For the past two weeks, Tina and I have been sleeping at the White Lion at Wilton as Tina has been running the Inn whilst Jacqui and Dave have been on Holiday. Whilst there, I have taken the cameras outside during the early morning before heading home to carry on with business as usual, with the intention of filming kingfishers and other wildlife on the river.

Over a few days, I managed to get a few clips on film and have edited them together to make a short 'Wilton Wildlife' video - click here to watch. (30 Mb, so if your broadband is not that quick, it might be better to right click and download.)

It is probably not the most exciting nature film ever but it does give an idea of what can be seen on the River Wye at Wilton. As far as kingfishers go, it is probably the most unsuccessful kingfisher film in the world. There is a short clip near the beginning of the film. I have seen lots of them but catching them on the slow to react video camera I have is much more difficult than catching still images. The JVC camera is nowhere near as fast to react as the Nikon stills equipment.

I was hoping I might catch some otters but have not seen any around for the past few weeks, probably due to fast flowing and high water levels on the River Wye. River levels are returning to normal now though, so I am hoping that they will return soon.

Continued . . .

The weather this week has been weird! Several days have been just like spring, rather than January weather but on Saturday we woke up to freezing fog. The photographs below - one each side of Wilton Bridge - were taken within a couple of days of each other. Sunday was beautiful again. I sat outside with a mug of tea and the camera and it was almost tee shirt and shorts weather again. I will continue to try and catch a kingfisher for next week's Wyenot News.

Staying at the pub has been nice - it's a difficult job but I guess somebody has to do it. I must admit though that I am looking forward to sleeping in our own bed on Monday night. Sleeping in an inn while Tina is working is not quite the same thing as being in bed and breakfast whilst on holiday. (Janet and Sue do cook a great breakfast though!) I have felt quite lonely coming home to go to get on with work by myself. We have only actually seen one another in bed and on Saturdays for the past two weeks and it's getting to the stage where I am beginning to talk to myself - and answer back.

It has generally been a very quiet news week, photographically but I hope you enjoy the short nature film. Filming and photographing wildlife is the type of photography I really enjoy. Taking the people photos can be nice at times but, despite the way I might come across, I always feel extremely self conscious and uncomfortable when photographing events. Much as I would like to be, I am not very good at making conversation with people. With nature photography, I can just relax and be myself.

Thank you to Dennis Morgan for sending in this photo of a Red Admiral butterfly which he took on 31st January - I am guessing - in Greytree as that is where Dennis lives.

The spring has certainly sprung early this year but I am writing this on Monday and I believe it is going to be -5 tonight, so I don't fancy its chances of survival, if it lived through Saturday.

Staff at Ross Heritage Centre will be celebrating 10 years since opening their doors to the public on 14th April this year and to celebrate this, along with the 50th anniversary of the Queens Visit to Ross Market House on 24th April, they will be holding a very special exhibition. This will consist of reprises of some of the best exhibitions held during the past 10 years.

Due to there having been nearly 100 exhibitions since the Centre's opening, it will be impossible to include examples from all of them. Therefore displays from a few of the more popular exhibitions will be shown.

A celebratory tea party will also be held for invited guests during the week of celebrations. This will include representatives of exhibitors, supporters and sponsors, as well as members of Heritage Services in Herefordshire Council.

Further to this Mary Powell of the Heritage Centre is asking readers for suggestions of past exhibitions they would like to see again (albeit in a smaller version).

If you have a suggestion, Mary is asking you to put it in writing with your name, address and contact telephone number. The names of those who make the suggestions will then be put in a hat and the name drawn out will be invited to represent the thousands of visitors the Centre has seen during the years.

Suggestions, clearly marked "Anniversary Exhibition", can be left at the Heritage Centre during opening hours. The exhibition starts in mid March, so suggestions will have to be in by 21st February at the latest.

Mary looks forward to seeing everyone during the exhibition. Full details of which will appear later in Wyenot News, in the local printed press and on posters.

A priest, a Pentecostal preacher and a Rabbi all served as chaplains in Canada. They would get together two or three times a week for coffee and to talk shop. One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard. That a real challenge would be to preach to a bear.

