Hay Community Resilience Initiative - the Story so Far

 There have now been three Community Assemblies at the Swan Hotel to discuss the three aspects of the plan for Hay.

For the Food initiative, the plan is for Hay to become self-sufficient in locally grown food by 2030.  The priorities are to find a place that can serve as a Food Hub, to share information about food availability, and increase demand for local produce. There is also a need to make it easier to access land on which to grow food, support for growers and supporting food production in community gardens and public spaces.  The Hay group is now working with Bwyd Powys Food, as part of the South Powys Food Loop, and the plan is to develop a Hay Online Real Food Supermarket.  This will be where farmers and growers can sell their produce direct to a membership group of householders in Hay.

The Energy initiative has the ambitious target of becoming self-sufficient in energy by 2035, starting with mapping areas that could be used for energy production and engaging with stakeholders in the wider community, as well as schools locally.  The Hay Resilience Team was recently invited to be part of the Community Energy Wales conference at the Centre for Alternative Technology, and met groups from all over Wales who are doing similar things.

The Wellbeing initiative focused on the need for a Community Hub, training in first aid and listening skills, and making sure that activities and resources take into account accessibility, poverty and inclusion, to combat loneliness in the community.  The team are working on finding a space to house the Food Hub, Online Supermarket, drop-in centre for mental health and offices for the businesses involved in the project.

Obviously there is a lot of work to do, and the vast majority of it will have to be done by volunteers.  One group that has been giving a lot of behind the scenes help is the Powys Facilitators Team, run by Cllr Sian Cox.  A lot of help has also been given by PAVO.  If anyone wants to get involved, there is a link labelled Hay Resilience on the sidebar.

Eventually the Initiative will be self-funding, but until then grant funding is needed, and it takes time and expertise to apply for grants.  So this is a major focus of the team at the moment. 

Well Being Assembly

 This is the third of the meetings to discuss the Hay Community Resilience Initiative.  Previous meetings have been focussed on local food and local energy production - now it's the turn of Mental Health.

The keynote speaker at the meeting will be the Deputy Commissioner for Future Generations for Wales, Marie Broussau-Navarro.

Part of the discussion will be about defining what we mean by mental health and well-being, and then trying to work out what we can do as a community to improve people's mental health and well being.

Questions that the Assembly will be asking include how we, as a community, can catch people suffering from anxiety or mild depression before they need medical help, and how can we build a supportive community?

Tickets are free, but limited by the size of the room at the Swan, and the meeting will be held on Saturday 10th May from 2pm to 5pm.

The Food Assembly was held last year, and the ideas put forward then have evolved - now the Hay group is working closely with Bwyd Powys Food, which is developing a South Powys Food Loop, inspired by a scheme that is already running in the South East of England.  So Hay would have a Hub linked to that Loop of local food producers, to get the food to local consumers.

Hay Energy Assembly Part 2

 There was also a speaker from Llangattock Green Valleys, near Crickhowell, Simon Walter.  Now, I have a vested insterest in them, because I am a share holder.  I signed up with them when they were doing a stall at a local event - I forget what it was now.  They've been in existance since 2009, and have several micro-hydro electricity generators in the hills around Llangattock and Crickhowell, as well as a beekeeping project, a woodland project and other things.  

I think it was Simon who warned that setting up a local community energy company was a long, slow process, and it had to be done one step at a time - so our first step is to get as many people involved and enthusiastic about the project as possible.  Green Valleys did it by holding events in the five communities that their area covered.  This will be easier in Hay, because the population is much more centralised.  

Another thing they did was to have maps where people could mark where they thought were suitable sites for e.g. solar panels, and where were the "cherished spots" where they didn't want to see anything to do with energy generation.

In the last 18 months or so they've been trying to take their energy production to the next level, and the Green Valleys volunteer who came along was very enthusiastic about it.  Peter had started with very little knowledge about renewable energy, but he's got up to speed very quickly over the time he's been volunteering.

We'd run out of time for the film on solar energy, so we went straight into the second part of the meeting, which was to discuss the question put to us by the organisers:

"In an ideal world what do we, the people in this room, think are the best ways for us to gain community support and participation in generating community owned renewable energy locally and in setting up Hay Energy?"

