News from the Friends of St. Mary's.

 November 2008

Quiz Night – Saturday 20^th September – This boosted our funds by £320.  Many thanks to everyone who helped with refreshments and to Sue and Paul Garland for the extremely difficult questions!

Look What I Found In My Wardrobe – The church was packed with exhibits ranging from Victorian times to the present day and it looked fabulous and we even made it in to the Lynn News and Advertiser in colour!  We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who provided the items exhibited and to all those who came along to support us over the weekend.  The weekend raised approximately £400 in addition to the money raised on our Raising The Roof Appeal (see below).

Harvest Festival - Sunday 5^th October - We would like to thank all those who took time to bring along such wonderful produce and home-made goodies to make this such a fantastic success. Thanks to all who made such wonderful cakes and the hours that were put into these was much appreciated by not only the committee but those who purchased them. Thanks to all who came along to the entertaining auction and to Ken Lawrence, auctioneer for the evening and Adrian Lawrence for carving the beef – we hope he has recovered from having his arm twisted!  Profit for the evening was £320 - many thanks to everyone came to the auction and helped achieve this.

  One of the stunning sugar craft decorated cakes which was auctioned.

Bingo - Tuesday 11^th November – Sorry but we have changed the start time once again to accommodate those who couldn’t make the earlier time! The doors will open at 6.45pm and eyes down at 7.30pm.  Anybody wishing to donate prizes, please contact our organiser Trish Brown on 01842 827345. With fantastic prizes, this lively night is a must for any bingo fan!

Festival of Light – This will be taking place on Friday 28^th, Saturday 29^th & Sunday 30^th November. Father Christmas will be in his grotto on Friday 5:00 – 7:00pm, Saturday 3:30 – 4:30pm (church open until 6:00pm on Saturday) and Sunday 3:30 – 5:30pm. The theme for decorated trees this year is ‘Nursery Rhymes’ so get your thinking hats on! The church will be open on the Thursday for trees to be decorated.  If you wish to decorate your tree at any other time please see separate ad. Profits from this event are split between the Friends and P.C.C.

Signed IPSWICH TOWN FOOTBALL and TICKETS – We have kindly had a signed football and a pair of tickets donated to raise money for our funds and we are auctioning them as one lot in a ‘secret bid’ auction.  If you would like to bid on these, please send sealed bids to Susan Withers, The Bungalow, Blackdyke Road, Feltwell, Norfolk. IP26 4EG or for more information phone Susan on 01842 827363. If two people bid the same amount, the first envelope received will be the winning bid taken.  Closing date for bids will be midnight on Wednesday 10^th December 2008.  Please note that this auction will also be announced in the local press so if you have a football fan in the family and are looking for that special gift – get your bids in.

Raising The Roof Appeal – This was launched at the ‘Look What I Found In My Wardrobe’ exhibition and to date has raised approximately £1,600.  If you haven’t submitted your sponsor for slates and nails yet don’t panic you are not too late.  This part of our fundraising is on-going and you will be able to sponsor slates and nails for some to come.  Anyone who would like to sponsor a roof slate (£5 each) or nail (£1 each for children only) can do so at any of our future events or by contacting us (details below). 

If you are looking for an unusual present for Christmas, Birthdays etc why not sponsor a slate as a gift.  We will send a card to the recipient on your behalf detailing the gift. For more information please contact us.

Eco-bags – The new version is now on sale, this time with burgundy handles, gusset and text. Remember - they make excellent ‘gift bags’ for Christmas presents and are still just £4 each. They are available at Friends of St. Mary’s events, in the church, Post Office, Spar or from Susan Withers or Vanessa Cock.

Recipe Book – Although currently ‘on the back-burner’ we are still collecting recipes and will go to print as soon as we have enough.  Please don’t be frightened to send recipes in!

Penny Jars –  To date these have raised a whopping £1300 which is amazing! This simple idea is an easy way to donate so if you don’t have one let us know and we will get one to you, although like we have said before if you don’t have a jar collect your change in whatever comes to hand first!  Our sponsor is still donating 50p for every jar returned so please keep them coming.

