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.