Reflections Blog

In the Consistory Court of the Diocese of St Albans

In the parish of St Ippolyts

Church of St Ippolyts Churchyard

NOTICE IS GIVEN that we are applying to the Consistory Court of the diocese

for permission to carry out the following:

(Describe the works or other proposals in the same way as in the faculty petition)

To build a new footpath from the existing footpath to the church to the external

toilet in the churchyard. The Footpath to match the existing footpath.

Copies of the relevant plans and documents may be examined at St Ippolyts

Church Notice Board and on a publicly accessible website at http://www.

stippolytschurch.org.uk

(If changes to a church are proposed, a copy of the petition and of any designs,

plans, photographs and other documents that were submitted with it must be

displayed in the church or at another place where they may be conveniently

inspected by the public. If the petition is submitted through an online system,

those documents must also be publicly available for inspection online.)

Petitioners:

1. MR MICHAEL HOOPER - TREASURER

2. REVD GINNI DEAR - MINISTER

3. MS JANE VEASEY - CHURCHWARDEN

Date 30/07/2023

If you wish to object to any of the works or proposals you should

send a letter or email stating the grounds of your objection to

The Diocesan Registrar at Winckworth Sherwood LLP, Minerva House, 5

Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

so that your letter reaches the registrar not later than Tuesday 29

August 2023 A letter of objection must include your name and

address and state whether you live in the parish and/or your

name is entered on the church electoral roll of the parish or any

other basis on which you have an interest in the matter.

ST IPPOLYTS CHURCH TOILET FOOTPATH STATEMENT OF NEED

EXISTING SITUATION

The church and parish

The church is within the Diocese of St. Albans, Hitchin archdeaconry and St Ippolyts has its own parish. It is available to all parishioners, members of the congregation and the wider community for baptisms, weddings, funerals and various social and fund-raising activities that are held from time to time. 

The church in its environment

Located in the village of St Ippolyts, 1 mile to the south of Hitchin, St. Ippolyts church stands on the crown of the north-south ridge, with the valley of the park sloping down from the churchyard to the valley below and the settlement and school established on the plateau behind to the east.

The church lies at the north edge of the village at the junction of the village road (north-to-south) and the lane leading down the steep valley slope across the stream and foundry to the main Hitchin to Welwyn Road at the west. 

The small infants school lies directly across from the north churchyard with the small village green to the east. The main entrance into the churchyard is from the east boundary, opposite the Green, with a path sweeping around to the south, past a stone War Memorial Cross to the South Porch. There is also a north gated entrance to the North Porch which rises in steps from the road below, near the junction and opposite the school. The tarmac path with a resin bonded stone finish rises through a gate directly from the road, up a flight of steps and then with ramps to a sloping area in front of the North Porch. A path then leads east to the Vestry entrance and west around the tower and upslope to the South Porch.

The churchyard to the east and north is set on a high grass bank sloping down to the roads, which diminishing to level along the east boundary at the Lychgate entrance, where hedges contain the churchyard from the road. All is grassed, very-well maintained and with a romantic setting of the churchyard to the west over the sloping valley of the adjoining parkland.

There is no toilet within the church but there is a well maintained and up to date toilet within the churchyard, opposite and slightly south of the Lychgate. Currently there is no footpath to the toilet users having to traverse the mown grass from the existing footpath.

The church is normally open during daylight hours and the church has internal CC TV cameras above the South and North porch entrance doors. 

Regular 09:15 services are held every Sunday with a breakfast Service targeting families held on the first Sunday of the Month. In addition, there are two 08:00 Holy Communion (said) services each month plus one Evensong each month. 

There is a Parish Hall within the Village but this is not managed by the church and is part of the general community of St Ippolyts. This Parish Hall is approx. 500 yards from the church and is not convenient for church use.

The last church quinquennial inspection was carried out in 2018 and a few minor issues were highlighted, the majority, if not all of which, have been addressed. 

PERCEIVED NEED 

Worship and Mission

The church is set in a small, dispersed village set along the top plateau behind the ridge and with widely dispersed farmhouses and houses in the agricultural landscape with time required to travel to church. The lower part of the village towards Gosmore has a mix of residential properties. There are plans to expand the community and discussions are underway concerning the construction of a large number of new properties.