Quilt Raffle – Tickets for our lovely quilt made by Kathy Lowery entitled ‘Flying Geese’ are available at only £1 each. These can be purchased at any of our events or from one of the committee members. Second prize will be a Christmas Hamper and Third prize will be six bottles of wine. The draw will take place at 5pm on Sunday 30^th November at the Festival of Light. If anyone would like to sell tickets on our behalf or donate a prize please get in touch.  

Can you help? - If you are celebrating a big occasion and don’t want presents have you thought about asking for donations instead?  If so maybe you would like to consider collecting donations to the Friends of St. Mary’s as your worthy cause.

Having A Clear Out? – We are looking for good quality bric-a-brac including household items, small pieces of furniture, ornaments, modern books, unwanted gifts – basically anything in good condition which we can sell for our funds.  We will hopefully be having a bric-a-brac sale next Spring so if you have anything you would like to donate please get in touch.

Thank You! The Friends would like to thank the ladies of the P.C.C. who are always willing to help at our events making endless cups of tea, baking cakes and assisting us in the many numerous ways you do. Without your help and such expertise when it comes to putting the kettle on, things would be much more difficult! Thank you!

October 2008

In the run up to Christmas we are going to be extremely busy and hope you will support us at our following events…………

Harvest Festival - Sunday 5^th October 6pm – To make this a success we really need you behind us for this one!  Many of you will remember the harvest festival services of yesteryear and the auction of produce held in the Mission Hall when there was standing room only.  These events were always great fun and most importantly very successful fundraisers and so we really would like to resurrect the event. It would be really good to see the church filled for the thanks-giving service once again. However the ‘catch’ is that we would like you to donate fruit, vegetables, home-made cakes, pickles, chutneys and jams! We will be decorating the church on Saturday 4^th October between 12 noon and 3 pm ready for the Sunday service so please come along with any items you wish to donate – we will have the kettle on too!

The service will take place on Sunday 5^th October at 6pm and after the service we will be serving hot beef rolls, tea and coffee, these will be served free of charge (but if you would like to make a donation it would be very welcome!) This will be followed by an auction of the donated goods. There’s no better place to buy good local produce and home-made goodies and all for a good cause. Our auctioneer for the evening will be Ken Lawrence, so bring plenty of change and join in what we hope will be another fun evening. If you have never been to an auction before this is the place to start – a good time is guaranteed for all!

Bingo - Tuesday 11^th November – As last years bingo evening was such a huge success Trish Brown has once again kindly offered to organise this for us and it will be held in the hall at Feltwell Primary School. Since last month we have had to change the start time and it is now at 7:00pm with the doors opening at 6:15pm. Anybody wishing to donate prizes, please contact Trish on 01842 827345. With fantastic prizes, this lively night is a must for any bingo fan!

Festival of Light – This will be taking place on Friday 28^th, Saturday 29^th & Sunday 30^th November. We are hoping Father Christmas will be in his grotto – please keep an eye out for specific timings in the November issue. The theme for decorated trees this year is ‘Nursery Rhymes’ so get your thinking hats on! The church will be open on the Thursday for trees to be decorated.  Full details next month.

 Raising The Roof Project –  Anyone who would like to sponsor a roof slate (£5 each) or nail (£1 each for children only) can do so at any of our future events or by contacting us (details below).  We would like to thank Jinny, Mick and Jackie for distributing the bulk of the letters around the village in their spare time. We are very grateful to them as without their help this part of our fundraising would not have been possible. Initial response has been good and we would like to thank everyone who has donated in this way so far. We hope that the open weekend in church at the end of September will prove this to be a hit – watch this space next month to see how it is going.

 Quiz Night – Saturday 20^th September – Many thanks once again to Paul and Sue Garland for making this evening possible and to everyone who supplied items for the supper and raffle.  Find out next month how much profit was made!

Eco-bags – YES, THEY ARE BACK!  We now have a new supply of bags with the same “Not Trendy – Just Eco-friendly” logo. This time the bags have burgundy handles, gusset and text. Bags are still just £4 each and are available at Friends of St. Mary’s events, on sale in the church or from Susan Withers or Vanessa Cock.

Recipe Book – Although currently ‘on the back-burner’ we are still collecting recipes and will go to print as soon as we have enough.  Please don’t be frightened to send recipes in!

