Hay is difficult to get around for wheelchair users, or anyone with mobility problems. The pavements are too narrow in many places (or don't exist at all), and most of the shops have steps to get in. Even if you can get inside, in some shops the aisles are narrow and there are lots of narrow, steep stairs, or odd steps to different levels.
However, Councillor Josie Pearson, who uses a wheelchair herself, has been very busy with a project called Shared Spaces. Hay Town Council got a grant of £10,000 from Natural Resources Wales, which was half the amount needed for the project, and now portable ramps have been distributed around several of Hay's businesses so that wheelchair users can get into the shops.
The shops have also been given a window sticker with a wheelchair-friendly image, so customers know which shops have the ramps.
The full list is:
Number 2 clothes and homeware shop on Castle Street
Rohan Travel and Outdoor clothes shop, also Castle Street
Golesworthy's, by the Clock Tower
the Red Cross Shop by the Buttermarket
Bain and Murrin, across the road from the Buttermarket
and Eve's Café by the Buttermarket.
Of course, wheelchair users will have to alert the staff somehow so they know to deploy the ramp, but it's a big improvement.
Booth Books already has a ramped entrance (it was part of the original design, to get farm machinery in and out long before it was a bookshop). They also have a lift to the first floor and to the café.
St. Mary's Church also has a ramp.
There are articles about the ramps in both the B&R and the Hereford Times this week.
Saturday 27 April 2019
Friday 26 April 2019
Recall Petition for Local MP
It was front page news in the B&R this week - Chris Davies, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, has been fined £1,500, plus £2,500 prosecution costs, plus a £120 surcharge, and sentenced to 50 hours unpaid community service to be completed over the next twelve months. The judge added that he could have sentenced the MP to a period in prison, the main consideration in the case being not the financial amount involved, but the breach of trust, as MPs' expenses are a matter of public record - and therefore had to be honest and accurate.
As detailed in the B&R, Chris Davies deliberately forged invoices so that the bill for photographs bought for his office could be split across two funds he was eligible to claim from, as there was not enough money left in one of the funds. He also wanted his office manager to assist him in the fraud. She is currently taking the MP to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal, and she reported the fraud to the Conservative Party.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has now confirmed that there will be a recall petition. This is to determine whether the constituents of Brecon and Radnorshire want Mr Davies to continue as their MP. If 5,303 people (or more) sign the petition, a by-election will be held.
The petition will be available to sign at six places around the constituency, including at the Council Chambers in Hay, from 9th May, and will be open for six weeks.
As detailed in the B&R, Chris Davies deliberately forged invoices so that the bill for photographs bought for his office could be split across two funds he was eligible to claim from, as there was not enough money left in one of the funds. He also wanted his office manager to assist him in the fraud. She is currently taking the MP to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal, and she reported the fraud to the Conservative Party.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has now confirmed that there will be a recall petition. This is to determine whether the constituents of Brecon and Radnorshire want Mr Davies to continue as their MP. If 5,303 people (or more) sign the petition, a by-election will be held.
The petition will be available to sign at six places around the constituency, including at the Council Chambers in Hay, from 9th May, and will be open for six weeks.
Thursday 25 April 2019
Pedestrian Crossing Survey
I spotted two ladies with clipboards standing opposite the Blue Boar this morning, with the Town Clerk.
At lunch time, I stopped to chat to two different ladies who had taken their place.
They're recording the number of people who cross the road around the busy junction at the Blue Boar, to show a need for a new pedestrian crossing. I stopped to speak to them at about 2.30pm, and they said that 175 people had crossed the road since 1pm.
There are regulations about where it's possible to put a pedestrian crossing, but it's probably just possible to squeeze one in along that stretch of road. They have to be a certain distance from a junction (I think it's 5 metres). It's also difficult on the Radnor House side of the road because the pavement doesn't run very far - it just gets narrower and narrower until it disappears, so people have no choice but to cross onto the Blue Boar side of the road there.
The ladies with clipboards (I haven't seen any men yet) will be recording road use (including how long people have to wait to cross the road) for the next week or so.
At lunch time, I stopped to chat to two different ladies who had taken their place.
They're recording the number of people who cross the road around the busy junction at the Blue Boar, to show a need for a new pedestrian crossing. I stopped to speak to them at about 2.30pm, and they said that 175 people had crossed the road since 1pm.
