Poetry and Harps

 It looks like 22nd October will be busy with good things.

Yesterday, I popped into the Tourist Information Bureau to buy a ticket for Harpland, a concert at St Mary's Church.  It starts at 7pm and features harpist Ruth Wall and composer Graham Fitkin - the tickets are £12.50 each, and £6.25 for the under 25s.  The music is based on old Gaelic tunes found in bagpipe and fiddle books, and will be played on Ruth Walls three harps, the Renaissance bray harp, Scottish Clarsach and Scottish lever harp.  I adore harp music, and the clarsach in particular, so I'm really looking forward to this.  Graham Fitkin will also be talking about the stories of migration related to the music, especially the Highland Clearances.

And in the afternoon of the same day, at 3pm, the Poetry Bookshop is hosting an afternoon with Brian Bilston, who is on tour promoting his new book Days Like These, with a poem for every day of the year.  I've seen some of Brian Bilston's poems come up on Twitter (or possibly Facebook), and enjoyed the humour of them.  Here's a taste from The Cost of Loving:

I love you more than life itself

but I swear I'll love you better

if you let me turn the heating off

and you wear another sweater.....

I won't be able to go, though, because it seems that tickets have already sold out, at £5 each or £20 with a copy of the book.  The Poetry Bookshop has partnered with the Globe for the event, and it seems they will need the extra space!

Briar's Feral Account

 Briar already had one cat, a ginger called Colin, living in her yurt with her, but where she is living at the moment, she gradually became aware of more - and they needed her help.

She estimates that there are about twenty five cats and kittens in the colony, and they all need either neutering or treating for ticks, fleas and worms.  She has got a grant from the Cat's Protection League to neuter nine cats, and she's asking for donations to treat the others.

Donations can be given at Hay Vets on 01497 820863 - ask for Briar's feral account.  Any left over donations will go back to the Cat's Protection League, or to Hay Animal Rescue.

Car Boot Sale

 The last car boot sale of the season is being held now in the little car park next to Hay School - there aren't many boots there, but there's still a fair amount of interesting stuff to look at (I was quite tempted by a CD cabinet which would consolidate my varied stacks of CDs into one place).

Not much else has happened around town this week, though I did have a lovely chat with the lady who spins in the Cheesemarket - she also exhibited the natural dyes at the Cabinet of Curiosities last week.

The Mad Hatters Craft Fair was on in the Buttermarket today as well, and as usual there were a lot of high quality items on offer, from bows for pets to wooden bowls and art and crocheted shawls.

[Updated to add: I went back to the car boot sale, and caught the couple with the CD cabinet just as they were packing up.  They even offered to deliver it for me, which I was very grateful for because it's a solid piece of furniture - proper wood.  Even better, all my CDs fit in it, which is great because they had been scattered around in four different stacks]

Day of the Royal Funeral

 It's been a strange day in Hay.  Almost all the shops were closed - The Cinema Bookshop and Addyman's were the only bookshops open, and Spar was closed between 10am and 2.30pm.  A few bemused tourists wandered around looking for somewhere to buy a coffee - I think the Swan was open for that.  The bell at St Mary's rang at midday.

This evening I went to the cash point, and it actually had money in it.

This will also be the only chance I get to mention an event at the Green Ink Bookshop.  It's at 5.30pm tomorrow evening, Tuesday, and it's free.  Local author Bridget Ashton will be there, and she wants people to bring their grandmothers' and mothers' favourite recipes.

Cabinet of Curiosities

 

Over the weekend, the Buttermarket has been hosting the exhibition The Cabinet of Curiosities.

Around twenty different local artists were involved, with exhibits on a variety of subjects, with a theme of the natural world.  

One table had a display of the seventeen different woods used to make a piano, with information about the traditional use of ebony and ivory on the keyboards.  There were displays on the Earth, Sea, Astronomy, Insects, and botanical illustration.  

And here's a display of natural dyes: 

And mathematics in nature - here's the Fibonacci sequence in seed cones: 

I did take some photos of the information signs, but none of them came out well enough to share.  There were quotations from Rachel Carson, and information about Earth Overshoot Day.  This is the date each year at which global consumption exceeds the capacity of nature to regenerate.  In 1970 the date was 25th December.  This year it was 28th July.

Other signs talked about dark skies, and pollution in the sea, and the decline of many types of insects, including butterflies and bees.  

I was at work today, when someone came in to ask if we had a copy of Rachel Carson's book on the sea.  They'd just seen the exhibition, and been very impressed.

Wreath Laying at the Cenotaph

 Yesterday evening, the British Legion organised a short service of wreath laying in remembrance of the Queen at the cenotaph.  It's the sort of thing they're very good at.

All the scouting and guiding groups were involved, down to the littlest ones in bright red tops, and the standard bearer of the Beavers took his place in the line of flag bearers.

Here they are having their photos taken

And here's the line of flag bearers.  I think the naval uniform may be one of the Sea Cadets?  I saw the ship name Antelope on the hat band of one of them.  Gareth Ratcliffe was the British Legion standard bearer, as usual, and there were other local British Legion groups.

