Real Hay on Wye by Kate Noakes

 I've been enjoying this snapshot of Hay just before the pandemic (I picked it up in the Castle gift shop).  Kate Noakes is primarily a poet, so there's quite a bit of poetry included in the book, as well as her own black and white photos. 

She divides the book into North, South, Central, East, West and Beyond sections, taking in Capel-y-ffin and Clyro and Bredwardine, and the toll bridge at Whitney, as well as Hay itself.  She mentions the cash point controversy, and saving the Library, and the Timbuktu Trail (the staff of Hay Cinema Bookshop get a mention here, for buying the business from Leon Morelli as a consortium).  There's local history, and even a recipe for Welsh cawl.  

Eric Gill gets a mention, along with his friend David Jones, another artist, and Eric Ravilious, who also painted in the area.  There's Kilvert, of course, and Major Armstrong, Adam Dworski the potter and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visiting Baskerville Hall, as well as Bruce Chatwin and the collector of local folklore Ella Mary Leather.  More recent local authors Jasper Fforde and Owen Sheers get a mention too and, of course, Richard Booth, who made Hay into a book town.

There's the Festival, and the gold post box, the town wells and the Castle (still being renovated as the book was being written).

I do have one small niggle, though - she complains about the shop called The Great English Outdoors (in Wales!).  If she'd overcome her prejudice and gone inside, she might have found out that English is the surname of the owner, rather than the nationality!

Music and Painting

 Even more events coming up!

I hadn't mentioned the latest Hay Music concert before, because I won't be able to get to it, but it does sound interesting.  The featured instrument of the concert is the theorbo, a sort of large lute which was popular in the Renaissance.  The Theorbo Today Project is trying to revitalise interest in the instrument, and some new music has been composed for it.  The concert takes place at St Mary's Church at 3pm on Sunday 26th February, and tickets cost £17.50, or £8.75 for under 25 year olds.

Meanwhile at the Castle, the new exhibition is of the works of local artist Eugene Fisk.  Eugene was Clyro's Artist in Residence, and he and Lizzie Organ ran the Kilvert Gallery together for many years.

Eugene also produced several books with his art work, such as Oh Happy Hay! which is full of sketches made around the streets of Hay, and Only Connect, a series of portraits of refugees he met at events organised by the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees group.

So I'll try to get along to the exhibition as soon as I can!

Films Made in Hay and More Events

 The Royal British Legion Hub, in collaboration with Hay Castle, are hosting an event on Monday 6th March, at 11am, remembering all the film productions that have been made in Hay.  There have been quite a few of them - Dandelion Dead, a BBC series of Kilvert's Diary, and On the Black Hill.

I remember hiding round a corner while the cattle were driven up Broad Street for the title sequence of Dandelion Dead - the camera was up on a cherrypicker by the Clock Tower, and the modern phone box had been disguised as a market stall.  The Three Tuns had a big sign put up on the wall for the occasion, which Lucy wanted to keep, but I don't think the Council planning department were too thrilled by the idea, so it came down.

I was also hanging around the edges of Cusop Churchyard when they filmed the digging up of Mrs Armstrong's body.  In fact, we got quite friendly with the camera crew, and I gave them a couple of bottles of the dandelion wine I'd been making (I was experimenting with all sorts of rural lifestyle ideas at the time - so fruit wine, jam, drying herbs....  I wasn't actually very good at any of them, but at least that first batch of dandelion wine was drinkable!).

I wasn't around for the filming of On the Black Hill, but I can go around town and point out some of the places where scenes were filmed.

Also, at the Globe on Sunday 5th March, there will be a Seed Swap from 2pm.

And, while I'm looking at the events at the Globe, they are hosting a Pride Fundraiser this Sunday, the 26th February, from 5pm.  They will be having a discussion first, and then showing the film Pride from 7pm.

Even More Events!

 It looks as if the beginning of March is going to be very busy!  What a lot of creative people there are in Hay!

There's the St David's Day concert at the Globe on Wednesday 1st to start things off.

Then there's the Climate Cafe, also at the Globe, on Thursday 2nd at 7.30pm.

And on Friday Rosie Hayles will be at Hay Library at 3pm, for their Enchanted Hour, to talk about her book Finding Hay: A Journey up Broad Street.  It's a really good book, full of interesting stories about the history of Broad Street and the buildings there.

Then there's poetry on Friday evening, at the Poetry Bookshop, for the launch of a new book by James Roberts - Two Lights: Walking Through Landscapes of Loss and Life, at 7.30pm.

