Thanks to Victoria and Jono, Gloucester and District Autograss Club were able to hold their Presentation Evening at the Old Court Hotel, Whitchurch on Saturday evening.

Several local lads came up trumps for the juniors. Following a very successful season's racing, James Mayo took the first place trophy, Ryan Taylor 2nd, Josh Morgan 3rd and Dan Rodder 3rd. Encouragement trophies went to Kirstin Lancett and Tim Creed, who also received the 'Hard Luck' trophy.

Dan Rodder was presented with the Best New Car trophy while James Mayo made it a hat trick when as well as taking first prize, he was also awarded the Best Men's Novice Under 21s and the Junior Champion trophies.

A special presentation was also made on the evening to Phil and Pauline Kent, who retired after 23 years of racing with the Gloucester Club.

Autograss is a non-contact motor-sport that takes place on an oval 440 yard track, on a natural soil surface. Due to the close nature of the racing, thrills and spills are never far away. Racing takes place in the various classes with up to 10 cars starting on a straight line grid and racing over short 4-8 lap races.

The major meetings, most of which are staged over two days, offer upwards of 200 races. All classes normally race through qualifying heats and finals and, if time permits, open races take place, where different classes race against each other.

The social side of the sport is a very large factor in its appeal and on the Saturday evening of meetings the aroma of barbecue cooking is hard to escape from as friends from all over the country meet up. This just seems to emphasize the family nature of the sport encompassed by the fact that husband, wife and children can all compete in the same car.

No Autograss event requires competitors to enter prior to the day and with the exception of the National Championships, which require qualification / registration, any NASA licence holder can race at any NASA meeting just by turning up.

Racing licences are available for men, ladies and juniors (12-16 year olds restricted to class 1 cars only) Mechanics and social licences are also available for those who do not wish to race but would like to be part of this very affordable motor sport.

If this very brief tour of the sport has whetted your appetite then pop along to any of the meetings and speak to the people there who will be more than happy to give you more information. Alternatively you could contact any of the club / league officials or directors and they will also be more than happy to help.

Gloucester and District Autograss Club look forward to seeing you at a meeting and will be very surprised if your first meeting is your last. Race Dates for 2007 are 29th April, 20th May and 1st July at Pound Farm, Elton Corner, Gloucestershire. Contact the club's Chairperson, Lisa Paskell on 07717754969 or Secretary, Coralie Mayo on 07980733467 for further information.

Back in the year 2001 and again in 2004, I recorded the bells of St. Mary's, Ross for this web site. The 2004 recording can be found here. Over the past six years, I have received literally hundreds of nice emails from all over the world, from people who have been pleased to have been able to listen to the Bells of St. Mary's on Wyenot.com.

I received the following email today though and thought you might like to see it:

'Dear Sir,

I have just heardthe recording of the bells which if I may offer an opinion would suggest that the recordist has no knowledge of his subject. WHAT YOU HAVE RECORDED IS THE RINGING UP OF THE BELLS. The change ringing, which is what people want to hear starts only after the bells are up. It would be nice to hear these bells ringing out as intended.

Yours,
Roger A Clark'

Oh dear, Mr. Roger A. Clark. I'm sorry but your name does not ring a bell. Thank you all the same for your comments, which have been duly noted. I have obviously dropped a clanger but then, my only bell ringing experience was gained when I was chosen one day as 'bell monitor' at school many years ago and had to ring the bell at 4 o'clock. That particular bell ringing made a thousand kids in an East London school very happy because it meant they could go home.

I have never actually professed to having even the slightest knowledge of the subject of church bell ringing. All I did was the best I could, with my limited recording equipment and, as you have already gathered, even more limited knowledge of church bells. I reproduced the sound of the bells as they are picked up locally by the ears of a Philistine in campanology terms, such as I. (Actually, I only know the term,'campanology' as I dabble with cryptic crosswords. Gun from the German campanologist. 9 letters = DERRINGER)

If you are not happy with the result of my recording (which I really only made to impress Esmeralda), might I make so bold as to suggest that you visit St. Mary's with some recording equipment of your own and some truly professional bell ringers. With your expert knowledge, I am sure that you would be able to make a recording available with the sound that listeners would REALLY LIKE tohear.

Alan (Quasi) Wood

Ross Drugs Forum and The Lifebuoy Trust are pleased to announce that they have commissioned local playwright Ian Pauley to write a play. The remit of the commission is to tackle the communication problems that exist between parents and their children; problems that encourage children into a 'career' of drug taking.

The play, 'Poppy Appeal', will be produced at The Phoenix Theatre here in Ross. Between now and the first performance a series of events will take place as part or a campaign to raise interest and support for the two charities.

Poppy Appeal calls for two teenage actors and there will be an 'X-Factor' style audition for the roles of Dean and Angeline. This will be held after GCSE exams at JKHS. Competing for the honours will be the drama students from JKHS and members of X-Entricity.

John Cooper MSc, manager of Lifebuoy Trust said, 'Lifebuoy was established to help people who have been through a life of misery perpetuated by an addiction to drugs. We do not make moral judgements as to why they started taking drugs; we want to help those that want to rejoin mainstream society. Support for these people is woefully inadequate and, as things stand we can only help eight people at a time; although we hope to raise enough money to move into a larger property where we can help twenty at a time.'

When asked how important the play was to the work of Ross Drugs Forum and Lifebuoy, Jane Pendlebury of Ross Drugs Forum said, 'we hope that Poppy Appeal will generate a lot more interest in the work that Ross Drugs Forum does. A lot of young adults seek refuge in drugs simply because they feel they are not being listened to and it is this lack of communication that the play tackles.'

When asked what he would like the audiences to go away with Ian Pauley replied, 'I would like to think that all generations will question whether their viewpoint is absolutely right. It is far too easy to become entrenched and see the world from just your perspective. With a little understanding and some considered discussion a lot of trouble can be avoided. I would also like to point out that the play is being made authentic with the help of Luke, one of the people that Lifebuoy has helped. Luke will also be co-writing some original music for the play.'

Wyenot News will be following the campaign and will print an article each month reporting on its progress. Poppy Appeal will run from the 22nd to the 29th of September. The website address for The Lifebuoy Trust is www.lifebuoy.org.uk and the website for The Phoenix Theatre can be found at www.the-phoenix-theatre.org.uk.

If you would like to make a donation then please send a cheque, payable to 'The Lifebuoy Trust' to: The Lifebuoy Trust Glen Wye, Herefordshire HR9 6JJ.

A New Year Lunch for Ross senior citizens, many in their 80's and 90's, was held at the Ryefield Centre on Sunday 28th January , hosted by New Life Church. During the meal, diners enjoyed fellowship and a delicious chicken dinner followed by apple pie and custard.

After the coffee and chocolates they joined in a short service, singing 'Blessed Assurance' and 'What a friend we have in Jesus'. A wonderful time was had by all.

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.

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