Viking conquerors

Winners of the Kubb contest
Andy Loakes, Phillipa Loakes, Edmund Lodite and Mary Loakes were winners of the very successful Kubb South West fun day held at Hallatrow in May, with Craig Gentle and Russell Moore finishing as runners up.

Organiser Neil Wilson: "Viking Kubb are now out of stock - they sold several sets on Saturday to Temple Cloud people." After the May Gazette was published Neil was interviewed by Chris Evans on April 27, and there is a recording of this on the 'ŒPress & Radio' page of the Kubb UK website. Neil, who lives in Temple Cloud, adds that Kubb is also a good beach game, but although there aren't any restrictions on the surface used, the annual world championship is played on grass.

Ffi about Kubb, visit www.KubbUK.org.

Police invite you to have your say

Sergeant Alison Norman with the Chew Valley Beat Team who will be at the meeting: PCSO Martyn Bragg, PCSO Paul Cornelius and PC Glenn Lord
How could your neighbourhood be improved? What problems do you think need tackling to make your area feel safer? Whatever the issue from noise to graffiti, street lighting to anti social behaviour, you can have your say at the forthcoming Partners and Communities Together (PACT) meeting in Chew Valley.

Where: Bishop Sutton Village Hall When: Tuesday June 12 at 7pm

Police Inspector Tim Stuckes said: "This is part of creating safer, stronger neighbourhoods in Chew Valley. The beat team will be there along with representatives from the local council and key agencies. The idea is to create a regular forum for communities to interact with the local council and police, with a focus on community safety issues". The Chew Valley Community Safety Action Group will meet following the public forum to agree an action plan on the way forward with any issues raised.

Twinners see new community centre

Presenting the pic of Chew Valley Lake
Six representatives of the Chew Valley Twinning Association (Caroline Savage, Sasja Patten, Pauline Willetts, Eddie Catchpole, Chris Edgell and Steve Ward) were invited to Vern-sur-Seiche for the weekend of May 5 to attend the inauguration of a new multi-purpose "Volume" building.

The ultra-modern "Volume" houses a new Music and Dance School, village library, committee rooms for use by local associations, multimedia facilities, a 50-seat cinema, an internet and computer suite for use by villagers, and an exhibition room for local sculptors and artists.

Not bad for a village of 7,500 people! The building cost in excess of 4 million euros, raised from regional and local taxes. To celebrate the opening the Twinning Association presented the Mayor of Vern with a gift: a large framed picture of Chew Valley Lake. The visit coincided with the French presidential elections on the Sunday. The English were shown round the polling station, and marvelled at how bureaucratic the French process seemed compared to our own!

A group of some 50 people from Vern will be coming to the Chew Valley from 2nd to 5th November 2007. Further details are available from Twinning Association Chair Caroline Savage (01275) 332623 or Secretary Steve Ward (01275) 333708).

Stormy bike ride raises funds for CLIC

The Mendip Hills produced some of the worst weather in living memory for the annual CLIC24 24 hour mountain bike endurance event in aid of cancer and leukaemia charity CLIC Sargent.

Despite the weather nearly 500 riders battled on relentlessly through the 24 hours, riding a combined 18,000 miles with over 1.85 million vertical feet of climbing. Event Organiser, Neil Wilkins said, "I really don't know what happened with the weather! CLIC24 is always dry and sunny! We booked good weather months ago but it just didn't turn up on the day! We had riders from all over the UK braving conditions resembling mid-winter rather than late spring. Their efforts will have helped us exceed the target of £40,000 sponsorship for the charity and I'd like to thank each and every rider and their support teams and families for continuing to fight on despite the appalling weather."

CLIC24 has now raised in excess of £150,000 for CLIC Sargent and is becoming a firm favourite in the 24hour mountain bike calendar. Important trails in the Mendip Hills may also benefit from this year's event which highlighted drainage issues on key sections of Limestone Link, a bridleway popular with mountain bikers, walkers and horse riders.

CLIC24 organisers have offered to work with Mendip Hills AONB Service and landowners to improve trail conditions and durability and to ensure the Link, which is one of the most exciting parts of the CLIC24 course, can be ridden all year round and as an environmentally sensitive area, is sustainable for the future. For more information about CLIC24 visit the event website at www.clic24.org.uk

Women walk 28 miles for charity

Four charities have benefited by more than £2,000 thanks to the marathon efforts of a group of Chew Valley women, most of whom belong to the same book club.

The ten ladies battled blisters, sunburn and cyclists as they walked 28 miles between Devizes and Bitton along the Kennet and Avon Towpath and the Bath to Bristol Cycle Path. The group was raising money for MacMillan Nurses, Breast Cancer Care, Children's Hospice South West and BRACE (Bristol Research in Alzheimer Care).

"We wanted to do our bit for charity but we didn't want to travel to London to take part in the famous Moon Walk" said organiser Anne Hamblin. "We decided to set our own marathon length course closer to home and to walk through the day rather than at night". The course ended up two miles longer than a marathon and took the ladies 10 hours to complete.

"We are delighted to have raised so much money for four very worthy causes," added Anne. "We would like to thank all our friends, family and colleagues who supported us and made the aching feet worthwhile." It is not too late to sponsor the group. Visit one of the four websites listed below to contribute to one of the four chosen charities.
www.justgiving.com/womenwalkingmac
www.justgiving.com/womenwalkingbcc
www.justgiving.com/womenwalkingchsw
www.justgiving.com/womenwalkingbrace

Priddy sheep racing time
Priddy Pre-School and Priddy Friendly Society will be holding their third annual Sheep Racing Event on Priddy Green on Saturday June 23. The fun-filled evening will begin around 5pm as the bouncy castles, side shows and refreshments open for business.

As well as the races, there will be further attractions and games together with a pig roast and a licensed bar. Mendip sheep are again in training and a new generation of jockeys is being coached. On the day visitors will be able to view the runners in their pens prior to racing. Race cards will be available to purchase, indicating the main sponsor for each race, the names of the sheep involved and their jockeys. At 5.40pm the auctioneers will offer temporary ownership of the sheep for the first race to the highest bidder, and betting will begin in earnest for an exciting start at 6pm. Winning tickets will be paid out immediately after each race. Six races will be held, starting every half hour until 8:30 pm.