Beer on the Wye

 This weekend, in Hereford at the Rowing Club, is the nineteenth Beer on the Wye.

They had a year off last year, while the Rowing Club did work on the festival field, which will mean that the marquee is at 90 degrees to the previous position parallel to the river.

Inside the marquee there will be over 300 beers, ciders and perries, food trucks, and nine different live bands in the evenings.  I've already had a look at the beer list, and they've got a couple of my favourites on it - two from Uley brewery in Gloucestershire, and one from Woodeforde's in Norfolk - so I'm looking forward to it.

Book Fair and Sundial

 The PBFA Book Fair was in the Castle yesterday - a lovely collection of old and rare books from dealers who had come from all over the country to take part.  

I was almost afraid to touch one exhibit - I have no idea what the dealer was asking for it, but it was a handwritten notebook with a map, and I think it was notes for one of Wainwright's walking books (the word Troutbeck was there on the page).

Meanwhile on the Castle lawn, there was a giant sundial!  

This is the Golden Valley Sundial, and it's just visiting Hay Castle for a few days.

It's also a ball game, and several children (and adults) were going round the circle throwing balls through the holes in the sculptures. 

 

Megalith Hunting and the New Strand, Eardisley

 A friend told me about some huge stones he had seen while he was out walking, and he thought they might be prehistoric standing stones.  He sent me some photos he'd taken.  It sounded interesting, so yesterday I went out with another friend who has a car, and we went to investigate.

The stones were supposed to be close to a farm, which is close to Hay, but so remote that it doesn't even have a road passing the farmhouse - you have to go up a narrow farm track.  We parked at the edge of the farmyard, and knocked at the house.  The lady there was friendly, but at first she couldn't think of any old stones on the property.  Then she had a bright idea, and led us across the garden, through a gate - and there they were.  

Except they weren't old stones at all.  There's a fairly modern barn at the top of the farmyard, and she told us that they needed to level the ground to get it in, so they also cut into the side of the hill - and that's where they dug out the big stones.  They just put them by the side of the track, where they'd be out of the way.  So sadly, there's nothing to report to the Megalithic Portal website after all.

All that hadn't taken long at all, so we went on to the New Strand at Eardisley for coffee and cake - and very nice cake it was, too.  I had the jam sponge, and my friend had carrot cake, and we spread our maps out over the table to compare notes on our local history research.

While we were there a group of older ladies came in, who were obviously regulars, to have lunch - the chips smelled delicious! 

Post Box Topper

 

This time the post box topper is celebrating Hay Market and the traders.

And when I was walking through town, I found a young man busking at the top of the Pavement, who was playing a hurdy-gurdy!  I don't think I've ever seen anyone  busking with a hurdy-gurdy before!

New Bench

 

There's a new bench in the Honesty Gardens, and the plaque says that it is in memory of Dr Derek Wilson, who was a local GP for 35, and also played the organ.  He died in 2024, aged 91.

The plaque also remembers Dr Wilson's son Nick, who died in 2019, aged 52.

It was donated by the Keith Leighton Neurology Fund, which is a local charity. 

Repairing a Table

 Last year, when I first moved in, a friend gave me a small table to use in the garden.

Sadly, it's an indoor table, so a year outside has taken its toll, resulting in one third of the top falling off (it's made with three pieces of wood held together with glue and battens underneath).

My mum had a clever idea - when she needed a small outdoor table, her partner had got a large decorative tile to use as the top.

So I went down to Huws Grey.  A very helpful young man showed me what they had - mostly patio paving slabs, but with a few nice pieces of slate that were a bit too big for my purposes.  I told him about my mum's idea, and added that decorative tilework is more of a thing in Cyprus.  "We're a bit more boring here," he agreed.

The equally helpful young man in the bathroom and kitchen building showed me some pictures of tiles which might have been suitable, but he would have to send off for them and I only wanted one, so it didn't seem worth going to all that trouble.

I popped into Hay & Brecon Farmers, since I was passing, and had an "Aha!" moment.  They were selling toughened glass kitchen counter protectors/cutting boards, which were about the right size - but I didn't really want an amusing cartoon involving farm animals on my table top.

As it's Saturday, the craft fair is in the Buttermarket, and I had another "Aha!" moment.  One of the regular stalls sells glass cutting boards, decorated with artwork from the local area.  I chose a seascape painted at Ogmore, which goes very well with my grey garden furniture.

It didn't take long to prise the remaining side piece of wood from the top of the table, leaving the middle one in place as a base for my new top.  I already had suitable glue.

And, voila!

 

Keeping Cool in Historic Heatwave

 There are many advantages to living in a 200 year old listed building - this is just one of them.  

Looking online for ways to cool buildings (in the absence of air con or fans), it occurred to me that the almshouses come equipped with fully functional shutters at the windows.

So this morning I closed the shutters, brushed all the accumulated dead leaves and spiders webs off the back of them (sorry, evicted spider!) and voila!  It really helps!