Bishops Castle

PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENS CAFÉ IN TOWN HALL – A very special café is opening its doors today in Bishops Castle Town Hall. It will be run by children at Bishops Castle Primary School and will open once a month on a Thursday morning, the same day as the weekly market day in the hall. The café will welcome from 10am to 2pm and a full waitress/waiter service will be provided, under the watchful eye of teacher Gareth Davies. Karen Corfield is the Bishops Castle Town Hall markets manager and she says, “Many useful aspects of learning will be achieved through running this business venture and all proceeds will be going to the school.”

AUTUMN TERM AT SCHOOL – October has already been a busy month for pupils at Bishops Castle Primary School. Classes 2 and 5 have visited Ironbridge while classes 1, 2 and 3 went to the SpArC Theatre to see the play The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark . There has also been a drumming workshop for the whole school together with a harvest celebration where gifts of food were donated by several generous families for the CLAC food bank in Clun. The Young Shakespeare Theatre Company also performed at the school and on November 4 Year 4 children will stay overnight at the Preston.

SEAN GAFFNEY – Local musician Sean Gaffney is well known as a member of local bands Funk the System, The Conspiritualists, Garibaldi and the BC Allskas. He has written plenty of songs for these bands, but he’s also a songwriter and performer in his own right. Sean has recently launched his very first solo album – The Story of How We Lose Control – at Bishops Castle Town Hall. Musical support came from Josh Davies on the drums, Jesse Rowland on bass, Ollie Farr on guitar and Alex Pickford on backing vocals. The new album has been in the making for two whole years, with Sean also working as a musician and singer in Cyprus and the French Alps. He adds, “I’m thrilled to have produced a CD of my own songs to launch in my home town before I go back to the Alps for another winter season.

FLOWERS AND SONGS – Jane Pugh, who runs the flower shop “Jane’s Petals”, sends her thanks to everyone who donated money for the Midland Air Ambulance at the recent Michaelmas Fair. Jane sang outside her shop in the High Street and raised £285. Thanks also to Sheila Howells for her knitted items that were sold in Jane’s shop for the charity during the day.

CONCERT FOR MALAWI – A total of £261 was raised at a concert by the Shropshire Symphony Orchestra in Bishops Castle Church on October 3. After a programme of work by Mozart and Beethoven, the volunteer director of Medic Malawi, Stephen Drew announced that every penny raised at the concert would go to Medic Malawi, with no UK costs to deduct from the hospital programmes and orphanages which are funded by the charity.

FOOTBALL CLUB CELEBRATES – Tickets are on sale for a black tie dinner and dance to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Norbury Football Club. The gala evening is at the village hall, Norbury on October 31, with tickets costing £22.50 each from Lesley Thomas on 01588 650509.

BISHOPS CASTLE DIARY October 22-28

TODAY

  • Café run by Bishops Castle Primary School pupils. Bishops Castle Town Hall. 10am-2pm.
  • nFlu clinic. Bishops Castle Medical Practice. Weekly. 5pm-6pm. No appointment necessary. 01588 638285.
  • Will Barnes and friends. The Vaults, Bishops Castle.
  • "Language of Art". Six European artists. Bishops Castle Town Hall. Free. Until November 14. 01588 630023.

TOMOROW

  • Macmillan coffee morning. Transform beauty salon, Bishops Castle. 9.30am-4pm. 01588 630036.
  • Film. Inside Out (U). SpArC Theatre, Bishops Castle. £4.50/£3. 6.30pm. 01588 638038/630321.
  • Learn 18th century dances. Alphabet Dancers. Lydham Village Hall. £2.50. 8pm. 01743 891117.

SATURDAY

  • Book, CD and DVD sale. In aid of Bishops Castle Town Hall Trust. Town Hall. Free 10am. (£5 entry 9am-10am). 01588 630023.
  • Hot Rod 55. The Vaults, Bishops Castle.
  • Auction. Bishop's Castle Public Hall. 8.30am. Bids 10am. 01743 233629/07974 118467.

SUNDAY

  • Book sale continues. See above.

