Food and Friendship is a free-of-charge service available to Meals on Wheels customers who would like a regular visit from a friendly volunteer around mealtimes. It is run by Age Concern Hampshire and has been funded by Hampshire County Council and the District Councils. It is available currently in East Hampshire, Basingstoke and Deane, Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Hart, Rushmoor, Test Valley and Winchester. The volunteers help make mealtimes a little more enjoyable, chat about things that interest the client and let them know what is going on in their local community. They can also offer ideas on healthy snacks and meals, for which full training and support is provided by Age Concern Hampshire. If you would like any more information about Food and Friendship in your community, or know anyone who would be interested in volunteering, please contact the Coordinator, Paul Simmonds, on 01962 892455 or by email at food&friendship@ageconcernhampshire.org.uk. Food and Friendship has produced its latest newsletter.

Lindford Ladies is a friendship group of women from Lindford and the surrounding area, from all walks of life and ages. It meets monthly on the second Monday of each month mostly at the Methodist Church Hall. Women of all ages are very welcome. Activities are wide-ranging from talks about trips to New Zealand to making Christmas crackers, from quizzes to knitting. For further details contact Michaela Canning.

Pollyanna Preschool has been offering high quality childcare since 1989 and we are situated at Lindford Church Hall, Chase Road, Lindford. We offer and provide an exciting, happy, safe, secure, challenging, inquisitive and stimulating environment both inside and outside. We encourage all children to develop friendships as well as the confidence and new skills required for their early years in school. We are an approved provider to offer funding for 2 year old and 3 year old children. For a prospectus, to arrange a visit or further information please contact Mrs Lesley Cooper on either 01420 476114 or by email.

You can find the latest programme for the Phoenix Theatre by following this link.

Steady and Strong exercise classes offer a better balance for life and it is never to late to start!

The Alton and District Group of the Ramblers Association is a very friendly group of walkers. There is a programme of weekday and Sunday walks on the website. During the week, on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, there is always a short walk of about 5 miles and usually every other week a longer one of about 10 miles. On one evening each week in the summer, there is a walk of about 5 miles. The Sunday walks are between 10 and 12 miles. This is a wonderful way to keep fit and to make new friends.

There is a local Walking for Health group in Bordon Whitehill that meets every Monday at 10.30am for a 2 to 3 mile walk. There are also groups at Headley, Kingsley, Liphook and Alice Holt Forest: see the Walking for Health website for more information. Leader training courses are offered and East Hants District Council occasionally offers training days.

Alton and its surrounding countryside provide lots of wonderful opportunities for walking. Walk Alton is a group of local volunteers working to develop walking activities in the Alton area. The group wants to encourage walking both for recreation and to support local initiatives to improve people’s health and well-being. The development of walking facilities will benefit both local people and visitors. Walk Alton is developing a website to highlight the many benefits of walking. It will be signposting the many beautiful short and medium distance walks the area offers, along with the longer distance trails like the Hangers Way, the Writers’ Way and St Swithun’s Way, as well as introducing the various walking clubs and initiatives that exist, including the highly popular month long Alton walking festival.

Walk Alton is seeking to regain Alton’s accreditation as a Walkers are Welcome destination https://walkersarewelcome.org.uk/walkers-are-welcome-and-who-we-are/. Affiliation to this nationwide network of towns and villages will give wider publicity to Alton as a walking destination and help to demonstrate that Alton is a walk-friendly town. It will also help promote tourism and bring new footfall to Alton and the surrounding area.

Helen Dudley is secretary and treasurer of Walk Alton. Her contact details are: helendudley78@sky.com, tel 07887-744959].

The Deadwater Valley Trust (DVT) has a monthly dog walking group and a monthly working party in Hogmoor Inclosure on the third Saturday of each month.

Members of the Bordon Business Exchange (http://www.bordonbusinessexchange.com/) meet on the first Tuesday of the month from 8.00-10.00am at The Royal Exchange, Lindford. The format is informal networking over breakfast, then a short update on the Bordon and Whitehill regeneration project at 9 am. This is followed by a 20 minute presentation celebrating the successes and failures of a local business, followed by a led discussion. Other more specialised events could potentially ‘spin off’ from this general networking forum. For example, a startup ‘SOUP’ meeting is planned for the middle of the year to attract less established businesses in the area. Partners are: Red Mist (Julian Clarke); The B & W Regeneration Company (James Child); Enterprise Nation (Emma Selby).