Marble Run at the Castle

 A friend told me there was a new exhibit at the Castle, so I went up to see.  

It's a large model of the Castle on the outside, and when you go round to the other side there are three separate marble runs inside, made with wooden and wire runs, going round big wheels and up steps - it's fascinating to watch!

Meanwhile in the entrance hall, the quilters are still meeting - every Saturday morning through August, they told me.  They said they normally have three or four small quilts on the go at a time.

And on Thursday 30th July, at 7pm, Barbara Erskine will be talking about her new novel The Valley of Ravens in the Great Hall, to Professor Anne Rowe.  Tickets are £16, and are available from www.haycastletrust.org.

It's another time slip novel - in the present Eve is restoring an abandoned cottage, and in 1260 Alys is tending to the wounds of Prince Llewelyn.... 

X44 Bus Route Changes

 I needed to go into Hereford on Thursday, and decided to catch the 13.35 bus and spend the afternoon there - something I haven't done for a long time, after a bad experience with Stagecoach involving a broken down bus and a last bus that didn't run (that cost me £50 in taxi fare, and Stagecoach swore blind that they'd run the bus, so wouldn't give me any compensation).

Sergeants seem to be doing well in running the buses when they say they will, even if some of them are at odd intervals through the day.  However, the routes have changed, because of major roadworks at Peterchurch, which blocks the entire Golden Valley.

So when the bus came, it turned round at the top of the carpark and stopped at the Brecon bus stop.  We all went over, including the chap who had been busking in the morning, with his guitar and all his gear on a little trolley, were assured that the bus was going to Hereford, and went across the bridge and along the road on the other side of the river.

On the way back, at 17.22, I expected the same thing, but the bus went on the usual Golden Valley route until the edge of Peterchurch.  Then it turned up the side lane to Fairfield School, and along the lane parallel to the main road.  It was so narrow that the hedge was scraping the sides of the bus from both sides.  It rejoined the main road at the Nag's Head, and went on normally from there. 

Questionnaire on the Future of Hay

 There was a stall on the market yesterday where they were handing out QR codes for a questionnaire about the facilities in Hay, and what local people want to see in the future.  I don't do QR codes, so fortunately they also had paper copies to fill in.  It's being done by the Town Council, so they can update the Town Plan.

The questions are wide-ranging, and they invite people to add pages if they have additional comments.

They ask how people find out about local news and events, how to improve the town centre, what to do about tourists, affordable housing for local people, traffic, public transport, environmental concerns including the health of the river, historic buildings, plans for a new community centre, the public toilets, provision of facilities and groups for young people and older people, and employment opportunities locally.

The forms are anonymous, but if you do give your name, it will be entered in a prize draw for a £20 voucher to be spent with a Hay business.

The paper forms can be given in at the Council office at the Pavilion on Brecon Road - or one of the Zero Waste ladies at the stall said she could take them, so I'm going up to hand mine in shortly.  The survey will be running until 30th September, so I'm assuming that they will be on the Thursday market again until then. 

Swan Well

 

Someone has been decorating Swan Well with flowers!

The Fabulous Thirties

 Vintage by the Wye are having a concert on Thursday 30th July, at 7pm at St Mary's Church.

The title is the Fabulous Thirties, the performers are Janice Day and Martin Litton, and they are always good fun.  Songs will include 42nd Street, Mad about the Boy, Night and Day, and more.

Tickets are £20, but only £17 for early birds, from vintagebythewye.com 

Community Campus

 The Summer Fair seems to have been a success, and HADSCAL were there with their plans for the Community Campus.

Some parts of the plan have already been put into operation - they were also giving away produce from the community garden there.  They now have money from Powys County Council (from the Brecknockshire reserve), the backing of Hay Town Council, and a team of local architects and planning consultants hard at work.

What they want for the site is a Community building, with room for the Youth Club and Dial-a-Ride offices, and rooms for meetings, performances and local events.

They also (being a sports organisation) want a swimming pool, gym, indoor multi-use area, outdoor equipment and an all weather pitch for field sports.

And they want ten business units - the rent from these would fund the rest of the campus.

All the buildings would be eco-friendly. 

They're looking for feedback from the local community, and can be reached at www.hadscal.org 

Afternoon Concert

 On Saturday morning I went into Hay via the footpath past the Swan Well, and then down to the riverside path, which meant that I passed the gateway to St Mary's church just as a chap was sorting out posters there.  He reminded me of the concert that afternoon, which I had completely forgotten about.

So at 3pm I turned up for a wonderful concert given by the Hay Madrigal singers, in aid of The Lucy and Charlie Charity in Uganda.  They support 43 orphans and a small community in Western Uganda, and the charity started with a donation from two Hay residents to a young man in Uganda, so it has strong local connections.  They are trying to start their own school for the orphans, so they don't have to walk miles to the nearest school.  If anyone is interested in donating, the link is:

http://gogetfunding.com/lucy-and-charlie-charity-center-uganda/

Entrance to the concert was £10, and the church had halved it's usual rate for hiring the space.

We started with Felix Mendelssohn, and moved on to his sister Fanny, whose work was mostly not performed or published in her lifetime, but is now being discovered and performed.  One of the pieces was all about how everything in Creation was singing, so how could she be silent?

The tenor sang Death and the Maiden, in German, and there was a duet from Yeomen of the Guard by Gilbert and Sullivan.  I didn't get one of the flyers, so I don't remember all the pieces, but it was all very good indeed.  Other songs were Yum Yum from the Mikado singing "The sun whose rays are all ablaze"; Rosemary the pianist played a Song Without Words, and there was some Handel.

And also very good cake (though almost all of it had almonds in it!)

There are some other concerts coming up from the same group of singers.

On Saturday 8th August, at 3pm, Lucy Green and Rosemary Firman will be performing songs and piano music by a variety of composers, under the heading Songs of Love and Longing from Paris, Vienna, Milan and Leipzig.  Entry is free, with a retiring collection in aid of church funds.

And on Saturday 22nd August, from 3.30pm, there's Soirees musicales - the story of Robert and Clara Schumann in their own words and music, narrated by Birgitta Claus and Steve Goodridge (the tenor), with Rosemary Firman on the piano.  This concert is also free, with a retiring collection in aid of church funds, and both concerts will have cake and drinks.

We're really very lucky in Hay to have so many talented people who are willing and able to perform for us! 

Summer Show

 Hay Summer Show happens tomorrow, on Hay Playing Fields from 10am.

Lots to see and do, of course.

Lucky Seven brewery are running the bar, and Origin Pizza and Hungry Farmer are providing food.

There will be stalls from local makers and sellers, games, a dog show, bouncy castle and face painting, as well as traditional craft and produce competitions.

There's live music from 3.30pm, and shows by Ferret World, Paws for Thought Dog Agility and Steve Kaos.

Also, HADSCAL will be at their growing space, giving away free produce from their gardens.  They'll also have information about the latest plans for community developments.

It sounds like a brilliant day out - and I'll miss it, because I'm at work! 

 

Steinway Piano

 Sadly, I missed the concerts at St Mary's at the weekend, but I did happen to pop in for a Way-on-High magazine while one of the pianists was practicing on the magnificent Steinway Grand Piano that they had brought with them.

Which made me even more sorry that I missed the actual concerts. 

