EDITORIAL
News: Aston Ingham, Gorsley, Lea, Upton Bishop & Combined.
Contact Details Detail on PDF copy on home page
LINTON & BROMSASH NEWS
6th ALMA SANTA RUN Sunday 1st December starts at 12.30pmYou may be reading this issue just in time to kickstart your Christmas with this scenic fun run for the whole family with truly wonderful views over the local area. The course will again follow a circular 1.8-mile route around Linton and Linton Hill. The car park, start and finish are both at the Alma Inn (HR9 7RY).
FREE ENTRY- just turn up in seasonal attire & jog — or even push!!! The event will not be timed and runners can proceed at their own speed. A jug of ale for the first Santa home and a mince pie for all finishers! Spectators and dogs on a lead are most welcome. For more information please contact Gemma Evans at the Alma or Roger Davies Detail on PDF copy on home page
NEWS FROM ST MARY’S CHRISTMAS TREE BLESSING AND LIGHT SWITCH-ONGet your Christmas Season off to a great start with the Blessing of the Christmas Tree & Light Switch-On at 5.30pm on Saturday 7th December, finishing with a few carols outside, around the brazier. The event will also include refreshments, crafts, and a chance to buy your Colbalt Christmas cards. The church will be candle lit and decorated ready for the season so do come along. This is a joint event by Village of Linton Trust (VoLT) and St Mary’s.
ALL-AGE SERVICEThe All-age on 8th December will take the form of a Christingle Service. Christingle Services began in the Moravian church in 1747 but have more recently been used by the Children's Society as an opportunity to focus on their work. It involves sweets, candles and oranges so what’s not to love? Everyone welcome. Start at 11.00am. Collection in aid of the Children’s Society.
CAROL SERVICE
The Linton Village Carol Service is at 5.30pm on Sunday 15th December. This will include readings, poems and singing carols in a candlelit church. Mince Pies and refreshments afterwards.
CRIB SERVICE
For many the Crib Service marks the start of Christmas. It will be at 4pm on Christmas Eve. There will be a rehearsal earlier in the week for narrators and main parts but you can just turn up. Please feel free to come dressed as your favourite character from the Christmas Story. Angels, Stars, Shepherds, Donkeys, (even lobsters), are very welcome!
CHRISTMAS DAY
The Christmas Communion Service will be at 11am on Christmas Day. Even if you are not able to come to a service over Christmas please try to visit St Mary's. It is open during daylight hours and is sure to be beautifully decorated for Christmas, as we are blessed with many talented flower arrangers.
BIBLE BRUNCH
Bible Brunch will resume on the 12th of January. Each session starts with real coffee, bacon butties and chocolate croissants at 10:30am before moving on to the discussions and videos. In 2025 we will be continuing a series on Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome which has the added bonus of some lovely footage filmed in Rome. In January we look at Devotion – How can we live full on for God?
CHURCH REDEVELOPMENT
Work has been going on behind the scenes to update St Mary’s church to make it more fit for the twenty-first century without losing the character and charm of the church. Over the last year the organ has been moved to be closer to the congregation and a large mobile monitor displays hymn words and ensures the church notices are accessible to all. New radiant heaters are now on order and we hope to have them installed early in 2025. Plans to introduce water, toilet facilities and some more flexible seating are progressing. For up-to-date news on St Mary's Church please go to the website:www.lintonvillage.com/st-marys-church
CLIMATE CHANGE LIBRARY AND RECYCLING OPTIONS With the end of the Sustainability and Recycling Café, it is planned that a corner of St Mary’s will host the Climate Change Lending Library as well as serving as a collection point for the hard to recycle items such as stamps, pens and cards.
MUSIC AT LINTON CHURCH 2025Saturday 26th April Fanfare for Easter: Organ Recital by Stephen Power B.Mus. Saturday 14th June Octavo choral ensemble perform a mixed programme of choral music. Saturday 4th October Ypotryll - three musical talents present medieval music - song and instrumental - from the 13th to 15th centuries.(All events begin at 7pm) Please put these dates in your new diaries!
