It sounds a bit like The Twelve Days of Christmas without the partridge in the pear tree - four pairs of goats, three hundred fruit trees, two flocks of hens, one hive of bees and the tenth part of a cow - plus three weeks' training for farmers.

It is in fact the list of items to be donated to the Send A Cow scheme as a result of St James's Church's special Lent appeal which closed recently. Starting with the relatively modest aim of raising £125 to pay for a pair of goats, the response from West Malvern was so generous that appeal finally closed at a splendid £848.87. This was further boosted by Gift Aid tax relief to £1,033.39 - more than £1 for every voter in the parish - and will bring valued practical economic help to people in Africa.

This weekend should see the village bluebell field at its best, a startling sheet of colour facing the Old Hollow approach to the village. Breaking up the cover of bracken last summer does seem to have had the effect of allowing the flowers to be more visible this spring, though the areas that were cut seem to be a blooming a little later than elsewhere. And is it imagination, or are bluebells appearing this year in many new places around West Malvern, especially on the Hills? There are now two sizeable clumps in the sycamore wood above the Westminster spout, as well as odd plants alongside the track to the ridge, while dotted about elsewhere there are occasional glimpses of blue, even at the top of End Hill.

On the subject of the Westminster Spout, someone (but who?) seems to be trying to bring back into use the old 'hollow way' that runs from Westminster Bank straight up past the spout to the ridge of the Hills between Table Hill and the Sugar Loaf, continuing and on down Happy Valley into Great Malvern. This must have been an important direct route over the Hills for centuries, but fell into disuse when (presumably) the Victorians made a wider track with zig-zags to lessen the steepness of the climb. Lately, however, branches have been cut from some of the upstart sycamore trees, to clear the path which seems to be in fairly regular use. Both the old path and the newer track are public rights of way, but our conscientious parish footpaths officer Robin Whittlestone denies that it is he who is restoring the historic path to useability.