News: Aston Ingham, Bromsash, Gorsley, Lea, Linton & Upton Bishop.

NEWS FROM THE SURROUNDING AREA

RELAUNCH OF THE FRIDAY LUNCH CLUB!

The wonderful Friday lunch club will be returning on Friday 2nd July (fingers crossed!) at The Larruperz Centre every Friday 12 - 2 pm. This wonderful group has been running for over 30 years with many of the original volunteers now attending the group as members! Rosemary Rigby MBE and Sarah O'Neill took over the running of this group two years ago and have continued to work remotely and from the doorstep throughout 15 months of lockdown to ensure their members were safe, well and feeling loved by the members of the team! The group leader Sarah visited and telephoned most weeks during lock down, and also provided a shopping service, regular quiz packs, TLC gifts and telephone support to all of our members.
The group are excited to be coming back together and will be operating in a safe Covid-secure way as we move forward together. The group meet weekly for a social event, cooked lunch, dessert, tea or coffee (£7.00 – this is paid for by each member themselves each week) and a fun time is had by all. We have quizzes, bingo, raffle, sometimes we sing and do a few games too and we are always entertained. We have special party events during the year and trips out too sometimes.
We are currently looking for new members for our group, so if you are aged 75 and over and would like some company and interaction with a great bunch of people then this could be the group for you!
You do need to book a space on a weekly basis in advance for catering purposes - to book a place, please call Sarah O'Neill click here to contact and leave a message on my answerphone and I WILL return your call.
We have mini-bus transport for up to 20 of our members so you will also need to book a place on the bus (subject to availability), but if you can make your own way to The Larruperz then even better.
We are also currently desperately looking for volunteer mini-bus drivers and people with their own cars who might be willing to bring in an individual or a couple of our members on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. For many it is their only source of interaction and company, and we urgently need more volunteers for transport help to ensure we can increase our capacity.
Please call Sarah click here to contact if you can help with transport for this wonderful group.

Mental Health Mates

A group set up in Ross-on-Wye in 2019 is reaching out to encourage and welcome new members.
“Spending time with a group of like-minded, friendly people who’ve experienced similar issues”, Ben says, is what makes the Ross-on-Wye Mental Health Mates group a great source of support.  Despite everything thrown at them in the form of floods or pandemics over the last year, the group is going strong and continues to meet each month for a gentle walk around the green spaces of Ross.
The group is led by Sam and Pete, who are passionate about how being outside supports their mental health and wellbeing, and provides a friendly space in which anyone affected by mental health issues can have a chat with others who understand what it’s like.
Group leader Sam says “We knew there was a national network of these groups and as we live somewhere so lovely (but also knowing that mental health issues aren’t always easy to talk about) we really wanted to see if this could take off in Ross-on-Wye. We love meeting and chatting with local people who come along to take part in these walks”.
The group has included partners, children and dogs and as group member Christine says “The normality of the group helped me get rid of being a mental health patient. I’m treated as me, not my diagnosis”.
The group meets for a walk on the second Sunday of each month and details can be found on Instagram @MHMRoss_on_Wye or by emailing click here to contact

Public Footpaths Through Fields Containing Livestock

This is important when walking your pet along public footpaths through fields containing livestock.  Follow advice from Ramblers Association: 
●    Stop, look and listen on entering a field. Look out for any animals and watch how they are behaving, particularly bulls or cows with calves.
●    Try to avoid getting between cows and their calves.
●    Be prepared for cattle to react to your presence, especially if you have a dog with you.
●    Move quickly and quietly, and if possible walk around the herd.
●    Keep your dog close, on a short lead, and under effective control.
●    Remember to close gates behind you when walking through fields containing livestock.
●    Report any frightening incidents or attacks to the landowner, the highway authority, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), and also the police if it's of a serious nature.
●    Don’t hang onto your dog if you are threatened by cattle - let it go as the cattle will chase the dog and not you.
●    Don’t put yourself at risk by walking close to cattle.
●    Don’t panic or run – most cattle will stop before they reach you; if they follow just walk on quietly.

Cattle on your path: So what do you do when cattle are obstructing the path? Find another way, by going around the cattle. If cattle are blocking a path through a field, you’re well within your rights to find a safe way, away from the path to avoid them. You should then re-join the footpath as soon as possible – and when you consider it safe to do so.