We all thought that the map was a brilliant idea, and our table was also keen on "love bombing" the community - getting as much local publicity as possible for the project.  

As well as a facilitator and a note taker for each table (we got through a lot of post it notes!) the Assembly was also trialing some new tech which recorded each table's conversations via mobile phone, so there was a record that could be looked at later.

Our table also discussed some of the more practical ideas for energy generation, and the way that there's really nothing new in having micro-hydro schemes - there were several watermills locally in Victorian times, and one of them, up Cusop Dingle, was used to supply electricity to Brynmelin in 1911!

At the end, each table presented its findings to the wider assembly, and the organisers will go away and collate those findings and see which were most popular.

In May, there will be another Assembly, this time on Mental Well-Being.  The date, May 10th, was chosen so that the Welsh Commissioner for Future Generations (I think it was) could be present.  Mike Eccles met her by chance at another meeting, and she said she'd be very keen to come along to see what we were doing in Hay.

Energy Assembly

 I was going to wait until after Christmas to post this, but tickets are going fast, and space at the Swan is limited.

Last year, there was a citizens' assembly at the Swan on the theme of Food Resilience.  Lots of good ideas were generated, and the organisers have spent the last 10 months working with Welsh governmental and non-governmental agencies to get support and funding.  So it may have looked as if nothing much was happening, but there was a lot going on behind the scenes to set things up.  In the course of this, they've joined 35 organisations working on the Climate Issue in Wales, on Food, Energy and Well-Being, which are the three most important areas they want to concentrate on in Hay.

There is now funding in place to employ a Project Co-ordinator, who will provide professional support.

One of the visible results of last January's meeting is the Tuesday evening food market at Hay Castle.  They also want to support local growers and farmers, and grow the market for local produce.

So now it's time to launch the second "pillar" of the initiative - the Energy Assembly.  The idea behind this is that Hay can generate at least some of its own energy for local consumption.  The aim is for Hay to become self-sufficient in clean energy, and the Assembly is a means of getting all the interested parties in one place to come to a consensus about how to achieve this.

The Energy pillar is a vital part of the plans for the future.  If Hay decides to go for its own Community Energy company, within five to seven years, there should be enough money to create a Wealth Fund from the profits.  So energy will be cheaper than the big companies, and there will also be money to fund locally produced food and other initiatives.

The meeting will be at the Swan Hotel on Saturday 18th January, between 2pm and 5pm.  Space is limited, so the event is ticketed, but the tickets are free.

There will be a third meeting, in May for the third pillar of the initiative, on Mental Well-Being.

Shoplifters in Hay

 On Saturday I stopped by Gay-on-Wye, as I finally got round to picking up a copy of the book they've been promoting - The Betrayal of Thomas True by AJ West, a Georgian era gay love story and murder mystery.  

Tom had been getting in touch with other booksellers to spread the news that there were shoplifters in town - they took some clothes from Otherworldz at the craft centre in the morning and were caught on CCTV.  He hadn't got round to the Cinema Bookshop yet, so I went up to let them know.  Fortunately they had already heard through another part of the grapevine.

The good news is that the stolen clothes have been returned to Otherworldz!

They say they are going to give them a good wash, and donate them to a local homeless charity.

Discussion Groups at the Food Assembly

 So, the question we were considering, in our groups around the tables, was this:

"How might we support Hay-on-Wye, as a community, to become as self-sufficient as possible in sustainably-grown local food?  Eventually producing enough to feed the town and its environs, much as in the 1950s and 1960s?"

Around our table, the farmer (Richard, I think?) had recently joined a group of farmers called the Hay-on-Wye Cluster - he farms near Painscastle.  The group mostly produce meat, but they are applying for a loan to buy a grain mill for locally produced grain to make local bread, which would also include something called the Social Loaf.  They don't have any members that grow much in the way of vegetables yet.  I asked if Primrose Farm was involved, but they haven't been approached yet.  There was some discussion of the possibility of Keiran at the greengrocers being able to co-ordinate vegetable growers, since he sources as much as he can locally, so knows who is doing what.

It was felt, around the table that it was important to involve the small shops in Hay like the greengrocers and Small Farms butchers - building on a framework that already exists.  Geraint Powell had said in his short speech that he sold meat direct to the public - but none of us around the table knew how to find out who was doing that or how to get involved as customers.

