Whatlington

Irish Music Night has come around again quickly - it is tonight (Friday 29th) from about 8pm - this is always a super evening. Whatlington church building is back in business! Our first service inside the church since the fire went well on Sunday last and as the weeks progress things will return to some normality, with items of furniture gradually returning and the new pews, due this week will be in place by the time this is in print. Whatlington will be represented at the Crib Festival in St. Mary’s in Battle this coming weekend, our Crib has itself been restored having been scorched in the fire and it now has a new thatched roof to replace its old burnt one. We now have a date for the formal reopening of the church, Sunday 9th February 2014 at 3pm, with the Bishop of Chichester and hope to have all the remaining works completed for that! Next Sunday’s service is at 08.30am and as things build up we hope to be able to welcome new people to the church, there are some outline plans to change service times to make them more accessible. We also welcome people who may be interested in becoming involved with the running of the church in due course. Printed premium cotton tea towels, showing images of Whatlington church are now available, having been specially commissioned by the PCC, these are priced at £4.99 each and will be on sale at the aforementioned Crib Festival, as well as via the church. Festive dates for your diary at The Royal Oak: Friday 13th - Film Club, we will be showing “The Holiday” from 8pm in The Barn, with popcorn, chocolates and lots of cosy festive cheer. Thursday 19th - Christmas Quiz with tinsel, baubles, silly questions, chocolates, lollipops and a charity raffle for St Michael’s Hospice. Christmas Eve - Carols around the bar, led by the wonderful John Shepperd and his mighty organ. This turned into a delightful chaos last year, but was one of the best nights of the year (in my opinion). If you have any news for this column please email me via info@royaloak-whatlington.co.uk.