Hello, I'm Dorothy Micklethwaite. It is good to have this opportunity to tell you something about myself. As a child I was fortunate enough to enjoy the freedom of being brought up in a rural community in County Durham. Looking back it seems like a dream - walks in the countryside, picking peas fresh from the garden and eating them before they got to the pan! However, I do realise some of the difficulties encountered by my parents in caring for five children - hard work, inclement weather, etc.

At the age of twenty-one, I moved away and began to travel the world but, for me, there could never be anywhere quite like England. It always remained my home, the place to which I returned and now do not want to leave.

So it is a great joy for me to be here, looking forward to being a Minister in your Church, getting to know you and, hopefully, you will feel able to share some of your own dreams and difficulties with me.

Helmdon Church Fete

The Church Fete took place on 7 July, one of those typically English summer days when it rained! Despite this, the intrepid stakeholders, entertainers and visitors alike united to make it a successful day. We were delighted to welcome Esther Partridge, former Diocesan President of the Mothers' Union, who opened the event. In spite of the weather the bouncy castle (or was it a swimming pool?) was as popular as ever and the excellent dancing display by the Mayland School of Dance attracted a large audience.

Thanks to all the people involved who made the day a success and helped to rise over £1,200 for the Church.

Friends of the Churchyard

The Friends of the Churchyard were inaugurated on 17 July. To care for the churchyard is of concern to the whole village - as both its burial ground and also a piece of its countryside. Caring includes keeping the part where graves are tended smoothly mown and also managing the oldest part and much of the new extension to provide for wild life - flowers and grasses, lichens and mosses, trees ad shrubs, insects, birds, and small mammals, etc.

The Friends are responsible to the PCC, who make the major decisions on overall design and will deal with all monies.

Anyone who cares about Helmdon churchyard can be a Friend and contributions in labour are most welcome from those who can make any - mowing, gardening and conservation, understanding the needs of wild life, and reporting and recording.

No subscription is asked for, but of course donations are welcome. If you are interested to join us or have any suggestions, get in touch with any of the committee:

Conrad Woolley, Chairman
Judy Cairns, Secretary
Sue Lidgley Convenor
Tim Waring
Jean Spendlove (who wrote the this)

Friends of St Mary Magdalene

On Saturday evening, 30 June, the beams of the church roof shook to the happy sound of excellent jazz. The Porterhouse Jazz Six played in Helmdon as a fundraiser for the Church, but also as part of the Brackley Music Festival. The huge audience tapped their feet and clapped along to a variety of numbers, including a lot of well known Louis Armstrong pieces, as well as belting out some of the old favourite spirituals. It was a beautiful evening and the door stood open to let the cool air in and a cool sound out! Whatever passing motorists and walkers made of it we don't know, but is must have lifted their spirits. Thank you to Colin Nash for once again bringing his colleagues to play for us. We look forward to a return visit next year.

Our next event on Saturday 8 September will be a supper with music in the garden of Fountain House. There we can enjoy a late summer balmy evening, eating, socialising and listening to a variety of live musical entertainment! On Saturday 22 September, we are being visited by Fiore Musicale for a musical interlude in the Church. Founded in 1983, they aim to bring alive the drama and passion of eighteenth century music and are the orchestra in residence at the St Ceciliatide International Festival of Music at Stationers Hall, London. In the summer months they tour and perform in historic houses and churches. On their visit to Helmdon they will be performing a Baroque concert.

I should just mention the Wine Tasting on 24 November at Home Farm. If any of these events takes your fancy, put them in your diaries/calendars NOW! More details on the notice boards in the village (and on the web site) nearer the time.

Vanessa Vicars, Chair (760477)