There are regulations about where it's possible to put a pedestrian crossing, but it's probably just possible to squeeze one in along that stretch of road. They have to be a certain distance from a junction (I think it's 5 metres). It's also difficult on the Radnor House side of the road because the pavement doesn't run very far - it just gets narrower and narrower until it disappears, so people have no choice but to cross onto the Blue Boar side of the road there.
The ladies with clipboards (I haven't seen any men yet) will be recording road use (including how long people have to wait to cross the road) for the next week or so.
Tuesday 23 April 2019
Searching for a Standing Stone
Easter Sunday is a bonus day off for me and the weather was, once again, glorious, so I decided to go out for a long walk.
I took the Hay Ho Bus to Peterchurch, chatting along the way to an older lady who regaled me with stories of her romantic entanglements over the years!
There are several bus stops along the main road through Peterchurch, and the last one is at the crossroads where the side road heads off up the hill, past Fairfield School, to Urishay. That's where I had decided to go. It's years since I visited Urishay Chapel, and on the map I'd seen a standing stone marked, further up the hill.
It took me roughly an hour to get to Urishay Chapel - the last hill nearly killed me in the heat, so I was very glad to see the chapel at the top!
It's changed since I last saw it - the Friends of Friendless Churches renovated it in 2009, re-roofing the east end, and building buttresses against the west wall, with a wall across the nave enclosing the roofed section. I sat on the side wall at the west end, near the base of the font, to have my picnic lunch.
Inside the chapel it was quite cold and damp, and they keep a book there with more information about the chapel. It was the first chapel to be built in Herefordshire for a castle garrison, in the 12thC.
I also picked up a leaflet for the Friends of Friendless Churches - their website is www.friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk and they take over redundant churches and preserve them. They run a joint membership with the Ancient Monuments Society, which is concerned with a wider variety of historic buildings.
The castle is just behind the chapel, but was not accessible. There was a notice on the farm gate saying "No Unauthorised Persons Beyond This Point". There was a pretty good view of the ruins from the chapel though:
The ruins only date from around the 17thC - and are only ruins because the owner in 1921 took the roof off because he didn't want to maintain the building any more! Before that, in 1908, one of the wood panelled rooms from the castle was sold to Baker University in Kansas, where it was rebuilt and is still used today to display some of their collection of Biblical art and books.
Then I headed further up into the hills, eventually finding myself on a dead end road. I crossed a little stream and went up the other side, and finally, in a field:
I thought that was well worth the long walk. It's on private property, so I didn't get any closer than that. Back home, I looked it up on the Modern Antiquarian website. It is known as the Wern Derys stone (that's the name of the farm), or the King Stone, and it stands on fairly flat ground looking out towards the Black Mountain ridge. Craswell is just across the valley from there, and the Offa's Dyke Path runs along the top of the ridge. It's the tallest standing stone in Herefordshire, and was re-erected in 1989.
On the way back down the hill, I came across this rather astonishing flower by a stile:
I got back down into Peterchurch in plenty of time for the last bus back to Hay, (the return ticket was £7.75), so I used the time wisely by going to the pub.
I needed something to drink by that time! I think I walked around 8 miles.
I hadn't been into the Boughton Arms since I first came to Hay. At that time it was run by a pleasant Italian chap - my ex-husband spent some time in Italy, so they got talking. Now it's got a big TV for sports, and a snooker table, and several trophies on display, and the only real ale is Butty Bach, among the tall taps for Carling and Guinness.
I moved on from there, once my legs could be persuaded to move again, to the Nags Head at the end of the village. There were more people in there, and they all seemed to know each other. I had a half of Lost Fossil brown ale from Wye Valley, which was very pleasant, and one of the regulars asked me where I'd come from. When I said I'd been up to Urishay, he said there were some hard-working farmers up that valley.
"No they're not, Rob," said a man at the bar. "You're not up there no more."
Another couple in the bar were very impressed by the new Gibbons' butchers in Hay.
And then it was time to head for the bus stop, and back to Hay.
I took the Hay Ho Bus to Peterchurch, chatting along the way to an older lady who regaled me with stories of her romantic entanglements over the years!