Penny Jars – We are amazed at how these still keep coming in and with people still asking for their first jar. This simple idea is an easy way to donate so if you don’t have one let us know and we will get one to you, although like we have said before if you don’t have a jar collect your change in whatever comes to hand first!  Our sponsor is still donating 50p for every jar returned so please keep them coming.

Quilt Raffle – Tickets for our lovely quilt made by Kathy Lowery entitled ‘Flying Geese’ are available at only £1 each. These can be purchased at any of our events or from one of the committee members. Second prize will be a Christmas Hamper and Third prize will be six bottles of wine. The draw will take place on Sunday 30^th November. If anyone would like to sell tickets on our behalf please get in touch.  

September 2008

“Look What I Found In My Wardrobe!” Friday 26th to Sunday 28^th September – We are still asking for people to come forward to exhibit items for this, so if you have something you would like to display please contact us. We don’t mind what it is or what age it is but we would like a photograph of it being worn (if possible) and a short written piece about its history to be placed with each display.
Do you have a tailors dummy? If so we would like to borrow it, if you can help please contact Vanessa Cock.
As you are probably aware this event will also see the launch of our ‘Raising The Roof’ Appeal. For details of opening times etc please see separate advert. Admission is free so we look forward to seeing you there!  Don’t forget, weather permitting, the church tower will also be open on Saturday 27^th from 2pm (charge of £2.50 per person applies).

Quiz Night Saturday 20^th September – Paul and Sue Garland have kindly agreed to run this for us once again. These evenings are always great fun and value for money so please come along and support us. See separate advert for further details.

Harvest Festival Sunday 5^th October 6pm – Who remembers the harvest festival services of yesteryear and the auction of produce held in the Mission Hall when there was standing room only?  Well we do and with your help we would like to resurrect it!  We are lucky in not having to worry about where our next meal is coming from and also to live in a very successful agricultural area so it would be nice to see the church filled for the thanks-giving service. However the ‘catch’ is that we would like you to donate fruit, vegetables, home-made cakes, pickles, chutneys and jams! We will be decorating the church on Saturday 4^th October between 12 noon and 3 pm ready for the Sunday service so please come along with any items you wish to donate – we will have the kettle on too!

The service will take place on Sunday 5^th October at 6pm and after the service we will be serving hot beef rolls, tea and coffee, these will be served free of charge but if you would like to make a donation it would be very welcome. This will be followed by a ‘light-hearted’ auction of the donated goods. There’s no better place to buy good local produce and home-made goodies and all for a good cause. Our auctioneer for the evening will be Ken Lawrence, so bring plenty of change and join in what we hope will be a rather enjoyable evening. You are guaranteed a good time!

Recipe Book – This is still very much on our agenda and we will go to print as soon as we have enough recipes. If you would like to submit a recipe please bring it along to one of our events or get in touch. Many thanks to the Lady and Gentlemen who have loaned Vanessa their absolutely fantastic family recipe book, it has proved fascinating reading and we will definitely be including a number recipes from it.

Penny Jars – These are still coming in thick and fast and Vanessa spends so much time at her kitchen table counting coins she is fast becoming known as Scrooge!  Please keep them coming, all that counting keeps her out of trouble!

Festival of Light – Although this doesn’t take place until the end of November we would like to remind you all that this years theme is ‘Nursery Rhymes’ so get your thinking hats on! Further details will be available in due course.

Quilt Raffle – Tickets for our lovely quilt made by Kathy Lowery entitled ‘Flying Geese’ are available at only £1 each. These can be purchased at any of our events or from one of the committee members. Second prize will be a Christmas Hamper and Third prize will be six bottles of wine. The draw will take place on Sunday 30^th November. If anyone would like to sell tickets on our behalf please get in touch.

August 2008

 Traditional Mid-Summer Fete – Saturday 21^st June.  We are pleased to say this was a great success despite the weather making a profit £863.33.  Competitions winners were: Quoits Game – Joe Kean, Bean Bags Game – Luke Zipfell, 1p to £1 Game – Shirley Waters, Whisky Galore – Mike Younge, Russell Turner and Malcolm Cock, Stop The Clock – Cherrilyn of St. Mary’s Street, Treasure Hunt – Jenny Kurn, Pooh Bear – Annie Lawrence.