St David's Day Celebrations

 There will be a concert at the Globe for St David's Day, from 7pm to 10pm (the Globe itself opens at 6pm).  The cost is £8 on the door, and there will be a bucket collection for the two charities that are being supported.  These are Lucy and Charlie Charity Project Uganda and Helping Our Homeless Wales.

There will be folk songs, comedy, poetry, "a bit of Mozart" and the evening will be rounded off by the Hay Welsh Choir.

Pavilion at the Globe?

 I met someone in the street this evening who was quite concerned about a new planning application the Globe has put in, so I went to the Brecon Beacons website to have a look at the plans.  

They want a permanent pavilion on the upper lawn to the side of the Globe building itself, just about opposite Rock House.  It'll be quite big, but it will be partly screened by existing trees and bushes.  

As part of the application they've had an ecology survey done (the site is a lawn at the moment, so they think there will not be much damage done).  They've also had an archaeology survey done - there is a small chance of some archaeology under the lawn, which was previously part of the garden of the Ship Inn (now demolished) - but it is quite close to the medieval town wall, so there might be something there.

They had a noise assessment survey done, too, and it seems to me that containing the noise of wedding receptions or other gatherings inside a building might actually be better for the surrounding houses.  At the moment, summer receptions take place in the open, and the sound does carry.

There was also some worry about parking for the Globe - basically, there is no parking, but that wouldn't change.  The Globe already has a full programme of events, so I don't see that the pavilion would add to that too much.

From what I can see on the website, and based on previous planning applications I've seen over the years, I think the application has a good chance of getting through (I have no strong opinions either way).

Exhibitions in Hereford

 I had a few things I needed to do in Hereford today - but I was also told about exhibitions that are on at the moment in Hereford Cathedral.

I didn't have time to visit the crypt, where the blacksmithing exhibition from Herefordshire College of Arts is on until 22nd February, but I did enjoy the photographic exhibition in the nave.

A photographer called Peter Marlow went to all 42 Anglican cathedrals and photographed each one from the same perspective, facing East towards the main altar down the nave, and at the same time of day, dawn, using only natural light.  The resulting pictures are surprisingly bright, and there's about 900 years range of architectural styles on display, from the Romanesque round columns of Southwell to the post-Second World War Coventry.

Meanwhile, in the old Laura Ashley shop near Maylord Orchards, Herefordshire Photographic Society is using the window space to display photos by some of its members - there are some very good wildlife photos.

I also had fun in the Cider Museum, doing a bit of research into how cider is made, and the local cider apple varieties.  I came away with a bottle of their Kingston Black Apple Aperitif from the Somerset Cider Brandy Company.

Poetry Book Launch

 The Poetry Bookshop is hosting a Book Launch on Friday 3rd March, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm.

The book is Two Lights, by James Roberts, and he will be reading extracts and talking about some of the themes, including wolves, lions, curlews and wilderness.

There will be wine, and the event is free.

Cusop History Group

 While I was at the Castle for the Volunteer Fair, Cusop History Group were re-launching themselves in Cusop Village Hall.  The evening included an AGM, a talk on Cusop Castle and the meeting was also attended by Herefordshire Archaeologist Tim Hoverd.

They also have a Box of Books of local interest for members to borrow.

Magical Moment

 When I went to the Castle the other evening, I had a very clear view of Jupiter and Venus in the sky from the Castle lawn - they were the brightest objects in the sky.

When I came out again, over an hour later, the stars had turned above the Earth, and Orion was just over the car park, with Sirius the Dog Star at his heels to the left, and Taurus the Bull to his right (a prominent V of stars) - and behind Taurus the misty cloud of the Pleiades.  It was beautifully clear.

Bronllys Well Being Park

 The longest discussion I had at the Volunteer Fair was with the lady from Bronllys Well Being Park.  This is a Community Land Trust, and has been working for several years now to improve the facilities at Bronllys Hospital, collaborating with the Health Board as much as they can.

Sadly, any plans they had for the future of the Mansion House, at the top of the site, cannot happen, as the Mansion House and Walled Garden were sold off in 2018.  There are plans to turn it into a 'boutique hotel', apparently.

They have produced a large, and very professional looking, booklet detailing what the existing services are on the site, and what they hope to achieve over the next ten years.

The present buildings on the site are pretty old, and not considered to be fit for purpose in the long term.  The group wants the buildings to be replaced, possibly on the same footprint, with new buildings that also incorporate the principles of sustainability.  They want any future buildings on the site to be designed and built to Passivhous standards - meaning that very little heating will be needed, and the buildings would be connected to onsite energy generation and waste management systems, including solar panels, turbines, ground source heat pumps and grey water recycling systems.  None of this is experimental - similar buildings have been built for years, and the technology is tried and tested.

