Portesham village hall will be hosting yet another fascinating event on Wednesday, 25 April, when Roland Tarr will be giving a travel talk on Southern India in aid of local Portesham charity, Dors to India.

In it he will speak and show photographs of the World Heritage temples, sculptures and scenery around Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu, and it is here that the charity supports a number of villages.

Roland will then transfer his attention to the wonderful hill scenery of the Western Ghats where winding railways make their way up to the tea estates that cloak the cooler hilltops. Here there are World Heritage animal sanctuaries set amongst the lush forested slopes.

Finally he descends to the tropical west coast of Kerala, travelling the back waters where local fishermen collect oysters and whole settlements depend on these coastal lagoons for their livelihood. Arriving at Kochi (Cochin) Roland will speak about its Portuguese colonial past.

There will be an Indian meal (both mild and spicy) and a bar to start with from 7.15pm to 8.00pm with more information available about the work of the charity. Doors open at 7.00pm and tickets at £7.50 are available from John Surowiec on 01305 871649, Malcolm Passells on 01305 871557 and Roland Tarr on 01305 262359.

PLEASE note a correction to the date - Portesham School will be hosting a family Summer Bingo evening on Friday, 20 April. Doors open at 6pm for a 6.30pm start with many exciting hampers and prizes to be won. Refreshments will be available and a raffle will also be held during the evening.

Any donations for prizes gratefully received at the school office.

The next community lunch at the school will be on Tuesday, 8 May at 1pm. The menu, costing £5 each, will consist of Chicken and vegetable casserole with rice and broccoli to be followed by Pineapple upside down pudding with custard. Order forms, to be received by Friday, 28 April, are available from the school office or the village hall.

YOU may have noticed that the Parish Notice Boards have recently had a make-over! The smaller one, which is reserved for official Parish Council notices, is now located on the wall of the former Post Office, while the main board on the village green now contains a local map showing various points of interest and Rights of Way. The reverse is available for Parish notices.

A FURTHER plea from the Portesham Torch Relay Committee for more red, white or blue cotton fabric (patterned or plain), that can be cut up and made into bunting to decorate Portesham along the Olympic torch route.

Please bring material to Greenwood House, or contact Gill Brignell on 01305 871925 or Susan Blackwell on 01305 871239.

The committee hope to decorate the route through the village with bunting, flags, sails and golden flowers (marigolds, I believe). Some of these will be ready for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June.

On the day of the torch procession, Thursday, 12 July, a fete is planned for the afternoon centred on the garden of the King’s Arms and the village green with further activities planned for the evening.

Please contact Keith Brignell on 01305 871925 with any offers of help.