It was great to see so many people supporting what we hope will become an annual event. Many thanks to everyone who helped in any way, your help really is very much appreciated and without you we would not be able to hold such events.

Quilt Raffle – Kathy Lowery has kindly made us a quilt entitled ‘Flying Geese’ and it is absolutely stunning. Tickets are available at only £1 each. Second prize will be a Christmas Hamper and Third prize will be six bottles of wine. The draw will take place on Sunday 30^th November. If anyone would like to sell these on our behalf please get in touch.

“Look What I Found In My Wardrobe!” ~ Feltwell needs a bit of fun! As announced last month this will take place from the evening of Friday 27^th to Sunday 29^th September – we look forward to hearing from anyone who has something they would like to display. From wonderful wedding dresses to fun and funky footwear we will be pleased for you to come along and display it. Please get in touch.
Mannequins – if anyone has one we could borrow for this exhibition, we would be most grateful. Please contact Vanessa Cock if you can help. 

Quiz Night – This will take place at Feltwell Primary School on Saturday 20th September. See next months issue for more details.

Bingo – We are pleased to announce that following the success of the last years Bingo, Trish Brown has once again kindly offered to organise this year’s event and it will take place on Tuesday 11th November at Feltwell Primary School. More details will be available nearer the time.

Penny Jars – We are pleased to say they are still coming in and our sponsor is still paying 50p for every jar returned so please keep them coming.

July 2008

Traditional Mid-Summer Fete – Saturday 21^st June.  We will give you a full report on this in the August issue as the event takes place after the deadline for this issue. However, we would just like to say many thanks to everyone who has supported us by giving prizes, sponsorship or their much appreciated help on the day.
 

“Look What I Found In My Wardrobe!” ~ Feltwell needs a bit of fun! In last months magazine we announced this will take place from the evening of Friday 27^th to Sunday 29^th September – but as always we need you to join in.  We would like clothing and associated items of all types and from any era to be displayed in church, hopefully with a picture of it being worn and some information on its history.  So please start rummaging and see what you can find hidden in the depths of your wardrobe – or maybe your loft!  From old Aunt Maud’s liberty bodices and button up boots to Grannies apple-gatherer bloomers! Home-made or high fashion, the funnier the better- does anyone still have a knitted bathing costume? We would also like to see christening gowns, wedding dresses, ball gowns, baby clothes, hats, handbags and hot-pants (we’ll definitely want a picture of you in them!) Not forgetting the gentlemen – does anyone still have their boy scout or services uniform, demob suit or maybe a Feltwell football strip from the 50’s?  Whatever you have we would love you to come along and display it and if you can’t maybe you would allow us to do it on your behalf. You can rest assured all items will be handled with the utmost care and returned as soon as the displays are dismantled.
Mannequins – if anyone has one we could borrow for this exhibition, we would be most grateful. Please contact Vanessa Cock if you can help.

 Penny Jars – There’s not much to say about these, I think their success has left us speechless! Please keep the jars coming!

 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – This was held at the Chequers Public House on 29^th May and we would like to thank Landlady Sarah for providing us with the space for this. It was nice to see some of our supporters there.
The meeting was opened by Chairman, Terry Shapland who gave his report on a successful year of events and thanked those who had given their support to these, and to all who had donated time and prizes or helped in any way.
The Treasurer, Chris Carr gave his report and announced that we had a turnover of more than £10,000 and made a profit of £7311.23
Jinny Herrington had decided to resign from the committee and we would like to thank her for all her support over the past year. Mick Murfitt was duly elected onto the committee as a replacement.
Following the AGM the committee met to elect officers and these are: Vanessa Cock – Chairman, Susan Withers – Secretary and Chris Carr – Treasurer.
Terry Shapland then resigned from the committee as PCC representative and Mary Gray has since been appointed by the PCC to take up the post of their representative on the Friends committee.
The current committee is: Vanessa Cock (Chairman), Chris Carr (Treasurer), Susan Withers (Secretary), Barrie Reeves, Jackie Reeves, Stuart Samuels, Mick Murfitt & Mary Gray (PCC)

June 2008

Race Night at the Chequers – Saturday 3^rd May. We must say a very sincere thank you to the Landlady Sarah for arranging this event and to all those who helped run it.  We are very pleased to have made £225 on the evening.  Also many thanks to all those who came along and had a flutter – we hope you all enjoyed the evening as much as we did.

