News & Events
Message from Trust Chairman -
Lord Astor of Hever DL
Rochester Cathedral is a marvellous place – steeped in the history of Kent from Roman times to the present day. It serves not only the Medway towns but also the whole of North and West Kent and even some of suburban London. read more
Newsletter
For up-to-date news
Beacon August & September 2007
Leviathan with a Fish-Hook
By SL Russell
Sue Russell has written a very compelling book that covers many issues of our time. She has very kindly offered to make a donation to Rochester Cathedral for each book that she sells here. The book can be ordered direct from the publishers, www.authorsonline.co.uk, either as a paperback at £9.99 or as a downloadable e-book at £3.95. It is also available from Amazon. If you would like more information please contact the Development Office on 01634 810074 or email development@rochestercathedral.org
The Rt Rev Nigel Stock, Bishop of Edmundsbury & Ipswich reviewed the book as follows:
"There is a trend amongst so called “opinion formers” to separate out people who profess a religious faith from the “rest” of society.
SL Russell’s novel refuses to bend to such artificial divisions. She draws Eileen, her main character, convincingly as a person of faith, but not one cocooned from reality. Indeed she faces some of the most difficult issues of our society. Drug abuse, mental illness, fraught human relationships are all interwoven into a compelling storyline.
There are no easy answers, and Eileen is not presented as a saint. Here is the authentic messiness of real life, with all its loose ends. Eileen faces these dilemmas through the lens of faith, searching to see where the signposts of faith are pointing. This is the more effective because Eileen is not a religious “professional” or trained theologian, but the classic “person in the pew”.
Redemption, hope and grace are not found cheaply. In a beautifully descriptive work, Russell gives a refreshingly honest account of what it means to seek to live by the standards of the Christian faith in the 21st century.
‘Leviathan with a Fish-hook’, set in the summer of 1996, is the story of Eileen Harding, a middle-aged woman living an ordinary life in rural England".
Synopsis: In the woods where she walks her dog she meets Christopher, a young man afflicted by a mental illness, plagued by guilt and in spiritual torment. Eileen’s meetings with Christopher form the heart of the story.
Eileen – often against her better judgement – befriends Christopher, helps him with practical things, and tries tentatively to share her faith with him. Christopher, the son of a clergyman, is bitter and suspicious. But little by little he learns to trust Eileen, telling her about his illness, his estrangement from his family, and his hounding by angel-like figures and a terrifying voice he believes to be God’s. Inevitably Christopher’s gradual and shocking revelations have a profound effect on Eileen. She is a strong woman, used to independence and keeping her own counsel, and she is shaken by the turn her relationship with Christopher seems to be taking.
Beneath the surface of an unremarkable life, Eileen becomes increasingly isolated. Her estranged husband, David, has met someone else. Her elder daughter, Natasha, is wrapped up in a new boyfriend, Sean, and her younger daughter, Christina, is away at university. Her close friend, Marie, is having an affair with Philip, the enigmatic church organist, and her young foster-son, Michael, seems set, unexpectedly, to be reclaimed by his natural parents. Even her old dog is taken ill and dies. Eileen is alone, relying on her own resources, with a problem that grows more difficult, and more enthralling, as the story progresses; and while she struggles on with her readings in Scripture, she often forgets to pray. Finally Christopher tells her what he is running from: an older man, Maurice, also very ill, who has corrupted and enslaved him.
Evil breaks into this volatile situation when a young village girl is violently assaulted by a member of a London drug-gang in the woods, an assault witnessed by Christopher, whose hard-won and fragile stability is thrown into disarray. Stephanie, the wild-child daughter of Marie, wreaks vengeance in a local night-club, and is arrested.
Mundane events prevent Eileen from supporting Christopher in his hour of particular terror and shame, and she is too late to save him from suicide. For several weeks she is laid low by a kind of breakdown, and we realize that when a strong person falls, she falls hard. She is pulled out of this pit of despair only by her need to protect her secret, because no one knows of her involvement with Christopher.