Moving forward, there is a desire within the community, PCC and clergy for the church to be able to provide facilities for everyone including those less able 

Facilities. 

St Ippolyts Church has a toilet which is wheelchair friendly and has the necessary internal facilities to cater for wheel chairs including an external opening door, grab handles and a low sink. Unfortunately, the route to the toilet from the church requires users to cross grassed uneven ground and to make the toilet available to all there is a requirement for a proper footpath access.

We would welcome more people to join us on a Sunday morning twice a month to sing in the church choir. No previous music ability is required. There are a regular few who attend these services, and we would welcome more to join us. It is great to sing together. If you are interested, then please do contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and your details will be forwarded to John Edwards our St Ippolyts Church organist. Thank you.

Come along and explore our lovely gardens from 12 noon until 5pm. Sandwiches, cakes, and coffee are available at the Parish Hall and ice creams in one of the gardens. Entry is £5 (children are free) tickets are available at the Parish Hall, Gosmore Village Green, and the car park off Maydencroft Lane where there will also be a plant stall.

Barbara Thomas

You may have noticed that small areas of the churchyard have been left to grow wild. This is particularly noticeable near the South Porch where the yellow flower "Ladies Bed Straw" has popped up in profusion. Legend has it that Mary gave birth to Jesus on a bed made from this plant.  Hence its name.

FRIENDS 
Once again, we held a successful Community Coffee Morning in the Committee Room at the Parish Hall and enjoyed a relaxed time with coffee, cake, and company.  One of our local friends came with their hearing dog which was wonderful to see the companionship between them. The Hearing Dog charity and training of the dogs was explained to us and also the cost of up to £40,000 to train the Labradors over a period of perhaps four years. 

We hope you can join us for the next Coffee Morning on Wednesday 5^th July 10.00 am till Noon. There will not be a coffee morning in August but will resume on the first Wednesday in September.

We would welcome more people to join us on a Sunday morning twice a month to sing in the church choir. No previous music ability is required. There are a regular few who attend these services, and we would welcome more to join us. It is great to sing together. If you are interested, then please do contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and your details will be forwarded to John Edwards our St Ippolyts Church organist. Thank you.

Frances Williams, Carol Scott, and Joan Pinkstone

Dear Friends,

Two wheeled sports fascinate me at the height of the summer – both of them mad in their very different ways. June brought the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races, where people hurl their machines around a 37-mile circuit of country roads at speeds that approach 200 mph in places. As one of the probably few clergy to have reached 80 mph on both two wheels and four (in both cases many years ago on deserted motorways when the police were mercifully absent) I know how exhilarating both experiences were but also how conscious one is of the narrow line between life and (at best) serious illness so how anyone can make a living doing that speed is beyond me.

In July there is the month long Tour de France cycle race. Not because I am a cyclist, because I'm not. Incidentally it is a myth that you never forget how to ride a bicycle. I learned how to do so on a narrow lane bordered by ditches full of stinging nettles and have had 70 years with a scarred knee as evidence that at least I tried, but I don't now. I love the race for many reasons. One is that it is fascinating, like chess on wheels – teams working together for their leaders to try to win. A second is the scenery which varies from the mundane to the sensational. But the madness for me lies in the amount of suffering the riders are prepared to endure when all but a tiny few have the slightest chance of being noticed, still less winning. Why anyone would do this willingly is beyond me – but in a very different way people think we clergy are mad to be ordained.

So many lessons for this column to ponder about. The first is the importance of teamwork. There is no such thing as an isolated cyclist in the Tour. Each belongs to a team with a particular role to play. Each relies on the others and is important. Fine, if that isn't a picture of the Church as the Body of Christ, I don't know what is. We each have a part to play, the Church and each individual congregation is composed of people with different skills, different roles, each valuing the others and working together to extend God's Kingdom in the area – and none is more important than the other. We have value in the sight of God because we are ourselves, not necessarily by doing important things.

I'll byepass the second because it is so obvious. It is the sheer beauty of the country, particularly the mountains.  Watching the Tour day by day is a reminder of the wonder of God's creation as it gradually unfolds hour by hour.  Not much fun for the participants but a pageant of nature at the height of the summer.

