WESTON HOMEMAKERS: The October meeting was another welcome visit from The Grazels.

The comic duo entertained us with their poems and stories of life and characters in the countryside. Another very entertaining evening. Our notices were given of future theatre trips and weekends away. Our next meeting is our mix ‘n’ mingle on November 4 at Weston Social Club.

PROBUS MILTON: A club for socially active and retired men meet at 10 for 10.30am on the second and fourth Thursday of each month in the new room at Methodist Church, Weston.

With refreshments served we mingle socially before enjoying the entertainment by the speaker of the day.

New members are always welcome and for further details/enquiries call George Wiseman on 01934 813841 or visit www.probusmilton.org.uk or email secretary@probusmilton.org.uk

WORLEWIND BAND: Not long now until the next opportunity to hear the band perform an amazing selection of new music.

A concert is being organised by the Weston Friends Group and is in aid of a very deserving cause, Children’s Hospice South West. The event is being held at Victoria Methodist Church, Station Road, Weston on Saturday, 7 for a 7.30pm start. Tickets are a bargain at £7 and are available from Jackie on 01934 535587, Margaret on 01934 822938 or Pam on 01934 418998.

The Children’s Hospice South West really do an amazing job and rely on fundraising events such as this one to make their work possible. We really hope you can join us and the band is determined to make it an enjoyable and fun evening. For more information on the band please see our website www.worlewindband.co.uk

UPHILL WI: Our first autumn meeting got off to a good start with a visit from Winnie’s Bakery which gave us a most interesting and humorous insight into this third generation bakery.

The visit included an opportunity for us all to taste a wide variety of their bread.

Our next meeting will be on November 12 at 2.15pm at Uphill Victory Hall. Visitors are always made welcome and for further information about our WI please give our secretary a call on 01934 633946.

THE NOTABLE (NOT-ABLE) CLUB: Members welcomed Tamar to talk about Healthwatch North Somerset.

This is your local independent voice for health and social care service, offering all people of North Somerset a strong voice. It will improve the quality of local health and social care. It works with local people to improve services to make sure your views on local health and social care services are heard.

Lunch at the new Super Mare public house was enjoyed by members. Greg Roberts returned to continue his talk ‘Food for Thought’. This time on diet and nutrition. He spoke about calories and nutrition of foods and food produce also discussing breakfast meals.

The Notable Club is a weekly, socially active lunch time club for physically disabled people aged 16 to 60 years.

Contact Dina on 07845220349 for further information.

WESTON CHESS CLUB: Weston’s first division two match in the Somerset Leagues took place away to Yeovil.

Arriving one player short due to their board three being unable to make the journey, Weston found themselves a point down to start with.

However the remaining five boards acquitted themselves well and came away with a 3.5 - 2.5 win.

Peter Chaplin on top board secured a draw and Mike Townsend on two played an accurate endgame to turn what might have been a draw into the full point.

The performance of the evening was undoubtedly that of Rob Will promoted to fill the gap on board three. Rob found himself battling against an opponent graded 31 points stronger and played above his grade to secure an excellent draw.

Boards four and five resulted in a draw for John Parsons and a win for David Wood with Yeovil’s only win being by default on six.

BLEADON PHOTOGRAPHIC: The group held a workshop, studio evening to enable members to use their cameras for portrait work, using lighting and to give experience in taking as many photos as possible, adjusting their cameras for the best shot.

Many thanks to Ian Johnson who set up the evening with the lighting and to Hannah the model who really made the evening a success.

The group have their first competition on October 28 with prints and digital images.

If you would like to join us why not come to the Bleadon Coronation Hall, Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm or visit www.bleadonphotographicgroup.co.uk Contact Tony Gilbert on 01278 760956.

WESTON MUSIC APPRECIATION SOCIETY: Chairman Dennis Darling presented a very informative programme of music connected with ‘The War that Changed Everything - World War One’, the repercussions of which rippled through the ages down to the present day.

His overture was ‘For Valour’ by Havergal Brian. Several composers were actively involved in the war, such as Vaughan Williams, Sir Arthur Bliss and Ivor Gurney from Gloucester, who was severely traumatised.

The next meeting is on Wednesday when composer Geraint Lewis will present ‘The enigma behind the enigma’. Enquiries to the secretary on 01934 814752.

CONGRESBURY OVER 60S CLUB: Members enjoyed an afternoon of bright and bouncy tunes from Mike and his music as he played his usual mixture of catchy tunes.

From a very jazzy ‘Hold That Tiger’ through to songs by favourite performers such as Roy Orbison, Billy Fury, Jim Reeves and Tom Jones.

He set toes tapping throughout the hall and members agreed that they had enjoyed a most entertaining afternoon.

At the next meeting Chris Cudlipp will give a talk on ‘Colour in the Garden’ and the menus for the Christmas lunch at Cadbury House will be handed out. There are vacancies for new members at this lively club which has members not only from Congresbury but also surrounding villages.

Meetings are held every other Tuesday at the War Memorial Hall from 2.30-4pm. For further details call 01934 832004.

BURNHAM PARKINSON’S SUPPORT GROUP: In September 2013 a support group for people suffering with Parkinson’s Disease was set up and meetings have been held on the second Monday in each month, 2-4pm in the Church Hall of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Highbridge Road, Burnham.

On November 5 an exercise and movement to music class will commence 10-11am at the Methodist Church Hall. This one hour class will take place weekly in six week blocks, especially for people with Parkinson’s and their partners/carers; the class will be taken by Jenny Taylor. In February 2015 we hope to have a special intensive speech therapy course ‘Speak Up’ run by Deborah Woolven. There will be more information on this in the new year.

