Teme Valley Times - Christmas 2019

Ch hristmas stm 201 2019 9

FREE Issue No. 83

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Mistletoe Day brought people into Tenbury on December 7th, with the high spot coming late in the day when Teme Street was packed for the Santa Parade. For more coverage see page 7.

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TEME VALLEY TIMES

Rally cars in Leominster!

This year’s Roger Albert Clark rally, named after the famous British rally driver, started from Leominster, with scrutineering at Brightwells, and with the start banner at the bottom of Broad Street.

A443 Repairs at Eardiston Ludlow Motors - Dealer of the Year Extensive reconstruction work has been carried out following the collapse, on October 3rd, of a retaining wall at the junction of the A443 and Mill Lane. The work has included strengthening the pavement area to be strong enough to withstand westbound HGVs driving on the footway when passing oncoming trucks, due to the limited width of the A443 at this point.

Suzuki GB recently announced its Dealer of the Year awards and local dealership Ludlow Motors is one of only six businesses in Great Britain to receive a Regional Dealer of the Year award.

Dale Wyatt, Director of Automobile at Suzuki GB PLC, said “We would like to congratulate all of our award winners and the businesses who received honorary mentions during the ceremony. They have each shown exemplary standards of work and service, and without them, we would not be in the strong position that we find ourselves in today as we head into the new decade.”

Peter Hughes, General Manager at Ludlow Motors, commented that he was delighted with the award and that From left: Nobuo Suyama (Managing Director, Suzuki GB PLC); Dale Wyatt (Director Automobile, Suzuki GB PLC); Ali Grieveson & Stuart Grieveson (Ludlow Suzuki); Denis it was a tribute to the whole team at Houston (Director Aftersales, Suzuki GB PLC) Ludlow Motors.

Advertise in the and make 2020 a Happy New Year!

n Local Event adverts (see page 6) start at £10, for a small, simple advert with up to 25 words, in one issue. n Local Services adverts (see page 4) start at £84 for a full year, for a small, simple black and white advert. n Business advertising starts at £99 for a full year, for a small, simple black and white advert.

See page 14 for examples (Ludlow Bookbinders and Secure Static Containers for Rent).

n Individually designed full colour business adverts starts at £40 for an advert approximately 63mm x 50mm in one issue. This is roughly the size of Tenbury Barbers on page 7. Many other sizes are available, for example an eighth of a page is £78, a quarter page is £125, a half page is £199 and a full page is £299. n Series discounts are available and special positions, such as page 3 or the back page, are available at extra cost.

For more information please email temevalleytimes@yahoo.co.uk or speak to Chris or Lucy on 01584 781762

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TEME VALLEY TIMES

Kidderminster Buses (The House of Portugal)

Lots of lovely gifts at very reasonable prices.

Well worth a visit!

61 Teme Street, Tenbury Wells WR15 8AE Professional Eyecare - A caring and professional service since 1983.

- Eye examinations available six days a week with a choice of Optometrist (digital retinal photography available).

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- Colorimetry - see website for more details.

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The news that Clee Hill based R&B Travel is to stop running the 291 Tenbury to Kidderminster bus, and the 292 Ludlow to Kidderminster bus, has concerned many people. Not just in Tenbury, Ludlow and Kidderminster, but also in other communities served by these routes, such as Newnham Bridge, Mamble, Clows Top, Far Forest, Cleobury Mortimer and Clee Hill.

Some people rely on these buses to get to work; others need them to get to hospital, to the doctors, to the shops, to visit friends, or to get to a railway station. The potential loss of these services has therefore caused considerable concern, but it is expected that new operator(s) for both routes will be announced this month.

Farmshop butcher represented England!

John Brereton, from Ludlow Farmshop, was crowned runner-up in the singles category at the Five Nations International Butchery Championships 2019.

Run by Butchery Excellence International and held at the Eikon Exhibition Centre, Lisburn, the championships saw butchers from as far afield as Iceland and Germany compete in a show of expertise and skill.

Rhonda Montgomery, CEO of Butchery Excellence International, said “John should be very proud in taking a trophy home to Ludlow Farmshop.

He did England proud taking part in Europe’s first five nations championship. This competition was the first of its kind and John really excelled himself and showed all spectators how creative he could be in 60 minutes of competition time.”

John commented “It was an honour to take part in the competition and represent England and Ludlow Farmshop. Everyone who entered created some amazing displays which was great to see. Hopefully we will see more competitions like this.”

Tenbury Hospital League of Friends Elaine Padwick from the League gave us this update. “The Tenbury Hospital League of Friends is still working hard to support our local Community Hospital. The Physiotherapy Department now has lots of new equipment, with more to come, which will be of great benefit to patients. A state-of-the-art Bladder Scanner has been on trial at the hospital. As it has proved easy for the staff to use and was extremely beneficial to patients the League has agreed to fund the purchase of this piece of equipment at a cost of £7,695.

“There is a possibility of providing new X-ray equipment thus ensuring that patients requiring the need for such equipment will not have to travel to Kidderminster but have their X-rays dealt with here at Tenbury Hospital. If your GP tells you an X-ray is required remember to insist that it takes place locally with the same applying to any other treatment. ‘Use it or lose it’ is a phrase currently bandied about and this applies to our hospital. The more our residents ask for local treatment the more likely it is for clinics to be provided. The standard level of beds is 16 but more often than not 19 beds are in use which only goes to prove how busy the hospital is with excellent staffing levels.

“Two members of staff have recently been nominated for Acute Trust Awards, one in the ‘Supportive Category’ and one as an ‘Emerging Talent’. The staff are working hard to ensure that Christmas is special for patients on the wards at that time and are hoping that staff and patients will enjoy a Christmas Meal together where possible.”

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TEME VALLEY TIMES

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Septic Tanks & Soakaways - Landscape & Garden Design Online: www.facebook.com/temevalleytimes  - Soft & Hard Landscaping Foundations & Footings Post: TemeValley Tenbury Wells, Wooden Buildings & Structures Times,    WR15 8LW  Concreting & Kerbing & Stone Features Editor & Publisher: Chris Dell. Deputy Editor: Lucy Ground Clearance -- Water   Bespoke Woodworking Driveways If you want toadvertise please - Patios, Paving and Walling  book  your space  Drainage - Fencing as soon as possible! We can design your advert Ditching Large or small projects undertaken and completed to a high for you, we can take photographs if required, Water Piping standard. Making the impossible, possible! and we can help with your wording, if you wish.

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Driver Hire The Teme Valley Times is independent and locally-owned, All jobs undertaken Let us put the joy back into your garden!Jeffries Simon it is not part of a large publishing group. Every reasonable build@humblebeegardeners.co.uk 07581 531346 TenburyEmail: Wells, effort was made to ensure that the contents of this Tel: 07534148428 / 01584 891463 sjcontracts@yahoo.co.uk Worcestershire publication were accurate at the time of writing, but no responsibility can be accepted for any consequences of any errors or omissions or for any changes or cancellations.

Always check all information before making a special trip or before making a commitment. The contents of this 01584 781762 Phone: 01584 781762 publication (words, images and adverts) are protected by E emevalleytimes@yahoo.co.uk temevalleytimes@yahoo.co.uk copyright. If you wish to reproduce anything you must first O Email: www.facebook.com/temevalleytimes P Online: mewww.facebook.com/temevalleytimes Valley Times, Tenbury Wells, WR15 obtain 8LW written permission from the Publisher.

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If you wish to reproduce anything o making a commitment. The contents of this • All jobs undertaken must firstimages obtainand written consent from the p you on (words, adverts) are protected by Simon Jeffries publisher. c t. If you wish to reproduce anything you must first 07581 531346 Tenbury Wells, o itten permission from the Publisher. sjcontracts@yahoo.co.uk Worcestershire

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Teme Valley Times: our main circulation area and how to contact us

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Cage Birds Society supports League

Post Office to open in January Tenbury’s new Post Office is expected to open in the SPAR shop on Teme Street on January 17th, 2020. Once open, the new branch will bring an end to over eight months of disruption, following the closure, back in early May, of Bowketts supermarket, which had been the home of Tenbury Post Office since 2016.

In recent months a ‘mobile branch’ has been making a brief appearance in Tenbury each week, parking near the swimming pool on a Tuesday afternoon. Customers wanting to use this have had to queue outdoors, with no shelter from the elements, which has been particularly unpleasant on wet, windy or very cold days.

Construction work relating to Tenbury’s new branch is expected to begin at SPAR in early January and once the new counter is in operation SPAR’s long opening hours mean that local residents and businesses should benefit from easier access to Post Office services than has previously been the case.

The Ludlow and District Cage Birds Society, which was formed on 3 March 1950, held its final meeting on Tuesday 26 November at The Squirrel. Due to falling membership it was decided that remaining funds would be donated to The League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital and a cheque for £2,096.56 was presented by founder member Cliff Newman to League Chairman Peter Corfield.

Club President Jim Bishop reminisced about the heyday Cliff Newman (seated) about to present the of the Society cheque to Peter Corfield when one or two coaches were hired to take members to various venues around Britain to take part in Shows and Exhibitions as well as enjoying a range of holiday and social trips.

“I feel honoured to have been able to follow my hobby to the extent of becoming an International Judge, which took me to America, Rome, Belgium and other European Countries on many occasions” said Jim, adding that “It was never difficult to drum up support for a weekend trip!”

When it became clear that it was becoming difficult to sustain the Society the members were unanimous that any remaining funds should be used to support a local good cause. “We appreciated the efforts that had gone into saving Ludlow Hospital from closure in 2005/6 as many of us had relied on the services provided there over many years and we also very much supported the work of The League in providing the most up-to-date diagnostic and treatment facilities closer to home”.

Thanking the Society, Peter Corfield said “It is essential that we keep our Community Hospital and build on the local healthcare provision. It makes sense that if we use modern equipment and good communications with the acute hospitals then fewer people will have to make the arduous trek to Shrewsbury, Telford or Hereford for routine consultations. With support from local people, such as we have seen tonight, we feel that we are on the right course and will do all we can to persuade and support the NHS in meeting local needs”.

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6

What’s On!

TEME VALLEY TIMES

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Conquest Theatre Bromyard FOLK IN THE FOYER December 13 The Julie July Band 7.30 pm January 10 Edwina Hayes 7.30 pm ..................................................................................................................................................

LIVE ON STAGE February 15-22 Conquest Productions - Treasure Island 7.30 pm, (family Pantomime) matinees 2.30 pm February 26 The Charging Bullet 7.30 pm ..................................................................................................................................................

