The Friends of St James's Parish Church has a new chairman and treasurer as well as new faces on its committee. This follows the decision of founder chairman Laurie Gregory and treasurer Jerry Tudge to step down at the April AGM.

Together with other long-serving committee members, they have guided the charity since its foundation nine years ago, raising many thousands of pounds towards the maintenance and improvement of the church.

New officers are: Gwyn Klee (chairman); David Matthews (vice chairman); Audrey Turner (treasurer) and another founder member Norman Bennett (secretary). Other committee members: Dru Bentley, Ian Brazier, Rosemary Brooks, Heather Hayward, Colin Jackson, Maggie Jameson, and Diana Walker, plus the deacon, The Rev. Rosemary Herbert. New vicar, The Rev. David Nichol, will also join the committee when he takes up his post next month.

Friends of St James's were established on the premise that the church congregation alone could not support the work needed to maintain church building and grounds, and that there was a wider interest in the care of the building.

Whilst there are church representatives on the committee, other members are non-worshippers or non-believers. But all share the common ground that whether for reasons of religion, architecture or just sentiment, the church is worth saving for future generations of villagers.

Current fundraising include a 2006 calendar of colour photographs, the Skies of the Malvern Hills, and a celebration dinner on October 21 to mark to 200th anniversary of victory at Trafalgar. More details as they are available.

Anyone who has not visited the Brewers' Arms recently will get a surprise if they wander down the garden. Tree clearance in the pub grounds and the garden of the neighbouring house have opened up spectacular but long obscured views towards Ledbury and the south-west.

You don't have to go to the pub to see that former lettering on the roof informing travellers from the south of the presence of the Brewers Arms has been replaced. If anyone has a pre-1992 fire photo showing the old lettering on the slates, Trevor Marston would be interested to see it.