Tapas at Tomatitos

 My neighbour took me out to dinner to thank me for watering her plants while she was away (none of them died!).  She hasn't eaten out much in Hay before, so I gave her a list of options, and she chose Tomatitos so that we could order a variety of dishes and nibble - it being too hot for a big, heavy meal.

This was also a good choice because of the garden area at the back, which she had been unaware of.  It was a bit too hot and stuffy inside, even after 7pm.  

We had patatas bravas (because I love Brave Potatoes), a cauliflower dish and something with blue cheese and little bits of beetroot, along with a glass of Pinot Grigot - not too much to eat, and a very pleasant evening chatting. 

Beer on the Wye

 I went into Hereford yesterday afternoon with a friend and her two adult children for the nineteenth Beer on the Wye.  It's also running today and tomorrow, at the Rowing Club in Hereford.

 

Because of works that the Rowing Club were doing on the field, the beer festival wasn't held last year.  This year, because of the improvements to the site, the marquee has been erected at 90 degrees to it's position in all the previous festivals - which was a bit disorienting.  Inside, it looks exactly the same, but when you look outside, suddenly you have no idea where the river is!

We got used to it over the afternoon, and even sat at a table by the river (under an umbrella) with a lovely couple from Cardiff who were doing a crossword puzzle.  My friend is a crossword fanatic - she'd even brought some crosswords to do at the festival herself - so we had a lot of fun helping them to solve it and chatting.

Usually at a beer festival I like to try as many different beer styles as possible (subject to my cut off point of a maximum of three pints - any more than that and I feel awful the next day).  So this means six halves, or nine thirds.  However, this time there were two breweries there with beers I wanted to taste, and they were both Gold beers (somewhere around the bitter/IPA area, but now a distinct style of its own).  Uley's Hog's Wallop and Woodfordes Bure Gold were both delicious, but the Uley packed a slightly harder punch at 5.2%.  Then my friend wanted to try the Solstice from Three Tuns brewery at Bishops Castle - we'd both visited the pub at different times some years ago, so it was a bit of a trip down memory lane.  Solstice is a bitter, and very pleasant on a hot day.

I wanted to try a mild, so I went for Old Magic from Magic Dragon in Wrexham - again for nostalgic reasons, because I used to live near Wrexham.  I hadn't come across the brewery before, but it was a very good mild.

I finished off with the Jaipur Union IPA from Thornbridge.  I first tasted Jaipur at a Beer on the Wye (I think it might have won supreme champion of the festival that year) and since then they have installed a traditional Burton Union fermentation system in the brewery (which is something that beer nerds get quite excited about).  It was delicious, and a good beer to round off the session before we went for the last bus home. 

The champion beers of the festival (and also ciders and perries) were announced while we were there, but I didn't write them down.  I think Makerfield from Weird Dad brewery in Newport was the supreme champion this year - it's a pale ale, and Jarl, a blond ale from Fyne Ales in Argyll, all the way from Scotland, was also mentioned, as well as Titan from Left Handed Giant brewery in Bristol, a pale ale. 

And there was a treat when we got back to Hay - a traction engine came down the road just as we got off the bus!

 

Lily Forwood Exhibition

 A friend said I should go to see the exhibition at The Table by Lily Forwood.

She makes big pictures in mixed media, many of them of railway stations, and my friend pointed out that the orange lines on some of them are made from old train tickets.  

She also does local landscapes like the Cat's Back and the Twmpa, and there was one small and very pretty one of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

Two of the pictures have already sold. 

Fir Restaurant

 

The new restaurant has opened at St John's, and a friend stopped me in Spar to rave about how good it was!  As it's a tasting menu, the portions are small - but the flavour, he assured me, is intense and amazing.

I hope the chef does well. 

Beer on the Wye

 This weekend, in Hereford at the Rowing Club, is the nineteenth Beer on the Wye.

They had a year off last year, while the Rowing Club did work on the festival field, which will mean that the marquee is at 90 degrees to the previous position parallel to the river.

Inside the marquee there will be over 300 beers, ciders and perries, food trucks, and nine different live bands in the evenings.  I've already had a look at the beer list, and they've got a couple of my favourites on it - two from Uley brewery in Gloucestershire, and one from Woodeforde's in Norfolk - so I'm looking forward to it.

Book Fair and Sundial

 The PBFA Book Fair was in the Castle yesterday - a lovely collection of old and rare books from dealers who had come from all over the country to take part.  

I was almost afraid to touch one exhibit - I have no idea what the dealer was asking for it, but it was a handwritten notebook with a map, and I think it was notes for one of Wainwright's walking books (the word Troutbeck was there on the page).

Meanwhile on the Castle lawn, there was a giant sundial!  

This is the Golden Valley Sundial, and it's just visiting Hay Castle for a few days.

It's also a ball game, and several children (and adults) were going round the circle throwing balls through the holes in the sculptures. 

 

Megalith Hunting and the New Strand, Eardisley

 A friend told me about some huge stones he had seen while he was out walking, and he thought they might be prehistoric standing stones.  He sent me some photos he'd taken.  It sounded interesting, so yesterday I went out with another friend who has a car, and we went to investigate.

The stones were supposed to be close to a farm, which is close to Hay, but so remote that it doesn't even have a road passing the farmhouse - you have to go up a narrow farm track.  We parked at the edge of the farmyard, and knocked at the house.  The lady there was friendly, but at first she couldn't think of any old stones on the property.  Then she had a bright idea, and led us across the garden, through a gate - and there they were.  

Except they weren't old stones at all.  There's a fairly modern barn at the top of the farmyard, and she told us that they needed to level the ground to get it in, so they also cut into the side of the hill - and that's where they dug out the big stones.  They just put them by the side of the track, where they'd be out of the way.  So sadly, there's nothing to report to the Megalithic Portal website after all.

All that hadn't taken long at all, so we went on to the New Strand at Eardisley for coffee and cake - and very nice cake it was, too.  I had the jam sponge, and my friend had carrot cake, and we spread our maps out over the table to compare notes on our local history research.

While we were there a group of older ladies came in, who were obviously regulars, to have lunch - the chips smelled delicious! 

Post Box Topper

 

This time the post box topper is celebrating Hay Market and the traders.

And when I was walking through town, I found a young man busking at the top of the Pavement, who was playing a hurdy-gurdy!  I don't think I've ever seen anyone  busking with a hurdy-gurdy before!

New Bench

 

There's a new bench in the Honesty Gardens, and the plaque says that it is in memory of Dr Derek Wilson, who was a local GP for 35, and also played the organ.  He died in 2024, aged 91.

The plaque also remembers Dr Wilson's son Nick, who died in 2019, aged 52.

It was donated by the Keith Leighton Neurology Fund, which is a local charity. 

Repairing a Table

 Last year, when I first moved in, a friend gave me a small table to use in the garden.

Sadly, it's an indoor table, so a year outside has taken its toll, resulting in one third of the top falling off (it's made with three pieces of wood held together with glue and battens underneath).

My mum had a clever idea - when she needed a small outdoor table, her partner had got a large decorative tile to use as the top.