There are several bus stops along the main road through Peterchurch, and the last one is at the crossroads where the side road heads off up the hill, past Fairfield School, to Urishay. That's where I had decided to go. It's years since I visited Urishay Chapel, and on the map I'd seen a standing stone marked, further up the hill.
It took me roughly an hour to get to Urishay Chapel - the last hill nearly killed me in the heat, so I was very glad to see the chapel at the top!
It's changed since I last saw it - the Friends of Friendless Churches renovated it in 2009, re-roofing the east end, and building buttresses against the west wall, with a wall across the nave enclosing the roofed section. I sat on the side wall at the west end, near the base of the font, to have my picnic lunch.
Inside the chapel it was quite cold and damp, and they keep a book there with more information about the chapel. It was the first chapel to be built in Herefordshire for a castle garrison, in the 12thC.
I also picked up a leaflet for the Friends of Friendless Churches - their website is www.friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk and they take over redundant churches and preserve them. They run a joint membership with the Ancient Monuments Society, which is concerned with a wider variety of historic buildings.
The castle is just behind the chapel, but was not accessible. There was a notice on the farm gate saying "No Unauthorised Persons Beyond This Point". There was a pretty good view of the ruins from the chapel though:
The ruins only date from around the 17thC - and are only ruins because the owner in 1921 took the roof off because he didn't want to maintain the building any more! Before that, in 1908, one of the wood panelled rooms from the castle was sold to Baker University in Kansas, where it was rebuilt and is still used today to display some of their collection of Biblical art and books.
Then I headed further up into the hills, eventually finding myself on a dead end road. I crossed a little stream and went up the other side, and finally, in a field:
I thought that was well worth the long walk. It's on private property, so I didn't get any closer than that. Back home, I looked it up on the Modern Antiquarian website. It is known as the Wern Derys stone (that's the name of the farm), or the King Stone, and it stands on fairly flat ground looking out towards the Black Mountain ridge. Craswell is just across the valley from there, and the Offa's Dyke Path runs along the top of the ridge. It's the tallest standing stone in Herefordshire, and was re-erected in 1989.
On the way back down the hill, I came across this rather astonishing flower by a stile:
I got back down into Peterchurch in plenty of time for the last bus back to Hay, (the return ticket was £7.75), so I used the time wisely by going to the pub.
I needed something to drink by that time! I think I walked around 8 miles.
I hadn't been into the Boughton Arms since I first came to Hay. At that time it was run by a pleasant Italian chap - my ex-husband spent some time in Italy, so they got talking. Now it's got a big TV for sports, and a snooker table, and several trophies on display, and the only real ale is Butty Bach, among the tall taps for Carling and Guinness.
I moved on from there, once my legs could be persuaded to move again, to the Nags Head at the end of the village. There were more people in there, and they all seemed to know each other. I had a half of Lost Fossil brown ale from Wye Valley, which was very pleasant, and one of the regulars asked me where I'd come from. When I said I'd been up to Urishay, he said there were some hard-working farmers up that valley.
"No they're not, Rob," said a man at the bar. "You're not up there no more."
Another couple in the bar were very impressed by the new Gibbons' butchers in Hay.
And then it was time to head for the bus stop, and back to Hay.
Monday 22 April 2019
Mouse Castle
The weather on Friday was hot and sunny, so I went on a walk up to Mouse Castle.
Heres the stile into the woods, which are owned by the Woodland Trust. On one side it's short cropped sheep meadow, and on the other, glorious spring flowers lined the path - wood anemone, bluebells, celandines, all white and blue and gold.
The path was a bit more muddy than I'd anticipated (I was wearing light pumps) but the mud was pretty easy to get around.
I got as far as the spring and stopped. It was really too hot to climb higher.
On the way back, I went down Nantyglasdwr, past the farm, where a young sheepdog barked at me. It was only because he was nervous of me. The farmer came out to apologise - he was trying to train the pup not to bark at passers by - so he held the dog, and I let it sniff my hand, and made a fuss of it, and then it was fine.
Heres the stile into the woods, which are owned by the Woodland Trust. On one side it's short cropped sheep meadow, and on the other, glorious spring flowers lined the path - wood anemone, bluebells, celandines, all white and blue and gold.
The path was a bit more muddy than I'd anticipated (I was wearing light pumps) but the mud was pretty easy to get around.
