TOURIST CYCLE TRAIL -- Community development officer Lisa Bedford now has a draft copy of the new cycle trails booklet ready at her High Street office, and invites local cyclists to call in and give their comments. Using sketch maps and clear directions, the booklet gives details of 10 circular cycle routes through the most beautiful countryside of Radnorshire and its borders. They avoid main roads as far as possible, taking cyclists through the lanes where traffic is quieter, and each route shows whether it runs over gentle or more challenging gradients. All the trails have been ridden and researched by Neville Roberts of Norton and other local cyclists.

The Cycle Trails of Radnorshire will be printed by this autumn so that it can be widely available to visitors planning their holidays. Those cycle owners who live in Radnorshire are likely to be enticed to try out some of the trails and discover some hidden corners of the shire. Lisa Bedford looks forward to the launch of the cycle trails booklet, a project for which she has successfully sought local match funding.

FLORAL ART SOCIETY -- The society's next meeting will be September 12, with a demonstration by Diane Pritchard on 'Venetian Romance and Masquerade'.

MUSIC FESTIVAL -- The festival box office in the High Street opens on Saturday and will be open Monday to Saturday from 10.30am until 2.30pm daily. Ticket bookings can be made even before July 14 by telephone to 01544 267800.

WHITTON VOICES -- Now based at Presteigne Assembly Rooms, Sue Harris's singing group, Whitton Voices, meet on Tuesday evenings throughout July at 8pm. New members and inexperienced singers are always welcome. Contact Sue Harris on 01544 267632.

MBA CHAIRMAN -- Alex Dufort, chairman of Mid Border Arts, is away for a month. He was due to leave last week for a sailing holiday with three friends to explore Arctic waters from the coast of Greenland, past the northern ice pack as far as Spitzbergen. Alex Dufort said he would be in touch with home during the trip by e-mail, and was taking thermal clothing against the cold.

QUILTERS -- Presteigne Quilters Group has been busy finishing a bright patchwork quilt destined for Romania. One of its members, Marjorie Smith, has a special interest in a Baptist mission in the remote north west of Romania and has left to visit the country for the third time. She will take with her a single bed, nine-patch quilt to be used for the guest room at the mission, in which young people seeking work can be accommodated short term. She has also taken a message of good wishes from Presteigne Quilters. Already inquiries are being received about the 2002 Presteigne Quilt Festival, due to be held in the run-up to the Queen's Jubilee celebration.