The Bedfordshire Peet family

This is our younger son Ben with his wife Claire and children Thomas and Sophie earlier in the year when they called in for lunch at Pippin Cottage on their way to Devon for a holiday with Claire's parents. As you can see Sophie is a determined little girl!

When Jenny retired as Chairman of Wincanton Choral Society David suggested that instead of buying her a gift they should sponsor her on a Ladies' Driving Day to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Here is a photo of her driving a Royal Mail articulated lorry which she had to reverse between bollards. She also drove a digger, a 40 ton truck, a tractor, a double decker bus, a Dalek, a Land Rover 101, and a 1905 car without steering wheel - just a stick to steer with, a break and an accelerator. 240 women took part and between us we raised £30,000 for the charity.

Parish Notice Board

Our small village of about 500 souls actually has its own Parish Council, with five unpaid Parish Councillors (the smallest number allowed under the Local Government Act) and a part time clerk. Its total budget is about £6,000 a year. At its last meeting not a little time was spent discussing the Parish Council notice board which until recently was fixed to the wall of a barn in the centre of the village but which has had to be removed to allow building work. Should it be fixed to a wall 50 yards to the west of the barn, making it easier for people on the west of the village to see, or 50 yards to the east, with the opposite effect. In the end a compromise was reached - the new notice board will be a free standing one on the village green, just 10 yards from its old position. Long live local democracy!