It's a tragedy for local Guides and for the current Brownies, who will now have no Guide Unit to join when they are 10. If a few people have a couple of hours a week to spare as a volunteer for Girlguiding UK, the Guide Unit could be re-opened to continue to offer benefits to local youngsters. For more information, contact Elaine Thorogood on 01296 661540.

CHRISTMAS MARKET LATEST. St Mary's Church, Ivinghoe with Pitstone, is holding a Christmas Market in Ivinghoe Old School and Ivinghoe Lawn this year as a change from the usual Christmas Bazaar. The event is from 11am to 3pm on Saturday December 10 and, for anyone who would like to be a stall holder and sell their own items, the price is just £15. Contact Maggie on 01296 668644 for more details.

RIDERS AND STRIDERS HIT JACKPOT. The Bucks Historic Churches Trust sponsored bike ride and walk has raised a record £567 locally, thanks to the efforts of Izzy, Mary, Tracey and the Grimmette family. The idea of the event was for people to cycle or walk a route that enabled them to visit historic churches and raise sponsorship money for the trust and their own local church building projects.

In all, 31 people visited and signed in at St Mary's Church, Ivinghoe with Pitstone, 23 visited and signed in at Ivinghoe Chapel and 16 signed in at Pitstone Church. Alex Wynne thanked "all the generous sponsors, and our energetic teams for all their hard work and for collecting all that money too." She also thanked everyone who manned the churches throughout the day.

A MURDERING VICAR? Ivinghoe Vicar Tracey Doyle will be amongst the suspects at a Murder Mystery Evening in the EGM Hall, Slapton on Saturday November 10 at 7.30pm. Teams of six will be pooling their detective skills to try and find out who killed Billy Bonka with an exploding Easter egg. Tickets are just £7.50 per person, which includes a three-course meal and a glass of wine. To book your team in and buy your tickets, contact Tracey on 01296 668260 or Wendy on 01525 221202.

PIANIST WANTED. St Mary's Church, Ivinghoe with Pitstone's choir is still looking for a pianist who could come and accompany their singing at choir practices on a Thursday night from 7.30pm to 9pm. The choir are a lively, friendly bunch who love singing all sorts of music - not just hymns! To find out more, contact Tracey on 01296 668260.

AUTHOR AT ARTS & CRAFTS FAIR. Local children's author Sue Hampton will It's a tragedy for local Guides and for the current Brownies, who will now have no Guide Unit to join when they are 10. If a few people have a couple of hours a week to spare as a volunteer for Girlguiding UK, the Guide Unit could be re-opened to continue to offer benefits to local youngsters. For more information, contact Elaine Thorogood on 01296 661540.

TAIZE SERVICE: Taize is the name of an ecumenical Christian men's monastic order, founded by Brother Roger in 1940 when he went to live in France as the head of a religious community. Life within the community focuses on prayer and meditation and Taize music emphasises simple phrases, usually lines from psalms or other verses of scripture.

The chants are usually sung several times. A Taize Service is planned for Sunday November 18 at 6pm in the peace and tranquillity of Pitstone Church. The service of prayer and quiet reflection will be lit by candlelight and the Taize chants will be led by St Mary's Church, Ivinghoe with Pitstone, choir. To find out more, contact Vicar Tracey Doyle on 01296 668260 or Sandra Green on 01296 668648.

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE. The annual Service of Remembrance will be held at St Mary's Church, Ivinghoe with Pitstone, at 9.30am on Sunday November 11. At the beginning of the service, representatives from the Royal British Legion and other organisations in the villages will present their standards.

The speaker will be Charles Taylor and the service will conclude with the Act of Remembrance at the war memorial.