But the real thing is that in a sense the Tour is a journey. As the last rider crosses the line it must give them a sense of achievement that they have gone all this way and endured so many things but they have endured to the end. I always think of Christianity in terms of a pilgrimage, a progression. It's not something static, it is moving. Like that ride there are obstacles in the way, there is sometimes pain, there are joys but there are also sorrows. We move onwards towards God, reaching out, upwards and onwards towards Him. Some of us find it easier than others, but we need one another, we need the support and encouragement of God. We may find ourselves having to take spiritual risks but that is how our pilgrimage will go. Nothing can be achieved by being a passive Christian; it's a contradiction in terms.

So, enjoy the summer. As for me, my cycling and motorcycling days are long over. But don't telephone me when the Tour is on television; I won't answer it!

Very best wishes. 

ST IPPOLYTS AND GOSMORE OPEN GARDENS 

Sunday 2 July 12.00 to 5.00pm

Around a dozen fabulous gardens in St. Ippolyts and Gosmore will be opening up to raise funds for the Parish Church. Visitors will be able to stroll around and take in the varied and beautiful gardens ranging from small cottage to gardens on a grand scale. Some are old favourites as well as some new gardens to explore.

We will be serving delicious refreshments including an amazing selection of homemade cakes and sandwiches in the Parish Hall. Plus, plants at the car park.

Entry is £5 (children are free), tickets will be on sale on the day from the Parish Hall, Gosmore Village Green and the car park in Maydencroft Lane. (Please bring cash in case we haven't managed to sort out electronic payment!)

The main car park is off Maydencroft Lane SG4 7QA and there is also parking for refreshments at the Parish Hall in Waterdell Lane, St Ippolyts. SG4 7RB. Assistance dogs will be welcome but no other dogs please.

For more information please contact: Barbara 07443228468

All three kestrels have now fledged. Out of 6 eggs 4 hatched and three were reared to maturity.

We also have feral pigeons nesting in the tower they have one squab!

We are pleased to report that three young kestrels are flourishing in the church tower. We originally had 6 eggs of which 4 hatched.

HOWELL DAVIES – EULOGY

My father’s Eulogy has changed a great deal over the past weeks, because of so many kind messages - from family, his friends of 60+ years or just acquaintances, with such a strong common thread of admiration and respect that it would be presumptuous to present this Eulogy simply from my own perspective.

Howell Davies was born in Dinas Powys, South Wales on 5^th July 1939. A proud Welshman and Davies all his Life, he was schooled at Swansea Grammar, then Clifton College, Bristol. He joined the CCF’s RAF Section, and, bitten by the flying bug, won an RAF Scholarship, gained his PPL in a 1930’s bi-plane Tiger Moth, before heading to London’s Kings College to study Medicine in 1959. And at London University Air Squadron (UAS) he flew what stayed his favourite small-piston aeroplane, the Chipmunk off RAF White Waltham’s grass airfield.

Our parents met in London, where Pa’s passion for flight overcame his interest in medicine; he started his RAF Officer Training, not as a medic, but as a “potential” pilot at RAF South Cerney in February 1962, and they were married months later on 28^th May … I was there in spirit if not quite yet in person!  Daddy was commissioned ‘Pilot Officer’ and posted for pilot training on Jet Provosts to RAF Leeming in June.

Too junior to qualify for a married quarter, Howell and Mouse rented a tiny unheated cottage in Carthorpe, North Yorkshire, where they endured the infamously cold winter of 1962-1963.

They only had one car in their early years, and Mummy drove Pa to work daily; no fun in that abominable winter. One day, Mummy drove Pa to work in her nightie, a cardigan and slippers, but returning home spun the car into a snow bank, and had to flag down a farmer’s tractor who thought it was his lucky day to find a shivering blonde damsel in distress in just a nightie … until Mother leaned back into the car to retrieve me, her 5-month old baby son.

“Oh My Life!” Daddy would sigh, as in her defence Mummy insisted that ‘a baby-doll nightie and fluffy slippers’ were a faster solution to roadside assistance than AA or RAC Membership!

Dadz earned his RAF “WINGS” on 19^th April 1963, was posted to RAF Swinderby to train on Vampires, then 5-years training on the Avro Vulcan, and his first operational tour started in January 1967 for 3-years at 50 Squadron RAF Waddington, part of NATO’s front-line Cold War Nuclear V-Force.

