The cardboard on the windows of the shop that used to be Number 2 has now come down, revealing this:
I think this is my favourite Christmas window this year, at the Antique Centre. That 1920s dress is amazing!
It's all virtual this year - no crowds in the square for the Turning on of the Lights, no marquee for the talks. Hay is quiet.
But online, there's a lot going on. The link is at www.hayfestival.com/winter-weekend/home
Events are being streamed live, and they're free. Benjamin Zephaniah is one of the speakers tomorrow, and Elton John, Dawn French and Gary Numan are part of the Sunday line-up.
The site also has a list of local Hay businesses to support, and also Welsh language workshops.
I've been admiring the nature photography of Stewart Roberts on the Hay Facebook pages throughout the year.
Recently, he created a calendar which he advertised on Facebook and I was thinking about buying one.
Today, I found I didn't need to get in touch with him directly, because he has donated 25 of his calendars to the Red Cross Shop, where they are on sale at £7.00 each, with the proceeds going to the Red Cross.
The pictures are absolutely gorgeous.
I'd forgotten the Mad Hatters Craft Markets until I saw a lady in an elaborate felt hat near Golesworthy's, so we went up to the Buttermarket to have a look.
The standards really are very high - we stopped to chat to the lady who hand sews teddy bears from the most gorgeous fabrics, some of which come from the Abergavenny studio of Charles and Patricia Lester (some of their clothes appear in Liberty's of London, and they also provide costumes for film and theatre).
They have a website at www.charles-patricia-lester.co.uk
We were very taken by the foil artwork of Riddle and Ravens - they have bookmark designs based on Harry Potter, Tolkien, Shakespeare, Greek Mythology and more, as well as larger pieces. If customers sign up to their newsletter, they also get a 10% discount from their first online order and access to The Raven Club, an online bookish community in the style of a 1920s speakeasy!
They can be found at www.riddleandravens.co.uk
Some wooden goblets caught my Young Man's eye on the NS Woodturnings stall - he bought a tall tumbler style drinking cup in ash, and a smaller one in oak. All the wood is fallen branches or pieces from the firewood pile, turned into something beautiful. They have a Facebook page.
Most of the crafters who appear at the Buttermarket also sell their wares through the Mad Hatters Christmas Craft Market Online on Facebook, and can be found through www.madhatterscraftparty.co.uk
They have craft markets planned for 28th November, and every Sunday in December - 6th, 13th and 20th.
Over the summer, some of the roads in the middle of Hay were blocked off by barriers for some of the time to help with social distancing.
Now it seems that the scheme is becoming more permanent, as planters have appeared all around town in the places where the barriers used to be.
Today I went up to the market, and the junk/antique stall near the Clock Tower had utilised the nearest planter to display his garden tools.
We just got to the square at the right time to hear the Town Cryer celebrating the birthday of John Evans from the window of the flat over the Cheese Market - John has been involved in the Chamber of Commerce, and the Market, for many years. Happy Birthday was sung for him in Welsh - penblwydd hapus.
In the Buttermarket this week there was a table selling second hand clothes in aid of the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees group, which seemed to be quite popular.
Since we couldn't wear our costumes at a Con this year, we had a little photo shoot in the back garden. This is the Angel Aziraphale and the Demon Crowley from Good Omens, with the Nice and Accurate Prophesies of Agnes Nutter:
I was lured through the door of Dugan's Patisserie this morning by the promise of 3 savoury pastries for £10. At the moment they're set up in the little shop that used to be The Thoughtful Gardener on Backfold.
I've been waiting for the booklet to appear, about the changes to the regional health service, and today I picked one up outside the Chemist's. It's very clearly laid out, but the news is disappointing as Nevill Hall is being downgraded and people will have to travel further for the services they will no longer be providing.
The changes come in on November 17th, earlier than expected because Grange University Hospital near Cwmbran has opened four months early to help cope with the expected increase in Covid-19 cases over the winter.
The services which will still be available at Nevill Hall are:
The Minor Injuries Unit
Day surgery, where the patient is discharged on the same day as the operation.
Outpatient clinics
Diagnostic services - X-rays, CT scans, MRI and so on.
The Medical Assessment Unit, Enhanced Frailty Unit, and 213 inpatient beds.
Midwife-led maternity services.
Services which will no longer be available from Nevill Hall are:
Consultant-led Accident and Emergency Services (the nearest A&E for most people in the area will be Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, or County Hospital Hereford).
Children's inpatient services (again, probably Prince Charles Hospital)
Consultant-led births and Special Care Baby Unit (now at The Grange near Cwmbran)
Inpatient surgery requiring overnight stay.
For people in Hay, this probably means a greater reliance on County Hospital Hereford.
There is also a Minor Injuries Unit in Brecon and Llandrindod Wells. At the moment, the Minor Injuries Units are Appointment only - you can't just turn up. This is because of Covid-19 precautions.
There's also information available now for getting to and from hospitals on public transport, which would have been a great help to me several years ago when I was rushed to Nevill Hall with food poisoning and the staff there were somewhat at a loss to advise me how to get home (one of them suggested I go home via Monmouth - which would not have helped.) The website is www.myhealthjourney.traveline.cymru
On 9th November, from 5.30pm to 9pm, the Three Tuns have invited Trigg Food to cook their deep fried chicken, as the pub re-opens.
Meanwhile, a new lockdown began on Thursday for the English side of the border.
It's not easy to see, with the reflections, but there's Guy Fawkes, surrounded by rockets, in the window of the shop at the end of Castle Street.
I went up to the Post Office today to pay my Water Rates - but they aren't open, due to technical problems.
However, they have announced their new hours for when the Welsh lockdown ends on the 9th:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm
Tuesday 9am to 1pm
Saturday 9am to midday.
The Remembrance service on Sunday will be going ahead at 3pm, but in a limited way. Only 30 people are allowed to gather, so the service will be by invitation only, for those who are going to lay wreaths at the War Memorial.
There will be another service on Wednesday 11th November at 11am.
