Road Closed

The road just by the Council Chambers is closed for three days - it's being dug up by the Water people.
Which means that there are diversions from the bridge into Broad Street and from the Blue Boar corner.
Unfortunately, this lunchtime, a Co-op lorry started to head down the hill straight for the roadworks, and got stuck. They couldn't go down Castle Street - the roads in the middle of town are too narrow for the big lorries - so the only thing they could do was reverse back to the junction. A chap from Walter Jones hardware shop was helping to direct traffic on one side of the road, and another man on the other side, but it took some time to get other vehicles to stop and move back so that the Co-op lorry could reverse out of the trap it had got into.

From Chapel to Yoga Centre

I saw scaffolding going up around Salem Chapel, and lots of old slates going into a skip - the roof is being replaced.
It seems that this is the first stage in turning the chapel into a Yoga Centre.

Fair Rosamund, the Musical

Fair Rosamund of Clifford Castle was famous as the mistress of Henry II - "that tart Rosie" according to Gerald of Wales, who did not approve (and also wanted to make an elegant pun in Latin). Henry II's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine didn't approve either, but couldn't do much about it as he had imprisoned her!
Tonight, the Monday Choir are staging a musical about her life at Clifford Hall at 7pm. Tickets are £7.50, and include a buffet, and there will also be a raffle and a Rosamund exhibition.
Proceeds of the concert are going to Dial-a-Ride.

Hustings

There have been hustings happening all over Brecon and Radnorshire because of the by-election (don't forget to vote on 1st August!).
Tonight, the candidates are in Hay, at the Globe.
Normally, I'd be there, scribbling copious notes, but this time I'm afraid I'm at the "Oh God! Just make it stop!" stage. I heard them being interviewed on Sunday Supplement on Radio Wales, and that was more than enough.

Sketching Dogs

While Sally Matthews is exhibiting her sculptures and drawings of dogs at the Drawing Room, she has also been there on Mondays and Wednesdays with the offer to sketch the dogs of people who come in. I saw her busily sketching on Monday, the dog lying on the floor with the owner sitting to one side.
She said, in a post on the Hay Community Facebook page, that each sketch would take about 15 to 20 minutes, and that the owner of the dog could take a sketch away for a donation (suggested £20) to the Many Tears dog rescue charity, where her own dog came from.
The sessions have been booked up, and there are a few on a waiting list in case someone drops out!

Swimming Pool

I don't swim, (though in this weather I might be tempted to sit in the river!), but I know that Hay Swimming Pool is a well used asset to the town. The pool is used by around 400 people every week. Four local schools, including Hay School, use the pool for swimming lessons and other groups use the pool for private lessons, Splash and Play, Let's Get Swimming and Swimsanity.

And now they need some help.
A few years ago, the pool was repainted as a short term measure, but now it needs properly re-lining. This will cost about £15,000. The voluntary group which now runs the pool, Friends of Hay Swimming Pool, are applying for grants and they have set up a JustGiving page. They're also looking for fund-raising ideas, and will have a meeting in August to discuss this. One idea which is already going ahead is a Swimathon, organised by Roy of Let's Get Swimming. This will be held on 14th September, and the proceeds will be split between Hay Pool and A Stroke of Luck, which is a charity set up by Roy's son Craig, who suffered from a stroke at an early age. 14th September is also the date of the final school car boot sale of the season, so refreshments will be available too.

Summer Show

I was working, so I missed most of the Summer Show.
I did arrive just in time to see this beauty leave the field, though!

There was also a group singing sea shanties still in full swing, and the Lucky Seven bar was still open.

I'm told that the Hayfield Gardens did quite well in the local produce show, and there were some lovely Victoria sponges. Also, the ice cream seller ran out of ice cream!
Everybody involved seems to be happy about how it went - and looking forward to next year!

Next weekend, just outside Hay, is the Hay Horse Show.

Saturday Events

I had fun going round a variety of local events over the weekend.

In the Buttermarket on Saturday local charities had stalls. One of them was the HayDay Café, which is actually held in Clyro Village Hall, on the last Wednesday of every month from 12.30 - 3pm. They are dementia friendly and welcome anyone who is lonely or living with dementia. Transport is available.
And following on from the HayDay Café - they are looking for entertainers to put on a Variety Show! So anyone who can recite a poem, do a comedy sketch, sing, dance, play an instrument, or work back stage is welcome to join in. Hay Community Theatre are doing workshops and rehearsals every Thursday evening from 12th September, from 7.45 - 9.45pm in Clyro Village Hall, leading up to the performance on November 23rd at 4pm.
The sessions are free thanks to the Lottery Community Fund for the Dementia Friendly "HayDay Creative Café Project".
They had some records for sale on their stall as well - I treated myself to two collections of Flanders and Swann songs, and one of Peter Sellers' sketches, so I'll be practicing for the Baskie acoustic sessions on Wednesday evenings!

