The John Kyrle High School has been running a talent contest for several years and every year it has produced a stunning final. Last year, the organizer, Dave Chatwin, along with the sixth form, decided to run the contest as the 'X Factor' and use the event to raise funds for the school's annual trip to Uganda.

Last year's winner, Alex Knapman, went on the ITV X Factor series and managed to get through to the second phase. This year 45 acts entered the schools auditions. These were then whittled down to 16 for the lunchtime heats. The top 8 acts then took part in the semi-finals which produced six top acts going through to the finals on the 15th March 2008. The winners were brother and sister, Shaun and Bekki Steele.

Continued . . .

At a chance meeting of sixth former Harvey Powell, who helps with the X Factor and who has been accepted on a place next year at the prestigious Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts, and the Ross Lions Public Relations Officer, Bernard Fowkes, the contest was discussed and Harvey was asked to write to the Lions club with his request for support. The request was considered by the Ross Lions and they thought it was a worthy cause to support. The reasons being, that these were young people helping themselves, bringing the talent of aspiring young artists to the attention of others and giving them a chance of progressing further and showing what young people are capable of, as opposed to how the general public tend to see them.

The Lions have supported the Ugandan project in the past and they decided to provide the £100 prize money for the winners of the X Factor which in turn would also help the Ugandan project again. The Ross Lions President, Lion Keith Wilding, and Public Relations Officer, Lion Bernard Fowkes, visited the school in order to present the cheque for £100. On being presented with the cheque Shaun and Bekki immediately said, after thanking the Lions for their generosity, they were donating the money to the organizers of X Factor so that they could purchase new musical equipment.

The whole competition raised a considerable sum, augmented by the prize money that will help the school to continue its annual visits to Kisiki College in Uganda. The President of the Ross Lions Club, Lion Keith, said, 'Ross Lions look forward to the continued co-operation between the John Kyrle High School and his club'. For some years, the school has taken part in the Lions International Peace Poster Contest, the mural on the Arts Department Building was part paid for by the Lions and other projects are being considered at present.

WYETOTS
Walford, Ross-on-Wye

Quality Childcare from birth to 11 years

Jo Gilmour Ofsted registered Childminder

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

PAUL AND STEVE RANDELL
GENERAL BUILDERS

Extensions - Renovations - Brickwork
Stonework - Floor Laying - Roofing

Telephone Paul on 01989 564112
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Steve on 07971 535064

Long term readers of 'Wyenot News' may remember the 'ghostly' image I photographed in the dungeon at Goodrich castle (the one below). The photo was one in the middle of many perfectly ordinary shots inside the dungeon - which was in total darkness at the time. Nobody was smoking and it was not my breath condensing in the cold air as I was standing approximately 15 feet away from where the mist appeared. I did not say that it was a 'ghost' as such - just something I could not explain.

This week, Sarah Corson of London wrote in, sending the photo (left). Sarah wrote:

'Sorry it has taken me so long to get in touch, but I was visiting Goodrich castle last November with my girlfriends and we went to the dungeon part of the castle.

My friend took a picture in the dungeon with a flash camera to light up the area and this is what came out - we thought it might be of interest to you. It freaked us out - and one of my friends remembered seeing something similar the moment she looked at the photo as she had come across your website when researching the area.

Let us know what you think... All the best, Sarah'

Well, Sarah. I really don't know what to think. There is something strange going on in the castle dungeon. I know for a fact that the photo I took is absolutely genuine and that it was not due to the weather. I was obviously there at the time but saw nothing until I got home and viewed the photos I had taken. It was not a camera defect because the pictures either side of it in the sequence, taken within seconds, from the same spot were crystal clear.

I am personally seriously sceptical when it comes to ghosts. Out of hundreds of thousands of photos I have taken over the years, only four of my photos have ever captured anything which could be described as a 'ghostly' image. The one below, two at King Arthur's cave and one I took of a football team - the week after my mum died. That one spooked me. I wondered if she might be checking up on me. I also filmed something ghostly, quite unexpectedly, at King Arthur's Cave when I was out with my daughter filming bats.

Although it is in a different place within the dungeon, your photo appears to have captured a very similar phenomenon to mine. All I can say is, 'There are stranger things between heaven and Earth' . . .

Another photo taken locally but not one of mine, that might interest you, Sarah, is the one at St. Dubricious Church. I wrote about that one at the time it was sent in to me and that article and photograph can be seen about 1/3 way down this news page of the time.

'Torn' - the great rock covers band from Leominster performed at the Prince of Wales on Saturday evening. The band seem to go down well with the audience wherever they play locally and following last week's great gig at the Barrel, Saturday at the Prince was no different.

Tina and I were late arriving as we had several other things to cover but Tina still managed to find time to dance, as can be seen in the bottom photo.

This coming Saturday, the great blues guitarist, Will Killeen is playing at the Prince. All other event filming is cancelled (or at least, very hurriedly undertaken) this Saturday for Will. Tina and I will be there for the whole performance purely to enjoy, and catch up with Will and his wife, Oz - who are also our friends.

I'll never forget my first encounter with Will Killeen. He telephoned us about a gig Tina had arranged for him - at gone midnight, waking me from a deep sleep on a day that I had to be up out of bed at 4.00 am. I swore under my breath about the phone call and more or less threw the telephone across the bed to Tina. Will sensed my anger and apologized when we met at the venue. We got chatting and have been good friends ever since.

