Lea Village News – November 2026
NEWS FROM GATEWAY LODGE NURSERY
With the new academic year upon us, we have welcomed lots of new faces to nursery and they have settled into nursery life beautifully.
Our topic this term is ' All about me,' and we have been looking at what makes us all different. The children were able to look into mirrors at their facial features and recreate their own faces using paper plates and different materials. This has also continued outside with our forest school sessions using clay and lots of different natural resources to recreate their faces.
Parents have kindly sent in family and baby photos so the children can show their friends during show and tell. This gives the children an opportunity to talk about their loved ones and share life experiences.
Autumn is a favourite season of ours, watching the leaves and conkers fall from the trees, giving us lots of natural resources to use for craft activities, math, and imaginative play. This week we have enjoyed painting and printing with different shaped leaves and going on nature walks to see what we can find.
We have limited spaces available. If you are interested in sending your child to our nursery, please email Jcornish@lea-primary.hereford.sch.uk or phone Lea C of E Primary School on 01989 750296 for more information.
NEWS FROM LEA CHURCH
Hello everyone, I hope this finds you all well and keeping warm on these Autumnal days! We are starting to gear up for Christmas, and we kick off with our Craft Fayre and Soup Kitchen on November 14th at Lea Village Hall. Come and do your Christmas shopping early and have a delicious lunch at the same time! Please see the flyer for more details.
Also, on 28th November, we have a 'Weaving & Flower Arranging Workshop' at Lea Village Hall from 10am - 3.00pm, where you can create an arrangement using a willow-woven framework. You will also have the chance to make a reindeer and/or a Christmas tree. The cost is £35 to include flowers and foliage - but please feel free to bring extra if you wish. Coffee and tea is available all day, just bring a packed lunch. Please book this with me, Marion, on 01989 750808 or Rose on 01989 750267. The closing date for booking is 14th November. (We need to know in advance, so we can get the correct amount of flowers, etc) Tickets are limited for this workshop.
We will be holding our Remembrance Day service on 8th November at 10.50am at Lea Church. All are welcome, and the collection is for the Poppy Appeal.
On November 29th, there will be our annual Advent Carol Service at 6pm, with refreshments served afterwards. We do hope to see as many as possible there.
A date for your diaries is also our Carol Service on 20th December again at 6pm, with mince pies and mulled wine served afterwards. We will also be holding our Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve at 11.30pm. Why not come and start Christmas in style!
There has been lots going on in the church; by the time you read this, we hope to be have the east window on our bell tower repaired to stop water ingress. We have had our wonderful old chest restored and placed in its new home by the pulpit. We hope to get the lid propped open permanently for all to see inside. Our thanks go to our Fabric Officer, Bob Taylor, who has made great inroads into getting the church back into shape! He and his wife Annie have done some tremendous work in the churchyard too, for which we are truly grateful. Many thanks, Bob and Annie!
If you have any shoeboxes for the Samaritan's Purse organisation, please do let me have them by 10th November. Many thanks!
God bless all
Marion Martin, Churchwarden
LEA PLAY AND CHAT
As we are well into Autumn, doing lots of crafts with Autumn colours and objects. To celebrate National Recycling Week, we sorted plastic and cardboard items into boxes. Following the half-term break, a lively singing session with Katherine’s Tots in Tune awaits us. We meet Friday mornings in Lea School Hall 9.00 - 10.30am. Everyone is welcome.
For more information, contact Carolyn 07765 555588
LEA VILLAGE HALL NEWS
The second and third sessions of the FREE Digital Skills training are taking place at 10.00am on Tuesday, 3rd November, and Tuesday, 10th November. For enquiries, contact: sylvia.nicholls@btinternet.com or 07817 473813.
WE NEED YOUR IDEAS FOR INDOOR SPORTS EQUIPMENT
The village hall may have an opportunity to bid for funding to purchase equipment for indoor sports activities. If you have always wished there was a table tennis club or similar in The Lea, let us know. Any ideas are welcome, but the equipment should be for indoor use only. Our bid is more likely to be successful if it reflects the wishes of our village community, so send your ideas to sylvia.nicholls@btinternet.com
YOGA AT THE VILLAGE HALL
We are very lucky to have so many opportunities in The Lea to keep fit and healthy, which is important for people of all ages. Not only are we surrounded by public footpaths, but we are on the edge of the lovely Forest of Dean with its amazing network of cycle ways and footpaths.
