Don’t miss out – the next working party  is on Monday, 11th October 2010 at 2.00 p.m. when a general clear-up for the Winter will be undertaken.  You don’t have to be super fit -  there are plenty of jobs for everyone and the tea and cakes are excellent as can be seen from above photograph.

Chris Fishpool

Hereford Cathedral - David Smith

Face of a Pensioner - Stephen Curtis

Sunshine Orchard, Orcop - Kathy Priddis

Best Served Chilled - Jan Thompson

Firstly apologies to the painters  whose pictures I photographed – somewhat hurriedly, for the distortion.  And black and white does not do justice to the fine works here represented.

There were 120  paintings and photographs in the ART EXHIBITION.  In addition there was a wide range of pottery, ceramic and porcelain.  It was evidently a show which must have been difficult and complex to put on. This ran over the August Bank holiday.

Most impressive.                      ml

The Assembly Rooms once belonging to the Inn were purchased by the village hall committee and became the focus for social functions in the area. Much effort and funds were needed to enhance and maintain the Rooms and many fund raising events were held. The hall was extended in 1967 to include a kitchen and toilets.

The hall continued to be actively used until 1998 when the site was sold to help fund the building of a new hall. The “new” Bishopswood Village Hall was built in 2000 as a Millennium project. The hall was built on land offered by the Hereford and Worcester County Council in 1988, provided that public facilities were available at the building. The new hall which is on a site opposite the original has continued the record of the old facilities proving a popular venue for social functions for local residents and visitors from further a field.

On Saturday Oct 9th there will be an open day at the Village Hall between 1.00am and 3.00pm – showcasing the classes, clubs and organisations that frequently use the hall.  We are hoping that some small local businesses associated with the hall will also be there.  In the evening from 7.30pm there will be a Cider Festival – with refreshments and entertainment.  Come along and help us celebrate.

Christine Puzey

The AA breakfast Award has been the result of 6 years of Jenny’s imaginative and skilful cooking. They try to cater for all tastes and diets and provide a wide range of choice. The comments in the Guest book are a testament to the thousands of breakfast cooked and enjoyed. Home made offerings like breads and rolls, compotes and preserves teamed up with dairy and other foods sourced from prize winning local producers create the sort of experience with which everyone should start their day, or so said an appreciative guest recently. But the most important thing is what they call the yummy factor. They sometimes think they ought to change the name of Portland House to Pancake House – the number of times that the cinnamon and apple pancake with local honey results in a squeal of delight when presented to a guest.

Besides bending over  the Aga, Jenny has also had the sewing machine out an awful lot making curtains and soft furnishings. John has donned a pinny to wash up, and acted as “mine host” innumerable times. However, the standard of décor and the quality of personal service that guests now experience is the reason for their Highly Commended status, for which they are very proud. They believe this is important, not just as a personal achievement, but as an essential contribution to the tourism industry which brings over 400 million pounds of needed income into Herefordshire every year.

In April 2004 John and Jenny moved from Essex to a temporary rental stay at Trebandy Farm.  One day they found themselves sitting in the Crown Hotel looking out the window at the house opposite. Jenny was sure she’d seen the house for sale in the paper. On impulse they knocked at the door and asked to look around. In August 2004 they moved into what Jenny has since called a very expensive doll’s house! The last six years have flown by and involved a considerable amount of refurbishment and redecoration and money! They have been very lucky in finding good local people to help make all the improvements as well as the marvellous staff to support them. They are also very grateful for the support they’ve received with so many friends and neighbours recommending their friends and relatives to stay with them whilst visiting the area.

They could write a book, as all B&B owners say! There are lots of stories they could tell about the happenings at Portland House. For example, shortly after they moved in, a guest arrived whom they nicknamed the ‘bag lady’ after the tenth Tesco bag came through the front door. They concluded she was perhaps somewhat eccentric. They discovered how eccentric the following morning. When Jenny entered the kitchen she found that not only had everything in view been moved but also so had the contents of the cupboards. At breakfast the guest revealed that she was a feng shui expert and had addressed the ‘problems’ in the house. (They didn’t know they had any at that time). After she left they found that her bedroom furniture had all been changed around to complete the task! They give thanks to this day that she couldn’t get into other rooms.

Another morning some time later a guest announced to everyone at breakfast that the house was haunted and she’d had a visitation during the night. Her husband hadn’t had the same pleasure. They knew they had a ghost but had kept it quiet until then. It was no longer a secret! Some of the other guests were amused but some looked like ghosts themselves at this announcement. The old maxim that you can’t please everyone was realised!

