Electric Charging Points

Two electric charging points have now been installed at the top of the car park, close to the Craft Centre.  Both of them were in use when I went to have a look.

Beer Festival

 My Young Man came to stay on the weekend of the Hereford Beer Festival.

I had various things to sort out at my bank related to moving house - changing standing orders and so on, so we went into Hereford on the Friday afternoon.  After I'd done the important business, and had a pork roll from the stand on the main square, we headed down to the marquee by the rowing club.

I think we chose the best day to go.  It was busy, but not too crowded, and I understand the crowds were the biggest they've ever been over the rest of the weekend.

Neither of us can drink in large volume any more - my limit was always three pints, and we had to keep an eye on the time to get the bus back to Hay, which limited the amount we could drink.  So we had to choose our drinks wisely.

The Young Man started off with a Black Orchid porter from Motley Hog in Ross-on-Wye, which he liked.  This came from the local brewers' bar at one end of the marquee.  He was also looking for anything unusual from Brecon brewery, now based in Bridgend.  On the grounds that he wouldn't see it back home, he went for the Mind Peroxide.  It's a 10% IPA, strong enough that they would only serve it in a third or half pint, and he sipped that for the rest of the session.

I started with Moonrakers Mild from Empire brewery in Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, because I like to try milds when I see them.  After that, I was delighted to find Jaipur IPA from Thornbridge in Bakewell, and followed that with Uley Pale Ale from Uley in Gloucestershire - it's not easy to find outside their local area, and the last time I drank it I was with a bunch of pagans who had just celebrated a mistletoe ritual in an orchard near the River Severn.

That was my pint and a half finished, with just enough time to amble to the bus stop outside the Catholic Church to get back to Hay.

That's where I met someone I hadn't seen for over twenty years - an ex-traveller who had his caravan on the grounds of Brynmelin when I lived there and worked for Richard Booth.  It was nice to catch up with him and find out that he was doing okay.

Eating Out In Hay

 We always like to sample the food available around Hay when the Young Man visits.

This time we tried the Italian menu at the Three Tuns.  The wild mushroom rigatoni was absolutely gorgeous.

We also had falafel, sitting outside the tiny shop on a bench in the sunshine.  The Young Man maintains that the shop in Hay serves the best falafel he's had anywhere - there's one place in London he knows that comes close.

Cocktails

 The week before I moved house, my Young Man came to visit, and there were a few things that he wanted to do while he was here.

The first of these was to visit Hay Distillery's new bar, on the corner facing the old library where the pottery shop used to be.  Since he first tasted Wild Knapp Gin, he's been something of  an evangelist about it, and has introduced several of his gin drinking friends to it.

He wanted to buy a couple of small bottles as presents, and we also settled in for cocktails.  He had a Dark and Stormy, which is made with rum, and I had the Bramble.  They're not the cheapest drinks in Hay, at £8, but they are drinks for sipping over a period of time, and they were very tasty

The Young Man got talking to the lady behind the counter, who told us that they also distill a special gin for Chapters restaurant.

Fire Alarm

 So I moved into the new flat on the Wednesday.

On the Sunday night/Monday morning, around 4am, I woke up to a loud ringing sound.

The fire alarm was going off.

In a bit of a panic, I grabbed my dressing gown and my bag with purse and mobile phone and ran downstairs.  Once outside, I thought I ought to phone the fire brigade - thank goodness I invested in a mobile phone at long last!

They arrived in about ten minutes.  I sat on the wall across the road and watched them (and a second fire engine which arrived a few minutes later) as they entered the building.  Checking the box on the wall with the flashing lights, they discovered that the fire alarm had been set off at the back of the Old Electric Shop, so they headed round the back.  They used a gas detector, and thermal imaging, but they couldn't find any evidence of a fire.

The Incident Commander came to me to say I'd done exactly the right thing in calling them, and if the alarm went off again, they'd break the shop door down to get in!  He added: "And you're the only survivor!"

With all that noise going on, and all the firemen wandering around, I was the only one who had come outside.  If there had been a fire, there were several other people in the flats who might not have got out.

Fortunately, the building was safe.  They re-set the alarm and sent me back to bed.

I'm told, by one of the long term residents, that the fire alarm does go off fairly regularly during the day, because of the cooking at the Old Electric Shop cafe, in which case they just come round and re-set the alarm.  It's rather more unusual for the alarm to go off in the middle of the night.

Moving House

So here I am, almost set up in my new flat.

It's been quite a stressful time for the last few months, since I got my notice to quit the house I've lived in for the last twenty years.

Basically, my landlord wanted to retire from being a landlord, so served me and my neighbour with a no fault eviction notice.  We were the last tenants he had left, and she'd been there seventeen years.

Over the months that followed I discovered that the government had intended to make no fault evictions illegal three years ago, but somehow never got round to it.

So, the first thing we did was inform the Council, as there was a real risk of homelessness in both our cases.  The lovely lady in the Powys Housing Department was as helpful as it was possible to be, but she did warn me that there was a possibility that they would only be able to offer me B&B accommodation, which would fulfil their responsibility to rehouse me.  I would have to store my belongings (at some expense!) or get rid of them.

It is incredibly difficult to find a place to live in Hay, and I needed to be in Hay, or close by, in order to get to work.  One of the problems is that properties that used to be available for long term tenants are now holiday lets or AirB&B.

