Bishops Castle open house, carnival performers, stone skimming day, Roman wall talk and more

HELPING OUT AT CARNIVAL - Bishops Castle Carnival is on Sunday July 7 and like all events of this type, much depends on volunteers to ensure that the event runs smoothly and everyone has a good time. If you can help out at the carnival call Anthony Jones on 01588630079 or 07814215180. The carnival website is www.bishopscastlecarnival.co.uk.

FOUR TOP BANDS AT CARNIVAL - Three local bands have agreed to perform live on stage at the Bishops Castle Carnival on July 7. Local group Fight the Bear will be leading the festivities and they will be supported throughout the afternoon by two other successful local groups - Nuclear Weasels and Thin Vision. The carnival will include a whole host of events including dog agility shows; children’s races and games; donkey rides; hog roast; town bands; vintage tractors, cars and a steam engine plus a wide range of refreshments from tea tents to a licensed bar. There are numerous sideshows that include tombola, greasy pole competition, crockery smash, darts, top hat competition and a tin can alley plus much more. These events will be preceded by the carnival parade, which travels through the streets of Bishops Castle on its way to the showground, starting at 1pm.

£1000 RAISED - A recent book sale in Bishops Castle public hall raised over £1100 in support of the town hall renovation fund. Other fundraisers in town will benefit from the books and CDs left over. The carnival committee, the Severn Hospice shop, the House on Crutches museum and the Wintles residents, whose table top sale on June 16 will benefit Bishops Castle Community Hospital and Dogsbodies.

The Wintles residents are kindly going to continue to sell more books for the town hall then too. The remainder of the books are to be collected by the South Shropshire Furniture Scheme, for sale in their Ludlow shop. Help with fundraising for the town hall is always welcome, call 01588 638141.

BUSY BEAVERS AND CUBS - Bishops Castle Beavers and Cubs have had another successful half term, with an outdoor sports night, a wide game on the playground, a walk in Colstey Woods and a visit to the fire station in Bishops Castle. On the nights inside the Beavers have played games and worked towards their badges, bringing in models they have made at home.

The next meeting is today (Thursday) at Bishops Castle primary school.

Beavers meet 5.30 to 6.30pm; Cubs 6.45 to 8.15pm.

ROMAN WALL - Bishops Castle WI met on May 21 to hear a talk about Hadrian’s Wall. The speaker was Bob Biddy, who had walked from South Shields on the eastern end of the wall to Ravenglass in the west. Mr Biddy was full of fascinating facts about the Romans, telling members that the 73 mile wall comprised two walls, with the gap between them filled with rubble. It was 3.6 metres high, 2.4 metres wide with 16 forts. After the Romans left Britain many of the stones were stolen to build roads and houses but other sections are still in existence. The June meeting of the WI will be a trip out, so the next meeting in the Methodist hall, Bishops Castle is on July 16 with a talk on fraud in the NHS. It begins at 7.30pm.

BELLAMONDA - The next circle dance evening is on July 13 at 7.30pm in the church barn, Bishops Castle. Call Rosa James on 01588 630648 to find out more.

STONE SKIMMING DAY - The British Stone Skimming Championships will be at Walcot Lake, Lydbury North on June 30 between 12 noon and 5pm. Entry onto the field and parking are free and it costs £3 for four skimming stones.

(£2.50 for juniors). There are categories for under 12s, under 16s, adults and over 65s (male and female in all four). The winning attempt will be judged on distance not the number of bounces but the stone must bounce at least three times. Only stones supplied by the organisers can be used.

Other fun and games during the day cost 60p a go and include rolling the stone, piling stones, throwing the tennis ball and stone the crows. The event is in aid of Prostate Cancer and all prizes are simple hand painted stones. The record for the open category stands at 86 metres.

REVISITING ENERGY SURVEY CLIENTS - Staff at the Light Foot energy saving service welcomed the public to a coffee and chat morning in their offices above Bishops Castle pharmacy.