Meanwhile there were lots of different crafts on display at the Big Skill at the Globe, with several stalls offering workshops on the crafts they were displaying. I treated myself to a lovely table cloth from Love Zimbabwe, block printed with elegant giraffes, and it was lovely to have a chat with Martha and see how big her little girl has grown. Her dad reckons he'll be able to retire soon - she's starting to take over and she's only seven!
I also got a closer look at the silver sculpture that's been visible from the road for a while. It's very finely balanced, so it moves in the wind. It was made by Will Carr, of willcarrsculpture.co.uk
And at the back of the top grassy area, there was this little "hobbit house":

Summer Show

There hasn't been a Summer Show in Hay for something like thirty years - but the Show is being revived tomorrow!
It will be taking place on Cae Mawr, the field below the main car park, from 12 noon (free entry), and there will be all sorts of things to do - a dog show, traditional and modern games including five a side football, bouncy castle, burgers, ice creams, and a bar run by the local Lucky Seven Brewery.
There are also competitions - flower arranging, cakes, children's crafts, and fancy dress.
Four local bands will be playing from 4pm onwards.

Branches Everywhere!

My landlord came round this morning with his chainsaw to chop down a bush that was overhanging the back of the house - which is brilliant, and I can now see daylight out of my kitchen window!
However, it leaves me with a big pile of twigs and branches to dispose of.
Up until earlier this year it would have been no problem - I could have loaded up my little trolley and trundled it down to the big green waste bins in the car park. However, Powys County Council have now taken those bins away, replacing them with a scheme where householders have to pay for a garden bin to be emptied regularly.
I don't need a garden bin to be emptied regularly. I just have this one-off amount of debris to clear - so what are people like me supposed to do now?
I dare say I'll manage something, but it used to be easy, and it isn't any more.

The Big Skill

This weekend, The Big Skill will be at the Globe. There will be all sorts of crafts on display, such as knitting and crochet, floral cushions, quilts, hand dyed yarn, painting and photography, "upcycled" goods, leatherwork and wood turning, as well as workshops. The workshops include glass and copper jewellery, rag rugs, recycled metal bugs (!), and willow weaving. On the Sunday there will be workshops on wooden toy making and children's screen printing, clay sculpture and gargoyle making.
There will also be blacksmithing demonstrations from Tools for Self Reliance, and encaustic art demonstrations.
Love Zimbabwe and Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees will also be there.

And there will be music throughout the day. Bob Evans, who is in charge of the Baskerville Hall acoustic sessions on Wednesday nights, will be performing at 11am and 2pm each day of the craft fair. He has a new album out, called About Time, and he will be performing all the songs in his morning sets. The one about the dinosaur getting worried about an asteroid is a favourite at the Baskie, but he starts with the Big Bang!

Bean Box

I went for a walk by the riverbank on Saturday afternoon, and in the garden by the bridge I came across three generations of Teviotdales enjoying coffee at the Bean Box. Brian had his son and grandson down for a visit.
It's a lovely spot for coffee in the summer, with the garden and the view over the river through the trees, and the garden was full of people when I stopped to say hello.
When Brian started singing Haydn, who runs the Bean Box, came over. Haydn trained as an opera singer. He pleaded with Brian to stop. "Brian is to singing as Giant Haystacks is to the pole vault!" he said (which is possibly a little unfair - Brian can at least carry a tune!).

A Visit to the Library

The Oxfam plant and book fair wasn't the only event happening on Saturday morning. When I'd been there I went up to the school to browse round their second Car Boot sale, where I picked up a few interesting bits and pieces (and - okay - a Donny Osmond CD!)
Then I went into the library to see if the Welsh Conversation class was happening.
While I was browsing round the shelves, I came across a book in the Local History Reference section which was all about the water meadows along the Golden Valley. I came across some of the archaeological remains where the water flow was controlled when I did a walk between Vowchurch and Peterchurch a while back.
The Welsh conversationalists didn't turn up, but Jane the librarian took my name to let me know when it's happening again.
She was chatting to one of the new members of the town council, who seems to know everything about the local buses! He told her he'd get hold of the new T14 timetables for the library for her.