EVENT CINEMA December 10 ROH Coppelia 7.15 pm December 18 Exhibition on Screen In Search of Beethoven 7.30 pm December 31 Berliner Philharmonic LIVE New Year’s Eve concert 4 pm January 4 André Rieu - 70 years young 7 pm January 11 NY Met Wozzeck 5.55 pm January 14 Exhibition on Screen: Lucian Freud A Self Portrait 7.30 pm January 16 ROH Sleeping Beauty 7.15 pm January 21 Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet 7.30 pm January 29 ROH La Boheme 7.45 pm January 30 Exhibition on Screen In Search of Mozart 7.30 pm February 1 NY Met Porgy & Bess 5.55 pm ..................................................................................................................................................

FILMS January 3 January 24 February 7

Lion King Downton Abbey Film: Judy Borderlines - see website for full details

For full details, many more events and online booking visit www.conquest-theatre.co.uk or contact the box office 01885 488575 Join us on Saturday mornings for coffee and a warm welcome

7.30 pm 7.30 pm 7.30 pm

Full disabled facilities including loop system

Cars, Buses and the Future

by Dr Ken Pollock

Even Tenbury is not well served with buses: the 758 to Worcester; the “schooldays only” 731 to Ludlow; the monthly 765 to Bromyard and Hereford; and the 291 to Kidderminster, though there is now a question mark over the latter. In the circumstances, it is strange to hear some people imagining a future without the private car.

This summer the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee debated the future of transport, and concluded there was no long term future for the private car. Rail and bus services, supplemented with taxis, would provide for our personal transport needs.

I wrote to the Conservative members of the committee and pointed out that 14 of the 18 parishes I represent do not have shops. How would their residents buy stuff, never mind get to a pub or doctor? I received no replies.

So, many of us will still need cars, but what will they be like? The very first Benz was built in 1886, so they have seen over 130 years of development. We all know what they are like now, but what about the future?

Last week I attended a conference in London on CAVs, that is “Connected and Autonomous Vehicles”, to hear the latest research on cars that can drive themselves - and communicate with each other.

I guess I should have been excited by the prospect, but I came away disappointed. One reason was that no speaker had the humility to admit that human beings do a pretty good job when driving. There are over 40 million licence holders in this country. We all know that some people really shouldn’t be allowed on the roads, but in general we make a decent fist of the business of safely controlling a car.

You come to realise this when you try to duplicate the human functions of control, and find you need 30 or more sensors pointing in all directions to let the vehicle propel itself safely on a public road.

What happens if one or two malfunction?

Many people would say the two Boeing 737 Max crashes, that resulted in 350 plus deaths, were caused by a single sensor malfunctioning. They may be wrong, but that is widely believed.

Yet we are told autonomous cars will be much safer! Again, I had to prompt a speaker to admit that such self-driving cars are still subject to the laws of motion, and rely on friction between tyre and road to stop. So if a child or dog steps out in front of such a car, they may well still be killed - if the necessary stopping distance is too long!

There are some current cars that can safely maintain a set speed, change lanes to avoid traffic, and brake in time to avoid collisions. But how do they know where to drive? Some use the white lines to indicate where the lanes are, but what happens when resurfacing leaves the tarmac bare? Or suppose you are driving around the narrow lanes in the Teme Valley with no visual clues, either in the centre of the road or at the sides?

The other conundrum is what happens when two such autonomous cars meet each other on a single track road. Human drivers are good at agreeing who dives into the passing place, maybe stopping hundreds of metres from the oncoming car. How would one programme driverless cars to do that? Maybe each would stop and wait for the other…

None of this is to say the research is pointless or futile, but it does make the job quite tricky.

One speaker from a big taxi firm talked in detail how they had programmed their vehicle to follow a certain route from A to B, stopping at particular places, to allow people to get on and off. Again very clever, but what he was describing was a driverless bus! Not sure he appreciated my saying that!

For the moment, some of us will have to rely on buses, and be thankful that they are guided by human beings, who might even give us a cheery welcome on boarding, and good wishes when leaving.

Of course, we could programme the autonomous bus to do that as well, but would it be the same?

Dr Ken Pollock is the County Councillor (Worcestershire County Council) for Tenbury Wells

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One Day in Tenbury Wells....

There was so much going on in Tenbury on 7th December that there was a free programme with a list of what was happening around the town, including the ever-popular Santa Parade at the end of the afternoon. Santa travelled down the street to his fairy-tale grotto at the church in a carriage drawn by two immaculately turned out horses with smart white feather plumes on their heads.

Many businesses stayed open till 7pm for 'late night' shopping and a tucked away feature of the day was a pop-up Mistletoe Shop with some lovely items of mistletoeinspired craft.

      

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Artist opened Studio for Gift Fairs Ann Wallace opened her art studio in Berrington, on the outskirts of Tenbury Wells, for two weekends in late November to showcase the work of eight artists, at her Handmade Christmas Gift Fairs.

Lots of great gift ideas filled the studio’s two rooms and if you were inspired by the art and craft that was on show, Ann holds various courses; for example you could take the plunge in February and try needle felting a ‘wonky donkey’ - as Ann describes it!

Broderie Anglais Strip Ceramic Dish £15

Ann Wallace with some of her creations

Fox, pig, sheep and hedgehog - felted friends!

Holly and Mistletoe Sales The annual sales of holly and mistletoe at Tenbury Wells have been held since at least Victorian times. The area is prime mistletoe country with orchards being widespread in the local landscape and mistletoe loves setting up home in the boughs of an apple tree.

Holly is a perfect complement to mistletoe and the two are staple fare during the festive season. Nick Champion’s auctions, held in the grounds of Burford House Garden Store at the end of November and the start of December, brought buyers from north, south, east and west. Christmas trees, festive wreaths and other Christmas goods were also auctioned.

At the November auction, Nick reported a very large entry of over 3,000 wreaths, 1,008 lots of holly and mistletoe, and 205 trees. The trade on wreaths was very strong on all types and there was very good demand for best variegated holly.

Auctioneer Nick Champion

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Martley Cricket Club riddle Santa returns to Nash Martley Cricket Club president Dave Bradley is seeking help solving the riddle of a postcard.

He said "I have quite a few artefacts from the history of our cricket club, some of them passed down from my dad.

In March 1908 a cricket club sent a postcard to the Martley club secretary, Mr G Holliday, asking for a match later that The nameless team's photo on the front of the postcard year, on August card's signatory, a Mr W Wyatt."

27th, but the name of the club was not Can anyone help? Dave can be contacted mentioned. The only clues are the photo at dave.bradley@bbc.co.uk. on the front of the postcard and the

Our gardens have been transformed into a Winter Wonderland. We've installed thousands of lights throughout the gardens, creating a truly magical Christmas event for all ages. Our snow machines will ensure it will be a memorable visit. In addition, for our younger visitors (and those young at heart!) we have our singing reindeers (and donkey) providing a show in their stables and Boris, our friendly bear, will be telling children's stories from his log cabin. Our baby alpacas and the new friendly pygmy goats will be allowed into the garden for everyone to see. Every weekend Santa will be in attendance (see website for more details).

In addition to all the daytime sights we have created another fabulous light show on the walls of the rectory. Also, our traditional Victorian carollers will be singing a selection of carols in between the snow flurries that blow throughout the evening. Our musical fountain will be rising and falling to Christmas tunes and the new pygmy goats will be ‘staying up’ to greet all our visitors. Tickets are available on our website. Adults £9, Children £6 (under 3 free). Family ticket £28 - two adults and up to 3 children (3-16).

Parish Hall!

Last year Nash Parish Hall held a Coffee Morning with a Santa's Grotto and Father Christmas. It was very popular so they have decided to do it again.

Father Christmas has found time in his busy schedule to return to his "Grotto" at the Hall at the Annual Christmas Coffee Morning on Saturday 14th December from 10am to 12.30pm.

If you'd like to meet Santa, do book your place rather than risk disappointment - call Val Smith, Nash Parish Hall Committee, on 07724 074386.

Development Plan Consultation The South Worcestershire Councils (Malvern Hills District, Worcester City and Wychavon District) have commenced a review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP). This Plan was adopted in February 2016 and the Councils are required to

We will also be opening for our special evening Winter Wonderland event on the following dates: Fri 13th December & Sat 14th December Fri 20th December & Sat 21st December

(6pm - 8.30pm)

complete a review every five years. The review will allocate further land for houses, jobs and retail, and will set out planning policies for making decisions on new development proposals up to the year 2041.

This ‘Preferred Options’ consultation follows last year’s ‘Issues and Options’ consultation document and it sets out the Councils’ draft policies and identifies sites which the Councils think should be developed for housing, employment and mixed uses. It proposes one new housing site for Tenbury ('land east and west of Terrills Lane'), provisionally for 61 houses Eleven public consultation sessions took place in November, including one at Tenbury Wells on November 12th. For more information visit www.swdevelopmentplan.org - comments can be made online, by email or by post, and the consultation ends on December 16th.

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Little Hereford Christmas Fair

We bumped into Santa at the buzzing Christmas Fair held in Little Hereford village hall in late November he really does seem to be getting out and about in the Teme Valley!

At the Fair you could also find a large drift wood Christmas tree for £50, bottle lights at £5, large Santa cup cakes (£1 each), bags of walnuts (£2), feather trees (£4) and feather-decorated baubles, Hunni's Honey beeswax products, a Prodec Premier 5-piece paint brush collection for the decorator in your life, and with gift ideas from 50p it was easy to find a little something as a Christmas gift.

The tombola did a roaring trade and seven generous hampers weighed down tables waiting to be won in the hamper raffle. Georgina Franklin brought a selection of jewellery gift ideas from her shop in

Tenbury including a striking 'pheasant in flight' necklace.

For foodie gifts there was a tremendous collection of homemade preserves including plum cordial, plum cheese, roast plum relish, mulberry vinegar, red cabbage & onion pickle, piccalilli, shallots in balsamic, rhubarb and date chutney, plum & fig chutney, mulberry chutney and apple jelly with thyme.

Kim Hurst of the Cottage Herbery had a stand selling seed mixes and copies of her latest booklet 'A Taste of Herbs' (£3.50), intended as a quick reference guide for those wanting to learn a bit more about herbs and their uses. Moth bags, beautiful colourful photo cards of their produce, Myriad of Marigolds seed mixes and organic home grown dried herbs and flowers could also be found.

