Merton House Hotel for disabled visitors held a successful fete on Sunday afternoon. In the top picture, Mrs. Barbara Marshall from Birmingham, wife of Bob Marshall, a great benefactor of Merton House officially opens the fate.

The afternoon event was well supported by many, including Mrs. Joyce Thomas MBE DL, Councillor Phil Cutter and Rev. Denis Clarringbull, who can be seen in the bottom picture, with David Ravenscroft of Ross Lions.

This summer, The Creative Learning Centre in Ross-On-Wye has a great new programme of events for young people across the county. Catering for all ages and for a wide variety of interests, there really is something for everyone.

Through collaboration with The Courtyard, Herefordshire's Centre for the Arts, Basement Youth Trust, Herefordshire Council Youth Service and Ross Live!, The Creative Learning Centre is offering a brilliant programme of summer events from July through to September.

It will include activities and workshops ranging from photography to graphic design, football to contemporary dance, kayaking to mountain biking, animation to singing and music production. And all under the guidance of top tutors and workshop leaders from across the country within state-of-the-art facilities, rehearsal and performance spaces.'

This facility is a great thing for the whole community, and is creating a wonderful opportunity for young people in Herefordshire,' says Ben Peer, Centre Manager in Ross and Community Arts Development Officer at The Courtyard. 'The program is our most comprehensive ever, and we've managed to bring together a superb team of tutors who will bring such a lot to the activities'.

With Ross Live! The Centre will provide a special program of events, which features performances from the exuberant New Rope String Band and the talented BBC Young Musician Hannah Roper. Other activities include theatre workshops from Heartbreak Productions, a theatrical summer school at the Phoenix Theatre and the opportunity to sing Beethoven's Ninth in a day.

The organizers would urge readers to book soon, as there are limited spaces on some of the courses. A full programme of activities in Adobe Acrobat format can be downloaded by clicking here. (You may have to adjust your security settings but the file is safe.)

Alternatively, for more information or to sign up for an activity they can contact Ben Peer at benjamin.peer@courtyard.org.uk 07841 501723 or Amy Forbes at amy.forbes@courtyard.org.uk 07866 557735. The Creative Learning Centre is on Hill Street in Ross-on-Wye.

When the latest recruit to the Ross-on-Wye Lions Club, David Lingwood, was talking to his neighbour, who happens to be an MS sufferer, he heard that the Ross MS Support Group was raising funds to purchase a special light weight wheelchair. This wheelchair is especially light so that people with disabilities can lift it in and out of their cars easily. David knew he had to do something about it, this was what Lions was about, that is why he had joined the Lions club.

At his next meeting he proposed that the club purchase the £250 wheelchair for the MS Group and, as he expected, it met with the approval of all of his colleagues in the Lions Club. After all, it was a very worthy cause.

The Ross MS Support Group has around fifteen members attending their meetings and any one of them can borrow equipment whenever they need it. It makes life so much easier for them and enables them to get around instead of sitting at home.

At the MS Group's latest meeting at the Larruperz Centre, the Ross Lions President, Keith Wilding, along with Lion David Lingwood and Public Relations Officer Bernard Fowkes were present in order for Keith to present a cheque to the Group and for all to see the light weight wheelchair they had bought.

Gay Cheeseman, new Chairman of the Ross MS Supporters Group, thanked the Lions for their generosity and continued support. She said that the group sent out over 50 Newsletters to supporters and were looking to increase this number.

If you are interested in becoming involved with the Ross MS Support Group you can contact Gay on 01531 670680. They meet on the first Thursday of each month at the Larruperz Centre at 7:00 pm

If you would like to learn more about what the Ross Lions Club do you can find out on their website at www.rossonwyelions.org.

Andi provided the Saturday Live music at the Prince of Wales this week. I had hoped to make it to the gig, and indeed went to the Prince earlier in the evening for something else and took the photo below. The weekend however was an incredibly busy one and I was unable to get back for the performance.

I hope it went well. Sorry we missed you, Andi and we look forward to the next one. Fate seems to be intervening here somewhere. Last time I photographed you at the White Lion Festival 2006 PP (Pre Pergola) the Heavens opened and your performance had to be cancelled. Third time lucky, maybe!

Herefordshire libraries are staging a wealth of events to coincide with the launch of the Big Wild Read, this year's Summer Reading Challenge. The Big Wild Read is being launched on Wednesday, 11th July at Queenswood arboretum, by youngsters from Stoke Prior primary school who will be completing a nature trail and having storytimes.

Youngsters taking part in the Big Wild Read are challenged to read any six books from the library over the summer, keeping track of them in a special folder. For every book read, youngsters can stick a tree token in their folder and, at the end of the challenge, all the tree tokens will go towards planting real trees thanks to the Woodland Trust's Trees for All campaign. The aim is to plant 20,000 new trees this autumn.

As well as reading books, youngsters will find out about endangered animals and ways to help the environment. There are also some great scratch and sniff stickers to collect along the way. To take part, youngsters should go to their local library to pick up a folder and get started. There are book collections for libraries devised specifically to support The Big Wild Read, including books around the theme of nature and the environment, and books that are just great summer reads.

Children who complete the Big Wild Read by reading six or more books will receive a medal and / or certificate. All materials are free from libraries and The Big Wild Read is open to children aged four to 11 during the school summer holidays.