So I went down to Huws Grey.  A very helpful young man showed me what they had - mostly patio paving slabs, but with a few nice pieces of slate that were a bit too big for my purposes.  I told him about my mum's idea, and added that decorative tilework is more of a thing in Cyprus.  "We're a bit more boring here," he agreed.

The equally helpful young man in the bathroom and kitchen building showed me some pictures of tiles which might have been suitable, but he would have to send off for them and I only wanted one, so it didn't seem worth going to all that trouble.

I popped into Hay & Brecon Farmers, since I was passing, and had an "Aha!" moment.  They were selling toughened glass kitchen counter protectors/cutting boards, which were about the right size - but I didn't really want an amusing cartoon involving farm animals on my table top.

As it's Saturday, the craft fair is in the Buttermarket, and I had another "Aha!" moment.  One of the regular stalls sells glass cutting boards, decorated with artwork from the local area.  I chose a seascape painted at Ogmore, which goes very well with my grey garden furniture.

It didn't take long to prise the remaining side piece of wood from the top of the table, leaving the middle one in place as a base for my new top.  I already had suitable glue.

And, voila!

 

Keeping Cool in Historic Heatwave

 There are many advantages to living in a 200 year old listed building - this is just one of them.  

Looking online for ways to cool buildings (in the absence of air con or fans), it occurred to me that the almshouses come equipped with fully functional shutters at the windows.

So this morning I closed the shutters, brushed all the accumulated dead leaves and spiders webs off the back of them (sorry, evicted spider!) and voila!  It really helps!

 

Talgarth Mill

 I was going to go out with a friend to visit some local ancient sites, but we decided it was much too hot.

So we thought we might go to the Honey Cafe at Bronllys instead.

The Honey Cafe was closed (they obviously thought it was too hot, too) so we thought we'd try the Mill at Talgarth.

They were open, but the bakery part was closed because of the heat.

We had intended to only have coffee, or maybe a cake, but I happened to notice the breakfast menu, and Eggs in Purgatory!  I'd heard of devilled eggs before, but not purgatorial ones.  So I decided to be extravagant, and it was so worth it!  The eggs came smothered in a sauce of dhal and some sort of green leaf (spinach?) and yoghurt, and it was absolutely delicious!

We sat out in the courtyard in the shade, with just a light breeze to make it pleasant. 

The cafe is run by Triggs at the Mill. 

Curtains

 When I moved into the almshouse, the previous lady had left behind some good quality curtains - but a bit too floral for my tastes.  A year has passed, and I started thinking about changing the curtains round, so I went into Hereford this morning to look for some new ones.  I thought that it would be easy....

There used to be a shop that did made to measure curtains and blinds - but it's gone now.  So I went round all the big stores - no curtains.  And I went round the charity shops - some curtains, but not the sizes I needed.  Finally I tried fabric shops - I can always have a go at making my own.  The fabric shop behind the Green Dragon has gone - there's an interesting looking burger bar and bookshop there now.  And there used to be a good shop for patchwork in Capuchin Yard, but that seems to be selling general homeware now.

In the other fabric shop near Maylord Orchards, the lady was actually adjusting some curtains for a customer, and she told me the only place that sold ready made curtains was Dunelms - which is out of town, of course.  I have walked out there, when I wanted to go to the Hobbycraft shop that's in the same group of big shops, but getting a taxi from the railway station is easier.  Of course, I'd run out of time for today, if I wanted to catch the bus home, so that will have to be a project for another trip.

PBFA Book Fair

 I won't be going  to the Talgarth Big Eats, because the PBFA Book Fair will be on the same day, Saturday 4th July.

I think this is the third (or possibly fourth?) time the Book Fair has been held in Hay Castle, and it's been very successful.  Entry is free, and the exhibitors are all specialists in rare and vintage books. 

Talgarth Big Eats

 This is, obviously, in Talgarth, but the Hay Community Resilience Initiative is involved.

Talgarth Big Eats host meals where the community comes together to prepare, cook, and eat nutritious local food, to help participants learn how to cook healthy food, meet their neighbours and community members, and spend meaningful time together sharing good food. This is the first of hopefully many Big Eats, which will take place in Hay, Talgarth and Brecon in the future. 

They're hoping to have other meals in Hay and Brecon in the future, and so the Hay group is getting involved, and putting a call out for volunteers to help on the day.

The event runs from 10am to 2pm on Saturday July 4th, and they need early volunteers from 8.30am, the rest of the volunteers from 9.30am, and a few people to help clear up after 2pm.  If anyone is interested but could only make part of the time, they would be welcome too.

Mainly it involves supervising participants as they prepare food for cooking (sharp knives and so forth), some washing up, and help with kids' activities.

The person to contact, for anyone interested, is Forrest the Volunteer co-ordinator, on  07763 757179 or email at forresterfolks@proton.me  There will be a briefing before the event, and plenty of snacks.

And anyone who can't volunteer but would still like to come along will be very welcome.  It's free, you get to meet local people, support the local community, and enjoy a healthy free meal!

This is based on Hereford Big Eats, and the purpose behind it is to encourage nutritional justice - the idea that access to healthy, nutritional food shouldn't be limited by affordability or perceived entitlement, while at the same time strengthening the local community and creating opportunities for food sharing and celebration. 

Mouse Castle

 I had a very enjoyable trip out to Mouse Castle with a friend yesterday.  We were going to have a look at the earthworks around the motte to see if they might possibly look Iron Age rather than Norman.  

It's a nice theory, but I think I agree with Tim Hoverd, the County Archaeologist, who has done a survey of the site and comes down firmly on the side of Norman.  

By the entrance to the wood, there's a strange earthwork in the field which also may be part of the castle defences, but we didn't want to trespass in the field, and it was difficult to get close enough from inside the wood because of all the undergrowth (the perils of archaeological surveying!).  There were also a lot of brambles around the motte, which have regrown since they were cleared a few years ago.

Very little is documented about Mouse Castle - I did a bit of preliminary research online, and one website suggests the castle was never finished, while another thinks it might have been built by Roger de Lacy - the de Lacys were an important medieval family in the area.

Kilvert has a charming diary entry about visiting the site.  Back then the top of the hill was clear of trees, apart from the top of the motte itself.  Kilvert met "a wild group.  A stout elderly man in a velveteen jacket with a walking stick sat or lay upon the dry turf.  Beside him sat one or two young girls, while two or three more girls and boys climbed up and down an accessible point in the rampart like young wild goats, swarmed up into the hazel trees on the top of the rock and sat in the forks and swung.  I could not make the party out at all.  They were not poor and they certainly were not rich.  They did not look like farmers, cottagers or artizans.  They were perfectly nondescript, seemed to have come from nowhere and to be going nowhere, but just to have fallen from the sky upon Mouse Castle, and to be just amusing themselves."

Trip to Hereford

 At the beginning of May, I dropped my shoes off for the cobbler who picks work up from Country Supplies.  They warned me that he hasn't been well, so a few days ago I asked if they'd been heeled, and he hadn't even managed to get over to pick them up.  I hope he recovers, but the ladies in the Post Office looked a bit doubtful.

So the first job of the day in Hereford was to go to Cobblers and Keys to drop the shoes off - and an hour later, they were ready.

I also had some financial business to do.  I opened a new savings account with the Monmouthshire Building Society, so I can close my account at the Yorkshire Building Society.  At least I can get into Hereford to visit the branch in person - which I will not be able to do when the YBS closes their office in Hay at the beginning of August, unless I want a whole day out to visit Abergavenny.

