Eastry and Woodnesborough BeneficeSt.Mary's Events in 2014
Thursday 9th January
Jack
and the Beanstalk at the Marlowe Theatre
Our visit to the pantomime this year was a great success and the usual 'He's behind you!! Screams from the audience brought peals of laughter. The cast were great and there was the now famous "bench scene" which is dedicated to Dave Lee, the local comedian, who did so much for charity during his life time.
Without doubt the pantomime was just the way to kick start the year.
Saturday 29th March
The Great Spring Quiz
Eight teams came together, dusting off their 'little grey cells' ready to pitch their knowledge against each other to take the winning "EGG HEAD" title.
As usual Dr Carnegie took
on the roll of Quiz Master and Liz and Jinny took on the unenviable
rolls of scorers.It was a quiz well matched as the teams all came very
close to winning, but it was the 'Scrabblers' who finally won the title.
Great fun and lots of ooh's and ah's, plus we raised £256 for the
church funds.
Friday 4th April
Evita at the Marlowe Theatre
Oh what a circus, oh WHAT a show; Argentina had come to Canterbury and didn't we know. This fast moving musical left us breathless with the stunning cast, costumes and iconic music. A fab evening was had by all.
Monday 5th May
Mad Hatters Tea Party and Teddy Bear Jump
What a super day for a Mad Hatters Tea Party, the sun shone and everyone had great fun with the mouse hunt in the church. There were 100 teddies and toys who were actually brave enough to do the Teddy Jump and the children squealed with delight as the balloon magician worked his magic. Then the children settled down to enjoy their free picnic boxes and the afternoon was rounded off with the Mad Hatters Hat Competition. Many children had made a huge effort to make fabulous hat creations and Father Philip had a demanding job judging the results.
Friday 9th May
The Thanet Gospel Concert at St Mary's Eastry
Another fabulous evening was had by all who came along to the Gospel Concert and listened to the Thanet Community Gospel Choir entertain us along with our own Philip Clements reciting both his and others poetry. The theme was "Spring and Joy" and that was reflected in the program. We all left at the end of the evening feeling very uplifted and we raised £135 for the church funds. Wine and canapés were served during the interval.
The Thanet Choir at the Gospel Concert
Tuesday 17th June
Excursion to Chatham Historic Dockyard
We have always been very lucky with the weather on our excursions and today was no different, just a slight breeze off the River Medway which made it a comfortable day.
After a guided tour of this historically important dockyard we split into two groups to take in the various sights. HMS Cavalier one of the last 'Greyhounds' of WW2 , HMS Gannet a 1890's Navel Sloop, The Ropery and much more. Then we settled down to lunch on board HMS Gannet, rounding the afternoon off with a quiet moment in the Commissioner gardens before joining the coach back to Eastry. A thoroughly informative day out.
Sunday 22nd June
The Madagasy Ny Aku Choir
We were completely honoured to have this wonderful choir visit us on their bi-annual world tour.
The costumes were fabulous and it was great to have a musical introduction to Madagascan life, including the crocodile dance! But above all the choir was heavenly to listen to. We hope that they will come back again on their next tour.
The Fabulous Fete 19th July in the Aumbry Gardens.
Despite the threat of rain the sun came out for yet another fabulous fete, George Mathison OBE had kindly given us the use of his lovely gardens again to hold our fete in and at 2pm Rev David cut the ribbon and the crowds flocked in, racing to get to the bargains that were to be had from the many stalls.
The Deal Academy Band conducted by Chris Berriman got the fete underway followed by the Canterbury Youth Steel Band, the ice cream van was very busy as were the ladies on the refreshment stall.
The children were treated to a mouse and owl hunt and sat enthralled by Mr Magic, the children's entertainer.
All in all a lovely family day and we raised a fantastic £3400 with donations to the Flower Festival adding to that.
St Mary’s Flower Festival 17th-20th July
The four-day, bi-annual Flower Festivalwas held in St.Mary's church between 17th and 20th July. This year the theme was ‘Poetry in Flowers’ and, as in previous years, there were stunning displays from the flower arrangers who each interpreted their favourite poem in a floral display.
Kipling was a popular choice, as was Shakespeare, but there were some modern choices such as ‘When I am an old woman I shall wear purple’ by Jenny Joseph. Children from year two and year four in Eastry School wrote poems and decorated butterflies to be displayed alongside the amazing show of flowers. Following learning about symmetry, children in year two used these skills to design and paint a butterfly. Metallic paints and sparkly pipe cleaners were used to enhance the features. Children in year four had been learning about Hiku poetry (poems that follow a syllabic pattern) and part of their home learning was to write a descriptive poem about a butterfly.
The Revd. David Ridley was appreciative of the time and commitment of everyone involved and delighted that visitors to the church obviously enjoyed the beautiful displays. “The whole event exceeded my greatest expectation,” he explained. “The flower displays in the Church were stunning and really complemented the beauty of this historic building. It was also valuable to include the work from the children of Eastry School, with whom the Church has very close links. My thanks to all who worked so hard to make this whole event the success it was.”
Thanks to the kindness of visitors to the church £1,300 was raised.
Jazz and Blues in the Garden
We invited all of the people who have helped us with our fund raising to join us in the Aumbry Gardens for an afternoon of Jazz and Blues. We drank Pimms and listened to the Ian Shawcross band and Paul Cornwall playing his guitar. The sunny weather made the afternoon complete.
The Ian Shawcross Band in action Paul Cornwell playing his guitar
Enjoying the Jazz in the Aumbry Garden
Ypres and Passchendaele 16th September
A very long but informative and reflective day, our guide Paddy gave us an insight into the horrors, struggles and occasional humour of those terrible four year that were WWI.
We experienced the confines of the trenches, saw the appalling condition that the soldiers had to withstand and heard of the irreverent humour of Wipers Times aimed squarely at the Generals!
We took our picnic lunch in the beautiful grounds of the château at Zonnebeke where we visited the WWI museum and then went to the largest Commonwealth War Graveyard, Tyne Cot.
The Tyne Cot Cemetary
At the cemetery Revd. David Ridley gave a short service of remembrance and Dr Alastair Carnegie laid a poppy wreath from the people of Eastry.
Our driver took us on to Ypres, which had been completely destroyed during that war only to rise again as a complete replica of the medieval city it had been. Paddy guided the group and then we all met at Du Monde Restaurant for a very enjoyable and sociable meal. it was then time to make our way to the daily 8 pm Last Post Service at the Menin Gate.
It was hard to take in the horrors of that time but certainly worth the visit so we could remember all those who had given their lives during the war.
The crowd at the Menin Gate Inside the Menin Gate
Memorial to Eastry Soldier, Private A.B. Knott
killed in action near Ypres in May, 1915
Thank you to Graham Kinns for the Photographs
Autumn Quiz, Saturday 15th November
Another great evening of laughter and head scratching as our seven teams pitched their wits against each other for the title of 'The Racing Reindeers' team. In the end it was the' Infernos' who took the title and the chocolate reindeers!
Our Quiz Master General, Dr Alastair Carnegie, manfully orchestrated the evening keeping order with his 'Final Word' on all of the answers and of course Liz and Jinny did a sterling job keeping score.
Answering the Questions
Great evening had by all and we raised a fab £253 for the church funds........thanks to everyone for joining in.