Christmas Cards for Bromyard Lights Poppy (L) and Amy (C) are presented with their certificates by David James, Chamber of Commerce Chairman

A competition was held this year to design the official 2019 fundraising Christmas Cards for Bromyard Christmas Lights. School children around Bromyard were invited to design a Christmas card to be sold in support of the town's celebrated Christmas Lights which are entirely funded by public donations and support from local traders.

It was open to all children up to the age of 12 and the winners received a complimentary pack of their card design and a free visit to see Santa in his grotto at the Falcon Mews on the lights switch-on day.

Winning sisters Poppy (age 9) and Amy (age 4) Stubbs of St Peter's Primary School were presented with certificates by Chamber of Commerce Chairman David James along with their free passes to see Santa.

Poppy's card shows Santa on his sleigh over Bromyard's high street saying "You can't miss Bromyard" and Rudolph the reindeer commenting "I'm asking for sunglasses this Christmas" - obviously because the town is shining so brightly in the darkness with all its Christmas lights!

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Showing Off Members and guests of the Shropshire Guild of Contemporary Craft spent a weekend in late October ‘showing off’ their work in the Beacon Rooms at Ludlow Castle.

The designer-makers produce individual handmade work and you could find furniture, jewellery, ceramics, woodturning, sculpture and printed textiles set out in the elegant rooms.

The workmanship and artistry on display is always of the highest calibre and it is a joy to browse the stalls and engage with the craftspeople and gain an insight into their techniques and skills. Definitely an event to go to if you are looking for something special as a gift or even as a treat and commissions are always welcomed.

Kim Davis - turned Acacia bowl

Gill Pargeter with her printed textile pieces

Judith Price - Mistletoe pin with jade bead £38

Jocelyn Perry necklace

Ken Gilbert - Shaker oval boxes

Ian MacDonald - Glassmaker

Brian Maiden furniture

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Great Witley Craft Fair A great opportunity to find some early Christmas gifts, this craft fair in Great Witley Village Hall was packed with stalls displaying a wide variety of hand-made quality crafts. The fair raises money for a local stroke charity, and a raffle and excellent refreshments added to the fundraising effort.

You were spoilt for choice with art, jewellery, wood craft, honey products, cards, gift boxes, garlands and wreaths, resin work, plants, leather goods, glass engravings and pottery - to name a few. The photos, by Derek Wilbraham, show just a small selection of what was on offer.

Bring your own Open 8am-4pm, seven days a week. alcoholic drinks!

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Operation Pied Piper This year Bromyard’s RBL Poppy Festival focused on the World War Two operation to evacuate children from urban centres into rural areas. The extensive and fascinating exhibition in St Peter’s Church had over 40 informative displays, covering subjects such as evacuees, travel, 1939 Christmas, toys, music, rationing, school, gas masks and more. A good few hours were needed if you wanted to look at everything, but fortunately the exhibition ran from 2nd22nd November so there was plenty of time to revisit.

We were told some evacuees found the transition from town life to country life difficult; one young boy when faced with a boiled egg tried eating it by picking it up, taking a bite and chewing the runny-yellow and crunchy result!

A Ministry of Health official outline of the Government’s scheme of evacuation (dated January 1939) stated that ‘Householders who provide such homes will be paid by the Government at the rate of 10s. 6d. a week where one child is taken and 8s. 6d. a week for each child where more than one child is taken.’

We were told about the National Registration Act. National Registration Day was 29th September 1939 and, having issued more than 41 million forms, the government sent out enumerators charged with the task of visiting every household in Britain and Northern Ireland to collect names and addresses etc. The identity cards issued as a result were essential up until 1952. Since the 1931 census was destroyed during a London air raid and no census was taken in 1941 the 1939 Register was one of the most important

Doll’s House, model number 23, from the era

Part of Whitegates Care Home’s ‘Evacua-TED’ display paying tribute to the teddy bear - often the toy of choice for evacuees documents of 20th century Britain.

We discovered the origin of the Kempson playing fields given by Miss Kempson in 1946, and Vanessa Redgrave CBE provided a press release (dated 8/11/19) containing some of her memories of her ‘evacuation’, aged about 3, to stay with her cousin Lucy Kempson at Whitegate (now Whitegates Care Home).

You could also learn about the re-location of Westminster School from the heart of London. After enquiries were made to the Barneby family, five large houses were offered to A book of the time: ‘Bulgy the Barrage the school - Buckenhill Manor, Balloon’ by Enid Marx Whitbourne Rectory and Court, Fernie and Saltmarshe Castle.

Public Information posters helped visitors to travel back in time, with the phrases ‘Don’t do it, Mother - leave the children where they are’; ‘Use Shanks’ pony - Walk when you can and ease the burden which war puts on transport’; ‘She’s in the ranks too! - caring for evacuees is a national service’.

We also learnt that Miss Ada Chapman’s circus evacuated to Bromyard, taking over Tack Farm, and a newspaper cutting bore a photo of two elephants taking refreshment in a local pool.

Part of Bromyard Floral Group’s display

Queen Elizabeth High School Remembrance sculpture - the children are covered with clippings, photos, posters from the time which reflect the experience of evacuees

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Martley Art Group Exhibition Martley Art Group held an exhibition and sale of members’ work on Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December in Shelsley Beauchamp Village Hall. This striking exhibition was a great opportunity to discover local artists and enjoy their art. The group, which has about 20 members, meets in the hall on Thursdays during school terms, from 10am - 2pm.

Tutor Mel Williams began the group in 1991, wanting to bring together people with an interest in drawing and painting. She said “Neither experience nor ability is important, just a genuine serious love of the subject. I set projects with the intention of allowing each individual to progress at their own pace. With my help and with the wide range of approaches from the class, the work produced is as varied as possible.”

Certainly the display bore testament to this approach and one corner of the hall contained a reconstruction of a recent exercise on teddy bears and other toys, with the artwork produced intermingled with the teddies and toys!

‘Mr Taylor’s Field’ - Mel Williams

The teddy corner!

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‘Delphiniums’ - Susan Keran

‘Harvest Time’ - Jeremy Scholes

Cards were also on sale

Smart Fella’s

At Smarty Pants we started selling one sized ladies Italian clothing in Teme Court nearly 5 years ago. After just a year we moved into larger premises in Teme Street and now we’re expanding into even bigger premises in Teme Street where we will be able to stock a more extensive range of clothing, accessories and handbags.

The good news for the men of Tenbury is that Jonathan, my son, is opening Smart Fella’s in the old Smarty Pants premises. Smart Fella’s will be stocking a range of branded and quality ex-chain store, formal and casual clothing, for men - including shirts, trousers, socks and pants.

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Wines

Aldi

White: Makaraka New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc £4.99 Red: Exquisite Collection Argentinian Malbec £5.99 Rosé: Plow & Press Californian Shiraz Rosé £7.49 Our favourite was the white: smooth, clean and fresh, and at a very modest price for a New Zealand wine. The rosé was quite dry, so probably one to enjoy with food. The red was also dry, with a robust full flavour.

Winter Warmers Majestic

ASDA

Tesco

White: Loosen Dr L Reisling Germany 2018 £7.00 Red: Extra Special Pinot Noir Yarra Valley 2018 Australia £8.00 Red: Extra Special Pinot Noir Marlborough 2018 NZ £10.00 Red: Villa Vincini Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2018 Italy £4.79 Rosé: Barefoot Pink Moscato California £6.75 The white has a lot of flavour. It's fruity, with a clearly German character. Very easygoing, it might also appeal to many who don't often drink wine, and it's relatively low in alcohol. Of the reds, our favourite was the Montepulciano. This should go well with strong cheese - smoked mature cheddar for example - or with pizza and it's good value. The rosé was sweet, juicy and fruity, with a dessert grape flavour. Not what you might call a 'serious' wine, but great fun!

Finest Salted Caramel Cream Liqueur £12.00 Creamy and with an aroma of Crunchie, this does a good job of living up to its description Finest Sloe Gin £17.45 The sloe flavour is prominent at first, then it develops into a smooth sweet finish that should please many.

Finest 12 yr Old Speyside single malt whisky £25.00 Complex and peaty, full of fire and freshness, quite light and sweetish, this is an enjoyable example of a Speyside single malt.

Rockstar Two Swallows Spiced Rum Quite heavily spiced, this is swee with notes of butterscotch, ca treacle toffee, and with a her

Lidl

Hortus Pomegranate & Rose Gin Liqueur £11.99 Interesting and unusual, this should really appeal to Turkish Delight enthusiasts, as that's what it tastes like!

Ludlow Gin Gift Pack of four different double measures £25 A lovely idea for Christmas, this gift pack contains four different gins: London Dry, Triple Citrus Pomegranate, Spiced and Hibiscus, Orange & Pink Peppercorn, all at 42% ABV.

Majestic Red: Chateau Caronne Sainte-Gemme 2014 Haut-Medoc £16.99 (mix six price £14.99 per bottle) Many clarets - often an entry-level prices - fail to impress, but here's an example that certainly does the business. It's complex and tasty, it's smooth and dark, it's firm and dry, and there's lots to it. If you enjoy serious red wine, this would be a very welcome sight with Christmas Dinner, or indeed as a Christmas gift.

Co-op Lidl White: Winemaker's Selection Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc £6.99 White: Bastion de Garille Vermentino Pays d'Oc, £6.99 Red: Chianti Reserva 2015 £6.99 The Awatere Valley is a grassy, zesty and aromatic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, with flavours of melon, guava, and hints of lemon. The Vermentino, with its simple fresh sharpness, was at its best with food.

The Chianti was a solid example of its type, dry, and would go well with a roast; worth opening an hour or two before pouring.

White: Irresistible Marsanne de Languedoc 2018 £8.00 White: Irresistible Chablis 2017 £12.50 White: Irresistible Pinot Grigio Marlborough 2018 £7.50 Red: Famille Perrin Les Cardinaux 2017 Grande vin du Rhône £7 till 3rd Jan (rrp £10) Our favourite of the whites was the Chablis. Clean and juicy, with lime/lemon flavours, this is more approachable than many Chablis and it's really rather good. The Pinot Grigio, with its freshness, would suit many. Moving to the Marsanne, this isn't a well-known grape, though plenty of it is grown in the Northern Rhône; it generated mixed reactions. The red was a good example of a Côtes du Rhône - a very sound buy at the offer price.

