Bishops Castle

QUIZ ORGANISER’S LINK WITH SIERRA LEONE - Lydbury North gave its support to the UNICEF Ebola Appeal at a quiz in the village hall on December 5. The evening was arranged by Caz Mowe and she was thrilled to raise £460. Caz said afterwards, “Put together with some generous donations and match funding by the UK Government, the UNICEF Ebola Appeal will finally receive £920 from Lydbury North.”

SCOUT NEWS - Bishop’s Castle Scouts have moved their head quarters to the youth office demountable building in the grounds of the Community College. The group, both boys and girls, meet on Wednesday evenings in term time from 6pm - 8pm, with Scout leader Tess Gwilliam. In the last few months the scouts have enjoyed a trip to local ice cream makers Dairy Dreams at Bacheldre, while their camp fire cooking and corn dolly making will count towards gaining the scout craft badge. They have also made puddings to share as part of the cookery badge and soon it’s the Scout Christmas party. If you want to join Bishop’s Castle Scouts or have a hobby or craft you could share with the group call Tess Gwilliam on 01588 638920 or email Tess1959@hotmail.co.uk.

MUSEUM 100 CLUB - Sally Chappell won £18.25 in the November draw of the House on Crutches Museum Collection Trust 100 Club. Graham Lloyd won £10.95 and Richard Moulson won £7.30.

LYDHAM CHURCH DRAW - Lydham Church November draw winners were Chris Semple £23.50; Belinda Penney £14.10; Rachel Coles £9.40.

TALK ON EARLY MAN - SWSHAS chairman Heather Williams gave a talk to the society on December 9. She called her talk If Those Stones Could Speak, a graphic personal account of the early history of man in Britain. She began with the fraudulent Piltdown Man and went on to illustrate the characteristics of the earliest hunter-gatherers (Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon), their development of stone tools and the eventual move to settlements and an agricultural society. By the Neolithic Era (around 4000 BC) impressive domestic and religious monuments began to be constructed – causewayed enclosures, stone rows, and tombs, culminating in the great henges, chambered cairns and long barrows. The speaker’s own slides illustrated many of these extraordinary monuments – some familiar, such as Wayland’s Smithy, West Kennet, Avebury, and Stonehenge, but other fascinating but much less well-known sites. The next SWSHAS meeting is at 7.30pm on January 13 in the Church Barn, Bishop’s Castle. Phil Revell will talk on the remarkable story of The More Children and the Mayflower. Non- members are always welcome at a fee of £5.

BISHOPS CASTLE DIARY, December 31-January 7 NEW YEARS EVE: New Year’s Eve ceilidh and light supper. Lydbury North village hall. £10/£7. 8pm. Call 01588 680454.

NEW YEARS DAY: Walk. Meet Lydham village hall. 11am FRIDAY: Footpath Walking Group.

Bishop’s Castle to Clun. 11 miles.

Meet Harley Jenkins St car park, Bishop’s Castle. 9.30am. Call 07910 198477.

  • Pony day for children. Walcot Stables, Lydbury North. 10am-4pm.

Call 01588 680514 SUNDAY: Christingle service. Edgton Church. 3pm.

MONDAY: Pony day for children.

Walcot Stables, Lydbury North. 10am- 4pm. Call 01588 680514.

  • Meditation. Mainstone Church. 7pm (weather permitting).

TUESDAY: Bishop’s Castle Town Council meeting. Bishop’s Castle Town Hall. 8pm.

WEDNESDAY: Bishop’s Castle Film Society.

Like Father Like Son.

Three Tuns. 8pm. Call 01588 680445.

Clun Valley

SOLAR PANELS IN CAR PARKS? - The Green Party is calling for solar panels to be installed on all suitable council car parks in Shropshire, including Clun Bridge car park and the Memorial Hall. Shropshire Council is simply not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to give us a sporting chance of heading off the worst consequences of climate change. The UK has a legally binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 on a 1990 base and Shropshire is doing very little to make sure it plays a full proportionate part in this reduction commitment.

Commenting on this suggestion Janet Helen Phillips, Green Party parliamentary candidate for the Ludlow constituency said: “It deals with climate change problems and generates income and it would be perverse not to do it. It also helps to reduce the need for solar farms on greenfield sites and even though we support solar farms we recognise the need to build these facilities on buildings and car parks as a key part of any strategy to boost the supply of zero-carbon electricity”.

Solar photovoltaics (PVs) and solar farms can make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but Shropshire Council has done very little to make sure these PVs are on all schools and public buildings (subject to evaluation). St Alban’s council has already agreed to a suggestion from green councillor, Simon Grover, to install solar car parks (Note 1).