Eileen struggles through and comes to a new, if less than welcome, understanding. She looks at her own weakness and folly, and realizes that she has tried to do what she thought was the right thing, relying on her own strength. She sees her tendency to strike out alone and exclude her God. For the time being, it is enough for her to know that she is on her way back to him.
MACBETH 2010
On May 28th 2010 at 7.30pm
MOPA Theatre Company will be performing Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the stunning setting of Rochester Cathedral
This unique production will bring alive the religious imagery and metaphors of the play in ways that are simply not possible in a secular context. It is guaranteed to entertain, provoke thought and reveal a layer of the text that is rarely exposed in a theatre.
The production will be touring to a small number of churches and cathedrals following its Manchester Cathedral premiere on 20th May 2010.
Tickets cost: Adults £12 Children/Concession £8
Drinks will be served in the interval
MOPA’s production will demonstrate the play's power and meaning as a morality play about the eternal battle of man and society against the forces of evil. It is akin to the Everyman tale. The production captures the imagination of a wide audience and communicates what is perceived to be the deeply moral message of the play. To this end the aim is to perform the play in Church and Cathedral settings, where the setting will highlight and enrich the moral themes.
Tickets available from The Development Office 01634 810074
development@rochestercathedral.org
LAND'S END TO JOHN O'GROATS BIKE RIDE
being undertaken by the Very Rev'd Adrian Newman, Dean of Rochester
When he takes to the roads during July in 2010, The Very Rev’d Adrian Newman will become one of the first English Cathedral Deans to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Why is he doing it?
As part of his Sabbatical during the Summer of 2010, the Dean will cycle a 1,000 mile route from Lands End to John O Groat’s, raising money to support the Cathedral’s music tradition. We hope that 1,000 people will sponsor him a penny a mile for 1,000 miles – this will only cost you £10 but will enable Adrian to hit his target of £10,000 in total. Click here for sponsor sheet.
“Thank you for taking the time to support me as I tackle this 1,000 mile Bike Ride. It’s not going to be easy but I couldn’t have a greater incentive than knowing that every penny that I raise will make a major contribution towards keeping the musical tradition at Rochester Cathedral alive. It would be great to think that the people of Medway and Kent will be supporting me all the way”.
Very Rev’d Adrian Newman, Dean of Rochester
For further information please contact the
Development Office on 01634 810074
development@rochestercathedral.org
CORPSE IN THE CRYPT
Alternate Shadows in association with Rochester Cathedral are presenting a new play "Corpse in the Crypt"
"In the calm of the Benedictine Priory of St Andrew, it was time for Vespers. Brother Alwyn was reading from the Book of Hours. The pilgrims seated in the small chapel, heads bent in prayer, did not see the monk appear at the entrance until he moaned and his lifeless body hit the floor, his hand outstretched clutching a human bone. Barnabas, the Sheriff of Rochester, turns to his trusted friend Brother Alwyn for help in solving the puzzling case of the corpse in the Crypt.
Set in Medieval times, the peaceful setting of the Priory is the last place one would expect a murder.
In a mystery full of twists and saintly intervention, it will be a matter for the "little grey cells" to catch a cold blooded murderer."
Watch the events leading up the Murder, ask questions to the suspects and see if you can solve the Murder.
To get tickets:
Phone the Development Office to book your tickets on 01634 810074 or you can email: development@rochestercathedral.org
Tickets costs £6 each and are unreserved seats in the Nave of the Cathedral.
Performance starts 7.30pm on Friday 16th April
WORKS IN PROGRESS (As at November 2009)
By Colin Tolhurst
You may be aware that there are a number of building projects taking place in the cathedral at the moment. The projects that will be undertaken over the next eight months or so are as follows:
- Installation of glazed entrances at the North and Great West doors;
- Refurbishment to the Checkers Yard toilet facilities;
- Installation of a disabled toilet in the old shop store;
- Repairs to Treasury Roof and other associated work in this area
The repairs to the Treasury Roof are not due to start until the other projects have finished. For the other projects I will give you a brief up date of where we’re at and an idea of the scheduling for the immediate future.