I got as far as the spring and stopped. It was really too hot to climb higher.
On the way back, I went down Nantyglasdwr, past the farm, where a young sheepdog barked at me. It was only because he was nervous of me. The farmer came out to apologise - he was trying to train the pup not to bark at passers by - so he held the dog, and I let it sniff my hand, and made a fuss of it, and then it was fine.
Sunday 21 April 2019
Hay-on-Wye and Extinction Rebellion
No-one can have missed news of the Extinction Rebellion protests in London over the last week.
People from all over the country have travelled down to it, including people from Hay and the surrounding area.
There were reports yesterday in the national press and our own B&R about arrests made in Oxford Circus. Around 700 arrests have been made so far. One of the people arrested was Justin Preece, well known singer at local open mic nights (he often sings in Welsh). Because of the pressure of the crowds, he was kept in a police van for several hours before being taken to a police station to be processed. In the end, he was held for 24 hours, because of the number of arrests that had been made, finally being released at 5pm on Saturday. The police station ran out of food to give them!
Justin went down as a member of the Brecon and Abergavenny affinity group, and was one of five of their members who was arrested. Arrested at the same time as Justin was Janet Barker from Llangammarch Wells, though she was released more quickly.
Earlier in the week, Sadie Stanton from Brecon, Rob Proctor from Abergavenny and Sian Cox from Llangorse were also arrested. Sian Cox was interviewed by the Brecon and Radnor Express - there's a good report on their website.
The protestors are there because the government is not taking climate change seriously enough, and a recent IPCC report stated that the world only has 12 years to act if we want to have any chance of keeping the climate change to 1.5 degrees C over pre-industrial levels.
We are already seeing the effects of climate change around the world - the hot sunny weather this Easter weekend may be lovely, but it is also very worrying. As well as record temperatures, we are also seeing more forest fires, droughts, floods and so on around the world.
Individual actions like recycling are good, but they are not enough. The system we live in needs to change - locally that would include better public transport, for instance. And less plastic that needs to be recycled. The 5p charge on plastic carrier bags shows that changes can be made for the better - after the charge came in, there was much less plastic seen around the coasts of Wales, but that's just a small change - collectively we need to do a lot more. After the School Strike, Hay Town Council declared a climate emergency, and Herefordshire County Council has also declared a climate emergency, but it remains to be seen how much action they are willing to take to achieve positive results.
For the changes that are needed to happen, we need government legislation and big changes to the way multinational corporations work, not just in the UK, but all over the world. There have been climate change talks, the most recent being the 2015 Paris Climate Change Summit organised by the UN - but many countries will not meet even those agreed targets and more drastic action is needed.
People from all over the country have travelled down to it, including people from Hay and the surrounding area.
There were reports yesterday in the national press and our own B&R about arrests made in Oxford Circus. Around 700 arrests have been made so far. One of the people arrested was Justin Preece, well known singer at local open mic nights (he often sings in Welsh). Because of the pressure of the crowds, he was kept in a police van for several hours before being taken to a police station to be processed. In the end, he was held for 24 hours, because of the number of arrests that had been made, finally being released at 5pm on Saturday. The police station ran out of food to give them!
Justin went down as a member of the Brecon and Abergavenny affinity group, and was one of five of their members who was arrested. Arrested at the same time as Justin was Janet Barker from Llangammarch Wells, though she was released more quickly.
Earlier in the week, Sadie Stanton from Brecon, Rob Proctor from Abergavenny and Sian Cox from Llangorse were also arrested. Sian Cox was interviewed by the Brecon and Radnor Express - there's a good report on their website.
The protestors are there because the government is not taking climate change seriously enough, and a recent IPCC report stated that the world only has 12 years to act if we want to have any chance of keeping the climate change to 1.5 degrees C over pre-industrial levels.
We are already seeing the effects of climate change around the world - the hot sunny weather this Easter weekend may be lovely, but it is also very worrying. As well as record temperatures, we are also seeing more forest fires, droughts, floods and so on around the world.