I also visited the EE shop to update my mobile phone contract, which was pleasantly easy.

There was plenty of time before the bus home to visit the Library (still in the Town Hall) to do a bit of local history research, and go down to the Barrels for a half of Wholesome Stout.  On the way back to the middle of town, I noticed that the Town Hall was flyng the Pride flag:

 

Meal at the Blue Boar

 The staff of the HCB had a celebratory meal at the Blue Boar last night.  

As ever, the food was very good, though a couple of items were not on the starter menu.  I had the pea and mint soup, which was lovely, and several people had the mackerel pate.  The bread that is served with the meals is crusty and delicious.

There were several orders of burgers for the main course, a couple of steaks, and I had the curry.

The chaps were trying to hurry, because they didn't want to miss the start of the World Cup match!

So a very pleasant evening - though I felt sorry for the waitress, who was rushed off her feet, and remained smiling throughout!  

Hay Community Campus

 It looks as if Hay is going to get a new community building on Forest Road - finally!  I remember plans for a community centre there being put forward for the millennium, so we've only been waiting for 25 years!

HADSCAL has put plans together for a new community building, sport and fitness facilities, a growing space and ten small business start-up units.  Last year Powys County Council made £200,000 available to fund the design, surveys and full planning application.  That money had previously been earmarked for a community centre for Hay that never came to fruition.  So far, they've done a tree survey and a wildlife survey and landscape assessment - all essential parts of the planning process.  

They now have a website at www.hadscal.org, and are planning community events over the summer.  

Closure of Parish Hall

 There are several posts on Facebook pages related to Hay about the sudden closure of the Parish Hall.  Apparently the groups that use the hall regularly were given three days notice, and the Black Mountains Ministry Area made the decision while Father David was on leave.  It's the sort of thing that you would think the local vicar would be involved in, but they seem to have just gone ahead without him.

It's serious enough that Gareth Ratcliffe has got involved as our local County Councillor.  He's sent an official letter to the Black Mountains Ministry group to find out why the Parish Hall was closed so suddenly - there seems to be some maintenance issue at the back of the building, but not affecting the main hall.

Jo Lord was running Spinning sessions there (with indoor bikes, nothing to do with weaving!) and Strength and Stretch sessions.  She had to move all her bikes out straight away.  Fortunately, she's managed to relocate the Strength and Stretch sessions to Clyro Village Hall, and now Drover Cycles has offered space for Jo to finish the term's classes for the Spinning.

So three cheers for Clyro Village Hall and Drover Cycles, and boos for the Black Mountains Ministry Area, who could surely have arranged things better. 

Christmas Lights in June

 The Buttermarket is being dressed with Christmas lights today, in preparation for filming of a Christmas romance film!  Some of the shops around the Buttermarket are putting Christmas displays in their windows, too.  Roads in the middle of town will be closed for a few days while filming goes on.

How Queer Bookshops Changed the World

 I suspect I'll be far too tired to hobble up to North Books on Saturday evening after my last afternoon at the Cusop Dig, which is a pity, because the talk they're having there at 6.30pm sounds really good.

AJ West will be in conversation with Dale Headington about his new book How Queer Bookshops Changed the World.  It's the story of how queer bookshops like Gays the Word in London, or Shakespeare and Company in Paris or the Oscar Wilde bookshop in New York became the focus for communities of like minded people.

There will be drinks and nibbles! 

Just the thing for Pride Month! 

Hay Music Sacconi String Quartet

 Hay Music was busy over the Festival, but they aren't slowing down now.  On Friday 12th June, at 7pm, the Sacconi String Quartet will be playing at St Mary's Church.  Doors open at 6.30pm, and there will be a bar.  Tickets are £20, or £10 for under 25s, with a few free tickets for under 25s on a first come, first served basis.

They'll be playing Mozart's quartet no. 19, which was called Dissonance when it was first performed (but only by the standards of the time - Mozart was just being a bit experimental), Smetana's "From my life" and Freya Waley-Cohen's Dances, Hymns and Songs for Friendship.

And in July there will be a series of piano concerts.  All details on the Hay Music website. 

More Archaeology

 My mind is full of archaeology at the moment - I'm having such fun on the Cusop Castle Dig.

There will be an open session on site on Wednesday 10th June, from 4.15pm to 5pm, where anyone can turn up to find out what the progress is so far from Tim Hoverd, who is in charge of the dig.  There is parking at the church (which would appreciate a small donation), and no dogs are allowed on site.

And for those who have caught the digging bug, there will be another local dig in August.

Dorstone has been the scene of quite amazing archaeology around Arthur's Stone for years now, but the digging has been done by professionals and students.  This year, from 1st to 9th August, to discover more about the medieval origins of Dorstone, in various sites around the village.  Like Cusop, this will be a community dig, with all welcome - youngest participants must be 12+ and accompanied by an adult.  Tickets for the sessions (free) can be booked through Eventbrite - you can't just turn up - under dorstone-dig-a-medieval-mystery.  There will be a pre-dig talk in Dorstone Village Hall on Wednesday 17th June at 6pm. 

Cusop Pride

Seen on my walk up the Dingle today.

 

First Day of Cusop Dig

 

I am having so much fun, and we're only just starting this trench by taking the turf off!  The sharp eyed young girl who was in the same trench found some pottery, an iron nail - and some shiny stones!  Two other trenches have been opened so far, elsewhere on the site, and they're a bit further advanced than this one.  Next step is trowelling back to clean the surface and get down to the layer beneath the topsoil.

Vintage Morgan Cars

 

Not one, but two Morgan three wheelers, parked opposite the Cinema Bookshop during the Festival.

MUBI cinema

 I wasn't expecting the glowing headphones!

Everyone going in for the film was given a pair of headphones that were glowing red - I suppose it makes for a more immersive experience.  They were giving popcorn out, as well, and a free tote bag at the end.

I'd been meaning to watch Orlando for a long time, and thought I'd take the opportunity to see it on the big screen.  I knew Tilda Swinton was the star, but I wasn't expecting Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth I (he was very good in the role) or Ned Sherrin as one of the 18thC literary gentlemen.

I enjoyed it very much. 

Remembering Palestine

 This was the best picture I could get of the Addyman Bookshop Palestine window, in between people passing by or sitting on the bench in front of it!

It shows the genocide in Gaza, with stories from people living in Gaza round the edges - one is just visible above the car at the back. 

Cider Festival

 On a day like this, I wish I liked the taste of cider better!

The square and the Buttermarket were full of stalls selling local cider from a range of small producers.

There was also live music in the Buttermarket.

Meanwhile, on Brecon Road, there are a few stalls this year.  My friend got a runner bean plant from one of them, and another had been set up by Herefordshire City of Sanctuary, a group set up to welcome refugees.  They run a drop in centre at the Friends Meeting House in Herefordshire every Friday from 10am to noon, and offer all sorts of support to the people who need it.  Their website is www.herefordshire.cityofsanctuary.org and they are part of a national organisation at www.cityofsanctuary.org  They have groups across the UK and in Ireland. 