One thing led to another and they decided on an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it. Seven days later, they were all together to discuss the experience.

Father Flannery, who has his arm in a sling, is on crutches, and has various bandages, spoke first. 'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him I began to read to him from the Catechism. Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.'

Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, with an arm and both legs in casts, and an IV drip. In his best fire and brimstone oratory he claimed, 'Well brothers, you know that we don't sprinkle! I went out and I found me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's Holy Word! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me. So I took hold of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, up another and down another until we came to a creek. So I quickly dunked him and baptized his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus.'

They both looked down at the Rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IV's and monitors running in and out of him. He was in bad shape. The rabbi looked up and said, 'Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best way to start.'

Ross 2nds entertained Hereford 3rds at John Kyrle High School on Saturday, with a thrilling 21 points to 19 victory. Tries came from John Spery, Andy Bevan and Pete Smith, while Matt Taylor continued his 100 per cent record with the boot.

There was a good mix of youth and experience, which culminated in a good victory for Ross. Again, Dave Mince and Matt Taylor gave an all round solid performance, with Matt Taylor, Craig Powell and Andy Bevan playing pivotal roles.

It was a difficult decision for the Gwalia man of the match award, but eventually this went to John Spery for his tireless work around the fringes and a well deserved try.

Ross would like to thank the John Kyrle High School for the use of their facilities.

Ross 2nds' next game is away to Drybrook 3rds on Saturday, 10th February.

After a hard fought win over table topping Kingswood last week, Ross were straight back into league action at home to Cotham Park from Bristol. At the reverse fixture earlier in the season, Ross had defeated Cotham Park 27-0. However, after a moral lifting victory over Tetbury the week previous, Cotham travelled to Ross with an amount of optimism.

On a heavy pitch the game was scrappy from the off and Ross worked hard to get some continuity into their game. However, there were too many unforced errors early on and as a result Ross were unable to dominate possession and territory. When Cotham did get the ball they looked dangerous, obviously buoyed by the win over Tetbury the previous week. As the 1st quarter came to a close, however, Ross did get on the score sheet.

After some good work by forwards Wayne Williams and Tara Barnett, Simon Gwynne set his backs moving. Quick hands set Hugh Bellamy through a gap and he had enough pace to beat the fullback to score, giving Ross a 5-0 lead. From the kick off however, Cotham Park hit straight back. After securing possession in the Ross twenty two, the Ross back line were caught offside,Cotham converted the penalty and they had reduced Ross's lead to 5-3. The remainder of the half belonged to Ross. As their forward pack began to exert their dominance, this enabled better quality ball for their back line and within 5 minutes Ross increased their lead. First Tim Hanks, then Matt Redman drove hard into the Cotham forwards. Simon Gwynne moved the ball quickly left and Chay Brine fed Alistair Rees who popped a pass to Chris Gage. After what seemed an age of juggling, Chris finally gathered control of the ball and raced in to score. He converted his own try, giving Ross a 12-3 lead. With the half coming to a close, Ross added to their lead once again. After some fine driving play from Ashley Nelms and Nick Rawlings the ball was moved right to Chay Brine. He looked up to find two props marking him. Chay accepted the invitation, accelerating between the two of them, outpacing the cover defence to score under the posts. Chris Gage converted giving Ross a 19-3 lead at half time.

Ross failed to kick on in the second half and put Cotham to the sword. To their credit they did not lay down, but Ross were unable to increase the tempo enough to see the flood gates open. They did add another score through Tim Hanks, converted by Chris Gage, but with Cotham unable to offer a threat in attack, mainly down to the excellence of the Ross defence, the game petered out with Ross winning 26-3.

Next game is against Tetbury at home on Saturday 10th February. Kick off is at 2.30pm.

Ross-on-Wye Weather Station is located by the tennis courts and bowling green at 'Crossfields' and is one of the important stations around the country which regularly sends data to the Meteorological Office. This is why Ross-on-Wye is sometimes mentioned on the BBC weather reports. It is currently still a manually monitored station and readings are taken twice per day by husband and wife team, June and Rex Swallow.

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