Well known, local chef James Arbourne is honoured to have been selected as one of ten chefs chosen to prepare 'The Dinner of the Decade.' This ten course taster dinner is being arranged by 'Heart of England Foods' who promote the use of locally produced foods. The dinner itself will be held at Simpsons in the Midlands. Around 200 to 300 celebrity guests will be enjoying the food prepared by the ten top chefs.

James is Head Chef at the Bridge at Wilton who have two 'Flavours of Herefordshire' Gold Awards, a Young Chef of the Year Gold award and in 2007, an award was received for outstanding achievement. The bridge was also awarded gold in the Heart of England awards, bringing them to the next stage, the Heart of Great Britain.

James told us that it is fantastic to be recognized for your work, but getting awards isn't what it's really all about. It's about doing what you love doing and doing it well. We went along to the Bridge to talk to James, who happily filled us in with the situation so far. We wish you every success James and we know that Mike and Jane are immensely proud of you and all your staff. You can see our interview with James in this week's edition of WNTV News.

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People wanting to eat out in Herefordshire now have an opportunity to know what happens behind the kitchen door and can have extra confidence in what they eat thanks to a new initiative launched by Herefordshire Council. The Scores on the Doors scheme rates all food manufacturing businesses on their standards of hygiene, five star being excellent and no stars being very poor.

Scores for those food-related businesses so far rated in Herefordshire will be posted on the website at www.herefordshire.gov.uk where there is a link on the front page or by logging straight on to www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk. All people need to do is type in the name of the establishment and the location and the scores will be revealed. Scores are also available by SMS on mobile phones and people have to text sotd followed by the name of the business and the town to 60060.

Andrew Tector, Herefordshire Council's head of environmental health and trading standards, said, 'This scheme means consumers will now have confidence in the hygiene standards of premises they visit and we hope all businesses will aspire to gain four or five stars. This will have the added benefit of reducing the possibility of food poisoning and encouraging more people to eat out in the county'.

Scores on the Doors in Herefordshire is being operated in partnership with district councils in Worcestershire and Worcestershire County Council.

'River Tales', is a film which paints a fascinating picture of the rivers of Herefordshire through the eyes of people living in the county.

The oldest contributor first paddled in the Wye in the early years of the last century and many well-known local faces recount their memories with charm,passion and humour. Amazing archive film and photography enrich stories covering: farming, fishing, boating, milling, flooding, swimming, skating, wildlife, drownings, rescues, river-based crafts, folklore and local history and bring to life the many aspects of our beautiful rivers.

River Tales was directed by Katya Coupland and produced by Field of Vision. The Age Concern Herefordshire & Worcestershire project finished in 2007 and was generously funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Herefordshire Rivers European and DEFRA funded LEADER+ programme.

River Tales has recently been selected for a screening at the Borderlines Film festival and can be seen at 2.15pm on Wednesday, 9 April at The Courtyard Theatre, Hereford. Anybody who has an interest in this beautiful county or in local history will find the film fascination. The Courtyard Box Office: 0870 11 22 330

'River Tales' is divided into six parts and, as a taster, you can watch part one, 'Fishing' in this week's WNTV News programme

A joint history exhibition, art sale and auction will open at the Ross Heritage Centre Saturday, 2nd of February.

The event, organized by a local artist and the Ross Community Hospital League of Friends, is being held to raise funds and awareness of the League and its work. The joint exhibition will run for two weeks through Sunday the 17th.

On the final day there will also be a wine reception and live auction of donated artwork which people can bid on in person or in advance by visiting the Heritage Centre.

Seven paintings by Rodney Beecher Roberts as well as work by Doug Eaton, Patrick Cox, Bronte Woodruff, Katrina Stephens and Sue Locke, will all be on display and available to bid on during the two week period. There will also be prints, original paintings, cards and calendars by the same artists on sale to take home immediately.

Local historian Heather Hurley has worked with the Heritage Centre's director Mary Sinclair-Powell to highlight the history of health care and the League of Friends in Ross over the past two centuries. Donations of photographs, news and medical instruments from the community at large will also enhance the history exhibition.

To receive an invitation to the live auction and reception on Sunday, 17th February, or for further information about the exhibition and art sale please call the Heritage Centre at 01432 260675.

Open hours for the event which runs from Saturday, 2nd February until Sunday, 17th are 10:00am - 4:30pm Tuesday to Sunday. The Centre is closed on Mondays and for lunch between 1:00 and 1:30.

I took the photographs below on Sunday. It appears that somebody has dumped an unwanted freezer in the river, which has ended up on the bank close to Wilton Castle. I suppose it could have been picked up from somewhere when the river was flooded but I doubt this as it did not appear in Ross until the river had returned to normal levels - long after the usual floating debris had finished making its way downstream. Has anybody any ideas how it came to be there?

Other than the fact that the sun sat low in the sky on Sunday, the day could have easily been taken for an April rather than a January day here in Ross. The sun felt warm and for the first time this year, along with others, I sat out in the garden of the White Lion in a tee shirt. I would have worn shorts but I forgot to pack them when moving in to the pub just over two weeks ago.