Painscastle Local Interest Group Visits Cusop

 Yesterday evening was the usual date for the monthly meeting of the Painscastle Local Interest Group (mostly history, but anything else that takes their fancy, too), and they decided to use the meeting time to visit Cusop Castle and Church just before the Dig starts.

A gazebo had been set up on the Castle site for tea and biscuits, with a good view of where the archaeologists and volunteers are going to dig.  John Price was there to film, and I got a mic because I was going to say a few words about the Castle.  That was after an introduction by Sue, and a few words from Jane (who actually owns the Castle site).  We actually know very little about the castle itself, which is why the dig is so exciting - we should be able to find out a lot more about what went on there, and how old the site is.  What we do know is that it is not a typical Norman castle - there's no motte, just a ringwork and the possible remains of a stone building.

Then we moved into the church, where Celia, who is one of the churchwardens, gave a talk about the history of the church and what they are doing in the churchyard, which is very wildlife friendly.  They've had help from the kids who come up to stay in Trewern House from Dagenham and Essex, and from young people doing their Duke of Edinburgh awards.  Recently an oak tree fell down, and Danny Thomas the chainsaw sculptor is going to carve the fallen trunk into a variety of local animals and birds.

It was a lovely evening, and the people from Painscastle were interested and asked some good questions. 

Festival Crowds

 I'd started to think that I wasn't going to see anything quirky at the Festival this year - then I went into town and found a busker playing the Uilleann pipes next to Spar.

There don't seem to be quite so many people around as last year, though of course the mid week part of the Festival is always a bit quieter than the two weekends.

I also saw three red kites circling over the middle of town! 

Good News for the River Wye

 The River Wye has become the first river in Wales to receive a charter of rights to protect it.

There was a ceremony at the Warren and the charter has been endorsed by councils, campaigners and environmental groups along the length of the river.  Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst of Herefordshire Council helped to create the charter, and other signatories are the Forest of Dean Council, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and the Wye Valley National Landscape.  Powys County Council and Monmouthshire Council were also represented at the ceremony.

The charter gives the river the following rights:

The right to flow and perform natural functions

The right to biodiversity

the right to be free from pollution

the right to be supported by a healthy catchment area

the right to regenerate

the right to representation

Ecologist Dr Louise Bodnor was appointed as the official Voice of the Wye in April 2025, and sits in meetings of Herefordshire County Council's Wye Catchment Nutrient Management Board, where she has the right to vote on behalf of the river.

The charter comes at a time when the river's health has been officially downgraded to "unfavourable - declining" by Natural England, and the court case brought by Leigh Day is in the High Court, seeking to hold Avara Foods and Welsh Water responsible for the increase in pollution in the river.  

Old Castleton and Clock Mills

 I got out of the Festival crowds the other day when a friend took me out to see a local castle I'd never visited before.

Old Castleton is perched on a promontory overlooking the water meadows of the River Wye, which meanders like mad across the valley there, and it's got three baileys!   I had great fun scrambling up and down the banks and the motte.  We also had to climb a couple of gates that had been put across the lane, possibly to stop sheep from the field just above from getting into the farmyard.

 Here's the motte, which is actually lower than the banks surrounding it, because of the lay of the land.

While looking at the map, I realised that we were also very close to Clock Mills.  This is a private house, and it was once owned by Rafael Sabatini, the author of swashbuckling adventures early in the last century.  Some of them were made into films starring Errol Flynn, and Sabatini invited Errol Flynn to stay at the house for a few weeks in the 1930s, for a bit of peace and quiet.  So we did a little detour so I could see the house, just from the gateway. 

Festival Around Town

 I've been bimbling around town today, pretending to be a tourist.

Fair in the Square is on, with the usual vintage stalls, food stalls and live music.  I treated myself to a falafel, which was very good, though the estimated wait time of ten minutes might have been a little optimistic!

In the Buttermarket and Cheesemarket there were more stalls, mostly of the crafty variety, and up at the Castle there was a craft fair on the lawn.  They had live music, too, from a girl with a harp accompanied by a singer, guitarist and violinist.

More food trucks were in the Honesty bookshop, and down on Belmont Road the Secret Wine Bar was open, selling local Black Mountain wines (and some from a friend's vineyard near Presteigne).

The garden was open at Tinto House, along with small art gallery on one side and vintage French linens on the other.  There's an art exhibition in the empty shop near Kilvert's, too.

And there are real owls at the Wobbly Owl shop this afternoon. 

Hiking Hedgehog

 

New post box topper for the Festival.

Heard at Hay Festival

 I'd booked a ticket to the very first event at Hay Festival - well, the very first for adults.  The lady introducing the event said that there had been eight thousand kids from schools who had been bussed in for the day, and there would be a similar number of older children on the Friday.

They were trying a new format for talks.  Normally, three guests would sit on stage, and be given prompting questions by the moderator, to get a discussion going.  This time, though, after an introduction by Simon Armitage (who also read one of his poems, about a late library book), each guest got up to give a mini lecture, after which there was time for a few questions.

Tony Robinson said that he had been expecting the first type of event, but he gave a very good talk anyway about what history is, and how all the writers of history have had an agenda that you need to know something about before you take their account at face value.

Katherine Rundell talked about the importance of encouraging critical thinking in young people in a time of AI that pretty much agreed with everything you said and gave inaccurate information.  She's done a lot of work in schools, so she's seen changes as pupils start to rely on ChatGPT and the like.

Dallas Campbell started by saying he'd been going to talk about one thing, but had been inspired by the previous speakers to talk about something completely different!  He's interested in space archaeology, and talked about moon regolith and how it can be used to make all sorts of useful things, from cinder blocks to build Moon habitats for astronauts, to silicon chips.  He had also brought along Neil Armstrong's space suit - well, not really Neil Armstrong's space suit ("that's behind bullet proof glass at the Smithsonian!") but the space suit that had been made for Ryan Gosling for a film where he played Neil Armstrong.  Which is nearly as good!

  After the talk, I went to the food tent for some delicious Tibetan curry.

This meant that I passed the BBC Marquee on my way home, just at the moment when several different breeds of sheep were lining up, with their handlers holding leashes, to process up the aisle to the stage!

And then they turned round and came out again!
 

Bizarrely, the music they walked in to was the House of the Rising Sun!

I have no idea which BBC programme this was for - it wasn't up on BBC Sounds when I went to look. 

Borderlands at the Castle

 Before I dived into the first day of Hay Festival, I went up to the Castle to see the new exhibition there.

 This isn't a brilliant picture, but the best I could get of the Antarctic flag now flying from the Castle tower.  It's made up of flags from all round the world.

The exhibition is called Borderlands: From the Welsh Borders to Antarctica, and the most spectacular exhibits are the Antarctic tents decorated with multicoloured gloves, flags and sleeves, representing many different cultures.

 Here's one of the flags, overprinted with words from the Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to move freely and circulate beyond the state borders to a territory of their choice."  On some flags the wording was in French.

There was also a film in the entrance hall about beating the bounds, with a laid hedge, local maps on cloth hung over the balustrade, and there are pictures and sculptures scattered around the Castle.

Outside in the grounds, Sally Matthews had just installed one of her animal sculptures:

 This year it's a lynx, and Sally Matthews was still there when I passed, so I got to have a chat with her, and tell her how much I like her work.

