Well, what a busy weekend we have had here in A.G, so many events to talk about, its a job to know where to start! The Summer Fete on the Rectory Lawns took place on Saturday with the gardens bathed in brilliant sunshine. The stallholders worked extremely hard all afternoon to prepare and sell their items. As the temperature soared, so did the enthusiasm of the visitors to the Fete, and crowds of people entered into the spirit of the afternoon and were soon busying themselves around the stalls and games, and had a wonderful time. The children s entertainer kept the little ones busy with songs and games and making balloon animals, examples of which could be seen floating around the fete! The teas in the hall were very very welcome as were the delicious cakes – well done to Zoe and her team of volunteers for a job well done! The Project Group’s display was as always very popular, with lots of photo’s of old time A.G showing in some cases buildings that were long gone, and of course they had some photos of some village characters from the past, always nice to see. The groups next display will be in November to commemorate the end of WW1, something to look forward to, and I will post more specific details nearer the time. All the stalls saw a lot of business and the Fete was opened by our new Vicar, Rev. Matt Rowland, who did a splendid job, and spent time during the afternoon speaking to the visitors at the fete. The Uke ‘n Sing group lent their voices and instruments to give a jolly performance of some classic English folk music, which was very much enjoyed by everyone! There was a contingent from our Primary School this year, and they had their own stalls within the fete, selling homemade cold drinks and some cakes. They also had a stall selling school equipment which seemed to go down well. It was lovely to see them with us, and they appeared to enjoy the day too, many congratulations to them for their efforts.
St Andrews also enjoyed an open air service in the big marquee on Sunday morning. There were visitors and locals alike enjoying the Songs of Praise style service, all hymns and readings were chosen by members of the regular congregation. Our organist, Mrs Vanda Irish did a wonderful job of playing all the songs on the village keyboard and Rev Matt Rowland gave the address.were taken in the village hall afterwards.This weeks service will be a Family Communion service led by Rev Rowland, which will start at 11am, all are welcome and refreshments will be served after the service.
The Bantham Swoosh also took place last weekend with over 800 swimmers taking part! It was an amazing sight seeing everyone getting ready for the off and the organisation was very good. There were safety talks, registration for swimmers and many rescue boats were on duty to watch over those taking part. There were also talks about the river and what to expect and everyone seemed very calm as they took in all the details of what to expect. A.G pre school had a stall selling tea and coffee to the swimmers and support staff as they waited for the start time to come. The swimmers set off in different groups being led off by the elite swimmers at 7.20am . The spectacle of seeing all those swimmers in the water was quite something, their distinctive yellow hats bobbing up and down in the water as they went, the sight was just amazing! The river was alive with yellow hats! Congratulations to everyone that took part, especially our six sponsored swimmers for the community pool, your efforts are very much appreciated here in A.G.
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