MONDAY

  • Footpath Walking Group. Kempton. Four-six miles. Meet Harley Jenkins St car park, Bishop's Castle. 9.30am. 01588 620422.

WEDNESDAY

  • Bishop's Castle Film Society. Au Revoir les Enfants (12A) by Louis Malle. Three Tuns, Bishop’s Castle. 8pm. 01588 630778.
  • Cash bingo in aid of Rose Cottage Cat Rescue. Kings Head, Bishops Castle. Eyes down 8pm. Over 16s only. 07816 6127402.
  • Edgton Village Club. Monmore Green greyhound racing. £35 inc meal and coach. Dep. Edgton 4.15pm and pick up Bishops Castle. 01588 680226.
  • SW Shropshire Gardening Club. AGM and "Garden Year in Photographs" – Julia Stanley. Lydbury North Village Hall. £3. 7.30pm. 01588 660753.

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

 

Clows Top

GARDENING CLUB – Clows Top and District Gardening Club. October brings a richness of colour to the garden with displays of autumn foliage. The autumn colours are at their best this month. Make the most of them as they pass very quickly.

The night frosts and clear sunny days bring out the intensity of the colours. Fruits and berries are an added attraction, not only to us but to the birds as well. There is still time to plant winter-flowering plants, such as pansies, Violas and wall flowers. Don’t forget to plant your spring flowering bulbs now until the end of November.

At the August meeting, Alf Jenkins, gave a very interesting talk on his life as a small boy growing up on Clee Hill during the wartime. It brought back lots of memories for a lot of the members. This year’s summer garden show had some very good entries, the cookery section was generously packed, but the fruit and veg sections not so mainly due the cold July. Plenty of sunshine on the day gave it a real country show atmosphere.

Clows Top Garden Club would like to say “thank you” to all helpers and exhibitors because without you there would be no show.

Show results were as follows: Vegetable, fruit and flower cups won by T Mills, H Jenkins, A Fletcher, J Griffiths, B Williams and Marion Wilson.

Cookery cup won by A Hood.

Handicraft cup won by jointly C Lloyd.

Floral art cup won by Marion Wilson.

Children’s shields won jointly by E Morris, D Williams and B Williams.

An evening in September, garden club members gathered in Cleobury for a tour around Hobsons Brewery.

Various ales were on offer to taste with a light supper. It was a lovely time with everyone thoroughly enjoying the evening.

If you’re not a member then come along and join us at one of our monthly meetings. It’s a great opportunity for you to share your thoughts, ideas and advice with other members. We have a great programme of speakers as well as evening visits to local gardens. The garden club has a very friendly atmosphere, everyone is welcome. Don’t be afraid to come along, it is a garden club not a horticulture society, the membership is only £10 pa. However, non-members are welcome to any monthly meeting.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, and the speaker for the evening will be Derek Walker. Diary Date: November 25, AGM, members social evening.

Clows Top and District Gardening Club meet on the fourth Wednesday in the calendar month at Clows Top Victory Hall; Doors open 7.30pm, for the speaker at 8pm. Admission fee: members £2 or non- members £4. Free refreshments. Further details telephone Marion Wilson 01299 270475 or email: clowstopdistrictgardeningclub@hotmail.co.uk.

 

Clun

PRAYER SEMINAR – Saturday 11am- 4pm, at Clun Methodist Chapel. This seminar is a follow up to the talk from Daphne Godwin from Ffald-y- Brenin Retreat Centre, at the Filling Station earlier in October. Sarah Edwards (Daphne’s daughter) will be leading the session on how communities can be changed through prayer. Bring a packed lunch, hot drinks are provided. Call Penny Valentine for further information or to register interest in attending: 01588 640402 or email highway2zion@sky.com.

VICTORIAN FARMERS YEAR IN SONG – Saturday, at Newcastle Community Centre, 7.30pm, John Kirkpatrick in concert. Bar open. In aid of Newcastle Church funds. Tickets and information from Sandra Davies on 01588 640585.

FLICKS AND FOOD – A film and food night at Clunbury Village Hall, Saturday, 7pm. The film is The Full Monty (15), the food is cottage pie and spotted dick. What, as they say, is not to like? Tickets £7.50. For reservations contact Eirlys Ellams 01588 660625.

