We shall be sorry to see Jes leave the Benefice at the end of September.  Not only has he been a member of Ridlington Singers but he has helped us set up our annual pet service and to start a new tradition of Songs of Praise in the church.

Jes and his wife Jane are moving to look after three parishes in Bedfordshire which will mean they are living closer to Jane’s grandson.

Donations for the leaving gift to our church treasurer, Dawn Ross, or to our church warden, Debra Thatcher by the 10th September, please.

A hearty thank you to the 12 strong work party who undertook our annual strim and rake of the churchyard.

Afterwards we joined together in a bring and share ploughman’s lunch – very well deserved after all the hard work.

A thank you also to those who have volunteered to “meet and greet” participants in the Rutland Historic Churches Preservation Trust’s fundraiser “Ride and Stride” on Saturday, 9th September.

The next collection from the church porch will be on  6th September. 

Please continue to give generously – our help is needed.

Thank you.

 

 

Forthcoming events:

  • Coffee Mornings – 10.30 to 12.00
    Friday 6th October and Friday 1st December
  • Team Quiz – 3rd November
  • Social Night – 15th December

Everyone welcome!

 

The Ridlington Singers will be presenting an informal concert in Ridlington Church at 7.30pm on Saturday 23 September.

More details will be published in September’s Parish magazine, on the website and Ridlington’s WhatsApp group so save the date!

 

 

On July 29th, a Village Wine Tasting event was held. Here is an update of the evening and some photos.

We are pleased that it turned out as planned and everyone enjoyed themselves. A fun and casual way to catch up whilst slurping on the different wines at their disposal. They had to guess the wines, what was on the “Nose” or what flavours they could distinguish on the palate. There were wines from both the Old World and New World and we even managed to taste a British Sparkling Wine! We were a bit over enthusiastic as there were perhaps too many tasters – 9 different wines. Next time rest assured that there will be less.  We were also happy that everyone left with a “spring in their step” and luckily found their way back home.

The event was organised as a Social Event and not as a fundraiser. We had decided that should any monies be left over these would be donated to the charity of choice. We managed to accommodate a few extra people late in the day and those who sadly had to cancel at the ‘eleventh hour’ donated their ticket money. The Village Hall Committee have also donated the Hall hire. As luck would have it we had generated enough money to donate. The two nominated charities turned out to be evenly supported and therefore the money has been equally split between the two – Prostate Cancer UK and Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.

The amount generated after expenditure was    £111.50.   We would like to say a huge THANK YOU! TO EVERYONE.

There is a general consensus to hold another wine evening perhaps during the winter months… I hope you are not actually suggesting that a “Ridlington Wine Club” is set up? 🤣

Please feel free to share your ideas with us. It was a great opportunity for the village to get together and an opportunity to welcome new residents.

So once again, Thank You, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Jackie, Jo, Shelagh,

 

 

 

Another Pulitzer Prize winner this month: “Angela’s Ashes”, a “misery memoir” by Frank McCourt recounting his early years in the depression and WW2 in New York and Limerick.  A tale of alcoholism, marital infidelity and abandonment but lightened by great story telling and a lovely turn of phrase – “Shakespeare is like mashed potatoes, you can never get enough of him”.

One of Churchill’s favourites – “Mr Midshipman Hornblower”, the introduction to the Royal Naval hero of the French Revolutionary War, a series of adventures and challenges.  A great way to learn naval vocabulary and which will come in handy for Scrabble enthusiasts.

The police procedural this month is another Alex Gray novel, “Pitch Black”, a serial killer at work in Kelvin FC…guessed who dunnit!

 

It is with great sadness to announce the passing of my beloved wife, Andrea Batten who died peacefully at home on August 1st 2023 after a long illness.

Algy, Caroline and I, would like to express our heartfelt thanks to friends, neighbours and in particular, to the kind and loving carers that looked after Andrea during her time at home.

A celebration of her life will be held at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene & St. Andrew, Ridlington on Tuesday, August 22nd at  2:00 pm.

Family, friends and members of the community are invited to join us at the Service followed by afternoon tea which will be served in the Village Hall.

Her cremation will be held at a private ceremony.

David Batten