WOODSPRING TALKING NEWS: Volunteers, family and friends got together at Weston Golf Club for this year’s dinner.

A three-course meal was enjoyed by everyone before Tony Lay made his maiden speech, having been elected as chairman after John Hess’ retirement in May.

Tony commended John and his wife Dee for the sterling work they did during the past 30 years. He also thanked all the volunteers for their contributions, helping to send out weekly memory sticks, full of local news, to its 176 visually-impaired listeners.

Pam Linham and Colin Love were presented with their 25-year Long Service Certificates before Kath Sparks, Somerset Women’s Section county president of the Royal British Legion, regaled everyone with a talk about her ‘Lifetime in the Legion’.

WTN is currently on the lookout for a couple of male readers.

If you, or someone you know, can spare a couple of hours every five weeks, please get in touch with Tony on 813530 for more information.

SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN AND FAMILIES ASSOCIATION (SSAFA): The Weston division of SSAFA, as part of the largest and oldest national charity giving lifelong support to our forces and their families, continues to deal with at least two cases each week and we are anxious that anyone who qualifies for our help, or knows of any such a person, should contact us.

The committee meet every Wednesday at the RAFA HQ, Eagle House Alexandra Parade, Weston from 10.30am until noon – telephone 01934 644024. Outside of these hours Ann Kerruish can be contacted on 01934 811386.

Currently, apart from needing further volunteers to help us with our casework we are seeking anyone who might be interested in acting as a future secretary.

Computer and administrative skills would be necessary and a service connection, while useful, is not essential.

WESTON LIONS: Lion president Chris Nelson presented a cheque for £3,600 to Penny Smith of The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity and £3,900 to Mary Usher-Clarke of Macmillan Cancer Support from the proceeds of The Charity Dinner and Race Night, which was sponsored by Santander Local Business Bank.

Nearly 300 guests attended the dinner, which was followed by six fun-filled horse races.

The donation to GWAAC comes at a timely moment, as the new helicopter is due for delivery on Tuesday and being much lighter than the previous model is capable of landing on the roof of The Bristol Royal Infirmary, getting patients in to hospital much quicker.

FRIENDS OF THE TOWN QUARRY: The next monthly talk for Friends of the Town Quarry is on Tuesday at 7pm at the quarry in the Rowan Tea Room, South Road.

The subject is ‘Your Quarry’ and is the story and update with lovely photos of wildlife, etc, of the activities and achievements in the past 12 months since the Friends was formed.

It will be presented by some of the volunteers and all are welcome, members are free and non-members £2 on the door. Light refreshments will be available. Further enquiries please contact Pauline Priestman on 01934 633173.

WESTON YOUTH ORCHESTRA: Weston Youth Orchestra’s next concert will be held this Saturday at The Kings of Wessex Academy, Cheddar.

Join us at 7.30pm for a musical evening which will feature both our junior and senior orchestras and an enjoyable and varied programme.

Tickets cost £9 for adults and are free for under-18s and can be purchased from any orchestra member, from Coles Shoes, Orchard Place in Weston, or on the door.

If you are a young musician looking to join an orchestra we would love to hear from you.

We welcome new members all year round to both our junior and senior orchestras.

If you would like to come along to one of our rehearsals please contact our director Dennis Cole, on 01934 623787 or 07787 520230.

You can also visit our website at www.westonyouthorchestra.org.uk for further information.

RAFA CONCERT BAND – BLAKEHAY RESIDENT BAND: The band is busy rehearsing for the Poppy Appeal Commemorative Festival at the Colston Hall, Bristol.

We have a packed programme to prepare with Christmas performances beginning. This includes a Christmas concert at The Blakehay Theatre on December 7. Tickets are now available from the theatre box office.

Tickets are still available via the Colston Hall for the Poppy Appeal Commemorative Festival on November 2.

Future engagements include: November 2 - Poppy Appeal Commemorative Festival at the Colston Hall, Bristol – 7pm; November 6 – Lunchtime Poppy Appeal Concert at Abbeywood.

A1 CAMERA CLUB: The A1 Camera Club, Weston, is well into their 2014/15 programme having already enjoyed software tutorials, studio and critique evenings.

Over the next few weeks there will be a discussion on which software is used by members, a practical still life evening and the results of our first quarterly competition. More details are on our website www.a1cameraclubweston.org

The club meets every Tuesday at 7.30pm at The St Georges Community Centre, BS22 7XF.

Contact Howard on 01934 521780 for further information.

THE FRIENDS OF WESTON MUSEUM: The Friends of Weston Museum will be holding a meeting on Wednesday at 7.30pm.

The speaker will be Mark Neathey who will give a power point presentation and talk on ‘Clevedon and the First World War 1914-1918 - a resort at war’.

The meeting will be in the museum in Burlington Street, Weston, and everybody is welcome.

The talk is free to members of the Friends and visitors can pay an admission charge of £2 on the door. Tea and coffee will be available.

The Friends are a support group for the museum and new members are always welcome, a membership form can be obtained from the museum shop.

We hold regular speaker meetings, have a quarterly newsletter, and in the summer go on local history walks and visits.

We also sell used books and bric-a-brac in the museum courtyard to raise funds for the museum refurbishment, please come along to have a look.

See us on Facebook: ‘Friends of the Museum, Weston-super-Mare’ also on the museum website www.westonmuseum.org