As the crowd gathered, a chap was playing saxophone in the Cheese Market.  There was also recorded music for parts of the ceremony, which was being filmed for posterity by John, who always records significant moments in the history of Hay.

After George the Town Crier rang his bell to begin proceedings, the President of the British Legion said a few words, announcing that the charity concert at St Mary's was now starting at 7.30pm so people could attend both events.  He had been one of the Queen's security detail as a younger man, and said he first met the Queen when he nearly ran over one of her corgis!

A lady read the poem that's been going round on Facebook about the Queen's death, and a priest read prayers.

Kelvyn Jenkins blew the Last Post, and there was a minute's silence.  A piper played while the wreaths, and bunches of flowers from the children were laid.  The Mayor of Hay laid one of the first wreaths.

The service finished with everyone singing God Save the King, followed by the Welsh National Anthem.

Then the piper played as the crowd started to disperse, though it did make me smile that the tune he chose was the Skye Boat Song, in which a Prince called Charles is fleeing the country!

As I walked back down the hill, I could hear Vera Lynn singing We'll Meet Again from the loudspeakers.

Funeral and Filming

 When I went out shopping this morning, I noticed that Golesworthy's will not be the only shop to be closed on Monday for the Queen's Funeral.  

Also closing are the Post Office and Londis.

And there was a camera crew going round the market today - the sign on the railings of the Cheesemarket said that it was the BBC for a new show, and that if anyone didn't want to be filmed, they should inform the crew.  I was quite happy to buy onions while a cameraman zoomed in on the rest of the vegetables on the stall.

They also filmed George the Town Cryer, but I only arrived as he was ringing his bell at the end, so I didn't hear the announcement.

Cenotaph

 

Here's the cenotaph today, with floral tributes and bow.

Events During the Period of Royal Mourning

 I missed the Proclamation of the new King, which was on Sunday at 4pm by the cenotaph.

The next event will be a two minute silence and laying of a wreath at the cenotaph on Friday 16th September at 7pm, organised by the British Legion.  Some people have already laid bouquets there, and the cenotaph itself has been decorated with a black gauze bow.

On Sunday there will be a Remembrance Service at St Mary's Church at 6pm

Then on Monday 19th September there will be a two minute silence at 11am, for the day of the State Funeral of the Queen.

Golesworthy's by the Clock Tower will be closed for the day of the funeral.  I don't know if any other shops in Hay are following suit.

Cabinet of Curiosities

 I'm looking forward to the exhibition in the Buttermarket next weekend.  It's called The Cabinet of Curiosities, and it is being staged by Botany and other Stories.  

The idea behind the exhibition is to portray a combination of Beauty and Science, inspired by quotations from Rachel Carson, who is most famous for her book Silent Spring.  It's about appreciating the beauty of nature and trying to demonstrate why it needs to be preserved.

Botany and other Stories has been working with local artists to fill boxes, in their Travelling Botanical Box Project.  Some of these boxes have already been on display in the window they used to rent in the middle of Hay.  The boxes have been filled by painters, stained glass makers, ceramicists, wood carvers, printers, weavers of wool and weavers of words.

There will also be information about the danger the natural world is in - which is very timely as COP 27 will be starting soon in Cairo, to discuss the world's response to climate change in a year when the evidence for the changing climate is undeniable, with rivers drying up all over the world while there are devastating floods in other countries, such as Pakistan and here in the UK there were the highest summer temperatures ever recorded.

The Buttermarket will be open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 17th September and from 10am to 2pm on Sunday 18th September.

Remembering The Queen

 There aren't many occasions where one can confidently say "This is the end of an era," but this is one of them.  There aren't many people alive now who remember the time before Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne.  Most of us have spent our entire lives in the reign of a single monarch.

The Town Council have placed a Book of Condolences at the Sports Pavilion on Brecon Road, so that anyone who wishes can pay their respects.  The Pavilion will be open from 12 to 4pm daily until 17th September (except Sunday).  

It will also be possible to leave flowers at the Cenotaph - but please take the cellophane off first!

Partial Closure of the Castle

 There's been a bit of consternation on Facebook at the news that the Castle will be closing in September!

First of all, it's only for around twenty days from 12th September, while some essential work is done that couldn't be done before it opened in May this year.  Also, the lift needs repairs.

Secondly, the Cafe and Gift Shop will remain open throughout.

Unfortunately the only access for this period will be via the steps from the Honesty Gardens, which means there will be no level access to the Castle.  This is because scaffolding will be going up around the back of the Castle and they are doing work on the gravel path.

Since the Castle opened to the public in May, there have been 40,000 visitors, which shows what a popular venue it is.

One of the things they are considering now is whether to start to charge an entrance fee.  Entry to the Castle has been free so far, apart from the art exhibition - and that was only £3.  They may have to start charging a small fee to cover their costs.  

The consultation document is at Hay Castle Entry Fee Survey (google.com)

Change of venue - and Cash!

 I went round to De Braos Court earlier to have a look at the h.art exhibition there, to find that there's a note on the door saying that the exhibition has been moved to Cabalva Ceramics, on the other side of the river.

It's not far from the Rhydspence Inn, which is a wonderful historic building.

While I was up that end of town, I checked the ATM.  To my amazement and delight, it actually has cash in it at the moment!