Events:2010

Music at St Mary’s 1 Chamber concert for piano quartet  – October 8^th

A lovely concert. On our part we provided refreshments and generally supervised. There was an ‘incident’ over car-parking which sadly PVH have not let us forget so that we now have to put out ‘Please park in the road’ signs.  We did not get very much money as a hire fee for the church funds but persuaded Roman River to raise the fee to £150 for 2011.

Bazaar – December 4^th

Sadly this had to be abandoned after such a lot of preparation. The weather was appalling – the worst early winter weather in living memory and the path to the church was impassable.

Christmas Carol singing – December 21^st

We had a goodly number and raised over £200 – the whole event seemed to have picked up after a bit of a lull the year before and despite the fact that the hard winter still prevailed we had much fun and laugher and wonderful food at the Coans at the end of the evening.

Carols up the Tower – December 25^th

A number of ‘Friends’ came to sing with us and, after this, its fourth year. It was a extremely cold and windy and the camera froze so we don’t have photos for our archive !

2011

Highland Fling – February 5^th

This ran fine but we do notice that the numbers overall are falling. Still, there are more than enough to keep the kitchens busy and to enjoy some dancing.

Peldon History Lecture 1 – March 9^th

On the outside – poachers, smugglers and highwaymen with William Tyler. An excellent talk and of course refreshments afterwards. We are beginning to feel the pinch in terms of numbers. So long as we get enough to fill the wooden chairs we look comfortably ‘full’.

Easter Carols – April 24^th

Easter Sunday we repeated Carols up the Tower ( following the Christmas event) and attracted a dozen singers (hardy enough to brace the Spring winds blowing from the Steppes!). What is interesting is that quite a number of people comment on the carols because one can hear them in the village..

Music at St Mary’s 2: Truan Trust Concert – April 30^th

This was not officially on our list of concerts but was slipped in because we knew we would lose our autumn concert (with Cross-Winds Brass) due to the rewiring project in September. In the event, Friends provided the refreshments and front of house and we eventually raised £1000 for the Truan Trust.

Peldon History Lecture 2 coupled with Music at St Mary’s 3  – May 29^th

Riotous Assembly – The Essex riots of 1790 – 1820 – with Riotous Assembly.  This was part of the May Festival and is worth a separate comment because, though very well performed, it was not as well attended as we would have liked. Questions were raised about the detail of information on the publicity. It was in fact a ‘folk music’ concert but our regular clientele may have thought it was something else!

May Festival – 27^th – 29^th

The Friends worked without PVH on this event.  Friday started off with an informal evening of shanties at The Plough. On Saturday the Friends supervised everything – the exhibitions in the church – Art, Photographs and Flowers, the stalls in the Village hall, tower open event, refreshments. On Sunday we had a Pet Service , Open Gardens, Hunt the Gnome,  Petanque and Scarecrows in the afternoon with a refreshment stop at PVH and at some of the gardens too   and the final concert given by Riotous Assembly. Full reports in Parish News as for other Friends events.

Music at St Mary’s 4 : Summer Miscellany  – July 16^th

This was once again an evening of songs, readings and poetry with local village musicians and readers. This was very well  attended and honourable mention could go to Sean Buckley, Naomi Tamblyn, Chris Moore, Joan Ellis, Jessica Ellis, Jayne Suddaby, Elaine Barker and Adrian May and our last minute, but very good, pianist Peter Dollimore who we had poached from Mersea for this event!

Peldon History Lecture 3 – October 5^th

The Witch Craze in Essex in the 16^th and 17^th centuries – with Christopher Thompson. Only a small group attended what was in the event mysterious and fascinating. Friends do need to be thinking about other methods of publicity. This was worthy of a bigger crowd. The refreshments were great as ever!

Harvest Supper – October  1^st

This had been moved from September because of the worry that the church would not be ready after the rewiring.  We did have two long tables set and 2 dozen people to celebrate. Good food, good company, some readings and a song!

Music at St Mary’s 5:

Engegard Quartet with Matthew Hunt  Concert – October 8^th

We are now established on the Roman River Festival circuit.  This was packed out. We had the new lighting rig, and hopefully our ‘facilities fee’ will be higher than in previous years.. And we solved the parking problem too !

Collaborations:

The Friends seek to find ways to put the Village’s prestigious Grade One Listed  to good use, 7 days a week for the benefit of the wider community.

