Bishop’s Castle

MIDSUMMER RAFFLE TICKETS - Bishop’s Castle Church holds its Midsummer fete Saturday and tickets for the annual grand draw are now on sale in aid of church funds. The top prize £100, with £50 and £25 for the runners-up. Draw will be made at the fete, which is held in and around the church, starting at 2pm. You can buy tickets from Burd’s Mace Store in Bishop’s Castle High Street.

TRACTOR RUN IN THE SUN - A charity tractor run on June 7 has raised £1,003 for the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund. 72 vehicles took part, ranging from vintage tractors to Landrovers. The organisers would like to thank Malcolm and Brenda Jones of Kempton, Mrs Jones and family of Acton, Wendy Oakley and her staff and everyone who helped to make this a most enjoyable day.

CARNIVAL COSTUME WORKSHOPS - Get ready for Bishop’s Castle carnival with a free Paper Fashion workshop at Bishop’s Castle Town Hall on June 28. Esther Thorpe and Liz Still will be there to help you and your family make something special to wear at the carnival on July 5. Town hall trustee Evelyn Bowles explains: “You can drop in at any time between 10am and 4pm, to make hats, wigs, fans and costume items for the carnival which has taken the 250th anniversary of the town hall as its theme.”

As well as making things from paper, there’s a chance to make costumes from fabric too and donations of unwanted material will be very welcome. Evelyn Bowles continues:“We are looking for worn cotton sheets, old brocade, lace, velvet curtains, curtain linings, fine cotton nightgowns, cotton dresses, old woollen coats, jackets and trousers. Wear and tear is not a problem as alterations will be made anyway.” To help you make a wonderful carnival costume, handouts with ideas for improvising costume from ordinary clothing will be provided and the workshops will be led by experienced artists. Helpers are also welcome to come along. There’s no need to book a place, call 01588 638851 or email evelynbowles@decorich.plus.com. Donations may be left at Bishop’s Castle Town Hall or at Decorative Antiques 47, Church Street.

SUMMER MENU AT WI - Bishop’s Castle WI held their meeting on May 19 when Milly Rees from ‘Milly’s Menus’ gave a cookery demonstration. Members were shown how to make a spicy carrot dip, a beetroot and goats cheese terrine, green risotto with trout and a dessert of summer berries with white chocolate sauce. Everything made from scratch within the hour. Milly’s audience tasted the dishes for themselves.

THURSDAY MARKET - Don’t forget that the Thursday market is open at Bishop’s Castle Town Hall every week from 10am to 2pm selling cakes, fruit and vegetables, bread, pottery, baskets and crafts.

MUSEUM 100 CLUB - Shirley Gould won £18.25 in the May draw for the 100 Club in aid of the Bishop’s Castle House on Crutches Museum Collection Trust. Brian and Margaret Wells won £10.95 and Ros Gillard £7.

AWARD FOR BOARS HEAD - The Boars Head in Bishop’s Castle has been awarded the Certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor, a website that rates hotels, restaurants and other amenities all over the world based on customer reviews. The owners of the inn are Darren Price and Stuart Wassall and Mr Price said: “Winning the award is a true source of pride for the entire team at the Boars Head and we’d like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor.”

BISHOPS CASTLE DIARY June 18-24

TODAY: Thursday market. Bishop’s Castle Town Hall. Weekly. 10am.

  • Art exhibition by Judy Osborne, Stewart Rankine and Daphne Rankine. Bishop's Castle Town Hall. Ends June 27. Call 01588 630023

SATURDAY: Midsummer Rejoicing. Fete. Bishop’s Castle Church. 2pm.

  • Farmers market. Bishop's Castle Town Hall. 9am
  • Fight the Bear. The Vaults, Bishop's Castle
  • Rock of Ages Experience in aid of Lydbury North School PTA. Lydbury North Village Hall. £15. Call 01588 680252.

SUNDAY: Midsummer Rejoicing. Morris dancing, Stone House 10.30am; rushcart procession and midsummer service Bishop’s Castle Church 11am. Call 01588 630324.

MONDAY: Footpath Walking Group. Mystery walk. Four-six miles. Meet Harley Jenkins St car park, Bishop’s Castle. 9.30am. Call 01588 630230.

WEDNESDAY: Cash bingo for charity. Bishop’s Castle Public Hall. 8pm.

