Cofiwch Dryweryn

 

Hay has very little graffiti generally, but this slogan has just appeared above the bookshelves under Hay Bridge.

The original graffiti was painted on a wall overlooking a reservoir in Ceredigion, containing water intended for Liverpool - the making of the reservoir drowned the village of Treweryn, and the phrase means "Remember Tryweryn".  It has become a statement in support of Welsh nationalism.

I'm not sure why the graffiti artist thought that Hay Bridge was a good site for the slogan.

Bridge Repairs

 Finally!

The railings on Hay Bridge are being replaced - they've needed doing for years.

Here are the old railings:

and here are the new ones:

They're about a quarter of the way down one side of the bridge at the moment, keeping one lane open for traffic.

Hay Shantymen Under the Bridge

 The Hay Shantymen will be performing under Hay Bridge over the summer.  They were there on 30th May, and it was a great success.

The first session will be on Sunday 27th June from 12.30, and they'll be there again on the last Sundays in July and August.

They're raising money for the RNLI.

Under the Bridge

A few nights ago, some of the musicians who live on Bridge Street moved their instruments down under the bridge for an impromptu concert - they've performed several times by the road (memorably on VE Day).

On another day, Justin waded out to the island in the middle of the river to rescue a sick swan. It was taken to a nearby garden and the RSPCA were called.

A New Bookshelf

A new bookshelf has appeared under Hay Bridge, for swapping books.

Council Meeting - Festival Traffic, Painting the Bridge and De-fibrillators

Gareth Ratcliffe reported back on a meeting he'd been to with the police, the organisers of Hay Festival and the people from the Globe. He implied that everyone was helpful except one party there....
To assist with parking problems, the Hay Festival people said that next year they would be selling tickets for events along with parking tickets, so there would be a space for the visitors when they arrived.
The Globe claimed that they had provided 80 parking places in a field just over the border in Cusop, and that they had had no parking issues over the Festival. Gareth, who works for the Co-op now, pointed out that Festival goers had been using the Co-op car park.
The problem seems to be a loophole in the licensing system - as the Globe didn't have a traffic management plan in place, it couldn't be judged as part of the license to hold the event, whereas the Festival does have a traffic management plan, so it is part of their license. The Festival are understandably reluctant to take on the parking problems caused by the Globe - the main problem apart from lack of parking provision was the blockages caused on Heol-y-dwr corner by delivery trucks and so on, with a lack of supervision by members of staff from the Globe. The police were called several times to sort out the traffic snarl-ups. This had caused problems for the shuttle bus - the route goes along Broad Street, up Heol-y-dwr and round to the top of the car park before going back to the Festival site. The Festival said that they would rather re-route the shuttle buses away from Heol-y-dwr next year, if nothing could be worked out. The Globe said that next year they would use the layby in front of the bungalow just behind the Globe for deliveries, but it's not very big.
The councillors are going to invite the management of the Globe to a Council meeting so they can talk to them in person.

The bridge desperately needs re-painting - it gives quite a bad first impression of Hay if a car is approaching from that direction. The best bit of it is the section which was demolished in an accident a while ago, and re-painted. Contractors for the County Council have quoted £40 - £50,000 for the painting job, which apparently would involve taking the metal work apart, painting it and re-attaching it to the bridge. Which seems rather a lot. Powys has an approved list of contractors it can use, who work across Wales, so they don't use local traders for jobs like this. It was almost tempting the councillors to get out there with their paint brushes themselves! In fact, I'd be tempted to get out there with a paintbrush, too - I've got some odd half tins of paint, and between the local residents we could have a rainbow bridge! A chap on Black Lion Green has painted the little bridge down there, and it looks quite nice.

Meanwhile there is a movement nationally to provide de-fibrillators in public places so that people who have heart attacks can be treated more quickly, while they are waiting for the ambulance or first responders to arrive. Apparently the equipment is practically fool proof, and if it is used incorrectly it won't work. Talgarth and Brecon are both getting one, and Gareth was keen to use the traditional walk to Clyro near Christmas time as a fund raising fancy dress sponsored walk. £1500 is needed to get one, and the Lions Club are interested in doing something towards it. It could be kept at the Clock Tower or the Market Square - somewhere central - and I think they said that BT would give a grant if it was placed in one of the phone boxes.

Car Accidents

It's been a bad week for car accidents around Hay.
On Monday, a lady was driving down to Abbey Dore to have lunch with her friend, in her gas powered car. As she came through Hay, the car began to belch smoke, and she got so alarmed that she stopped near to the Dulas bridge at the top of Cusop Dingle, and called the fire brigade. On the other side of the hedge from where she had parked is the accountant's offices - and they had to be evacuated in case the car exploded! "Poor souls," my informant said. "No coats, no bags, just straight out. They were outside for two hours and they couldn't even go for a coffee because their money was inside!"
The car didn't explode, but the heat of the fire was so intense it melted the tarmac under the car.
Fortunately, the lady from Abbey Dore turned up to get her friend home.

I took Islay across the bridge a couple of days after that, to find that one of the panels of railings had been banged into - some of the railings had sheared away at the bottom and were bent out. A temporary barrier has been erected until it can be mended.
I wonder if this would be a good time to think about painting the railings, which have looked a bit of a mess for a long time. I sometimes think it would be fun to get a painting day organised, when anyone could come along with their left over paint and transform the bridge in rainbow colours! Of course, it wouldn't be as easy as just slapping a bit of paint on - the rust would have to be rubbed down first.

Busy Weekend in Hay

Someone told me that there were five weddings in Hay on Saturday! There was certainly a lot of confetti ,and rose petals, near the church - and two geodesic domes have been put up just across the river by the Start. The wedding guests for that one seem to be camping by the river.

The Buttermarket was done out in flags on Saturday evening, too, with lots of tables and chairs put out, and a bar, for the Warren Club Draw. The Warren Club was originally set up to raise funds to maintain the Warren as a public space for the people of Hay, though the membership of the club now seems to have very little relationship with the users of the Warren. The Warren is actually one of Hay's best kept secrets - it's only really accessible by foot (though it is possible to drive down to a little car park if you know where you're going). It has a pebble beach on a curve of the Wye, and is a beautiful place for a picnic, or a paddle, or to walk the dog.

Further along the river, under the bridge, someone has been playing now that the level of the river is low enough to wade across. Before there was a bridge, there was a ford across the Wye here. There are three flat bits of concrete between the piers of the bridge - I'm sure they have a proper name, but I have no idea what it is - and pebble sculptures have appeared on each one. Furthest from the Hay side, we have three stones - big, middle and small. In the middle, there's a teetering pile of stones, and nearest to the Hay side a heap of pebbles is supporting a long stick. So there's a budding Andy Golesworthy out there somewhere (if I've got the spelling right, he's the artist who works with stones and leaves and wood, out in the countryside).