n The Festival Players theatre company will present an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Maisemore Court on Saturday, June 25, at 7.30pm.

The event has been organised as a charity fundraiser by Newent Rotary Club and tickets, costing £12 each, are available from Smiths estate agents in Newent or by phoning 01452 527462.

n NEWENT Town Council has provisionally agreed a grant of £2,500 towards an upgrade of the Christmas lights display.

The money will enable display organisers to buy small Christmas trees to install above shops and decorate them with white lights, in addition to the existing display around Market Square.

n STRAWBERRY teas are on offer at Oxenhall Parish Church, near Newent, on Sunday, June 26. In addition to the teas, visitors can tour Oxenhall Church and walk along part of the restored Gloucester to Hereford Canal. The event runs from 2pm to 5.30pm and proceeds will go to the Parish Hall Trust Fund.

n CHILDREN'S storytime sessions could be held on the paddock area by Newent lake this summer. The town council has given permission for a gazebo to be put up after an approach from St Mary's Church.

n POLICE officers have been given targets for issuing parking tickets in Newent, town councillors heard at a meeting on Monday. Councillors welcomed the parking crackdown.

n Residents of Newent's Kathleen House, in Church Lane, a home for adults with learning difficulties, will plant the library's flower tub in support of Newent in Bloom on Tuesday.