Daddy’s passion for flight led him to the RAF Central Flying School and instructing for 3-years at UAS Liverpool. Then his first desk-job at RAF Brampton, when we ‘landed’ at Gosmore House in 1974. Next, he was operational again with 35 Squadron Vulcans based at RAF Scampton for 3-years before lean flying years from 1978 - 1986; 4-consecutive Staff roles ‘flying a desk’ at HQ Bomber Command RAF Bawtry, Joint Airmiss, Staff College Bracknell and at Brampton HQ RAF Support Command – all commuting from Gosmore.

In 1982, Vulcans deployed to the Falklands on the daring long-range bombing mission to disable Port Stanley’s runway on 31^st May in ‘Operation Black Buck’. Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Beetham, was planning the raid when, Howell tells, he knocked on the door to tell him that “I am one of only two Vulcan pilots current at air-to-air refuelling, and my bag is packed Boss…” to which Sir Michael retorted “Oh bugger off Howell, I’ve got a bloody war to run!”.

An instructor again from 1986 on Chipmunks, Grobs and Bulldogs, Howell manged to broadly avoid a desk-job until his retirement on his 55^th birthday in 1994, after 32 years’ service. But to no surprise he joined the RAF Reserves the next day to spend another decade sharing his experience with the next generations of young potential RAF pilots.

Howell’s four packed RAF flying logbooks are meticulous and precise, with 5,228.5 total hours in aircraft ranging from the humble Tiger Moth to the mighty Vulcan nuclear bomber, detailing every imaginable military training and operational exploit across the USA, Africa, Europe, various aircraft emergencies, instruction in aerobatics and smuggling Christmas presents and Canadian Moonshine in the Vulcan bomb bay.

Mummy loved giving presents, especially surprises, and as a belated 50^th Birthday present in anticipation of his retirement she presented Pa with a pile of pre-WW2 bi-plane parts - so he wouldn’t get bored! Over 18-years, continuing his local flying with family and friends, Howell restored the now exquisite K8203 Hawker Demon so it could be displayed at Old Warden, Duxford and Goodwood.  His first flight in it was as Rear Gunner on 13 August 2009 … Hopefully we’ll see K8203 flying overhead after the service.

Some of the messages we have been privileged to receive deliver a collation of Pa’s character and of what made him so very special to so many of us:

“No one has the perfect words to make our sadness go away …But you may find comfort in knowing how many people wish they did.”

“I will remember him as a true Gentleman. A man of great dignity who had a wealth of amazing life experience and stories to tell. Always the most entertaining man and definitely the one to draw for sitting next to at lunch!”

“I only got to know him during the last year at Sunday morning Choir at St. Ippolyts. If we were signing Cwm Rhondda he would indicate to me with signs or whispers to sing the rising bass part in the chorus, which adds so much to the Welsh spirit and fervour of this rousing hymn.”

“I will miss the chats with your father and interesting tales of his time in the RAF. However, I will not miss the ravaging hangovers from his hospitality and bottles of Calvados.”

“Howell was a font of knowledge. The Services he took for us at St, Mary’s, Great Wymondley were memorable – especially Remembrance Day at the Lychgate. He gave such moving accounts of the 5 who died in WW1 from our tiny village.”

“The rarest of men - always genuinely interested and interesting, in equal measure. And uniquely, always interesting or interested at precisely the right time!”

“Although I only knew your father in his later years, he always had a smile on his face and clearly never happier than when surrounded by his family. He had a wonderful ‘DASH’” (The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis)

Daddy loved Gosmore and Gosmore House, and as a family we had the happiest time with Mummy Mouse running a fun-filled home; always busy with RNLI and Church Teas, Open Gardens, village swimming days and Daddy always a welcoming host. Since Mouse passed, father has enjoyed his friendships in the Parish, at Monday Club, Almshoebury shoot, BOBs, Probus, his walking group, his dear church St. Ippolyts, and amongst this aviator, sailing and Welsh rugby debenture seat friends at Cardiff’s ‘Cathedral of Glory’ and visiting his beloved Gower Peninsula. And since his retirement, he completed two Open University degrees, and was working on his 3^rd at 83!

We have all been blessed to have Howell/Daddy/GrandDadz in our lives; he truly was a gentle and wise man, a good, steadfast and loyal friend to all, generous, kind, humble and gracious. We will miss him dearly.

