West Malvern Cricket Club's winter series of quizzes will get going in the Village Hall on Saturday November 16. It will include all the popular and well-established features, with Andy 'Bouillabaisse' Dakin as the genial multilingual master of ceremonies and, who knows, even some notelets among the generous prizes on offer for both quiz and raffle! Beer, wine and nibbles will be available. To book a table (teams of four) contact Lorna Dudley on 565422. Other quizzes will follow on December 14, January 25 and March 15.

Many local residents have been puzzled - perhaps even alarmed - by the activities carried out by the Malvern Hills Conservators over the past couple of weeks in Joyner's Meadow which adjoins the hills proper above Camp Hill. A large fallen gean tree has been cut up and removed, and a lot of bramble and scrub flailed. The work is in fact in preparation for the introduction of cattle to the northern hills, as part of the Conservators' major scheme to control the tree and scrub encroachment which has accelerated in recent years with the decline in the number of sheep grazing the hills.

The plan envisages a herd of around 20 cattle being placed in temporary enclosures in scrub-infested areas of the hills for periods of no more than 28 days in any one place, this being the maximum permitted by the controlling Act of Parliament. The role of Joyner's Meadow will be to act as a 'base camp' or holding area for these animals when they are not on the hills, for example at Bank Holidays or in adverse weather conditions. The plan is to fence the area to make it stockproof and to install a water supply, possibly from a natural source within the area. It is also proposed to restore the old hawthorn hedges on the east and north boundaries of the meadow by laying them during the winter, so as eventually to leave a restored and stockproof hedge by the time the fencing would require replacement.

It had been hoped that cattle would be on the hill before the end of this year, but a legal hold-up to the commencement of the scheme makes it more likely that it will now be next summer before the cattle arrive in West Malvern. Incidentally, the field adjoining Birches Farm off Old Hollow, which was acquired by the Conservators earlier this year mainly for its wildlife value, may also be used as a holding area for cattle in due course.

For safety reasons the Community Woodland off Old Hollow will be completely closed to the public on the weekend of November 29-30 when a number of the larger trees, mainly sycamores, will be felled. This is part of the planned next stage of the development of the woodland. Its aim is to create more space and light, both for the younger and less aggressive trees and shrubs planted nearly five years ago and also some of the more mature trees including the fine group of willows in the middle of the site. The parish council is keen to point out that although the effect of this management operation may at first appear rather drastic, it is being carried out for the benefit of the development of the woodland in the long term.