 It wasn't really feasible to look far outside Hay, either.  The buses just don't work for a 9am to 6pm job, and 10am to 5.30pm on Sundays, so I had to be within walking or cycling distance.  I have never learned to drive. 

That's why I did the test ride of the ebike back in March.  A flat came up in Talgarth and I wanted to see if it would be possible to commute that far.  It was great fun for a day out, but I wouldn't have liked to do it as a regular thing - and the flat was only on the market for about three days anyway.  It came up on Rightmove on the Friday or Saturday, the estate agent had a viewing day on the Monday, and it was taken straight away.

Meanwhile in Hay, for the first four months that I was looking, only four studio flats came up.  If I'd gone for one of those I would have had to get rid of most of my belongings, just to fit in.  As it was, I had to dispose of my pine dresser and settle.  The dresser went free to a lady who had just passed her social services degree - she wanted to store her course books in it.  The settle went to a barn conversion where I hope it will be very happy.  

A couple of larger houses also came up, but they were out of my price range.

Several people said that they didn't want to see me move away from Hay (I didn't want to move away, either), and a couple of people (including my sister) looked into the possibility of buying the house with me as the sitting tenant.  In the end they couldn't manage to do that.

Then I was approached by two people who owned flats in Hay, and I was able to view them both on the same day!

Mark and Sandra Havard have flats over Londis, and they showed me the attic flat, which was not on the open market yet.  It is absolutely delightful.  The building dates back to around 1670, so it's all stone walls and beams and, being a converted attic, lots of sloping walls and skylights.  The bedroom is downstairs by the front door, which is at the back of Londis, approached via a passageway and metal staircase, completely hidden away.  There's a wonderful view from the living room over the roof tops up the Wye Valley.

The other flat was in Y Gelli Chambers, over the Old Electric Shop.  Again it was an attic flat (I began to feel a bit like Sara Crewe in A Little Princess!) but with more space to fit my furniture in, and all on one level when I'd climbed up all the stairs!  So I went for Y Gelli Chambers.

It's a lovely flat, with a view down Broad Street and, at a certain angle, out to Mouse Castle over the rooftops, and I've managed to keep all my books and DVDs and craft supplies, though it's been a bit of a game to fit them all in.  

I did think of getting friends to help me move - several people kindly offered - but in the end I decided to get the professionals in.  Three young men from ATK did all the hard work, and dismantled and rebuilt my bed, and they were worth every penny!

Going on Hiatus

 I've got lots to write about, and no time to do it, as I am moving house on Wednesday!

I will still be in Hay, though.

So I'll be without internet access for a few days, and up to my ears in unpacking boxes.

Should be back posting in a week or so.

Karl Showler

 I heard, a few days ago, that Karl Showler has died.

For many years, he lived on Newport Street, and he was a local beekeeper.  He was also one of the most niche booksellers in Hay, selling books about bees.  I once went to a talk he did for the Breconshire Wildlife Trust, where he described wandering round the hillsides with a long pole, in an attempt to track the flight paths of bees (I think the pole had some sort of bee attracting stuff on it).  His honey was delicious.

He was also a local historian - I often saw him on the bus to Brecon on his way to the library to look something up.  He was one of the people who did work for the book Nobody Had Heard of Hay, which was produced for the Millennium.

He was Mayor of Hay for a while.

He also played Santa at Christmas Fairs (he had the beard for it!)

He was a notable local Quaker.

After his wife Betty died, and his eyesight got worse, he moved to Brecon, to some sort of sheltered accommodation. [edited to add: he then moved to a home in Abergavenny, which is where he died].

The funeral will take place on Tuesday 19th July at 12.15, followed by a wake at the Black Lion from 2pm.

Lift the River at Hay Castle

 

Fund Raising

 I forgot to mention yesterday that the area of woodland beside the car park at the Warren is going to be put to use as a forest school.  This is not the first time a forest school has met there, but apparently there was some vandalism, and then Covid happened.  Jeff Morgan wants to put a new gate in the fence, and put wood chippings down for a a path and in a circle of trees where he also wants to put logs for children to sit on.  He's already got rid of a lot of saplings that were choking up the site.  

He's looking for a very modest amount of funding - about £1200.

Meanwhile, fundraising for the Warren Wall has raised enough money to build another 25 metres.

And the house sale on Saturday had raised £950 for refugees when I dropped in, with plenty more furniture, pictures and ornaments to sell.  They also managed to fill a van with furniture to furnish a house in Neath for refugees.

The Balsam Bashers

 

Here are Jeff, Steve, me and Sean after around an hour's balsam bashing.  We got much further along the riverbank this year, despite there being only four of us.

And it's happening all over again next Saturday!

Royal Visit

 Prince Charles will be coming to Hay on Thursday to officially open the Castle.

According to the Hereford Times, he will start by climbing the new steps to the medieval gate, which means he will go through the market stalls for the Thursday market.  After he's been told about the conservation of the gates, he will tour the castle, including the exhibition of portraits of writers and the viewing platform at the top of the tower.

(he'll need a cup of tea after climbing all those stairs!)

House Sale

 Also on Saturday, between 10.30am and 4pm, there will be a sale of house contents (rather than the house itself) at 22 Broad Street, opposite the chippy.  On offer is a variety of furniture, mirrors, pictures, and "etc."

(I've put the tag as "garage sale" even though they don't have a garage)