CLUN FESTIVAL OF ANGELS - St George’s Church exhibition of Angels continues until Sunday with a wonderful collection of angels of all shapes and sizes, many by local groups and artists.

NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTIES - Aston of Clun are holding a New Year’s Eve party in the village hall from 8pm until 1am with band One 2 Many and a 60s disco. It will be a bring and share meal and bring your own drinks. Tickets £10. Proceeds to Air Ambulance. For tickets and information phone Wendy Heighway 01588 660218.

Newcastle on Clun Community Centre is the venue for a New Year’s Eve Party with band, Wild Edric, playing and hot supper provided. For details and booking (essential) contact Brenda 01588 640565 or Tess 01588 640292.

SERVICES - Clun Methodist Church will have a Covenant Service at 10am on Sunday.

There will be a carol service at St Mary’s Church Hopesay in the afternoon of Sunday, followed by tea.

CLUN RAMBLERS - Clun Ramblers next walk is January 7. Meet at Clun Memorial Hall car park. Sorry no dogs.

CRAFT GROUP - A small group of crafters - mainly machine and hand knitters - meet on Wednesdays at Haslehurst Community Centre from 10am to 3pm. They welcome any crafters (knitting, tapestry, quilting, embroidery, lace-making etc) to join for sharing skills, crafting experiences and good conversation. Come along for a morning, afternoon or all day (bring packed lunch). Coffee and tea provided. A small fee charged to cover the cost of room hire. Please contact Rosie Ramsay 01588 641125 or just come along. A warm welcome guaranteed.

CLUNBURY CAFE - Clunbury Cafe is open on January 8 from 10am to 11.30am at Clunbury Village Hall. The cafe is open alternate Thursdays. It will also be open on January 22. All are welcome to come along and enjoy Fairtrade coffee and tea with cake.

Cost £1 including refills.

MIRANDA SYKES AND REX PRESTON AT CHAPEL LAWN - Miranda and Rex are playing at Chapel Lawn Village Hall on February 21 at 7.30pm. Miranda is one of the few female double bassists in England and an accomplished singer in her own right. Rex is a fine and imaginative mandolin player and is a leading light in a new wave of British bluegrass musicians. This rare fusion of double bass and mandolin makes for one of the most exciting pairings on the acoustic roots scene. Contact 01547 530002 or limbrick85@btinternet.com. Hear examples of their songs on sykespreston.com.

The Strettons

MORNING AFTER WALK - The Morning After Walk takes place on New Year’s Day and is based at the District Social Club offering a chance to blow away the cobwebs or excesses of the New Year partying. Early registration for this charity event is advised and starts at 9.30am and is for either the three mile walk or stroll, or the five mile run on the edges of the Longmynd. Both events start at 11am and the routes are way marked. Entry fee is £5 for individuals whether running or walking, £2 for juniors and £8 for families. So mums, dads and children can all take part. The entry fee includes a cup of hot soup and roll when arriving back at the club.

RAMBLERS - South Shropshire Ramblers have an eight mile moderate walk planned for New Year’s Day and will meet at Aston-on-Clun village car park. To find out more ring Pat Buchanan on 01588 661001.

GALA CONCERT - The Great British Isles Gala Concert by Ludlow Concert Band, will take place at the Silvester Horne Institute at 7.30pm on Saturday. Tickets cost £10 and are being sold through Burway Books, John Thomas Florists and the town council offices. The ticket also includes a glass of locally produced wine or soft drink and a Church Stretton baked Shrewsbury Biscuit.

Some tickets may be available at the door. Proceeds of the event will go to Help for Heroes and Stretton Community Events 2015. Ring Mike on 01694 720132 to find out more.

COMMUNITY CINEMA - Jersey Boys (15) is the film to be screened at Church Stretton School on Monday starting at 7.30pm. Interval refreshments will be available. Admission is £4 for adults and £2 for students.

SCHOOL NEWS - The new term begins on January 6 and St Lawrence’s Primary School U/10 boys and girls will be playing in the County Cup the next day. At Church Stretton School there will be a presentation to Year 11 for their mock examinations.

ENGAGING ISSUES - Prisoners and Human Rights is the subject presented by Peter Pack at the URC on Tuesday at 7.30pm and will allow time for questions and discussion on the issues raised. Peter Pack is a long- standing member of Amnesty International and is currently on the UK Section’s Governance Taskforce.

CAMERA CLUB - The first meeting of the new year at Longmynd Camera Club is on January 7 and will include a presentation by Jon Baker and Sue Baker which they have called There and Back Again. There will be landscapes from the Lake District, Snowdonia, Scotland, Iceland , Chamonix and Zermatt, including some nature and creative images. The show is supported by On-Line Paper.

