SCHEME -- If Kington Town Council were a commercial company, its directors 'would have to recommend that it go into liquidation as it lacks the funds to pay its debts", its members have been told by council tax payer Barrie Trumper. He made the point, among many others, during public question time at the council's last meeting, when he queried the propriety of it adopting the lengthsman scheme which would cost an additional £1,500 to administer, he claimed. He added that in a period of two years and three months the council had produced a potential deficit of £16,000 from an inherited surplus of £33,000, from which he concluded: "The implications for a future council are grave". Mr Trumper was also critical of the toilet monitors, whose use in market towns had been arranged by what he described as 'that self-appointed body, the Market Towns Forum'. He claimed: "Your council shrouds the finances of this in mystery. They do not appear as income or expenditure any more and I am denied access to the quarterly accounts". Mr Trumper ended his lengthy question with this inquiry: "Has not this council placed a large enough financial debt and burden on future councils without requiring their credit to be extended even further by them having to administer a lengthsman scheme?" In response, Town Mayor Councillor Robert Hussey thanked Mr Trumper for his question, and assured him that the points he raised would be investigated.

EXCESS WATER -- A Mr Otter, whose address is Riverside, Floodgates, Kington, called in at the Mill Street council office to complain about too much water in his immediate area, it is reported in the official minutes of the last Kington Town Council meeting. Mr Otter's specific complaint concerns "water that runs down Ridgebourne Road and down the Byway, then across Montford Road and into Floodgates", and he added: "Whenever it rains there is a large amount of water coming down the road - could the council do something about it? Kington, some councillors might conclude, must be one of the few places providing a habitat for an 'otter' who has been moved to complain about excess water near his home!

FACILITY -- Youngsters who will be using the skateboard and roller-blading facility planned for Kington's Recreation Ground have been in consultation with its trustees, all members of its town council, represented by councillor Ros Bradbury. Herefordshire Council would be surfacing the area with tarmac, she said, and the estimated cost of the facility would be about £20,000, for which grants were expected, possibly from bodies like the Market Towns Initiative. But volunteers were needed to prepare the ground and to help with fund-raising activities for the venture, which is intended to be used by the eight to 18 age group, in the hope that it will put an end to skateboarding in the town centre. Says Mrs Bradbury "We are looking for offers of help from both youngsters and parents, and to Kington Lions and we hope that the facility will be ready for use by the start of the school holidays".

CROFT GARDENS -- For the first time ever, Kington's best known tourist attraction, its Hergest Croft Gardens, will be open on Saturdays and Sundays during March. "This will allow visitors to experience the meadows of early spring bulbs and the enormous flowers of the tree magnolias", says owner Lawrence Banks. Starting on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2, the gardens will open from 12.30-5pm every weekend. Mr Banks added: "The gardens can look wonderful in late winter, beginning with fields of snowdrops, followed by the finest sight of all - sheets of bright blue squills on the lawns". At the end of the month, there should be a spectacular display of the Himalayan tree magnolias, and the selections and hybrids of Magnolia campbell are thick with buds. Visitors should watch out for a tree on the daisy border, which is pale pink, one north of the croquet lawn, which is deeper, and another at the bottom of the maple grove - the most spectacular of all is the unnamed selection below the pond in Park Wood". Further information is available from the Hergest Estate office (01544 230160).

SPRING -- Peter Thomson was the speaker at Kington and District Horticultural Society's February meeting, and his subject was 'Spring flowers in Crete.' He explained that he did not charge a fee for his talk, but the society's donation would go to Plant Life, an organisation set up in 1989 for the purpose of protecting wild flower meadows, the nearest reserve to Kington being at Norton Canon. His lovely slides showed Crete as a long, thin island, very mountainous with deep gorges, and very hot in summer, but it can be wet with a hot wind. All around the coast are warm, fertile plains where there are orange, lemon, almond, olive and chestnut groves, and there are also many thick forests especially on the mountain slopes where the cypress grows, alone with many beautiful wild flowers and shrubs, seen at their best in April. Next month, on March 20, the society holds its annual meeting at the Masonic Hall at 7.30pm, which will be followed by a film of local interest made by Harvey Jones.

WHIST -- Overall winner of the Harold Watkins cup after a series of three whist drives at Kington's Parish House was Mrs F Hughes, and the series raised £258 to be shared by the Heart Foundation, St Michael's Hospice and the county air ambulance. Other prizewinners were: A Beaumont (highest score), E Preece and C Pearce (longest sitters), ladies, Mrs D Nicholls, Mrs S Turner, Mrs F Hughes, Mrs M Bartholomew and Mrs M Parker (consolation); gents, Mr J Price, Mr D Beavan, Mr T Beaumont, Mr H Dennis and Mrs J Pound (consolation).

DR PHILIP CLELAND -- Philip retires on Tuesday, April 1, 31 years to the very date of his appointment. This is not an 'April's Fool' - it is fact. Donations can be made at, or forwarded to, the Kington Branch of HSBC, or to Allan Lloyd and Janet Francis. Such contributions will go towards a suitable retirement gift from the people of Kington and district. A Book of Appreciation is available at the Kington Branch of HSBC. It is hoped that many people will write in and sign this book, possibly mentioning those who are no longer with us who had been supported by Philip in the past. If any individual is unable to get to the Bank to sign the Book of Appreciation, Allan Lloyd and Janet Francis will take the book to them if so requested. An open and free invitation is made to all to attend a presentation evening at the Burton Hotel - or outside within the vicinity of the Burton if the number is too large - on Wednesday, April 2 at 7pm.