The Strettons

NEARLY NEW SALE - Stepping Stones Nursery is holding a nearlynew sale at the Parish Centre on Saturday from 10am-noon when there will be toys, bric-a-brac, baby equipment, clothes, books and household goods together with a Fairtrade stall and tombola.

Refreshments will be available and admission is free.

COFFEE MORNING - The Mencap coffee morning will take place at the URC Hall on Saturday from 10am. There will be all the usual stalls with cakes, bric-a-brac, bring-and-buy and tombola. Entry is £1 to include coffee and biscuits.

APPLES - A Local Apple Outlook will be held at Entertaining Elephants on Sunday, from 11am- 3.30pm, when John Lloyd will have a stall with many different kinds of local apples. If you were unlucky enough to have your apples, pears, quinces or walnuts affected by codling moth the Shropshire Smallholders Group suggests the use of a nematode as a biological control together with pheromone traps and spraying. Or try wrapping a corrugated cardboard strip around the tree trunk in May and August to trap the larvae, and burn the bands when removed.

WORKSHOP - A creative papermaking workshop with Pam Rowan is planned for October 24, at Mayfair. The £10 fee includes all materials, use of equipment and tea and coffee, but booking is essential by ringing Mayfair on 01694 722077.

RECITAL - A recital of organ music to suit all tastes, from Bach to Percy Grainger, will be held at St Laurence’s Church at 7.30pm on October 24, with Richard Walker at the organ, and light refreshments will be available afterwards at the Parish Centre. No charge for admission but there will be a retiring collection.

GARAGE PRAISE - The next Garage Praise will be at Church Stretton School on October 23 at 7.30pm when Rev Richard Hill will be the speaker. All are welcome at this free event.

WALKERS’ CONFERENCE - This weekend sees the Walkers are Welcome national conference at Church Stretton School.

QUIZZES - There will be a quiz night at the Yew Tree Inn in All Stretton on Monday, in aid of the PDSA. Entry is £2.50 per person.

Eaton-u-Heywood Church will benefit from the proceeds of a quiz evening at Ticklerton Village Hall on October 30, at 7.30pm. Entry is £6 for adults and £4.50 for primary school children. To book a place or to find out more ring 01694 723435.

Methodist Wives and Friends will also hold a quiz night in aid of SHAPE on November 9, at the District Club, in place of the regular monthly meeting.

FLICKS - This week there will be a screening of Morris: A Life with Bells On at Acton Scott Village Hall on Tuesday and at All Stretton Village Hall on October 23, at 7.30pm. This is a certificate 12 film based around the English folk dance and is not just an innocent pub pastime involving hankywaving and bearded men with staffs, but has its politics-laden ultra-competitive side too. The Millsham Morris troop and its avant-garde leader Derecq Twist are determined to achieve Morris perfection!

AUTUMN FAIR - An autumn fair at the Methodist Church Hall on October 24 will have stalls selling new and as-new accessories and clothing, crafts, bric-a-brac, souvenirs and household goods from 10am-1pm. Refreshments will be available.

LITTLE STRETTON HARVEST SUPPER - A harvest supper and auction will be held at Little Stretton Village Hall tomorrow (Friday), starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £6 and are being sold through the Village Store.

MONEY RAISED - The Macmillan coffee morning held at Little Stretton Village Hall raised £190.

FUNGAL FORAY - On a cold and damp Saturday morning a recent fungal foray organised by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust led by John Hughes set off to the Poll Cottage area of the Longmynd which proved to be a good setting as the dampness of the area yielded more than two dozen different fungi. These were identified by John who then spoke briefly about their properties, which made the excursion most interesting.

SENIOR CITIZENS - The Friday meeting of the Senior Citizens’ Club was chaired by Janet Poundford who welcomed everyone by telling them a funny story. Everyone was delighted to hear that the visit of the Craven Arms Men’s Chorus had been a success although no figures were yet available as the treasurer was away. There was a reminder that the next meeting, on October 23, would take the form of a lunch in the URC Hall provided by the committee and arranged for 1pm.

Transport had been arranged for those who needed it. Mary and Allen then gave their talk and slide show of things they saw on their holiday in Iceland, and everyone was eager to know more during question time. As the treasurer , Derek Haywood, was soon due to celebrate his 80th birthday a special cake was served up with the teas and winners in the raffle were Jean evans, Pat Price, Nan Hymas, Olive Allington, Grace Williams and Dora Wright.

BEETLE DRIVE - Church Preen Village Hall is the venue for a beetle drive on October 24, at 7pm, when everyone should take their own drinks and glasses to accompany the light supper which is included in the £7 ticket.

CAMERA CLUB - On Wednesday, there will be an audio-visual presentation by members on Aircraft and Tanzania and we shall hear the results of the first club competition. The meeting starts at 7.30pm in the URC Hall and all are welcome.

SCHOOLS - The open evening at Church Stretton School was well received by visitors who were also invited to leave comments and questions at the end of their visit.

Two open mornings followed. The headteacher has held another of his afternoon tea sessions when another set of pupils received certificates to celebrate special achievements. An information evening for year six pupils will be held on Monday at 6pm. The school has had some notable sports results recently in football, rugby and netball, winning most matches. The under-14s were winners in the South Shropshire tournament while the under-16s came fourth. The under-11 girls’ football ‘A’ team, qualified for the second stage of the English Schools FA Trophy. At St Lawrence’s Primary School a European day of languages is planned to celebrate links with our continental neighbours.

Congratulations to Alex Watts who was presented with a prize from Stretton Climate Care for his idea for saving energy in the future by using wood fuel from sustainable sources to heat a garden hot tub.

He had built a model of his idea. A non-uniform day is planned with a theme of wearing a silly hat to raise funds for the Chihangu School, and a special Harvest assembly for classes one to four will be held at St Laurence’s Church to which parents and carers are invited . The collection will go to Harvest Help.

The Friends of the School host a quiz at the School tomorrow (Friday) with a ploughman’s supper included in the £5 ticket.