Individual actions like recycling are good, but they are not enough. The system we live in needs to change - locally that would include better public transport, for instance. And less plastic that needs to be recycled. The 5p charge on plastic carrier bags shows that changes can be made for the better - after the charge came in, there was much less plastic seen around the coasts of Wales, but that's just a small change - collectively we need to do a lot more. After the School Strike, Hay Town Council declared a climate emergency, and Herefordshire County Council has also declared a climate emergency, but it remains to be seen how much action they are willing to take to achieve positive results.
For the changes that are needed to happen, we need government legislation and big changes to the way multinational corporations work, not just in the UK, but all over the world. There have been climate change talks, the most recent being the 2015 Paris Climate Change Summit organised by the UN - but many countries will not meet even those agreed targets and more drastic action is needed.
Saturday 20 April 2019
This Year it's Purple!
The new Booksellers Map is out, just in time for Easter, and this year the colour is purple.
The Hay Festival brochure is out, too, and I've just been round to the Drill Hall to book my tickets. This year the BBC are putting on several "free but ticketed" events, for radio programmes with a live audience, so I'm going to see Free Thinking for Radio 3, talking about Rachel Carson's environmental classic Silent Spring with Tony Juniper and others. Later that evening I'm seeing Mary Beard doing Front Row Late for Radio 2.
The following weekend, I'm going to find out all about beavers being re-introduced into the wild with Ben Goldfarb.
The How the Light Gets In brochure is out too. They're having their festival at the same time as the first weekend of the Hay Festival, but they charge for day tickets to enter the site, and I just don't have time to spend a whole day there (with the events extra), so I won't be doing that this year.
The sun is shining and there's a Craft Fair in the Buttermarket - the chap selling blacksmith-forged iron items is wearing a hat with a huge stuffed anvil on top.
The Hay Festival brochure is out, too, and I've just been round to the Drill Hall to book my tickets. This year the BBC are putting on several "free but ticketed" events, for radio programmes with a live audience, so I'm going to see Free Thinking for Radio 3, talking about Rachel Carson's environmental classic Silent Spring with Tony Juniper and others. Later that evening I'm seeing Mary Beard doing Front Row Late for Radio 2.
The following weekend, I'm going to find out all about beavers being re-introduced into the wild with Ben Goldfarb.
The How the Light Gets In brochure is out too. They're having their festival at the same time as the first weekend of the Hay Festival, but they charge for day tickets to enter the site, and I just don't have time to spend a whole day there (with the events extra), so I won't be doing that this year.
The sun is shining and there's a Craft Fair in the Buttermarket - the chap selling blacksmith-forged iron items is wearing a hat with a huge stuffed anvil on top.
Friday 19 April 2019
Cashpoints
It's not long now until Hay Festival, and there have already been problems surrounding the use of the cashpoint at the Post Office, which often has queues and seems to break down fairly regularly.
The Chamber of Commerce is having their AGM on Thursday 25th April at 6pm at the Registry Office in the Council Chambers, and this is one of the subjects they will be discussing.
They have little power to change matters, but they have issued a one-page information sheet to local businesses, basically suggesting that they encourage customers to use their credit cards more, and maybe offer cash-back, as some businesses in Hay already do. They also suggest that businesses might like to look into the idea of hosting a cashpoint themselves, though I doubt that there would be time before the Festival for anyone to organise that.
Meanwhile, on the Hay-on-Wye Community Page on Facebook this morning, there's a post saying that the Co-op has been ram raided!
The Co-op also had a small cashpoint in the foyer - which has disappeared. According to one person on the Facebook discussion, though, it was probably empty at the time. The Co-op is hoping to be open later this morning.
The Chamber of Commerce is having their AGM on Thursday 25th April at 6pm at the Registry Office in the Council Chambers, and this is one of the subjects they will be discussing.
They have little power to change matters, but they have issued a one-page information sheet to local businesses, basically suggesting that they encourage customers to use their credit cards more, and maybe offer cash-back, as some businesses in Hay already do. They also suggest that businesses might like to look into the idea of hosting a cashpoint themselves, though I doubt that there would be time before the Festival for anyone to organise that.
Meanwhile, on the Hay-on-Wye Community Page on Facebook this morning, there's a post saying that the Co-op has been ram raided!
The Co-op also had a small cashpoint in the foyer - which has disappeared. According to one person on the Facebook discussion, though, it was probably empty at the time. The Co-op is hoping to be open later this morning.
