A group of regular customers of the Hope & Anchor visited the Old Ham Mine near Clearwell on Saturday 18th February. Led by Mike Barnard, the team, which included David Barnard and Dale Davidson aged just fourteen, walked and then crawled through passageways until they reached the 'Railway Churn' which is 400 feet below ground. The team became a little concerned as they neared a tiny little gap called The Mouse Hole, as it is just a fraction bigger than an average human body. However, they all managed to squeeze safely through.

The team then climbed through the corkscrew system of rocks until they reached the upper level of the caves, at which point they all switched off their head lamps and were led out of the caves in total darkness by a second instructor 'Ladi.'

The team returned to the Hope & Anchor later in the afternoon tired, but having really enjoyed the experience.

Pictured below, looking like a group about to face a firing squad are the intrepid crew: Mike Barnard, Devon Ridley, Dale Davidson, David Barnard, Jake Ridley, Theresa Davidson, Steve McKie, Phil Davidson (no relation), Iain Sandison and Hope & Anchor landlord Ben Nelsey.

Mrs. Joyce Thomas MBE made a special presentation to the residents of Reynolds Court, which is managed by Hanover Housing on Tuesday 14th February. The residents, led by Mrs Evelyn Ball turned the grounds of Reynolds Court into award winning gardens, winning gold in 2003 and again in 2004 in the Ross in Bloom competitions. In 2005, they were a little disappointed to be awarded a silver gilt, however, their Estate Manager secretly took photographs of the gardens and sent them to Hanover Housings' regional office. Mrs Thomas praised the residents for all their hard work and presented Mrs Ball with a shield. Mr. Derek Cooper, Chairman of the Residents Association then made a surprise presentation of a vintage Three Choirs wine to Mrs Thomas, after which a delicious buffet lunch was enjoyed by all.

Begleitet wurden die Schülerinnen und Schüler während des 10-tätigen von Mr. Muray Alston vom Schülerbeirat der Highschool. Mrs. Angelika Kitchiner, die an der englischen Schule Deutsch unterrichtet, hatte die Fahrt organisiert und war ebenfalls MIT nach Betzdorf gekommen.

In Betzdorf wurden die Schülerinnen und Schüler von Studiendirektor Helmut Münzel empfangen. Während Des Besuches IM Betzdorfer Rathaus erzählte Bürgermeister Michael Lieber, was sich in Betzdorf seit dem letzten Besuch der englischen Gäste getan hat. Nach dem Besuch beim Bürgermeister schaute sich die Schülergruppe noch das Bauprojekt "Siegkreisel" an. In den nächsten Tagen stand noch ein Besuch in der Landeshauptstadt Mainz an.

Janey Lee Grace of BBC Radio 2 visited Ross-on-Wye on Tuesday 14th February. Janey gave a talk in Field Fayre and signed copies of her new book, Imperfectly Natural Woman.