Following last week's request for information on the well-being of Angie Osborne in Thailand, Angie has emailed home and she is safe and well. The contact problem was purely technical - she could not access her email.

Angie was working on the China Sea side of the mainland, in Koh Phangan and did not even feel the earthquake.

Angie did however have friends who were on the Indian Ocean side during the tsunami. She said, 'I know a few people that were involved in it and, just by the grace of God they're alive. The stories they have to tell would scare you to death. They did me!'

Angie has been busy working in a bar on Had Yao Beach, Koh Phangan, where on New Year's Eve a party was held, attended by four hundred people and lasting for two days. The previously arranged party was adapted to become a fundraiser and all who attended donated to the Tsunami Fund.

Family Reunited

Thank you to Margaret and Dennis Wilce and Fred Druce. Steve King, whose letter requesting information was published in last week's edition of Wyenot News has been reunited with lost family members.

Ross-in-Bloom is now up and running again for the coming year following their Christmas and New Year breaks. The committee is now into the stage of serious planning and work for the holiday season to come. This year is even more important as the group want to keep up their high standard in the Heart of England in Bloom event - to encourage more visitors to come to Ross as well as to the county as a whole. Working with the other in Bloom members such as Leominster, Ledbury, Bromyard and Hereford, Ross-in-Bloom will be going all out this year to try to help to maintain the county record number of awards for 2004 - if not improve on them.

All the Flame Colours - Red's, Oranges, Yellow's etc. are the planned colours for the town for the coming summer, which means Ross should be "on fire" for the annual competitions in July.

We are still looking for people who can give some of their time to help - anything from an hour a week and beyond. All types of skills are required - volunteers don't just have to be gardeners or even interested in gardening. They just have to be keen to help to keep Ross interesting, clean and tidy to encourage more visitors to the town. Anyone who has any ideas on fund raising, to raise money to see the town through into the 2006 season is also required.

This year, the team is planning a day to remember on Heart of England in Bloom Day. The date is not yet fixed, but it is hoped as many people as possible will dress for the occasion in historical costume. Some of the major people of the town's history will be depicted, as well as their visitors across history. The historical dates to work on are from Stone-age

Ref: 2002 tulip

to the end of World War II. A meeting will be arranged shortly amongst those who have expressed an interest in taking part. However, as well as having people milling around the town for the day, it is hoped many traders, business, pubs, etc. will take part. Having liaised with the Carnival Committee this is also an ideal opportunity to take part in the Carnival this year. As the two events fall within a couple of weeks of each other, the Carnival Committee would love to see everyone on Heart of England in Bloom Day walking with the floats in the Carnival.

Details of anything to do with Ross-in-Bloom, can be obtained by leaving your name, address and telephone number at the Heritage Centre, Lucas Motorcycles and Halcyon Daze. You can also telephone 01989 563056 during reasonable hours.

Art Cases, is an entertaining and intriguing exhibition, displayed in six suitcases, each with its own fascinating audio accompaniment.

Art Cases which proved to be a popular and well attended summer exhibition, moves from Hereford Museum to the Market House Heritage Centre in January 2005. Comments and reviews suggest a wide range of age groups enjoyed listening to the stories and peeping into the suitcases.

A local person of historical significance owns each Art Case. You are invited to consider the owner and learn more about them. Saint Katherine of Ledbury, Caratacus the Celtic warrior King who fought a battle on the Herefordshire Beacon, Garstone the thief who killed the Mordiford dragon, Lord Somers of Eastnor Castle, Mathew the medieval artist who created the wall paintings in Saint Mary's Church, Kempley, and Susanna Lambert of the Hope End; share their lives and legacies through their possessions and monologues. You can listen to each of them while looking at the contents of their suitcase.

This project was supported by the Arts Council of England and will travel throughout Herefordshire to four different museums. It brings together the creative talents of the artist Jeanette McCulloch, who graduated from the Royal College of Art, and the writer Guy Malkerson who studied at the University of California at Berkeley and the City Literature Institute in London.

The audio accompaniment, include original songs and music by Mark Stevenson (of the Treefrogs) and Dion Charles Scott (singer/songwriter) who are also narrators. The other narrators are; Will Turberfield the town crier of Ledbury, Jenny Scott, Philip Weaver, and Pat Souter. The recordings were produced at Dolphin Studios in Ledbury.

An illustrated book with CD is also available. For further information, please contact the artist Jeanette McCulloch at j_mcculloch_98@yahoo.com or visit the website www.jeanettemcculloch.co.uk.

WyeNot.com Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire. Contact by E-mail. Tel: 01989 763217 Mobile: 0779 683 4077
Photography and web site copyright © Alan J. Wood, WyeNot.com 2000 - 2006. All rights reserved.