St James’s Church of England Primary School will be holding an an Open Day next Thursday, September 29th, with hour-long tours starting at 9.30am and 10.30am. So just as the latest intake of five-year-olds are settling into their first term, parents of children who will join our village school in a year’s time will be able to get a flavour of the experience that will await the class of ’17!

A West Malvern-owned black-and-white calf, conceived in the USA, born in Cumbria and reared in the Isle of Man, will be competing for major honours at the Three Counties Showground next month. The eight-month-old heifer, named Carrick Silver Scarlet, belongs to Alison Madrell, landlady of the Brewers Arms.

Scarlet is a product of modern breeding techniques in which Alison, a qualified geneticist, is expert. Imported from America as an embryo which was implanted into a recipient (surrogate) cow in Cumbria, after birth Scarlet joined the family’s 30-year-old Carrick pedigree Holstein herd at Andreas in the Isle of Man.

By winning the novice class and the reserve championship at the IOM regional heat in August, Scarlet qualified to compete at the All Britain All Breeds Calf Show in Malvern on October 15th/16th., an event that attracts junior exhibits and exhibitors from calf clubs all over the UK.

An interesting sideline to this story is that Knockaloe, the IOM show ground where Scarlet qualified, was during the First Word War the site of an internment camp for foreign nationals. One of them was Joseph Pilates, who there developed with his fellow internees the fitness exercise system, now famous world wide, that bears his name.

Tomorrow, Saturday, there will be another of the well-established Fun Nights at the Royal British Legion Club in Lower Road, starting at 8.30pm.

COLIN JACKSON