Thursday 18 April 2019
A Good Night Missed - and A Good Night Enjoyed
"We looked for you at the Baskerville last night," a customer said this afternoon. They've been to Baskerville Hall before, and enjoy the music evenings there.
It seems I missed a really good night - Rob the guitarist was there with his son Joe, who has a learning disability, and the lady I was talking to was pleased to see how Joe was accepted by the other performers - he plays his tambourine or drum, and sometimes dances. She praised the quality of the musicians, too - another guitarist had brought his sons, who accompanied him on guitar and percussion, and there were singers and recorder playing - and one lady, a guest at the hotel, sang in Chinese.
I was watching the sun go down from a field on the edge of Hay, nibbling a kebab from the barbeque, which turned into a little campfire as the evening grew darker, and listening to a pheasant calling from the trees, and the stream babbling nearby. The moon was full, and came up as the sun went down, so it wasn't completely dark.
My sister and her family had come to visit, and we were sitting by their campervan and chatting. When the night got cooler, we moved inside, and it was lovely to catch up with her, and see the holiday photos, and hear how well my nephew is doing in the Scouts (he's about to become a Young Leader).
Now they've headed up to Snowdonia for the Easter weekend - and next week, I'll be back at the Baskie.
It seems I missed a really good night - Rob the guitarist was there with his son Joe, who has a learning disability, and the lady I was talking to was pleased to see how Joe was accepted by the other performers - he plays his tambourine or drum, and sometimes dances. She praised the quality of the musicians, too - another guitarist had brought his sons, who accompanied him on guitar and percussion, and there were singers and recorder playing - and one lady, a guest at the hotel, sang in Chinese.
I was watching the sun go down from a field on the edge of Hay, nibbling a kebab from the barbeque, which turned into a little campfire as the evening grew darker, and listening to a pheasant calling from the trees, and the stream babbling nearby. The moon was full, and came up as the sun went down, so it wasn't completely dark.
My sister and her family had come to visit, and we were sitting by their campervan and chatting. When the night got cooler, we moved inside, and it was lovely to catch up with her, and see the holiday photos, and hear how well my nephew is doing in the Scouts (he's about to become a Young Leader).
Now they've headed up to Snowdonia for the Easter weekend - and next week, I'll be back at the Baskie.
Monday 15 April 2019
My Manchester
Huw Parsons came round to my house the other week to record another podcast with me.
This one is all songs about Manchester, my home city, and I'm really pleased at the way it turned out.
Anyone interested in listening to it should Google "Huw's podcast".
He has some other interesting stuff there too, like a poem written in response to a Radio 4 programme called Walking a Poem on the Malverns, Huw's Clyro Diary, and a lovely piece about Pembridge.
This one is all songs about Manchester, my home city, and I'm really pleased at the way it turned out.
Anyone interested in listening to it should Google "Huw's podcast".
He has some other interesting stuff there too, like a poem written in response to a Radio 4 programme called Walking a Poem on the Malverns, Huw's Clyro Diary, and a lovely piece about Pembridge.
Saturday 13 April 2019
Visitors from the Past
Before I came to Hay, I was an archaeologist, and I've managed to keep in touch (Christmas cards and so on) with some of the people I used to dig with.
Yesterday, some of them came to visit me - a couple who got married at about the same time I did (we did three weddings in three weeks!), their teenage son and his girlfriend, and another Castle Mall digger.
It's a slightly scary thought that I haven't seen them for the best part of thirty years (where did all that time go?), and I'd certainly never met their teenage son.
But they don't seem to have changed much, apart from being a bit greyer, and we still got on really well.
I took them to Booths Café for lunch. There was a wait of 15 minutes for a table, so we went off and found the archaeology section to browse. None of them work in archaeology any more, and they told me about a few other Castle Mall diggers who were doing other things now.
The food was delicious, and there was plenty of tea.
Then we wandered round the town. They liked Haymakers - and they loved the Fudge Shop! They had been sent off on holiday with strict instructions from various aunties to bring fudge back with them, and they got an interesting selection together. The teenage son and his girlfriend spent some time in Satoris, looking at the candles.
It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't show them the Castle, as it's shrouded in plastic, but it'll make a good excuse for them to come back and visit again. I could show them the medieval town wall, down below the Globe, and the route it took down to the river from there (more or less along the middle of Wyeford Road).
