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CHURCHWARDEN’S JOTTINGS
(May 23, 2016)The Fete – didn’t we do well?
Who would have thought we could have raised so much money! Just over £4000. A magnificent total if I may say so.
Where do I start with my thank yous? Well firstly each of you that joined us on the 14th May and participated in the afternoon. Events do not happen by themselves and we are blessed with the fact that we have some very talented people who give their time so freely. Mervyn Hosking has a pedigree of organising such excellent events. But behind every good man there is – a very talented team. Who could have failed to see all of the banners Paul Ryecroft made and hung everywhere? He must be bannered out by now! Not content, he also had a fantastic human one armed bandit sideshow which had everyone talking.
If you are thinking of arranging a draw or a raffle, then there is one person who has proven she is a supremo at organising and selling tickets and that is Helen Mortimer. Helen, I take my hat off to you. You did a fantastic job.
The WI is an integral part of the fete, run as always on military lines by commander in chief, Polly Davey. They did not falter. But did you notice the man in the background who was integral to their success? His name was Ern (aka John Wood) who spent the entire afternoon topping up the water urns to ensure that the WI tea tent and the rock choir provisions tent were able to produce those necessary teas and coffees. As the weather improved throughout the afternoon ice-cream was the order of the day. We were really pleased that The Orange Elephant was there to supply that ice-cream and our thanks also go to the young farmers for their delicious BBQ.
The little red tractor with Andy at the throttle, chugged around the village for 2 days delivering equipment to the set up crew in the field and then returning the items to their homes as the take down crew packed away. The dog show was a great draw, thanks to Peter and Sue and to all those who manned stands and stalls and oversaw the car parking and 101 little jobs that were handed out.
Finally, a huge thank you to Bruce Slade. Without Bruce’s co-operation and the consent of the Trehill Estate, we would not have been able to use the field, which I am sure you will agree with me is a perfect venue.
A classic village get together, that was so quintessentially British.
Day to Day running
I was asked the other day, by one of our overseas coach party visitors how much it costs to keep our beautiful little church open. So I thought, better ask our treasurer for the current figure, as he will know. He confirmed that to keep St Andrew’s open and functioning (but no works/extras) we need the sum of £365 per week. Our income, without our fundraising events and bequests and donations, is not sufficient to meet those basic outgoings. A sobering thought!
4pm Service
Throughout the summer, Rev Mark Bate is to continue to conduct a 4pm Eucharist Service on the first Sunday of each month (barring November). The idea is that those who like a slower start on a Sunday or have other commitments in the morning have an alternative service time. The dates of the services can be found on the St Andrew’s what’s on weekly sheets displayed on all of the village notice boards and the post office in addition to our web site.
St Andrew’s on Facebook
St Andrew’s may be 13th century but we are certainly operating in the 21st century! Our church secretary, Ayesha Lovell, has established a face-book presence for the church with lots of information and pictures to be viewed. I have viewed and some of those pictures are fantastic. So if you are on face-book, you know what to do.
Coffee Mornings
Have you popped into one of our Thursday coffee mornings? It is ideal for all. Providing an opportunity for people both young and old and those in between to get together. Our next coffee morning is Thursday 16 June at St Andrew’s, 10:30 – noon. Hope to see you there.
The Loos
Our architect has now submitted our formal application for a faculty (the church equivalent of a planning application) for the revised proposals. Watch this space.
Stop Press!
St Andrew’s was visited by a VIP last week. The Bishop of Exeter was passing by and popped in to look around our beautiful church. (I hope he wasn’t looking for the loo!). He left a message in our visitors book saying how much he appreciated the beauty of our church and commented that that it looked very cared for and loved.
Simon Preece
Churchwarden