REHEARSALS are going "spiffingly" for The Princess and The Pea, this year's Worthy Players' pantomime set to take place in Jubilee Hall, Kings Worthy, at the beginning of December. Backstage, the set is taking shape and those busy sewing machines in the wardrobe department are turning out a plethora of colourful costumes. A staple of many a panto is the pair of ne'er-do-well henchmen; in this case the Pea Squad, comprised of Mushy and Mange-Tout. They are out looking for a suitable princess for the prince to marry, with dubious assistance from Jerry the Jester. Please note that tickets are selling much faster than in previous years. All details for buying them are on the Worthy Players' website: theworthyplayers.co.uk.

LOCAL grass-fed lamb is on offer from Worthy Lamb in Kings Worthy and the surrounding area. Leg joints are available for £22 per kilogramme and shoulder joints are available for £16 per kilogramme. Lamb mince is £15 per kilogramme. A half lamb box can also be purchased for £125. Email kworthylamb@gmail.com or call 07508 853658 to order.

THE Worthies Sports and Social Club is hosting its seasonal Christmas Fair. On Sunday, December 8, between 11am and 3pm, the event in Kings Worthy will have live music, a tombola, crafts and produce, face painting and a raffle, as well as an open bar. The club's address is Loader Close, Lovedon Lane, Kings Worthy.

THE next full council meeting for Sparsholt Parish Council will take place on January 16. This comes after the council's recent discussion and approval of the budget for next year. It was decided to not increase the precept (the total amount of money raised for the Parish Council) from this year's amount of £22,608. This amount covers the regular expenditure of the council. 

KINGS Worthy Parish Council has produced an information page on its website for the revised bus routes in place during the London Road closure which started last week. The bus will be accessing and leaving the village via the Cart and Horses junction. The council has worked with its mapping provider Parish Online and produced an interactive map with layers showing the revised route and the stops served. The blue section of the route will be served in both directions with the red route served in the direction of the red arrows only. This map will be updated if the information changes or additional temporary stops are introduced.

FIRST aid courses will be held in Martyr Worthy Village Hall. Spaces are available for the following new first aid courses with Mandy Oakley from ‘Every Life First Aid Training’: A four week course for Mini Medics (ages 7-11) on Wednesday evenings from 6pm until 7pm starting January 8. These cost £45; a three-hour First Aid For Teens course on Saturday, January 4. The price for this course is £45 and includes cookies and hot chocolate; a three-hour Emergency First Aid course on Saturday, January 18. This course costs £60 and will include tea, coffee and cake. 

AFTER the success of his last performance in , modern magician and escape artist Greg Chapman (creator and performer of "The Non-Psychic ‘Psychic’ Show" and writer of "Greg and Felicity’s History of Magic") is taking to the stage with a new show, in which he performs effects and escapes inspired by Houdini, and shares some of the stories, both true and exaggerated, that make up "The Legend of Houdini". The show will be coming to The Worthys Jubilee Hall in Kings Worthy on March 21, and there are still tickets available. Though aimed at primarily at adults, the show is suitable for ages eight and older, so an evening of live entertainment for the family. Tickets can be found at ticketsource.co.uk.