Udimore

Macmillan Coffee Morning: This must have been one of the best yet, much enjoyed by all of us who were there. Gill has asked me to thank everyone for their support, with special thanks to her hardworking team of helpers. The event again raised a lot of money, £650.90, making a total for Macmillan Cancer Care of some £2,500 in the past four years. We’re all very grateful to Gill for her sterling efforts during this time, at the end of which she wouldn’t mind passing the job on to someone else. So if you’d like to consider taking it on from her, please give her a ring (01424 882774). There would be no need to continue the event in its present format: it could simply be a coffee morning in the Hall, or in a private house, without the Bring and Buy element, or any other format of your choice.

Harvest Festival: At 9.30am this Sunday you’re all invited to bring along to St Mary’s Church harvest gifts – particularly tins, packets of biscuits, jars etc that can later be distributed by Family Social Work – to present at the altar during the monthly Sung Family Eucharist, probably led by Fr John Lee.

Messy Church: All messy churches will be welcome in the Hall at 4pm this Tuesday (October 7).

Art and Faith: From 7.30pm till 9pm this Wednesday (October 8) Matthew Burrows will be presenting the fourth in his fascinating series of talks and discussions about the appreciation of works of art, partly (and not exclusively) from a religious point of view. All will be welcome at his impressive new studio in the Mill House garden, no previous knowledge of art necessary. Tea and biscuits provided. These sessions have become increasingly popular, so please contact Matthew beforehand (07939 512423) if you’re thinking of coming.

Mobile Library: We’ve now been notified by the County Council that the dates and places of Mobile Library visits will remain unchanged till the end of the year. So do continue to make use of this much-valued facility while we still have it, by visiting it next Friday (October 10) between 10.15 and 10.40am at Lower Cross, and between 10.55 and 11.15am at the Hall. There’s always a wide selection of books, DVDs etc available for free loan.

Giant Jumble Sale: This event will take place next Saturday (October 18) between 10am and noon, in the Hall. If you have any items of clean jumble, in reasonably good condition, which you’d like to offer for sale, please either take them to the Hall between 2 and 4pm the previous afternoon, or ring Nan Hacking (01424 882348) or Rosemary Crouch (01424 882567) to arrange collection from your home.

Spooky Tales: At 6pm on Saturday, October 25 the ever-popular Geoff Hutchinson will be presenting in the Hall a show not many of you will have heard before. Entitled “Spooky Tales”, it will present the history of Halloween in words and music, guaranteeing you a spine-chilling evening’s entertainment. It’s been arranged by the Friends of St Mary’s Church to raise funds for the maintenance and improvement of our parish church. Included in the ticket price of £10 is a home-cooked supper (for which the Friends are famous), and there will be a licensed bar. For tickets please contact Celia Langrish (01424 882250, or [email protected]).

Richard Holmes

Beauchamps