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
I don't use my iron very often. My mum bought it for me when I went away to college, so when I noticed that the flex was fraying last time I used it, I worked out that I'd had it for forty three years!
So I went down to the electrical shop by the Drill Hall, to see what they had in stock. I admitted to the chap there that, although my old iron was a steam iron, I never put water in it.
"We've got a dry iron!" he said, and picked one out for me for £20.
If it lasts as long as the last one, I'll never need to buy an iron again!
My Young Man was here last week (hence no posting on this blog) and one of the things he really wanted to do while he was here was to go and sing at the Baskie's weekly acoustic session. He had the words to Ghost Riders in the Sky all printed out ready.
So I got in touch with Bob (who runs the sessions), who got in touch with Ellie (who drives to the Baskie from Hay), and we were all set.
It was such fun to be back! There isn't an interval with chips any more, and it was a horrible, rainy night, so not many people turned up, but the ones that did sang some familiar songs, and I sang some of my repertoire that I knew back to front and sideways - I didn't want to sing something that I'd lose the tune half way through for my first outing for a while.
This is me, channelling Judith Durham of the Seekers, with We'll Build a World of Our Own.
It's a long time since I saw the square so packed with people!
Quite a few of the shops in the centre of town had stayed open late - Dugan's Patisserie and Timeless Treasures on the Pavement, and others closer to the Buttermarket.
In the Buttermarket itself were local groups like Hay School and the Scouts, fundraising - there was a tombola, and home made Christmas tree decorations.
The main square had lots of small covered stalls, rather than the marquee of previous years, selling turkey and pork rolls, baked potatoes, Mac and cheese, pizza, and mulled wine, mulled cider and beer.
At the top of the square, going into Castle Street, were two traction engines, one of which had a trailer to give rides around town with Santa. Behind them was the fire engine.
In another small tent by the Castle steps the Community Choir were crammed in shoulder to shoulder, singing Christmas songs.
There was also a handcart selling toys that lit up with flashing lights.
I bought a light saber (so that was me, and a bunch of seven year olds). It's a red, double ended one, like Darth Maul has in the Star Wars films. I showed it to a friend in the crowd, and he said he always knew I was evil!
Michael Morpurgo did the honours this year, and the square was completely packed for the count down, with people on every terrace around the Castle as well.
The Hay Shantymen were performing at a concert in Hay Castle the other night, and during the performance they were presented with one of those giant fundraising cheques.
They have raised over £7,000 for the RNLI with their singing, with performances under the bridge at the Bean Box, and elsewhere.
They were joined at the Castle by another group, from London, the Bellows Fellows.
The guest of honour at the Great Switch On will now be Michael Morpurgo, as Sally Phillips can't make it.
Off to Bronllys on the bus for my booster Covid jab this morning.
I've been offered lifts, but this time it was so easy - the 9.15am bus from Hay, and the 10.20am bus back from Bronllys.
I got off the bus at the roundabout by the hospital gates with a chap I know slightly, and we went in together. There were no queues, and the hall has been re-arranged. They don't have the blue tents any more - you get injected at desks spread across the room. There's a line of chairs near the exit if anyone wants to sit down, but you don't have to wait for five or ten minutes any more. You can go straight out.
I wanted to have a look at the bookshelf in Bronllys bus shelter, and found a copy of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett. While I was looking, I was chatting to the chap from the bus, who was telling me all about his family, who have been farming in this area for generations. He talked about his grandmother, who used to sell poultry on Hay Market, and the way various members of his family took in evacuees during the War - there was a big family of kids who were split up to go to different farms, but they all belonged to his relatives, so the kids could stay together.
He is also very interested in public transport in the area, and would love to see Hay become a hub for more routes up and down the Marches - or failing that, at least get an electronic board for the Hay bus stops to show when the buses are due, like the one they have in Talgarth.
We chatted all the way back to Hay.