They also want to put in electrical points to charge electric cars and buses, and make the site into a local transport hub.

The whole site is Grade II listed on the list of Historic Gardens of Special Interest with CADW, though only the orchard is being maintained at the moment.  The orchard includes some rare apple varieties, and a local group is already working to improve it, and also grow damsons, pears and other fruits and berries.  They hope to expand to bee keeping and vegetable growing.  When the hospital first opened, it was almost self sufficient in fruit and vegetables, grown on site.  The BWBP wants to put in allotments around the site.

The hospital also once had its own croquet/bowls lawn and tennis court, which they want to repair.  There are also two listed buildings on the site - the chapel, which is closed at the moment because the building is unsafe, and the Basil Webb Hall, presently used by the Health Board as office and meeting space.  There is also the Concert Hall, which has been used over the past three years as a vaccination centre for Covid, and which several local businesses have expressing interest in using for exercise classes.  It would also be suitable for showing films and having theatrical performances.

They want the chapel to be refurbished as a cultural hub for the area, as a venue for arts, creative activities and performance as well as religious services.  They are supported in this by the local Veterans Group.

They want to provide new buildings for the existing services of the Adult Mental Health Unit, the Ambulance Station (which is presently in a fairly inaccessible part of the site), turn the old Nurses' Home into co-care housing (it's currently the Pain Clinic), and provide homes for families which have a disabled member.  The Pain Clinic would have a new, purpose-built building.

They want to provide a community hire, restore and repair shop, for people to borrow and repair tools, and a nursery for local children, as well as a Dementia Home for older people to live with support.

One of the big projects the BWBP wants to do is to move Llewelyn Ward down to a new building near the Concert Hall, where the same medical services would be provided.

As well as maintaining and improving the medical facilities onsite, the group wants to tackle the housing problems of the area by building affordable housing for local young families, housing for older people, and housing for people who need carers.  These would be built in small clusters around the site.

Another project they are interested in is providing space for the Men in Sheds group - and a Women in Sheds group, too!

Another proposal is for Shepherds Hut accommodation around the site for vulnerable people who need some peace and quiet for a while, such as military veterans.

And they want to provide a wildlife pond for wild swimming, and plant more trees.

Some of these projects are already running, and if they get only a fraction of what they are proposing it will enhance the site greatly.  I hope they get it all!

So, THERE WILL BE A MEETING at Talgarth Town Hall on Thursday 23rd March from 7pm to 8.30pm, with refreshments afterwards.  This is advertised as a Health and Well-Being Forum, and they will be discussing health and well-being issues relevant to South Powys.  There will also be a video of support from the actor Michael Sheen, who has already taken an interest in the project.

Volunteer Fair

 When I got to the Castle, I could hear voices in the background, but I couldn't see anybody, so I asked the people who were moving crates around - presumably the art exhibition going back to where it had come from.  They sent me upstairs to the Clore Learning Room, which was a bit small, really, for everything that was squeezed into it.

I think I got a leaflet from every stall, but I might have missed someone in the crush:

At one end was On the Verge, from Talgarth.  They are dedicated to "preserving and creating wildlife habitats through education and influence".  So they go into schools, and look after patches of countryside.  Sadly, I got the message that their website is dangerous when I tried to look, so I don't know any more than that.

At the other end of the room was Clan, Cultivating Learning and Nature CIC (there were several CICs present - it stands for Community Interest Companies, and is a good way of getting organised as a voluntary body.  The Cheesemarket is run by a CIC).  There was no-one there to chat to when I passed, but they seem quite similar to On the Verge, being concerned with "ecology, craft and horticultural activities to support wellbeing", and "being outdoors and using natural resources".  They're also involved in educational activities.  Their website is www.clan-cic.org, and they're based in Herefordshire. 

Also at that end of the room was the Brecon Repair Cafe information - Hay Repair Cafe had a much more active stall near the door.  The Brecon Repair Cafe meets every last Saturday of the month from 11am to 2pm except August and December, at the Market Vaults in Brecon.  They are also a collection point for Tools for Self Reliance.