I'm not sure how the conversation got round to it, but we ended up talking about the local Credit Union, which now operates out of the Library on Thursdays.
Credit Unions are financial co-operatives run by and for the members, and are very useful for people on low incomes because they offer affordable, low cost loans as well as savings accounts. The Brecon and District Credit Union has been around for about twenty years, so they have plenty of experience behind them. I remember trying to join when they first started, but at that time I lived just outside the area they covered. Their website is at www.breconcreditunion.co.uk

Oxfam Plant Fair

I don't know who did this, but the Oxfam shop doorway looked like this on Saturday morning. I suppose it will dissuade people from leaving bin bags full of donations on the doorstep, which has been something of a problem - despite a notice on the door asking people not to leave any donations on the doorstep.
Since the original furore when the shop was closed, it opened briefly over the Festival, and since then it has remained closed.
However, yesterday the volunteers hired the Buttermarket:

Zulus in Brecon

Lots of excitement in Brecon next weekend, with events throughout the following week, as King Goodwill Zwelitheni is visiting. With him will be some of the descendants of men who fought at Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift.
The visit starts at Brecon Barracks, on Sunday 21st July at 5.30pm, with a pageant to welcome the King. Admission is free.
On Monday evening at 7.30pm there will be a concert at Brecon Cathedral featuring the Brecon Male Voice Choir and harpist Emily Harris. Admission is £15.
On Tuesday and Wednesday there will be performances of Cetshwayo The Musical at Theatr Brycheiniog. Cetshwayo was King of the Zulu Nation during the Anglo-Zulu wars of 1873 to 1879, and led the Zulus to victory against the British at the battle of Isandlwana. King Goodwill is a direct descendant of King Cetshwayo.

Sally Matthews Exhibition

One of Sally Matthews' dog sculptures in the window of the Drawing Room, where she is exhibiting sculptures and drawings of dogs at the moment.
Also one of the first pictures on my new camera, which I'm just starting to figure out how to use!

Musical Duo at St Mary's

When I was at the beer festival with friends, they said they were going to St Mary's the following evening to see Dan Cassidy and James Hickman perform, so I said I'd like to go with them.
There was a small, but enthusiastic audience for the duo at the church. It seems that Dan Cassidy, an American now living in Iceland, lived in Hay during the early 1990s, when he played with local musicians Martin Blake and Blake's Three. So several people in the audience knew him.
Dan plays fiddle, and James plays guitar. He comes from Shrewsbury, where he says there was a strong bluegrass tradition when he was growing up, which influenced his playing style.
It was a very enjoyable concert - and there were times when Dan's hand on the violin bow was a blur, he was playing so fast!

There's another concert, organised by Hay Jazz, on Saturday (their poster says 21st July, but I think it must mean the 20th), starting at 7.30pm. The performers are Janice Day and Martin Litton - back by popular demand, says the poster, with all new material from 1939!
At first I told my friends I wouldn't be going, as I'm not that keen on jazz, but looking at the playlist on the poster, I might change my mind. It includes In the Mood, Moonlight Serenade, and songs from Peggy Lee and Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra - and even Flanagan and Allen!
Tickets are £12.

Beer on the Wye

Some friends gave me a lift to Beer on the Wye on Friday afternoon - it's always nicer to go with friends, to chat over the drinks. The drive through the countryside, via Bredwardine, was glorious.

We found a spot to sit at the end of the cider tasting table (that's what all the containers are in the background), but managed to avoid actually drinking any cider on the grounds that we couldn't give an informed opinion about the taste of the different varieties.
Looking through the programme initially, I didn't see anything that I really wanted to try, so I ambled along the beer bar until I saw a name I recognised. It was Harviestoun, a Scottish brewery, and Schiehallion turned out to be their lager. I don't normally drink lager, but this was full-bodied and fruity, and a very good start to the session.
Mark Haslam of Herefordshire CAMRA announced the winning beers of the Festival. I didn't quite catch the Bronze winner, apart from it being a Manchester brewery. The Silver was also from Manchester, Cloudwater's John Green Bouffant, and the winner was Inspector Remorse, a London Porter from Electric Bear brewery in Bath.
Then I saw a beer I really had to try! Costa del Salford from Irwell Works in Bury - all names of places from the area where I grew up. It was light and hoppy, but not too hoppy, and a perfect summer beer.
Then I decided to try the winning beer of the Festival, Inspector Remorse, which was absolutely a worthy winner, and a delicious porter.
Meanwhile one friend was trying the Oscar Wilde mild from Mighty Oak, which he said was very fine, too. My other friend, as designated driver, found some bottled water to drink, though the programme said that Festival Fruit Punch (alcohol free) was available, as well as some alcohol free beers from the World Beers bar.
Finally I went for a local beer. Swan Brewery have made two beers to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing - Small Step and Giant Leap. I tried the Giant Leap, which was another full-bodied beer, using Apollo, Comet and Flyer hops. The Small Step was made with Apollo and Eagle hops.
There were 130 ciders on offer too, 100 of them from Herefordshire - but I find I can't drink cider in any quantity. There were 135 different beers, a local brewery bar, and a World Beers bar. And by the end of the weekend, I hear they had almost been drunk dry!
We were there before the music started, but they had several bands on over the weekend, covering modern pop to Dixieland jazz and R&B.
The charity of the Festival this year was HOPE Support Services - for the sixth year running! I think it was them who were selling raffle tickets for a wheelbarrow full of cider!