Allotments and market gardens were also felt to be very important.  John the retired farmer was very keen on the idea of getting as many local people as possible to grow their own food, whether on an allotment or as volunteers in a CSA or other model of market garden.  One thing that nobody wanted was for some outside group to come in and start a market garden - this was something that had to come from the grassroots of Hay as a community.  Someone mentioned that there are around 300 market gardens across Wales at the moment, but to have a good chance of feeding the majority of the population, something like 1,000 are needed.  Allotments and market gardens can produce much more food per acre than conventional fields with single crops.

We talked about the HADSCAL plans for the community hub around the doctors' surgery, and how their plans for allotments could start right away, without waiting for any of the other parts of their plan.

After about half an hour of discussion, each table was asked to provide three main points to the assembly.

Table 1 had been talking about vegetable boxes and Incredible Edible.

Table 2 suggested vending machines around Hay for fresh produce, and stressed the need for co-ordination between everyone who wanted to get involved.

Table 3 wanted more CSAs, but access to land is a problem, so their next point was to communicate with landowners to identify land that could be used.  They also wanted to see more education around food and cooking.

Table 4 wanted to map the assets that already exist, and find out what the demand is locally, as well as the needs of local people.  They were also keen on education in cooking and growing food.

Table 5 mentioned sourcing land, and education.

Table 6 wanted to see a co-ordination of information - networking, as well as upscaling from any small initiatives, and mentioned access to land, especially for allotments.  Planning law is also a problem for market gardens, because of the difficulty of getting permission for growers to live on their land while they are working it.

Table 7 also liked the idea of vending machines, finding ways to create more demand for local food, and support to growers.

Table 8 wanted to see children involved in cooking, which they said was no longer part of the National Curriculum, and to see more communal eating opportunities, like Bethesda Chapel's communal meals.

and Table 9 wanted information sharing and investment in infrastructure.

After that, we all filled in forms.  One was to indicate what we could do to help practically, and one was for the Welsh government as a requirement for them releasing the second half of their funding. The other sponsors of the event were Extinction Rebellion.

 I always have problems thinking about what to say to open ended questions, but for the question about getting more involved I mentioned that we needed a more frequent bus service, and for the question about what was stopping people from getting more involved, I said that people need enough time and energy to commit to something like this, and getting a Universal Basic Income scheme off the ground would help a lot!

Then there was time for a few questions from the floor, and Michael mapped out what would be happening next.  The points recorded by all the note-takers were going to be taken away and analysed, and they would be looking through the forms for practical help which would give an indication of what it was possible to do, given the people who were available to do it.

One lady from the audience invited people to contact her so that she could get something started about a vending machine.

So that's what the state of play is at the moment.

Hay Food Assembly

 I arrived a little early at the Swan, to drop off my donation of biscuits to go with the free tea and coffee that was being provided.  Michael was giving some last minute direction to the facilitators who would be working with the rest of the people there during the afternoon.

Inside the function room, there were 9 or 10 round tables to sit at - I found a place just under the TV camera, at table 6, along with Janet from HOWLS, the Hay Library group, and a lady from Swansea who was acting as the note-taker for the table - she'd come up with some others because a group in Swansea wanted to try something similar, so she was seeing how it worked in practice.  There were also a couple of farmers on our table (one retired) and a lady who just wanted to see what was going on.  And Wayland, our facilitator, of course, who was there to keep the conversation going and stop anyone who was speaking over other participants.  (we were a very civilised group, so he didn't need to do much to keep us on track!).

There were a couple of tables at the back for anyone who didn't want to be filmed or photographed.

The idea for the forum came out of Hay Library CIC, and this is the first of three forums on different topics - the others are energy (can Hay do anything to generate our own energy?) and well-being (intervening with mental health problems before it gets bad enough for the NHS to become involved).

So this one was about food.  Can Hay get anywhere near self-sufficiency in food?  It used to be the case that local farmers fed local people, but now the supply chains can be very long indeed.  Even Kieran at the greengrocers has to travel to Birmingham to get some of his stock, though he tries to source as much as he can nearer to home, and some of the produce he buys in Birmingham will have come from much further away (we still can't grow bananas very well in the UK!)