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Bubbly

Aldi Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut £12.49 Made using Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay this has won a number of awards over the years, including silver at the International Wine Challenge 2019.

Ca'di Pietra Prosecco Metallic Special Edition 2018 £7.49 Being 'extra dry', this vintage Prosecco is less dry than a 'brut', but drier than a 'dry'. The price tag makes it relatively affordable and the silver bottle wrap adds a festive sparkle.

Contevedo Cava Brut Gold £5.29 The gold wrap to the bottle helps this stand out on the shelf or on the table, which adds a bit of fun. For years Cava has been seen as an affordable alternative to Champagne, perhaps because it - unlike many sparkling wines - is bottle fermented, as is Champagne.

ASDA Mulled Wine: £2.75 on promotion (rrp £3.00) This mulled wine would be welcome on a cold night and was surprisingly pleasant; a bargain.

Extra Special Sparkly Lemon Sherbert Gin 70cl £18.00 This is exactly what the name suggests, and the sparkly appearance (if you shake it) adds a bit of fun. It should obviously appeal to drinkers who like sherbert, but when drunk with tonic the sherbert flavour is much reduced.

m 50cl £21.00 etish and smooth aramel and rbal finish.

Co-op Co-op

Taylor's Select Reserve Port 75cl £7 until 2nd Jan (rrp £10.75) Smooth, with dark chocolate flavours and a hint of coffee, this is enjoyable and just the thing to enjoy at the end of a meal. Might be worth stocking up at the offer price.

Irresistible London Dry Gin 70cl £17.50 A good example of the genre, this is five-times distilled for smoothness and it goes very well with tonic.

Les Pionniers NV Champagne £18.00 until 28 Jan (rrp £19) Made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes and aged for 48 months, this "refreshing and well balanced" Champagne has won various awards over the years, even when compared to bottles at a significantly higher price.

Majestic

Aldi The Infusionist Sloe & Elderberry Gin Liqueur 50cl £11.99 Distinctive and full of flavour, Sloe Gin enthusiasts might like to sip this round a roaring fire.

Greyson’s Spiced Plum & Clementine Gin 70cl £15.99 Lightly spiced, with a lovely aroma of ripe clementines and a prominent clementine/plum flavour, many people would enjoy this, perhaps with ice.

Sea Dog Premium Black Spiced Rum 70cl £14.99 Full of flavours, including vanilla, caramel, burnt oak, treacle and coffee, this might even win over some people who don't normally like dark rum.

SPAR White: Breedekloof Chenin Blanc 2017 £6.50 (IWSC Gold medal 2019) White: Vine & Bloom Pinot Grigio 2018 £5.50 till New Year (rrp £6.50) Red: Vine & Bloom Merlot 2018 £5.50 till New Year (rrp £6.50) Rosé: Vine & Bloom Rose 2018 £5.50 till New Year (rrp £6.50) Red: Breedekloof Pinotage 2017 £6.50 (IWSC Silver medal 2019) The two Breedekloof wines were the stars here. South Africa is famous for its Chenin Blanc and this example was very enjoyable, even if it was not archetypal. It's full of pineapple flavour and can be enjoyed with or without food. The Pinotage was again a little unusual, but arguably all the better for it. Rather than being dominated by distinctive flavours associated with Pinotage, this comes across as a slightly unusual but very tasty red - smooth and fruity with raspberry, blackcurrant and vanilla. The Vine & Bloom wines were all relatively light but they will be of particular interest to people who are looking for vegan wine at a modest price.

Nicolas Courtin Brut NV Champagne £19.99 (mix six price £15.99) Described as a food friendly Champagne, the back label intriguingly tells us that it "...will be delicious with oysters, baked goats cheese or....fish and chips", though we suspect that few buyers will put the third of these suggestions to the test!

Lidl Prosecco Valdobbiadene Conegliano 2017 £7.99 Generic Prosecco is very well known, but this version is a little more special, being made in the hills between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, north of Treviso.

Comte de Senneval Champagne Brut £11.49 Made using all three of the standard Champagne grapes Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay - this is one of the most affordable ways to see in the New Year with a bottle of genuine Champagne.

SPAR Perlezza Prosecco Brut NV £8.50 Prosecco is well enough known to not need an introduction and this example does the job well enough to have won a silver award in the International Wine Challenge 2019.

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Eastham Christmas Fayre A Christmas Fayre was held in Eastham Memorial Hall on Saturday 30th November.

Lots of Christmas shopping could be done with essentials like trees and wreaths being sold alongside a great selection of gift ideas from local businesses - from Hanley Court Honey and Hinching Hampers to traditional wooden spinning tops (£1) and Christmas stockings.

There was even a Raspberry honey (and yes it really did have an initial taste of raspberries) from the Stourport Honey Company. Hot dogs and mulled wine could be purchased if you got peckish and John

Holly Potter had a stall selling her Christmas crafts

Phillips provided musical entertainment with an organ and squeeze box.

Despite the chill wind outside, Santa had to escape the heat of the hall - he being more used to the sub-zero temperatures at the North Pole and dressed for such. He did look rather pink and he could be found cooling down outside with a refreshing bottle of local cider.

Children took part in various activities, including writing and posting letters to Santa, making crafts, and dressing the Christmas tree. A very festive event.

Lovely Christmas card designs from Sue Savery

Helpful Elf Liann Flight with Louise from Angel Gardens of Mill Farm, Stanford Bridge

Santa enjoyed some cooling refreshment!

Liz Wyse, selling raffle tickets

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Memorial Bench Unveiled After months of fundraising and organising, Knighton-on-Teme’s Forces Memorial Remembrance Bench was unveiled on the morning of Saturday 9th November. Unrelenting sleet and rain did not deter a crowd from gathering to mark the unveiling and remember the fallen.

Just before the unveiling a member of Tenbury Royal British Legion read out the roll of honour of those from the parish, noting that the youngest to die was 19 and the oldest in his early thirties.

The bench was then revealed and a group photo was taken, with Clee Hill-based blacksmith Darren Broom, who designed and produced the stunning bench, standing behind his creation. It is the first memorial bench he has attempted and he very much wanted to create something special.

From early sketches, through to the hand cutting of the numerous shapes, to spending time positioning the various elements so that they look right when viewed from all angles - it was painstaking work with what turned out to be a tight deadline to get the bench installed before Remembrance Sunday. He particularly thanked Joseph Ash Galvanising (Telford) and Castle Hill Joinery (Brimfield) for going the extra mile to get the bench ready on time.

Afterwards hot drinks and cake were provided in the parish rooms, where everyone could warm up and dry off! Duane Hubbard, a local parish councillor and one of the people behind the project, commented “A lot of thought, effort and fundraising went into giving the local community this fabulous piece of furniture to enjoy for years to come and act as a poignant reminder of those who lost their lives in world conflicts”.

Emma Mapp, the prime mover of the project, commented that it was during a Lindridge School Remembrance Service where a youngster was slowly reading out the list of the fallen that she was profoundly moved realising afresh the sacrifice they made. This inspired her to work for the provision of some sort of memorial in the parish. Emma commented “This has very much been a joint effort by so many people in so many ways. We are all delighted with the result and are sure the bench will get well used and provide a tranquil spot to sit and remember and be thankful”.

“Walking The Pipe”

This was an Arts Council funded project undertaken by artist Kate Green. During the year she walked most of the route of the Elan Aqueduct, using public footpaths to roughly follow its path from Bleddfa to Frankley reservoir.

Kate first heard the phrase “walking the pipe” in relation to walksmen who were responsible for the aqueduct’s maintenance so regularly walking sections.

Many will be aware of this magnificent example of Victorian/Edwardian engineering, perhaps because of the small distinctive red-brick well-houses dotted about in the local area. The aqueduct is about 73½ miles long. It supplies Birmingham with water from the Welsh Hills; sometimes running underground, sometimes running above the ground; and it consists of three or four pipes, of differing ages.

A packed event took place at Knowbury Village Hall in October. Michael Rosenbaum, Professor of Engineering Geology, gave an incredibly informative talk, describing much of the technical side of the construction. We learnt about the use of syphons to overcome the ~ Est 2019 ~ Teme and Severn valleys, maintenance logistics, and the 1891 Birmingham Suppliers of Premium Grade Ready to Burn Firewood, Water Bill. Michael also introduced us to many of the characters involved in the Beautifully Crated and Delivered to Your Door construction project such as Percy Abery, a chemist in Builth Wells and an amateur photographer, who was taken on as the official photographer.

Eustace Tickell was a construction engineer articled to James Mansergh (designer of the ‘pipe’) who was tasked with sketching the Nantgwilt Valley before it was flooded. These sketches went into a commemorative book which was presented to landowners through whose land the aqueduct would pass.

Kate talked about her walk along the pipe using a projected 3D ‘fly over’ of the route she walked each day, which really helped the audience to visualise her activities.

Also available in Mini Crates and Barrow Bags In the afternoon Kate performed a medley Also available in Mini Crates and Barrow Bags of songs she had written, inspired by the to cover all your access requirements to cover all your access requirements people and places she discovered during the project. Songs included “Engineers Tea”, “We found a Way”, “Rita Morton”, or 07974 495803 “Tunnelling Navvies”, “Seventy Three and a Half Miles”, “Walking the Pipe” and “Butterfly”.

There was also a pop-up museum with Plot 1, Station Yard, Station Road, exhibits and documents and books to Woofferton, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 4AW pour over, including copies of documents that had been saved from a skip by Rita Morton, Schools Liaison Officer for Severn Trent, in 1989 - when the company was privatised, old Birmingham Corporation

A warm welcome with plenty of tea, coffee and cake from the ladies of Knowbury

LUDLOW

07805 312168

/ludlowfirewood

/ludlowfirewood

W W W. L U D L OW F I R E WO O D. C O M

Tea towels, produced as part of the project, sold out

One of the many historical photographs on display - this one shows the construction of Frankley reservoir

Artist Kate Green at Knowbury Village Hall

This songbook of Kate’s songs was available to purchase

records were dumped in the skip but Rita ferried them away in her car!

Kate also produced beautifully designed monthly issues of the single-page news sheet ‘The Pipe Chronicle’ chronicling where she has been, who she has met and the latest developments (see kate-green.co.uk). They provided very interesting reading. Kate was joined by Clare Balding to record a ‘Ramblings’ episode, broadcast on October 3rd.

