July

MANOR Park tennis club held its annual tournament and Fran Eckersley returned from a two-year break to win the singles' and doubles' titles, the latter with Penny Smith. Defeat in the mixed doubles' final was her only loss.

STORRIDGE golfer Graham Hawkings was preparing to make his debut in the PGA seniors European tour in Aberdeen.

LEDBURY and District swimmers were celebrating after winning the Top Club Trophy at the Gloucester open meet by a clear 365 points. The following weekend, a county record fell to Ledbury's Thomas Stokes and two to the 9/10 girls' relay team of Alice Quigley, Lucy Stokes, Patty Holloway and Caitlin Clark.

THE Chase school's 23-year-old triple jump record was finally broken. Record-holder Sean Linnie was delighted - it was his son, David, who did it, a giant 11.64 metre leap.

LEDBURY and District Harriers and Ledbury Rotary Club combined to add a new date to the racing calendar. The Magnificent Eastnor Castle Seven event was run in aid of the Macmillan Nurses and will hopefully become an annual fixture.

August

CORSE-based Olympian Carl Hester dominated the honours at the inaugural Festival of Dressage at Hartpury College. The international event gave a taste of what to expect when the 2007 World Dressage Championships are held at the venue.

MALVERN'S Janice French and Hannah Beasley-Suffolk both set new British records at the Centennial Prize Shoot organised by Malvern Archers.

CASTLEMORTON mountain biker Belinda Tarling won gold in the World Masters cross-country event in Sun Peaks, Canada. It completed her most successful year of racing yet, with victory in the UK National XC event in Bringewood and silver at the European Masters at Val de Sol.

LEDBURY-based Strollers CC won the Flint & Cook Marches League division five title and secured a 100 per cent home record for the season with victory over promotion-chasing Ewyas Harold.

September

A STAND of 118 saw Bromyard promoted to division one of the Worcestershire Cricket League with a ten wicket win over Cookley. Barnards Green Singles were also cheering after securing the division five title.

MALVERN'S footballers gave an early glimpse of their excellent form this season by storming to the top of the Midland Alliance with a 5-0 win over Biddulph Victoria. They then provided a shock in the FA Cup, beating higher-graded Willenhall Town in a replay, 1-0 before exiting to Histon.

DOWNHILL mountain biker Tracy Moseley, from Malvern, won the final round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in front of a crowd of 10,000 in Fort William, Scotland. She finished runner-up in the series, a third being just enough for champion Sabrina Jonnier.

RUGBY players on both sides of the Malvern Hills struggled for early-season form, Malvern managing a last-gasp draw and two defeats, a cup win being the bright spot. Ledbury suffered three heavy defeats in the league but won in the cup.

October

THERE was a record entry for the annual Worcestershire Beacon Race in Malvern, with 300 finishers in difficult weather conditions.

CHASE pupil Tom MacKenzie took gold in the British Schools Score Orienteering Championships in Derbyshire.

THE contribution to local football made by the late Norman Simmons was recognised by Malvern Football League. Its Senior Cup was renamed the Norman Simmons Senior Cup.

BROMYARD Town shrugged off a poor run in the league to reach the first round proper of the FA Vase, where Midland Alliance outfit and FA Cup heroes Chasetown proved just too strong on the day.

IT got worse for Ledbury's rugby players, who hit rock bottom in Midlands Three West, a 67-0 drubbing at Hereford being one of four heavy defeats.

November

MALVERN'S Michelle Nixon took part in her first ever motorsport race - and won from pole position. Her victory in Pembrey, south Wales, was only her second time on a racetrack.

THERE was a tough break for Hanley Swan's Anna Bailey. The world record holder indoor rower had just won her sixth consecutive British title in Birmingham when she slipped on her way back to the car and broke her wrist. For fun, she rowed one-handed at the European championships in Copenhagen - and came fifth!

LEDBURY Town appointed Paul Wilband for his second term as manager with a brief to revive the team after a dismal start to the season.

LEDBURY RFC's nightmare continued. Bottom of the table with no points, they were now pinning their hopes on an appeal after being deducted two points for fielding an unregistered player.

December

MALVERN RFC began their 'great escape' with their first Midlands Two West victory of the season 19-11 at home to Barker's Butts, then 25-0 against Stoke. There was a hiccup again later in the month when Malvern visited Barker's Butts and lost 33-15.

LEDBURY Town FC also got into gear with wins against Smethwick (5-1) and Wyrley Rangers (1-0) and even the town's rugby side managed a win, away to Old Leamingtonians.

COLWALL Cricket Club celebrated news of a friendly game against Lashings CC in the summer. Lashings are made up of current and former Test players and its ranks have included the likes of Brian Lara, Sir Viv Richards, Alan Donald, Inzaman ul Haq and Courtney Walsh.

DARTS star Terry Jenkins of Ledbury won his opening game in the Ladbrokes.com World Championship at Purfleet when he defeated PDPA qualifier Jimmy Mann 3-2 in one of the most exciting games seen on TV. Fifteenth-seed Jenkins was set for a third-round clash with 12-times champion Phil Taylor but lost his second round game 4-1 to unseeded Andrew Hamilton.

MALVERN Town have installed themselves as strong favourites to win the Midland Alliance. The Langland Stadium outfit have won 17 of their 19 games and are five points clear of second-placed Quorn with four games in hand. Third-placed Romulus have a game in hand on Malvern but are 12 points adrift.