The chaps from Men's Sheds Cymru were a cheerful bunch.  They've been making swift boxes and have other projects on the go.  This is a community space for men to connect, converse and create, and is also at Brecon Market Vaults.  They have two websites listed, neither of which works at the moment, but they can be contacted on vbxbrecon@gmail.com

The Black Mountain Lions were there - they get involved in a variety of local projects.  On display were pill containers to be kept in the fridge with emergency medication, so that paramedics can go straight to it if someone has a fall or other medical emergency at home.

Hay Football Club had a table, too.

Then there were several opportunities to work with animals.  

Bryngwyn Riding for the Disabled Association has been running for quite a while, taking children and adults riding.  You don't need any experience with horses to volunteer for this, and helping them can count towards the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Welsh Baccalaureate and Pony Club badges.  Their website is www.ridinginwales.com, and the umbrella organisation is www.rda.org.uk

Pentre Farm is a family run small holding at Old Radnor, and they have all sorts of animals - the picture on their flyer is of a donkey and some goats.  Lots of opportunities to help to look after the animals there.  They also run Forest School activities and take animals to care homes and schools.  Their website doesn't seem to be up and running yet, but they can be contacted at sam@pentrefarm.co.uk and via Facebook.

Another lady had her therapy dog with her (and what a sweetie!).  She runs The Animalwise Therapy Foundation, and is a qualified Play Therapist, Filial Therapist and Animal Assisted Play Therapist who has just started working for herself, though she still does work for the organisation she had been working for full time.  Her website is www.theanimalwisetherapyfoundation.org and she's based in one of the offices over the British Legion Club in Hay.

PAVO were there as well, of course, since they've been active in Powys for many years as a sort of umbrella body for volunteer organisations.

I had the longest conversation of the evening with the lady from the Bronllys Well Being Park, but I'll talk about that in my next post.

Recycling Round the Market

 I've been returning bottles and jars today.

I got a small bottle of Artistraw cider for an apple recipe I wanted to try, which worked very well, and I noticed on the bottle that they will take back the empty bottles, so that was my first port of call.

Then I went up to the Buttermarket to Tams Jam stall, and on the way I met a friend who was also interested in returning jars rather than putting them in the recycling.  Tam wasn't there, but I returned my jar and bought some Three Fruits Marmalade.

And then to Londis to return my glass milk bottles.

And it's a lovely sunny (and frosty) day to wander round the market, too.

Climate Cafe

 I missed the last one, but I'm going to try to get along to the next one, on Thursday 2nd March:

Recruiting Volunteers

 The Co-op is organising an event at Hay Castle on Thursday 9th February, from 6pm to 8pm, to bring together people who have spare time and would like to help community projects with community groups which are looking for volunteers.

One of the groups that will be there is the Hay Repair Cafe - if they had more volunteers they could manage to spread the work load, and maybe meet to provide their service more often than once a month.  They are looking for people who are good at fixing things, and they can train people to perform PAT tests on electrical goods - they also need people to meet and greet and make tea and coffee.

Something for Storytime

 I went to a small, informal meeting at the Library yesterday, to talk about arranging an AGM for HOWLS, the group that campaigned to save the Library from closure.  At the moment, the Library is in the middle of a five year contract that was negotiated with Powys County Council, but nobody knows what will happen when that five years is up, so it's probably best to be prepared - and because of Covid, there hasn't been a HOWLS AGM for three years.

While I was at the meeting, Janet happened to mention that Storytime at the Library was now doing very well, but that they didn't have many instruments for the little children to use.  

I happen to have a whole bag full of percussion instruments, which I used to use when I went singing at the acoustic sessions at the Baskie.  When the sessions started up again after lockdown, I just felt too tired on a Wednesday evening to go, even though I've been offered lifts.

So I decided to donate the instruments to Storytime (I picked most of them up at 50p each at charity shops anyway).

The librarian was delighted, and said she'd just put them on the top shelf above the bookshelves - in fact, just between two bookshelves where there is a decorative panel.  We watched the bag disappear as she let go of it, and heard the crash of tambourines and shakers as it fell to the floor - there was no top shelf behind the panel!  

Both of us started laughing.  She said she'd find a screwdriver, and take the panel off, and I suggested she just needed a long hook to lower down to catch the handles of the bag.  She was determined she'd get them out by Monday Storytime, however she does it!

Floral Display

 

                                                Seen outside the Sandwich Cellar this morning.

Buskers

 It's market day today.

There's usually at least one busker, usually at the top of the Pavement.  Today, that spot was taken by a chap with a guitar, accompanied by another young chap with a squeezebox.

Sitting a little further down, on the other side of the Pavement was a lady with two children, selling very pretty hand painted tins - and they'd brought their (very cute) pet ferrets with them!