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Cleobury Carers Christmas Bazaar Cleobury Carers Group held their Christmas Bazaar on November 19th at Cleobury Sports and Social Club. On ‘meet and greet’ duty were Bev Taylor and Kathie Rowbotham, with ‘Kimi’ the owl and Kathie’s extraordinary chicken!

Called ‘Team Kimi’, they spend time raising funds for charities. Since September last year they have raised nearly £8,500, appearing at various venues including the Co-op in Cleobury, Pets at Home in Ludlow, Cleobury Golf Club and local Tescos. Kimi the owl, who is only 6 months old, even has her own Facebook page!

Carers Group leader Janet Manley welcomed everyone with a festive glass of sherry and there were sweet and savoury nibbles to enjoy throughout the event.

A tombola, a guess the number of sweets in the jar competition, jumble jars, a sales table and a cake stall all helped with fundraising, as did the sale of bottle lights (£5) that had been made at the group’s monthly meetings.

The carers group started seven years ago. It is independently run and it welcomes unpaid carers, and the person cared for, to monthly meetings where there is a strong emphasis on social activities. For more information about the group contact Janet Manley on 07805 268439.

Guess the number of sweets in the jar

Jumble Jars stall

Team Kimi

Bottle Lights made by the group’s members

Christmas Shopping Evening Local opportunities for finding a few unusual Christmas gifts are always worth taking up and this example was no exception. Number 6 Café, on Teme Street in Tenbury Wells, transformed their daytime café into a mini-arcade bursting with original gift ideas one evening in late November.

On the beautifully laid out stalls you could find Christmas Tree cupcakes, soya wax Christmas tree candles, framed artistic photos, hand-embroidered pictures and cards, Epsom bath salts (eucalyptus/lavender & rose), pretty jewellery, cushions, baubles, lavender bags, Body Shop products including soap samples (50p), carpet fresheners that are healthy for pets (millionaire, angel and chocolate gingerbread aromas) and more.

Festive nibbles

Commissioner held surgery in Tenbury

Complimentary mulled wine helped make up for the damp weather and Number 6 was also previewing their festive ‘Chocolate Sharing Platter’ (£13.50) which looked irresistible!

On November 11th, John Campion, the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, held a surgery in Tenbury Wells, in the Pump Rooms. Residents could bring their concerns to him personally and meet other officers from the West Mercia force.

Copies of John’s ‘Safer West Mercia Plan 2016-2021’ were available to take away, along with other leaflets about ‘Digital Parenting’, ‘Staying safe online’ and rural crime prevention measures. SmartWater kits were also available to take away, once you were registered, to mark-up property.

John Campion responding to a question

From left: Assistant Town Council Clerk Susan Blackhurst, Rural & Business Crime Officer Mick Simpson, Mayor of Tenbury Wells Cllr Eric Hudson, Police Constable Chris Lea, Town Council Clerk Lesley Bruton

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Held in St Mary's Church in Tenbury Wells, this event was a lovely opportunity to do some first-rate Christmas shopping in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, and to take time to sit and chat with friends old and new.

It was amazing what could be found, from a collection of trolls to a colourful Africanprint cushion (£1) or a selection of vinyl records at £2 each. Paperbacks were three for a £1 and included the titles 'Outwitting Squirrels - 101 cunning stratagems' and 'The pocket book of Good Grannies'. The home baking was excellent and varied, including a delicious ginger Russian shortcake. Any foodie purchases ostensibly made for Christmas might well not have lasted the day, let alone the until Christmas!

Eastham Wreath Workshop

A wreath-making workshop was held at Eastham Memorial Hall on Wednesday 27th November where locals were encouraged to try their hands at wreath making. The picture shows one of the finished items, made by Nicola Webb.

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Far Forest and Rock RBL News In 2018, the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal raised a record £50 million, £811,000 of which was raised in Worcestershire. The Far Forest & Rock Branch contributed £9,000 to that Appeal which went towards supporting the welfare needs of members of the Armed Forces Community. This includes serving personnel of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, plus veterans and their families.

Following their successful efforts last year, the Branch Members were greatly encouraged when Amanda Clements-Hunt, Legion Community Fundraiser for the County, visited the Branch recently to honour Jim Woods, their Poppy Appeal Organiser, with a special award recognising his 20 years’ service in the post.

During the presentation the Branch were praised for the considerable increase is donations which they have raised in recent years and were also invited to provide a Poppy Appeal stand at Strensham North Services on the M5 during this year’s Appeal.

At an interim Appeal Donation review, following the end of the Appeal, the running total for this year stood at almost double last year’s total - a good proportion of which was the result of manning the stand at Strensham.

Jim Woods said “To have been able to double our total of last year is amazing. It demonstrates that our determination to succeed is shared by the public in their support for the very important work that the Legion does. We are extremely grateful for the continuing public support for our efforts”.

May Carter, Branch Standard Bearer, took part in the 2019 Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, appearing before Her Majesty the Queen and a large live and TV audience from around the World. After the Festival May travelled back to the County to take part in the Parade and Service at Rock Village and the Service at Pensax Standard Bearer May Carter at the Festival of Remembrance Memorial on Remembrance Sunday. opportunity”. interested in finding out more about how the Legion Speaking after parading again on Armistice Day, May said “To be able to take part in The Branch meets at the Rock Cross Inn at 7pm on the helps those who serve or have served in the Armed the Festival representing the Branch and the County was an honour, a privilege and second Monday of each month and welcomes anyone Services. an experience that I will value for a very long time to come. I am so grateful for the

The Master Falconer

Monkhide provided warming cups of their Christmas Wine

Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre This November weekend of medieval festive fun was the 21st fayre and despite the incessant rain on the Saturday the crowds came in their thousands. More entertainment was promised for this year and there was an increase in the number of stalls selling gifts of all sorts - food, drink, craft, art, historical goods, ceramics, jewellery, clothing, textiles, leatherwork even frankincense and myrrh!

If you wanted to get the most from the day it was probably a good idea to sit down with the programme and make a plan so that you didn’t miss any of the performances - and there were a lot of them, not just on the two stages, but around the grounds as well, with minstrels, jesters and the like wandering about seeking folk to entertain. And they did like to be engaged with, so striking up a conversation with any medieval character you came across could be very entertaining!

The stage performances also required audience participation - whether singing choruses of a song or joining in ‘pantomime style’ or taking a part in an act or sword fighting. Lots of activities for children and adults alike! Here are just a few pictures to give you a flavour of the day.

Frantic Hurdy Gurdy playing

Kris Katchit

Emma Kidson from Ludlow Bookbinders looking very much the part as she personalises notebooks for people

Entertainment on the Castle Garden Stage

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Open Day at Lodge On November 23rd, the Lodge of St Michael (1097), in Tenbury Wells, opened its doors to the public to showcase the recently refurbished function rooms. All were invited to have a look around and see the facilities and where meetings and functions can be held for up to 65 people.

We were warmly greeted and shown around, and the project manager was on hand to fill in more detail of the works undertaken. The rooms have seen a huge transformation, with great attention to detail such as new cornicing being added to the main function room. Much care was taken in marrying the old building to the new rear extension and we were told that all the contractors were local and that the project came in on time (within the six months) ready for the Lodge’s October meeting.

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The building now has its own car park, air conditioning and up-to-date ladies and gents (including a disabled-friendly wc) and a new wider staircase to a re-ordered upstairs.

For hiring the hall contact Alan Gale on 01584 811899 or Phil Gibbs 01584 781208.

At the start of the work

The new rear extension

Stanford’s Christmas Tree Festival Phil Gibbs and the new bar

Work in progress

During the Open Day

Newspapers, Magazines, Maps, Cards, Toys, Sweets, Drinks, Wrapping Paper, Local Books, Laminating, Fax Service, Batteries, Stationery, Dry Cleaning, Photocopying (colour/B&W).

23 Teme Street, Tenbury Wells

01584 810230

There was a very warm welcome at St Mary’s Christmas Tree Festival at Stanford on Teme.

Robin Dean jovially handed out a programme, a pencil and a voting slip while encouraging people to vote for their favourite tree.

Twenty six lit and decorated trees filled the church. The trees were sponsored by businesses, schools, churches or villagers.

It was a wonderfully festive sight and with background Christmas music playing, plus mulled wine and festive nibbles, one could say that Christmas had come early!

Hanley Childe church’s tree had lights and decorations purchased from local charity shops and local chimney sweep Richard Haines had a tree decorated with baubles bearing silhouettes of a sweep’s brush or a sweep leaning on a chimney.

Perhaps not surprisingly, The White Pheasant pub had a tree filled with sparkly white silhouettes of pheasants. Clifton Early Years Centre’s tree was hung with brightly coloured handprints of the children, great fun. Lindridge School’s tree was packed with striking red and white handmade bells, trees, rings and baubles. The high standard of decoration and creativity must have been encouraging for the organisers and congratulations go to all involved.

The festival ran over the weekend of December 7th/8th. On the Saturday morning, Corrine Frost played her cello, and in the

afternoon Lindridge School choir performed.

Proceeds from the event went to St Mary’s and the Midland Air Ambulance. The church thanked Agricultural Engineers J W Lane for the donation of the large Christmas tree, and Louise Mawditt of Angel Gardens for help in sourcing the festival trees, and of course, all who sponsored a tree.

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Abberley Autumn Fayre

Another busy Fayre in the Teme Valley was held in Abberley Village Hall at the beginning of November with lots of children's activities and lots of bargains to be found. Tombolas (one for adults and one for children) were very busy, the book stall (20p a book) was overrun with buyers, and Ballards were selling some magnificent Bramley apples apparently too big for the supermarkets - along with their toffee apples and chocolate-covered apples.

Toys and games could be snapped up as early Christmas presents and crafts and gifts galore filled the tables including 'Lighthouse' bottle stoppers at £2.95. It was good to take a break from browsing

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and sit and chat in the refreshment room, with its excellent choice of cakes.

Abberley Care Farm had a student enterprise stall. This was selling goods that the students had made as part of their course work, along with a 'Pin the nose on the basset hound' game, a treasure hunt map and a photo quiz. The care farm offers a tranquil rural atmosphere where people can engage in and be stimulated and inspired by creative techniques and where active and experiential learning is promoted.

Sessions are available from two hours to a full day.

This event was fundraising for the church.

Photos by Anne Walter and Lucy Dell.

Caynham Christmas Tree Festival There is nothing quite like a Christmas Tree Festival to get you into a festive mood, especially if there has been a lot of thought put into the exhibits and their seasonal themes.