We have been so pleased to work together with village groups including:

Village Lunch, St Mary’s  Flower Arrangers, Peldon Village Hall, PAWS,       the Art Club, and Roman River Festival.

While Friends can put on events on its own, collaboration will continue to be important.

Fund Raising and Achievement  -  Church Fabric Projects

It takes years to bring some projects to fruition. This has been the year of consolidation and some achievement

1. Renewal of the flooring – a detailed scheme involving more than just laying paving – there is archaeology to sort out, a void to fill under the right hand section, various items to be moved and/or stored, a channel to be formed to house wiring and other services, reinforced areas to be created to take the weight of the gallery. We have dug holes in the tower floor for archaeological investigation and have had a bat report (because you cant do any work in a church during the bat flying season)  – and  we have finally reached agreement on the stone to be used on the floor. total cost around £80,000 – considerably more than estimated last year. Virtually no fund raising for this project as yet.

2. The replacement of the electrics – new lights, new heating, new mains board, and all the usual fitments to create a safe environment. We  agreed to move the mains board and extend the electrics into the porch,( make it possible for us to then wire outside to the toilet) and up the tower to the new room.   – total cost around £23,000 THIS HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON BUDGET Cory provided us with a grant of £15,000.

3. Provision of a kitchenette , ‘wet’ area and toilet – these are needed in recognition of the increasing use of the church by various groups. They need to conform with recent Health and Safety regulations and will involve ground work across the church yard to the main services. Carillion are helping us with ground work when we get to the excavation stage  and assuming that we can go ahead with a North Porch build, drawings have been made   – total cost  around £80, 000 The big issue will be funding of course. Several funders are interested and we have passed preliminary enquiry stage with Essex Environmental and National Churches Trust but hope to get a larger funder on board in view of the proximity of the reservoir.

4. Silence Chamber - this was a new addition to our list of works. It was cheaper to add a new floor to the tower under the bell than to pay for extensive scaffolding to reach the bell.. The new room  has been created. It  now has  lighting and can  be used as a museum room. There is an entrance from the Tower Staircase already. This cost around £3,500.

THIS HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON BUDGET.

We had a grant of £2,700 from Essex Heritage Trust.

5.Restore the Miles Gray Bell (1613) - also a new addition. We are trying to raise funds for this project. . The bell was removed from the church 50 years ago after it cracked. It is now being  mended and will be re-hung next to the existing bell—cost £6000. Work will start in the late autumn of 2011. We hope to have raised £3000 in additional funding.

6. Creation of a new Gallery Room and Stair case – this feature would re-create the original West Gallery with a grand view over the church interior, used for additional seating for events, or as a small meeting room. total cost £15,000 A project for the distant future but we keep it in mind even so as we are so short of space.

7. The collapsed vault beneath a table tomb ( the Bullock tomb)  – the collapse of this vault was unforeseen. We have stubbornly held out for a simple solution to the problem ( a chamber 8 square meters with crumbling roof. ) We hope to report a simple and cheap solution to the next AGM. The main issue here is that no funders will touch the project. Repairs estimates run to £13,000 which we challenge as an unacceptable strain when other projects are more important.

The challenges for the Friends as an organisation  are unchanging:

1. to keep the village appraised of the rationale for changes and keep villagers on-side with our vision that shows the Church as a Community Facility . To this end we are trying to keep our Web site more up to date with news and, hopefully, views from YOU, the Friends.

2. to seek out funding bodies  and persuade them to help us- not easy in a  time of recession!

3. to raise at least £50.000 ourselves in the next few of years, assuming that funders will provide the other 50% needed for each project.

It is, once again  over to you !

Please consider helping us.

Your  support – as members of the Friends –ensures representation and provides ideas for fundraising and person-power for events.

We have had a great five years – but we have only just begun!

Sunday January 8^th Plough Sunday 11am  (followed by Plough Sunday lunch)-   Church

Sunday January 29^th at 6.30pm  Candlemas   and Benefice Service – Church

Saturday February 4^th at 7.30pm -  PVH

Highland Fling

Saturday February 18^th at 7.30pm  - Church

MUSIC AT ST MARY’S  1 – Music for Brass

Crosswinds Brass Quintet

Wednesday March 14^th at 7.30pm  - Church

PELDON HISTORY LECTURES 1 – Flatford and Constable Country

Simon Gallup

Sunday March 18^th Mothering Sunday 11am – Church

Tuesday April 3^rd Passover Feast 7pm – Church

Sunday April 8^th Easter Day.

