TWOGETHER comes out this Sunday. As is expected of a church magazine, there are reports on christenings, weddings, Guide and Brownie packs, and the various social events connected with the Methodist and Anglican partner churches here in the Valley.

More unexpectedly, perhaps, there are also items giving very individual accounts of the unconventional ways of life experienced by friends and family of church members in some very far away places. In fact, one of the features of the magazine is that so much of the material is original, expressing personal responses to events and issues.

Extensive coverage of this summer's Lighthouse (yes, really) in Marlow, for example, is provided by a cross-section of those involved, sharing their impressions. There are personal responses too, both to the assassination of an international church figure in France and the memorial service for Anthony Wethered in Marlow. In fact, you get a lot of reading for 60p. On sale at the newsagents or available from either of the churches.

CATCHING a captive bred and trained bird of prey is usually easy, if you are trained for it. You offer it a titbit of meat from a heavily gauntleted hand and it will come to retrieve it, partly because it fancies something to eat and partly because it is a ritual that it recognises as part of its daily routine.

If you are an American Red-tailed Hawk and you find yourself in Goodwood Rise or Badgebury Rise, you may take a different attitude. After all, you are in raptor nirvana with an uninterrupted supply of fresh pigeon and other delicacies, so a bit of biltong in a glove hardly competes, particularly when what you really crave is a lively plump rattle-snake.

Such a bird has been around for a couple of weeks and the only immediate threat to its well-being is that it still has a jess and swivel attached to its leg. That's the little leather thong that falconers use to attach the bird to line or perch. This could get tangled in a tree branch and cause the renegade to meet an untimely end.

Strangely, there has been no loss reported to the Raptors Breeders Register and the only sure way of identifying the bird's owner is to inspect the ring on its leg.

It's a chunky and powerful bird, much larger in body than a Red Kite, though with a much smaller wing-span, reportedly even capable of despatching a young muntjac. If you think you see it, within minutes ring local falconer Jim on 01628 440627 he'll try a juicier piece of biltong.

GIANT CROCODILES will appear on Marlow Bottom next Wednesday. Burford School are encouraging as many children as possible to walk to school during this year's National Walk to School Week', which will be held from Monday to Friday, October 7.

Although Burford has been running successful organised walks to school for years, headteacher, Andrew Bowie and the school's transport committee are eager to encourage more to acquire the habit. Andrew points out that it improves children's health, reduces traffic and pollution and increases children's awareness of roads and the disciplines required to negotiate them safely. Probably does a lot for social self-confidence too.

There are incentives for participation. Various points rewards within school will encourage personal and class involvement, but as an additional incentive for children to participate, Ted from TJ O'Reilly's is kindly donating free meal vouchers to all participating children, valid for lunch and early evening with each adult meal purchased. Now that's community spirit indeed.

The enormous crocodiles will leave TJ's and Highwoods Drive at 8.15am on Wednesday and both Mr Bowie and Mrs Mathieson will both be walking.

Oh, one final plea from Andrew, please don't park near the Highwoods junction or outside TJ's until after about 9am that morning.

COFFEE MORNING that lasts all day is to be the biggest one in the valley and part of the biggest in the world today. In support of the Macmillan cancer relief organisation, Joyce Howard with the use of the Visage kitchen shop, tables and chairs from wherever she can get them and prizes and donations from many residents and companies, hopes you will all come some time today to swell the funds.

There are some very impressive prizes, excellent coffee donated by Nespresso, and things to buy. Do come along; a lot of people have put a lot of effort into this event.

COMMUNITY ACTION is also in the news as a group of six mums from Marlow Bottom have got together to join the fight against breast cancer by taking up the Breakthrough £1000 Challenge. Their commitment to raising this sum for Breakthrough Breast Cancer was inspired by one of the group's personal experience of the disease.

The group is organising a 70s and 80s disco extravaganza on Saturday October 8 at Eve's in TJ O'Reilly's from 8pm until 12.30am.

They are already well on their way to reaching their target through ticket sales and are attracting wide interest. One of them said "We are awarding prizes for the best-dressed disco King and Queen, so we're hoping that everybody will dress up in their favourite 70's outfit".

They have also got a lot of support from organisations, both local and distant, who have donated prizes for the raffle.

Call Deborah Krolikowski on 07802 879022 for tickets or to make a donation.

TAWNY OWLS are being surveyed by the British Trust for Ornithology. The study runs from this Sunday until next April. You need to listen for twenty minutes once a week, but not so rigorously, and record which of three different characteristic calls you hear.

Christine Cooke contacted me to suggest that valley dwellers might like to participate because these wooded slopes appear to have a particularly thriving and vociferous population.

You can phone on 01842 750050 or email for more information to gbw@bto.org