IT'S OUR HERITAGE: An important date for your diary is World Heritage Day', on Saturday, June 30, in Blaenavon.

Arrangements for celebrating the day are are now well under way.

Topping the bill at this year's event will be Mike Doyle, who will provide live comedy and musical entertainment.

There will be the Heritage Costume Parade' a Victorian fair, street acts, stalls, musical entertainment and the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car on display for children to explore.

Stalls: If any Blaenavon organisation would like a stall, contact Cath Thomas (secretary), on 01633 648002.

There is a booking fee of £10 for stalls, with cheques to be made payable to Blaenavon World Heritage Committee'.

Stallholders are asked to dress in Victorian or heritage costume to help keep the theme of the day.

THE HERITAGE COSTUME PARADE: Along with the schools' carnival project, there will also be workshops for adults and young people.

All the community is welcome to attend, the more the merrier.

There will be lots of sticking, glueing, cutting out, painting, sewing and laughter!

The World Heritage committee invites everybody in the community to join in the fun.

Do help make this year's Heritage Parade the best yet. You can walk as individuals or in a group, with your family and friends, or your organisation - So, just start getting those costumes ready.

BLAENAVON NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING TEAM: The next Partnership and Communities Together (PACT) meeting in Blaenavon will be held on June 14, at Blaenavon Workmen's Hall, at 7pm.

Pact meetings provide an opportunity for you to make your views count, and ensure that the issues which matter to you are dealt with effectively by police and partners.

This is the second PACT meeting in Blaenavon, it is a public meeting and everyone is welcome to attend, raise issues and receive feedback on issues discussed at the last meeting.

To contact your Neighbourhood Team for further information, telephone 01495 790452.

BLAENAVON POLICE STATION: Open surgery times at Blaenavon police station are as follows: Friday, June 8, 6pm to 9pm; Thursday, June 21, 9am to noon; Tuesday, July 10, 6pm to 9pm and Monday, July 23, 9am to noon.

Local neighbourhood officers, PC256 Ian Barnett and PCSO33 Pauline Lohfink, will be available to speak to members of the public during the above hours, so, please call in if you have any information, views or concerns about what is happening in Blaenavon.

COUNCILLOR'S SURGERIES: Blaenavon's three Torfaen county borough council members are Stuart Evans, Tom Huish and Neil Lewis, and all three councillors hold monthly surgeries.

Cllr Huish asked me to give details of his surgeries in a previous column, so, in the spirit of fairness, I now give details of other surgeries, which are: Cllr Stuart Evans' next surgeries are on Friday, June 15, at Blaenavon Workmen's Hall, 7pm to 8pm, and July 20, at Forge Side Community Centre, 7pm to 8pm.

You can contact him, on 01495 792335.

Cllr Neil Lewis' surgeries are the first Monday of every month at Blaenavon Workmen's Hall, between 6.30pm and 7.30pm. No appointment is needed. Contact him on 01495 790751.

BLAENAVON TRADERS AND TOURISM ASSOCIATION: The next BTTA meeting is on Wednesday, June 6, at 6.30pm, at Bethlehem Chapel schoolroom.

All traders are invited to attend. Guest speaker will be Emyr Morgan of Torfaen CBC, manager of the soon to open Blaenavon World Heritage Centre.

WELSH WATER: There has been considerable disruption to Blaenavon town centre since May 8, while Welsh Water have been carrying out water mains refurbishment work.

This was essential work, but has taken longer than anticipated, due to unforeseen problems arising during the whole operation.

However, we were assured that the work will be completed by last Friday.

Town centre traders thank customers for their patience during the work and hope they will continue to support the local shops.

BLAENAVON POET: I reported on the Blaenavon Spring Festival last week and have since received a poem, below, about the weekend from local lady, Mrs Avril Jones, of New James Street, Blaenavon.

Thank you, Avril, for putting pen to paper and sharing your thoughts with us all . . .

Spring Weekend Here in Blaenavon it's happened again, A lovely weekend, not one drop of rain; All kinds of demonstrations in the making The Welsh cake competition, excellent baking, Three days to show what our town can do, We needed more people to attend, especially you.

A concert was held at our own Workmen's Hall, An almost full house, enjoyed by us all; We were so lucky to have Catrin with her harp, Our own male voice choir also making their mark.

Many thanks to the traders who organised the weekend, And the many who came to town to attend; Our small town at the top of the tree, Will enjoy your company over a nice cup of tea.

by Avril Jones