GLAZED ENTRANCES
North Door
The glass being used is a low reflecting glass manufactured in Germany. It is on it’s way to the UK and The London Glass Company expects to be in receipt of it by the time this goes to press. The installation of the porch is due to take place overnight and started on 24th November. The first phase of work should be completed by the end of November. All being well, we should be left with a glass shell at the North Door minus the roof and the doors themselves. As this is the disabled entrance there are due to be two openings in the porch, a push button entrance (general entrance) facing the fresco and a trade entrance in line with the current opening.
The glass for the roof will be bent to shape and will be fitted, along with the doors, at a later stage. The aim is that it will be complete and up and running by Christmas. Whilst we are waiting for the roof and doors, measures to make the door safe for use will be put into place. The opening facing the Fresco will be boarded up; a wooden temporary roof will be fitted along with a temporary light. Around the glass edges at the trade opening, pipe-insulating foam will be fixed using hazard tape to identify and reduce the risk of damage to personnel and the glass itself.
There will be limited access through the North Door during this time as the area will be cordoned off to the public. It is hoped, however, that where possible we will be able to achieve disabled access through the door. The aim is to move the desk and units closer to the Fresco during these works but we may have to move them back to their original location.
Great West Door
Work on the Great West Door is due to begin sometime in the New Year.
CHECKERS YARD TOILETS
Work started at the end of November. The toilets are due to be out of use for twelve weeks.
DISABLED TOILET
Work on clearing out the old shop store has started and test pits in the Garth have been dug. Services for the toilets will come from Garth House and the test pits are to establish the condition of the archaeology on the route for the proposed pipe work. Once the archaeologist is happy work will commence in digging the trench. At some point the South Door will need to be closed for a day or two. This will be done in consultation with the diary and at a time when it will cause minimum disruption.
SITE ACCOMMODATION
The hut in the Tea Rooms car park is nearly complete. Getting power and water to the hut is the next challenge!
DAME FELICITY LOTT MASTERCLASS, CONCERT AND DINNER
4th November 2009
The renowned English soprano, Dame Felicity Lott, performed a fabulousConcert and Master Class in aid of the Rochester Cathedral Music Endowment. She was accompanied by Eugene Asti, a most distinguished piano accompanists and musician of today.
The first half of the Concert was a Master Class with four students from schools within the Diocese (as below) , after which Dame Felicity concluded her performance with a recital.
A very special dinner was served in the Crypt after the Concert and Dame Felicity was our honoured guest.
Tabitha Reynolds, King's School Rochester; James Robinson, St Olaves Grammar; Dame Felicity Lott; James Liu, Dartford Boys Grammar; Olivia Capozzi, Tunbridge Wells Grammar School. (Photograph by Mick Gell)
Dame Felicity Lott (photograph by Mick Gell)
The Cathedral Crypt looked absolutely magical and our sincere thanks go to William Bartholomew Party Organising for their generous contribution.
The concert was held to raise funds for the Rochester Cathedral Music Endowment.
Rochester Cathedral is the second oldest foundation in the United Kingdom (only Canterbury is older) and one of the few cathedrals in the country trying to sustain a classic choral tradition without any form of historic music endowment. Most other cathedrals have significant historic resources to support their music tradition, we do not. Despite this, we run three choirs – boys, girls and a voluntary adult choir. The boys are drawn from Kings School, Rochester, the girls from a wider variety of local schools, and we are committed to paying educational bursaries to encourage young people’s involvement, contribution, and personal and musical development.
In 2007 we began the task of creating an Endowment to ensure the future and continuity of the musical tradition at Rochester Cathedral. Our intention over the next ten years is to create an endowment of £2m.
The choirs currently provide exceptional music at over 300 services each year; they are led by a Director of Music and an Assistant Director of Music and supported by a small administrative team and a significant number of volunteers.
