The Friends of St Eustachius’ aim is to preserve and beautify this church for generations to come.
This article aims to bring you up to date with what the Friends have been doing so far this year, and to let you know what our plans for the rest of the year look like.
Events Held So Far
The Quiz held on 30 January and organised by Hugh Walkington was greatly enjoyed by all those present and raised just under £340.
The EBay Auction, which took place in April and May, was organised by Chris Dicker, a member of the Friends. The auction produced a surplus of just over £150 after the deduction of commission and postage. We are very grateful to Chris and to all those who donated items for the auction.
The Grand Summer Fete was held in the churchyard on Saturday 18 June. We were blessed with good weather, the atmosphere was great, and the involvement of the local community most encouraging. There were many wonderful things on offer, and there is insufficient space to mention all of them, but I did particularly enjoy the view from the top of the tower, and seeing all the happy faces of people buying and selling, chatting, listening to the lovely music, eating, drinking, and bouncing, and displaying the wonders of face painting. The Fete raised the magnificent sum of £2454.98, taking the total raised at our seven summer fetes to just under £15,000. Thanks are due to the great host of people who contributed to the running of the Fete and especially to Judy Hirst who organised the event.
Dates of Future Events
- Sunday 18 September: Patronal Festival, AGM and Cream Tea
- Friday 7 and Saturday 8 October: Art Exhibition and Competition [more details below]
- Saturday 15 October: Shakespeare Supper and Entertainment
Friday 25 November to Sunday 4 December: Christmas Tree Festival
Donations
We have recently donated £400 towards the start-up costs of Messy Church, and £1000 to the PCC for the purchase of small items. We have also agreed to meet 50% of the architect’s and surveyor’s fees for the drawing up of proposals for the reordering of the church, and we stand ready to support the major fabric project being planned for the 700th anniversary of the dedication of the church.
The Art Competition
The Friends are organising an art exhibition and competition to mark the 700th anniversary of the dedication of the church. This will be the first of many events which are being planned for the anniversary, and appropriately, the subject of the competition is the church or any part of it.
The Exhibition of paintings will be held on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 October in Gallery 26 of the Bedford Hotel.
The competition will be in three classes:
Junior [under 13 on 1st September 2016]: no entry fee; a prize of £20 will be awarded to the best three entries selected by a panel of judges.
Senior [between 13 and 18 on 1st September 2016]: no entry fee; a prize of £50 will be awarded to the best entry selected by a panel of judges.
Adult [age 19 and over on 1st September 2016]: entry fee, £5 each for up to four paintings; prize of £100 awarded to the painting voted best by the public.
We have already received great support from local schools and from art groups including Drawn to the Valley and the Tavistock Group of Artists, and I know that a number of paintings have already been completed, including one which is so beautiful that I bought it!
We would love to have a large entry from members of the church, so please get going as soon as possible and, if you would like further information, please contact:
- John Rea williamjohnrea2000@yahoo.co.uk
- Hugh Walkington hughwalkington@gmail.com
- Dick Eberlie eberlie@vigomews.orangehome.co.uk
I hope that you agree that it has been a busy and exciting year so far and that more enjoyment and fun lie ahead.
John Rea (Chairman of the Friends)
To join the Friends, please contact Canon Dr John Rea on 613420, Tony Sherlock on 617269 (Treasurer) or complete one of the forms in church and place it in the box for payment and donations.