The meeting started with a series of short films or speeches about the sort of things that are happening around the country to improve local access to fresh produce.  

First, the Mayor of South Yorkshire gave a quick introduction to how Citizen's Assemblies work - he organised one in his area to get an idea of what the local communities needed to be done.

Then there was a short film on Permaculture, which is a way of designing the landscape to provide food and shelter and all the other necessities of life in a sustainable way.

Katie Hardy spoke about Growing Local, the 20 acre site near Hereford where she's Head Grower.  This is a CSA - a Community Share Agriculture scheme where share holders pay in advance for food boxes, and the market garden grows the food.  They're also planning a cafe and a learning garden for schools.

The next film was for Incredible Edible, showing a scheme in Wrexham where volunteers plant fruit trees and vegetables in public spaces for anyone to harvest.  The council allowed them to plant on a piece of waste ground in one of the housing estates, on the basis that they couldn't make it any worse!

Then there was a film about LEAP - an organisation that provides loans for all sorts of growing and farming projects.  Funding can be a real problem for initiatives like this, but as well as LEAP there are grants available if you know where to apply for them.

Finally Geraint Powell, from Cabalva Farm, talked a bit about Regenerative Agriculture and what they are doing at Cabalva.

So, the audience now had an idea of what was possible - the next stage was to discuss it around the tables....

Hay Food Resilience Meeting

 I've just come back from an afternoon at the Swan.  The function room was packed (and there was a waiting list for the free tickets, which is why I didn't publicise it here ahead of time), but it was a fascinating meeting, and I'll be writing more about it over the coming days.

Plans for Community Facilities

 I went to the HADSCAL (Hay and District Sports and Community Association Ltd.) consultation after work, and found the group doing the presentations sitting round a table in the middle of the library.  They'd been on the go since 1.30pm, and a lot of people had come in to find out about the proposals, so they were pretty tired!  

Many years ago, there was a plan to build a community centre on the land next to the doctor's surgery which is owned by HADSCAL, but sadly it didn't work out in the end.  This plan is a bit different.  It still includes a community building, with space for the Dial-a-Ride office and the Youth Club, as well as rooms to hire out, but there is more going on outdoors.  This includes a bike track and a small sports court, for things like basketball and five a side football.  They also want a gym, and behind the surgery they want to have a community growing area to produce food and give space to socialise.  There was a young lady there who was asking about play space for smaller children - she said she brings her children into the library all the time.

There is also space near the road for some Business Starter Units.  The income from the business units would be used to fund the majority of the running costs for the site, with further income coming from the hiring out of rooms and offices.  All the buildings will be as environmentally friendly as possible (which also makes financial sense) with solar panels and solar tiles on the roofs and on canopies over the parking areas, and grey water recycling.

They said that there had been some interest during the day from councillors from Cusop Community Council - they took away some of the flyers to show at their meeting, which is this evening.  They have plans for some sports facilities in Cusop, but they don't want to duplicate anything that is planned in Hay.  Someone from Llanigon Council showed an interest, too.

HADSCAL are running a survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7SYHQYF or people can make their views known by emailing info@hadscal.org

Volunteer Fair

 When I got to the Castle, I could hear voices in the background, but I couldn't see anybody, so I asked the people who were moving crates around - presumably the art exhibition going back to where it had come from.  They sent me upstairs to the Clore Learning Room, which was a bit small, really, for everything that was squeezed into it.

I think I got a leaflet from every stall, but I might have missed someone in the crush:

At one end was On the Verge, from Talgarth.  They are dedicated to "preserving and creating wildlife habitats through education and influence".  So they go into schools, and look after patches of countryside.  Sadly, I got the message that their website is dangerous when I tried to look, so I don't know any more than that.

At the other end of the room was Clan, Cultivating Learning and Nature CIC (there were several CICs present - it stands for Community Interest Companies, and is a good way of getting organised as a voluntary body.  The Cheesemarket is run by a CIC).  There was no-one there to chat to when I passed, but they seem quite similar to On the Verge, being concerned with "ecology, craft and horticultural activities to support wellbeing", and "being outdoors and using natural resources".  They're also involved in educational activities.  Their website is www.clan-cic.org, and they're based in Herefordshire. 