Caynham's festival on November 30th hit the spot with fascinating festive 'facts and figures' adorning many of the trees, which were decorated on the theme of 'Great British Christmas Traditions'. Careful perusal revealed such things as our Queen is reputed to wear a festive paper hat on Christmas Day! Jenny Daniel's tree had spiders and webs decorating it, representing the legend about the spider who wove a web over the entrance of a cave to help conceal Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus from pursuing Roman guards sent by Herod.

Cath Corfield's tree was decorated with holly, ivy, pine cones and with

A detail from the 'Christmas Post' tree

decorations depicting other Christmas plants.

Juliet Jones' tree represented the history of the Christmas card and we were told that Sir Henry Cole, a senior civil servant, started the custom of sending cards and that snow scenes became popular because they reminded people of the very bad winter in 1836.

Jane and Peter van Duijvenvoorde's tree celebrated the 'Christmas Cracker', telling us that paper hats were added to the contents in the 1900s and that jokes and limericks replaced love poems in the 1930s.

Their tree had lots of jokes attached including "What says Oh! Oh! Oh!?

Santa walking backwards" and "What do elves post on social media?

Elf-ies". Cue groans, but lots of smiles!

Betty Perks' tree was themed on the Christmas stocking, with stockings in

abundance and a tale about the origin of the custom. Another tree celebrated the Advent calendar with numbered mini-stockings containing scripture verses for each day of the month and pots containing a chocolate for each day.

We also learnt that paper rationing during WW2 halted the production of advent calendars for a while.

Dianne Woodbridge's tree featured Carols and Noels of many sorts, while Jill Bufton's tree, decorated with Poinsettia flowers, told us about the Mexican legend that saw the flowers being named 'flowers of the holy night' A Christmas pudding tree by Chris King featured decorations of puddings, sixpences (real ones), sticks of cinnamon and mini-jars of spices. Here we learnt that the original plum pudding was really a porridge that contained meat (beef

Part of the nativity scene at St Mary's, Caynham

and veal boiled with wine, sherry and lemon juice to which dried fruit, sugar, spices and brown bread were added to bind it all together).

Jean and David Faulkner's tree represented Christmas Post and was decorated with images of Christmas stamps, fact-filled Christmas cards and addressed envelopes printed

Pam Murray's tree

with historical Christmas postmarks and stamps.

Wreaths, decorative wild bird feeding rings, mystery parcels and a gift stall and lots of festive baking (including Christmas Cakes) all added to the enjoyment especially with mulled wine and mince pies or cake! A lovely weekend festival.

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Pensax Thrift Shop Closes On the morning of October 23rd Pensax Thrift Shop welcomed people to come and join in the celebration of a remarkable 45 years of trading. A glass of bubbly and nibbles were laid on for visitors, along with the usual eclectic range of goods to buy: cakes, clothes, plants, a guitar, china, books, artist’s easel, curtain tiebacks, charity Christmas cards, brassware, shoes, toys, household goods, vegetables, soft furnishings, gloves, balls of From the archives: the shop’s18th jute string, bird seed - all Birthday celebrations. Elizabeth sorts!

The day was also tinged Head (Founder) gets ready to cut with sadness as this was the cake with (from left) Pauline the last sale morning Briggs, Nerys Didlick and Pam before the shop closed Beattie for good. “This is your Life” Thrift Shop albums, created by Nerys Didlick (who took over as organiser from the shop’s founder Elizabeth Head), were available to leaf through and there were many memories and achievements chronicled in the pages - in particular the phenomenal amount of money raised each year for hall funds and chosen charities. Many customers commented that they would miss the Wednesday morning get-togethers over a cuppa.

Pauline Briggs, a long-time shop volunteer, gave us these words about the history of Pensax Village Hall and the Thrift Shop.

“Built on land leased from Mr Arthur Jones of Abberley Hall and opened in 1911, Pensax Village Hall has served the communities of Pensax, Menith Wood and Stockton for over a century. The hall has been the venue for community celebrations of all kinds: social events, evening classes, a youth club, a play group, Church and Parish Council meetings and, of course, it still hosts the local polling station.

In 1974, the then Chairman of the Parish Hall Committee Mrs Elizabeth Head, had the inspired idea of opening a weekly Thrift Shop. The aim was to provide an outlet for cake-makers, needle women and gardeners, for anyone with unwanted or no-longerneeded items to sell, and to be a source of income for the hall.

10% of the selling price of goods would be retained for hall funds.

Word soon spread and people from further afield would travel considerable distances to attend the Thrift Shop on a Wednesday morning. The venture brought many more economic and social benefits for its supporters than had been hoped for, and it offered

The monthly magazine for Leominster & surrounding villages.

On sale in Leominster, Bodenham, Dilwyn, Eardisland, Kingsland, Luston, Orleton, Pembridge, Weobley, Yarpole and Tenbury Wells.

a meeting place for those looking for company, fulfilling exactly the aims of many current efforts by village halls to reach out to the community.

In 1978, the Thrift Shop was able to help Pensax Parish Council purchase the hall and since then the shop has been Vintage child’s cup and responsible for saucer set for sale paying the bills for hall maintenance including rewiring, reroofing, redecoration, funding an extension, and so on. Over the years Thrift Shop customers have also supported special charity fundraising with contributions being made to local hospitals, hospices, children’s charities, Midlands Air Ambulance, to name a few.

More recently the Thrift Shop has remained popular but with fewer customers than before - ebay hadn’t been heard of in 1974! - and it was with a heavy heart that the volunteers decided finally to close Thrift Shop this year, but not until we had celebrated 45 years of trading on 23rd October. Real friendships have been forged over the years and Wednesday mornings will not be the same without the Thrift Shop to go to. Customers and volunteers alike will miss it but, sadly, all good things come to an end.”

Thrift Shop Volunteers gathered for the last sale day - photo by Anne Walter

A busy morning

Bromyard Lantern Parade A new addition to Bromyard’s Christmas lights ‘switch-on day’ was a lantern parade. Around 66 lanterns joined the parade which was preceded by six drummers drumming as it made its way through the town.

Spokesman for Bromyard Chamber of Commerce and Christmas Lights Committee David Grant told us “Switchon day is the culmination of six long Sundays by the ‘Bromyard Light Brigade’ who were awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Services back in 2011. They work from dawn until dusk erecting an amazing array of lights, many of which are unique to Bromyard. The new feature of a lantern parade was enjoyed by all and for the first time roads were closed in the afternoon for a Street Market extending

along Broad Street and High Street with a hot chestnuts seller, seasonal foods and many Christmas goods.”

The day was jam-packed with activities which began at 10am with a coffee morning at The Conquest Theatre. Other happenings included Bell peals, three Christmas Fairs, a fairground organ, Santa Parade and Santa’s Workshops with real reindeer, Christmas craft workshops, children’s zone, swing-boats

and live music. The final event was the performance of ‘Thark’ (a ‘rip-roaring’ traditional farce) at The Conquest at 7pm. The town car parks were free of charge all day.

If you would like to see a display of excellent “illuminations” but don’t fancy the drive to Blackpool, why not take a trip to Bromyard and enjoy their spectacle?

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Farm & Country: The West of England Harvest Show Teme Valley Times Advertising To advertise in our next issue, please book your space by February 8th.

Email: temevalleytimes@yahoo.co.uk Phone: 01584 781762

The inaugural West of England Harvest Show was held on October 25th at Penlu Sports & Social Club in Burford.

The damp weather did not deter people from gathering for this harvesttime celebration of hops, apples, pears, fodder and root crops, combinable crops, ciders, perrys, home-made wines and spirit-based tipples.

The distinct heady aroma of hops greeted visitors entering the hall and tables filled with hop samples and trays of fruit provided a truly autumnal sight.

Hop varieties entered included Target, Pilgrim, Pioneer, Sovereign, First Gold, Jester, Mystic, Harlequin, Golding,

Fuggle, Challenger, confirming the great range of produce grown on our farms.

The event provided a great opportunity to chat and catch up with friends and colleagues, and about an hour after the show opened to the public the auction of show produce began. Conducted by local auctioneer Nick Champion the auction was a fundraiser for Tenbury Hospital League of Friends and bids flew to and fro with Nick's renowned 'of-thecu' wit and skilled assigning of bids adding great humour, laughter and enjoyment to the auction, with some leaving with a gladly-accepted surprise purchase.

Dessert Apples first prize: S Parker

Saturday 1st August 2020 Main ring attraction:

Nick Champion auctioning the straw

Bidding for a bottle of damson gin

The e Cavalry of He eroes from Ro oss on Wye

Enquiries: 0158 84 810818 enquiries@te enbury-countrryside-show.co.uk The Sparkling Perry class saw Celtic Marches awarded 1st and Newton Court 2nd

Fodder beet entries

A good range of hops was on show

Wishing our customers a Happy Christmas

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Kia Sorento

This is undeniably a large car, but at 4.8m long it's not excessively so, and the styling does a good job of concealing its size. Inevitably though, the 1.89m width means you sometimes need to choose your supermarket parking space with care! The payback of course is the amount of space inside, with even the third row of seats being useable by modest-size adults.

