EDITORIAL
UPTON BISHOP WEBSITE ADDRESS: https://uptonbishop.gov.uk/
WHAT’S ON IN UPTON BISHOP
AT THE CHURCH:
Vicar - David Howell Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
Curate – Ewan Gillings Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
Church Warden - Jane Ayres Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
The Church is open every day, a quiet space for all to enjoy. The Churchyard also offers a peaceful spot to walk or sit and enjoy nature. Dogs are welcome in the churchyard on a lead, but please clear up after them. Services for June are shown on page 59. June 28th-Special Choral Evensong at 6pm for our Patronal festival with visiting choir
Why not give Evensong a try? Patronal Festival for St John, June 28th – Afternoon tea followed by choral evensong with bells and visiting choir from St Mary’s Ross-on-Wye.
Choral Evensong, often described as a “jewel” of the Anglican musical tradition, is a church service of evening prayer, characterised by its focus on music and its tranquil, reflective atmosphere at the end of the day.
The modern form of evensong traces its roots back to 1549, when the first Book of Common Prayer was published, and its long evolution brings with it a powerful sense of connecting the present with the past, of tapping into something much greater than ourselves. As we come together in our church building at the end of the day, we connect with the countless people who have worshipped in this same way and in the same place over hundreds of years. Everyone is welcome. You do not need any particular religious belief to enjoy the choral music and experience the peace of the service.
CHURCH NEWS
At last, we have some heating again in the church. Mark Gooch has done a great job of fitting under-pew heaters to the front four rows on each side, which gives out a balloon of gentle warmth to the people sitting there. With these and our heated cushions, we can now make a good number of worshippers comfortable, just in time for summer! But British weather being what it is we were glad to use them during May.
By the time you read this, another job will have been ticked off the list: Steve Winney is resurfacing the churchyard path from end to end so that it will be much smoother and easier to negotiate. Many thanks to everyone who has so generously contributed to making these jobs possible.
We also have new bell ropes on order, and we hope you came to hear the fantastic peal in May when a band of expert ringers gave our bells a full workout.
BINGO NIGHT
More fun and games in the Millennium Hall, along with delicious fish and chips.Thank you to everyone who donated prizes, ran the raffle, helped with the tidying up and joined in to make it such a successful evening. We raised just over £340. The money went towards the cost of under-pew heaters.
AT THE MILLENNIUM HALL
SOCIAL AFTERNOON Monday 15th 2.30pm - 4.30pm. We look forward to seeing you for cake and chat.
QUILTERS 3rd Thursday of the month, 2-4pm. Call Sue Jones Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
WOMEN’S CIRCLE Offering a safe, non-judgemental space for women to connect, heal and learn from each other. Open to all women. Please contact Amy to enquire: Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page.
BABY SENSORY Monday mornings during term time. Call Annabel Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
LITTLE SWALLOWS Friday mornings. Activities for under 5s. Call Nicky Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
FIT AND ACTIVE
KEEP FIT Tuesdays, 10-11am. Call Jane Fray Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page or Michaela Johnson Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page. The class is designed to help improve your fitness, strength, balance and coordination to some great music! You work at your own pace. The first session is free; after that, the cost is £6 per session for a block monthly booking and £8 per session, pay as you go.
INDOOR SHORT-MAT BOWLS Tuesday 16th 7-9pm £3 per person includes tea/coffee and biscuits. All abilities very welcome. Call Dave Powell Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page or just come along!
BADMINTON CLUB Thursdays 8-10pm all ages and skills. Call Steve Cracknell Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
TANGO Fridays, but not every Friday. Check with Beryl Kirk Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
THE MILLENNIUM HALL
If you are interested in joining the Millennium Hall team, please get in touch: Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
HIRING THE HALL There is space in the diary for new events, so please go online to book a date: visit uptonbishop.gov.uk and click on ‘Millennium Hall’ for booking info, or contact Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
UPTON BISHOP WI
APRIL MEETING
We were delighted to greet members who have been absent recently for medical reasons. We also welcomed some new members to our midst.
Our speaker for the evening was local caterer, Caroline Bennett. Caroline runs her own catering business called Country Made and is well known throughout our area. We were interested to hear how she began cooking with her mother, who was herself an excellent cook, and later trained at the Cordon Bleu school in London. However, she had worked in a different field altogether for some years before becoming a cook and then starting her business.