Small Business Sunday

New restaurant Chapters has opened at St. John's.

HOWLS AGM - Public Libraries Transform Lives

The Hay-on-Wye Library Supporters met in the Library on Wednesday for their AGM.
It's strange to think that the Library has been at the school for a year now, but it's being well used, and it's a great help to have the extra opening hours paid for by an anonymous donor and Hay Festival. Hay Festival also paid to put the dividing wall up between the main library and the smaller space to the rear, which was part of the original plans, but ended up being left out because bookshelves were put up where the dividing wall was going to fit in instead.
The library has a dedicated team of volunteers, some who do general support work and some specialists like Sian who does Storytime and Bernie who helps people with IT. There's also Welsh Conversation for Beginners at 11am on Saturday mornings. This is alongside the two paid staff.
HOWLS also produced a leaflet which was inserted in the June edition of WyeLocal, promoting the library.
However, there are still problems to be faced. In January this year, Powys County Council announced cuts to the library budget of £200,000, to be spread across ten branch libraries, including Hay. After protests, the County Council agreed to defer those cuts for a year - but they're still coming, and it might even be more than £200,000.
Therefore, HOWLS and the supporters of those other libraries need to be prepared, and the idea earlier in the year was that they should form a CIC. The Cheesemarket is run by a CIC, which raised the funds to renovate the upper room into a holiday flat.
A CIC to support the library has now been set up, but the directors aren't doing anything just yet until they know what the County Council's plans are. The idea is for the CIC to raise money to pay for staffing costs if the County Council decides to cut the staff. They would form a contract with the PCC which would be legally binding. At present, when the Hay Festival donates money for the library they have no control over how it is spent. A group of local councils have done something similar in Montgomeryshire, though the County Council then decided to close the library buildings there - Hay can learn from that when a contract is drawn up.
Michael Eccles, who did all the hard work to set the CIC up, was also keen to emphasise a positive vision for the library. It's not just a case of hanging on to what we have, it's about developing the different services the library can offer as society changes. For instance, he wants to take local children on a day trip to a really big library, like Birmingham, so they can see how that works and learn how to use it. They'd also like to encourage more volunteers to come forward to organise one off events like book launches, or to help to take books to housebound library users. There's already a scheme in place that takes books to the residents of Cartref.
There will also be a website, and they want to have short video clips of local people talking about how libraries changed their lives. Their slogan is "Public Libraries Transform Lives".

The meeting was also looking at statistics provided by the County Council, showing the running costs of the library - which will be useful when negotiating with the PCC - and membership figures. It was interesting to see just how many people who use the library come from the villages around Hay, like Llanigon, Gwernyfed, Clyro - and 89 people from Painscastle! Someone commented that must be the entire population of Painscastle! These figures don't include the Herefordshire side of the border, so there will be more from Cusop and Clifford. This is something to bear in mind when campaigning - it's not just a Hay matter; all these other communities need to be included too.

There will be more meetings in September to plan the way forward.

Hay Peerages

King Richard Booth has been selling peerages in his Independent Kingdom of Books ever since he declared himself king in 1977. For a modest fee, people could get a certificate with their new title in calligraphy, signed by Richard, with an official stamp and seal.
Now Richard is handing over the responsibility for the peerages to Hay Castle Trust - they have been given the original stamp, seal, and the gold-edged ledger where all the peerages are recorded.
Proceeds from selling peerages will now be going towards the restoration and maintenance of the castle.

By-election

The date of the by-election for Brecon and Radnorshire has been set at 1st August.
So far the candidates are:
Our present MP Chris Davies is standing again for the Conservatives
Jane Dodds, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, is standing for the Lib Dems
Tom Davies, presently a Brecon councillor, is standing for Labour
Lady Lily the Pink of Llanwrtyd Wells is standing for The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
and retired police superintendent Des Parkinson is standing for the Brexit Party.

Mystery Tour

The T14 route is very long, all the way from Cardiff to Hereford now, so it's not a surprise that sometimes the drivers can get confused.
On Saturday, it was okay right up to the ring road around Hereford - and then the busdriver turned into Widemarsh Street, when he should have turned towards the bus station and the old Odeon (now a community church) and then by Morrisons.
I went up to the front to guide him towards the railway station, which proved to be pretty easy. Just past the Coningsby Museum there's a big junction with the new road, and as soon as he turned right we could see the station in the distance.

And on the theme of finding your way around Hereford, I came across this tactile map outside the cathedral that I'd never noticed before: