Most people in the village are aware of the Village Café, which takes place on alternate Saturday mornings in the hall; Saturday, 14 June the Village Hall Committee will be running the café with a special theme of Portesham Showcase with a wide range of hobbies and crafts on display.

There are many very talented people in the village and items will include artwork, photography, needlework, cane work and rocking horses as well as poems and limericks.

As always entry if free, the café is open from 10am to 12 noon and it sounds like an excellent show of what our friends and neighbours are capable of.

Those of you with children or grandchildren will know that the play-park on the glebeland has been demolished as the equipment was deemed to be dangerous.

An Action Group has been set up and is working hard to raise funds; most houses in the village will have received a leaflet with details of how you can help.

On Saturday, 14 June they are holding a Pampered Chef Night with a Ready Steady Cook' contest between two well-known characters; the names of these characters is a well kept secret at present but it sounds like fun, and a different idea for fund raising.

Tickets are £5.00 each and available from the Post Office.

The British Legion trip to Exbury Gardens could not have been on a wetter day! It poured with rain from early morning until we were almost home in the late afternoon, but even that sort of weather couldn't spoil the day for garden lovers.

The garden is famous for azaleas and rhododendrons and we were there at the peak time for them, the colours were breathtaking and the perfume in places quite heady.

A splendid, if very soggy, day out.

I know it is only June but do forgive me for mentioning the Christmas Shopping weekend arranged by the Legion, this will take place from Friday, 28 November to Monday, 1 December.

Travel will be by luxury coach via the Channel Tunnel and will be based at a three star hotel in Ypres visiting Liege's Village de Noël, and Christmas markets in Lille and Ostend.

The trip is open to non-members and is competitively priced, for more details telephone Des Baker on 01305 267617 Following on from a Christmas date I have to tell you about the 2009 Portesham calendar! It will be on sale soon and I think even better that last year, so watch this space.

There will be a very special Open Garden event in the village on Sunday, July 6 when two important gardens in the village will be open to raise funds for Portesham Methodist Church and St Peter's Church.

Nethergrove garden in Winters Lane is the home of internationally renowned sculptor Marzia Colonna and the showcase for many of her sculptures.

Portesham House, the one time home of Admiral Hardy, is a beautiful streamside garden recently renovated by the present owners.

There will be flower festivals in both churches, lunches and teas in the Methodist Schoolroom and by the pond, and cake and plant stalls on the green.