The dish Caroline chose to demonstrate for us is one of her most requested desserts, lemon posset, made with just three ingredients. Afterwards, in true Blue Peter fashion, she produced lemon possets made earlier, chilled and ready to eat. We agreed that it is a delicious, light and refreshing pudding, and we all now have the recipe and the newly acquired confidence to make it.
MAY MEETING
The National WI Annual Meeting is to take place next month, so with that in mind, we opened the meeting by discussing this year's resolutions and conducting a vote.
After completing the rest of the month's business, we moved on to the activity for the evening, which was crochet. Knitsey, the group that organises the knitted street decorations that we see in Ross, has asked UBWI to contribute to a bee wall that is to go on display near the public library later on this year. We were asked to help with this by contributing crocheted flowers, and Knitsey supplied us with yarn and patterns for this. Some members, who cannot crochet yet, made use of a video to learn the basics, whilst others began learning the "magic ring" technique. The accomplished crocheters quickly produced several flowers, and we hope to continue this at home.
Our competition this month was for the Alice Smith Trophy for Needlework - a cushion in any medium. There was a good selection of entries, and the winner was Gillian Smith. While members were choosing their favourite entries, refreshments were served by Carol Connolly and Carol Aitken.
UPTON BISHOP WEBSITE ADDRESS: https://uptonbishop.gov.uk/
WHAT’S ON IN UPTON BISHOP
AT THE CHURCH:
Vicar - David Howell Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
Curate – Ewan Gillings Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
Church Warden - Jane Ayres Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
We meet on the second Tuesday of each month, 7pm - 9pm at The Hub, St Mary’s Garden Village, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7WP. New members are always welcome, entry donation of £5, cake and raffle. We look forward to seeing you. For details and to find out more about the numerous activities organised by the National and Herefordshire Federations of WIs, contact
Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
UPTON BISHOP NEWS
200 CLUB DRAW FOR MAY
Terry Jones £100, Les Tomlin £20, Victoria Morgan £10, Lilah Wainman £5
WEDDING CONGRATULATIONS – Very many congratulations to Carys Major and Harry Blake, who were recently married at Upton Bishop Church, and also to Lulu Bailey and Tom Dixey, who had a blessing ceremony at the Church.
BEST WISHES to everyone who is not too well, or who is undergoing or waiting for treatment.
Six councillors, the clerk, and ten members of the public attended the Parish Council meeting on May 6th. Mark Rusby was elected as chair, and Mike Tyers as vice chair. The minutes of the March and April meetings were approved. The ward councillor’s report is on the website. Under the website update, tribute was paid to Chris Burgess for his fifteen years running the pub, saving it from closure and providing a community service during covid.
Council approved the delegation arrangements, the clerk’s pay and contract standing rule and the working groups and appointments for 2025/26. The councillor's attendance record for the last year and the standing orders were noted. The code of conduct was reviewed, and councillors were reminded to check their Register of Interests is up to date. The financial regulations were reviewed and readopted. Arrangements with other local authorities and organisations and representation on outside bodies were noted. There is no change to the asset register, and insurance arrangements will be discussed in June. Subscriptions and memberships were approved. The following policies were noted – complaints, freedom of information and data protection, press and media and expenditure under s.137 LGA 1972. Document retention and disposal, and employment policies were adopted. The policy forward plan was agreed. Future meetings will be held at 7pm on the first Tuesday of every month.
The annual Parish Meeting will be held at 6pm on Tuesday, May 26th. The clerk’s report on the query regarding the ownership of the allotment sheds was considered. There is no evidence to suggest that the sheds or any other assets on the allotments are owned by the Parish Council. The Council is not accepting ownership, and its insurers have been notified as a precaution. There will be a further report at the June meeting.
The lengthsman has been clearing road signs, cutting grass and maintaining bus shelters. Landowners with footpaths have been contacted for permission for maintenance to be carried out. The footpaths officer contacted the relevant Herefordshire Council official re the issues with the bridleway at The Crews.
The Council has £35,765 in the bank, and all invoices were approved for payment. Grants for drainage and footpath maintenance, and the first tranche of the precept, have been received. The next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, June 2nd at 7.00pm at the Millennium Hall.
Any parishioner can contact the UBPC at Contact Details on PDF copy on Home Page
Parish Council meeting minutes are available on the Parish Council website.