THE STRUMMERS – The local Strummers will be entertaining at the District Social Club on Saturday evening at 7.30pm.

Singing Our Songs for the RNLI funds. The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. They provide, on call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service and a seasonal lifeguard service. The RNLI has saved more than 140,000 lives since its foundation in 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck. The name was changed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1854, and cork lifejackets were first issued to crew members in the same year. The 20th century saw the RNLI continue to save lives at sea through two world wars. Lifeboats moved from sail and oar power to petrol and diesel, and the first women joined their crews. Recent years have seen a significant expansion of the service, with the introduction of RNLI lifeguards and the first lifeboat station on an inland waterway, both in 2001.

The RNLI Flood Rescue Team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to deploy to flooding events in the UK, Ireland and abroad to perform search and rescue. The team comprises lifeboat crews from all around the RNLI, who have been specially trained for the risks involved when working in or around fast moving flood water.

The team was formed in 2000, and we now have six divisional teams strategically positioned to respond to a flood anywhere in the UK or the RoI within six hours – a total of 250 team members. Fifty of these team members form the international Flood Rescue Team, who can deploy anywhere in the world within 24 hours. The Flood Rescue Team relies upon voluntary donations, and is kindly supported by Toolstation. The team does not receive Government funding for responding to UK floods. However, the cost of international deployment is borne by the UK Department for International Development. More and more people are using beaches and the sea for leisure and RNLI crews and lifeguards are responding to an increased number of incidents. In 2012, 49% of launches were to leisure craft users, 20% to people ashore, 13% to people in the water, 10% to merchant or fishing vessels and 8% to other sea users.

Tickets for the event are being sold through John Thomas Florists or can be reserved by ringing either 01694 722138 or 724371. Tickets cost £5 which includes refreshments.

LONGMYND HIKE – The annual general meeting of the Longmynd Hike will take place at the District Social Club on Sunday at 8pm. All welcome.

TALKS – The Parkinson’s Group will be meeting at 2.30pm in Mayfair community centre on Monday for a talk by Andy Jukes on his trek in Nepal and at 2.30pm in the URC Hall, Shelagh Hampton will give a talk about Hill Forts of Shropshire for the Church Stretton Area Local History Group.

AGMs – The Shropshire Literary Society holds its annual general meeting at 7pm in the library on Monday and the Shropshire Ornithological Society holds its annual general meeting on the same day at 7.30pm in the Methodist hall which will be followed by an illustrated talk by Jim Almond the well-known bird-life photographer, entitled Identity Crisis. All welcome, admission for non-members is £2.

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL – The planned Holocaust Memorial event will be held at the United Reformed Church on Monday at 7pm for a time of remembrance of the Holocaust and genocides of recent history, with a time of reflection in readings, images and silence.

Refreshments will be available allowing a time to talk with one another. All welcome.

For more information or if attending please ring 01694 725530. The event has been arranged by the South Shropshire Interfaith Forum. The forum provides an opportunity to meet and hear from people of other faiths (and none) living in the South Shropshire area. The organisation is keen to promote interfaith dialogue which doesn’t seek to change others but listens with respect in an attempt to understand and promote a more harmonious and fair community.

SCHOOL NEWS – St Lawrence’s Primary School governors are delighted to announce the appointment of a new headteacher, Mr Jonathan Pygott, with effect from April following Mr Langford’s announcement of his retirement at the end of this term after 11 outstanding years in post.

Class eight pupils have been writing letters outlining some of the differences between London and Church Stretton after their visit to the capital last term. The U11 and U10 football teams will continue in the next stage of the County Cup and the tag rugby team will be taking part in the qualifying tournament for the Tag to Twickenham competition in March and years five and six have entered a basketball tournament at the leisure centre. The Quiz Club also takes part in the first round of a competition when they visit Birchfield School, near Wolverhampton.

Class two have spent a morning visiting McCartneys estate agents and a music workshop is planned for classes five and six.

The Friends of St Lawrence’s would like to thank everyone for their support which helped to raise £1,262.50 since November with the raffle at the Church Stretton bonfire, Cauliflower Cards order, barrow of bottles and the school disco together with the sponsorship from Barclays Bank of £511.50.

The school is committed to the development of all its pupils through the provision of a high quality education and caring school community based upon a Christian ethos. The school works towards developing the intellectual, physical, moral, spiritual and creative areas of children’s lives so as to better equip them for their roles in a rapidly changing society.

POST OFFICE NEWS – A reminder that the Church Stretton Post Office will close for refurbishment at 5.30pm on Wednesday and re-open on February 14 at 1pm. Wentnor and Dorrington Post Office branches will be open for business during the temporary closure of Church Stretton Post Office counter.

This does not affect the Spar shop.

COMMUNITY CINEMA – The next film to be screened at Church Stretton School is Hunky Dory (12) on February 3 at 7.30pm.

Set in a Welsh comprehensive during the long hot summer of 1976, a keen drama teacher Vivienne (Minnie Driver) fights sweltering heat and general teenage apathy to put on an end of year rock and roll musical version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest , that David Bowie would be proud of. To engage her students, she uses hits of the time, performed by a fresh young cast led by Davey (Aneurin Barnard).

Acton Scott village hall will be the venue for the film Undertaking Betty (15) on February 18.

Boris Plots, director of Plots Funeral Homes in the fictional Welsh village of Wrottin Powys, dreamed of only two things as a young boy: dancing and Betty. Betty secretly loved Boris, but could not fight her father’s wishes, so she was married off to a gold digger. Boris gave up his dreams and took over the family’s undertaking business. Everything has remained status quo in their lives until Betty’s mother-in-law dies. Boris and Betty are thrust together again and as they discuss the funeral arrangements for Betty’s mother-in-law, the old spark is rekindled.

Her funeral will be held at Plots Funeral Homes, much to the chagrin of rival funeral director, Frank Featherbed. Featherbed, an American, is determined to revolutionise the undertaking business in Britain through the innovation of “theme” funerals.

Boris discovers that the only obstacle between their love for one another, is her marriage to the two-timing Mayor. In a desperate bid for happiness Boris and Betty decide to stage her death and run away together.

BAND NIGHT – The New Rope String band will be entertaining at the Silvester Horne Institute on February 21 at the Silvester Horne Institute at 7.30pm as part of the Friday night at the Horne events. Tickets cost £10 and are being sold through Burway Books, John Thomas Florists and the Town Council Offices. There is also a family ticket of £30 and an u/16 ticket of £6.

JUMBLE SALE – Rose Cottage Cat Rescue is holding a jumble sale at the parish centre on Saturday, open from 2-3.30pm. On sale will be clothing, toys, books and collectables.

Admission is 50p, including refreshment.