Pershore

FILM AT NUMBER 8: Pershore and District Film Society, 'Cast Away' cert PG, starring Tom Hanks on a desert island in a struggle for survival.

HALF TERM ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AT NUMBER 8: Lots of interesting workshops for children during the half term week at the end of May. Ring Charlotte on 561906 or call in at Number 8 for a leaflet or to make a booking. Next Tuesday, 10am - noon, Salsa and American Jive 7-17years. Next Wednesday, 1pm - 3.30pm, Sylken Players marionettes. May 31 'The Vipper' workshop - loud music making and undersea art workshops 'Funny fish and fishy fun'. June 1 'To catch a dream' art workshop.

CHORAL SOCIETY: An appreciative audience filled Pershore Abbey last Saturday when the choral society, accompanied by the Regency Sinfonia gave an exciting performance of The Creation of Haydn. The choir sang with discipline, joy and renewed vigour and the first chorus was magical. Soloists Katherine Fuge, Jason Darnell and Simon Wilson blended perfectly in the duets and trios, and they and the orchestra produced many expressive moments with some amusing touches of humour and colour in the recitatives. The performance received inspirational direction from Andrew Wilson, the conductor, providing a truly uplifting musical experience.

TWINNING ASSOCIATION: Members and friends. We are having a walking 'Treasure Hunt' of Pershore on June 30, starting at 7pm in Chapman'' Court (Co-op) and finishing at a public house! Why not come and join the fun finding out things about Pershore you never knew! Maximum four people per group: £1 per head. Children up to 10 years free. July, we are hosting a group from Bad Neustadt, (July 7-11), anybody that is interested in hosting for this trip please contact either Mrs or Miss Wood on 01386 556151 for further details. September 20 - 23 we are making a trip to Plouay, France. Approx cost £120. If anybody is interested in participating in this visit, please contact Miss E Wood/Mrs J Wood 01386 556151. First come, first served. Deadline for inclusion: June 29. October (date to be confirmed) we will be hosting school children from Plouay, this is a postponed visit from March. If you can help with accommodation during this period please contact Miss/Mrs Wood 01386 556151. If you would like to meet members of the association and find out more about what we do why not visit us at Pershore Carnival, May Bank Holiday and pick up a membership form.

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE CONSERVATION OF PLANTS AND GARDENS: We are never too old to learn and at our May meeting we were introduced to The Secrets of Plant Propagation by expert Bob Hares, and we thought we knew it all! Bob will be familiar to many who attend his lectures at Pershore College and with his easy charm he gave us new ideas and even showed us how some re-cycling can come into it's own. We are very lucky at our June meeting when he is going to take us on a walking tour of the grounds at Pershore College and give us a chance to visit the AGS Garden and go behind the scenes in the Specialist Plant Unit. The National Collections of Philadelphus and Penstemons should be starting to bloom so we are looking forward to a fine, warm sunny evening but even the rain will not stop us. We had a very successful plant sale on May Bank Holiday Monday and thank all the visitors who supported us and hope to see you again on August Bank Holiday Monday for the Bulb and Plant sale. Anyone interested in joining us will be welcome. We meet on the second Tuesday of the month in the Frank Parkinson Centre, Pershore and Hindlip College at 7.30pm. Contact number 01562 777014.

TOWN CARNIVAL: May Bank Holiday, May 28, is rapidly approaching and this years carnival is being based on a 'Celebration of Cinema'. Following the success of last year's carnival, enabling a record number of donations to be made to local charities, the carnival organisers are hoping for an even better year this year. Programmes giving full details of the events are now being sold during the run up to carnival, you can also visit the carnival website: www.pershore-carnival.com. For further details of how to enter the procession, watch this space, or contact the chairman, Derek North, on 01386 556027.

ALLOTMENT ASSOCIATION: The canes and other items are now in stock at the Gardener's Arms. The Gardener's Arms will be open on Sunday morning from 10am to noon, will now be open every Sunday morning until October. Volunteers to go on the rota for Sunday mornings please contact chairman Ken Rowe, as soon as possible so that the rota can be made up. Ken is available at The Cookery Nook, High Street, Pershore, where you can either pop in or ring on 01386 556655.

COTTAGE HOSPITAL: The Friends of Pershore Cottage Hospital are holding a coffee morning at St Andrew's Parish Centre on June 23 at 10.30am. So please go along and support your local hospital. They have also organised a buffet barbecue and jazz evening which will be held at The Star Hotel, Pershore on June 30 commencing at 7pm and tickets are available for the barbecue from The Star Hotel and Mrs P Freeman. Telephone 01386 561591. At both events a grand raffle will take place and tickets for this will shortly be available. The main prize will be a wide screen TV for the coffee morning and a video recorder for the jazz evening. Raffle prizes have been donated by various businesses in the town, and thanks goes to all who have given donations. We all know how much we rely on Pershore Cottage Hospital so please go along and support these events. There will be no strawberry tea this year and it is hoped that the two events above will appeal to a wider area of supporters and friends.

FLOWER AND CRAFT SHOW: Following very successful shows, this years is again being held at Angel Hotel Riverside Gardens on August 11. Schedules and entry forms are now available from Carleton House Coffee Shop, Bridge Street, Blue, Broad Street, Browns Ironmongers, High Street, Serendipity Florists, High Street, and the Town Council Office in Bridge Street, Pershore.

CONCERT IN PERSHORE ABBEY: On June 2 at 7.30pm a concert is being held where the Worcester Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing Mozart's Marriage of Figaro Overture. Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D and Beethoven's Symphony no 5 in C. Tickets are £6 (£5 with concessions, students £3 and children free). The conductor is Neil Aston with Robin Stowell violin.

OPERATIC AND DRAMATIC SOCIETY: Are presenting 'Me and My Girl', on June 19 - 23, with old favourites like Leaning on a lamppost, Lambeth Walk, The Sun Has Got His Hat On, plus many others of that era. The venue will be at The Swan Theatre, Worcester, and tickets are available from Blue in Broad Street, Pershore, Maxine's Bookshop, High Street and the Swan Theatre booking office 01905 27322.

CANINE TRAINING SOCIETY: Classes have now been resumed at Norton Village Hall on Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm, after being postponed for a period as a precaution against the spread of the foot and mouth virus in our area of operation. We are now in full swing and looking forward to planning at match or two with similar training organisations. We also look forward to meeting both new and former members during the coming year. Our AGM takes place on June 5 at Norton Village Hall. The society, established during 1980, now hopes to maintain a full programme of classes on Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm. For further information please contact the chairman, Mrs M Reeves, telephone 01386 833668 or the secretary, Mrs K Vick, telephone 01386 750679.

RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL 2001: The fifth annual Riverside Festival will be held on July 29. The festival is held down by the River Avon and during the last four years the festival has been a great success, attracting both the young and the older members of the community. The festival has rapidly become one of the main attractions in July. The main attraction being the Dragon Boat Racing and if you have always wanted to have a go at Dragon Boat Racing then please apply for an application form on 01905 356628 or e-mail Dragon@Madasafish.com. or further information regarding setting up teams etc. During the festival there will be music workshops, face painting, archery and bouncy castle, plus lots more interesting activities. Brand new this year are five-a-side football matches on a bouncy castle, just to add a little extra to the events.