Traditional Mid-Summer Fete – Saturday 21^st June.  This will be taking place on the green in front of St. Mary’s from 12pm ‘til 4pm.  Please see our separate advert for more details.  If there is anyone out there who would like to help on the day please don’t be shy and get in touch with us – we need all the help we can get to make this a success.  Also if anyone can help with raffle prizes, homemade cakes, bottles for the bottle stall etc please let us know and if you can’t get them to us we will collect.  Or you could just come along on the day to enjoy some good old-fashioned fun, meet up with old friends for a chat and a cuppa and help save St. Mary’s at the same time!

Penny Jars – You did it!  In just twelve months you have raised £1,000 in loose change.  A huge thank you goes to everyone who has donated in this way and also to our sponsor for their generous support.  Please keep the jars coming!

May 2008

First of all we must apologise for not giving a report in last months magazine on the Open Church and Tower day we held on Saturday 23^rd February. Sorry!  We would like to thank everyone who came along to support us despite the rather chilly weather.  We are very pleased to report that we made £330 for which we are extremely grateful.  We must say a big thank you to Lillian and Barry Pressling for coming along to help us and also to Lillian for her generous donation to our fund from the sale of her beautiful handmade cards.  We would also like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Dare and Mrs. Goodchild who’s help on the day was invaluable. As always Ken Lawrence was also on hand to help at the clock level of the tower for which we are very grateful.

Many thanks to all those who very generously donated home-made cakes – unfortunately they were so good; we may be calling on you again!

Race Night at the Chequers – Saturday 3^rd May. This is taking place at The Chequers where we will be in the capable hands of the Landlady Sarah.  The evening is showing great promise of being a lot of fun and hope there are plenty of you out there who will come along and have a flutter!  We will be under starters orders at 8.30pm.  A free buffet will be available and we will also be holding a raffle.

Traditional Mid-Summer Fete – Saturday 21^st June.  This will be taking place on the green in front of St. Mary’s from 12pm onwards.  There will be something for everyone so please come along and join in the fun. We will be publishing more details next month so watch this space.  If anyone would like to come along and help on the day, can help with supplying prizes for the games, bottles for the bottle stall or would like to donate a raffle prize, please contact Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers (see below for contact details).

Friends of St. Mary’s Recipe Book – Recipes are still coming in slowly but we still need a lot more; so please dig out those old favourites and send them in.  Many thanks to all those who have submitted recipes so far and special thanks must go to Iris Norris who has submitted some really original recipes which is exactly what we are looking for.  These can be either handed to or e-mailed to Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers.

Penny Jars – We have been astounded by how successful these have been and are very pleased to report that the total raised to date is over £800.  Hopefully this means we are on target to make £1,000 by 9^th June! Remember our sponsor is still paying 50p for every jar returned too. Obviously we are very grateful to everyone who is helping boost our fund in this way but we must give a special mention to the Rainbows, The Fish Piper and Central Garage (and their customers) for their support.  For those of you who don’t have a penny jar but would like one they can be obtained from Vanessa Cock and are also available in St. Mary’s Church. We really don’t mind what you collect your loose change in though, so if you don’t have a special jar don’t worry just save them up and send them to us in whatever comes to hand first. If they arrive in something considerably bigger than a jar we will just have to twist our sponsors arm for more than 50p!!!

April 2008

Race Night at the Chequers – Saturday 3^rd May. We must say a very sincere thank you to the Landlady Sarah for arranging this event and to all those who helped run it.  We are very pleased to have made £225 on the evening.  Also many thanks to all those who came along and had a flutter – we hope you all enjoyed the evening as much as we did.