In our village hall, we also have activities like Bowls, Pilates, and 60+ Keep Fit. But this article focuses on Yoga.
My husband and I have been attending Alex Woodland’s Yoga classes since 2024. Alex teaches Hatha Yoga, which is excellent for developing your strength, flexibility and balance as well as teaching relaxation through breathing techniques. We were complete beginners at the start but have benefitted a lot by practising the various positions each Monday. Alex welcomes beginners and offers alternative techniques for those new to some of the more challenging positions.
The NHS recommends Yoga as an exercise to develop strength, flexibility and balance, which is even more important as we age www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/how-to-improve-strength-flexibility/
Yoga is for men as well as women and for people of all ages, despite the stereotype seen online, where images of ultra-flexible young women far outnumber those of men or older people. Quotes from two of the regular male attendees at Alex’s classes are here:
‘For those men who think that yoga is mainly for women, you will find the benefits of yoga helpful when gardening, doing DIY, and playing with your young children or grandchildren’
‘Liz and I are regulars at Alex’s village hall yoga classes and thoroughly enjoy them. Classes are varied both in context and difficulty, with options to suit all abilities. As well as the enjoyment, we have both benefited from significant joint mobility. We both highly recommend yoga, especially Alex’s classes’ If interested, the first session is free – contact Alex on 07729 712881 or woodlandyoga3@gmail.com
LEA VILLAGE HALL 100 CLUB FOR SEPTEMBER
£100 prize - Jane Meadows 1st Prize £30 – Peggy Bowers 2nd Prize £20 – Tracey Ballinger 3rd Prize £15 – Val Stockings
LEA CAFÉ
Apologies to anyone who missed the October coffee morning - we had to change the date because it clashed with the school's harvest festival event.
I am pleased to tell you that the next one will be back to normal on the first Wednesday of the month, so that will be Wednesday, 4th November, from 10am as usual in Lea Village Hall. Everyone who lives in the Lea is most welcome to come along - just drop in whenever you can and enjoy a coffee/tea, homemade cakes, and chat with your neighbours, it's all absolutely free, apart from the raffle if you want to buy a ticket. Any questions, contact Gill on: 01989 750442 or by email at: gilldavis55@hotmail.com
LEA LUNCH CLUB
The Lea Lunch Club doesn’t have a November Lunch because we’ll be busy planning our Christmas event, due to be held on Tuesday, 8th December. This special event is always oversubscribed so if you’re a regular attendee, then please make sure you’ve booked your place in good time. Booking is always essential for all the lunches, so if you’re interested in coming along, - if we haven’t got immediate availability, we will put you on the waiting list. Please call Nicky on 07718 065946
LEA FRIDAY PAINTERS’ ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION
Lea Friday Painters held their annual art exhibition in early October at the village hall. The many visitors enjoyed viewing a varied group of drawings and paintings of local scenes as well as subjects such as wildlife, space, botany, and scenery from foreign lands.
Di Brice, who leads the group, has been a member for over 20 years, but it was a thriving art group before then, and so has a long history in The Lea. Di says that all abilities are welcome – you don’t have to be a great artist to come and enjoy expressing your creative side. There is no formal instruction, but members share their tips and ideas whenever it is welcome.
If you are interested in joining the group but are unsure of what to expect, the best way to find out is by dropping in at the coffee break at 10.30am, in the middle of the regular Friday morning meetings at the village hall. You can chat to the members and see their work with no commitment or expectations. Meetings start at 9.30am and finish at 12.00pm. For any enquiries, contact Di on 01989 750403.
THE LEA PARISH COUNCIL
The agenda and full minutes of Parish Council meetings are available on the Lea Parish Council website www.theleaparishcouncil.gov.uk
Anyone in the parish can contact the council by e-mailing clerk@leaparishcouncil.gov.uk
The next meeting of the Parish Council is on Wednesday, 25th November at 7pm in the Village Hall. Please come along or submit any questions/queries via the Clerk at the email address above. Meet your councillors and become involved in the village management.
SANDBAGS
A reminder that The Lea Parish Council hold stores of Sandbags for residents in this village. We really hope there won’t be a need to put such action in place, but it is best to have details should the need arise. Contact Sandbag Store Keyholders:
Cllr Martin Richards:0777 3399482
Cllr Sylvia Nicholls: 07817 473813
Cllr Steve Banner: 07802 347947
Cllr Gill Richards: 07910 096066
Also note that any sandbags supplied will not be accepted back to the Parish Council after use.