Yesterday, some of them came to visit me - a couple who got married at about the same time I did (we did three weddings in three weeks!), their teenage son and his girlfriend, and another Castle Mall digger.
It's a slightly scary thought that I haven't seen them for the best part of thirty years (where did all that time go?), and I'd certainly never met their teenage son.
But they don't seem to have changed much, apart from being a bit greyer, and we still got on really well.
I took them to Booths Café for lunch. There was a wait of 15 minutes for a table, so we went off and found the archaeology section to browse. None of them work in archaeology any more, and they told me about a few other Castle Mall diggers who were doing other things now.
The food was delicious, and there was plenty of tea.
Then we wandered round the town. They liked Haymakers - and they loved the Fudge Shop! They had been sent off on holiday with strict instructions from various aunties to bring fudge back with them, and they got an interesting selection together. The teenage son and his girlfriend spent some time in Satoris, looking at the candles.
It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't show them the Castle, as it's shrouded in plastic, but it'll make a good excuse for them to come back and visit again. I could show them the medieval town wall, down below the Globe, and the route it took down to the river from there (more or less along the middle of Wyeford Road).
Friday 12 April 2019
Spinning Wheels and Tinto House
I did rather well this morning - a few days ago I saw a dress I liked advertised on Facebook, and there was something pretty much identical on the clothes stall in the Cheese Market this morning, in my size, so I snapped it up.
I was just showing it to a friend outside the Post Office when the lady from Fleur de Lys antique centre came across and said she had something to show me.
She's just brought a treadle spinning wheel into the shop and had it standing in a corner with a bag of bits that belonged to it. It was obvious straight away that it was a beautifully made spinning wheel, though it was also obvious that it needed a bit of TLC to get it to spin again - the string that goes round the wheel was tangled, and some pieces were disconnected.
There were plenty of bits in the bag, though, including a decorative band with the tablets for tablet weaving still attached at one end, and another woven band with a tiny rigid heddle still attached to it. The wheel was made, Susie said, of ash and elm.
The best thing, though, was that the wheel had come with a booklet on hand spinning, with the original bill of sale still inside.
It was made at Tinto House in Hay in the 1980s, when it was a craft shop and workshop. Now it's a rather nice B&B, with a lovely garden at the back, and Tim the Gardener's little bookshop in the side passage.
I was just showing it to a friend outside the Post Office when the lady from Fleur de Lys antique centre came across and said she had something to show me.
She's just brought a treadle spinning wheel into the shop and had it standing in a corner with a bag of bits that belonged to it. It was obvious straight away that it was a beautifully made spinning wheel, though it was also obvious that it needed a bit of TLC to get it to spin again - the string that goes round the wheel was tangled, and some pieces were disconnected.
There were plenty of bits in the bag, though, including a decorative band with the tablets for tablet weaving still attached at one end, and another woven band with a tiny rigid heddle still attached to it. The wheel was made, Susie said, of ash and elm.
The best thing, though, was that the wheel had come with a booklet on hand spinning, with the original bill of sale still inside.
It was made at Tinto House in Hay in the 1980s, when it was a craft shop and workshop. Now it's a rather nice B&B, with a lovely garden at the back, and Tim the Gardener's little bookshop in the side passage.
Thursday 11 April 2019
Climate Emergency
All over the country councils are declaring a Climate Emergency in response to the recent school strikes and protests such as the Extinction Rebellion movement.
Herefordshire have also done this, though it's unclear how serious they are about alleviating climate change in view of their continued support for a bypass. (Hereford Highways Dept. have planted two trees in the middle of Hereford's Commercial Street....).
In Hay, the Town Council declared a climate emergency at this month's regular council meeting. They were already moving in that direction by forming a Low Carbon Group to see what they could do locally, and they will be setting out their aspirations and action plan over the next six months.
On Wednesday 17th April, there will be a public meeting at the Globe at 7pm. It has been organised by the Hay and Talgarth Labour Party. There will be three speakers.
Rose Lynas, aged 12, organised the Hay School Strike.
Mike Thompson, physicist and lecturer (retired) at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth and researcher in climate change will talk about carbon sequestration - he spoke recently at the Science Group in the Swan.
Dr Lynne Jones is a former MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, scientist and environmentalist (retired). She will talk about the political aspects of climate change.