There is no doubt he had great DASH, and happily he is on his final journey to join our beautiful Mother, his beloved wife Mouse; though I suspect not for the peaceful rest that he deserves, but most likely to be met with party poppers, beer and champagne at Heaven’s most riotous reunion party - for which Mummy has been preparing for 21 years!

Peter Davies

ST IPPOLYTS AND GOSMORE OPEN GARDENS 

Sunday 2 July 12.00 to 5.00pm

Around a dozen fabulous gardens in St. Ippolyts and Gosmore will be opening up to raise funds for the Parish Church. Visitors will be able to stroll around and take in the varied and beautiful gardens ranging from small cottage to gardens on a grand scale. Some are old favourites as well as some new gardens to explore.

We will be serving delicious refreshments including an amazing selection of homemade cakes and sandwiches in the Parish Hall. Plus, plants at the car park.

Entry is £5 (children are free), tickets will be on sale on the day from the Parish Hall, Gosmore Village Green and the car park in Maydencroft Lane. (Please bring cash in case we haven't managed to sort out electronic payment!)

The main car park is off Maydencroft Lane SG4 7QA and there is also parking for refreshments at the Parish Hall in Waterdell Lane, St Ippolyts. SG4 7RB. Assistance dogs will be welcome but no other dogs please.

For more information please contact: Barbara 07443228468

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Barbara Thomas

OPEN GARDENS – CAN YOU HELP?

Could spare a couple of hours to help man the event? If so, there is a sign up sheet at the back of the church or email me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and I will send you a link to the sheet and you can sign up on line. If I don't have your mobile number, please could you email or text it to me just in case there are problems on the day OPEN GARDENS ROTA 23.xlsx

Could you pass the rota on to friends and see if they could help?

Could you bake a cake? - If possible, to delivered to the Parish Hall 11-12 on the day and labelled so we know what it is. (It would be helpful if you could let me know that you are planning on bringing a cake, so we don't panic and spend Saturday frantically baking!)

Could you give us some plants? - If possible, delivered to the carpark on Maydencroft Lane 11-12 and labelled.

Finally, are you First Aid trained? If so, would you be willing to be our first aider for part of the afternoon? (By which I mean we could contact you on your mobile in the unlikely event of a problem).

Many thanks

Barbara Thomas 07443228468

FRIENDS
St Ippolyts Friends are a group of local people who would like to welcome you within our friendly group. We meet twice a year and help with our parish activities. We are also on a rota for taking flowers into St Ippolyts Church to help celebrate the church's age and beauty and to show our appreciation for the many services Revd Ginni holds there. 
The previous Coffee Morning we held in the Parish Hall committee room was a great success and with thanks to the group of friends who joined us and with all the help given on the morning, everyone enjoyed a companionable time together.  

We are looking forward to our next Coffee Morning on Wednesday 7^th June from 10.30 until 12 noon and anyone within our community is welcome to join us. There is coffee, tea and cake and a selection of biscuits also. Please do come along. 

Frances Williams, Carol Scott, Joan Pinkstone

ST. IPPOLYTS CHURCH

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

Our PCC for the coming year will be made up of the following people: 

Reverend Ginni Dear – Vicar. 

Clare Reid and Jane Veasey - Churchwardens

Roger Cox, Shelagh Cox, Michael Hooper, Jenny Sheach, Anne Steel, Frances Williams.

Irene Isaac and Dee Soden - Deanery Synod Representatives.  

ST MARY’S, GREAT WYMONDLEY 

COMMUNITY LUNCH

We had a very successful community lunch to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III, on the village green. Around 120 people from the parish and benefice attended and we were very lucky to have some bright sunshine in the afternoon. We shared a lovely meal of coronation quiche and coronation chicken served with rice and salad, and a selection of delicious puddings. A big thank you from the Great Wymondley PCC to all the volunteer cooks, helpers to set up and pack away and everyone who came along.

CHURCH FETE

The St Mary's Great Wymondley summer fete will be held on the 18^th of June starting at 2pm. Please do join us for an afternoon of fun for the whole family. 

Cream teas - BBQ - Raffle - Dog show - art and craft corner - white elephant - break the china - tombola and many other fun stalls.

Please contact Caroline if you are able to help on the day.

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

The APCM was held the 2^nd of May in the church. Paul Harding and Caroline McDonnell are elected ordinary Parochial Church Council members. Mike Bradley-Russell is treasurer and Paul will be Deanery Synod representative. Caroline continues as church warden. 