If you would like further information on how to support Cathedral Music, please contact:
Development Office
Rochester Cathedral Trust
Garth House
The precinct
Rochester
ME1 1SX
development@rochestercathedral.org
01634 810074
REPORT BACK FROM ADIDAS WOMEN’S 5km CHALLENGE
"Team Rochester" met up at the Coach Park on Commercial Road and set off for Hyde Park on Sunday 6th September at 8.30am. We arrived with thousands of other ladies, all there to raise money for their charities.
We had 12 team members on the day.
Back row from left: Lynne Egide; Kay McDowell; Hannah Butler; Jan Butler; Kate Silver; Ann West.
Front row: Joan Todd; Win Lang; Eileen Coleman; Sylvia May; Lisa Parish; Anne Sears.
Congratulations to Lisa in coming in first of our team with a time of 33 minutes, but very special thanks go to the older members of our team for their fantastic effort.
Come ladies! If they can do it – so can you – please join us next year!!
It was a lovely day for a picnic too, plus a great way to raise funds. The total raised will be advised as soon as all the sponsors are collected.
Rochester Cathedral "Sponsor a Chair" Project
On Friday 28th August 2009, 900 of the Cathedral's old, worn-out chairs were replaced with new ones.
You can be part of this exciting project by sponsoring one or more of the new chairs.
Why are the new chairs necessary?
- They are stylish, elegant and remarkably comfortable
- our current chairs are uncomfortable and detract from the beauty of the cathedral
- They can be stacked and moved easily
- a busy cathedral needs flexible seating for different events and services
They are hard-wearing
- the new chairs have stood the test of time in other cathedrals
- They are safe
- 2 recent fires in other cathedrals were caused by chairs catching fire
Unpacking the chairs
(Photograph courtesy of The Kent Messenger Group)
Each year Rochester Cathedral hosts 1,500 services and events. High-quality seating is a vital part of our hospitality to guests, visitors and worshippers. The Howe 40/4 is one of the most space-saving chairs on the market; it stacks 40 high in only 4 ft (hence the name), and complements the colour and texture of the cathedral's architecture with its elegant design. You will find it in a number of the UK's mediaeval cathedrals.
Sponsoring a chair is a lovely way of helping the cathedral, and at the same time marking the contribution of an individual or an organisation that is important to you. Each chair can bear a plaque with a name requested by the sponsor - this could be your own name or someone you wish to commemorate; it could be the name of a church or parish, a school, club, company, regiment, university, or any other form of organisation.
Each chair costs £150. If you would like to sponsor one or more chairs, please contact Rochester Cathedral Trust, Garth House, The Precinct, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1SX (01634 810074) email development@rochestercathedral.org
Conditions:
- Once sponsored, the chair remains the property of the cathedral and does not entitle the sponsor to any special admission or seating rights.
- The chairs are designed so that they may be moved and stacked when necessary. There is no undertaking to keep a sponsored chair in any part or position in the cathedral.
- While the chairs are expected to last for many years and every effort will be made to avoid damage, no guarantee can be given that any one chair will be in the cathedral for any specific period of time.
- The Dean and Chapter reserve the right to approve what may be inscribed on the plaque.
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral have very kindly contributed £70,000 towards this very expensive project, and our sincere thanks go to them for their continued support of our fund raising projects.
ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL 2010 CALENDAR
We had a fantastic response from parishes of the 604 Society enter a photograph of their parish into a 2010 calendar. We are pleased to advised that a final selection has been made and the calendar has now been printed and is for sale. They will be available at £5 each from the Development Office, The Cathedral Welcome Desk, and the Visitor Information Centre on Rochester High Street from the end of June. The calendar was launched at a reception at Garth House on 24th June, where the photographers were invited for a preview of the calendar.
Back row from left – Michael Luxton; Brian Bunce; Geoff Matthews; Pamela Day; Andy Smith; Stan Codling.
