Ross Parishes continues to foster a sense of community and spiritual nourishment with a diverse range of events and activities scheduled for the upcoming week. From virtual prayers to physical gatherings, there’s something for everyone seeking solace and connection.

On Wednesday, April 17:

8:45-10:15am: Kickstart your day with Toast & Toddle at St. Mary’s—an opportunity for parents and toddlers to come together for a morning of fun and companionship.

1:30pm: Join the Contemplative Prayer by contacting [email protected].

3:30pm: Engage in spiritual contemplation with Ponder & Pray via Zoom. For access, contact [email protected].

On Thursday, April 19:

10:00am: Attend the Eucharist at Markye Chapel, St. Mary’s, to partake in a solemn communion.

11:45am: Connect with the St. Mary’s Thursday Prayer group via Zoom. Visit rossparishes.uk/worship/prayer for participation details.

On Friday, April 19:

9:30am until 11:30am is Paddle & Praise (contact [email protected])

6:30pm-7:30pm: Join the Youth Choir rehearsal at St. Mary’s—a platform for young voices to harmonize and express themselves.

7:00-8:00pm: Fine-tune your vocal talents at Choir practice, also held at St. Mary’s.

On Sunday, April 21:

8:00am: Commence the day with Holy Communion at St. Mary’s, a tranquil service steeped in tradition and reverence.

9:30am: At 9:30am is the Sung Eucharist at St Mary’s which will also be live streamed.

On Tuesday, April 23:

9:00-11:00am: Indulge in Tea & Toast and browse the Community Larder at St. Mary’s Hall—a welcoming space for nourishment and fellowship.

2:30pm until 4pm: The Just B Bereavement Group at St. Mary’s.

6:30pm: The St George’s Day Service at St Michael’s, Walford.

Ross Parishes invites all members of the community to partake in these enriching experiences, fostering connections and nurturing the spirit.

Ross and District Walking Group celebrated its 40th Anniversary on 10th April 2024 at its AGM held at Ross Conservative Club.

In April 1984 Margaret Smith and friends decided it would be fun to form a group to walk regularly together. They did this and the first walk was on 24th April 1984. At first, the Club had a printed programme. This transitioned to emailed programmes and now the Club has a website with the programme displayed there and is so accessible to non-members as well as to members.

Now, the group has over 100 members, usually holding two walks each week varying in length and difficulty. Walks are graded so that people can choose walks within their capability. The group has a coffee stop and a picnic lunch and carry their own refreshments. Sometimes there may be a pub lunch at the end of a morning walk. Some social events include a summer BBQ, skittles match and occasional quizzes. Ross and District Walking Group also enjoy an Annual Christmas lunch and New Year lunch at a pub with an optional walk before each one. A group weekend holiday each year also occurs. Last year it was on the Isle of Wight and next September it will be in the Elan Valley in mid Wales.

The group works closely with Walkers are Welcome and helps with the annual Walking Festival in September.

More information can be found on their website (rosswalkinggroup.co.uk). New members are always welcome to go along to the walk sand try it out. Ross and District Walking Group allows people to go along and try three different walks before deciding whether to sign up. 

Ross & District Royal British Legion is pleased to announce that it will be holding a concert for St George’s Day with some very special guests.

Hereford Male Voice Police Choir with be joined for a one off concert by the Norwegian Male Voice Choir – “The Monastery-Island & Scheen-waterfall Walking & Singing Men’s Association” at John Kyrle High School on Saturday, April 27 at 7pm. 

The Norwegian Male Voice Choir are visiting this country on a singing tour and have been specially invited by the Hereford Choir to sing with them in Ross-on-Wye to support the Royal British Legion.

Their director, Kjetil Svestad, told the RBL: “Our Choir was founded in 2010 by myself for men wanting to sing in a male voice choir. The choir consists of 25 singers and 21 of them have come on this tour to the UK. We sing all sorts of songs for entertaining, at different occasions. Our singers come from different parts of the surrounding area and represent a variety of talents, personalities and backgrounds. We are a bunch of happy amateurs, singing because we enjoy it so much. We hope to touch peoples’ hearts and bring our joy to others.”

Tickets, priced at £15, are available now to reserve or to buy on the door.

If you need to know more or would like to reserve a ticket, contact RBL Events on [email protected] or telephone 07788 272500 if you cannot get online.

This will be a cash only event. Refreshments will be served with your ticket. 

On April 9, Ross-on-Wye resident, Bob King, gave an illustrated presentation to Ross Vaga Probus on the “Building of the infrastructure for the Seventeenth Commonwealth Games held in Manchester in 2002”. 

As City Architect, and later additionally Director of Special Projects, Bob had been tasked with delivering the stadia and facilities as promised in the initial games bid. Having bid to host the Commonwealth Games against London and Sheffield, Manchester was appointed as host on 6th November 1995. 

The ‘showpiece’ stadium was designed and engineered by Arup and constructed by Laing Construction. Building commenced in January 2000. The cost was approximately £100m, most of which was provided by the National Lottery, with the remainder being funded by Manchester City Council. 

Bob described how the City Council and contractors worked closely together in partnership. This collaborative working, ensured that this huge project was completed both on time and on budget.

Bob described the layout of the Eastlands Campus (SportCity) and how for the Commonwealth Games the new City of Manchester Stadium featured a single lower tier running around three sides of the athletics track, and second tiers to the two sides, with an open-air temporary stand at one end, giving an overall capacity of 38,000. 

Bob described the unique design and architectural elements of the award winning stadium roof and how from the outset it was intended that following the Games the Stadium should be converted to be used as a football stadium with a much larger capacity. 

After the games, sections of the track were removed and re-laid at other athletics venues, and the internal ground level was lowered by 10 metres to make way for an additional tier of seating, on terracing already constructed then buried for the original configuration. This work took nearly a year to complete and added 23,000 permanent seats, increasing the capacity of the converted stadium by 7,000 to approximately 45,000. Manchester City F.C. moved to the ground in time for the start of the 2003 - 04 Season. Further developments at the Stadium have increased capacity to 53,400 with further developments planned.

Vaga Probus is a men’s group that meets twice a month in Ross. Visitors are very welcome. If you have an interest in visiting or indeed have a talk you would like to deliver, please contact the Secretary on [email protected]. Further details are on the website at www.vaga-probus-ross.org.uk. 

Ross-on-Wye continues to work towards becoming a dementia friendly town. 

Free events will be held throughout the town during this year’s Dementia Action Week.

A coffee morning will be held at Rosedale Retirement Home at 10am on Monday, May 13. To book email [email protected] or call 01989 218082/ 07985 367107.

Tai Chi Movements for Wellbeing at Ross community Garden on Tuesday, May 14 at 10am. To book, email [email protected] or call 07972624378. 

“All God’s Children”- A service of music, readings and prayer will be held at St Marys church on Wednesday, May 15 at 11am.

Tea Dance at Tudorville and District Community Centre will be held on Thursday, May 16 between 1pm and 4pm. To book, email [email protected] or call 07506992971. 

Also at Tudorville and District Community Centre is Slipper Football with Ross Juniors FC on Friday, May 17 at 12pm. 

The Coffee Morning Sing-A-Long on Saturday, May 18 at 10am is held at West Bank Residential Home. To book, email [email protected] or call 01989 562741. 

The Market stall will be on Saturday, May 18 from 10am. 

Finally, on Sunday, May 19 from 2pm to 4pm at Tudorville and District Community Centre is the Sing-a-long with the Phoenix Singers.