Traditional Mid-Summer Fete – Saturday 21^st June.  This will be taking place on the green in front of St. Mary’s from 12pm ‘til 4pm.  Please see our separate advert for more details.  If there is anyone out there who would like to help on the day please don’t be shy and get in touch with us – we need all the help we can get to make this a success.  Also if anyone can help with raffle prizes, homemade cakes, bottles for the bottle stall etc please let us know and if you can’t get them to us we will collect.  Or you could just come along on the day to enjoy some good old-fashioned fun, meet up with old friends for a chat and a cuppa and help save St. Mary’s at the same time!

Penny Jars – You did it!  In just twelve months you have raised £1,000 in loose change.  A huge thank you goes to everyone who has donated in this way and also to our sponsor for their generous support.  Please keep the jars coming!

‘Do you remember?’ The Wedding Dress Exhibition held in St. Mary’s in September 2000?  Well, we are hoping to do a ‘sort of’ repeat performance of this but with a slight twist.  The exhibition will take place in church, opening on the evening of Friday 27^th September and continuing over that weekend and will be called “Look What I Found In My Wardrobe!”  We are inviting you to come along and display clothing of any kind from any era.
 

March 2008

Word Jumble Quiz Sheets – Although we don’t have the final figure raised by these at the moment we can confirm they have sold well and been very profitable.  As the closing date for entries is 1^st March we will print the winners’ names in the next issue. We would like to thank Central Garage, Feltwell for their sponsorship of these. Watch this space!

Feltwell’s Pictorial Past – A history slide show presentation by Chris Cock – Saturday 15^th March. Tickets for this are selling extremely well but there are still some available at £6 each and can be purchased from the Spar, The Post Office and Central Garage or by contacting Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers.

For those of you who are unsure what this event is all about we will explain.  Chris Cock has lived and worked in Feltwell all his life and is Vice Chairman of the Feltwell Historical and Archaeological Society and has been one of the main contributors to the Feltwell website and as you will know is a regular contributor to the Parish Magazine.  Over the past twenty years or so he has accumulated a large collection of pictures, mainly postcards, of Feltwell many of which date back to the early 1900’s.  His collection covers almost all of the village streets, halls, prominent houses and rectories, pubs, windmills and farms some of which obviously no longer exist.  In addition to photographs he has also acquired a vast knowledge of life, events, characters and stories of the village mainly by talking to older ‘Feltwellians’, via research and purchase of various items of literature relating to the village.  Chris has now done a number of slide shows which have been extremely successful and is always happy to stop proceedings to answer any questions.  Whether you are a life-long resident of Feltwell or you have only been here a short while, and regardless of your age too, this show will prove well worth the ticket price.

This event will take place at the Methodist Chapel Hall, a buffet will be served during the interval and we will also be holding a raffle. Please note that £7 will be charged on the night for those who have not pre-purchased their tickets.

Race Night at the Chequers – Saturday 3^rd May. The Chequers Landlady Sarah, has kindly agreed to run this event for us.  Watch this space for further details nearer the time.  Please come along to support us.

Friends of St. Mary’s Recipe Book – Since last months reminder for recipes they have started to trickle in but as we will probably need in the region of 90 recipes we are still looking for a lot more contributions.  Many thanks to all those who have submitted recipes so far.  These can be either handed to or e-mailed to Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers (see below for e-mail addresses). We are seeking tried and tested recipes or your family favourites handed down through generations along with favourites of today.

Penny Jars – The support of this project has been absolutely tremendous and to date we have raised approximately £675.  Our sponsor still has a few quid left in his pocket and is paying 50p for every jar returned so please keep them coming in!  For those of you who don’t have a penny jar but would like one they can be obtained from Vanessa Cock (01842) 828375 and are also available in St. Mary’s Church however we will accept your loose change regardless of what you collect it in! Many thanks to the lady and gentlemen (you know who you are!) who filled an Amoretti biscuit tin with spare change and provided a very welcome boost to our fund.

Tea Towels – There are still some St. Mary’s Church Limited Edition tea towels available at only £4 each and are available from Vanessa Cock, Spar, The Post Office and in St. Mary’s Church.

February 2008

ENGLISH HERITAGE GRANT The news that St. Mary’s is to receive a grant towards the cost of the urgent roof repairs is indeed wonderful but we must not be complacent with our fundraising efforts as we still have an awful lot of money to raise ourselves as the shortfall is currently estimated to be in the region of £50,000.  We hope you will all continue to support us to ensure that St. Mary’s is preserved for many future generations.