Front row from left – Tony Fairclough; Tony White; Ronald Walford
To view the calendar click here
Our congratulations go to the winning photographers, they are:
January St Barnabas, Beckenham Michael Luxton
February St Mary the Virgin, Horton Kirby Ronald Walford
March All Saints, Footscray Andy Smith
April St Paulinus, Crayford Brian Bunce
May St Botolph, Lullingstone Philip McGarvey
June St Martin, Brasted Pamela Day
July Christ Church, Sidcup DS Codling
August St Edmund King & Martyr
West Kingsdown Tony White
September St Peter & St Paul, Edenbridge Anthony R Tester
October Christ Church, Luton Sue Cherry
November St Margaret, Rainham Tony Fairclough
December Rochester Cathedral Choirs Geoff Matthews
Cover Rochester Cathedral West Front David Robinson
Our very sincere thanks go to our graphic designer, Billie Wootton of Innov8 Graphic Design and Barker's Lithographic Printers for the printing.
We are very grateful to our Trustee Mrs Jean Callebaut, who fully sponsored the calendar. All proceeds will go to the Music Endowment of Rochester Cathedral.
Mrs Jean Callebaut and Very Rev'd Adrian Newman, Dean of Rochester
For an order form click here
JOOLS HOLLAND "CONSIDER THE SOURCE" CD
We are delighted to advise that the CD recording made at the Jools Holland concert held here in the Cathedral in 2007 is now available for sale.
The price is £12.99 inclusive. Should you need us to post it to you, there will be a postage and packing charge of an extra £1.50.
There are ten tracks on the CD.
1. Rock Me with Ruby Turner
2. Precious Lord with Ruby Turner
3. Seven Acts of Mercy with Louise Marshall
4. Consider the Source
5. Where in the World with Beverley Knight
6. A Change is Gonna Come with Beverley Knight
7. Peace in the Valley with Ruby Turner
8 Kyrie with the Wells & Rochester Cathedral Choirs
9. Sanctus with the Wells & Rochester cathedral Choirs
10 .Up Above my Head I hear Music in the Air with the Wells & Rochester Cathedral Choirs
Jools Holland has very kindly donated copies of this CD to both ourselves and Wells Cathedral (where he also performed this concert) and all funds raised will go towards the Cathedral fund raising. Our very sincere thanks go to him and his wonderful team.
Please conatct Lynne in the Development Office at Garth House for your copy.
Tel: 01634 810074
development@rochestercathedral.org
ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL CHARITY GOLF MATCH
Rochester Cathedral held it’s first Charity Golf Day at Hever Castle Golf Club on 21st March 2009.
Sandy Gall, CBE and Very Rev'd Adrian Newman
Sandy Gall, Lord Astor of Hever (Chairman) & Tony Montuui (High Sheriff's team)
Lord Astor of Hever joined us to see everybody off on the first tee after delicious bacon rolls and coffee! We were very pleased to have Mr Sandy Gall CBE heading up one of our teams. Our thanks go also to our brilliant local supporters, mhs homes, Lyons Electrical, Ward Security, GEP Safety Consultants, The Brice family, Nigel Wheeler and his High Sheriff team, and our Trustee, the Hon Mrs Clare Denison-Pender and her teams. Our congratulations to the Kentish Cavaliers on winning the day! We received £6,500 in entry fees and donations for the day.
Our thanks to KM Treasure Chest www.kentonline.co.uk and P&O Ferries for their support.
For more information on P&O Ferries please go to www.poferries.com
Our major sponsor for the event is Ward Security of Medway City Estate, Rochester. For more information on this Medway company go to www.ward-security.co.uk
THE KENT POLICE MALE VOICE CHOIR AND ORGANIST DAN SOPER IN CONCERT
Our sincere thanks go to The kent Police Male Voice Choir for a wonderful concert in the Cathedral on 16 May 2009. Special thanks also to Mr Dan Soper for his very talented Organ playing.
As always, our thanks go to to all the behind the scenes people for their help. Pam Newlyn, Mike Clayton, John and Jane Smith, the Vergers and Event Stewards, thank you all for your help.