The world's weather has definitely gone weird, although my personal belief is that 'Global Warming' is nought but a political issue. It is happening, but it would still happen if not a human being were left on Earth as it is a natural cycle. A bit like the word 'Organic', the term 'Global Warming' is defined in the 'Wyenot News Concise English Dictionary as, '1) A natural phenomenon which adds 50p to the price of onions. 2) A soap box for politicians and earner of grants for scientific researchers'.

It's back to rain tonight as you will hear during Tina's presentation of this week's WNTV programme. It is our first night back home tonight and, much as I have really enjoyed staying at the White Lion Inn - there is nothing like your own bed and loo!

Ross Heritage Centre has a programme for February and March, which has something for everyone.

Ross Community Hospital League of Friends, local historians and other members of the community, have put together a very interesting exhibition, marking out the history of Health Care in the Community from the 14th century until the present day. This exhibition gives an interesting insight into how health care has changed over the centuries.

The league will also be holding an art exhibition and auction at the same time to raise funds for the hospital. This is a silent auction so visitors will be able to leave their sealed bids with the League of Friends Stewards on duty. The exhibitions will run from Saturday, 2nd February through to the auction itself on Sunday, 17th February. Once the art has been sold, the history will remain in the Heritage Centre until the end of February.

From Tuesday, 26th February until Monday, 31st March, there will be a welcome return of 'School Days - The Best of your Life.' This exhibition is back by popular demand and will contain new material collected since previous exhibitions.

Displays will give an insight into school life in the town and surrounding area since the 19th century. Anyone who has any new material they would like to loan for this exhibition is very welcome to drop it into the Heritage Centre during opening hours.

Young people are not forgotten. During half term there will be two activity days for all ages. On Tuesday, 12th February, the Hereford Craft Team will be holding an activity 'Willow Hearts' to coincide with Saint Valentine's Day.

On Friday, 15th February there will be a chance with the Ross Craft Team to make a gift in time for Mothers Day. Don't forget to keep this a secret from Mummy, Grandma or your childminder and bring along someone else to help.

Both of these activities will take place between 10.30am and 1pm and are free - just drop in. Children must be accompanied throughout.

Local author Fred Druce will be displaying some of his photographs during April.

There are five Finds Workshops taking place in the Heritage Centre during April and May. They are free to attend but must be pre-booked, as places are limited. Further details on these can be found at the Market House but bookings must be made by calling Rebecca on 01432 343262.

Thank you to Mike Arnison, who sent in the following photos, some taken whilst he was on holiday on the Isle of Lewis last April and one locally, while trying his 400mm lens.

Mike said, 'The stones is a "work in progress" from my visit to the Isle of Lewis last April, just trying some experimental techniques. I thought the stone circle that is older than Stonehenge may be of some interest, printing is going to be a challenge, to say the least.

The second is from the Forest on Thursday, taken through my 400mm lens, just shows what colour is about, even if it is on an island a 100 metres away.'

Thank you Mike - the stones are great and good luck with the printing! Years ago, before 'Wyenot', when I had time to make music, a Scottish musician / novelist called 'Zenche' used to contact me regularly. He used to do some terrific arty stuff with photos of the local standing stones. If you're out there 'Zenche', I have lost your address. Please give me a call as it would be nice to hear from you again and I would like a replacement of your CD, which now no longer plays, for some reason.

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Please call 01989 564173 or email jo@wyetots.co.uk for vacancies

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Councillor John Jarvis has cut the first turf at the site of the new state-of-the-art, £3.1million crematorium in Hereford city. The new crematorium, being built behind the existing one in Westfaling Street, will replace the present facility which was built in 1956 as a committal chapel with its seating capacity of 60. The old crematorium will be demolished once building works are complete.

Being built by Thomas Vale Construction, the new crematorium will have a life span in excess of 50 years, a suitable traffic flow for the public and funeral corteges, a chapel to accommodate 120 people seated and 120 people standing, cremators (one able to take large coffins), mercury filtration, office facilities and car parking. There will also be a viewing area for people whose religion requires they witness cremations.

Councillor John Jarvis said, 'We are very excited about the opportunity to build a crematorium of this design and quality. We set out from the start to created a place where families could attend a service and feel comforted by their surroundings and able to reflect in peace and quietness. The chapel has been designed to help people though this process.

A large feature window and a walled garden visible only inside the chapel is key in our desire to create an atmosphere of tranquillity. The road layout should ensure that two funerals will never mix and families can feel that their service is at is should be, individual and unique.'

Councillor Harry Bramer said, 'Before deciding on a new-build, we looked at various options including extending the present facility but this was found to be too expensive and it was also felt this would cause major disruption to the bereavement service on offer to the county's residents. Once complete it has always been the board's brief to enter the crematorium for a national award and we strongly believe that this new crematorium will enable us to achieve success.'

Some 50,000 cremations have now been carried out at the present crematorium which will stay open until the new building is completed. The new building should be complete by November 2008.

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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