Admission will be free, but there will be a collection to cover expenses.
The contact for further information is Sean O'Donoghue, at seanonwye@gmail.com
Sean is very active locally - as well as the Labour party, he's involved in the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees group, and he's also part of a Rewilding Group that meets occasionally at Shepherds.
And while thinking about climate change and what we can do about it locally, there has been some talk about setting up a local Extinction Rebellion group - there's already an active one in Hereford, which meets at De Koffie Pot.
Herefordshire have also done this, though it's unclear how serious they are about alleviating climate change in view of their continued support for a bypass. (Hereford Highways Dept. have planted two trees in the middle of Hereford's Commercial Street....).
In Hay, the Town Council declared a climate emergency at this month's regular council meeting. They were already moving in that direction by forming a Low Carbon Group to see what they could do locally, and they will be setting out their aspirations and action plan over the next six months.
On Wednesday 17th April, there will be a public meeting at the Globe at 7pm. It has been organised by the Hay and Talgarth Labour Party. There will be three speakers.
Rose Lynas, aged 12, organised the Hay School Strike.
Mike Thompson, physicist and lecturer (retired) at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth and researcher in climate change will talk about carbon sequestration - he spoke recently at the Science Group in the Swan.
Dr Lynne Jones is a former MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, scientist and environmentalist (retired). She will talk about the political aspects of climate change.
Admission will be free, but there will be a collection to cover expenses.
The contact for further information is Sean O'Donoghue, at seanonwye@gmail.com
Sean is very active locally - as well as the Labour party, he's involved in the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees group, and he's also part of a Rewilding Group that meets occasionally at Shepherds.
And while thinking about climate change and what we can do about it locally, there has been some talk about setting up a local Extinction Rebellion group - there's already an active one in Hereford, which meets at De Koffie Pot.
Monday 8 April 2019
Sunday 7 April 2019
Citizen of the Year
Part of the Hay Independence celebrations was the presentation of this year's Citizen of the Year Award, at the Parish Hall, by Mayor Trudy Stedman. This is only the second year that it's been done, and the recipient was Kelvyn Jenkins, who was the moving force behind the wonderful World War One re-enactment weekend last year.
There was also a special group award for the volunteers at Dial-a-Ride.
There was also a special group award for the volunteers at Dial-a-Ride.
Friday 5 April 2019
Happy Birthday, Pugh's!
I went into Pugh's, next to the Post Office, this morning for a few bits of shopping (including some delicious locally made hot cross buns), and came out with a free little cake!
They're celebrating ten years of running the shop, and there were balloons, too, saying "Happy Tenth Birthday".
They're celebrating ten years of running the shop, and there were balloons, too, saying "Happy Tenth Birthday".
Tuesday 2 April 2019
Saxon Wall in Hereford
The Hereford Times has a regular feature for walks round the area, and at the end of February the choice was a walk round Hereford.
One item on the list caught my eye - down St Owen's Street, not far from the Barrels pub, are the only Saxon stone defence works currently visible in England. They were built on the orders of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians and daughter of King Alfred.
Last week I needed to go into Hereford, so I decided to try to find the wall.
The instructions in the Hereford Times said that the wall was behind a block of flats at the corner of St Owen's Street and Cantilupe Street, but I walked up and down there without success. Then I cut back towards St Owen's Street along Mill Street, and there was the block of flats. I wandered nonchalantly through the entrance to the car park at the back - and there was the wall!
One item on the list caught my eye - down St Owen's Street, not far from the Barrels pub, are the only Saxon stone defence works currently visible in England. They were built on the orders of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians and daughter of King Alfred.
Last week I needed to go into Hereford, so I decided to try to find the wall.
The instructions in the Hereford Times said that the wall was behind a block of flats at the corner of St Owen's Street and Cantilupe Street, but I walked up and down there without success. Then I cut back towards St Owen's Street along Mill Street, and there was the block of flats. I wandered nonchalantly through the entrance to the car park at the back - and there was the wall!
Monday 1 April 2019
The Art of the Brush
The Drawing Room is host to The Art of the Brush on 6th April, a Zen discipline. There will be two sessions, at 11am and 2.30pm, both free, and with a chance to try it out as well as watch the master at work.
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