THE VERGERS OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL CHALLENGE US ALL TO A QUIZ
We all had a fantastic evening with the Vergers as our Quiz Masters. It was so successful that the Vergers want to make it an annual event. Thank you to Colin, Joe and Mel for all their efforts. Over £600 was raised.
FIRST LESSON - MURDER!
We all had a great night recently exercising our sleuthing skills, and were entertained by some of Chapter and Cathedral staff while they took part in Helen Bradshaw’s “First Lesson – Murder!”
From left: Scott Farrell, Liz Simmons (seated) Catherine Staziker, Jean Kerr
Full cast from left: Colin Tolhurst; Catherine Staziker; John Bradshaw; Liz Simmons; Jean Kerr; Scott Farrell; Adrian Newman
Thank you so much to Helen Bannister for supplying all the food for the evening. We raised £668 in ticket and raffle sales. Special thanks to Derek and Tina Clark for their “Forensic “ greeting at the door!
HENRY SANDON'S CHRISTMAS EVE VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL
We are delighted to advise that Mr Henry Sandon, MBE joined us in the Cathedral on Christmas Eve to meet and greet, and to autograph copies of Rochester Remembers. Thank you so much to all who came along to say hello. Copies of Rochester Remembers are still available if you have not got your copy yet. Phone 01634 810074 for further details.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
We were delighted to have John Bromley Davenport perform his adaptation of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" in the Cathedral during the Dickens weekend in December 2008. This fund raising event filled the cathedral and was much enjoyed. Our thanks to The Hon. Clare Denison-Pender, a Trustee of Rochester Cathedral, who arranged this performance.
COMPLETED PROJECTS
Since we started our Fundraising campaign back in January 2005 we have achieved many of the goals we set. Some of the projects that have been paid for are as follows:
The installation of a new harness system, for safely working at heights.
Full electrical test of the electrical installations in the Cathedral, followed by a test of appliances.
Test and repair the lightning conductors.
Removal of a problem bee’s nest.
An extensive CCTV survey of the underground drainage system.
Refurbishment of the toilet facilities in the Garth.
Works to the chair store
Design and launch of new web site
A photographic Library
Repair of cathedral pipes and gutters and essential works to the Clerestory window masonry.
Pathway relaid (south side)
External work on the mullions (north side)
Feasibility studies (necessary precursors to any major works)
Disabled Access to Crypt
Interpretation Centre
Cathedral Interpretation Plan
Precinct Property
Cherry Picker (Ex funding from Friends of Rochester Cathedral)
High Level conservation of Lady Chapel and South Transept masonry.
Exploration of the Garth by Archaeologist in preparation for the Disability Access project.
Music Outreach project commenced
We hope to have the first phase of the Interpretation Plan that has been funded by Heritage Lottery Fund in place by Easter 2009.
ROCHESTER REMEMBERS
As part of our fund raising effort for the cathedral, the congregation have got together to produce a book called “Rochester Remembers”. The concept was partly started to commemorate the 70th anniversary of WWII and partly to tell the fascinating stories of ordinary local people during that time.
“Rochester Remembers” is all about the lives and experiences of people during the war, as told by themselves, who now live in Rochester. As you can imagine they are fantastic memories, some heart breaking, some amusing, but all interesting and thought provoking. Photographs are included.
The book goes to print during October and we hope to have it ready for sale at £10 per copy by the end of November. Mr Henry Sandon kindly wrote the Foreward to our book, he is a Patron of the Evacuee's Society. He say's, "It is nice to be invited to write a foreword to Rochester Remembers. As a Londoner my pre-war memories of Kent were limited to an occasional steamer trip to Margate and my wartime years were spent as an evacuee in Buckinghamshire. Life as a “Vaccy” could be like the curate’s egg (even curates only got one egg a week on the ration), we missed our parents and it was very difficult to live with strangers.