  • Tai Ji Quan. Church Barn, Bishop's Castle.Weekly. £7. Classes 10.30am- noon. Call 01588 640466.
  • SW Shropshire Gardening Club trip to Windy Ridge, Little Wenlock. 3pm. Call 01588 620055.

CORRESPONDENT - Julia Parker 01588 680445, jparker228@btinternet.com

 

Clun

FLICKS IN THE STICKS - The Imitation Game (12A) at Clungunford Parish Hall tomorrow at 8pm. Entrance £4 adults, £2 children. Licensed bar, ice creams, raffle, car parking. Tel: 01588 660727 Ann or 01588 660781 Maureen for enquiries and reservations.

CLUN GARDENS OPEN - This year during Clun Gardens Open on Saturday and Sunday keep your eyes open for dragons and stags, just some of the sculptures created by Roj Williams and appearing in gardens around the town. As well as 19 gardens, there is a well-stocked plant stall, books, garden bric-a-brac and refurbished garden tools. Cream teas and refreshments are available all weekend. There is wonderful variety from small town gardens to smallholdings of several acres, herbaceous borders to vegetable plots. It is a great opportunity to get inspiration and talk to like minded people.

Proceeds go to St George’s Church and the church will have a display of flower arrangements on this year’s theme ‘Spirit of Clun’ as well as musical recitals on both days.

Clun’s 17th century almshouses will be opening their gardens and you can admire the residents allotments and also visit Trinity Hospital chapel with its boxed pews and other items of historical interest.

Tickets cost £5 per person and accompanied children go free. They are available from the ticket desks at Clun Bridge and outside Trinity Hospital. The tickets give access to all gardens over both days. For more details visit the new website, clungardensopen.co.uk which includes maps, details of the gardens, tickets and photographs.

POEM IN YOUR POCKET - Look out for posters about the forthcoming Poem in Your Pocket session at the Sun Inn, which may be on or around Sunday. Local writer, Polly Wright organised a session in April where visitors from The Writers’ Reading Group in Birmingham and local people enjoyed a wonderful evening sharing favourite poems and ones they had written themselves. Such was the success of this evening, that Polly has decided to make it a bi- monthly event.

MEMORIAL HALL AGM - Clun Memorial Hall and Playing Fields Charity AAGM is on Monday at the Memorial Hall, starting at 7.30pm.

CLUN RAMBLERS - Clun Ramblers’ next walk will be on Wednesday, led by Nicky. Meet at the Memorial Hall, Clun at 9.30am. Sorry no dogs.

CORRESPONDENT - Elisabeth Taylor, et@myphone.coop 01981 540893. Deadline is the Wednesday of the week before publication.

 

Ludlow

BAROQUE WORKSHOP - A Border Marches Early Music Forum workshop for singers on French Baroque music. Sunday 28 June, 10am- 4.30pm, Ludlow Mascall Centre, SY8 1RZ. Gemma King leads an exploration of the intricacies involved in performing the vocal music of Lully, Charpentier, Clérambault and Rameau. £18 for Early Music Fora members, £20 for non-members, £5 for students. Prior booking essential. For further details and an application form visit bmemf.org.uk

 

Tenbury

ST MICHAEL’S HOSPICE BIG TEA PARTY - June 27, 10am-2pm, Antelope Cottage, 1 Cross St, Tenbury Wells, WR15 8EF (facing Bowketts supermarket). Entrance adults £3, children 50p. Tea and cakes, bric a brac, tombola, cake and plant stall outside Regal Cinema.

STRAWBERRY TEA - Lodge of St Michael 1097. Brian and Elaine invite you to The Crest, Berrington Road, Tenbury Wells on Sunday from 3pm onwards for a strawberry tea. Bring your own drinks. Tickets £6 from Brian Roberts 01584 811843 and Barry Gutteridge 01584 781365. Proceeds to Lodge Building Fund.

FUN DAY - For all the family. Burford Village Hall, June 28, noon till 5pm. Bouncy castles, barbecue, pig roast, inside bar, children’s games, tombola, adults’ tombola, refreshments, plus lots more. In aid of Lymphoma Association and Air Ambulance. Come and support these brilliant charities and have a good day out.

HEALTHY LIVING OPEN DAY - July 2, 10am, Tenbury Library. Rowlands Healthy Living services, putting you at the heart of everything we do. We offer a range of services to keep you healthy. Blood pressure measuring service. Healthy living advice. Weight management service.

