THE new chief steward of the city of Hereford - The Lord Lisvane - is coming to St Thomas a Becket Church, Huntington, to give what is likely to be one of the finest speeches the Friends of the church has ever organised. The Lord Lisvane, who is renowned for his speaking abilities, is to be the guest speaker at its next event on May 20 at the Church of St Thomas a Becket, Huntington, Kington, HR5 3PY, starting at 7.30pm.

In view of the forthcoming election, his talk will be highly relevant, because for 40 years he worked at the Palace of Westminster and rose to become clerk to the House of Commons. This is, in effect, the CEO of the Palace of Westminster and he administered a staff of over 2,000 people. There is nothing he doesn't know about Parliament from the earliest of times to the present. He has served under six prime ministers, appeared in many TV documentaries and became embroiled at the end of his career with the controversial speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. He now sits as a cross-bencher peer in the House of Lords, yet he is from our county and his wife Jane, is the present high sheriff of Herefordshire.

Robert Lisvane is an expert but irreverent guide through Westminster's turbulent centuries. Kings and commoners, the great and the not-so-good, statesmen and headsmen are dealt with by withering insults, wit and laughter, and an extraordinary cast of characters, from Charles I to Churchill. No wonder his talk is entitled Order Order!

Tickets are £9 per person to include free wine and canapés after and can be obtained online through huntingtonchurch.co.uk or by ringing Fiona Shone 01544 370391.