KITCHEN DESIGN comes to the valley in real style, from tomorrow. Visage Kitchen Studio opens where Cokers used to be. Stefan and Maria Bomok have lived in the valley for a couple of years and have been running their business devoted to design and development of kitchens during that time, but without the benefit of a retail outlet. Now you can experience their new showroom. As they say themselves, it is not just another showroom, but one with style, simplicity and sophistication. I have seen it during construction, and it is quite stunning, reminiscent of very up-market magazines.

They have a contemporary range, designed by Italian designer Paolo Battistoni called The Errebi Collection. The range features the most up-to-date materials and production ideas with a choice of over 150 colours in different finishes. You can even have your favourite photograph digitally reproduced to create a cabinet door.

They also have French and traditional British ranges, including handcrafted, bespoke styles, with an eye for fine detail.

The equipment in the studio is by leading manufacturers with the latest innovations in lighting, energy saving ideas, recycling and accessories.

It is very encouraging to see the shop, next to the estate agents, open again and Stefan and Maria emphasise their doors are always open for friendly advice on how to make the best of your kitchen area, but they would particularly welcome you on their opening day tomorrow.

TWOGETHER came out last weekend. The big day for St. Mary's, the Anglican half of the Valley Church Partnership, their fortieth birthday, was reported here last week. Not surprisingly, it is also featured in the June/July issue of the Valley Church magazine. There are reports on all the activities connected to the Valley Church. Some of these are actual services, and the advantage of having Anglicans and Methodists acting together in the valley means that there is a wide range of provision at a variety of times, from the extremely informal, monthly CATS (Carers and Toddlers service) at 2pm on a Thursday to the traditional Anglican Holy Communion, at 9.15am on Sunday mornings. It's not just about services of course; Brownies, Guides and Rangers, Mums and Toddlers, various house groups they've all been busy and their activities all appear. It's interesting to see the contribution made to the community as a whole by the church, from the quiet visits to Aubrey Ward House and to the Community Hospital, to their much more obvious presence at the Rose Carnival.

Incidentally, it is a pointer to the strong sense of community among our valley organisations that the Valley Church puts such emphasis on the Rose Carnival in its advert in Twogether.

THOSE FLIMSY plastic bags that were on sale for lining bins that contain the perishable waste for the council's new green recycling bin system have been proving a problem up at Booker. Although our household and some others found they started to degenerate even before the fortnightly collection, it seems they did not disintegrate fast enough for the purpose of the processes up at the tip, where, I believe, they contributed to obstructions in the equipment. They are being replaced by stout brown paper bags that should be sufficiently robust to contain perishable materials, while being easy to macerate properly in the composting procedure. They are on sale now at Marlow Bottom News and at OneStop.

FAMOUS IN THE FREE PRESS are this term's new starters at St Mary's Pre-school. They are Kira Dharival, Joel Scurlock, Chiara Hodgson and Emily Dean. One day they will learn who Andy Warhol was and why this mention should bring them their deserved 15 minutes of fame. Good luck, and I hope I have got their names right.

Recently, the pre-school ran a quiz night, which intriguingly also incorporated a test of potato sculpture, and it brought in more than £300 for new equipment. This week they have been collecting stickers for Walk to School Week and Barry Simms has been teaching the children how to cross the road safely.

VALLEY NEWS is out. As you will see elsewhere, it may have got to Australia before some roads in the valley, but it should be worth waiting for. One point that did amuse me was the cover photograph showing Eddie Baker in front of the St Mary's celebration congregation. I took the picture and was aware that Eddie was actually photographing the congregation at the time. His picture, with me and camera at the back, is published in the latest Twogether, and there was no collusion.

DON'T FORGET the WI fair next Thursday at 10am in the village hall. If you're after cakes, get there early; this is Marlow Bottom after all. If you miss out, there's a chance of a Danish pastry at their taster afternoon at 2pm, same day, same place. If you're still unlucky, your £1 admission buys you biscuits with your cup of tea.

WHEN I posted it last Friday afternoon at 4.50pm, I impressed on Ron in the Post Office that, if they could get last week's packet to Basra in 36 hours, I thought Monday morning was a reasonable target to get Valley News to Melbourne. Do you know what, after all that, the Cornells didn't get their copy until Tuesday morning OK, that was Monday night our time, I grant you, but what's the post coming to? I think I might try a postcard to Barnsley this week now there's a challenge.

CLEARED this week, the valley's greatest collection of old cars, vans and trucks has been removed from the woods behind Goodwood Rise. WDC has managed to find a method of enforcement to impound the couple of dozen or so decrepit vehicles that have become a hazard. It was felt that youngsters, who could clearly recognise that the vehicles had been abandoned, might get injured if they tried breaking them further or even setting up fires. There was also a risk of fires getting out of hand in the dry material of the woodland. Because the owner of the land could not be traced, I understand the cost has had to be borne initially by Wycombe Disreict Council but there are legal procedures in place for recovering the money in the event of the land changing hands.