Also at that end of the room was the Brecon Repair Cafe information - Hay Repair Cafe had a much more active stall near the door.  The Brecon Repair Cafe meets every last Saturday of the month from 11am to 2pm except August and December, at the Market Vaults in Brecon.  They are also a collection point for Tools for Self Reliance.

The chaps from Men's Sheds Cymru were a cheerful bunch.  They've been making swift boxes and have other projects on the go.  This is a community space for men to connect, converse and create, and is also at Brecon Market Vaults.  They have two websites listed, neither of which works at the moment, but they can be contacted on vbxbrecon@gmail.com

The Black Mountain Lions were there - they get involved in a variety of local projects.  On display were pill containers to be kept in the fridge with emergency medication, so that paramedics can go straight to it if someone has a fall or other medical emergency at home.

Hay Football Club had a table, too.

Then there were several opportunities to work with animals.  

Bryngwyn Riding for the Disabled Association has been running for quite a while, taking children and adults riding.  You don't need any experience with horses to volunteer for this, and helping them can count towards the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Welsh Baccalaureate and Pony Club badges.  Their website is www.ridinginwales.com, and the umbrella organisation is www.rda.org.uk

Pentre Farm is a family run small holding at Old Radnor, and they have all sorts of animals - the picture on their flyer is of a donkey and some goats.  Lots of opportunities to help to look after the animals there.  They also run Forest School activities and take animals to care homes and schools.  Their website doesn't seem to be up and running yet, but they can be contacted at sam@pentrefarm.co.uk and via Facebook.

Another lady had her therapy dog with her (and what a sweetie!).  She runs The Animalwise Therapy Foundation, and is a qualified Play Therapist, Filial Therapist and Animal Assisted Play Therapist who has just started working for herself, though she still does work for the organisation she had been working for full time.  Her website is www.theanimalwisetherapyfoundation.org and she's based in one of the offices over the British Legion Club in Hay.

PAVO were there as well, of course, since they've been active in Powys for many years as a sort of umbrella body for volunteer organisations.

I had the longest conversation of the evening with the lady from the Bronllys Well Being Park, but I'll talk about that in my next post.

A Warm Welcome at Bethesda Church

 On the first and third Thursday of each month, Bethesda Church (opposite the dentists) will be open from 2pm to 4pm for coffee, cake, tea and chat.  There will also be crafts, games, activities and support.  And it will be warm!

Entry is free, and the church can provide transport for anyone who needs it - they can be contacted on 07891 491726 or s.illingsworth@gmail.com

Feeding Hungry Children

This sign has appeared in Cusop - picture shared on Facebook by Sean O'Donoghue.

There's been a lot of anger in the last few days about the vote in Parliament in which Tory MPs voted to allow children to go hungry over half-term by refusing to continue free school meals for them.  

Our MP, Fay Jones, was one of those 322 MPs.  However, there is a statement on her website saying that this is not what she voted for and she is working to find long term solutions to support those most in need.

The wording of the Opposition Motion is pretty clear on what the vote was about though: "That this House calls on the Government to continue directly funding provision of free school meals over the school holidays until Easter 2021 to prevent over a million children going hungry during this crisis."

As the handwritten sign above makes clear, the voucher scheme for free school meals is continuing in Wales, and all over England charities and small businesses and councils are working to ensure that children do not go hungry. 

(They shouldn't have to do this.  It should be the responsibility of the State).

In Hay, good people have stepped forward to help, too:

The Three Tuns are offering free children's meals over half term.  These have to be pre-ordered, because of lockdown, to take away.  They are not enquiring about people's individual circumstances, but offering this for all children's meals.

Hay Takeaway (the chip shop) are also offering free children's meals from Tuesday 27th to Saturday 31st for anyone who asks for them.

Also ready to help are Trudy Stedman (Mayor of Hay), Gareth Ratcliffe and Fiona Howard, who are the community support co-ordinators.

There is also the food bank at the British Legion run by Kelvyn Jenkins, who is also exploring the idea of a cooked meal service for people who need it.

 

Brecon Road Bus Shelter

 The bus shelter on Brecon Road is no longer in use - as a bus shelter, that is.  Gareth Ratcliffe, and his son Lincoln, have been giving it a new coat of paint.  A bookshelf has been installed, and it is being transformed into a Community book and DVD swap area.  It's ready for donations now.

