Friends newsletter. June 2006

We are pleased to inform you that we are getting very close to the target of £55.000 needed to cover the cost of re-shingling the spire. Many thanks for all your generous support.

Barn Dance
In particular, a huge thank you to Mike Parker, Richard Leeves, Christine Monson and to Vicki and Nigel Colne for the work they together contributed in order to make the Barn Dance such a huge success, both socially and financially. Herculean efforts were needed to turn a working farm barn into a venue able to accommodate 150 people! with facilities. The dancers came from as far afield as America and were aged from 9months to 90! Food was delicious; thanks to Christine and the caterers, and the proceeds of £847 were enormously boosted by the sponsorship of the band by the Colnes, so a special thank you to them.

The Americans
We are expecting about 13 American visitors to stay in the parish from 17th to the 24th June for the Robert Hunt Commemoration and I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to a special service of Commemoration in All Saints Church on Sunday 18th June at 11 am, with the Heathfield Silver Band when the parish will be remembering the departure of the vicar of 400 years ago to be chaplain to the first group of English settlers to North America. These commemorative events will produce some profit for our funds but we still need to ask for your help in a final fund raising effort for the spire repairs which have been booked to take place in the Autumn of this year.
Football world cup draw
Currently we are selling sweepstake tickets for the World Cup and hope to raise the final £3000 needed to pay the re-shingling bill in this way. Please do your best to sell tickets to your friends and neighbours and to buy some yourselves. The draw for world cup second round teams will take place in the Cricket club Pavilion at 11am on Saturday 24th June.

Committee Changes
Finally, to bring you up to date with Committee changes; we would like to thank Jeremy Nelson for his hard work and his humour during our first year as a fund raising organisation and welcome in his place Nigel Colne who has volunteered to join the committee.