To tie in with the Big Wild Read, a series of wildlife themed events are being held at libraries throughout Herefordshire. Activities include Animal Encounters, where an armadillo, meercat and skunk will be brought along to meet children. Craft workshops 'Plants and Pots' and 'Making Bugs' are also being held. Ian Whybrow is holding two sessions on Wednesday, 15th August, one of which is at Hereford Library and the other at Leominster Library, when he will talk about his stories.

'Bees' is a workshop with the Beekeeping Association with interactive elements and a talk about the importance and role of bees. Wildplay will do a bug hunt at Colwall, the Green Butterfly company are to help create a collage of how they see Bromyard and Kington, focusing on resources and energy, and there will also be a compost game to do with recycling.

Councillor Adrian Blackshaw, cabinet member for economic development and community services, said: 'Many children in Herefordshire really enjoy the summer reading challenge and staff at the county's libraries are staging a series of fun events and workshops to support the project. Many youngsters are also concerned about the impact global warming has on the environment so we are expecting a record number of children to take part in The Big Wild Read inspired by the chance to really make a difference, not least by helping to plant 20,000 new trees in the UK's regional woods.'

Dates for activities are as follows: Hereford Library: 'Plants and Pots,' Wednesday, 25th July at 2.30pm;
'Animal Encounters,' Friday, 10th August at 2pm;
'A Bucketful of Stories,' with Ian Whybrow on Wednesday,15th August at 2pm; and 'Making Bugs' on Thursday, 30th August at 2.30pm.

Leominster Library: 'Plants and Pots' on Thursday, 26th July at 2.30pm;
'Animal Encounters' on Wednesday, 1st August at 2pm;
'A bucketful of stories' with Ian Whybrow on Wednesday, 15th August at 10.30am and
'Making Bugs' on Friday, 24th August at 2.30pm.

Ross-on-Wye Library: 'Animal Encounters' on Monday, 23rd July at 2pm;
'Plants and Pots' on Thursday, 2nd August at 2.30pm;
'Bees' on Thursday, 16th August at 2.30pm and
'Making Bugs' on Thursday, 30th August at 10.30am.

Bromyard Library: 'Plants and Pots,' Tuesday, 31st July;
'Green Butterfly' drop-in session to create a collage, Wednesday, 8th August from 2pm until 4pm;
'Making Bugs,' Friday, 31st August at 10.30am.

Kington Library: 'Plants and Pots' on Wednesday, 1st August at 10.30am;
'Green Butterfly' drop-in to create a collage, Wednesday, 8th August from 2pm until 4pm;
'Making Bugs,' Friday, 17th August, at 10.30am.

Ledbury Library: 'Plants and Pots,' Wednesday, 25th July at 2.30pm;
Craft activity, Wednesday, 8th August;
'Making Bugs,' Friday, 10th August at 2.30pm;
Compost game, Wednesday, 29th August at 2.30pm.

Colwall Library: 'Plants and Pots,' Friday, 3rd August at 2.30pm;
Wildplay, Wednesday, 15th August from 2.30pm until 4.30pm;
'Making Bugs,' Friday, 31st August at 10.30am.

Belmont Library: 'Plants and Pots,' Thursday, 26th July at 2.30pm;'
Making Bugs,' Friday, 31st August at 10.30am.

Leintwardine Library: 'Plants and Pots,' Friday, 10th August at 10.30am;
'Making Bugs,' Tuesday, 28th August at 2.30pm.

Weobley Library: 'Plants and Pots,' Thursday, 23rd August at 10.30am;
'Making Bugs, Thursday, 30th August at 2.30pm.

Year six pupils from Goodrich primary School spent a week 'Outward Bound' at Holly Barn, close to Symonds Yat Rock last week, where they enjoyed team building exercises such as abseiling, orienteering and canoeing.

In the photo, Rebecca Constance, Emily Watson, Darian Cole, Storm Cocking, Lily Lane, Kelly Sparrow and Nichola Burns can be seen with instructor, David Owens and Ben Williams, from Holly Barn.

Children at Walford Primary School raised a fantastic £250.00 towards the Macmillan Charles Renton Unit appeal by holding a non-uniform day. A group of representatives from the school presented a cheque for the amount last Wednesday, to Mrs. Joyce Thomas, Patron of Macmillan, Ross-on-Wye and Dawn Boaden, Chairman of the Walford Group.

In the picture presenting the cheque are Head Teacher, Steven Roberts, Dawn Boaden, Joyce Thomas, Joseph, Josephine, William, Anna, Cameron, Tilley, Kieren, Dominick, Saudari, Jacob, Jacob, Lily, Anna-May and Alex.

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.

DO YOU HAVE A STORY FOR WYENOT NEWS?

If you have a local news item or story you can submit it here
or call Alan or Tina on 01989 763217

There is no charge for publishing either news items or What's On Events
This is a Free Service for the local community!

Wyenot News, 1, Hillview Road, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. HR9 7EY

If you would like to order prints from Wyenot News photographs, please click here.

Prints are only available for photographs taken by Wyenot News (Not of those which have been sent in by readers).

Prints of 'people' photographs are only available to those directly involved in the news event covered. i.e. I do not sell prints of people to the general public.