REPORTING on positive stories is one of the pleasures of working at the Hereford Times and this week is no exception.

You only have to look at page three of today’s paper to see a fantastic picture of transit of Venus taken at Symonds Yat, while the organisers of Hay Festival have announced that this year was their busiest yet, with a ten per cent increase in ticket sales.

Considering that the weather was really bad for some of the days, it is heartening to hear that thousands of people still descended on the market town this year and embraced what is one of Herefordshire’s great events.

There are also other good business/community stories in this week’s paper.

A company from Whitchurch, near Ross-on-Wye. Called Binz Intelligent Eyeware, have set out plans to launch sunglasses that allow users to navigate the internet, while Allpay are to build a £5million extension to its Whitestone site.

The latter is a great Herefordshire business story in that the company only had two staff and a single office 16 years ago.

Now, it is one of the county’s biggest private sector employers and one of the fastest growing companies in the UK.

Last week, we reported on the Little Princess Trust being awarded a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services and now another charity has done likewise.

Dorstone’s Front Room Project (DFR) has done great things in the Golden Valley village ever since it lost its post office as it became an alternative site for providing key services that its community replies upon.

There is sadly, a couple of obituaries in this week’s paper, but even though it is sad to report on someone’s death, it does give a chance for their family and friends to pay tribute to them and for them to be remembered for all the good they have done.

Colin Manning was one of Herefordshire’s longest serving magistrates and a life-president at Hereford Rugby Club, while Linda Robinson pioneered a coffin primarily made from sheeps’ wool for people who were worried about damaging the environment when they are buried.

Both of their lives are celebrated in this week’s Hereford Times and it is nice to read the kind words said about them.

And in sport, there is the great story of David Townley, a former Hereford cricketer who has been a key figure in the Blind Ashes series against Australia.

So, even though you’re always going to read a bit of doom and gloom in your local newspaper, we will always report on the positive stuff as well.