Carols up the Tower at 10.30am before 11am service –Church

Wednesday May 16^th at 7.30pm  - Church

PELDON HISTORY LECTURES 2 – Quires in our villages from the 18th century onwards

Bill Tamblyn celebrates the work of local music historian Chris Turner (from Fingringhoe) in revealing the wealth of music sung in West Galleries in our area. We might ask you to join in a song or two!

Friday June 1^st – Sunday June 3^rd – Plough, PVH and Church

PELDON JUBILEE FESTIVAL-

Sunday June 3^rd Trinity Sunday and Pet Service 10am  – Church

Peldon Jubilee Festival Closing Event

Sunday June 3^rd at 7.30pm   - Church

MUSIC AT ST MARY’S 2 – Concert of traditional music and cabaret songs

from Breton singer– Gwendal Moele and local singers The Medlars with guests from previous concerts at St Marys.

Saturday July 14^th –afternoon and evening PVH and Church

Food, drink, games and an evening concert at 7.30pm

MUSIC AT ST MARY’S 3 – A celebration of Le Quatorze Juillet

with the Colchester Anglo-French Society, Essex Petanque, Breton Dance band Bof, Gwendal Moele, and guests

Saturday September 22^nd at 7.30pm – Church

MUSIC AT ST MARY’S 4 – Piano recital

Daniel Law – a frequent guest at concerts in St Marys who now returns by popular demand to give a solo piano recital.

Saturday September 29^th at 7pm – Church

Harvest Supper

Sunday September 30^th Harvest Festival at 11am  – Church

Friday October 3th at 8pm – Church

MUSIC AT ST MARY’S 5 – Roman River Festival concert – tbc

Wednesday October 24^th at 6.30PM

FRIENDS AGM – Church

followed by

PELDON HISTORY LECTURES 3 – History through Beers brewed in Essex

Rev Keith Lovell tells the story as it is! We hope to have a local brewer to help us confirm the quality of Essex beer!

Sunday November 11^th Remembrance at 10.30am – Church

Sunday December 2^nd Christingle  and Toy Service  11am – Church

Saturday December 8^th Christmas Bazaar??? – 9am – 2pm – Church??

Tuesday December 18^th

Village Carols – at 6.30pm – begins at PVH

Sunday December 23^rd Carols by Candlelight –at 6.30pm – Church

Tuesday December 25^th at 9.30am

Carols up the Tower

before  Christmas Communion at 10am – Church

After a hectic day of erecting marquees, hanging the bunting, putting up signs, tables and displays, how lovely it was to see so many local people supporting our opening event: ‘Folk at The Plough’ on the Friday evening. Although a little chilly, it proved to be a very enjoyable evening, sitting in the beer garden over fish and chips and a beer, listening to the very talented Elaine and her partner, the recently formed Shantyclere group, and the amazing voice of Gwendal Moele entertaining us with a repertoire of folk songs. Thank you to all who supported the Friends in this event and to Jane and Pete for their hospitality. This, to me, is what community is all about.

Saturday started fine but cool, and with the promise of showers, our main festival day was slow to get going. However, by lunchtime, trade in ploughman’s lunches was good and the afternoon saw a steady flow of visitors through the gate, with takings up on last year.

The fairground organ and Punch and Judy show never fail in giving a traditional festive atmosphere in and around the village hall, and it doesn’t seem to matter how many times they’ve seen the show, young and old alike still enjoy it – although Professor Polson was not keen on the water pistols apparently! The Owl Man proved to be a big hit once again, with more owls on display and the six-week old baby eagle owl stealing the show. Meanwhile, the kidzone and bouncy castle were busy throughout the day, as was the tank, giving children the rare opportunity to explore a military vehicle.

Many of our faithful stall-holders returned to support the day because they ‘really like the Peldon Festival’ and because we like the quality of the goods on offer. They reported good trade in the afternoon. The second-hand book stall also proved popular, while the cake stall did good business, particularly in individually wrapped cup cakes. Just how many of these can you buy for a pound? And how many can you possibly eat in a day?! The tombola is always popular – although we’ll probably change the format a bit next year, but the most surprising hit was ‘Name the Gnome’, whereby people came along and suggested names for the gnomes who were to be part of the Open Gardens event on the Sunday. The chosen names for the bridal pair, incidentally, were not the rather too predictable Kate and Wills but … Gnomeo and Juliet!! Don’t forget to look out for the gnomes again next year.