SACRED FUNK 4TET FROM THE IFA YORUBA CONTEMPORARY ARTSTRUST AT LINTON VILLAGE HALL
Funky, ancient, music - Friday 6th December 7.30pm start Sacred Funk 4tet plays ancient, spiritual music that has journeyed from West Africa to the rest of the world. Including musicians from different genres and generations, the 4tet features: Lekan Babalola - Percussion, Kate Luxmoore - Clarinet and Bass Clarinet, Reuben Reynolds - Guitars and Josh Vadiveloo - Bass. Their combination of musical experiences and influences come together to create a vast range of sounds and grooves that will transport you across the African Diaspora, from jazz, funk, reggae, and folk to classical, son, rumba and highlife!' ‘Sounds of Highlife’ explores the sounds of West Africa by reinterpreting songs by High Life musicians such as Ambrose Campbell, E.T. Mensah, and Victor Olaiya.Highlife is a music genre that started in present day Ghana in the 19th Century. It’s mix of African polyrhythms with melodies of western jazz, created a feel-good music that influenced the afrobeat and afrobeats that we hear today. ‘Sacred Funk 4tet’ are currently touring their new album ‘Tales of Orisa’. Having played to full houses at The African Centre and Vortex Jazz Club, London, as well as Shambala Festival during the Summer they have now been invited to play at The Havana Jazz Festival, Cuba in January 2025.We hope you can join us. Do bring your work/yoga/tai chi/ Brownie/football/tennis gang for a fantastic night on your doorstep amongst good friends and neighbours! Enjoy!“That was incredible, they are really fantastic musicians and I would bring my friends to a gig like this. I even cried during the first half; it was very moving." J aged 17yrs Adult: £15.00, Child: £7.00, Family: £37.00 (Supported by Arts Alive).Tickets make a great seasonal gift and are available by emailing https://artsalive.co.uk/live-performances/show/checkout/?id=14149
Unusually, we start this event a little later at 7.30pm, so there is plenty of time to treat yourself to a meal at the Alma, Roadmaker or Pennyfarthing, and to get drinks beforehand as well. There will be an interval, and our usual bar, with bottles of champagne selected by our own local sommeliers, Fiona and Jim, for that early seasonal fizz! The Sacred Funk Quartet (@sacredfunk4tet) • Instagram photos and videoshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?veZwKi_UYhxMsCHRISTMAS COFFEE MORNING - Saturday 14th December 10am-12.00noonEveryone is welcome to come and enjoy toasted crumpets, hot fresh coffee and wonderful cakes. There will be opportunities to buy seasonal gifts, Christmas cards, planted pots, and festive wreaths. Christmas raffle as well!
LINTON VILLAGE HALL AGM
Saturday 25th January 10amAll welcome to come and hear about the village hall. Coffee and biscuits provided.DATES FOR YOUR DIARY MARA will be coming to Linton on 28th February 2025. Further information to follow. Doors open 6.30pm event begins about 7pm. Interval and cash bar.Tickets Adult £12, Child £6 (U18). Family £30. (2 adults+2 children) Look on the Arts Alive website for further details and for tickets which will be available nearer the time.
WALK ON WEDNESDAY – AN UPDATE Claire Dale writes: We meet 10am at Linton Village Hall on the first two Wednesdays of the month. Subsequent weeks of the month we meet 10am at Gorsley Village Hall. Approx walk, 3-4 miles. Tea, coffee & biscuits provided on completion of the walk. Any further information required contact Claire Dale on 07484 623709.
VILLAGE HALL
A MESSAGE FROM LINTON VILLAGE HALL COMMITTEE
The Committee would like to wish you, The Chimes reader, a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year, and to thank everyone who has helped and supported the committee and the hall by contributing their enthusiasm, time and energy to help in so many ways. It is much appreciated, and we look forward to seeing you at the hall next year!
Happy Christmas!
VOLT - VILLAGE OF LINTON TRUST- COFFEE MORNING
Please join us on Saturday 4th January in Linton Village Hall from 10am-12 noon for a coffee morning and photography exhibition showcasing photographs of Linton “Now & Then”. Enjoy freshly brewed coffee and homemade cake while you look out for your house among the photos! The exhibition will feature pictures from collections taken in 2024, 2013, 2002 and a number of historical photographs.
Usual stalls, raffle and surprises! Calendars featuring Roger Davies’s photographs will be available to purchase or order.
The Parish Council has welcomed Chris Creswell as a new Councillor. There is one Councillor vacancy remaining, and if you are interested in joining please contact the Parish Council Clerk, Rich Hunt, via e-mail: pcclerk@lintonpc-herefordshire.gov.uk or telephone: 07763 793695. Progress is being made on addressing the danger to life posed by the speed of traffic passing through Gorsley on the B4221. Parish Council and community representatives met Herefordshire Council (HCC) and Balfour Beatty (BBLP) officers on 29 October to present the case for a reduction in speed limits and other actions, including clearer road markings, better signage and safety barriers. HCC are facing serious financial constraints, but the recruitment of additional traffic management officers has improved the processing of traffic regulation orders (TRO) which address the speed limits for traffic on specific roads. The backlog is diminishing and at the current rate of processing, it is estimated that the request for a TRO on the B4221 in Gorsley will be processed in six months. This does not guarantee a reduction in speed, but the case for Gorsley is strong. The Parish Council and Geardown For Gorsley will produce a plan with objectives that will include a table of options approved by HCC and BBLP. This can inform Parish Council funding decisions and efforts to enlist external financial support from organisations with community response budgets. The Parish Council has installed a Speed Indication Device (SID) at the east end of Gorsley to monitor and record speeds, and several “Unsuitable for Heavy Goods Vehicles” signs to deter such vehicles from using lanes off the B4221. All the plots on the Gorsley Allotments are now taken.