Please forgive me if next week's editions of Wyenot News is a bit light or even not published at all. For the past few weeks Tina has nagged me into believing that we need to get away for a while.

As I will not be here to take photos for a couple of days, next week's edition of Wyenot News will be down to the bare minimum, or I may not even publish at all - probably the latter to make certain of a good break as even the most interesting of jobs can become a chore if you work at it too much. The past week or so, every time the phone has rung I have hoped it is somebody who just wants to talk about life, the universe - anything other than work. I'll probably need extra time anyway - to do all the washing up after leaving the house in the hands of the boys and the dog. The following week however (28th June), things will get back to normal, with coverage of the White Lion Beer and Cider Festival and much more.

I have booked a couple of days by the sea to get away from it all and I intend to switch off my mobile phone. It was actually quite difficult finding somewhere to stay - nowhere else seems to have an easy to find, easy to navigate web site which covers everything, like wot Wyenot.com duz, so I ended up booking a non-descript 'Travel Inn' type of place through lack of other information!

Around the town on Saturday people got together to support their country, watching England's first game of the 2006 World Cup. Ross Baptist Church are showing all of the England matches on their big screen and of course, the various pubs around town are also showing the games on TV.

I did a quick tour of some of the venues on Saturday and pictured below are scenes from around the town. In the Baptist Church, Tim Shelley and Pete Martin plus supporters watching the screen inside the church. At the Prince of Wales, Landlord and Landlady, Jay and Amanda Hill work the bar while the match is being shown on a big screen in the function room. In the King Charles II, supporters watch the match.

I am not much of a football follower myself but I did go to one of the 1966 matches at Wembley because I won a ticket at school. I could have sold that ticket a hundred times over but the day off school to go was more exciting than money! The match was Mexico v Uruguay - no score draw.

Dean Hill Hospital

Dear Mr. Wood,

Recently, I discovered that an aunt of mine was a long-term patient at Dean Hill Hospital. She died in January 1964 and is buried in St. Mary's cemetery, Ross-on-Wye.

If any readers worked at the hospital or had connections with Dean Hill in the early 1960s, I would be grateful if you would get in touch.

Bryn Owen,
Barnsley, S. Yorks

If you are able to help Bryn or know of somebody else who might: he has supplied his full address along with a S.A.E. I am however a little wary of publishing a private individual's full postal address here. If you contact me however I can either pass on his details privately or send him your details. I am guessing that Bryn saw this web site in the library or something and does not have easy access to email as his letter arrived by snail mail.
A.J.W.
email

John Kyrle High School is celebrating the news that they have been given the opportunity to develop a further specialism having been identified as a high performing specialist school. In a letter from the DfES, the school was informed that they had 'met the high performance criteria agreed by Ministers' and were offered 'the opportunity to enhance your specialist role'.

Consistent high performance at GCSE was a major factor in the DfES' decision to grant John Kyrle an additional status. The school now needs to choose either a second subject specialism to add to its excellence in technology or to become a training school. The letter added that, 'this is a critical point in a school's development: a time to reflect on the school's strengths, its capacity to contribute to system-wide reform, and a stage at which to set out the future vision and plan for the school's development and improvement.'

Headteacher, Nigel Griffiths, said, 'These are exciting times for John Kyrle. The opportunities we take now will help to shape the educational possibilities of the next generation of students. It is a marvellous reward for all the hard work that the staff, students and governors have put into improving John Kyrle over recent years. We are very proud to be the first school in the county to have been offered this opportunity.'

The book train arrived right on time at the Book Swap Shop in Cantilupe Road, located near Ross Library. The train arrived with its own guard in the shape of Dean Forest Railway volunteer guard, Victor Laubach, dressed in full 1950's British Rail black serge. Victor was recently the guard on the train that carried Princess Anne through the Forest of Dean during her visit in May.

The train rolled into its final destination at the Book Shop last Friday full of children's and young readers books. It is hoped that the train will encourage more parents and children to visit the swap shop, swap and pick-up more books. Children can either swap some of their unwanted books or parents can make a small donation for the books they take.

The train was made by volunteers at Kyrle Enterprises, which is based at the Ryefield Centre in Ross. Kyrle Enterprises is a project facilitated by the local recycling Charity EnviroAbility and operated entirely by people with learning disabilities.

Train guard Victor said, 'This is a really worthwhile project and if we can encourage children to read more, that must be good.' Victor would also be pleased to hear from anybody interested in getting involved with the Dean Forest Railway as a volunteer.

The Book Swap Shop, run by 'Enviroability', is open 10 am to 4 pm excluding Wednesdays and Sundays and all visitors are welcome. For further details please call 01989 760919 or visit www.enviroability.org.uk

In the photo are, Guard, Victor Laubach, Dennis Humble and volunteer, Chris Page.

If you have a local news item or story of local interest which you would like to appear on Wyenot News you are very welcome to submit it by email, telephone or by post.

Please advise as early as possible if you would like me to photograph your local event so that I can put it in my diary. This service is offered strictly on a first come, first served basis.

Many Wyenot News photographs appear in various local newspapers and magazines. This does not imply that Wyenot News or any other part of this web site belongs to those publications. Wyenot News is a totally independent news magazine.

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