Community Support

I've just had a leaflet pushed through my door with Community Support information during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Not everyone is online, where there are helpful pages on Facebook and elsewhere, and this leaflet is meant to reach everyone.

PAVO is co-ordinating the formal volunteers - people who will drive equipment between different hospitals, and people who have a DBS check so that they can go into people's homes to provide care if needed, and those with the relevant skills to help other services.
There are also informal volunteers who can help out in the community, and anyone who wants to join these volunteers should email covid19communityteam@gmail.com and let them know what they are prepared to do, where they are based, and what skills they might have.
There's also a reminder to stay at home if you have a high temperature or a new, continuous cough. There is a helpline at https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/ for advice, even if the symptoms are mild. It is also possible to ring 111 if you are feeling very unwell.

On the other side of the leaflet, there is information for people who might need the help of the volunteers. This can be for:
food and essentials shopping
dog walking
general chat
help around the home
delivery of cooked meals
any other assistance.

There are also contact numbers for Gareth Ratcliffe (07974 353121), Trudy Stedman (07866 818600), Josie Pearson (07875 000750) and Fiona Howard (07581 454278)
The PAVO Community Connector can be reached on 01597 828649 or community.connectors@pavo.org.uk
There is also a website with information on local shops and services at www.hayonwye.info

I've already been out for bread and milk for my neighbour.

Local Responses to the Pandemic

It all seems quite normal out there (apart from the lack of toilet rolls in the Co-op!), but local people and businesses are starting to take the pandemic of Covid-19 seriously.
When I went into the chemist's over the weekend, the women at the till were wearing helmets with clear face guards, white coats and blue gloves.
Lucinda's hairdressers now has a sign up asking people to re-book their appointments if they have any symptoms (high temperature, cough) and not to come to have their hair done if they have just come back from a foreign holiday.
There's a hand sanitiser dispenser taped to the outside door of the Granary.
Meanwhile, on Facebook, there's a new page called Hay/Talgarth Community Covid 19 Support. They've been getting a list together of people who are willing to help vulnerable people locally - things like delivering groceries to people who are self-isolating, or phoning up isolated people to chat.
Cat Wylie-Fox will be live streaming her regular 2pm dog walking as a bit of entertainment for isolated people, on the Facebook page The Quarantine Break.
In Talgarth, they are thinking of using the old Coronation Café on the central square as a central point for supplies - the library was considered, but now it's part of the school building it might be best for older people and people with suppressed immune systems to avoid areas where children might be carrying the virus without symptoms themselves (or without serious symptoms).
In Hay the library was suggested as a central point too - it does have a separate entrance from the school building.
As a delaying tactic, to stop the virus from spreading so fast, Powys County Council have put out guidance. They are saying that anyone with a high temperature and/or a continuous cough should self-isolate for seven days. The County Council is also making it possible for as many of its staff as possible to work from home. Public Health Wales has advice on self-isolation. People are being asked to call 111 only if they feel they cannot cope with their symptoms at home, or their symptoms get worse.
The organisers of the Facebook page (including Gareth Ratcliffe) are now waiting for national and regional advice so they can plan for the best help to give and see where it will be needed.

The Bakers Table in Talgarth are ready to deliver bread in the Talgarth area, and the Rhydspence Inn does takeaways. Nonna Caterina Italian Food are preparing for being unable to operate their pop-up evenings by offering a Friday and Saturday delivery service of handmade pasta and dessert. All the pop-up evenings they have already arranged are happening, unless the advice changes.

Updated to add: The Science Café has cancelled future meetings for the foreseeable future, and the next Hay Music concert is also cancelled.

Tea and Chat at Cartref

Cartref Care Home is starting a new initiative. Every alternate Friday, starting from February 1st, they are hosting Tea and Chat Sessions from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. The aim is to offer friendship and support to older people in the community.
The sessions will not just be tea - they're planning crafts, visiting speakers, board games, reflexology, pamper sessions, music, singing, jigsaws, poetry, painting, flower arranging, basket making, pottery, gentle exercise, and more!
Also home made cake!