BINGO – At the Maltings Café, Monday, at 7.30pm. Eyes down once again, as always in aid of St George’s Church funds. This event is very popular – please form an orderly queue. More information from Tim Wood at the Old Surgery Gallery, Clun 01588 640506.

CLUN RAMBLERS AND PERAMBLERS – Wednesday. New people always welcome at these weekly walking groups. Ramblers go on longer walks and meet at Clun Memorial Hall at 9.30am each Wednesday. Peramblers also walk around seven miles or so every week and meet at 10am. No dogs on either of these. More information from Peter James (ramblers) on 01588 640027 or Mandy Newton (peramblers) on 01588 640195.

MEETING AND AGM – South West Shropshire Gardening Club monthly meeting plus AGM, at Lydbury North Village Hall on Wednesday, 7.30pm. A new members’ monthly competition is being introduced (where points mean prizes) using blooms from your garden, and the speaker is Julia Stanley with “The Gardening Year in Photographs”. New members welcome. More information from Brenda Jones on 01588 660294.

OPEN DAY – An important date for those considering St George’s CE Primary and Nursery School in Clun for children in their care. St George’s will be holding an open day on November 4 for prospective parents and carers, from 10am to 2.30pm. Tea and coffee will be served. St George’s is proud of its inspiring and experienced teachers. It is newly refurbished and well-resourced, has long been an Eco-School, has particular strengths in sports and music teaching and has both a breakfast club and a variety of after school activities. Come along to meet the staff and see for yourself the happy learning environment that has been created here. For more information, call the school on 01588 640229, or visit the website: clunprimaryschool.org.uk.

 

Ludlow

MAYOR’S MOTOWN EVENING - Mayor of Ludlow, Cllr Paul Draper, is inviting residents of Ludlow to the Mayor’s Motown evening with DJ Andy Vass at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms, on November 21 from 8.30pm. All proceeds from the evening will support the mayor’s charity, League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital. Tickets are £7.50 each in advance only, and are available from Ludlow Town Council, The Guildhall, Mill Street, Ludlow, SY8 1AZ. Please make cheques payable to Ludlow Town Council. Prize draw raffle tickets will be on sale on the night. Have a great night out – buy your tickets early to avoid disappointment. Contact: Gina Wilding, town clerk, Ludlow Town Council, The Guildhall, Mill Street, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 1AZ – Telephone 01584 871970, ludlow.gov.uk

 

Mamble cum Bayton

OCTOBER MEETING - Report of the October meeting of Mamble cum Bayton WI. Four visitors were warmly welcomed to the October meeting, the first of the afternoon meetings of the winter programme. Final preparations were made for the group meeting which the institute will host today. Names are being taken for the Christmas lunch to be held on December 16, at Kateshill, Bewdley. The speaker was Jeffrey Boak, who gave a fascinating talk about his work as a private detective in the 1960s in the North East. He spent a large part of his time working under cover, and at other times working closely with the police as well as serving writs often in risky situations, and getting evidence for divorce cases. The theme of next month’s meeting is “boom and bust years in the USA”. November 9, starting at 2pm, at Mamble Village Hall.

 

Tenbury

QUIZ NIGHT - Presented by Tenbury Wells Tourism Centre, at Little Hereford Village Hall, Saturday, 7pm for 7.30pm. £12 per team of four or come along and make up a team on the night. Nibbles, tea and coffee provided, bring your own drink. Book a place at the Tourist Office or ring Lynda 01584 810702.

CHARITY BONFIRE AND FIREWORKS - Tenbury and District Round Table. Professional fireworks, fully insured. November 7 at the Burgage, Tenbury, open 6.30pm, fire lit 7pm.

FLORAL ART CLUB - Open meeting. A little Christmas magic with Andrew by Andrew Lloyd from Stourbridge. The Regal, Tenbury Wells, November 12, 7.30pm start. Tickets £8 available from the Regal, Tenbury Wells.

 

The Strettons

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

LUNCH - A soup and apple pudding lunch at the parish centre tomorrow, will raise funds for Save the Children from noon-1.30pm. Cost is £6 paid at the door, and there will be a raffle and cards for sale.

