ROYAL GEORGE - The latest planned opening date for the pub is now October 1. The prospective new tenants, Chris 'Stig' and Rachel Ammonds who are currently Manchester based, have well-developed plans for their move and are excited at the prospect of integrating into the community.

The Ammonds family has owned and run the garage in Shobdon for many years, and Stig is locally born and bred. Rachel comes from the rural parts of Warwickshire and they were married in Shobdon Church in June of this year. They will move into the pub on about September 19 and have set themselves the target of reopening the pub on October1. Any help from willing volunteers on the weekend of September 24-25 would be much appreciated to attack the garden and the parking areas in advance of refurbishment planned for January / February 2006.

MICHAELMAS FAYRE - Plans are well in hand for a three day Lyonshall Michaelmas Fayre between Friday, September 30, and Sunday, October 2. The fayre will be centred around the Church of St Michael and All Angels, which will be fully decorated for harvest festival, and it will include: Scarecrows around the Parish display and competition; organ music recitals; produce stalls and refreshments in the Church; Concert in the Church of Songs From The Shows by the Hereford Amateur Operatic Society; Angel-making workshop for children; talk from local authoress Sue Gee on her historical novel The Mysteries of Glass (which is set in the Parish); Michaelmas Goose raffle; and on Sunday the Harvest Festival Church service followed by Harvest Lunch in the Memorial Hall. More details are published in the current edition of the parish magazine.