Meanwhile in the Castle Yard, there's a small pop up art gallery - the exhibition there is called Fragile Wild, and the paintings are detailed panels of foliage and flowers. 

The Borderlands exhibition runs until the 31st August. 

Rose and Crown for Sale

 The internet hasn't quite caught up with events yet, as the page showing that the Rose and Crown is open is still up.  In reality, it has been closed for a while, and the tenants have gone.  

When Linda and Paul ran the pub, successfully for many years, they wanted to buy the building, but at that time the owner didn't want to sell.  Since Paul and Linda retired, none of the new tenants have managed to stick around for very long.  

So now the owner of the pub is selling up.  It's a historic building, and I'm pretty sure it's Grade II listed, and it needs quite a bit of work doing to it - which is more complicated because of the listed status.

I hope someone does take it on, and give it the tender loving care it deserves. 

Breakfast in a Bookshop

 I think it's a lovely idea - North Books are offering an hour's private browsing time before they open properly with coffee, and pastries from Baka bakery across the road. 

Booking is essential - you can't just drop in.

Local History

 I've been busy over the last few days with meetings about local history.  There's some fascinating research happening around Cusop Dingle, which I can't really talk about yet - and also I need to do a lot more research for my part of the project.

Meanwhile, plans for the Cusop Castle dig are going well, and we're all looking forward to seeing what we will find!

And, of course, we're gearing up at work for the Festival, which is almost upon us! 

Shopping Buddies

 I just found a flyer from Dial-a-Ride advertising a new service.

 If members of the scheme need help with their shopping, there is now an assisted shopping service.  The trained volunteers will go round with you reaching items, checking labels and finding products.

The service runs on Tuesday mornings - contact the Dial-a-Ride office for further details on 01497 821616. 

Weapons and Arrows at Cusop Castle

 I had such fun yesterday, getting all my re-enactment stuff out (plus some from Sue from the Theatre Group) to demonstrate medieval weapons and arrows at Cusop Castle.  The audience was small but appreciative, and there was one young lad in particular who was very knowledgeable (and possibly a future re-enactor).

John Price filmed the entire talk.  Keith Hodgetts took some photos to put up on  Facebook - which is why I have a new picture on the sidebar - and Barbara Shaw did a little edited highlights video to the theme from Robin of Sherwood (I always wanted to be a Merry Man, well, Merry Person, anyway).  That's also up on Facebook, and I'm absolutely delighted at how well it all went, and how much people seemed to like it.

 

Local Election Results

 So, the results are in.

Plaid Cymru will now be running the Senedd, with Reform in second place.

Locally, Jane Dodds has become the only Lib Dem in Wales to get a seat.  The new voting method meant that each area sends six candidates to the Senedd, and for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, the new constituency since the last elections, the six are Jane Dodds for the Lib Dems, 3 members of the Reform party, which got 33% of the vote, and two members of Plaid Cymru.

Labour and the Conservatives got just over 8% of the votes each, so ended up with no-one going into the Senedd here, and the Greens were just behind them with 6.7%.

The turnout  was 53%, which is not bad for local elections.

So Rhun ap Iowerth, the Plaid Cymru leader, will probably become the new First Minister - his party got 43 seats, but there has to be a vote next week to confirm that.

Reform got 34 seats, so are the party of opposition.

Then Labour got 9 (they lost a lot of support), followed by the Welsh Conservatives at 7, the Greens with 2 including Anthony Slaughter, the Welsh Green leader, and finally the Lib Dems with one.

43 seats is not a majority - Plaid Cymru needed six more seats for that - but they do say they will reach out to other parties to form a new Welsh government. 

Dodgy Electoral Tactics?

 When I picked up my copy of the B&R from Spar this week, there was a wrap around advert for the Reform Party with it (the proper front page is inside).

"That's a bit cheeky, isn't it?" I said, and the lady behind the counter said they'd had lots of complaints, with a lot of people leaving the advert behind in the shop - she'd got a big bagful out the back for recycling.

Meanwhile, I have voted and there was a steady stream of people coming into the polling station, even that early in the morning. 

Local Elections

 Don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Here in Hay, most of the posters seem to be for Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrat. 

Other candidates are available!

I think the results across the country are going to be quite interesting. 

P for Planting

 The next Cabinet of Curiosity event is on Saturday 9th May, and it comes in two parts.

The first is a walk from the Bean Box cafe under Hay Bridge to the Warren, starting at 2.30pm.  The walk will be led by Dr. Emily Warner, from the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery at the University of Oxford, and Jenny Dicker, farmer and specialist in land management.

The second is a film at the Globe about non-native and invasive plants, followed by a panel discussion.  That starts at 7pm.

The panel consists of: 

John Crellin, the County Recorder for Botany for Brecknockshire and author of the recently published Flora of Brecknockshire - he'll have a few copies available for sale.  This was the life's work of John's friend Mike Porter, who died shortly before the book was finished.

Imogen Cripps is head grower at a local walled garden, and she will come with some vegetables from the garden.

Layla Robinson is a dried flower artist who has created many beautiful arrangements for the Cabinet of Curiosities.  She also has a new book out called Everlasting Blooms. 

Beverley Lewis is the Biodiversity Liason Officer for Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

Sophie Ferrier is the Director of Hay Regenerative Soils and an artist, and she will come with some of her creations and experiments. 

And the facilitator of the panel is Matthew Pryor, a journalist who trained at the Royal Horticultural Society.

The previous talks, walks and films put on by the Cabinet of Curiosities have all been fascinating.  

I don't know if I'll be able to get to the Globe, since I'm giving a talk myself on Saturday afternoon, and I might have run out of energy!

 

"Poor and Indignant Women"

 I was just putting my recycling outside the front door when two ladies waved to me from across the street.

They pointed up to the stone sign over the middle of the row of almshouses.

"We were just reading about the poor and indignant women - and here you are, right on cue!"

(It's actually "poor and indigent", but who says indigent any more?) 

A New Chapter for Chapters

 I've just seen the announcement that Mark and Charmaine McHugo are closing their restaurant in Hay after seven years.  Chapters is in part of the building of St John's Chapel, opposite Tomatitos.  They are serving their last meals on 16th May.

Taking over will be chef Matt Sampson.  He intends to serve just twelve covers (Chapters presently serves twenty two covers), and plans a fourteen course tasting menu focusing on fish and shellfish, with a few meat courses - all for £98!

Not the sort of place to pop into for a snack, then - more of a very special night out. 

A Long Walk and a Bus Ride

 I'm really glad I decided to go for a walk up Cusop Hill yesterday, when it was so hot I didn't even need a coat (and I nearly always wear a coat).  I'd been looking at some aerial photos of the area and saw what looked awfully like crop marks on top of Cusop Hill - and my curiosity was aroused.  

The public footpath goes up past Capodolwyn, and I was pleased to see that someone is renovating the house after many years of it lying empty.  On the way up the field, I startled a hare, who loped off into the distance, and when I had a sit down later, higher up the hill, a red kite flew by below me.  There's another ruined building above Capodolwyn, and I was lucky enough to find a piece of a slipware bowl there, probably from the 17th century.  I was up that way because I slightly mislaid the path, so I was following the fence line round until I came to the stile, which is usable though not in very good repair.

