Whilst Tina and I were out with the Carnival on Saturday - me photographing and Tina joining in - Hereford and Ross Journal photographer, Andy Compton caught us with his camera. The photo he took can be seen to the left.
I got you back Andy. By way of retaliation, you feature in our photomotion film, which can be watched here, :) along with Ross Lions and the Duck Race.

Ross Lions were out in force on Saturday in support of this year's Ross-on-Wye Carnival. The Lions ran ten activities throughout the day. There was a mixture of things to do for all the family and a range of children's' activities, all free. The culmination was, of course, the annual Lions Duck Race.

There were skittles, ably controlled by the Ross Youth Lions, Play Your Cards Right and Crazy Golf, as well as the fantastically successful Bottle Stall. Children could choose from Face Painting, Pottery, Games, Make Your Own Crown and a Colouring Competition, all free.

For both children and grown-ups there were free drinks, tea, coffee and squash. The Lions raised about £1250 from the grown-up activities but it was just as important to provide fun for all the children.

Because he is so popular with children it was a great shame that Uncle Jack had to be cancelled because of the wet ground.

The Duck Race was the final event of the Carnival. The winner (£150) was James Mortimer from Chiswick, second (£100) was Mike from the Forest of Dean and Third (£50) was Mia Wood of Kent.

Ross-on-Wye Lions Club exists to serve our community. This doesn't just mean raising money and spending it on good causes. It also means being involved with community activities such as the Carnival and just helping everyone to enjoy their day out.

Ross Lions would like to thank all our partners and helpers who gave up their time to make a great day out for everyone. To learn more about Ross on Wye Lions visit the web site www.rossonwyelions.org or phone 0845 833 5786. .

Carnival prize winners

There were many excellent entries in the Carnival this year, making the judges' job of deciding between them very difficult indeed. However, in the end, the prize winners were; Ross Pre-school Playgroup, Ross Razzmatazz, The Gresleys, Scooby Doo, Tim Yates, Fun2Sea, Bo Peep, Toadstool and Star Wars. The winner of the Pam Allen trophy for the best handmade costume went to the Statue of Liberty, who was on the Playgroup float.

Colin Davies of Colin's Tyrecare hosted a 'Classic Corner' competition for classic vehicles of all kinds on the Carnival field and there was a great display of them for the public to enjoy. Colin sponsored the prizes and it was left to Ebony and Erin to judge the best of each of the three categories. The best car was a 1977 Austin owned by Mike Ward of Goodrich. Winner for the best tractor was Darren Smith of Upton Bishop with his with his Massey Ferguson Tractor and in the Stationary Engine class the winning entry was the 1902 Hornsby Akroyd owned by Peter Williams of Foy.

Carnival Chairman, Mel Hodges was extremely pleased with this year's carnival and would like to thank everybody who has worked with him during the 30 + years of his involvement to make Ross Town Carnival the great success that it is.

The Odd Object Competition

Over the past few weeks 84 shops in Ross-on-Wye have had an odd mystery object in their shop windows, items that the shop would not normally stock. After much searching and scratching of heads on the pavements around the town 144 entry forms were completed and returned. The strange and curious objects included a firework rocket, a single eyelet hole punch, a cotton bud, an onion and an animal ear tagger!

If you would like to discover which objects you couldn't find, a full list of the objects in all the shops will be on display in the window of Pots and Pieces Teashop in the High Street until the end of the month.

Congratulation's to Nathan and Abigail Haggett and Harriet Storey (under 10 section ) who scored highest with 82 correct answers, Cameron and Kieron Terry (10 to 16 section) and Anne Marie Matthews (over 16 section). Gift vouchers will be presented to the winners in the next few days. Well done to everyone who took part.

Photos below by Ross Lions.