  There are also several good bookshops, but they tend to specialise in esoteric subjects.

The buses and trains connected smoothly - apart from one panicked five minutes at Newport on the way back where I just caught the Hereford train by the skin of my teeth!  And I was very pleased to find that the bus from Bristol to Glastonbury, a journey a bit longer than Hay to Hereford, only cost me £3!

At Hereford train station, the construction work on the new bus station means that the buses can't get close to the station to drop people off, so they have to carry on past the station and turn round further up the road - which was a bit disconcerting without any warning!  There's a temporary bus stop on the main road which is easy to find. 

I walked up the Tor, spent some peaceful time in the Chalice Well Gardens, walked round the Abbey (and said hello to the grave of King Arthur), and did a lot of shopping.  I also tried several of the pubs serving local real ale, and had a meal at the George and Pilgrim, which is the famous pub/hotel in the middle of town. 

Cusop Churchyard

 I've got a copy of the lidar results for Cusop Churchyard, from the survey that was done as part of the historical research into the history of the church, so I went up yesterday (in between the early shower and the later thunderstorm!) to see how it related to the present day churchyard.  

There's a clear, though partial, oval on the map, which must be the original boundary of the churchyard, with the church in the middle.  The modern churchyard has grown round the edges, and in the area to the west of the church, which is sometimes used for car parking, it disappears entirely.  The features on the lidar map are all underground, and thus invisible when you're walking round the churchyard, though I did like the way that one of the mown paths, between the church and the old school, more or less follows the line of the original boundary.  

That's the area of the churchyard where the fallen oak tree has been carved by Danny Thomas.  The parish council had a list of animals to suggest to him, and got a badger and an owl, but Danny thought that the third branch would be best as an otter, which wasn't on the list, but they're delighted with it.

 

I met one of the churchwardens, sweeping up the yew tree needles by the church door, and she told me all about it.  They're also quite excited, in the group of parishes that includes Cusop, about the licensing of their new vicar, Rev. Vicki Burrows - just as soon as all the paperwork can be sorted out!  She's already written the Thought for the Month in the Link magazine, and she will be living in the Rectory at Cusop with her husband Billy.

Cusop Church is also an Eco Church, and they've done a lot to encourage wildlife in the churchyard - and they report in the Link that an adder has been seen in Cusop Dingle!

The Friends of Cusop Church will be holding a Table Top Sale in Cusop Village Hall on Sunday 20th September from 10am to 12 noon.  If anyone wants to book a table, they are £5, and you contact Cherry on 01497 820 396. 

And on Tuesday 22nd September, John Price will be showing films of local interest at the monthly Tea and Chat meeting at Cusop Village Hall at 2pm.  Also with tea and a raffle.  

Hay Music Festival

 It's almost time for the Hay Music Festival.  It runs from 11th to 14th September this year, and there's lots of good stuff happening in several venues around Hay.  There's a theme running through the weekend of music and healing.

On Friday 11th, the Fitzwilliam String Quartet are giving a concert, with Simon Callaghan on the piano, called Bringing light into darkness.

On Saturday 12th there's the Sinfonia Cymru Wind Quintet with piano, doing two concerts (the second as an Octet/Nonet!), followed by Martin Litton and the Doctors of Jazz.

The three concerts are entitled: Music to lift your day, Music that brings joy and Music that lifts the soul.

On Sunday there's a discussion entitled Music as a Treatment, with composer Nigel Osborne and Michael Trimble, Professor of Neuroscience at Queen's Square and UCL.

There's also a film called Love and Mercy, about Brian Wilson, the founder of the Beach Boys, and his struggles with mental illness - and how music was central to his life and recovery.

The final concert will be the Fitzwilliam Quartet again, with Mozart, Beethoven and a world premiere by Osborne. 

There are also outreach workshops, which are by invitation only.

The first is with composer Robert Peate, cellist Roz Gladstone and violinist Selina Hamilton which is specially for children who are part of the Adoption Support Service, using music, writing, movement, crafting and so on, with trained therapists.

The Fitzwilliam Quartet will be doing outreach workshops with primary and secondary school pupils, and also an interactive performance at the HayDay Cafe for disabled adults, people with dementia and their carers. 

More information, and tickets, are on the Hay Music website.