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4 days ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
BOOTS certainly are made for walking in the case of one Ilmington resident raising money for a local charity. Kate Allen is putting her experience of long distance walking and hiking to raise funds for Shipston Hospice Care. In May, she set out on her longest walk to date- the 1180 miles between Lands End and John O’Groats. Kate expects this will take around 96 days to complete, but she’ll not be alone.
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6 days ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
THE conductor and founder of singing group The Stour Singers is hanging up his baton later this month, bringing to an end a stellar 50-year career. Richard Emms founded the Shipston group back in 1975 and, after a long career, his final performance will be their 50th anniversary show. Richard formed the group through a class called ‘Magical Singing’ at an evening centre in the town.
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6 days ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
STRATFORD Pursuits Festival takes place for the second time this weekend. Following a successful 2024, the festival will take place on 10th and 11th May. The weekend event will celebrate creativity, culture and community in Stratford. Taking place at the Recreation Grounds in the town, the festival will feature a broad range of activities, performances, and workshops.
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1 week ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
ARCHIE Saunders met his wife Nancy in a Spitfire manufacturing factory in Birmingham. Shortly after, he found himself on a boat bound for India and then Burma to serve his country in the Second World War. Barely 18 when the war broke out, Archie turned 104 on 6th May at the Tiddington Court Care Home where he has lived for the eight years.
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1 week ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
OLGA Hopkins joined the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce (WAAF) in December 1943 at 18 years old and trained to become a wireless mechanic. Originally from Pontyclun, south Wales, Olga spent just over a year in training before, in early 1945, she was sent to RAF Wellesbourne Mountfield. Working on the radio sets of Blenheim Bombers, it was Olga’s job to fix and maintain the equipment for cadets training to become pilots.
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1 week ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
RESIDENTS of two Warwickshire care homes took part in a VE Day celebration with a difference this week, and it’s one that required them to get limbered up for. Over 30 residents and friends from Great Alne Park in Alcester and Warwick’s Austin Heath retirement communities assembled for a top-secret flash mob on Tuesday 6th May outside Shakespeare’s Birthplace.
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1 week ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
YOU’RE out for a walk, or you’re in your garden, and a buzzing noise alerts you to a swarm of bees. It would be fair to say that instincts would tell you to get as far away as possible. But not Richard Cresswell. He is a swarm collector from Haselor who has kept bees for over 50 years. Being a collector is an important aspect of beekeeping as the role helps to keep colonies safe and strong by moving them into a hive and giving them a place to thrive.
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1 week ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
THERE is set to be a new owner at The King’s Arms pub in Cleeve Prior… but only after he outbid a community group which had planned to take over the venue. Chris Hawkins has had an offer accepted for the pub, which was potentially at risk after being put up for sale. With a background in horticulture and then the building trade, owning a pub isn’t something Chris has done before, but he said that there will be emphasis on it being a community pub and making everyone welcome.
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1 week ago | 
pjhollis123.medium.com | Patrick Hollis
Labour have lost one of its most traditional strongholds to the right, and a Reform foothold in County Durham has been replicated across most of the nation’s local electionsReform UK leader Nigel Farage has said his party is the main opposition in the UK. This claim was made after his party became the controlling power on some county councils. Staffordshire is one such area, where the party won 49 of the 62 seats, obliterating the Conservative dominance of the council.
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2 weeks ago | 
stratford-herald.com | Patrick Hollis
Published: 11:51, 01 May 2025 TODAY is polling day for Warwickshire and voters can have their say on who represents them on Warwickshire County Council. Every seat on the council is up for grabs, with the Conservatives currently in control. In the run-up to this election, the Herald has asked representatives of the five major parties about various issue relevant to voters. In this final edition, they were simply asked why people in Warwickshire should vote for them. Here are their answers.