Jess, their Jack Russell joined them in January 2006, since when she has become somewhat of a celebrity. They call her Nurse Jarvis or Nanny Jarvis, and say she is their entertainments officer. She has a remarkable ability to bring a smile to everyone, even those who may have been frightened of dogs before. Guests arrive and ask to meet her because they have read her blog, which gets quite a few hits these days as it’s easily accessible via their website. One recent lady guest remarked that Jess’ blog had become required bedtime reading for her small son. Jess’ face was a picture on hearing this because she can be somewhat tardy in keeping it up to date when they are busy!

John and Jenny were thrilled with the AA awards but these were not the only piece of reward and  recognition they have received this year. In July they were honoured to be invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. Although standing very close to her Majesty, at one point during the afternoon, they didn’t have the opportunity to ask her to come and stay – oh well perhaps another time!

h.Art @ Llangarron Church was conceived to tie in with the increasingly popular Herefordshire Art Week and show off the newly restored North Aisle. As well as showcasing the work of 17 talented local artists, 6 of whom live in Llangarron, it set out to demonstrate how the North Aisle could be developed and used as a community venue. The show, a first for Llangarron, encompassed an eclectic and colourful collection of paintings, bronzes, ceramics, fused glass, gilded pieces, metalwork, photographs, textiles and woodturning which, from the feedback, served to attract many visitors. Over the 9 days, the exhibition drew c. 935 visitors into the church and art to the value of £6,404 was sold. 10% of this has been generously donated by the artists to the North Aisle Project plus a significant amount of donations were given by visitors. It was a mammoth task but well worth it. The verdict was that the show was a great success! 

Rosie Wilson

On October, Thursday 7th, we are very pleased to welcome back Mr. Don Everitt, from Bristol who this time will be talking about `Buttercups and Hellebores’. Hellebores are a real delight and I eagerly await their first blooms at the start of the year. But as for buttercups, well I must admit that I am always reaching for the trowel to dig them up when they try to invade my garden. However, I think there must be more to their story than that and Don will no doubt have much of interest to tell us.

The members enjoyed a very pleasant evening in September when Chris Evans from the Dundry Nursery, Bamfurlong, came to talk to us on the` The Joy of Gardening’. We were highly entertained by the history of his family’s first venture into the horticultural trade when his grandfather signed a contract with Woolworth’s to grow 8,000 spring bedding plants having had no previous experience of the work and by Chris’s own journey to becoming `Potato Supremo’.

The November meeting is on Nov.4th 2010 when Mr. Duncan Coombs will be telling us how to achieve` Winter Colour in the Garden’

Non-members are invited to attend and are assured of a warm welcome.

Admission £1 members and £2 guests to include refreshments and a raffle. Do come along and join us.

Penny Walshe 01600 891489

They are raising funds for breast and bowel cancer respectively.  They want to thank everyone who sponsored them. 

If you didn’t know about this, it’s not too late to show your support to these brave ladies by ringing 770520 or 770922 and boosting their fund raising total.

See http://shine.cancerresearchuk.org/events/shine .

Staff and governors at Whitchurch School also took part in the Cardiff Shine Marathon Walk organised by Cancer Research. The Headteacher, Claire McKeown, is shown presenting a cheque for the money raised to ‘old boy’ of the school, Chris Pyatt, who is now the Cancer Research Area Events Co-ordinator for South Wales.

These assorted photos show mostly local people.  The real highlight was possibly the RAFFLE (left) conducted with consummate skill by Gerald Leach.  And the Berry Hill Band was superb.

ml

Goodrich Village Hall has recently secured £50,000 to install alternative technologies from the Low Carbon Building Program & the Community Sustainable Development Programme.  The technologies include. Solar Thermal, Solar PV, and Air Source Heat Pumps.

Further energy saving measures have been taken with the financial help of Awards For All, Herefordshire Grass Roots and the Severn Waste Environmental Fund. This £20,000 of funding has been used to install an insulated suspended ceiling with energy saving lighting, Argon Double Glazing, an Insulated Wooden Floor, Cavity Wall & Loft Insulation.

At 12.00 our Local ‘Energy Saving Trust’ representative, Edward Leddy-Owen  Regional Microgeneration Coordinator for the West Midlands will give us a basic overview of the renewable technologies, we also have our contractors lined up ready for questions and advice.

Come & See and touch the technologies and find out how carbon reducing measures can enhance your life and your wallet.  Everybody welcome! Free Entry

For further information contact Andrew Bartle on 01594 810610