SKODA SKODA KAROQ

18 18 KAROQ 1.6 TDi SE AUTO, silver, 10,000 miles. . . . . £19,995

SKODA YETI

17 17 YETI 2.0 TDi SEL, beige, 17,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £14,995 17 17 YETI 1.2 TSi SEL, grey, 28,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £14,650 16 66 YETI 2.0 TDi SEL, beige, 17,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £14,450 16 16 YETI 1.2 TSi SE, grey, 5,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £13,995 16 66 YETI 1.2 TSi SEL AUTO, red, 36,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £13,995 16 66 YETI 2.0 TDi SEL, silver, 23,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £13,995 16 66 YETI 1.2 TSi SE AUTO, grey, 43,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £13,495 16 66 YETI 2.0 TDi SE, silver, 28,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £12,995 16 65 YETI 1.2 TSi SE, green, 30,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £11,995 16 66 TETI 2.0 TDi SE, silver, 48,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £11,995 16 16 YETI 2.0 TDi SE, white, 29,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £11,495 14 64 YETI 2.0 TDi SE, blue, 52,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £10,495

SKODA FABIA

The Sorento has been a respected model for years, with the third-generation model going on sale a few years ago. A refresh for 2018 saw the introduction of 'GT Line' and 'GT Line S' versions and a new eightspeed gearbox replacing the previous six-speed unit on automatic models, improving economy and reducing emissions. Automatic is standard on the GT models, which are fitted with steeringwheel mounted 'paddles'. Manual

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16 66 FABIA 1.2 TSi SEL, grey, 19,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £8,995 17 17 FABIA 1.2 TSi SE, silver, 36,000 mles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £7,995 15 15 FABIA 1.2 TSi SEL, blue, 30,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £7,995 14 64 FABIA 1.2 TSi SE Estate, silver, 54,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £5,750 10 10 FABIA 1.6 TDi SE, green, 31,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4,995 13 63 FABIA 1.2 TSi SE Estate, silver, 60,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4,995 14 14 FABIA 1.2 SE 12v, blue, 42,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4,850

SKODA OCTAVIA

16 66 OCTAVIA 2.0 TDi 4x4 DSG Auto Estate, grey, 33,000m . . . . . . £15,995 12 62 OCTAVIA 1.6 TDi Elegance, 77,000 miles, blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4,995 10 10 OCTAVIA 1.6 TDi SE ESTATE, 96,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4,750

SKODA CITIGO

16 65 CITIGO 1.0 SE, 5-door, beige, 40,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . £5,750 14 64 CITIGO 1.0 Elegance 70, 5-door, red, 34,000 miles . . . . . . £5,750 16 16 CITIGO 1.0 SE, 5-door, red, 27,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £5,750

SKODA ROOMSTER

12 12 ROOMSTER 1.2 TSi S AUTO, silver, 60,000 miles . . . . . . . . . £4,495 12 12 ROOMSTER 1.2 TSi SE, blue, 67,000 miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4,495

OVERTON SERVICE STATION HEREFORD ROAD, LUDLOW. Tel. 01584 872584

system will also play its part. There's even a lock mode for off-road low-speed use, to help you get going in really slippery conditions.

This is an easy car to drive and it covers the miles in a lazy, easygoing and slightly detached manner which makes light of road imperfections. Reflecting the car's size and weight, fuel consumption was around 42mpg on a relaxed run, dropping to about 37mpg on local trips.

The weight also takes the edge off the Sorento's acceleration but around nine seconds for the 0-60 sprint is eminently respectable, while the claimed 127mph top speed is only of academic interest.

Seating flexibility is provided with the rearmost row having a 50/50 split, while the middle row is split 40/20/40 and despite the Sorento having four wheel drive, it has a flat floor, improving comfort for passengers sitting in the centre of the middle row.

Considering what you're getting in a Sorento, the pricing is Friendly local garage remarkably modest. The entrywith family service. level KX-1 starts at just £30,250; Domestic & Commercial. the KX-2 is £33,650 and adds leather upholstery, 18-inch (rather than 17-inch) alloys, rainsensing wipers, heated seats (front and outer rear), dual automatic air conditioning and all-round electric windows with auto up/down.

This is impressive value, particularly considering that the Sorento comes with Kia's usual seven year, 100,000 mile warranty. Inevitably prices rise as you move further up the range, topping out at around £43,000 info@thefoundrygarage.co.uk for the 'GT-Line S' 2.2 CRDi.

transmission is offered on 'KX-1', 'KX-2' and 'KX-3' models and I drove a manualequipped 'KX-2'.

All versions are seven-seat SUVs, all have four wheel drive, and all have a stop/start system, but only one engine is offered. This is a pleasingly gutsy 197bhp 2.2-litre diesel which offers plenty of urge at low revs.

Peak torque (441Nm) arrives at just 1750rpm, making for easy acceleration and impressive hill climbing abilities; it just whooshes up hills where many cars would demand down changes and much higher revs.

The low-end torque will also be very welcome for towing, particularly if you want to tow right up to the 2500kg towing weight limit (with manual transmission; 2000kg with automatic). Trailer Stability Assist is standard, and the intelligent four wheel drive

Ask about alley our Teme V er Times read offer!

01584 711264

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TEME VALLEY TIMES

L200 SERIES 6 WARRIOR NOW AVAILABLE FROM

£235

PER MONTH1 All rentals + VAT at 20%.

+ £2,820 INITIAL RENTAL TERM 36 MONTHS 8,000 ANNUAL MILEAGE

BUSINESS CONTRACT HIRE PROVIDED BY SHOGUN VEHICLE LEASING. EXCESS MILEAGE CHARGES APPLY. PERSONAL CONTRACT HIRE ALSO AVAILABLE SUBJECT TO ELIGIBILITY.

FIELDS MITSUBISHI Dunley Service Station, Dunley, Stourport-on-Severn DY13 0UE 01299 827867 www.fields-mitsubishi.co.uk 1. L200 Series 6 Warrior rental shown is for manual transmission with solid paint. Business users only, subject to status provided by Shogun Vehicle Leasing (a trading style of Lex Autolease Ltd, SK3 ORB). Excess mileage charges of 12.22p plus VAT per mile. Vehicle must be returned in good condition to avoid further charges. The offer is valid for new vehicles registered between 1st October and 31st December 2019, whilst stocks last. Other terms and mileages are available on request. Available in the UK, 18+ only, subject to availability. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, is correct at time of going to print and may be amended or withdrawn at any time.

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TEME VALLEY TIMES

Mitsubishi L200 Series 6

The L200 is one of the best-known vehicles in its class and it’s been part of rural life for years. It’s gone through a number of updates in recent years, and the 2019 model, the Series 6, has brought in a number of significant changes.

The most obvious difference, compared to the preceding Series 5, is a major restyle. This has given the L200 a great deal more visual presence. Its looks had begun to look a little everyday, but the revised front end has done a splendid job of addressing this.

There’s a good range of models, from the entry-level 4Life, from £21,515 CVOTR, to the top-specification Barbarian X, from £32,200

CVOTR. Depending on which version you go for, options include Club Cab or Double Cab, manual or automatic transmission, and leather or textile upholstery. There is also a good range of options, including various hard tops, bed liners, sports bars, tonneau covers and towbars.

I drove a ‘top of the range’ Barbarian X. Obviously this was very well equipped, including such features as heated seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry, electric driver’s seat, and USB charging ports for rear seat passengers. Excellent comfort and plenty of space help make it a relaxing choice for long trips as does its refined feel, particularly when

cruising at 50 to 60mph.

At the same time it offers off-road-friendly features such as hill descent control and a choice of off-road modes, underlining the breadth of its capabilities. Super Select II drive modes include ‘full-time’ 4WD, which can be used on Tarmac. Towing ability is an important attribute of course and the L200’s 3500kg towing limit (with a three-axle trailer) will be welcomed by those who need it.

Many who haven’t driven a high-spec L200 would underestimate its on-road abilities, particularly in terms of the refinement it offers when cruising. It covers the miles with an ease that outperforms many executive saloons,

particularly impressive when you consider its off-road potential.

The six-speed automatic gearbox delivers excellent changes during everyday driving, some being almost imperceptible from a passenger’s perspective, and there are paddles if you prefer to manage the changes yourself.

The Series 6 has a slightly smaller engine than the Series 5, and peak power is down by about 30hp on the previous Barbarian, but this is unlikely to be noticed in ordinary driving conditions. Another change is that the new model uses AdBlue, unlike the previous model.

Fuel consumption during local work was around 32mpg but on a relaxed run economy could rise to above 36mpg - better than some might expect from a 4x4 of this size and weight.

Peugeot 5008 Not that many years ago, buying a sevenseater often meant abandoning any hopes of style and simply settling for a box-sided 'people carrier' or 'MPV'. Many were wonderfully practical and effective loadluggers, but generally it was a case of function triumphing over form, and the resulting appearance wasn't far off a van with windows.

These days the game has totally changed, with plenty of good-looking SUV-style seven seaters to choose from, so owners can benefit from the functionality they need, without having to sacrifice the looks they desire.

Peugeot's 5008 comes to mind. At a glance you might not even think it was a sevenseater, but it is, though it's unlikely you'd want to try and fit two burly farmers in the rearmost pair of seats! It's probably best to think of it as a 5+2, which isn't unusual in cars of this type.

Of course, you may simply be looking for a large boot, in which case the 5008 scores well, particularly as seats 6 and 7 are readily removed.

Considering the interior space a 5008 offers, its compact footprint is doubly impressive. Only a few inches longer than the five-seat 3008, and shorter even than an Audi A4, it shows that a seven-seater doesn't have to be bulky, and its compact turning circle helps make parking and manoeuvring easier than might be expected.

If you've never driven a modern seven-seater

Huge load space with seats folded!

you might have concerns about how well it might drive but, compared to a five-seater of similar dimensions, the 5008 has no obvious drawbacks on the open road.

This is partly down to the suspension which does a fine job of providing good poise while delivering a comfortable ride. The set up suits the car's role well and contributes towards the 5008 being such a relaxed way to cover long distances, particularly on cross country routes.

A wide range of engines is offered: 1.2 or 1.6

litre petrol engines and 1.5 or 2.0 litre diesels. I drove a 1.6 GT Line, with Peugeot's 'EAT8' eight-speed automatic gearbox. Its 180PS means it gives good performance, even with a significant load on board. It's a nice engine and even on the rare occasions there's a need for high rpm, it didn't sound strained.

The gearbox performs splendidly during typical relaxed use, with its sport mode coming in handy for quick overtaking, and there are paddles if you want to take matters

into your own hands.

The 5008 uses Peugeot's quirky small steering wheel. Some drivers love it, some don't, but for most people it's just a question of getting used it. The tailgate is a bit awkward to close, but if you upgrade to the GT Line Premium, one of the extra features is a powered tailgate.

The gear selector is also a bit unusual, but otherwise there's little to get used to.

Overall this 5008 GT Line 180 EAT8 was surprisingly impressive. It performed its role well, which it needs to do, given a list price of about £35,000 on the road, before adding any options. If you opt for the 'Premium' version, with its extra features, then the price rises to approaching £37,000, but if you're on a tighter budget, an entry-level ‘Active’, with a 1.2 litre engine, is available for under £28,000.

TEME VALLEY TIMES

16 Teme Street Tenbury Wells Worcestershire WR15 8BA T: 01584 810555 W: www.nickchampion.co.uk E:info@nickchampion.co.uk

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PROPERTY | AUCTIONS | AGRICULTURE | PROFESSIONAL

BICKLEY, TENBURY WELLS- -GUIDE GUIDEPRICE PRICE£555,000 £425,000 CRAVEN ARMS ASTON-ON-CLUN,

BURFORD, TENBURY WELLS - GUIDE PRICE £299,950 £490,000 PRICE - GUIDE WELLS TENBURY LINDRIDGE,

extended Victorian cottage development an exclusive conversion within hop kilnsemi-detached new An impressive brandAn a bijou single storey holiday let and gardens.