The views from the top of Cusop Hill are spectacular - all down the Wye Valley and across the plains of Herefordshire.  The traces of archaeology were less so.  I think that the markings I had taken to be ditches were actually natural features draining the water from boggy areas - though there had been some stone quarrying up there at some point, and there's a fairly modern pond with the spoil heap from digging it out right next to it.

Still, it was a glorious day, and the hedgerows were full of wild flowers as I came back into Hay.

This morning the weather was decidedly chilly and grey, but I had to go into Hereford to do a few things.  The Golden Valley is still blocked off, I think at Peterchurch, so the bus turned round to go down the hill and cross the river, for a non-stop journey to Hereford.  Despite the greyness (and some rain) it was lovely to see all the apple orchards in blossom.

One of the things I wanted to do was to look at the local history section of Hereford Library.  The Library has been in temporary accommodation in the Town Hall for some time now, and it's a very ornate building inside as well as out.  Being temporary, until the new premises in the Shire Hall are ready, there is only a small selection of books available, but I still found something useful.  I also joined the library, so next time I can check out up to twenty books (!).  I was given the choice of four different pictures to go on my new library card, and I chose the one with shelves of books facing each other, with birds flying between them.

On the way back, the bus was labelled the X15 rather than the X44, and again went non-stop on the other side of the river from the Golden Valley. 

River Wye Pollution Case Reaches the High Court

 This morning there was a piece on the Today programme on Radio 4 about a legal case that has just reached the High Court.  There's also an article on the BBC news website.

Leigh Day are suing Avara Foods, who have intensive chicken rearing sheds in the Wye catchment area, and Welsh Water, who have failed to keep the pollution from chicken manure out of the river and have also been releasing sewage into the river themselves.  About 24 million chickens are reared in the catchment area, a quarter of all the chickens in the UK.

This is supposed to be the biggest environmental pollution case ever brought in British courts, as over 4,500 people who live and work along the river have signed up to be part of the action. 

Evidence of the river's declining water quality has been collected over several years by citizen scientists testing the water, and Natural England rated the condition of the river as "unfavourable - declining" in 2023.  There was also a big local campaign to make the Warren into an official bathing area, so that the water had to be officially tested, but it seems to have made very little difference to the pollution.

Supporters of the action turned up at Court this morning with the giant puppet Goddess of the Wye.

 Here's the picture from Paul Powlesland's blog (he's a London campaigner for clean rivers and a barrister).

 

New Post Box Topper

 

Here's Owain the Evri delivery man, and his dog!

Black Mountains Lions Close Down

 When I was at Baskerville Hall on Wednesday evening, the large function room on the other side of the bar was all set up for the Black Mountains Lions meeting, with flowers on the tables and display boards illustrating the history of the group.

Sadly, the occasion was the final meeting for the local group.  After over fifty years, they've decided that they can no longer carry on. In that time, they've supported Dial-a-Ride, provided defibrillators, supported the local football club, and supported all sorts of local charities and community groups.

The Clyro group was part of an international body, and the nearest Lions Club appears to be in Hereford, from the map on their website, with eighteen clubs across South and Mid Wales.

Gareth Ratcliffe was there, as County Councillor, to give a speech thanking the group for all their work. 

Excalibur

 Some years ago I came across a small company which made an audio drama called The Minister of Chance.  It was a sort of loose spin off of Doctor Who (the Minister of Chance was originally intended to be a Time Lord), and it starred some really good actors - Paul McGann and Sylvester McCoy, who had both played the Doctor, Paul Darrow (Avon from Blake's Seven), Jenny Agutter, Jed Brophy, and Julian Wadham as the Minister himself.  It was great fun, and it's now available as a podcast.

The same company, Secret Planet led by Dan Freeman, is now planning a film, set in Wales, and exploring the Welsh myths of King Arthur.  He's very keen to work with local businesses, communities and schools to celebrate Welsh culture.  He said in the Brecon and Radnor Express: "we are not just making a film, we are building something that brings those stories back to the places and communities they come from."  

They're very much committed to working with communities in Wales, and they've already set up sword fighting workshops for people who want to be extras.  They've also partnered with Welsh businesses to raise funds, so you can buy Excalibur themed beer from Purple Moose brewery, or Arthur Mead from Mountain Mead (mountainmead.co.uk). 

They can be found at www.excalibur-film.com  There's even a short clip of film with Sylvester McCoy playing Merlin. 

History Festival Photo

 

Thanks to Sue Hodgetts (in the red and yellow) for posting this photo of us yesterday in Hereford!

Herefordshire History Week

 I was in Hereford this morning, in the middle of High Town, dressed in my chainmail and helmet! I was helping to advertise Herefordshire History Week, along with Sue from Cusop History Group who was also in medieval costume.  

The events run from 9th May to 20th May, all over the county.  There'll be a walk to a hillfort; Cloddock Mill will be open; the River and  Canal Trust is involved, and there will be talks all across the county.  

One of the things they're doing is an event all about the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts during the Second World War.  We had a lovely chat with a lady who is involved in that - and she also showed us pictures of a medieval banner she made, with completely accurate heraldry and an orb near the flagpole that shows it was stitched during the year of a Coronation - 2023.  It's now in the Lady Chapel of Newent church.

I also had a lovely chat with an ex-mayor of Ledbury, who used to belong to the Sealed Knot, and a chap in a wheelchair who is involved with a History shop in Bromyard.

It was quite interesting to see who wanted to stop and talk, and who marched straight past, pretending they hadn't noticed us - groups of young teenage  boys were completely oblivious to a person in chainmail and helmet - with a sword! - while older people were a lot more interested, and often had interesting stories to tell.

As part of the History Week, I'll be doing a Weapons and Arrows talk at Cusop Castle at 4pm on May 9th, where people will have the opportunity to try on the chainmail! 

 

Talk on the Armstrong Murder Case

 Tony Pryce started his interest in the Armstrong murder case back when he was an officer with West Mercian Police, and he had to visit a local solicitor's office in Hereford.  The firm was TA Matthews, and in a glass case there was a pipe and a letter.  The pipe had belonged to Major Armstrong, and the letter was to thank the original TA Matthews for all his help during the Major's trial and appeal process.

Since then, he's gone into incredible detail on every aspect of the case, including every person involved and their family backgrounds, and how they related to each other.  He believes the evidence is overwhelming that Major Armstrong was guilty.

One interesting detail is that some evidence from the case ended up in the Metropolitan Police Museum.  Back in 1921, when a murder investigation needed to be done, small police forces often didn't have the expertise to carry them out, so they applied to the Metropolitan Police to send experienced officers.  Modern day investigations typically involve 26 police officers and 4 support staff - back then the Met sent a Detective Chief Inspector (this was his last case before retirement) and a Detective Sergeant, and they started their investigations in secret, while staying at the Green Dragon Hotel in Hereford.

So there is a packet in the Black Museum labelled as arsenic from the chemist at Hay - but it has never been analysed.  Tony Pryce tried to persuade them to find out what the white powder was, but when they realised that the objective was to prove Major Armstrong's guilt rather than overturn the guilty verdict, they decided it wasn't worth spending the money to do it.  Tony Pryce believes that the packet was planted in the Major's bureau (which was produced as a surprise exhibit during the court case) by a member of the defence team, because he owed Major Armstrong a favour.  It's a fascinating theory, and very convincing.

