Settle's Answer to Oberammergau

The topic of our local Passion Play at Settle is stretching the topic of this blog a little but there are links:

1. We used as our robing room St John's Church Hall which house the Rainforest Fund display board (and someone did ask me how we did at the Coffee Morning)
2. People all over the world, including near rainforests, have special Good Friday events
3. Sean McDonagh has produced a powerful piece of writing and slide set Stations of the Forest based on Stations of the Cross. (If you live locally I can lend you the slides) - about loss of tropical forest.
   
4. There are other people who have lost their lives through working to try and save habitats.

Pictures:
1. Barabas asks why was Jesus crucified when he should have been.
2. Walking up Kirkgate
3. Jesus washes the disciples feet
4. The last supper - outside the Catholic church.

Hospital chaplains and Prayer Rooms

Tue 7 April

In the early evening I went to Harrogate Hospital to visit my Mother who is there because of her broken hip. She broke it a fortnight ago.

Whilst I was there Graham Sturdy came to visit her - the Minister from her church in Ripon. It really perked her up.

If Mum was to be in hospital over Easter I wondered if she would be able to go to a service on Easter Sunday. He suggested I leave a message for the hospital chaplain. (I had seen a palm cross and a card on her table so presumably the chaplain had been to visit her )

Later that evening I asked where the prayer room was and wandered down there.
It was a peaceful place, and a sat there a short while, and appreciated it. It was a different place to go within the hospital.

I value the hospital chaplains. I am just saying this here, because this morning I heard on Radio 4 a man saying that the hospitals should not pay for chaplains. Well I am pleased the chaplains are there.

Greenery at the hospital.

My mother has a bed next to the window which is nice because it gets lots of sun. However it just looks on to another anonymous wing of the hospital so she cannot see "green hills" or even green trees. However if you go to the window and look straight down there is an area planted with bushes below... and as it is still only April they are not green yet.. The bunch of daffodils from my neghbour's garden and from Settle market, and other flowers on the windowsill make a difference.

First Aid Course

Must dash. I I have the privilege of attending a day First Aid Course up at Malham Tarn Field Centre - I will be teaching some courses there later this year.

Tuesday 8 April

Last year in February we raised £80-00 at the Church Coffee Morning for the Rainforest. This year we raised £172!! - Double! - Plus a friend came and donated an extra £50 for his own acre -

Left shows a dog's eye view of the coffee morning. And right, a hopeful hound.

A big thanks to all who came. The total of £172 included £34 from sale of my cards including £20 to one person, and a £20 donation.
Hilary Briggs and C. who served the teas both had a display of the cards they make, including Easter Cards, and apple pies that Hilary made with the last of her store of 2008 apples.

We were lucky - the Craven Herald had managed an article last Thursday on our event.

I went round Settle at 9.30am and gave leaflets to people I knew and asked several shops and market stalls to display the leaflets. - "Where is the church?" asked someone in Age Concern- That was a good point - if we want toursits/daytrippers to come we need to make it easier for them - "It's the church under the railway bridge past the petrol station just north of the market" - I shall have to put that on posters in the future. the picture on the left shows two ladies in the foreground looking at the greeting cards.

Speakers Club Rainforest Certificate

Monday 6 April

Craven Speakers Club had raised £120 last year to buy two acres of forest through World Land Trust. I used my turn to give a speech this evening to show everyone the certificate for Two acres of Brazilian forest

Settle Spinners

Settle Spinners at the Church Hall invited me to go and open the bottle of "loose cash" they had been collecting over the year.

It came to £26 87p.

A big "Thank you".

One of them kindly posed in the grounds at the back of the hall.




Here is some weaving that one of them had done.