Here we are, more than 2 months on since my last post, so just wanted to let you know what has happened since then and to let you know the outcome of the Flower Festival itself.  Well, we have a brand new rector, the Reverend Stanley Gamble, whose service of Institution was on Monday 27th August.  People came from far and wide to be at the service so it was standing room only in the church and outside the crowd had to use umbrellas and rain coats!  However the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.  The supper was most welcome after the short walk to Killinchy Church hall. Stanley and his lovely wife Sarah and little daughter Grace are now enjoying life in their new home. 

Now back to the Flower Festival news.   Alison Nelson and her energetic committee who along with parishioners, helpers, local businesses, the Kilmood Play Group, groups of musicians, organists and singers plus the visiting public made the event such a success. So much so that, after costs, a grand total of £14,509.14 was raised.  So much more than we had expected! 

Now we have a Captain of our ship so to speak we are steaming ahead with developing our website that was started earlier in the year.  Also our monthly church magazine is having a facelift and is now called NEWS FROM THE PEWS  

Can't wait to see next month's magazine!

Our first Car Wash and table top sale was last weekend with a wide selection of bric a brac, jams and preserves , local cards  and handicrafts. A band of brothers and sisters washed the steady stream of cars while hot drinks and biscuits was being dispensed inside the hall.  Please note our 'Captain'  was undergoing training and was declared a fully fledged Car Wash Technician by the end of the morning (3 hours later!)  The next car wash will be on the Saturday 3rd November 2012 between 10 am and 1 pm.

Finally before I sign off for the last time, the future of our parish seems so much brighter and our wider community continues to be  forward looking and outward reaching!  The parishioners have been invited to Afternoon Tea at the Rectory this afternoon to 'Come and meet the Gambles' and raise some money to improve the children's facilities in the Parish.  I will be heading there knowing there will be a warm welcome!

Thank you for sharing our last 8 months.

Just a few more of Mary's photos showing the hospitality following the close of service. Also there are photos of the catering volunteers who gave up their time to provide and serve tasty treats and meals  along with pots of tea and coffee.Ken and Mervyn the two gardeners who took up residence in the Sexton's Cottage sold  lots of beautiful plants in aid of the Flower Festival . Some of these plants had been sown by our late Rector (an enthusiastic gardener himself)  Mervyn  brought them on to sell at  the Flower Festival.

Bumped into Mary another keen photographer and asked her for some photos to put in the blog. There is no doubt that Mary included subjects that may have been overlooked by others so we hope you will enjoy seeing some of her photos

Killinchy Silver Band

As promised in my last post here are some photos of our great musicians who played at the Closing Service.I'm still hoping to get photos of the lovely ladies who were behind the scenes in the kitchen! The Killinchy Silver Band had been playing in the church during the Flower Festival,  they are very talented musicians and their music is enjoyed by young and old. Irene McIlveen (red jacket) is the conductor who keeps this merry band under control!   As you can see it was a tight squeeze in Kilmood but that did not affect the music which was great because here in Kilmood we love to sing with gusto! These photos were taken by Olive with her film camera. So if anyone has photos that are not digital they can still feature on the blog just pass them onto one of the committee members.    

 

Closing the Festival

Last night was sunny and warm and the Kilmood area was busy with people coming back to the church for the closing service at 7pm. The service was lead by the Area Dean the Reverend Willie Dixon and the address was given by Reverend Ray Devenney who had been a minister in the parish for 19 years about 10 years ago.Looking around the church I recognised many  members of other churches in the area as well as our own parishioners The church was full to capacity so when Killinchy Silver Band led by Irene McIlveen started to play, the congregation rose to the challenge and sang with great gusto! Again we remembered the Reverend Allen Delamere, the man who suggested this event but sadly did not live to see the final outcome. As the church emptied everyone headed for the marquees where they were treated to tea and coffee and delicious cakes and tray bakes. The community spirit is truly alive and well here in Co Down.  Meanwhile, the Sexton's cottage was bathed in the evening sun. More photos to follow in the next post!

And on the 3rd day...

Just back from putting out the cards in the Sexton's cottage and making a price label for the lovely handmade brooches Alison's friend Heather has donated. They would make lovely presents for friends! Apparently yesterday afternoon we had soda farls and pancakes being made by Freddie Strickland. Joan tells me orders had to be taken and written down to make sure everyone got the number of freshly baked farls they had ordered!
The flowers in the church are still as fresh and magnificent as they were on Friday so if you haven't visited yet there is still time. The closing service is not until 7pm.

If you like to take photos, the outside of the cottage is very picturesque and even more so today as we have been lent a vintage black bicycle with a basket decorated with fresh flowers. I'm thinking it would make a lovely subject for a painting! Alison Cook has just posted me a great photo she took earlier this morning with her Blackberry so here it is for you to enjoy ! Better still pop round for tea and cakes and a walk through our church Flower Festival and get your photo taken with the bicycle........mmm a perfect Sunday.

Statistics!

Just thought I'd let you know some numbers!

United Kingdom

436

United States

20

France

6

Ireland

3

Panama

2

Germany

1

Norway

1

Above is the breakdown of views by country for this week.
We have had 1169 page views since we started  and 838 page views last month .
We'd like to thank you for looking at our blog and hope you will continue to view it over the next few weeks.