Teme Valley. across the viewsattractive with outstanding countryside of the set in the heartwith Kitchen/Breakfast Room, Two Spacious Reception Rooms, Bedroom with Ensuite, Master Cloakroom, Room, Sitting Room, Laundry Kitchen/Dining Room, Spacious Masterwith Bedroom Dressing Second Double Bedroom, Family Bathroom, Spaces, Parking Three Bathroom, Family Bedrooms, FurtherRoom, Three Ensuite,with Guest Bedroom Single Storey Holiday Let, Attractive LevelViews.

Gardens, Countryside Wonderful Garden, Parking, Landscaped VisitorCloakroom, Double Ample- Grade Driveway Parking, EPC Rating E. Building.

II Listed Not Required EPC Garage, NN EEW

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A unique and a former smithy potential conversion with farm barnsof two traditionalconversion withcontemporary A period stone farmhouse set in theof beautiful Teme Valley.

Hills AONB. EPC Rating E. the Shropshire edge and equestrian facilities on the Room, Rooms, Dining Room, LivingBedrooms, Room withThree Woodburner, Bathrooms, Utility Four Double with Aga, Two Reception Farmhouse Kitchen Kitchen/Breakfast Master Bedroom with Ensuite, TwoFeatures, Further Bedrooms, BathroomBarn and(Class Cloakroom, B1 Use), Partially Converted Character Cellar, Abundant Room, Cloakroom, AttractiveMature Level Gardens, Timber GarageStabling, and Carport, Manege, Paddocks, Gardens, South Facing Second Barn Ideal for Conversion, Ample Driveway Parking,Land EPC Available Rating F. by Separate Negotiation.

(TBV). Further Acres Two Driveways and Parking. About 2.402

NEWNHAM BRIDGE - GUIDE PRICE £265,000

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An immaculate and well-appointed holiday log cabin set in extensive grounds of about one acre (tbv) enjoying super views across the Teme Valley.

Kitchen/Dining Room, Spacious Sitting Room, Master Bedroom and Wardrobe, Second Bedroom, Study/Dressing Room, Shower Room, Utility Room and Store, South Facing Gardens, Ample Parking Space. EPC Not Required.

EARDISTON, TENBURY WELLS - GUIDEPRICE PRICE£289,950 £293,950 - GUIDE WELLS BRIDGE, TENBURY NEWNHAM An immaculate and well-appointed modern detached house barn conversion An immaculate popular and accessible village. over parkland. views fara reaching within Kitchen/Breakfast Two Spacious Reception Room,Rooms, Living Spacious Room, Kitchen/BreakfastRoom, Master Bedroom Ensuite, Three Further Bedrooms, Ensuite, with Bedroom Masterwith Bathroom, Cloakroom, AttractiveDownstairs Gardens, Integral Garage, Cloakroom, Family Bathroom, Bedrooms, Further TwoFamily Driveway Parking.

EPC Rating D. C. EPC Rating Parking.

Allocated Gardens and

FIND US AT: www.nickchampion.co.uk

PRICE £289,950 - GUIDE TENBURY WELLS, WORCESTERSHIRE EARDISTON - GUIDE PRICE £185,000 A splendid and well-appointed ground floor apartment

quiet cul-de-sac in aCountry house detached An immaculate in a converted Grade II Listed House centre. the of distance walking easy within enjoying panoramic views across town the Teme Valley.

Room, Laundry Rooms, Two Reception Room,Room, Kitchen/Breakfast Kitchen/Breakfast Formal Drawing Room, Larder and WC, Store, Bathroom, Family Bedrooms, Three Further Ensuite, with Master Bedroom Two Double Bedrooms, Bathroom, Cloakroom, Cellars, and Ample Garage Double Gardens, Attractive Private Garden, Communal Gardens, FourParking ParkingSpace.

Spaces.EPC EPCRating RatingC.G.

TEME VALLEY TIMES

16 Teme Street Tenbury Wells Worcestershire WR15 8BA T: 01584 810555 W: www.nickchampion.co.uk E:info@nickchampion.co.uk

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PROPERTY | AUCTIONS | AGRICULTURE | PROFESSIONAL

OLDWOOD, TENBURY WELLS - GUIDEPRICE PRICE£555,000 £325,000 - GUIDE CRAVEN ARMS ASTON-ON-CLUN,

MORNINGSIDE, TENBURY - GUIDE £290,000 £490,000 PRICE PRICE - GUIDE WELLSWELLS TENBURY LINDRIDGE,

An appealling detached bungalow forexclusive upgrading development within an conversion new hop kiln An impressive brand in anofelevated sought with afteroutstanding setting enjoying views Valley. across the Teme viewsoutstanding the countryside set in the heart within walking distance the town centre.

Master Bedroom with Ensuite, Cloakroom, Room,of Laundry Room, Sitting Kitchen/Dining Room, Spacious and DiningFurther Room,Bedrooms, Sitting Room, TwoBathroom, Double Bedrooms, Three Parking Spaces, Family Ensuite, Three Guest Bedroom withKitchen, Utility Room, Attractive Gardens, Views.

Countryside Wonderful Garden, Landscaped Visitor Parking,Bathroom, Attached Garage, Ample Parking Space.

EPC Rating E. Building.

II Listed - Grade Required EPC Not

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A spacious detached bungalow in an elevated edgeconversion of town setting potential barns with farm traditional with two farmhouse A period stone andfacilities enjoyingonfine market Hills townAONB. and beyond.

EPC Rating E. Shropshire of the the edgeacross theviews and equestrian Kitchen, Two Reception Rooms, Laundry Room,Three Bathrooms, Utility Bedrooms, Double Rooms, Four Reception Farmhouse Kitchen with Aga, Two Master Bedroom, Two Character Further Bedrooms, Shower Room and Separate WC, B1 Use), Barn (Class Converted Features, Partially Abundant Cellar, Room, Cloakroom, Attractive Easy Care Gardens, Double Ample Parking Space, Paddocks, Manege, Stabling, Gardens, FacingGarage, South Mature for Conversion, Second Barn Ideal EPC Rating FurtherE.Land Available by Separate Negotiation.

Two Driveways and Parking. About 2.402 Acres (TBV).

TENBURY WELLS - GUIDE PRICE £180,000

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A semi-detached family house in a popular development within level walking distance of the town centre.

Kitchen/Dining Room, Sitting Room, Four Bedrooms, Bathroom, Attractive Gardens, Garage, Driveway Parking, EPC Rating D.

BURFORD, WELLS -- GUIDE £289,950 PRICE £165,000 GUIDEPRICE BRIDGE, TENBURY WELLS NEWNHAM A semi-detached house barn in a popular development conversion An immaculate within walking distance of the town centre. parkland. views over far reaching withlevel Kitchen, Living Room, Conservatory, Living Room, Spacious Room, Kitchen/Breakfast Master Bedroom, Second Double Bedroom, Ensuite,Shower Room, with Bedroom Master Easy Care Garden, Two Parking Spaces, Cloakroom, Downstairs Bathroom, Family Two Further Bedrooms, EPC Rating C. EPC Rating C. Parking.

Gardens and Allocated

FIND US AT: www.nickchampion.co.uk

£289,950 - GUIDE WORCESTERSHIRE TENBURY WELLS, TENBURY WELLS - GUIDE PRICEPRICE £145,000 cul-de-sac in a quiet detached An immaculate A mid-terraced house house in a popular development town the of distance walking easy within within level walking distance of the towncentre. centre.

Room, WC, Laundry Reception Room, Two Kitchen/Breakfast Kitchen/Dining Room, Sitting Rooms, Room, Two Bedrooms, Further Bedrooms, Three Attractive Master Bedroom with Ensuite, Bathroom, Garden, Family Bathroom, Space.

Parking AmpleEPC and Space.

Garage Attractive Gardens, Double Driveway Parking Rating D. EPC Rating C.

TEME VALLEY TIMES

FOOD SERVED CHRISTMAS M O N D AY - 6-9pm T U E S D AY - S A T U R D AY N E W N H A M

B R I D G E

Lunch | 12 - 2:30pm Dinner | 6 - 9pm

NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR CHRISTMAS C H R I S T M A S PA R T I E S 1ST - 24TH DEC C H R I S T M A S D AY 25TH DEC

S U N D AY 12 - 4pm

NEW YEARS EVE 31 S T D E C

CHRISTMAS DAY TO START Chestnut, bacon and parsnip soup, croutons, truffle oil Goats cheese, pear, walnut tartines Duck liver parfait, cherry compote, sourdough croutes Beetroot and blackberry cured salmon, crisp salad MAIN MEALS Free range turkey, roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, seasonal vegetables, bread sauce, cranberry Baked beetroot and camembert tart, garlic sauce, creamy mash, seasonal vegetables Roast root vegetable wellington, seasonal vegetables, roast potatoes, cranberry Rosemary and garlic crusted lamb, dauphinoise potatoes, fresh mint and pea pesto, seasonal vegetables Pan-fried duck, spiced orange and cranberry compote, creamed cabbage and thyme, parsnip puree Dill and vodka cured trout, crushed roasted seasonal vegetables, orange saffron butter sauce TO FINISH Cranberry and white chocolate bread and butter pudding with custard Traditional Christmas pudding, brandy cream Christmas pudding cheesecake with cinnamon butter rum cream Raspberry, almond and sherry trifle with saffron custard Local cheese board | selection of cheese, figs, grapes, cranberry baked brie, chilli jam, selection of crackers AFTERS Tea, coffee, mince pies £65 per head | Children £32.50 per head

CHRISTMAS DINING TIMES 24th - 12-2:30 | 6-9

29th - 12-2:30 | 6-9

25th - CHRISTMAS DAY

30th - 12-2:30 | 6-9

26th - C L O S E D

31st - 12-2:30 | 5-8 | NYE PARTY

27th - C L O S E D

1st - 11-3

28th - 12-2:30 | 6-9

2nd - 12 - 2:30 | 6-9 OPEN AS NORMAL

2 C O U R S E L U N C H F O R £12 12 - 2:30 TUESDAY-SATURDAY The Talbot Inn, Newnham Bridge, WR15 8JR

01584 781 941

www.talbotinn-newnhambridge.co.uk bookings@talbotinn-newnhambridge.co.uk