IF you enjoy the vivid colours of autumn it's always a good idea to head for the Malverns. There are no extensive woodlands in the conventional sense, but the sheer abundance of trees is, nevertheless, hard to equal. Great Malvern itself is believed to
THE Fates have decreed that odd things will happen to me from time to time. Savour the following. Walking to work along the riverbank this week, I observed a magpie chack-chacking in a tree near the towpath. On drawing closer, I noticed he had his right
TOP Worcester property tycoon Neil Grinnall has had to call receivers into several of his companies after running up what is believed to be millions of pounds of debts. It has been revealed that Grinnall, responsible for many luxury inner-city living
HUNDREDS of fox-hunting supporters were attending the opening meets of the season today across Worcestershire - despite the ban on the bloodsport. Even though there has been eight years of Parliamentary debate, numerous protest marches and rallies, there
AN animal rescue centre has appealed for loving owners for five homeless cats. Danemere Animal Rescue currently has two feline families, which staff are eager to keep together. Identical siblings Tango and Harley, both one-year-olds, were taken to the
THERE was a time, not very long ago, when you got off your horse, you got out of your riding clothes. Jodhpurs were thick and fly-away waisted jackets, while fine sitting on top, made your bum look big as you walked across the yard. It probably all changed
SIR - Regarding New Labour's promise of funding the rebuild of Christopher Whitehead School, it appears that they have no collective responsibility. This is what was published in the local Press on Wednesday March 9: "The Government has pledged £12m to
SIR - "Thank God for atheism" was Gary Webb's final declaration (Letters, October 18). Surely that is a contradiction in terms. Just for the record though, God commanded that thou shall not kill and Jesus taught us to love thy neighbour. One day, atheists
SIR - Mrs E Copson asked (Letters, October 26) why I said "thank God for atheism" and went on to ask why anybody would "thank God if they didn't believe in him". I was being ironic, Mrs Copson, thanking God that there are people in the world who do not
SIR - Regarding consultancy fees for a cathedral car park, I was under the impression that we elected our local councillors to make decisions on our behalf and not farm decisions out to outsiders at such high rates. If our councillors cannot make a decision
FARMERS desperate for news of when they can expect to receive the new farm payments were offered a small ray of hope as Defra announced its commitment to start the payments in February 2006. Meeting this commitment depends on Defra convincing the European
NOW let me get this right. If I were a smoker fancying a drink, gasping for a fag but also hungry, then I'd have to visit two pubs - one for a meal and another for a crafty drag. The Government's latest bit of village tyranny will, of course, shaft the
WE hired a skip the other week. It's an annual ritual, a kind of symbolic laxative that rids us of a year's worth of junk. Everything had to go. Even old wardrobes and drawers that charities don't seem to want anymore were smashed up and packed as tightly
BUFFOONS in ermine, unelected well-heeled wasters... there you go, it's so easy to hype up the rhetoric when talking about the House of Lords. Any hired gun of a hack worth his or her salt can do it - and the same applies to politicians looking for a
ONE thousand runners all dressed up as Santa are sure to bring the festive spirit to Worcestershire. The Leukaemia Care Christmas Fun Run will see more than 1,000 Father Christmases take to the streets next month. The youngest entrant is expected to be
CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a business park on fields beside Worcestershire Royal Hospital were kicked out because of Worcester planners' fears over traffic misery along Newtown Road. Although city council officers backed the application - for a 44,000sq
A WOMAN has been left with memory loss and is in need of regular counselling after being caught up in hurricane Wilma's destructive path. Diane King, of Amber Reach, Callow Hill, near Bewdley, thinks the affliction is a direct result of the horrors she
THE DEVASTATED family of a missing woman are urging her to get in touch and let them know she's safe. Susan James was last seen by her husband Samuel on Wednesday morning at their home in Smite Caravan Park, north of Worcester. It is believed the 48-year-old
A MUCH-loved Worcester school that faced closure may have been saved at the 11th hour thanks to the parents fighting to save it. The owners of Sunnyside Prep School, brothers Jeff and Jim Jenner, have agreed to sell the Barbourne Terrace school to a group
FLEXI-buses that bend in the middle and hold more passengers will arrive in Worcester next week. Park-and-ride passenger numbers have increased two-and-a-half times since the Worcester Express scheme was relaunched in September and the flexi-buses, which
SIR - If the Worcester News had its way, Andrew Hall would be hounded out from any home or house he was trying to settle in. Don't get me wrong, I feel just as repelled by Hall's actions as the next man, and as a parent I would do anything to protect
SIR - In his recent letter about car parks, Councillor Bob Peachey writes about "...the environmental damage that is caused by CO2 emissions and other pollutants, and the traffic jams that are created morning and evening, plus the congestion at other
IF you enjoy the vivid colours of autumn it's always a good idea to head for the Malverns. There are no extensive woodlands in the conventional sense, but the sheer abundance of trees is, nevertheless, hard to equal. Great Malvern itself is believed to
