News from Boughton

Our monthly up-date from a very busy Boughton

Carol Singing

Thank you to everyone who came carol singing on Wednesday 19th December. It was a very enjoyable evening and seemed to get everyone in the Christmas mood. £150 was raised. We are very grateful to all those who donated.

Boughton Christmas Eve Illuminations

This was the second year of the Boughton Illuminations. Again the pond looked beautiful with the luminaria surrounding it. This year there was the addition of lanterns hanging in the trees, and the floating lights in the middle of the pond provided a lovely focal point. The crowd that gathered were treated to mulled wine, warm apple juice, sausage rolls, hot chestnuts, chocolates and Father Christmas handing out glow necklaces to the children.

When thinking about who to thank for making this evening so special, I realized there were over 20 people from the village who had contributed - too many to name individually! All your efforts were very much appreciated by the many who enjoyed the event. £70 was raised.

The £220 raised from both events will be donated to the local children's hospice at Quidenham. The Church has kindly agreed to donate £90 from the Crib Service collection so that the total donated is £310.

I have been in contact with the hospice at Quidenham and they have asked me to pass on their thanks to everyone involved. The money raised will buy 44 meals for terminally ill children and their families.

Christmas

Many thanks to those who helped to decorate the church for Christmas. Several people commented how lovely it looked, especially when all the candles were lit. This made a good setting for the Christmas party and contributed to the successful Carol Service on 18th. Neither Moira nor I were here over Christmas itself, and we would like to thank all those who contributed to the smooth running of the church and its services in our absence.

Burial of ashes

The PCC has applied to the diocese for permission to establish a small area in the churchyard where ashes may be buried, and small memorial stones laid. This would be near the boundary, slightly to the left of the porch as one looks across the open grass area. Many people nowadays opt for cremation rather than burial, and it is hoped that such an area would be of service to the village.

Flower festival 2008

The Flower Festival will again take place over the weekend of the May Bank Holiday. Please look out for the notice re a meeting for interested parties. You don't have to be a flower arranger to take part - all talents are welcome!

Open Gardens June 8th 2008

Open Gardens Day will soon be upon us again! It is the most important day in the church's fundraising, and usually a greatly enjoyable village event. Please consider whether you can open your garden again, or for the first time, and I will be taking names later in the year.

February 23rd

Accordion concert

Boughton PCC Church and Community Development Project

During the holiday period notice was received from The Big Lottery Fund informing the team that regrettably they were unable to help with this project. It is felt that the reasons governing this decision were probably that too few people would benefit from the changes and possibly the fact that the building is a working church and the lottery fund does not provide money for church projects. There has been a lot of pressure on the Lottery Fund and fewer people are participating resulting in less money to hand out. Also, the financing of the 2012 Olympic Games will have taken its toll.

A lot of hard work has been put into the application especially by Alan Wilkinson (who has been responsible for the two submissions made to the lottery over the last few years) and the architect Mrs. Francesca Weal. It has to be said that the plans produced by Mrs. Weal were both pleasing to the eye and within a reasonable budget. There is a meeting in January when the DAC (the powers that be from Ely) will visit the church and discuss the plans - this will go ahead despite the setback of a negative reply from the Lottery Fund.

The intention now is to seek out funding from other bodies who whilst not in the position of funding the entire project may be able to offer some help. If this is possible then their combined funding might enable the project to reach fruition. It may be that we are unable to secure sufficient funding for the project as it stands, in which case, there might be the possibility of a scaled down version which provides the bare minimum to bring the building into the 21st century.

There seems to be increased interest in the decline and loss of English Churches, most notably by the luminary Sir Roy Strong who advocates that we need to entice people back into our churches, not just for Christian worship, but also to provide a base for the much needed social interaction that that keeps communities in harmony and enables us to function well as a society.

It is very disappointing for those who have worked hard on the project to be rejected, but we would like to thank everybody out there who has helped by supporting our fund raising efforts. These will go on and we hope you will continue to support our efforts or become involved yourselves - every little helps - as Tesco would say!

Pauline Lee-Evans

Boughton Pumpkin Challenge.

Think you can grow a Pumpkin? Think you can grow the biggest Pumpkin? Well now is your chance to prove it. Enter the Boughton Pumpkin challenge 2008.

An entry fee of £5.00 is payable on provision of seed. Any money left after purchase of seed and a Trophy will be given to Parish Funds.

Seeds will be issued by F.Reid or G.Proctor Feb - March

To Enter and arrange seed allocation contact the above.

The heaviest Pumpkin will be the winner.

Weigh-in currently scheduled for Sat. 13th September on village green. 5.00-6.00 pm. There is a social event planned for the evening by Boughton Village Caravan.

Details will be posted on the notice board in the near future. If you require any further information call F.Reid on 01366 500743.

Co-ordinated by Pam Wakeling