The Chimes
The Chimes is the parish magazine for the villages of Aston Ingham, Linton, Upton Bishop, Lea and Gorsley. It is delivered at the beginning of the month ten times a year by volunteers (December/January and July/August) are joint issues. It is also available at www.thechimes.org.
The sub editor for Upton Bishop is Olivia Boon and she can be contacted on 07496 685960 or by email oliviaboon7@gmail.com
There is a directory of useful information published by The Chimes team. This is the Upton Bishop section of the directory.
Information about news and events which are published in The Chimes can be found in the What’s On and News section of this website.
March 2025
Rainfall report by Rob the Rainman
January’s total was 122.3mm this being 60% more than average so 2025 starting off in full wet mode. A couple of days noted as “lovely winter days” before we woke up to about 6cm of lying snow on the 5th, not nice stuff though as it was very wet. The rising temperature and the onset of rain soon saw it off but the combination of snow and rain gave 63.3mm for the 4th and 5th – I honestly can’t think of anything to say about that anymore! But the next 16 days were actually dry. There were hard overnight frosts from the 6th to the 10th and then it became a bit milder but with a lot of dull days again which had a chilly feel. We then entered the second wet period which was heralded by Storm Eowyn, the full force of which we very lucky to avoid and it only gave 14.7mm of rain too. The 26th and 27th were very wet with 36.3mm and then the last 3 days were dry (daylight hours anyway) and again were noted as “lovely winter days”.
UPTON BISHOP WEBSITE ADDRESS: https://uptonbishop.gov.uk/
WHAT’S ON IN UPTON BISHOP
AT THE CHURCH:
Vicar – David Howell 01989 568736 Church Warden – Jane Ayres 07989 572356
YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME. DO YOU NEED A QUIET SPACE OR A LITTLE PEACE?
UB Church is your church and it’s open every day. A quiet place for anyone to use.
The Churchyard also offer a peaceful spot to walk or sit awhile.
Dogs are welcome on a lead, but please clear up after them.
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SUNDAY SERVICES for MARCH in the church at 10.30am unless otherwise stated If you require gluten free communion bread, please let us know before the start of the service 2nd Morning Worship 5th 7pm Ash Wednesday a service at Weston church to mark the beginning of Lent. 9th Communion 16th Communion 23rd All Age Worship 30th Benefice Service for Mothering Sunday at Lea EVENSONG every Tuesday, 5.30pm at Graham and Ann Fowler’s House. Ring 780600 for details. BCP Communion Wednesday 5th March at 9.30am, followed by Prayer Group Be assured of a warm welcome at these services which are suitable for all ages. |
AT THE MILLENNIUM HALL:
FOR THE YOUNG:
LEGO@UB CLUB and COFFEE MORNING Saturday 1st March Coffe at 10.30, plus Pancake Pandemonium for Shrove Tuesday (pancake day) All ages welcome. It’s Free of Charge but donations for the coffee and cakes are always welcome.
BABY SENSORY Monday mornings during termtime. Call Annabel 07341 956056 or hereford@babysensory.co.uk
LITTLE SWALLOWS Friday mornings. Activities for under 5s. Call Nicky 01989 780211
FIT AND ACTIVE:
KEEP FIT Tuesdays, 10-11am. Call Jane Fray 01989 780383 or Michaela Johnson 07706101164. The class is designed to help improve your fitness, strength, balance and co-ordination to some great music! You work at your own pace. The first session is free; after that, the cost is £6 per session for a block monthly booking and £8.00 per session pay as you go.
INDOOR SHORT-MAT BOWLS Tuesday 18th March, 7- 9pm, £2 per person includes tea/coffee and biscuits. All abilities very welcome. Call Dave Powell 07794 429090 or just come along!
BADMINTON CLUB Thursdays 8-10pm all ages and skills. Call Steve Cracknell 01989 720577.
TANGO Fridays but not every Friday. Check with Beryl Kirk 07743 778799 or bakirk@live.co.uk.
SOCIAL:
COFFEE MORNING Saturday 1st March 10-12am
SOCIAL AFTERNOON Monday 17th March, 2.30-4.30pm We look forward to seeing you for cake and chat.
QUILTERS 3rd Thursday of the month, 2-4pm. Call Sue Jones 07505 977 944
UPTON BISHOP WI Tuesday 11th March is our AGM, followed by an open talk from the West Midlands Police about Home Security. 8- 9pm. £5. New members are always welcome at The Community Hub, St, Mary’s Garden Village. To find out more contact 01989 569881 Upton_Bishop_WI@herefordshire.org.uk.
WOMEN’S CIRCLE Offering a safe, non-judgemental space for women to connect, heal and learn from each other. Open to all women. Please contact Amy to enquire: 07867 761108.
200 CLUB DRAW FOR FEBRUARY £20 Sarah Bailey; £10 Graham Fowler; £5 Kathy Vaughan
WELCOME to Lee Sutherland and Jo-Anne Taylor who have moved to The Crews.
BEST WISHES and GET WELL to Peter Fanshawe and to Terry from Marsh Farm following their recent operations, and to everyone who is not too well, or who is undergoing or waiting for treatment at present.
SYMPATHY to Nigel Misselbrook and his family on the loss of his father and to Hazel and the Stanier family on the loss of John.
UPTON BISHOP NEWS
Whatever the weather thinks, Spring is here with garden thoughts beginning to surface. If you happen to be sowing something special or propagating pretty perennials, could you spare one or two perhaps for the Christian Aid Plant Stall? It will be running in May in the usual location and will hopefully raise much needed funds for improving lives round the world while putting something really nice on your plate or in your borders. Many thanks. Linda Cropper.
THE CHURCH
The Lego Club and Coffee Morning were back in February. A mountain of new Lego and Duplo have been donated by Joan Townsend and Sue Ashmole and we had a lot of fun using it. Thank you to both of them. Rev David came to show us how to make Christingles and grown-ups who didn’t want an orange joined in using orange cupcakes.
THE MILLENNIUM HALL
The Millennium Hall said goodbye and thank you to Sue Goode at the end of February. Sue has kept the Hall clean for almost 6 years and has been a great asset and support to us all, coming in at all sorts of strange times to clean up and leave the place neat and tidy for the next session.
Join the Millennium Hall team! If you are willing to get involved, please get in touch: 07496 685 960.
HIRING THE HALL There is space in the diary for new events so please go on line to book a date: https://v2.hallmaster.co.uk/Scheduler/View/13123?startRoom=0 or contact pollyannakay@gmail.com.
UPTON BISHOP WI
Please note that the photo of the WI table decorations in the February edition was mistakenly attributed to the church.
In true Herefordshire style UBWI went wassailing in January. Cloaked in green our members used drums and whistles to rid the orchard of evil spirits, then poured cider around the fruit trees and decorated them with toast soaked with cider to ensure a good harvest. I don’t know what the neighbours thought, but we all had a great time!
UBWI don’t have a monthly meet-up in January but we had a coffee morning and craft session where we planned our next project while finishing off unfinished pieces and sharing our knowledge. One of our members, who insists she’s not crafty, leant to crochet. Well done.
In February we had a talk and workshop about paper flowers and competed for the Linton Cup for the best artificial floral arrangement.
UPTON BISHOP PARISH COUNCIL (UBPC) Any parishioner can contact the UBPC at clerk@uptonbishop.gov.uk Parish Council meeting minutes are available on the Parish Council website. Seven councillors, the clerk, ward councillor and 13 members of the public attended the February 11th Parish Council meeting. As part of his report the ward councillor confirmed Herefordshire Council has set its budget for 24/25, council tax to increase of 4.99% and the Government has told Herefordshire to build 27600 homes over the next 20 years. The plans for a new bus shelter at Phocle Green are progressing. The ward councillor’s report is on the website. In the public session the new owner of Tedgewood Farm gave an update on his plans to renovate the house and outbuildings. There were no planning applications. The lengthsman has been clearing ditches and laybys and is due to support the footpaths officer in improving the footpath infrastructure. A blocked drain at Crow Hill is being investigated with the landowner. Herefordshire council has been asked to refill grit bins. Welsh Water and a landowner have been contacted about overgrown hedges on Manor Road. The budget for 25/26 was approved and it was agreed the precept should remain the same. All invoices were approved for payment. Following the closure of Lloyds in Ross, the council will move to online banking with Unity Trust which is a recommended bank for parish councils. Following a closed session the Parish Clerk was confirmed in post.
The next scheduled meeting is at 7pm on Tuesday, 4th March.