Mandy Brick, the Light Foot coordinator said the group had a number of new projects planned, including revisting people who have had an energy use survey.

NORBURY CEILIDH - Organisers of the Upper Onny Country Show are holding a ceilidh at Norbury village hall to raise funds for next year’s event. The ceilidh is on June 29 with doors open at 7.30pm and dancing at 8pm. The Shrewsbury band Gallop will play and there is also a barbecue and bar, tickets cost £7.

MAINSTONE WI - Travelled to Stokesay Castle recently on a very cold and wet May evening. They were met in the walled garden by Victoria Martin, who showed the party around and explained how hard work had transformed the area into a productive and beautiful garden. Tea and cakes were served later in the bothy, with marrow wine and dandelion wine.

Members then went on to the Hundred House at Purslow for a short evening when Cynthia Jones was congratulated on winning the Shropshire WI County Bursary, worth £200. Members were reminded about the talent show to be held in Bishops Castle. The completion winners for the buttonhole competition were Margaret Adams, Brenda Deakins and Miriam Ellison. The speaker for the meeting on July 9 is Catherine Galliers whose subject is quilting and applique, 7.30pm in Mainstone village hall.

MIDSUMMER REJOICING WEEKEND - Bishops Castle parish church welcomes everyone to their midsummer rejoicing weekend on Saturday. The celebrations begin with a fete in the churchyard and church barn at 2pm.

Attractions include children’s activities, stalls, a prize draw, teas, tours of the church tower, music from the Bishops Castle Orchestra and a special brew of Bellringers’ Beer. Sunday sees the traditional rush cart procession leave Stone House at 10.30am and process around the town before ending up at the parish church for the rush-bearing service at 11am. Teams of local Morris dancers will accompany the rushcart and they will also be dancing afterwards in the churchyard, where the bellringers have organised a barbecue.

CAR SCHEME - The new Bishops Castle pay as you go car scheme was launched on June 17. A brand new Shropshire Co-wheels pay as you go Ford Focus EcoBoost was on display and local residents came along to find out more about the car and how the scheme works. The car, which is based in Bishops Castle, can be booked for as little as one hour and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Cowheels Shropshire is a not for profit organisation. Presently it has cars available for use in Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Bishops Castle. More information can be found at www.cowheels.

org.uk/shropshire.

BISHOPS CASTLE DIARY, June 21 - 27 FRIDAY: Marches Choir plant sale outside Bishops Castle pharmacy at 9.30am • Business start- up boot camp for people under 30 at Enterprise House, Bishops Castle from 11am -1pm, free, call 01588 638038.

• Boccia at Grange Rd community centre, Bishops Castle, open to all, call 0795 6062454.

• Inter-parish rounders match at Norbury village hall, 12 noon.

• Sin Eater Festival at Bridges pub, Ratlinghope.

SATURDAY: Bishops Castle Patients Group open house in the public hall, Bishops Castle, 11am - 1pm, call 07967 306615.

• Bishops Castle midsummer rejoicing fete at the vicarage from 2pm, tea in church barn.

SUNDAY: Bishops Castle midsummer rejoicing rushcart procession from Stone House, 10.30am. Midsummer service and barbecue, 11am.

• Dragonfly walk led by Sue McLamb, Walcot Lake, Lydbury North, free, 12.30pm, book on 01588 680590.

MONDAY: Footpath Walking Group, Bishops Castle, four to six miles, meet Harley Jenkins St car park, Bishops Castle at 9.30am, call 01588 630165.

THURSDAY: Film Song for Marion (PG) at SpArC Theatre, Bishops Castle.

£4.50/£3, 7pm, book on 01588 630321/ 638038.

If you have any news for the paper, or a coming event to promote, please hand a note addressed to Julia Parker over the counter at Bishops Castle Post Office, call 01588 680445 or email jparker228@btinternet.com.