MANY a mighty oak has sprung forth from just a little acorn and there can be no better metaphor to describe the success of Pershore Community Arts Centre. Yesterday's visit by the Duke of Edinburgh set the seal on more than 10 years of hard work and the Worcester News is more than happy to report this important milestone for the building and chronicle the efforts of all those who hold it dear.

We should be in no doubt how projects like this get off the ground. They come about through the sheer hard work of a dedicated few. While the rest of us put our feet up after a day's work, small numbers of enthusiasts sow the seeds for everyone's future. Often, as in this case, an action group kickstarts the process and a suitable building is found. There then proceeds a period of fund-raising which in turn is followed by some ardent lobbying of trusts, foundations and grant-giving bodies. Then - and only then - can the project team start to consider programming and the direction of the fledgling enterprise.

Over the last few years, the arts have assumed a much greater profile in our lives. There is scarcely a centre of population in Worcestershire that doesn't stage its own festival or boast of a thriving arts centre. Indeed, the public is fast developing a thirst for culture that will soon rival its long-running love affair with sport. Pershore's Number 8, as it is known in abbreviated form, helps to meet our more cerebral needs. We call on all of you to support this venture and help this oak grow even taller.