Christmas Decorations – Many thanks to Christine and Stuart Samuels for collecting donations to the Friends of St. Mary’s from those who visited their Christmas garden display which amounted to £65.00.  Also many thanks to all those who donated.

Quiz Night – We are pleased to say that we made £450 at this event.  Many thanks to Paul Garland for being our excellent quiz master and to Sue for her most entertaining keyboard skills! Also we would like to thank everyone who provided the tasty supper dishes, the ladies who helped on the night and those who kindly donated raffle prizes.

Word Jumble Quiz Sheets – These are already selling well and are

available from Spar, The Papershop and Central Garage at £1.50 each.  Get your thinking caps on and don’t panic because  the closing date isn’t until 1^st March! They are also available from Vanessa Cock and Susan Withers.

Tower Open Day – Saturday 23^rd February. Due to many requests from villagers to go up the church tower when there are no leaves on the trees, we will be holding an open day and bake sale. If anyone would like to donate a cake, raffle prize or any new items for the sales table please contact Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers.   See separate advert for further details.

Feltwell History Slide Show – Saturday 15^th March. Following many requests we are pleased that Chris Cock has agreed to hold a show for us.  This will take place at the Methodist Chapel Hall and a buffet will be served during the interval. Tickets £6 each and are currently available from Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers. Chris’s shows are always popular and tickets will be limited so please book early.

Race Night at the Chequers – Saturday 3^rd May. The Chequers Landlady Sarah, has kindly agreed to run this event for us.  Watch this space for further details nearer the time.  Please come along to support us.

Friends of St. Mary’s Recipe Book – Come on lets be ‘aving you!   Many thanks to all those who have submitted recipes so far but we really need lots more.  These can be either handed to or e-mailed to Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers (see below for e-mail addresses). We are seeking tried and tested recipes or your family favourites handed down through generations along with favourites of today.

Eco Friendly Shopping Bag – these have now SOLD OUT! Many thanks to all those who are now the proud owners of our bags and also to the Post Office and Spar for the help in making this project a success.

Tea Towels – There are still some St. Mary’s Church Limited Edition tea towels available at only £4 each and are available from Vanessa Cock, Spar, The Post Office and in St. Mary’s Church.

Penny Jars – These have now raised over £500 and our sponsor is still paying 50p for every jar returned so please keep them coming in.  Many thanks to everyone who has donated their loose change so far including the patrons of the Chequers who have been a big help with this project. For those of you who don’t have a penny jar but would like one they can be obtained from Vanessa Cock (01842) 828375 and are also available in St. Mary’s Church however we will accept your loose change regardless of what you collect it in!

January 2008

Bingo – Our bingo evening was very well supported making it a huge success.    Thanks to everyone’s kind generosity we made an amazing £980.  We were very lucky to receive some excellent prizes from local businesses and private individuals and we would like to say thank you to all those who donated.  Last but far from least we much mention Trish Brown and her family for making the bingo happen.  There was an awful lot of time and hard work involved in arranging the evening and we are very thankful for all their efforts.  Without them it would not have been possible to run such an event.

Festival of Light and Christmas Tree Competition – Once again this was another event which was very well supported and we would like to thank everyone who came along.  The church looked superb once all the Christmas trees were lit and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to decorate a tree.  The Best Tree Competition was a tie between Feltwell Playgroup and Mary Secker, Jane and Kay Peckham.  The cost of the grocery hamper was £32.16 and was won by Terri Reeve. The name of the snowman was Winston and won by Michael Cock. The sweet tree competition was won by Ray of Falcon Road and there were 92 sweets on the tree. First prize in the raffle went to Bridget Hall. Congratulations to you all!  Father Christmas commented on how much he enjoyed his visit to St. Mary’s Church and has promised to return again next year providing that Jinny the Elf is there to help him once more!  Approximately £900 was raised over the weekend, which is to be shared with the PCC as this was a joint event.

Quiz Night – this will be held in Feltwell Primary School on Saturday 12^th January. Anyone wishing to donate raffle prizes, please contact one of the committee. Usual Quiz Night format - £5 includes supper, bring your own plates, cutlery, drinks and nibbles.

