With just 210 parishioners Ufton Parish Council has recently become the smallest parish in England to be awarded Best Quality status. Reporter Emma Stone went to discover what it means to be a true Uftonite and what it is like to be part of a village community in 2005.

The council: Working for the people

Members of Ufton's parish council were delighted when their hard work was recognised with a recent charter mark.

The best quality status is awarded to well-run councils that work effectively on behalf of their community.

Parish council clerk Gillian Ingram, who was also tested on her administration skills in order to secure the award said: "We represent the village in our dealings with the local council and the county council and all other bodies we come into contact with.

"The council thought that it was worth while going for the status because it gives the parishioners confidence that the council is being well run and well organised and is competent.

"I had to take a course in local council administration covering planning, finance and in particular communication with the parishioners."

The quality accreditation is a government initiative developed in partnership with the National Association of Local Councils, the Countryside Agency and the Local Government Association as part of its local government modernisation.

Communication with its parishioners was one of the main reasons that Ufton secured the coveted title.

Mrs Ingram said: "We had a village appraisal that showed the views and needs of people and what they would like to see in the village, out of that came the concern about speeding traffic. From that came our speed review which was accepted this year and we got a 30mph limit introduced."

The Take Time Out Club was also created as a result of the village appraisal.

Each month the club holds a taster class in a difference subject from local history to painting with watercolours.

Anyone from the village or from neighbouring areas are welcome to join in the activities.

Gillian added: "We were delighted, we are the smallest parish in England to get this award. We felt we had done well. We hope that the council will go on being representative of the parish and doing good things."

Parish council chairman John Tayler said: "We are delighted to be the smallest parish to achieve quality status. Our task now is to maintain our standards and our accreditation entitles us to have a greater say in our negotiations with the county and district councils to ensure that we get the best deals we can for our parishioners."

A resident: People pull together in times of need

Parish councillor Paul Leeman moved to the village in 1979 and says he was made to feel welcome as a newcomer to Ufton.

He said: "When we first moved here our neighbours went out of their way to welcome us and get us to join in. They also got us to join them down the White Hart on a Friday night, which was the thing to do."

The quietness of the village is something that appeals to Mr Leeman but he claims it wouldn't appeal to everyone.

He said: "I like the quietness and I like the fact that people are not in each other's pockets. They let you get on with your own life but you can get involved if you want to.

"It's a happy place to live, it's a pleasant and nice village. If you want to go to a disco on a Friday night don't bother coming to Ufton, we don't have them - but we do have the odd Whist Drive!"

Mr Leeman believes there is a strong community in Ufton that often comes together for the benefit of the village.

Most notably were the improvements to the village hall that were carried out in 2003. He said: " We had a problem with the village hall floor, we had to have a completely new floor but we couldn't afford it. Because we couldn't afford it we put out an appeal to the villagers to help. A great number of the villagers contributed their labour and their help and some even bought out tea and sandwiches. It worked well and it had a lot of community spirit about it."

He added: "If things need doing here they get done, It's not a village where people think 'that is someone else's responsibility', it asks 'how many people will it take to do that'. It's just a question of being a community."

The landlady: The focal point of a rural community

Central to every rural community is the village pub, in Ufton The White Hart Inn is run by newcomers to the village Marion and Robert Jones.

The couple who have only been in the village for a year were first attracted to the village by its picturesque views.

Mrs Jones said: "It was the view from the car park, you can see for miles, right across the Malvern Hills."

The landlady explained that she much preferred running pubs in more rural settings as opposed to towns.

She said: "You get to know the village and become part of the community. We can join in the community as well as hold things for it.

"We always say that it takes about two years to settle in, but we're getting quite a lot of support from the locals.

"There are about 20 locals who use the pub all the time, as well as a lot of it is passing trade."

The pair has recently been organising events that members of the village have supported.

She added: "We've just had a karaoke, which went extremely well and we are planning to hold a race evening soon."

The church: Run by volunteers

Running a nursery and later a Sunday Club at Ufton's St Michael's Church, June Shepherd has ensured that the children in the village have been kept entertained during their early years.

The fortnightly Sunday club forms part of the children's time in church and was created two years ago by a group of mum's in the village.

Recently the children have been in contact with an Ugandan school and have been exchanging letters with them.

Mrs Shepherd is also one of the 15-strong congregation that attends St Michael's and All Angel's Church in the village on a Sunday.

She said: "The whole of the church is run by volunteers, there is a rota for the cleaning, the brass and the flowers."

Mrs Shepherd who moved to the village 36 years ago with her husband David says she has seen a lot of changes in her time there.

She said: "I was very much a Leamington person but my husband was from a village and he said he really wanted to move back to the village and so we moved to Ufton.

"It isn't the typical English village that was here when I moved here 36 years ago. Then we had deliveries such as paper, bread, milk and lemonade and the doctor only did home visits, I think that's a typical village."

"It has changed, there's no doubt since I came to the village. There used to be a school, but like most villages when the school goes there is a big difference."

The historian: Tales bring records up to date

Having lived in the village for 65 years, Sylvia Beards was the perfect candidate to bring Ufton's historical records up to date.

The current records only document the history of the village until the 1970s and now work has begun to bring them up to 2005.

She said: "I was born at Hill Farm in the village and I spent all of my childhood there. Someone had written a history of the village up to 1972 and it was suggested that I should be the one to bring it up to date. So I started to write a few notes."

Tales of maggot farms, unwanted animals and lightning strikes have surfaced so far but Mrs Beards' own recollections have also been able to add to the archive.

Mrs Beards, 65, said: "During World War Two there were a lot of prisoners who worked at the cement works and some were in fact pleased to continue working rather than returning to their own countries to fight. There were some great craftsmen there - I can remember some beautiful toys being made."

She added: "We also have some of the tallest trees in the county in the rectory garden. I remember one of them being struck with lighting in 1975, there were splinters in the ground eight foot-high when it struck, it was in the middle of a Monday afternoon."

With 65 years of Ufton life under her belt Mrs Beards has no thoughts of leaving the village.

She said: "I like the position with the wood and the nature reserve. In general the people are nice and they're neighbourly and helpful."

The school: The final class of '79

Parting shot: Ufton Primary School pupils and teachers line up for the school photograph in 1979 just before it closed. They are: back row, from left, Mrs Kane, Dorian Beards, Darren Hall, Graham France, Adam Brain, Miles Shepherd, Simon Broom, Andrew Saunders, Paul Bearman, Mrs Bailey; middle row: Jennifer Chimes, Karen Brain, Amanda Hiatt, Lindsey Broom, Lisa Shepherd, Sandra Hiatt, Josephine Beards; front row: Fiona Mc Curdey, Julia Bicknell, unknown, Jeryl Shepherd.