Visitors are always welcome at all Longmynd Camera Club meetings, which are held in the URC Hall starting at 7.30pm. At the last meeting in December which was a social get together, there was a welcome to Norman Axtell, the president, who had been able to attend following his recent spell in hospital, and during the evening several members entertained everyone with their picture presentations.

PARISH PATHS - The Church Stretton Parish Paths Partnership in a joint scheme with Shropshire Council to replace old path stiles and gates with oak gates within a six mile radius of Church Stretton. A message or name can be routed in as a memorial if so wished. To find out more about sponsorship ring 01743 791983 and ask for David Hardwick.

THEATRE GROUP - The Stretton Theatre Group arranges theatre and concert visits providing seats at discount prices and coach fare. Fee to join is £10 per household plus a £5 joining fee. Call 01694 722216.

BRIDGE CLUB - The Bridge Club meets on Thursday afternoons at All Stretton Village Hall from 1.15pm. Lifts are available from Church Stretton if required. Partners are provided and table fees are £2 which includes refreshment. Beginners and those who wish to refresh their game should contact Dom on 01694 723128 who can provide a bridge improvers’ course, and bridge practice sessions as required each of 10 sessions.

The bridge club improvers’ course starts on alternateWednesdays from January 28 and costs £70 including refreshments and all materials, and the practice sessions held on alternate weeks from February 4 and costing £50 including refreshments and all materials. Dom is a registered EBU teacher.

SMALLHOLDERS - Shropshire Smallholders holds its annual general meeting in January and will be seeking a new chairman for the year, and members will be invited to take along a bring-and-share buffet.

King’s seeds may be ordered at the AGM.

Westhope

VILLAGE HALL LOTTERY - In the December draw, first prize of £31.80 went to Louise WattsCulmington.

Four prizes of £5.30 went to David Jordan, Nicky Ray, Richard Parkes and Margaret Radford.

CLOVER CLUB - Forty-eight members attended the Christmas party.

The village hall had been beautifully decorated with, holly, mistletoe, streamers and a sparkling Christmas tree. Sherry was served as the visitors arrived. The club leader Mary Hall welcomed everyone and the Rev John Beazley said Grace. The meal was served by Ray, Sarah Hall and staff of the Plough Inn Wistanstow and was enjoyed by all. Rev Beazley played the keyboard for carol singing. Cups of tea were served and everyone received a gift of liqueur chocolates. The Clover Club closes now until March.

DIDDLEBURY AND WESTHOPE WI - The WI finished the year on a high note with an excellent Christmas party. Not quite as many attended owing to colds and flu. The entertainers, a couple from Diddlebury going by the name of ‘High Jinks’ played guitar, violin and other instruments played for dancing and singing.

The buffet table was loaded with food. The competition cups were won by Kath Woodhouse and Mary Hall. A huge raffle took place and a presentation was made to Jean Hackney, a loyal WI member who is moving to Leeds to be near her family - we shall miss her. New president Kath Woodhouse led the singalong of Jerusalem .

Ludlow Rotary Club Tree of Light dedications

Tom and Olive Fewtrell – Cherished memories of wonderful parents and grandparents – From Terence, Alan, Vanessa, Derek, Kay, Ian and grandchildren.

Gervase and Thelma Jackson – Wonderful memories of loving parents and grandparents – From Vanessa, Alan, Zia, Lee, Ayesha, Caydan and Stacey.

In loving memory of my parents, Jack and Joy Robinson - From Sue Fleetwood.

Wishing all the members, past and present, of Ludlow Rotary Club a Happy Christmas - From Sue Fleetwood.

With fond memories of my dear husband Dennis - From Grace Reynolds.

Happy Christmas to all my family, friends and my wonderful carers from Care at Home – From Grace Reynolds.

For Evalyn and Sophia – From Adrian and Sheila Cobley.

In loving memory of Eddie and Marjorie Fallows – From Lesley and Luke, Gail, David, Mathew and Daniel.

In loving memory of mum and dad Powis, also sister Elsie, sister Mary, brother Stanley, nephew Robert, husband John and Ron - Sadly missed by Joyce.

In loving memory of my lovely daughter Julie Tennant – So sadly missed by your mum. x

In loving memory of twins Ken and Sid Webb – From all the family.

In remembrance of Patrick Brooke – Love from Jenny Marshall and family.

In remembrance of Karen Brooke – Love from Jenny Marshall and family.

In remembrance of Anne Atkins – Love from Jenny Marshall and family.

In remembrance of David Marshall – Love from Jenny Marshall and family.

In remembrance of Dorothy Laidlaw – Love from Jenny Marshall and family.