EASTHAM GARDEN CLUB - Julie Scott will talk on her Victorian Walled Garden, Tuesday at 7pm, Eastham Memorial Hall. £2.50 on the door, all welcome.

DESERT ISLAND HYMNS - Come and join us at St Mary’s Burford, Sunday 6.30pm. Come at 5pm if you would like a cream tea.

FREE FAMILY FUNDAY - Hosted by Tenbury Local Policing Team. Sunday, noon until 5pm, Palmers Meadow, Tenbury Wells. Free family entertainment. Music, bouncy castles, children’s rides, stalls and much, much more!

FETE - Burford Primary School, June 26 from 5.30pm.

OPEN GARDENS - Sunday, 1-5pm. Eight private gardens open in the villages of Nash and Boraston in support of the Friends of Nash and Boraston Churches. Come and view the horticultural activity in southern Shropshire; tickets £6 available from Nick Champion Ltd, and at both Nash and Boraston Churches on the day, refreshments at Nash church.

 

The Strettons

BRIDGE CLUB - The Bridge Club is held on Thursday afternoons from 1.15pm at All Stretton Village Hall, lifts from Church Stretton can be arranged. Tuition and refreshing courses are also available. Call 01694 723128 or 722438.

FRIDAY MARKET - The Friday market is open for business at Mayfair Community Centre from 8.30am- noon selling home-made cakes, produce and craft items.

CHARITY FUNDRAISING - Elaine at the Post Office is doing a tandem skydive from 10,000ft for the Blind Charity on Saturday. To support her efforts sponsorship donations can be handed in at the Post Office. Sam Goddard is taking part in a fancy dress fun run this month to raise funds for Empathy, a charity which helps children with Asperger’s, Autism, ADHD and dyspraxia and their families to enjoy leisure activities together. To support Sam’s efforts please donate at goldengiving.com/fundraising/madness.

CRAFT SESSIONS - Scrappies runs a Crafty Kids Club every Saturday morning and there will also be fun craft sessions at the library 2.30pm- 3.30pm on Saturday afternoons.

ACTON SCOTT - Acton Scott’s annual fete takes place on Saturday and this year also sees the celebration of 40 years since the Acton Scott Working Farm Museum opened. The fete will be held in the gardens of Acton Scott Hall and will feature Maypole dancing, live music including a string quartet, and Shrewsbury Male Voice Choir, horse and cart rides and a children’s craft area. Refreshments will be available with hot food served at 1pm for lunch, a barbecue, and home-made teas together with a bar with Pimms and soft drinks. There will be various stalls and games and also a raffle. Admission charges to the Working Farm Museum will apply but there is no charge to visit the fete which will be open 1pm-4pm.

TREE GROUP - On Saturday the Tree Group is planning a walk on Wenlock Edge. Non-members are welcome so ring 01694 723208 to find out more.

MAYFAIR - Saturday is Ken’s quiz night at Mayfair and on Wednesday David Thomas will be speaking about the Trans Siberian Railway at 2.30pm for the Parkinson’s Support Group. June 26, the Evergreen Group will be out on a shopping trip to Telford.

FOLK DANCE - On Saturday another of the regular folk dance evenings will be held at Ticklerton Village Hall starting at 8pm. For those new to this Dot and Ron Cox will be on hand to show the way. All welcome.

CHURCH SERVICE - A Centenary service for St Dunstan’s, now renamed Blind Veterans, will be held at St Laurence’s Church on Sunday at 3.30pm, followed by refreshments in the parish centre. Due to the advanced ages of the Veterans this may be their last visit to Church Stretton. All welcome. Later in the evening there will be a celebration evening with guest speaker, Alistair Magowan, Bishop of Ludlow, at 6.30pm.

FUN DAYS - Church Stretton Magpies football club is hosting a family fun day at Russell’s Meadow on Sunday noon- 4pm with stalls, side shows and football tournament. June 28, RSPCA Gonsal Farm Animal Centre hosts a fun day with dog show, car boot sale and equine tack sale together with stalls, refreshments and tour of the equine rehabilitation centre. Special guests will be Powys Agility team. Call 03001 230783 to book/find out more.

LIBRARY EVENTS - Rhyme time offers fun, songs and rhymes for children under three years from 10.30am-11am on Tuesday. Later in the day Paul Costello will be reading his comic Bed and Breakfast memoir ‘Utterly Undiscovered’ which is set in deepest Shropshire. Tickets are available from the library 6pm onwards. Every Thursday afternoon history volunteers are on hand to assist with local and family history sessions from 1pm-4pm when there is free access to Ancestry.

