THE plants and flowers in the beds around town are looking a treat again thanks to the efforts of Rosemary and her band of volunteers. Which is more than can be said for the hanging baskets and planters on the High Street. In short, there aren’t any!

FINAL THOUGHTS

A COUPLE of final thoughts on the carnival. For the first time I can remember Anita and Reg Brown weren’t exhibiting their bygones and scrap books in the scout hut. There were two good reasons for this: one, the scout hut has been pulled down and, two Reg is slightly out of order at the moment having had an operation on his leg. We wish him well and look forward to seeing the Meccano model with the bouncing balls again next year. If, like many others, you enjoyed the music of local band SOULved when they were belting out their stuff on the Turners trailer on the Rec there are a couple of opportunities to see them again next month when they perform at two summer balls at The Brook. Both events are for charity, one to send missionaries to Kenya, Thailand and Yuba city in California and the other for the St Andrew’s School swimming pool fund. At both events there will be an auction conducted by auctioneer and waistcoat enthusiast, David Palmer, and a buffet dinner. Tickets are �20 each for the missionaries or �30 for the swimmers. Contact Peter on 07909960166 or St Andrew’s or the Weatheralls schools to book tickets.

BIG BONES

JAKE the spaniel, being a dog, isn’t averse to digging the odd hole now and again. Sometimes it is to bury a bone, sometimes to retrieve a bone, sometimes just to make a mess. So he was quite taken with the holes that are being dug on the church hall site. He thinks that by the size of them they must contain some pretty big bones. Or they may just be an archaeological investigation prior to the commencement of building works. This possibility puzzles Jake as he can just remember a previous group of archaeologists digging there in April 2008. He can’t recall any prehistoric visitors since then and wonders why the second visit is necessary.

NO COLOUR

THE plants and flowers in the beds around town are looking a treat again thanks to the efforts of Rosemary and her band of volunteers. Which is more than can be said for the hanging baskets and planters on the High Street. In short, there aren’t any! Presumably this is because of cutbacks and economies. It might just be possible to enhance the planter outside Best One which at the moment boasts a solitary, dead shrub if the cost of the electricity powering the daytime light outside Blockbuster was saved by turning the light off.

LOW WATER

IT’S still a mystery why the new sluice at the site of the old mill is so low. The depth of water in the lode is at a ridiculous level. There is a brick on the river bed beside Crown Garage and the top is dry. This can’t be good for the birds and fish in the lode. The sooner the sluice is put right the better.