At the recent annual general meeting of the St Peter’s Church Bell Ringers, chair Revd Will Hughes opened the meeting by welcoming the 23 members present and thanked the ringers for their commitment, good ringing and all they do for the church and the ringing community.

After the minutes of the last AGM were agreed as correct and signed, there followed the unanimous election of a new member to the tower, Francesco Greenslade, who has been ringing with the band and helping for some time at the ringing room. The tower officers then gave their reports for 2024.

The election of officers was as follows: Tower captain - Brian Underwood; Deputy tower captain – Rebecca Restall; Secretary - Alice Kidd; Treasurer - Nick Halder; Steeple keepers - David Malone, Andrew Spiller and Duncan Wilkins; Additional helpers - Francesco Greenslade, Nick Halder, Rebecca Restall, Brian Underwood, Jason Wedley and Katherine Wilkins. Safeguarding – Brian Underwood and Rebecca Restall; First aider - Nick Halder; Archivist/publicity - Caroline M Welsh.

Brian Underwood discussed his plans for the year ahead and invited ringers to share any ideas or requests. There were proposals to have one or two more local half-day tower outings.

Revd Hughes closed the meeting and thanked everyone, saying he was looking forward to 2025.

With the season drawing to a close, the final competitions have been held.

The club’s annual His ’n’ Hers competition is always a fun evening and this year’s was no exception. It was judged by local artist Tom Yendell, who shared his story of how he became an artist and his work with the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists.

He awarded top marks of ten points to two images, Windmills Of Your Mind by Ann Pitman and Winter Walk by Adrian Corser. After the points were totalled, the result was a dead heat. The winners were decided on count back. Both teams had one image each worth ten points, but the Gents edged it by having more images awarded nine points.

Although they were pipped at the post for the His ’n’ Hers competition, it was a successful month for three of the ladies of Alton Camera Club.

Lynne Harles' image was awarded Picture of the Week by Camera Competitions, and she was gifted a canvas of her winning image.

Jo Hawkes had her image Cornflower Centre shortlisted in the 52Frames challenge and featured on Surrey Instagram page @igerssurrey, and the Urban Photographers Club website carried an interview with and featured images by Renee Smith. You can read the interview at https://www.urbanphotographersclub.com/interviews

The field trips programme took members to the Mottisfont National Trust property and also to London for a walk along the Thames Path. Starting at Putney Bridge and taking in Fulham Palace, Craven Cottage and Hammersmith Bridge, they completed their walk in the picturesque suburb of Barnes and they were gifted a beautifully sunny day for the trip.

The photographic year culminates with the presentation evening, where the club will review members’ images and award trophies for the competitions and challenges held this season.

The field trips will continue to run throughout the summer, when members look forward to visits to Arundel, Exbury Gardens and the Isle of Wight in the next couple of months, with more trips to be announced for July and August.

Alton Camera Club resumes for the 2025-26 season at the start of September. It meets at Holybourne Village Hall and welcome new members, of all ages, whether beginners or experts. Please see the website www.altoncameraclub.org.uk for more details and follow the club on Facebook and Instagram at @altoncameraclub.

It was a very special meeting for the members of both Bake, Natter and Roll WI and The Bourne WI as they had a joint gathering on the evening of April 17.

Bake, Natter and Roll’s very own green-fingered gardeners Elspeth and Ciarran facilitated a practical garden workshop with the aim for all the assembled to create a Pollinators to Pimm’s Plant Pot.

The wonderful duo used strawberry, mint and chives plants, with the addition of nasturtiums and borage seeds, to create a pot with the plants in their roles as Thrillers, Spillers and Fillers.

As it was a workshop, everyone took part in digging away in the compost and planting up their pots. When the audience were not busy planting they were filling the hall with laughter and chat, and their tummies with lots of tea and cakes.

Members ended the evening with the Bake, Natter and Roll wrapped raffle. It was a fun and entertaining evening, with everyone having a planted pot to take home.

Bake, Natter and Roll’s next meeting will be on May 15 at 7.45pm for an 8pm start in the Small Hall at The Spire Church, Farnham, when Joanna Foat will make a return visit to Bake, Natter and Roll with her presentation about Lady Gertrude Denman, the extraordinary chairman of the WI for nearly 30 years.

For more information email [email protected]

Churt Women’s Institute meets once a month, and its ladies have enjoyed a variety of speakers and events so far this year.

They kicked off 2025 with musical entertainment courtesy of Simon Hancock, with an introduction to some of the great composers of stage and screen.

Members listened to well-known hits of Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Rodgers and Hammerstein to name but a few. Encouraged by Simon, they joined in with a finale of Edelweiss from The Sound Of Music.

The following month, the club had a very interesting and eye-opening meeting, with a talk from I Choose Freedom, who run the largest women’s refuge charity in Surrey.

The lived experience was heart rending and provided members with an understanding of how women find themselves in such awful situations.

The March speaker was Derek Holbird from St Alban’s Church, Beacon Hill, and he provided a history of Soho, including the challenges of being a headteacher in a small and unique Church of England school in the heart of this cosmopolitan, and at times seedy, area of London from the 1970s to the 1990s.

The last speaker of the spring was Jo Smith, who gave an animated and often amusing talk on a local history event - the Selborne workhouse riots of 1830.

Members were transported back in time as we listened to a play depicting the night’s events. Whoever knew such angry and destructive mobs rampaged through the villages of Selborne and Headley?

To round off our spring events, members visited The Army Medical Museum at Mytchett and Dunsborough Park tulip festival at Ripley.

The institute also enjoyed social and crafting afternoons for those who would just like a chat and cake.

If you are interested in joining Churt WI, it meets at 2.30pm on the second Tuesday of the month at Churt Village Hall in the centre of the village on the A287. More details can be found in the Churt parish magazine or on its website.

On March 22, 1st Bourne Girlguiding celebrated its first recipient of the highest award in Guides, the Queen’s Guide award.

Mollie Burke worked exceptionally hard for her award while volunteering through Girlguiding and attending university at the same time.

Mollie has been with 1st Bourne since she was a Rainbow at the age of five and has continued her journey through Brownies, Guides and Rangers. She is now an active Leader with the team.

Members of Mollie’s family - as well as her fellow leaders and commissioners - gathered to see her be presented with her award. There were emotional speeches, a buffet and a camp fire out at Heron’s Wey in Tilford to ensure 1st Bourne’s very first Queen’s Guide was able to celebrate her achievement in style. Well done Mollie!

Beavers from 3rd Alton Scout Group went to Ewhurst Park to visit the Beaver Kit, Bobby, who they had the honour of naming.

Lots of fun was had, and the Beavers found some great evidence of the real-life beavers having felled trees and built dams. The Beavers were presented with a plaque to commemorate the naming of Bobby.

Twenty playing members of Farnham Brass Band, a new cornet player from Fleet and a mother bearing chocolate biscuits were delighted to welcome the mayor of Farnham, Cllr Brodie Mauluka, to their AGM.

The mayor presented a cheque to help the cornet and trombone sections produce interesting sounds with new mutes. The band then showed their guest the magnificent bass drum, the stand lights and the black, red and gold banners which the council has helped them to buy in recent years.

The year 2025 is the 50th year of Farnham Brass Band, and on October 11 they will be celebrating with an anniversary concert at Weydon School, when they hope to be joined by former players and friends of the band.