Bus Times Change Again!

 I noticed some complaints on Facebook from people who had missed the T14 bus - it seems that TrawsCymru have changed the timetable again.  I checked their website just now, and the new timetable is now up.  Of course, the paper timetables at the bus stops are still incorrect, and have been for months.

It's just as well I checked, because I've got a doctor's appointment at Talgarth surgery in a couple of days, and I'd timed the appointment so that I could get there by the first bus of the day.  Last week, the first bus of the day left Hay at 9.41am.  This week, the first bus of the day leaves Hay at 9.11am.  If I hadn't checked, I would have missed my doctor's appointment, because the next bus leaves Hay just before 1pm.

Small Business Saturday

 

Little Knapp Distillery have now opened their new retail outlet.

Dentists in Hay

 No banks, no Post Office, the newsagents is closing in a couple of days, no Council Offices, no Community Centre, and now no NHS dentist.

Hay-on-Wye Dental Centre has been trying to recruit a new NHS dentist, and have not been able to find one, so they have given notice to the Powys Teaching Health Board that they will be stopping NHS treatment from September, and only emergency treatment will be available from now until then.

Private dental treatment is unaffected.

Patients who need urgent treatment should call 111, and patients at the practice who will be affected (that'll include me) will receive information from the Powys Teaching Health Board about where to access treatment, and what they are going to do to provide alternative NHS dental services.

Insect Hotels

 

Seen in the centre of Hay - insects need all the help they can get at the moment!

Hay Shantymen Under the Bridge

 The Hay Shantymen will be performing under Hay Bridge over the summer.  They were there on 30th May, and it was a great success.

The first session will be on Sunday 27th June from 12.30, and they'll be there again on the last Sundays in July and August.

They're raising money for the RNLI.

Post Office Van

 The Post Office van opened its doors at the Cinema Bookshop at 3.45pm this afternoon (it arrived a bit before that, but the lady had to take a break first).  I had to nip out to do the banking for the shop - and there were already eight people waiting in a queue.  There were other small businesses doing their banking, and people with parcels....  It took me 25 minutes to get to the front of the queue.  The post lady was very calm and efficient, but it just shows how important it is to get a full time Post Office back in Hay.

A Secure Future for Hay Library

 A contract has been agreed (but has not yet been signed off) between Powys Library Service and Hay Public Library CIC, which sets out in detail Powys County Council's commitment to maintaining the library service in Hay at its current level with the support of the CIC.  So the staffing levels and opening hours should be the same for the next five years.

Keeping the professional staff is very important, but there is also a dedicated group of library volunteers, and they are looking for more people to join them.  Volunteers shelve books, arrange displays, lead children's story time sessions and assist with computer use.  They are especially looking for secondary school and college student volunteers - doing something like this can look good on a CV in the future.  Training and support will be given.  Talk to Sian or Jane at the Library, or ring 01597 827460 for more details.

The librarians have also expressed an interest in getting a coffee machine for the library - they've raised £108 so far by providing coffee for library users from their little kitchen area.

The library is also providing free lateral flow Covid tests for anyone who has no symptoms and is also an unpaid carer, a volunteer, someone who cannot work from home, visiting Wales from another area, or about to visit another area of the UK.

Sandwich Cellar Under New Management

 

Cat Wylie-Fox has taken over the Sandwich Cellar in Backfold.  She's also responsible for The Den, the fitness place by the Clock Tower, but felt the need to diversify.

Parachute Regiment Plaque

 I noticed something different about the picnic area the last time I went for a walk by the river - a plaque has been installed on the wall:

On closer inspection, it turned out not to be a new plaque at all.  It's been moved from the garden of the Council Chambers (which is up for sale), which is where the tree it mentions was planted.

First Day of the Replacement Post Office Service

 The Post Office are sending a van to the car park of the Cinema Bookshop, starting this morning at 9.30am to 11.30am.

It won't be there every day - the dates and times are as follows:

Friday 18th June 9.30 - 11.30

Tuesday 22nd June 3.45 - 5pm

Friday 25th June 9.30 - 11am

Then a temporary Post Office will be opening in a location to be announced on 28th June, and at some point after that a new permanent location will be announced.

In other Cinema Bookshop car park news, the Nat West van will also be returning.  It will be coming every other week, starting on Monday 21st June from noon to 12.45.

So the second visit will be on 5th July.

Last Day of the Post Office

 

Wishing Steve Like and his staff all the best for the future.

The cash machine will remain for the time being.

The nearest Post Offices are now at Glasbury and Talgarth.

Balsam Bashing Saturday

 Sean O'Donoghue is organising a day of pulling the invasive Himalayan Balsam from the banks of the Wye.  Left to itself, it swamps native plants.

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Sean on seanonwye@gmail.com

The group will be meeting at the entrance to the Warren at 10am on Saturday 10th July (that's the gate at the end of the lane).