BURWAY BOOKS - Burway Books is hosting Owen Sheers ‘I Saw a Man’ at Cardington Village Hall on Tuesday, 7pm for 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale at Burway Books and cost £5 including light refreshment. Network meeting on Wednesday is a members’ afternoon at the Methodist Hall at 2.30pm and the theme of the afternoon is ‘Putting you in the Picture’. All welcome.

SMALLHOLDERS - At the May meeting Steve Powell gave a talk about bee- keeping and had taken sample hives along to show how these are made up. He also spoke about his production of honey which is sold locally. Steve also keeps rheas which he made mention of saying that it is best to keep one male with the female birds and, apparently, the males are good at guarding against foxes. The birds are easy to keep and eat grass and nettles and can be fed calf rearing nuts in the winter. Females lay about 50 eggs a year and these can be sold for breeding. The eggs taste similar to chicken eggs and each is large enough to make an omelette but takes an hour and a half to boil!

Speakers at the June meeting were Nicholas and Lezli Feeney who told their story about their move to a smallholding and all of the problems they encountered with settling their cats, ferrets, chickens, pigs and sheep into their new home and providing each with its own accommodation area.

PONTESFORD HILL - The purchase of Pontesford Hill for the local community has been welcomed and now the assessments of the biodiversity of the hill are going on so it can be developed in an effective way for wildlife and also for walkers to appreciate the beautiful surroundings. Surveys will be taken to find out what people’s expectations are and what developments should take place.

LADIES AFTERNOON - The ladies and children of the South Shropshire Interfaith forum met at the Discovery Centre in Craven Arms for a fun afternoon in the sun. The children were able to enjoy ball games, and also had fun when the adults tried to ‘capture’ then under the large parachute.

After a shared picnic with cups of tea served up by the mums, the afternoon was rounded off with a visit to the allotment garden where some of the ladies had small vegetable plots in a lovely setting with its own poly tunnel, compost making area and rain water collection tanks.

SCHOOL NEWS - Church Stretton School’s Year 11 leavers were taken out for an afternoon of bowling, received their leavers’ hoodies and enjoyed a pizza meal. They were thanked for all they had done for the school and after the exams they had the prom to look forward to.

Meanwhile the students of Ragleth House were holding a sponsored Readathon which supports the school’s literacy focus and is a way of continuing to support the school’s Ugandan partner school. Ragleth students have already raised money for the Ugandan school helping to provide for the library and some bookshelves. End of May a Year 9 student joined with Sam Goddard and two others to climb Snowdon to raise funds for the charity Empathy. Church Stretton School would be welcoming Year 6 pupils for a visit Tuesday, also the date for the art and design exhibition 6pm-8pm.

At St Lawrence’s Primary School 25 pupils have taken part in a Peer Mediation course which was kindly paid for by the Church Stretton Quakers meeting group. At the end of the course they all received certificates to prove they had completed the course. The governors, staff and pupils were all saddened to learn that head teacher, Mr Pygott, would be leaving at the end of the term. He had been an outstanding head and had effectively led the school through the challenging change of curriculum and implemented many and varied policies and procedures which will ensure the happy and healthy future of St Lawrence’s, and all are hugely thankful for all that he has done for the school and wish him well for the future.

SKITTLES NIGHT - Teams of two or four are invited to a skittles night at the District Social Club on June 26, starting at 8pm. Entry is £5 per team.

SUMMER FAIR - A summer fair in aid of St Andrew’s Church, Hope Bowdler will be held at Hope Bowdler Village Hall at 2pm on June 27. Admi- ssion is £1 for adults, children free.

CYCLE CHALLENGE - The Arts Alive Cycle Challenge takes place on June 28, raising funds for Arts Alive and Flicks in the Sticks, and starts from Clun. Enter at artsalive.co.uk for the 100k or 50k ride.

OUTINGS - The Church Stretton Gardening Club is planning an outing to Winterbourne House and Gardens, Birmingham, on July 1, and on July 10, to Brobury House and Gardens in Herefordshire. To enquire for seats on the coach or find out more ring 01694 720 131.

CHARITY CAR BOOT SALE - A charity car boot sale on St Milburga’s car park will be held from 9am-1pm on July 4, in aid of the Catholic Women’s Relief Charity and with a donation going to the Nepal Relief fund. Ring 01694 723328 to book in.