12 Years of Music at Baskerville Hall

 So, a couple of weeks ago I went to a Filk Convention in Norwich - that's Science Fiction folk music - and I had an absolutely awesome time.  So awesome that I've already signed up for next year.

It reminded me that I could have something like that on my doorstep every week.

I used to get a lift to the Basky every Wednesday evening for the acoustic sessions there.  Like the filkers, they operate on the system of going round the circle, with each performer doing one song at a time.

Then Covid happened, and Brian, who was giving me the lifts, stopped going.  

I could have arranged another lift, but I was getting very tired on Wednesday evenings, so I let it slide.

This week happened to be the 12th anniversary of the session starting up there, and since I had so much fun at the convention, I decided to get a lift organised.

It was wonderful.  I was welcomed back with open arms, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

There were some familiar faces, and some new ones - one lady had brought a harp - and a flute, and a recorder.  Another chap was playing the hammered dulcimer.  There was a lady singing with a guitar - Leonard Cohen songs, and that sort of genre.  I was sitting between Peter and Briar, with Rob and his son Joe across the table with Bob and Ellie.  Several visitors stopped to listen, too - I saw one couple who were staying at the hotel this morning, and they said they'd had a wonderful time.

There was also home made lemon drizzle cake, which was delicious, and Lidl's best fake Ferraro Rocher chocolates.

I've already organised my lift for next week.

A Very Hungry Caterpillar

 

There hasn't been a Post |Box topper for a while - it would be understandable if the mystery knitter thought they had done enough after sharing so many amazing designs - but the topper is back!

This time the knitting is book themed, from the much loved picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Bus Stop Bench

 Doesn't it look smart?  Mac has done a great job of replacing the worn boards and painting it.

Hopefully, the signboard for the bus timetables and the shelter will be improved soon.

Blue Bakery

 The baker's shop in Castle Street has changed hands.  It is now called Baka, and they've painted it blue.

I've already had a pasty from there, and it was very nice.

 

Borderlines Film Festival

 Borderlines Film Festival is coming up soon - from Friday 28th February to Saturday 15th March, all over Herefordshire.

The Hay part of the Festival runs from 28th February to Sunday 2nd March, and there will be five films showing at Booths Bookshop Cinema.

The first is La Cocina, set in a restaurant kitchen in Times Square, and is in English and Spanish with English subtitles.  It is a joint US/Mexico production.

Sister Midnight is in Hindi with English subtitles, a comedy about a newly married young woman in Mumbai.

Hard Truths is a Mike Leigh film about sisters with clashing temperaments.

When Autumn Falls is in French with English subtitles, a family story set in a village in Burgundy.

I'm Still Here is in Portuguese with English subtitles, and is a joint Brazilian and French production about a family whose father is taken away for questioning by the police, and the family's fight for justice.

Elsewhere in Herefordshire, films like Conclave and Paddington in Peru are playing, and Christopher Eccleston stars in a new version of A Kestrel for a Knave while Ralph Fiennes plays Odysseus returning home in The Return.  And for people who are interested in apples, Welcome to the Orchard of England is playing in Tenbury Wells.

 

Political Statement?

 I was amused to see that the print shop on Castle Street has a map in the window of the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm sure that's not a coincidence, given the news that President Trump wants to re-name it the Gulf of America.

Bobbin Sisters

 I was sad to hear that Bobbin Sisters will be closing soon - they're having a Closing Down sale now, and their yarn is wonderful, so it'll be worth stocking up.

They've been in Backfold for 4 years, and the lease was coming up for renewal - but in that time, their family situation has changed, and they decided that they no longer wanted to run the shop.

They're not disappearing entirely, though.  They run a group at the Old Black Lion called Sticks and Twine - bring your project and buy a drink from the bar.  The next one is on Tuesday 11th March, from 6pm to 8pm, and it runs monthly.

They also do a collaboration with North Books, Stitches and Stories.  This is a bookclub that meets once every two months, and the books all have a yarn-related theme.  The next one is on Thursday 17th April, and the book can be bought from North Books.

River Wye Legal Action

 This was all happening just as I went away on holiday, so I've only just been able to get to it.

Leigh Day, who are pursuing legal action against Avara, Cargill and Freemens of Newent, have added Welsh Water to their list as a co-defendent.

The claim relates to the pollution that Welsh Water are responsible for, which includes sewage discharges into the river.  The other defendants are being pursued for discharge from the many big chicken sheds in the Wye Valley. 

The first step for Welsh Water is to send them an official letter, which they have yet to reply to.  The other companies got their letters last year. They deny the allegations.

Welsh Water themselves have estimated that 23% of the phosphorus in the river comes from their own waste water treatment works, and they have been successfully prosecuted by the Environmental Agency for discharging too much waste water into the Wye in 2020 and 2021.

The campaign is supported by the campaign group River Action .

On the evening of Thursday 20th February, Leigh Day are holding an event at the Left Bank in Hereford so that members of the community can talk to the legal team.

New Community Centre

 All sorts of exciting things have been happening while I was away!

First of all, £200,000 has been granted to HADSCAL, the Hay and District Sports and Community Association, by Powys County Council, to fund the first stage of creating a new community centre for Hay.

(the old community centre is now a derelict site on the way into Hay from the English border).

HADSCAL are backed by Hay Town Council, and the site they have in mind is close to the doctor's surgery on Forest Road.  There have been plans for the site going back about 30 years, but this time something might come of it.  The money is to cover the design of the community centre, surveys, planning applications and any other necessary work to get it to the stage where they actually start building.

I've seen a variety of differnt plans for the community centre over the years - at one time there were even plans for a proper stage for plays and other performances, but that plan came up against the problem that it would also be a sports facility, and for some reason it was very difficult to combine sports and non-sports uses in the same building.  

The present plans for the site include a home for the Youth Club and the Dial-a-Ride offices, units for ten business start ups (this would fund the project as it goes on), allotments, an all-weather sports pitch, a "fitness facility", potentially with a swimming pool, and a bike track.

The pot of money being used has been held in reserve by Powys County Council for years.  I remember sitting through Hay Town Council meetings where it was discussed.

 I really hope that this time the project finally goes ahead.

Short Holiday

 I will be away for a few days - I'm sure there will be a lot to write about when I get back!

Snowdrops

 I've seen a few snowdrops in people's gardens already this year, but these are the first ones I've seen in the wild - down on the Riverside Walk when I was taking photos of the renovations: