Children's Concert

 My neighbour was sitting in her garden this morning when two children leaned over the wall.

"We're in a concert at the church this evening.  You've got to come!"

So we walked down to the church together.  Just in front of us, a kid with a violin case was charging full pelt down the hill, obviously thinking he was going to be late.

As we sat down, the two kids who had invited my neighbour looked back from their seats with thumbs up.  "You came!" 

The first half of the concert was performed by the professional pianist Jelena Makarova and soprano - the children were being introduced to a wide variety of music featuring rivers and the sea, starting with Benjamin Britten's arrangement of the folk song O, Waly, Waly, the Mermaid's Song by Haydn, a setting of a piece for choir done specially for Jessica Summers to sing with the piano by Colin Riley, called Never Coming Back, and At the River arranged by Aaron Copeland - one of those hymns that turns  up in old Westerns.

Then it was the children's turn.  Francesca Kay the poet had worked with Class 5 in four groups, each of which produced a very different river-themed poem, which composer Robert Peate set to music, including a very serious young drummer, a girl on the xylophone, various cymbals and percussion instruments, and two violinists - and the choir.  They all looked as if they were enjoying themselves, and thoroughly deserved the applause after each song, and at the end.  The poet said that she'd love to just go back to the school and write poetry with the kids until they told her to go away!

It was hugely enjoyable, and lots of people were leaving donations for further Outreach events in the future as they left. 

Symphony Orchestra in Hay

 It's not often Hay gets an entire symphony orchestra*, but Hay Music has organised a concert with the Hereford Symphony Orchestra this Saturday at 3pm (doors open at 2.30pm) in St Mary's Church.  

Tickets are £20, under-25s £10.  They will be playing Rossini's An Italian Girl in Algiers, Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony.

And it's a busy week for music lovers, because Songs of the River will be performed, also at St Mary's, on Thursday 26th March at 6pm.  This is a project put together by the musicians and children of Hay School - composer Robert Peate, poet Francesca Kay, soprano Jessica Summers and pianist Jelena Makarova.  This concert is free with a retiring collection in support of Hay Music's Outreach Programme. 

*in fact, this is the first  time! 

Hay Swimming Pool

 While I'm thinking about community sports facilities, Hay Swimming Pool needs help!

There will be a meeting on Wednesday 31st January, at 7pm at Hay School to discuss options for the future and hopefully to find new trustees.

The pool is 50 years old, and it needs major structural investments and refurbishment.  Originally it was built with a life span of 25 years in mind.  Particular problems are the wooden structure, and the pool ventilation system.

They also need volunteers to help clean and manage the pool, as well as trustees to run it.

If they can't get the help they need, the pool will have to close down completely.  It's already closed down as a temporary measure.

Car Boot - and ATM

 I checked the ATM on the way to the Car Boot Sale at Hay School this morning.  Still no cash.

The little car park next to the school was full, though, with a wide variety of car boots - children's toys, books, plants, clothes and so on.

There will be one more Car Boot at the school this year, on Saturday 24th September.

Crafts and Car Boot

 Hay School held a car boot in their little car park yesterday - several interesting plant stalls, and the usual mix of bric a brac, clothes, books and so on.  I picked up a Jim Butcher hardback I haven't read yet, which co-incidentally is the one just after the last one I read, in which the lead character, Harry Dresden, died.  However, in urban fantasy death is not necessarily the end for a character - and Harry returns in the new book with a new role.

Down at the other end of town, the Globe was holding a craft fair in the garden and inside.  There were ceramics, and soaps, and jewellery and knitted goods - and the Wye Waste It Collective was there with fancy head bands decorated with animal ears, and antlers and lots of jewellery.  All of the material used to make the head bands is recycled, except the glue to hold it together!

Inside I particularly liked one embroidery stall which had a closed wicker basket on the table with the sign "Adult Content Inside".  When I lifted the lid, there were all the embroideries where the mottos had rude words.  

I didn't feel able to splash out on an embroidery, but they were also selling fridge magnets with the same mottos, and I got the one that said "What (and I cannot stress this enough) the f**k"  Because it made me laugh.

Two Jumble Sales!

 An abundance of riches this morning!

First of all I went down to the school, where there was a jumble sale in aid of the Keith Leighton Fund.  This is a Neurological charity founded by Keith Leighton's wife Sheila after he died of a brain tumour.

Bigger things for sale, including furniture, were scattered along the corridor into the school, and the school hall was full of stalls, as well as a small area for the inevitable tea and nibbles.  I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but my eye was caught by some stuff on the toy stall - a big Thunderbird One (seriously, it's about 14 inches tall!  Or about 35cm.), Thunderbird Two (bigger than the one I already have) and Thunderbird Five, the space station.  The lady at the stall threw in a Virgil Tracy figure with one leg, poor chap.

I am just a big kid really.

Then I headed to the Parish Hall for the Dial-a-Ride Christmas fair.  This was a lot smaller, but with more room for teas - and there was entertainment.  A local ladies' choir were singing round the piano at the far end.  I found some books there.  Because I always look at the books.

Winter Festival

 The leaflets for the Hay Winter Festival are out now - with a mixture of online and live events from Hay Primary School and a stage on Cae Mawr field, a move from the old beast market site where the last Winter Festival with live events took place.  I remember the days when the main summer Festival was compact enough to take place around the school, too!

The Festival will be happening from Wednesday 24th November to Sunday 28th November.

Only one event is only available online - in which the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction talks to Craig Brown, from Hay Primary School.

The Wednesday evening conversation and concert is live only, and will be on the Llwyfan Cymru Wales Stage on the Cae Mawr Field.  Also live will be the switching on of the Christmas Lights, on Friday evening, and Father Richard playing the organ to The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, in St Mary's Church, and on Saturday evening there is live stand up comedy, also from the stage on Cae Mawr Field.  The last live only event will be from Hay Primary School on Sunday morning, and is called The Lights that Dance in the Night, with Yuval Zommer.

Free online events will be available to view from 15th November, and there is a free programme for schools on Wednesday and Thursday.

Local author Owen Sheers is on the programme, along with Miriam Margolyes, Jonathon Porritt, Bear Grylls, Jeanette Winterson, and many more.

Refugee Day at Hay School

Hay School is hosting another Refugee Day on Sunday 26th January. Anyone who would like to pop in to say hello will be welcome from 11am to 3.30pm.
There will be lantern making workshops and sewing activities for the children, and the community and school choir will be singing in the afternoon.
If anyone would like to donate fruit, cake or biscuits, they will be gratefully received!

Celebrating Twenty Five Years of Dial-a-Ride

The hall of Hay School was full for the Silver Jubilee celebration of Hay Dial-a-Ride.
Although the school had hired out the hall, they didn't provide the tables and chairs, which had to be borrowed from Clyro Village Hall.
The people there included those who use the service, including the lady who lives in the most remote spot they visit (as someone said later, even the most comprehensive public transport system wouldn't be able to get up there!). There were drivers, past and present, all volunteers, and there were the organisers and special guests, including Trudy Stedman the Mayor and other Town Councillors. I was there because of the blog, but I did remind Mary Fellowes that my ex-husband had driven the Dial-a-Ride bus for a while in the early days, along with a chap called Doug who used to dress up in costume - I remember him doing Darth Vader and a Viking in a horned helmet!
Twenty five years ago, they needed to raise £25,000 for an accessible bus (the buses cost about double that now), and at one of the first fund raising events John Grant, who had a shop on Castle Street, was heard to say it would never last. Now they have nearly 300 members who use the service, and three staff, as well as the volunteer drivers.
They started out sharing an office with Community Support, in what is now Chris the Bookbinder's workshop beside the launderette - they suffered from floods, and nightmare plumbing!
Then they were able to move into an office in the Council Chambers, where they stayed for many years - and now there are question marks about the future of the Council Chambers they have just moved to an office on Castle Street, opposite the Blue Boar.
As well as the bus, they have drivers who use their own cars, and they've also started running day trips. Now that Hay has no bank branches, they also run a regular Bank Bus so people can visit their bank branch in Brecon.
Fund raising and applying for grants is something they always have to be thinking about - they don't get the same level of help from Powys or Herefordshire County Councils that they did in the early years.
There were speeches - Mary Fellowes, who was involved from the beginning, gave a run down of the history of the service, and Kirsty Williams, the Assembly Member, praised them for enabling older people to continue to live independently for longer.
There were presentations, too - Mary Fellowes got a special certificate, which they'd managed to keep secret from her, and Dial-a-Ride was presented with a Dementia Friendly sign. The lady presenting it said she thought that Hay was the first community bus service to get such an award, and it was all thanks to the enthusiasm of the office secretary, Lesley Moore. And all the volunteers got a little scroll. The service has also been awarded a Community Transport Association Quality Mark, and several awards (from PAVO and others) for Volunteers of the Year.
There was also tea and coffee, and a buffet big enough to feed an army! Everyone got a slice of cake too, which was sponge iced with a picture of the Dial a Ride bus.

Car Boot Sale

There will be a Car Boot Sale at Hay School, starting at 10am on Saturday 15th June.
Pitches are £5, proceeds to the school.

I used to love the car boots at Hay School before the new school was built - they were organised by WyeLocal - so I'm hoping to find some bargains when I go down on Saturday morning.

Independence Weekend and #Bookstagram Hay 2019

It's the 42nd anniversary of Hay Independence this coming weekend, and the celebrations will be going on over the 30th March and 1st April, and on to the following weekend.

On Saturday 30th March The Story of Books is holding its fourth Wayzgoose, a traditional gathering of printers, bookbinders and papermakers. This one is special because it is also the launch of a new bookshop in Hay, Balch & Balch - Printed Press Bookshop. It will be the only bookshop of its kind, specialising in books published by expert letterpress printers.
There will also be 'Printers Pies', ale and folk music - a lot to squeeze into a small space!
And it's all free.

Also on the Saturday is Computerella at the Parish Hall. Hay Junior Youth Theatre (ages from 4 to 11) present their latest show - who can fix the Royal computer?
Later, Hay Senior Youth Theatre (12 to 15 year olds) present Techno In-dependence, specially written for Hay Independence Day and funded by Powys County Council's Integrated Care Fund. Set in a fake TV studio, it features interactive debate with film, masks and theatre, and teenagers' views on what's good and not-so-good about today's technology.
Each show costs £2.50 to get in.

On Independence Day itself, April 1st, the Richard Booth Lecture will take place in the Globe. David Batterham, who got his start in bookdealing with Richard Booth, will share his 50 years of experience with the audience. The talk will be followed by a panel discussion on the ongoing legacy of the King of Hay.

Friday 5th April has several events throughout the day, starting with What is the Story of Your Business? at the Globe, a drop in event with business coach Helen Campbell.
In the evening there is a Launch Party for the weekend at Booth's Bookshop hosted by Adele Nozedar and Lizzie Harper (who have collaborated on books on foraging). They're also a good double act!
Meanwhile, just down the road in Glasbury Jake Hughes will be at the Chapel on the Green launching his new album with a mushroom-based feast and live music, with paintings and prints by David MacCarthy.
And in the Globe in the evening, for only £5, their regular feature Desert Island Picks will feature Dame Jacqueline Wilson, interviewed by Jasper Fforde. The author of Tracy Beaker and many other children's books will be sharing her favourite 8 records and 8 books.

On Saturday 6th April, events start at the Globe with Young Writers of Bookstagram, with aspiring authors reading extracts of their works and talking about the writing process and the challenges of getting published. The discussion will be chaired by Elke Desanghere of HarperCollins.
At 11am, there will be a Royal Procession, starting at the Clock Tower.
The Junior Youth Theatre will be doing another performance of Computerella at the Parish Hall in the afternoon, with another performance of Techno In-dependence later in the afternoon.
Also at the Parish Hall, this year's Hay Citizen of the Year Award will be given by the Mayor of Hay, in recognition of outstanding voluntary service to Hay over the previous year.

At Hay School there will be a creative writing workshop with Emma Beynon called Writing Royalty, inspired by King Richard Booth. Regal paraphernalia will be supplied to get the creative juices flowing!
Later she will be hosting a second writers' workshop called Writers Rule, for children aged between 12 and 17.
Also at Hay School will be Billie Charity, the local photographer, hosting the Photographic Grid Project. This is a project in which participants will take photos from various locations across Hay, which will then be combined into a grid to reveal a whole new vision of the town. There are 15 places only available for this project, for children aged between 10 and 16, and participants will need a camera or phone with email capability. The project is free.

While the children are making a photographic grid of Hay, there are 8 places at Radnor House to join Julia Joplin to make a picture with wire, book pages and found objects from nature. This project costs £25 each, but includes afternoon tea and home made cake.

In the evening at the Globe there's a Bookstagrammer Book Quiz, the Second Official Bookstagrammy Awards and the Hay Independence Party with DJ Max Galactic.

Throughout the weekend there will also be exhibitions.
At the Chapel on the Green in Glasbury will be Darkness at the Edge of Town by Daniel MacCarthy, and Hay Makers will be exhibiting Book Arts.

On Sunday 7th April there's a Book Art workshop at Hay School which costs £35 for half a day (three hour workshop), or £65 for the whole day, with Su Blackwell. There are 10 places available for each session.
Meanwhile at Green Ink Bookshop there will be a Booksellers' Breakfast, with an early look at this year's Hay Festival programme.

At the Globe there's a workshop on Botanical Perfume, Aftershave or Beard Oil, foraging for plants and then learning how to combine them with essential oils and other ingredients to make your own unique blend. There are 20 places for this event, which costs £30 - but you do get to take away your own creation afterwards.
Local authors Catherine Barr and Steve Williams will be launching their book The Story of People at the Globe, a look at human history for 5 to 12 year olds.

At Radnor House, there will be a singing workshop with David Bartlett with afternoon tea and home made cake - the session costs £10 and there are 12 spaces available.
And later at Radnor House is a Literary Salon - The Power of Book Clubs with Poppy Loves Book Club.

And at Hay School there's a chance to learn some Beginners' Welsh with Mari Fforde.

Places on the events can be booked through the Globe, Eighteen Rabbit, Hay Festival Box Office, Radnor House, Addyman Books, Chapel on the Green and Flow.

Talking about the Real Lady of Hay

Dr Peter Ford will be talking about the real Lady of Hay, in other words the historical Matilda de Braose, on Thursday 7th March in the Coach House at the Swan. He has written a book about her - Tragic Matilda: Lady of Hay, available from the Castle or on Amazon.
The bar will be open at 5.30pm, and the talk starts at 6pm - and it's a free event. The idea is for Friends of Hay Castle to bring a friend, and hopefully get them interested so they'll sign up as Friends of the Castle too.

Meanwhile at Hay School, Mari Fforde has been talking about the history of the castle to the children, in a project that is introducing them to oral history and film making techniques. The children are recording interviews with local people talking about their memories of Hay - and the short films will be included on the Hay Castle website. The children have also been drawing storyboards, doing creative writing and analysing short films and commercials.
The next stage in the project is to make stop motion animations of stories from the castle's past, including Matilda de Braose, Branwell Bradley the Victorian house boy, and King Richard Booth.

And around the Castle, archaeological research is on-going. The evidence seemed to point to the tower being the original gateway into the Castle, before the present gateway beside it was built. They found a filled in arch on one side of the tower - but where was the corresponding arch on the other side?
Hay History Group took up the challenge, and excavated a trench on the south side of the tower, under the direction of the site archaeologist - and found nothing whatsoever.
Then work began inside the tower, to remove the remains of a Victorian wine cellar - and when the bricks were removed, there was the arch!
This, of course, raises more questions - why was that entrance filled in and the new one built? And when?

Public Meeting about County Council Cuts - Here We Go Again!

The school hall was full when I got there - several of us latecomers ended up on a low bench by the wall. Most of the Town Council were there, along with Gareth Ratcliffe, James Gibson-Watt, and another local County Councillor who is also on the Cabinet - he's the one who was recently involved in a bit of controversy because he was in New Zealand, but he's back now.
There was a bit of faffing around to start with, because the tech didn't work, so they couldn't show the presentation they'd put together. Instead it was Mayor Trudy Stedman with a sheaf of notes and a microphone in her hand.

And here's a plea from someone who has been in many public meetings - if there is a microphone, USE THE MICROPHONE! And don't just hold it, bring it up to your mouth, and speak loudly as well, so that those of us at the back or with less than perfect hearing can follow what's being said!

So, Trudy introduced the County and Town councillors, and gave a brief run down of the story so far.
Starting around 2015, the Town Council spent two years negotiating with the County Council to save the public toilets and other public assets for the town. This involved the County Council giving the Town 20% of the car park takings, on the strength of which the Town Council took out a £70,000 loan to improve the toilets, which they took over the running of.
Then there was an election in May 2017, and the new Cabinet refused to honour that agreement.
In the September, Hay Town Council had a meeting with the new Cabinet which was described as "acrimonious". They could not come to a new agreement.
In December 2018 the Cabinet finally got round to discussing the matter at County Hall. The Town councillors watched the live webcast of the meeting, which is the only way they found out what decisions the Cabinet had made - there has still not been an official letter telling them the outcome.
The Cabinet decided that Hay would have no car park income.
The County Council would write off the £70,000 loan, which the Town Council were supposed to be paying back at £10,000 a year (no money has yet changed hands).
This looked at first sight to be a good deal, until the Town Council worked out that, under the original agreement, they should have had £95,000, and repaid £45,000 by now, so the Town Council would lose out. They have taken legal advice and been told that they have a strong case against the County Council, as the original agreement has been operational, so the County Council should give Hay the money they originally agreed. However, the cost of mounting a legal action against the County Council has to be considered.

The County Council has given Hay two options about the toilets (at the Clock Tower and Craft Centre). The first is that the Town Council continues to run them, and the second is to give them back to the County Council, but with no guarantee that the County Council would keep them open. Currently the County Council only directly run two sets of toilets - the ones in Brecon and the ones at Ystradgynlais bus station. All the other toilets in the county have been hived off to be run by smaller councils and groups of volunteers.
The toilets cost £30,000 a year to run, and bring in an income of £18,000. This is 90,000 people paying 20p a time (slightly more people than that used the toilets last year, but that's how many paid for it).

This was the first appeal to the public - should the Town Council fight to keep the toilets open?
Alistair Shaw (who didn't need a microphone!) said that a town with no public toilets was crazy - Hay would lose all the tourists who come here.
Trudy also said that the Town Council had considered raising the precept to cover the cost (this is the amount of money Hay Town Council gets to run the town, presently £42,000 a year), but they thought this would be unfair, as it is visitors who use the toilets, not locals.
Sean O'Donaghue asked if there was a Disability Rights issue here? There is legislation to say that a town needs to have a toilet for the disabled, with level access for wheelchairs.
The Deputy Chair of the Chamber of Commerce was also present, and he said that the Chamber of Commerce has no income, apart from a small amount of membership fees, and that most of the money they raise goes towards the Christmas Lights, so they can't really help.

Other areas of concern include the Sports Pavilion. Here there is qualified good news - the town has been offered a 99 year lease of the building, and the bowls club have been given permission to build the pavilion they want. However, without the income from the car park, the Town Council cannot give as much money as they would like to the running of the sports facilities, so the sports clubs have to do more fund raising.

The Council Chambers were also discussed at the Cabinet meeting in December, where it was decided that the Town Council would be given 12 months notice to leave the premises. The County Council were apparently surprised to discover that the Town Council has tenants in the building (from whom they gain income for the town), including Dial a Ride. Apparently someone at the Cabinet meeting said that "We will make sure the tenants are okay," but the Town Council has no idea what they mean by this. They also don't know when the 12 months notice starts from, because the County Council have not contacted them officially yet. Trudy was asked where the Council would meet when they lost the building, and answered: "No idea!"

The Library is also under threat - again, along with the 9 other rural libraries that were threatened last time. However, the big libraries in the county, such as Brecon and Newtown, are not being asked to find savings, even though it is the rural areas that need libraries more. Gareth has asked questions at County Hall about this.

Another loss to the town will be the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths. At present they only come (and use an office in the Council Chambers) for two days a week, and this will cease. In future people will have to go to Brecon for this service. The Registrar is also being withdrawn from Builth Wells, Knighton and Llanidloes.

Tomorrow, I'll cover the questions from the floor....

School Clubs and Libraries

The Brecon & Radnor Express made interesting reading this week.

On the front page was the headline "Council says it was 'never plan to axe school clubs'", in which the County Council claim that their original email to head teachers was mis-interpreted, and of course they never wanted to close the breakfast clubs in primary schools.
On page two was a big article about the consultation meeting at the Library, where the portfolio holder for libraries, Councillor Rachel Powell, got quite a rough ride from the people who turned up - Gareth Ratcliffe was there, and he said on his Facebook page that about 70 people came over the course of the morning.
One of the issues brought up at that meeting was the building of the new library and museum in Brecon, which has taken longer than expected, and is costing rather a lot of money. The Councillor said that she was not able to talk about property issues - but, that being the case, it would have been a good idea for her to have brought along someone who could talk about property issues, especially in Hay where the sale of the old library building is so contentious. I bet that similar concerns were raised in Talgarth, where the next consultation meeting was due to be held.
I also noticed that the Councillor was challenged about all the consultation meetings taking place during the daytime. If there had been an evening meeting, I would certainly have gone along to it - but at 10am on a Monday morning, I was at work. The Councillor said that she couldn't commit to evening meetings because she had a "busy portfolio" and a young family.
Nobody was suggesting that she should go to evening meetings every week - but these are special circumstances, and surely she could get someone else to look after her young family for a few evenings, because this is her job. This is her portfolio.
She also said that she was coming during the day because that reflected the usual footfall of the library as the library was normally open at that time - but the library used to be open for longer, and in the evenings, and a lot of people who work during the day would have liked to have their voices heard as well. As the lady in the audience said (as reported in the B&R) there is the wider community as well.

Last night I was at Stitch and Bitch at the Swan, and one of the ladies there had been at the Library meeting. She said there was some talk of trying to make money out of hiring the Library space out at £10 an hour - but there was some uncertainty about whether that money would go to the library service or to the school. And money raised by community groups cannot be used to pay a trained librarian, which is what is needed. Without trained and professional staff, it's just a room with books in it.

Then last night, Gareth Ratcliffe posted on his Facebook page about a press release that the County Council have issued, about how pleased they are to be doing a deal to save Welshpool Library, which cost over £100,000 to run last year, at the same time as they are trying to close the small libraries. Apparently the Library in Welshpool will be relocating to the Powysland Museum. Hay Library costs only around £15,400, and also has a generous grant from Hay Festival.

Breakfast Club Saga - and Meeting to Discuss the Cuts

Just to confirm that there will be a meeting at Hay School on Wednesday 13th February, at 6.30pm, to discuss the cuts proposed by Powys County Council.

Latest news on the Breakfast Club is that the Welsh Government has got involved. They have written to Powys County Council making clear their deep concerns about the plans, according to Kirsty Williams, AM. Lots of people got in touch with her about the matter.
The Welsh Government have asked for the answers to some questions they have, and have pointed out that Powys County Council may be in breach of its duty under section 88 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act, by setting criteria for eligibility for free school breakfasts.
The Welsh Government also wants to know what consultation has taken place with the schools and other interested parties (such as parents) and what impact assessments have been made. The County Council has 10 working days in which to respond.

Following on from this comes a press release from Myfanwy Alexander, the Powys Cabinet Member for Learning and Welsh Language:
“School breakfast clubs are valued by parents and carers wherever available. Whilst provision of the breakfast is free, parents and carers are expected to contribute to related childcare costs routinely across Wales.
“The fairer funding formula was reviewed earlier this year and while there is no longer a specific line for breakfast clubs funding is available within the delegated funding. In fact, the level of support to Powys schools is increasing by £1m for the 2019/2020 financial year.

“It is a decision for the head and governing body to decide how funding is used provided it is spent in-line with Welsh Government legislation.”

So this seems to be putting the responsibility for the breakfast clubs at the door of the head teachers, despite an earlier email saying that the heads would have to produce a business plan to pay for the breakfast clubs if they wanted them to continue.

The full details of the whole saga are available on Gareth Ratcliffe's Facebook page.

County Council Cuts

I was in quite a good mood this lunchtime.
I popped into the Red Cross Shop to buy a giant pair of knitting needles - I'm going to attempt to knit up some lucetted cord into a bedside rug. When I was still doing historical re-enactment I made lots of cord on my lucet around the campfire, but didn't have anything to do with it afterwards.

(Something like this).

Then I had a look at Facebook while I was eating lunch - and the first thing I saw was a post from Gareth Ratcliffe about this year's round of cuts by Powys County Council.
They need to save £14 million this year - and they seem to be going about it by targeting the most vulnerable in society.
One of the things they want to do is to cut all Breakfast Clubs in primary schools from 1st April. Not only do the Breakfast Clubs feed the children; they also provide essential child care for working parents.
At the same time they want to cut the provision for three and four year olds from twelve and a half hours a week to ten hours a week.

