Boughton ‘Picnic on the Green’ – Sunday June 3rd
To help commemorate the Diamond Jubilee and the UK Olympics we are holding a celebratory fun day in Boughton on Sunday June 3rd, on the Green from2:45pmonwards. There will be a number of activities throughout the afternoon and early evening including:
Boughton church has been fuller than usual over the last few days. On Saturday 3rd we had a marvellous presentation in the evening from Allan Hale on the wildlife of Boughton Fen. ( There had been a coffee morning earlier in the day as well!)There is an amazing selection of birds on the Fen over the course of a year and Allan’s photographs demonstrated this to perfection. I hadn’t realised how tiny a kingfisher is – I’ve only ever seen one!- but such a flash of jewelled blue is fantastic. There is a wide range of flora as well as fauna and a fantastic selection of moths. The work done on the Fen by the Fen committee and their helpers is magnificent and will bear fruit for years to come. The subject and the presenter obviously drew people to come along and we had a near capacity crowd. There must have been sixty people in the church, more than I remember seeing at a non-church event and it was really good to see the new community facilities being used. Congratulations to Sandy and her team for producing some excellent refreshments in quite cramped conditions. We are still learning how to make the best use of the new kitchen and where to set up the serving area. However, they had extra practice three days later on the 6th, when Boughton hosted the second Deanery Lent service of this year’s cycle. Barbara, not fully recovered from treatment to her back, presented the story of Simon of Cyrene in a dramatised reading. It sometimes helps to envisage a character from ‘the Bible’ as an ordinary person like us, instead of the cold and literary statement we see. Barbara had said it was to be a Taize-like service with lots of candles. We like candles at Boughton, but I’ve never seen so many! The entire altar top was covered with nightlights and there were candles all around the church, with the chancel lights half-dimmed. It was very atmospheric and greatly admired. We must have had well over a hundred nightlights alone. I tested my lung capacity at the end by seeing how many I could blow out in one go across the altar! There was a good attendance, with probably about 40 plus people from across the Deanery. Thanks to Tom for playing for us, which freed me to do other things, and to the choir who came and sang in the congregation unrobed to boost the singing. And of course – thanks again to Sandy and her helpers! Thanks also to the lady from another church who asked, very tactfully, if my dogs were alright – they normally go to Lent services but it’s difficult when it’s at our church and I’m busy.
To Wereham on a bitterly cold night in February………………..
Once again, the dynamic duo of Frank and Geoff have been at work – did you see Geoff in his green tights? This time they were closer to home than oldBaghdad, bringing us the tale of Robin of Norfolk fighting the evil Sheriff of Norwich. How much work goes into these panto productions! Wereham village hall was packed as usual, for the third of six productions. They must have been exhausted, but on one of the coldest nights of the winter the cast had only a short break before doing it yet again and then driving home in the heavily falling snow!
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There was the usual flurry of activity in Boughton over Christmas. As it was only the second Christmas that I’ve spent in Boughton, in spite of living here for twenty-two years, I’m still pleasantly surprised at how active it is over the festive season. Many thanks to all who contributed to decorating the church in time for the Carol Service and special thanks to Frank and Geoff, who provided and erected the Christmas tree in the church. (By now, they’ve probably disposed of it as well! We appreciate them very much, particularly in the middle of the busy run-up to the pantomime.) It was a pity that so few people from the village were able to attend the service, possibly because it was midweek and at a fairly early time. Perhaps next year we’ll go for a later evening slot, but with so many events the weekend is a little difficult to arrange. On the Friday after that, Frank and company entertained the children after a brief nativity play, andSandyarranged mulled wine for those of a slightly more mature vintage.