In Church this week it’s been an exercise in make do and mend, with Karen Rowse and myself standing in to lead the service due to the fact that there wasn’t a Reader to be had anywhere, as our Mr Tagent was on holiday. Karen led the service and I prepared the talk on the two readings from Ezekiel and Romans. It’s not the first time we have worked together to provide a service in Church and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it was certainly the shortest notice we have had! All’s well that ends well though, and the service went very well and seemed to be enjoyed by everyone; coffee was most welcome at the end of the morning!
St Andrews had the pleasure of welcoming Chorus Ecclesiae on Sunday evening for a Service of Choral Evensong. Conducted by Robin Brett and with organist Janet Dietz, the service started at 6.00 pm with Cantate Domino as they processed through the Church to sit in the Choir stalls. The processional hymn was Love Divine, and Rev Barker lead the service. The music was just beautiful and the sound just filled the church; certainly a most wonderful and peaceful way to end the perfect sunny Sunday.
Looking forward to this weekend we have the Aveton Gifford Fun Dog Show, which will take place on the Green on Sunday. The fun starts at 1.00 pm, and the entrance fee is £1 per class. There will be 14 classes ranging from the ‘serious’ stuff of the pedigree classes, to the fun classes of fastest Bonio eater, prettiest bitch, and most handsome dog –  enough to keep tails wagging and their owners happy for quite some time! All the proceeds will go towards providing storage space at the Village Shop and for general maintenance of the shop building; please support generously, our shop needs you!
Another event we have soon in A.G is the Fun Run, taking place on Sunday 21st September, starting on the village Green at 9.30 am.The distance is 3 miles and the event is open to everyone; age is no bar but children under 9 must be accompanied by an adult. All funds raised will go towards village projects. If you would like an entry form please e-mail  agfunrun@gmail.com or collect one from the village shop.
The Parish Council meeting took place on Monday 8th and Chairman John Brooks welcomed Mr Paul Jones from the school, who discussed with council members the proposal to hand more control of the school pool over to the community. Mr Jones also talked about the school in general, and that numbers at the school were looking very healthy with 89 pupils now enrolled for this school year. A.G’s community policeman Paul O’Dwyer also attended the meeting to give his report on crime, and that there had been just 3 crimes in the AG area this month. There were also reports from A.G Project Group, from Jim Fowler on the emergency plan, and from the Flood Resilience Group on the progress of obtaining a rain gauge to try to give advance warning on a potential flood risk to the village. Brian Carson gave his report from S.H.D.C, and the meeting was then closed by the Chairman.