The staff at the Market House Heritage Centre would like to wish everybody best wishes for the festive season. Thank you too to all of those who support the centre with exhibitions, visits and in other ways. Visitor figures are well up on this time last year and we do hope you will continue to patronize us during the coming months to make the whole year the best ever.

We already have an excellent programme booked for the coming year - something for everyone, we hope. This will be published in the New Year. The Centre is building up to Christmas with festive exhibitions and events. The exhibition by local artists Doug Eaton, Jerry Whitehouse, Lawrence Hughes, Humphrey Stanley and Rex Foley has been extended until the 18th December. This includes a variety of art works to suit all tastes with paintings and prints for sale as ideal gifts for someone special this Christmas. An ideal opportunity to have a good look at some of the local talent Ross has to offer.

'Cards for Good Causes' will be selling Christmas Cards, Gift Wrap and Calendars until Saturday 11th December. Unfortunately they must leave us then but have been provisionally booked in for November next year. There are still a wide variety of cards available, but stocks are running low very fast. If there is a specific charity you like to support, you will need to come in quickly to avoid disappointment.

There will be a last minute chance for late night Christmas shopping in the Centre on Saturday 18th December until 6pm. This is the evening Father Christmas arrives in Ross and visits the Market House with his helpers. Carol singing in the Market Place is planned from 5 pm to greet Santa when he arrives on floats, with his escort of torch bearing Cubs and Scouts. He will have enough presents to give to to all the children of the town.

The staff at the Heritage Centre will be holding two activity days for children of all ages (3 to 103 years) during the Christmas holiday period. Dates to put in your diary are Monday 20th December and Wednesday 22nd December. Both are free drop-in sessions from 10.30 am to 3 pm. The first is "Make a Stained Glass Window Christmas Card". This will be run by the education staff of Hereford Museum. The second will be "Find out about the wildlife of Canada". Visitors will have the opportunity to make a Beaver Lodge as well as a collage of the different animals found there. This is being run by a member of staff of the centre who is also an authority on Canada and its natural history. Something different to have a go at.

The Lions "Tree of Memories" will remain at the Heritage Centre until twelfth night, on 6th January. Anybody who wishes to remember a loved one this Christmas can purchase a card from the staff to hang on the tree. Every penny from this goes to local charities through the very worthwhile work of the Ross Lions Club. Cards cost £2 each and once in place they make a beautifully decorated tree for all to see.

There is still time to have a go at the fun quiz for all the family over the holiday. Question sheets will be available on the desk or in the Ross Gazette and Ross Recorder newspapers. Prizes of boxes of chocolates will be given to the first two correct answer sheets opened after the closing date of 30th December. This is a free competition open to all ages. Further information, as always, on all forthcoming events and exhibitions at the Heritage Centre can be obtained by calling in or telephoning 01432 260675.

During the morning of Saturday, 4th December somebody stole a pile of home produced Christmas cards from the display at my Saturday shop at Ross-on-Wye market. I would just like to send a brief message to the person concerned.

I hope the recipients appreciate the thought and effort you put into sending their seasonal greeting! (And that your dick drops off.)

Mary Sinclair Powell and Jo Ashman would like to thank everyone who participated in the late night opening event in Ross, on Thursday 2nd December.

To appease those who have said they knew nothing about it, over 150 traders took our flyers about the opening, and over 50 informed us they would definitely be open. These flyers were distributed at least 2 months ago. We also distributed 40 posters around the town in two lots. The first informed everyone about late night opening and the carol singing at the Market House, a month before the event. The second listed those who had informed us they would be opening. These were delivered a week before the event.

We also had major media coverage for the three weeks leading up to the event. No one was more disappointed than we were to discover Marks and Spencer announcing the morning of the 2nd they were having a 20% day, trading way into the evening. Unfortunately outside forces such as these cannot be foreseen.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the singers who braved the "getting colder as the evening went on" weather to entertain with carols at the Market House. Clapping could be heard from the Heritage Centre during the evening, so they must have had appreciative audiences.

Mary Sinclair Powell Jo Ashman

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