Our W.I ladies met this week and their guest speaker was Felicity Goodall; the subject of her talk was Burma Revisited.Felicity is a teacher and she visits Burma to teach some of the youngsters in the care of the monks in this wild inacessible country. Boys are taken in as young as five to start to train as Buddhist monks, although not all of them make it through the training period. Some are sent by their families just to receive the education, as they mostly come from very poor families and education is seen as a big step forward for the youngsters. The schools Felicity visits are way out in the jungle areas in Burma, and she regaled the ladies with tales of a hair-raising train ride over a rickety bridge over a very deep gorge and a see through train carriage, ooh scary!! She also told of taking the boys out for a trip to the beach and the process she went through to gain permission for them to go; very involved but very worthwhile as she described the boys delight at going out to buy suitable clothes – t-shirts and shorts and flip-flops as all they had to wear was their monks habits. They had a wonderful time and were quite enthralled as most of them hadn’t seen the sea before, amazing. A question and answer session was held at the end of the talk and a collection was made for the school.
This week is of course Easter and the main event today is of course The Way of the Cross Parade through the village. The parade will start at the Fisherman’s Rest at 10.30am this morning There will be readings and hymns as the parade moves off and makes its way through the village. Members of St Andrews Church will be led by Reader Michael Tagent, and there will be stops at the Fisherman’s Rest, Tidal View, the village centre, the shop, and Tree corner where the Cross will be erected. Then we will make our way up to the Church for the Family Service. Everyone is welcome to join in, local or visitor, on this moving occasion. There will be the customary teas and hot cross buns after the church service.
On Easter Sunday there will be a Family Communion Service in St Andrew’s led by the Rector, Rev Neil Barker – again everyone is welcome to join in.