This event is to be held on the afternoon of Saturday 15^th February 2020
at The Bishops Frome Village Centre
Bishops Frome, Herefordshire, WR6 5AR

The first ROWBERRY Family Gathering was held in 2000, when it was a late celebration of my 50th birthday. Age has wearied me somewhat but I am still plodding on with the One-Name Study, and so this special birthday will also include another Mini ROWBERRY Family Gathering.

I would like to invite you to join us on this special day if you have any interest in the name ROWBERRY or one of its many variants or aliases found today or in the past. Those still extant, besides ROWBERRY include GOMERY, GUMERY, GUMMERY, REWBURY, ROBERY, ROEBURY, ROVERY, ROWBERY, ROWBORY, ROWBREE, ROWBREY, ROWBURREY, ROWBURY,RUBBERY, RUBBRA, RUBERRY, RUBERY, RUBREY, RUBRA, and RUBURY plus many other variants found in the past. Or indeed if you would just like to come along and find out what a One-Name Study is! We already have some members of the various families attending, but more are welcome to come! Please just let me know so that there is enough CAKE for you AND a tree to take home..... (see below for further details).

I’m using this event as an excuse to celebrate all facets of my life, hence the title Colliding World as I keep finding that they do!

Starting 11.30 for Car Meet at The Hop Pocket, Bishops Frome, WR6 5BT (see Map and directions below). Since the dog attack (whilst out ER Canvassing in October 2016) I have had increasing problems walking, due first to the damage caused to the hip replaced in 2012, and then the collapse of the good one in 2019. Also my eyes have been giving me problems with close and computer work, so the cars have somewhat replaced the Family History over the last few years. Thus I have made many good friends in The Car World and so the part of this celebration had to be a Car Meet!

All vehicles are welcome - it doesn't matter if you don't want to bring your precious classic or retro cars out in the cold, or even if you don't have one. Although I'm hoping that all three of my girls will find drivers to get them there. Here they are all lined up at Bishop’s of Bromyard waiting to go – their second home and mine, as I have now been a customer for the 20 years since I moved to Herefordshire. People ask why I have three of them - the answer is it was not intentional! POL2Y I bought in 2014 to replace a previous similar Escort Mk6 Ghia Cabriolet. Even that was not intentional, but having fallen over her on her owner's (a police officer from Bracknell in Berkshire!) mother's drive in Bishops Frome while out Electoral Regster Canvassing, I just had to leave a note saying "If you're ever interested in selling this car...". I didn't expect to hear more but I did... The other two I bought as donor cars as they both have the rare RS Trim; but then I found that they were too good to break, so they find themselves restored to the road!

12 noon Lunch at The Hop Pocket, Bishops Frome, WR6 5BT. If you wish to join us for lunch then please ring the Hop Pocket on 01531 640323 and ask to be added to Polly Rubery’s table. If you want to come to the Car Meet and not eat lunch then you are welcome to come in for coffee or other refreshments. Please note that you will have to pay for your own.

The photo shows EllenMay parked in a nearly empty car park at the Hop Pocket, not long after I put her back on the road in late September 2017. Please don't let us be all alone there on my birthday! I have obtained permission to have the exclusive use of the overflow car park beyond the fence behind her - where there is another shy car hiding in the photo.

At 2.30pm we will move a short distance up the road (see Map and directions below) to the Bishops Frome Village Centre, Bishops Frome, WR6 5AR, seen here in a photo taken from Lily. The Car Meet will continue here, and you are welcome to join us here at any time after that. And of course leave at any time at all!

From 3pm onwards the Village Centre will be open for FREE Hot and Cold drinks and nibbles (but don't spoil your appetite for Tea!), with various displays from all my different Worlds including Horses, Cars, Local, History, Books and last but not least, Family! This will include Trees and Research from The ROWBERRY One-Name Study.

At 4pm a FREE Buffet Tea will be served including CAKE, and maybe a toast! I hope that if nothing else you will be able to join us for this, please! However don't be in too much of a hurry to leave as the celebrations will continue on into the ...

Evening with Music by Lments of Sound, and a Pay Bar. If you have told me your favourite tipple then hopefully they will have it!

At 8pm The StarChip Enterprise will be ready to serve your Fish and Chips. They will dock earlier but please give them time to get up to warp speed! Please let me know if you wish to order Fish & Chips as these will be by prepaid ticket at £10/portion.

For those of you who actually read this invitation as part of my Christmas card PLEASE NOTE that there are two important changes. Firstly a different provider and arrangements for the Fish & Chip Supper, now being beamed in by StarChip Enterprise and secondly the postcodes for the two venues were transposed…. Sorry my cabs don’t have a SatNag…

Here are some directions and better maps too, with the correct postcodes:

Directions:

From the North M5 to Junction 7 then follow signs for Hereford along A4440 (Worcester Southern Link Road), and then A4103 (Worcester to Hereford road). Turn right following signs for Hop Pocket at the bottom of Fromes Hill.

From the South M5 to Junction 8 take M50 to Junction 2 take A417 to Ledbury and then B4214 for Bromyard. The Hop Pocket is on your right after crossing the A4103 Hereford to Worcester road.

From Gloucester take A417 to Ledbury and then B4214 for Bromyard. The Hop Pocket is on your right after crossing the A4103 Hereford to Worcester road.

Maps:

This Location Map shows all these various approaches to Bishops Frome. Click once on map to enlarge.

For Bishops Frome Village Centre carry on past Hop Pocket on your right for about 1 mile after leaving A4103; or turn right on exiting The Hop Pocket Craft Centre, as shown on this Map. Click once on map to enlarge.

And a close up map of the Village Centre.

I am not looking for presents, just your presence, although there will be donation buckets for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity . Responsible for funding and operating three air ambulances serving the communities of six Midlands counties: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. This constitutes the largest air ambulance operating region in the UK. Also I have made a Donation Page on Facebook for those of you who are not coming and would like to support this very worthwhile cause!

Please let me know if you are coming – surprises are nice, but we do need to have some idea of numbers for the catering please!