I didn’t get to see Frank Walker and his dog training on the green in front of the church, but I understand that it was an interesting and informative display. Unfortunately, the turnout for Gardeners’ Question Time was rather disappointing, although some interesting questions were put to our invited specialists. I think we could do with more events like this at the Festival, so if you have any suggestions for next year, please let us know.

The Mayor of Colchester, Helen Chuah, attended the Festival in the afternoon and was delighted to see all that was going on in our small village. She spent time looking at the recently completed Village Design Statement boards and was suitably impressed. (I’m sure that these will be on display again sometime for those of us who didn’t get the opportunity to look at them.) Bill then gave the Lady Mayor a guided tour of the Church and its various Festival exhibitions and talked to her about the Friends achievements and future plans. The church, as usual, looked wonderful with all its beautiful flower displays, whilst the art and photographic exhibitions attracted much admiration. The church tower was less busy this year, maybe due to the rather cloudy conditions or perhaps because most people have already ‘done it’. Hopefully, by this time next year, there will be more for visitors to see: a tower exhibition and the reinstalled Miles Gray bell perhaps…

Festival Saturday drew to a close with the announcement of the Grand Draw winners. (See list of prize winners somewhere in this issue.) With so many fantastic prizes donated, we made a profit of over £500 on draw tickets alone.

And so we went home to rest … or prepare for Sunday!

Sunday turned out to be a lovely day in more ways than one. Whilst some of us were putting up Open Garden signs and making the finishing touches to our scarecrows and gardens, others attended the pet service: 8 dogs, a late arrival rabbit and a blackbird, I believe, caused much merriment, but hopefully not too much mayhem, in church. Apparently the blackbird enjoyed it so much that he returned to church the week after!

The church remained open throughout the day for Sunday visitors to view the flower festival and exhibitions or to go up the tower. It was from here that programmes for the ten Open Gardens were also sold – about 75 in total and mostly to people from outside the area. Again, there were not many visitors before lunch, but the afternoon was busy with garden enthusiasts and those just wishing to enjoy tea and cake before making their way to ‘Englesbatch’. I understand that this garden was the highlight of the afternoon and was much talked about. Thank you, Jill, for opening your garden and please will you do so again for those of us who were unable to get there.

Interestingly, there were more scarecrows than in previous years – maybe this idea is gradually taking off… so why not start planning for next year’s scarecrow now? Scarecrow winner this year? – ask Bill. As for the gnome hunt, it was a lovely idea and it did mean that people felt somewhat obliged to visit each of the gardens, if only to find the gnomes. However, the gnome hunt rather backfired in its attempt to attract more children – or perhaps they were just having too much fun at the village hall playing pétanque!

The pétanque proved to be a real hit, with both adults and children joining in, resulting in a number of requests to set up a club in the village.  Cream teas, beer and Pimms were served throughout the afternoon and I’m sure that our many visitors would have been happy to continue their tour of the gardens into the evening, had we not had to call time in order to prepare ourselves for the Festival finale.

Sunday evening’s concert in the church, ‘Riotous Assembly’, promised ‘a lively account of the Essex Riots of 1790-1820, presented with folk music’.  Perhaps the title or the theme put people off, perhaps a would-be audience didn’t know what to expect, or maybe it was too much ‘folk’ in one weekend, but the audience numbers were disappointing, especially compared to last year’s concert. For those of us who did attend, it was a good  evening. The stories told were, as one might expect, harrowing and incredulous, holding the audience captivated throughout. The band was excellent and how cleverly the stories were interwoven with a mixture of traditional and modern folk music. Many people missed an unforgettable experience, but probably the subject matter was rather too depressing for an end of festival concert.

The performers and audience mingled afterwards, enjoying a lovely finger buffet, the last of the beer or Pimms and rejoicing in the atmosphere of another successful Peldon May Festival.

A very big thank you to everyone who gave of their time and energy to make the Festival happen, and to everyone who supported us over the weekend. We hope to see you again next year.

Sally

Ps. Your ideas, suggestions and willingness to be involved are always welcome.

Contact Bill 735770 or Jane 735505

Meet at the Plough and walk round the village.

Service at 11am

Howells Rhapsodic Quintet; Bartok String Quartet no 5; Mozart Clarinet Quintet

The performers are:

Matthew Hunt – Clarinet and the Engegard Quartet

tickets are £17.50 and £7.50 concessions

this event has had to be postponed due to Electrical Work in the church in the month of September. We will update the Web site as soon as we have a new date.