There were so many fascinating details like this that the talk ran for an hour and a half instead of an hour, and he could have continued.  However, he got as far as the execution at Gloucester Prison (an ex-prison governor now gives guided tours of the building!) and stopped there.

Cusop Village Hall was so full they ran out of chairs and had people standing at the back and into the entrance hall!  And there wasn't time to show the video advert for the Cusop Castle dig, which will be happening from 5th to 14th June this year.  Also, I'll be giving a talk on Saturday 9th May at Cusop Castle at 4pm on medieval weapons and arrows, hopefully with audience participation! 

Comic Shop

 I finally got to see inside the new Comic shop on Castle Street.

They've got a big selection of DC and Marvel comics, and similar, and also a corner devoted to Manga.

They also have a re-purposed 1960s bar as their counter, which goes well with the diner chairs and table in the other corner.  

While I was there, they distributed marker pens and invited us to sign their table - so I added a Starfleet insignia on one leg.

I'm sure I'll be back for some of their graphic novels. 

Cusop History Group Talk

 The next talk from Cusop History Group is on Thursday 16th April at Cusop Village Hall at 7pm.  The topic is The Murder of Katherine Armstrong and the Trial of Herbert Rouse Armstrong, and the speaker is Tony Pryce, with an introduction by Peter Ford.

Strange to think that this happened just over a hundred years ago.

Entry is £2, with donations for refreshments.

I'll be at the hall a bit earlier than that, because the Cusop Dig committee will be having a quick meeting - everything seems to be going well so far! 

Printers Fair

 I really enjoyed the Printers' Fair - two floors of stalls with all sorts of beautiful artwork and letterpress text.  I treated myself to a print with a line of Gerald Manley Hopkins poetry on it: "Glory be to God for dappled things" from the poem Pied Beauty, and it's a limited edition.  Mine is no. 6 of 100.  It was made by Kathleen Littler, who uses wood engraving, with incredibly fine detail - she has a website at www.kathlittler.co.uk

The chap from Prints of Hay was giving out free prints of Hay Castle, and I also got some cards.  I especially liked the Francesca Kay cards with simple cutouts and haiku poems.  My favourite was Anubis: 

"He protects the Dead, 

But they're quite self-sufficient,

It's not a hard job."

Several of the stalls will be at the Marches Makers Festival in Kington from Saturday 2nd May to Monday 4th May.  I hope they come back to the Castle sometime, too.

There were also families looking round the Castle, and I found two little girls with their parents in the costume corner, having a swordfight with wooden swords.  So I asked if the bigger girl would like to know how to do real sword moves, and taught her the basic defensive positions, which I think we both enjoyed immensely. 

Meanwhile down in the Buttermarket there was a Craft Fair going on, and I treated myself to two hand made pottery bowls from Helen's Art Creation.  She also sells on Etsy as helensartcreation

 

Dig for Cusop

Here's the new video advert for Cusop Dig in June!

Fun at Baskerville Hall

 It was the weekly singing session at Baskerville Hall on Wednesday night, and a group of people came over from the Yoga retreat in the barn near the petrol station - so it was an easy walk for them.

One of them was a really good singer, and she joined Rob in the circle - he played guitar while she sang.

The others formed a pretty good backing group, with actions - and got up to dance with Dale and Joe.  Ellie handed out castanets and shakers all round.

Another couple were staying in the hotel, and eventually the woman plucked up courage to sing a folk song as well. 

I was singing songs from the SF Convention, and threw in Star Trekking, which was a hit in the 1980s, and which they all knew! 

Printer's Fair

 This Saturday there will be a printers' fair at Hay Castle, spread over two floors and open from 10am to 4pm.  All sorts of different printing techniques will be on display, and these are true craftsmen keeping the old traditions alive for the modern day.  Techniques include etching, letterpress, wood engraving, lino cutting, paper marbling, illustration, book art and calligraphy.

There have been Wayzgooses (as a meeting of printers is traditionally called) in Hay before, at the shop which is now Rambling Rosa and across at Baskerville Hall, and I've always enjoyed them. 

Back to Earth

 I'm back home, after an absolutely brilliant time at EasterCon!

 This is me in my Starfleet uniform, Next Generation era.

It's not just dressing up - there were also fascinating panels on folklore and fantasy, 100 years of Anne McCaffrey, archaeology, how to find hope in a darkening world (with reference to grimdark fantasy), climate change, AI, and there was a lot of emphasis on finding community in a hostile world, and welcoming all sorts of diversity.  Also, I got to hang out with some really lovely people.

We were also sharing space with an anime con - lots of costumes, and generally a much younger fan base, and we all got along so well that we want to do it again, maybe with even more integration between the cons next time.

I'm already looking forward to next year in Glasgow! 

Happy Easter!

 

Here's the latest Post Box topper.

I'll be back after Easter. 

Wildlife Art

 Oil and Oak often put on exhibitions in their upstairs room, and at the moment the space is filled with very detailed and realistic paintings of British wildlife by Lyndsay Reid.  I especially like the hares.

New Comic Shop

 

Congratulations to Lauren and Julian of Hay-on-Wye Comics, who have upgraded from the market stall and shelf in Broad Street Books to a shop of their own.  They're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I haven't been able to look inside properly yet, but I know they have lots of interesting stock, and I'll be browsing as soon as I can.

New Exhibition at Lion Street Gallery

 I saw the announcement on Facebook, so I decided to check it out when I went shopping.

The exhibition at Lion Street Gallery is called Emotional Terrain, and is a group of works by Di Metcalfe.

I had the gallery to myself that morning, so i had plenty of time to linger over the landscapes.  The card that goes with the exhibition says: "Her work radiates energy and intensity" and it's true - you can feel the energy in the brushstrokes - or maybe she uses a pallet knife - there's a lot of texture to the paint.  Brent explained that she works on solid panels rather than canvas, because her vigorous style would make the  canvas stretch and go baggy   Most of the landscapes are places in Wales, with exuberant cloudscapes.  I liked them a lot.

Brent also displays work from a regular group of artists, and I like most of them - the interiors of historic houses by Matthew Wood, and the wildflowers standing out of a blurred background by Dylan Lloyd, and at the moment there are some green semi-abstract woodland glades and pools by Sandra Graham that I also liked very much.  The paintings are expensive, but there's a scheme where you can pay installments over several months - which makes it a far more reasonable proposition.  And they are very fine works of art.

Yorkshire Building Society

 I was very disappointed to get an email this morning to say that the Hay branch of the Yorkshire Building Society will be closing down in August.

One of my main reasons for opening a savings account with them - when I was in a position to actually have savings! - was that I could walk into their office and talk to an actual human being, who knew me, and the whole business took about five minutes out of my day.

I understand that the next nearest physical branch is a choice between Abergavenny or Worcester - neither of which are exactly accessible for a visit from Hay.  So instead of walking in while I'm doing my shopping, this would mean a bus ride to Hereford and a train, and take all day.  Or a bus ride to Brecon and bus down to Abergavenny that way, which would also take most of a day.

Looks like I'm going to have to start thinking about moving my savings - I refuse to do online banking.  It's only more convenient for the bank or building society, not for me as a customer.