Himalayan Balsam is pretty easy to pull - it doesn't have a strong root system.

So the Warren should be looking its best for another event on Wednesday 14th July, when the Walking With The Wye pilgrimage reaches Hay.  A day of celebration is planned, from 10am to 4pm, with the Shantymen singing, poetry and a picnic.

[Edited to add: The water should arrive at the Warren at about 5pm, with the celebrations going on until 6.45pm, when the event will move to the Globe for a screening of Rivercide and more music and poetry].

On Thursday 15th July the bottle of water, which is being carried from the source of the Wye to where the Wye meets the Severn estuary, will be handed over to the next group of walkers at Hay Market, from 10.30am.  There will also be a citizen science demonstration - volunteers are sampling the water to find out how polluted the river is.

It's a shame that this sort of thing has to be carried out by volunteers when the national bodies which are supposed to look after the rivers  don't seem to be doing this.  Whatever happened to the investigation into the pollution event at Glasbury, for instance?

A New Choir in Town

 Hay has a lot of musical people, and several choirs already.

A new one will be meeting on Tuesdays in the Globe garden from 6.30 to 7.30pm.  They can accept a maximum of thirty people, and no experience is necessary.  The choir is being run by Jane Dodds, who can be contacted on jane.dodds13@gmail.com

Fully Vaccinated!

 I've spent a lovely morning in Bronllys, having my second Covid jab, so I'm now fully vaccinated.  I spent some time after the jab in the church porch, reading my book while the swallows swooped past me to their nests.  They didn't seem bothered by me at all.  

It was a great relief that the buses came on time in both directions!

Walking with the Wye

 The group Save the Wye are organising a month long pilgrimage along the River Wye from the source to the Severn estuary, starting at Plynlimon on 3rd July and ending at Chepstow on 31st July.  Each day's walk will be about five miles, and the walkers will be carrying a bottle of pure water from the source of the river all the way along the walk.  Although it's described as a walk, it will also involve canoeists, cyclists, horse riders and swimmers.

Various events are being planned at points along the route, including Hay.

The point of the walk is to bring local communities together to celebrate their river, and to highlight the environmental problems the river is facing.  Once one of the cleanest rivers in the UK, the Wye is being polluted by chemicals, sewage, manure and invasive plants like himalayan balsam.  Last summer saw a lot of problems due to nitrate blooms and algae on the river, and key species of animals and plants are in decline.

The group are planning citizen science water sampling, music and performance, mass swims, artists at work, and a people's assembly.  They are keen to involve more people in the walking and the events, and can be contacted on savethewye@gmail.com

Meanwhile, the Rewilding, Biodiversity and Sustaining the Countryside group are planning a mass pulling of himalayan balsam.  For more details, contact Sean O'Donoghue on seanonwye@gmail.com

Second Jab

 When I got back from my travels, I was very pleased to find that I now have an appointment for my second Covid jab.  They've arranged it so I can easily get to Bronllys and back by bus (surely nothing will go wrong this time?).

So I'll be fully vaccinated when I go back to work.

Problems with the T14 Bus

 I'm back from my adventures - and the first thing I've done after unpacking is to send a complaint to Trawscymru about the T14 service.

I'm an anxious traveller.  I check and recheck the timetables.  So I checked the T14 timetable before I booked my train tickets, making sure I had enough time to catch the train.  I checked again the night before I travelled.  The time of the first bus was still listed as 06.59, which would get me into Hereford with 25 minutes to spare. The timetable says it's about 10 minutes, but I'd taken the early bus before and I knew it got into Hereford earlier than the timetable stated.  Even so, I could get to the platform in 10 minutes from the bus stop.

The bus arrived at 7.24am.

The driver showed me the paper timetable he was following, which showed 7.24 for arrival at Hay, and said something about half term.

There was nothing on the Trawscymru website about the bus times changing for half term.  However I did notice that 7.24 was the time for the Saturday service.  I was travelling on a Wednesday.

So I was sitting in the bus at the traffic lights by the Texaco garage when my train left the station.  I had to buy another ticket (£39.50 - which is very reasonable for a trip to London, but I shouldn't have needed to pay it), and I was an hour late at Euston.

The trains worked perfectly, both ways.

I returned to Hereford last night, having timed my arrival on the train to be able to catch the last bus home.  Surely this time there wouldn't be a problem?

By the time the T14 arrived, I was looking towards the taxi rank and wondering how much they charge to get to Hay these days.

This time the T14 was 20 minutes late, and the driver was unfamiliar with the route.  It wasn't his fault - he was doing his best - but we did end up going round Kingstone twice because he missed the turn, and regular passengers were shouting out helpful advice on the route and where the best places to stop for the bus stops were.

If anyone is interested in my adventures in London, I am writing about them on my other blog, Morwenna's Tower (on the side bar).

A Short Break

 I won't be posting for the next week or so - back to normal next week!