Quiz Sheets – as these were such a success last year we have decided to have a repeat performance!  Quiz sheets will be available in the village from mid-January at £1.50 each.

Tower Open Day – Saturday 23^rd February. Due to many requests from villagers to go up the church tower when there are no leaves on the trees, we will be holding an open day and bake sale. The tower will only be open if the weather permits. More details available next month.

Friends of St. Mary’s Recipe Book – we are hoping to print this in the Autumn and are now seeking recipes to be included.  These can be either handed to or e-mailed to Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers (see below for e-mail addresses). We are seeking tried and tested recipes or your family favourites handed down through generations along with favourites of today.

Feltwell History Slide Show – following numerous requests from village residents Chris Cock has kindly agreed to hold a show for us in the Spring. Watch this space for further details!

Eco Friendly Shopping Bag – we are pleased to say that these are almost sold out. There are just a few remaining and are available at £4 each from Vanessa Cock, Spar, The Post Office and St. Mary’s Church.

Tea Towels – There are still some St. Mary’s Church Limited Edition tea towels available at only £4 each and are available from Vanessa Cock, Spar, The Post Office and in St. Mary’s Church.

Penny Jars – These have now raised over £400 and our sponsor is still paying 50p for every jar returned so please keep them coming in.  For those of you who don’t have a penny jar but would like one they can be obtained from Vanessa Cock

December 2007

Festival of Light and Christmas Tree Competition – the real Father Christmas will be at St. Mary’s for this event in his fabulous new grotto! Admission to the church to see the decorated trees will be free but £1.50 per child will be charged to visit the grotto and all children will receive a small gift. Letters to Father Christmas are available in the village shops and Central Garage and can purchased for £1 and handed to him or placed in his posting box in church. All visitors to the church will be asked to vote for their favourite tree and the winning tree decorator will receive £10. We have some great raffle prizes, guess the name of the snowman competition, guess the cost of the food hamper competition and a sales table.  Seasonal refreshments will also be available. This event should be lots of fun for all the family so please come along and join in.

 Quiz Night – this will be held in Feltwell Primary School on Saturday 12^th January. Anyone wishing to donate raffle prizes, please contact one of the committee.

Unwanted Christmas Presents? – we all get them! So, what do you do with the unwanted presents you are given, the things you don’t really need or can’t even find a space for? We would be grateful for anything you would like to donate to us for ‘re-homing’, to use for future fundraising. If you have anything, please contact Vanessa Cock or Susan Withers.

October 2007

Autumn Craft Fayre and Art Exhibition Sunday 30^th September – we are very pleased to report that this event was extremely well supported and over £2,000 was raised. We would like to thank Judith and Edwin Porter for their kind hospitality at Grange Farm and are pleased to say we received many compliments on the venue and the atmosphere it created.  Many thanks to the ladies of the PCC for their expertise in the kitchen as the refreshments and lunches were delicious. We must also thank Richard Parrott and Sallyann Helms at Weeting Steam Engine Rally for arranging the loan of the tables.  Many thanks to everyone else who helped in anyway, you are too numerous to mention individually but appreciated none the less.
Tea Towels - The St. Mary’s Church Limited Edition tea towels are selling well at only £4 each and are available from Friends of St. Mary’s committee members, Spar and the Post Office. THESE MAKE EXCELLENT CHRISTMAS GIFTS AND ARE LIGHTWEIGHT FOR POSTING. The tea towels feature St. Mary’s Church, not St. Nicholas Church, as on the front of September’s magazine; we hope to produce a tea towel featuring St. Nicholas Church in the future.
Eco Friendly Shopping Bag – these have proved very popular and are selling fast at £4 each and our second shipment has just been received.  They can be purchased from Vanessa Cock, Susan Withers, Wallace King Interiors, Spar or The Post Office.
Penny Jars – The penny jars have been an amazing success and have now raised approximately £300!!! A special mention of thanks must go to Ann Peacock of Vincent Close who has been very busy distributing the jars on our behalf. Although most of you already have jars for your loose change, if you don’t and would like one please contact Vanessa Cock
Prize Bingo – Tuesday 20^th November at Feltwell Primary School, this was a great success with approximately £980 being made.