CEILIDH AND LUNCH - The ceilidh and lunch, in aid of Ullingswick Church, will be held at The Marquee, Wilden Farm, Ullingswick, on Sunday, May 16, from 1pm. Tickets, price £7.50 adult, children £3.50, are available by calling 01432 820454.

BELLRINGING CHALLENGE - On Saturday, Bromyard district of the Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers will host the guild’s annual meeting.

During the morning, towers at Pencombe, Bredenbury and Bishops Frome will be open for ringing by bands from across the county. During the afternoon the tower at Stoke Lacy will be open for ringing and, at Much Cowarne between 1pm and 3pm, it is planned to hold an informal test in basic bellringing skills. This will be aimed at the less experienced ringers from the bands in the county and will be called the Much Cowarne challenge.

The challenge will be for each band to ring about five minutes of ‘call changes’ to include four specific orders of ringing (details available on request).

From an initial 100 points, a judging team will deduct points for errors but each band can gain bonus points for members with less than one or two year’s experience. There will be no prizes other than the satisfaction of producing the best piece of ringing within the band’s capabilities.

If the weather is good it is hoped that visiting bands will be able to picnic at the church while waiting for their turn to ring. In the late afternoon there will be ringing in Bromyard before a church service and the guild AGM. Visitors are welcome to come along to one or more of the churches and listen to the ringing.

PLANT SALE - The annual Much Cowarne plant sale will be held at Much Cowarne Church from 6.30pm on Thursday, May 13. Admission is free, there will be drinks and snacks available and all proceeds will go to the church. Prompted by a clear-out by a local resident, there will also be an auction of garden equipment including a Hayter mower, a hedge trimmer and various garden tools. Anyone wishing to contribute items for the auction is invited to bring them along on the evening or to contact Martin Hewitt on 01432 820282.