MAYFAIR - A chance to discover the world of book arts is on offer at Mayfair Community Centre led by Katy Alston today from 4.30pm-6pm. Cost of the session is £15 and numbers are limited. Moving to Monday from 1pm- 3pm learn to design greetings cards using IT, £10 for this session. On October 31, there is a beginners’ sewing machine course on offer.

COMMUNITY CINEMA - Boyhood (15) is the film to screened at All Stretton Village Hall tomorrow at 7.30pm. The Second best Marigold Hotel (PG) will be shown at Church Stretton School on November 2, starring Richard Gere, Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel.

HARVEST SUPPER - An invitation to Little Stretton Village Hall for a harvest supper tomorrow at 7.30pm. During the evening there will be an auction to raise funds for Hope House Hospice. Tickets cost £7.50 and to enquire ring 01694 723627.

CRAFTS - There will be spooky goings on at Scrappies on Saturday with Hallowe’en craft for those of five years and upwards with sessions from 10.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm- 3.30pm. Cost per session is £3.50 or £2 for Krafty Kids Klub members. There will also be a Hallowe’en and Christmas sale from 10am. Don’t forget that Scrappies has moved around the corner to No 1 Sherratt Court (off Beaumont Road).

QUIZ NIGHT - Ken Willis will be the question master at a quiz night held at the Church Stretton District Social Club on Saturday night starting at 7.30pm. The quiz will raise funds for Retinitis Pigmentosa research.

CHARITY CARD SALE - The annual charity card sale takes place at the URC Hall on Saturday from 10am-noon including cards for RNLI, Severn Hospice, Save the Children, Cancer Research UK and Traidcraft.

COSTUME SALE - Our local drama group Dorrington Players is selling off many items from the wardrobe department on Saturday at the URC from 1.30pm-3.30pm.

NEPAL - Shayne from Kaboodle ran his first full marathon on October 4, achieving a time of 4h2m raising £1,300 in sponsorship to fund the rebuilding of Nepali schools and the salary of Nepalese teacher Mani Kumar Rai. There is a big thank you to all who sponsored him.

BIRDS - The local Ornithological Society meets at the Methodist Hall at 7.30pm on Monday for a talk by Allan Heath on Raptors of Shropshire. All welcome, admission for non-members is £2.

LIBRARY EVENTS - Rhymetime for the under threes offers fun, songs and rhymes from 10.30am-11am, then a free half term craft session follows from 11am-11.30am on pirates, with fancy dress optional. Advance booking is advisable. Every Thursday afternoon the local and family history sessions are held from 1pm-4pm with free internet access to Ancestry available and volunteers on hand to assist if required. All sessions held at the library.

ENGAGING ISSUES - The next meeting of engaging issues takes place on Tuesday at 7.30pm in the URC. The speaker on this occasion is William Hopkinson, a retired senior civil servant, on the subject of Britain and the European Union: Reform, solidarity or exit? All welcome, admission is £3.

GARDEN CLUB - The Church Stretton and District Gardening Club meets at the Silvester Horne Institute on Tuesday to hear Flower Talk by Victoria Martin. Doors open at 7pm for tea and coffee before the talk at 7.30pm. Visitors welcome. The gardening club has an outing planned to Arley Arboretum and Upper Arley, Worcestershire on Wednesday leaving at 1pm and returning at 5pm. The historic gardens and arboretum date back to the late 1700s and feature an Italian garden, a collection of acers and many special trees all in their autumn colours. There is also a tea room and a plant sale. Ring 01694 720131 to enquire for places on the coach.

NETWORK - The Network Group meets in the Methodist hall on Wednesday at 2.30pm and will be a quiz afternoon. All welcome.

RAIL USERS’ TALK - The Rail Users’ Association holds its autumn talk at the Methodist Church Hall next Thursday, October 29, at 7.30pm when the speaker will be Barry Oakes on the subject of the large scale engineering works that are currently being undertaken as part of the West of England and South Wales Route Modernisation. Barry is strategic railway operations manager of Network Rail.

