'TOP SHOP' - In his second attempt for the national 'Top Shop' title, Kington's Glyn Slade Jones took the main regional award in London. Glyn and his entourage travelled to the Dorchester Hotel, where they learned that his Kington butcher's shop was the best of the 11 counties of the South and West of England.

Ambulance - Ambulance cover in Herefordshire in general, and thereby Kington in particular, was more effective than it had ever been, Kington Town Council members were told by Steve McGuinness, Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service's director of operations, who attended the council's meeting. He had been invited following a complaint by Councillor Philip Eggerton of an alleged delay to a call out - a delay that Mr McGuinness contested. Questioning from the floor revealed that he had not been notified of the increase in the traffic using roads on the Hatton Gardens industrial estate following the recent planning permission for the proposed waste site. As Kington ambulance station is located on one of the main private roads on the estate, Councillors Elizabeth Newman and Michael Deacon were not happy that Mr McGuinness had not been informed of the situation by Herefordshire Council.

RNLI - The Kington branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute is in need of a treasurer following the decision David Hill to retire after 30 years. Mr Hill said that over £1,600 had been sent to RNLI headquarters in the past year. Anyone interested in being treasurer can contact him on 230407 or his colleague, Jill Lyon, on 231783.

KINGTON DIARY - Kington Tourist Group chairman Ann Edwards says that a 2001 edition of the Kington Diary - listing local events of possible interest to visitors - is planned, and she invites entries. This year's diary is in two sections, the first running from April 1 to June 30, and the second from July 1 to October 31, and the respective deadlines are March 2 and June 3. She says: "We are particularly anxious to include as many local events as possible."

ENGLISH SPEAKING UNION - Three Year-11 students at Lady Hawkins' School, Simon George, Elizabeth Hughes and Frances Hudson, took part in the Herefordshire round of the English Speaking Union public speaking. Although all three performed well, they were unable to reach the regional final in Birmingham at their first attempt.

NATURE TRUST - Kington members of the Herefordshire Nature Trust enjoyed a talk arranged by the charity Plant Life at their January meeting when the speaker was Peter Thomson, whose subject was 'Talking Flowers'. Plant Life aims to be to plants what the RSPB is to birds. It owns the Davies meadows at Norton Canon, part of the Lugg meadows and Joan's Hill Farm at Checkley, all in Herefordshire, and various sites throughout the country.