They have also asked for donations of knitting wool and gardening magazines to be dropped off at Cartref, and are asking for anyone with a skill they would like to pass on or something interesting to talk about to get in touch with them on 01497 820621.

A Thank You Note

Community Fair

It's still in full swing up at the Buttermarket, but I went up earlier this morning and took a few photos.
Tim Pugh told me that they managed to squeeze 7 different groups into the Buttermarket - including Bryngwyn Riding for the Disabled, the Keith Leighton Fund, the Model Railway group, Fairtrade, HOWLS, and Hayfield Garden. Some are selling jumble or plants to raise money, and there's the inevitable tombola. I got a delightful round tin with a domed lid, printed with an antique map of the world for £1 - I don't know what I'm going to put in it yet, but it was just too lovely to leave on the stall.
The chap at the Model Railway stall - they've brought along a small section of track and an engine to run on it - asked me to mention that the exhibition is only open on Saturdays at the moment, from 11am to 3pm. There is a small admission charge - and it's well worth it!

The Town Council are there too, with their new newsletter. It usefully lists all the members of the council on the back, with contact details (and the Town Clerk), and it explains what the council's responsibilities are, and mentions the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/haytowncouncil, and the website at www.haytowncouncil.gov.uk. They're hoping to make this a regular publication, along with a regular stall at the Thursday Market so that local people can meet councillors and discuss their concerns.

Community Rallies Round for Old People's Christmas Party

It started with a comment on Gareth Ratcliffe's Facebook page, asking when the Christmas Party for the older residents of Hay would be, because the commenter hadn't recieved an invitation yet.
I missed last month's Council meeting - they always organise it - but at the meeting before that, they had decided not to hold the party at the Swan again, because of cost, and were looking at other options.
Pretty soon all sorts of local people were commenting on Gareth's Facebook page, all with the aim of making sure that a party went ahead. Pughs/Londis offered prizes for the raffle, various people offered to be waiters and waitresses, and Gareth organised a meeting for everybody who wanted to help to get together.
So the party is going to happen on 12th January, and the invitations should be going out now.

Turning on the Christmas Lights

It's been the Winter Festival this weekend, and at the beginning of the Festival, the town also came together to turn on the Christmas Lights.
The local celebrities chosen to push the plunger this year were Vera North and Betty Weir, of the North Weir Trust, which has been helping local people to undertake special educational projects for over fifteen years.
I've known about Betty and Vera and the Trust for years. I've bought plants from them - it's one of the ways they raise funds. They also have coffee mornings and table sales, and fees for public speaking, and accept donations - but no grants of any kind.
They explained that, wanting to give something back to the community that had welcomed them, they wanted to put something in their wills. The solicitor asked them why they didn't do what they wanted to do while they were still alive, so they could get the pleasure of it, and that's how it started.
I had no idea, too, that the grants enable people to take up opportunities world wide. One beneficiary went to Nepal for three months, to care for disadvantaged children in Kathmandu. Another went to an orphanage in Tanzania, and another assisted at a clinic in Kenya. It's not all aid to the third world, either - one grant went to a student completing a mini-research project in the Nuclear Medicine Physics department of Harvard Medical School, another grant was used to have a school visit to London's theatreland, and another helped a student on a Farrier Access Course at Holme Lacy in Herefordshire.
So the Trust has had many and varied benefits over the years, and looks set to continue the good work.
Before the big moment, though, the tent (used for the rest of the weekend for the Food Festival and Hay Does Vintage) was open with local groups - there were tombolas and cakes and toys and some local shops selling a variety of Christmassy things - Dandelion Wishes flower shop, Eighteen Rabbit with toys made out of flip flops washed up on a beach in Kenya (it's something to do with the ocean currents - they get millions of the things), children's books from the Cinema Bookshop, The Thoughtful Gardener (with Castello de Haia soap). Sunderlands the estate agents were handing out calendars, and there was holly from someone's garden.
In the Buttermarket there was Santa's post box and mulled wine.
There was also the Community Choir singing a medley of Christmas songs, including one that was a mash-up of about ten together, starting with The Twelve Days of Christmas and including Frosty the Snowman and The Hills are Alive. They were followed by Hay School - I liked the one with actions, trying to convince Santa that they had been good all year!