FRANK Pluckrose celebrated his birthday on October 22, by coming home from hospital.

He'd been taken to NHH six days earlier when, at 3am, his condition suddenly worsened.

However, a short stay in an isolation ward while his white cell blood count was boosted, care from "wonderful doctors" plus a lot of laughter with visiting family and friends, and one of the village's most popular residents was back home again.

Meanwhile, June has also been in the wars. Her other shoulder has gone like the first and she now has what are called two "Milwaukee shoulders".

VACANT possession: Down in Lower Ellisfield we hear a lot of owls calling from the woods. But higher up the village they're not so fortunate.

Now, three owl boxes built by Roger Freeman are awaiting new tenants.

Two of the boxes at the top of the village are designed for barn owls and the third one nearer Lower Common is designed for a family of little owls.

CONCORDE: Sad to say goodbye to Concorde.

It regularly flew over Ellisfield on proving flights in the early '70s and Sue Dolding, who used to live in Ivy Cottage, said her pheasants regularly fell out of the trees just before Concorde flew over.

Certainly, on the Axford Road, there was regularly a huge cacophony of squawking pheasants around that time.