I am a patron of the Evacuees Association, together with Michael Aspel, the long time presenter of the BBC Antiques Roadshow and This Is Your Life, and we hear some heartbreaking stories of the treatment of some vaccies. But we survived and I became a little cog in the wheels of the Royal West Kents in Shorncliffe Camp, wangling my way into the South East Command Concert Party, which was a little like “It Ain’t ‘Arf ‘Ot Mum”. As the resident baritone I must have sung in most towns in Kent and give a belated apology to any who suffered.
In recent years I have been closely related to Rochester through my son David singing in the Cathedral Choir and I have even sung a few times with the choir myself. So I wish all the best to the book of Anne and John Sears and to the great City of Rochester.
Henry Sandon M.B.E.
The book will be on sale at Baggins Bookshop and The Visitor Information Centre in Rochester High Street, and at Rainham Bookshop as well as here at the Cathedral in the shop and from the office. Click here to order
If you have any difficulty in obtaining the book, please contact the Development Office in Garth House on 01634 810074
Please note that £1.50 postage and packing will be added to postal orders.
GRAND AUCTION IN KINGS SCHOOL HALL, ROCHESTER
SATURDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2008
The auction was great fun and we raised over £2,000!
Our thanks go firstly to John and David Sandon for the auctioneering. To Dr Ian Walker and Mr Kevin Jones of Kings School for kindly allowing us to use their facilities, and to all the helpers on the evening, Betty Trollope, Pam Gonsalves, Felicity Osborne, and the Kings School boys that made excellent runners!
Last but not least our very grateful thanks go to all the people that donated sale lots.
BARN DANCE IN KINGS SCHOOL HALL, ROCHESTER
We had great fun at the Barn Dance. The Skinners Rats are really good fun.
Speacial thanks to John and Anne Sears for the tremendous amount of work they put into it.
Also to Betty Trollope for her help with the raffle, and Mary Woodfield for her help with the Hot Dogs.
Before expenses we raised almost £650.
Our thanks to the following High Street businesses that sponsored raffle prizes:
The Candy Bar
Capons Butchers
Dennis Green Jewellers
Dickens House Wine Emporium
Ebeneezers
Francis Iles
garden House Cafe & Deli
Hometown
Johnstones
Just Perfect
Kaizen International
Nimbus Lighting
Pips of Rochester
Rochester Handbags
Slinders Florist
The Deli
The Dolls House
Leeds Castle kindly donated a 1 year family membership pass
The donation was made via the KM Community Chest programme
Eileen Coleman donated a delicious Christmas cake.
Thank you to all.
FUN WALK FOR CATHEDRAL
On 7th September a team of 18 women from the Cathedral took part in the Adidas 5km Women’s Challenge in Hype Park. This is an annual race was organised by the London Marathon Company and 15,000 women participated.
Winifred ‘Win’ Lang, who turns 90 in January, took part in the race and raised £325 for cathedral funds. She said: “I have never done it before, but I really enjoyed it – we had a lovely day and I had no aches, pains or anything like that.
I haven’t yet decided whether or not I will be taking part in next year’s race, I will make a decision nearer the time”
Everybody completed the race in good time (we are walkers – not runners) and despite the rotten weather, we had a fun morning.
Our thanks go to all our team for their effort and their sponsorship fundraising. Funds are still coming in and we hope to be as successful as lat year.
CHEESE & WINE ENTERTAINMENT IN KINGS ORCHARD
We recently held two very successful events in a marquee we were kindly given the use of by The University of Greenwich.
The first one was a Cheese & Wine party, which was very well attended. We were entertained by the Balgores Band, a 1930’s style folk band, who also very kindly volunteered their services freely.
Our grateful thanks go to helpers Helen Bannister, Andrew Coulson and Jara Carter.
DRINKS RECEPTION IN KINGS ORCHARD
The next night the Dean and Lord Astor (Chairman of Rochester Cathedral Trust) hosted a drinks reception which was also very well attended and gave us the opportunity to say thank you to some of the many people that have helped us on our fund raising journey over the past few years.
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