CAMERA CLUB - The Longmynd Camera Club held its first competition of the season on October 7. This was an open subject competition which attracted 36 DPI and 36 print entries. Winning entries in the DPIs were Peter Howsam’s “photo opportunity”, David Kennedy’s “church window” and Linda Horler’s “morning mists”. Peter Howsam was again top in the print entries with “autumn morning”, Graham Brown came second with “winter tracks” and Kim Claxton with “bearded glory”. The competition was judged by John D Lacey, ARPS, CPAGB, EFIAP.

The next meeting of the club will be on November 4, when Geoff Taylor, BA, MA, ARPS, ABIPP will present “nearest earthly place to paradise”. Meetings are held at the URC Hall on Wednesday evenings at 7.30pm. Admission to visitors is £3.

SCHOOL NEWS - Church Stretton School’s PTA is hosting a craft fair at the school on November 14, from 10am-4pm. Friends of St Lawrence’s Primary School are hosting a fashion show on November 27, at 7pm.

BOOK SALE - The Rotary book sale for Mayfair Community Centre will take place on October 30 and 31, in the URC Hall and will be open from 10am-3.30pm. Donations of books, DVDs and CDs should be taken to Mayfair in advance of the sale, or ring for collection.

IRISH MUSIC - An Irish music night will be held at the Yew Tree Inn, All Stretton on October 30, from 8.30pm-11pm.

ACTON SCOTT - Acton Scott Working Farm Museum plans a special events day next Thursday, October 29, under the heading farm or fear with Hallowe’en kites, activity trails, tricks and treats, games and crafts and Hallowe’en lanterns from 1.30pm-4pm. Admission for children is £4, accompanying adults free! Enquire for places by ringing 01694 781307. Then later in the day there is to be a ghost walk around the farm led by the Ludlow ghost walk team starting at 7.30pm-9pm. This will be followed by hot chocolate and cookies in the new barn. Tickets cost £5 and are available now.

NATIONAL TRUST - The National Trust has two walking events on October 31. Ring 07972 115725 for more information.

 

Westhope

CLOVER CLUB - Twenty four members attended the October meeting of Westhope Clover Club. The speaker was Roy Bounds of Shrewsbury. Roy was born at Stokesay, Craven Arms, the youngest son of six children. His father was a shepherd, when Roy left school he trained to be an electrician, when he was 22 he had the chance to go to the South Pole, where he helped to build a Whaling Station. The ship he travelled on took everything for the job, bricks, cement, wood, glass etc. The buildings had to be built, before it could be wired. Roy showed these lovely slides, explained the frolics of the ice and snow and very cold temperatures. He answered lots of questions and was thanked by Kath Woodhouse. The next get together prize bingo, is November 12, 7pm, where any money raised will be for the Clover Club Christmas party. Please note the party is on December 2, 12.30pm for 1pm. Bring a bottle.

VILLAGE HALL LOTTERY - Winners in the October draw are first prize of £30.90 Tom Hall, Westhope. Other prize winners Bob Rainsford, Jasmin Simpson, Joe Evans, and Tom Hall (he won twice).

WHIST - There are three Westhope whist drives in November. November 2 is a whist drive, November 16 is whist and sherry, 8pm start. Admission £1.50 including refreshments. November 30, autumn show Christmas whist, 8pm start, Christmas fare prizes. Admission £2.

SKITTLE EVENT - At Westhope new skittle alley on November 14, 7pm. Teams of four £4 a team, light refreshments will be served. If you want a stronger drink bring one with you.

CHRISTMAS WHIST - At Westhope on December 14 at 8pm. Admission £2 including refreshments. Christmas fare prizes.

WI - Diddlebury and Westhope WI meeting. The president Kath Woodhouse presided over the meeting. It was the night of the skittle event against The Craven Arms Lady’s Club, so there was just a short business meeting. This was the first time the new skittle alley had been used. Tom Hall took charge of sorting the two teams and three other men helped with skittles. By half time the score was 42-48 to Craven Arms. There was a delicious supper provided by our friends from Craven Arms. They were too strong and won 119 to 85. The cup was presented to Gwye Morgan, their captain. Votes of thanks were exchanged and a huge raffle drawn.