Richard and Kelly Bailey have settled into their roles as proprietors of the Orles Barn Hotel very well and visitors to the hotel can be assured of a warm and friendly welcome. They would like it known, however, that they no longer offer a South African menu. What they do provide is a delicious menu prepared using only the best and locally, where possible, produced ingredients.

Since their arrival at the Orles Barn Hotel, Richard and Kelly have held several successful events, including a lovely Burns Night dinner and a Runners and Riders event, which took place on the eve of the Cheltenham Races and, after the success of their first Pudding Evening, a second event is being held this coming Friday, 4th April.

For just £19.95 per person, the Pudding Evening will include pre-dinner nibbles, after which a delicious main course of Lemon and Rosemary Chicken will be served with buttery new potatoes and greens. Is your mouth watering already? Mine is. Next come the stars of the show, the puddings themselves. At this week's event, the delicious desserts will be:

Bailey's Bread & Butter Pudding,
Rhubarb & Clotted Cream Compote,
Holiday Pudding,
Treacle Tart,
Jam Roly Poly,
Oven Baked Rice Pudding

All puddings will be accompanied by hot custard or thick double cream as required.

The event begins at 7:30pm and Richard and Kelly will be delighted to welcome you there.

It was Friday evening when I decided it was time to start saving energy and switch off all of those 'standby' LCD lights on appliances which make the house at night look like the flight deck of the Starship Enterprise.

It was not until Monday morning however, and the puddle of water on the kitchen floor that I discovered that one of those LCD lights, unfortunately belonged to the freezer. Instead of spending Monday morning prepping the news this week, I ended up delivering thawed, once frozen food to friends and family before cooking what was left over.

Russell - being of that age, doesn't like to eat with us wrinklies, and eats ASDA ready meals when he does decide to pop in and grace us with his presence. He had to eat his entire stock on Monday. As for me... I don't think I will be hungry for the rest of today. As there was only myself and the dog, Eric at home on Monday, Eric and I shared 18 rashers of bacon for breakfast.

As for Tina - I cooked 2 kilos of minced beef, a whole pack of peppers, peas and onions for her, which she can eat when she gets home from work. Tina's skinny looks are deceiving and totally belie the amount she eats. I bet she'll manage to get through most of it and probably still lose a couple of pounds from having exercised her jaws whilst chewing it!

Residents living near the Thomas Blake Memorial Gardens in Ross-on-Wye are being reassured that an action plan is being drawn up to tackle alcohol related problems in the area.

The Ross Drugs Forum held two consultation events in the town which allowed local people to have their say and voice their concerns.

'We would like to thank everyone who attended the events and gave us their comments,' said Andrea Robb, the chair of the Ross Drugs Forum. 'We are now working in partnership with the local community, and the police, on developing an action plan to help resolve the issues that have been highlighted.'

The Ross Drug Forum is a multi agency group working to reduce substance misuse which includes alcohol.

If anyone would like further information on the work of Ross Drug Forum, please contact Herefordshire Community Safety and Drugs Partnership on 01432 383523.

Ross-on-Wye Cricket Club is praying for good weather this weekend as they roll up their sleeves once again for their annual NatWest Cricketforce project. This is the fourth consecutive year that Ross CC has taken part in Cricketforce - one of a record number of cricket clubs from around the country -1180 - at the last count - that are getting involved this weekend!

NatWest Cricketforce is a national ECB initiative which encourages cricket supporters, their friends and family to give something back to their local community cricket club by volunteering to undertake major renovations to clubhouses and grounds. This weekend Ross CC is concentrating its efforts on bringing the new junior pitch (former tennis courts) up to scratch with the installation of a new artificial wicket and brand new fencing. Unfortunately, progress has been hampered somewhat with the torrential downpours that have pounded Ross and its environs but club members remain entirely optimistic about getting the pitch ready and in play in time for the new season!

Cricketforce project co-ordinator, Nick Tregaskes, said, 'We rely totally on volunteers turning out at the weekend, giving their time and energy to keep our community cricket club moving forward and improving - their contribution is priceless and we value it totally. This weekend for Cricketforce 2008 we shall be hoping to build on the success of recent years - we've come a long way since we renovated the pavilion for our very first Cricketforce project.

This year the ECB is asking clubs to look at green issues in cricket - something we've taken on board too - we have become very good at recycling! Local businesses have been very generous sponsors of our efforts over the past few years and this year is no exception. We are still begging materials from individuals and we cannot thank them enough for their help! Every year Ross CC is a very keen supporter of the CricketForce initiative because it gives the club an opportunity to focus its efforts on facility improvements and tackle jobs that can't easily be worked on in the cricket season.

This year Ross CC is running a new Third XI in the GB Liners Marches League to ensure maximum playing opportunities for young and old alike! This year's CricketForce project centres on a new junior pitch which will give us extra space and scope to continue to provide a centre of excellence for boys and girls of all ages to learn to play cricket.'

If you would like to come and help, just turn up at the pavilion on Saturday or Sunday after 9 a.m. Wear sensible clothing and if you can bring your own tools, all the better - loppers, secateurs, paintbrushes, saws, hammers, wheelbarrows - in fact, what's needed most is a willingness to have a go at anything, lots of enthusiasm, a 100% positive approach and a great sense of humour! Refreshments and a BBQ will be on hand to keep our strength up!

Donations and/or more information from Nick Tregaskes on 07966 199253 or Therese Warwick on 07866 702205.

NOTICE is hereby given that a meeting of the
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
will be held on
Tuesday, 8 APRIL 2008 at 7.00pm in the Corn Exchange
Members of the public are welcome to attend.

AGENDA

Signed

Town Clerk

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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