If you would like to learn more about the governance of the church and perhaps become involved, please contact Caroline.

Caroline McDonnell

ST MARY’S LITTLE WYMONDLEY

ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING

This was held last month at The Vicarage and I can report that our P.C.C. remains unchanged.

Mike Allardyce is our churchwarden, Angie Tether our treasurer, I am secretary and David Palmer, Harold Lindsay, Melanie Whittick and Anthony Stratton remain on the council. Caroline McDonnell, churchwarden in Great Wymondley, has very kindly offered to become our Safeguarding officer, a role she also covers for Great Wymondley, so we will be very grateful for her support.

Dear Friends,

There is the (doubtless apocryphal) story of the bishop visiting a Sunday School and seeing a small child industriously drawing. When asked what he was doing, the child replied that he was drawing a picture of God. 'But nobody knows what God looks like' said the bishop piously, to which the child imperturbably replied 'They will when they have seen my picture'. The moral is of course that children have a nasty way of cutting you down to size, especially if you have a bit of plastic around your throat.

June begins with the most mysterious of all the festivals of the year, Trinity Sunday. 'Firmly I believe and truly God is three and God is one' wrote Cardinal Newman. God is three separate 'entities' and yet each together is one, inseparable from the other two. Fortunately we no longer use 'At Morning Prayer' in the Book of Common Prayer (Quicunque Vult' if you want to use its posh Latin title). In one section it makes this statement about the Holy Trinity: 'The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible' to which you might add 'the whole thing incomprehensible' – which if course it is. The Trinity seems essentially to be for theological professionals trying to make sense of the inexplicable. It seems to have nothing to say to congregations in tiny village churches or in huge Victorian churches in inner cities where only a handful gather to worship. It has nothing to say to a living vibrant 21^st century Church. That begs the question of whether we need one Trinity Sunday, still less all those Sundays after it that begin in the high summer and end with the onset of winter. 

Simply we must continue them because of what they stand for. I am very glad that the experiment of having Sundays after Pentecost instead of Sundays after Trinity was abandoned, because the mystery of the Trinity reminds us of who God truly is. Call me an old fogey (which I am but don't tell anyone) but rightly or wrongly we seem to have blurred the gulf between God and man. Amid the recreation of my spiritual life after having to give up as a parish priest I came up with the challenging concept of 'God made in the image of man' as opposed to the message from the Garden of Eden where man is created in the image of God. We seem to have watered down God, concentrating on his being Father rather than the Almighty creator of heaven and earth. It is as though we have made Him almost a cosy shadow of who He really is. Trinity reminds us of the mysteriousness of God, that He is far beyond us. We use words that try and explain the inexplicable by using such terms as 'Father' because our language lies beyond its power to explain. The Trinity reminds us that we must allow God to be God and not belittle His greatness.

That for me is why Trinity Sunday and all those Sundays after Trinity must remain. It's not just looking back on those warm summer days in my childhood as I roamed the fields and lanes of my beloved Gloucestershire, where the bells of the church beside our house rang so often in the balmy evenings. It is that Trinity Sunday sets ourselves and God in their true perspective and reminds us in our proper place of things. But it also reminds us that the same God who created the heavens and the earth loves and cares about our needs as individual people. That for me is the true mystery of the Holy Trinity. He is not a blur on a child's picture on a Sunday School sheet of paper. Nor is He a debating point for the theologians.  He is here, beside me, beside you - here and now. You as you matter to Him.

Warmest good wishes,

Paul

Come along and support our church fundraising event

St Ippolyts Church is holding an open gardens fund raising event in St Ippolyts & Gosmore on Sunday 2nd July 2023 between 12:00 and 17:00.

If anyone can help by

Acting as a marshall  at the Parish Hall or along MAydencroft Lane

Help service teas coffees and cake at the Parish Hall

Make a cake to sell

Provide some plants for the plant stall

Help on the plant stall

or help in any other way

PLEASE CONTACT BARBARA THOMAS AT This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Once again our kestrels are hatching young in the church tower. As of Wednesday 17th May we had 4 eggs and 2 young.

As well as the kestels Nuthatches have taken residence in one of nest boxes in the churchyard and as of 21st May they were feeding young at the nest box entrance.