Meanwhile, there's a renewed threat to Hay Library - they want to save £200,000 from the Library budget, and one of the ways to do that will be to shut ten small libraries across Powys. The portfolio holder for libraries will be visiting Hay Library at 10am on Monday 4th February - so I hope someone will be there to challenge the cuts.

There will be a HOWLS meeting at the school on Wednesday 20th February at 7pm to discuss what to do about this, and another meeting the previous Wednesday (13th February) to talk about the other cuts to services - I'll post the time for that as soon as I'm sure of it.

Refugee Away Day

Hay School is hosting the next Refugee Away Day organised by Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Refugee Sanctuary. The school will be open on Sunday 27th January, with activities such as glitter tattoos, nail varnish, face painting and crafts, and a show by Hay Theatre Group at 2.30pm.
The organisers are asking for donations of dried food (rice rather than pasta), tinned food (especially fish) and toiletries for the refugees to take away with them. These can be dropped off at the school any time this week, or from 9.15am on Sunday morning. They would also be grateful if anyone can donate biscuits or cake - they will be providing food and drink during the day.
One of the refugees coming to Hay on Sunday will be Otis Bolamu, who was recently threatened with deportation back to the Republic of Congo. He wants to thank some of the people who signed the petition for him to stay in this country personally.

Library Update

I understand that building work has not quite finished at the school, and that is why the transfer of the library to its new quarters is being delayed.
Meanwhile, the official openings of Hay School and the Archdeacon Griffith School at Llyswen happened today. The Archbishop of Wales unveiled the plaque at Archdeacon Griffiths School, which is a Church in Wales school, and Kirsty Williams AM was at Hay School.

Music from the Sirinu Ensemble

The concert on Friday evening was supposed to be at St Mary's Church, but the heating system failed, so this became the very first concert to take place in the new school building! It was organised by Hay Music.
The sub-title for the evening was "The Man Hurdy-gurdy and Me" - and it was the Hurdy-gurdy that got my attention, that and the medieval harp (and it was a gorgeous harp!).
Although the Ensemble were playing medieval instruments, though, the music was modern and, as the poster said, eclectic. The composer, Howard Skempton, was there, and talked about his work before the music started. This included a concerto for accordion and oboe which opened the concert, and which the Young Man said sounded like the sound track to a 1960s low budget SF movie crossed with a 1970s children's series.
There were also pieces by Satie and Stravinsky. One of these was a French/English piece for children, with lines like "The dog has smoked all my cigars, and now he has tummy trouble"! We thought they were quite brave to do that when there was a real French couple in the audience!
Another piece in the first half featured an Indonesian gamelan, or about one eighth of one - in Indonesia these instruments are an orchestra in themselves, and all percussion, with gongs and so on, which was fun to see played. There was also a vibraphone - a sort of xylophone, and a long necked stringed instrument called a theorbo.
Howard Skempton had also set Feste's Song from Twelfth Night to music (recorder and guitar), which reminded me of an open air performance I went to at Kinnersley Castle back in the early 1990s. The rain poured down, but the actors kept going, and the audience kept sitting there, getting soaking wet - the actors' makeup was running down their faces - and at the end, Feste sang The Rain it Raineth Every Day, to huge applause!
The Man, Hurdy-Gurdy and Me was interesting - all about looking up at the stars throughout history - it was written for a touring exhibition about space in 2011.
And they finished off with the folk song Bring Us In Good Ale.
In the interval, wine and other drinks were served in what will soon become the new library, at present an empty room, so it also gave people who hadn't been to the school open evenings a chance to see where the new library and "community space" will be when they open.
So, it was interesting to see and hear the instruments, but I don't think contemporary experimental music is quite my glass of tea.

New Schools

The pupils of Hay School have now moved from the old buildings, which are being pulled down, to the new building.
I did try to take a photo, but the fence is still up around the new school, and it was very difficult to get a good shot through the bars of the gate!
Maybe I'll try again when the fence comes down.

Meanwhile, the Brecon and Radnor Express reports that a new teaching block and sports hall will be built at Gwernyfed High School - which the County Council were trying to close down only two years ago. Now they are willing to spend £7.2 million on it. The original Victorian Mansion building will no longer be used for teaching, and they are hoping that some sort of arts organisation might be interested in taking it on - which would enhance the facilities for the High School pupils.