Although congregational and choral singing is still not permitted in church, and live concerts are not yet permitted in our church buildings, the long-awaited return of live music comes closer each day with the continual increase in vaccination numbers. I remain optimistic about restarting our parish music groups this autumn,…
The last time that we walked and talked was at the beginning of December 2020 which is almost 6 months ago. At last we can safely meet outdoors in groups of less than 15! So let’s go for it. Begin to live again. So here is the plan: Tuesday 1st…
Thanks to everyone who submitted recipes for the Sandford Parish Cookbook. The Cookbook Committee (Chris Boyd, Linda Evans, Barbara Power-Smith, Rob Tilson, Gillian Wynne and the Rector) are busily collating, editing, proof-reading etc. in order to get the book to the printers. It is planned that the cookbook will be…
Our Prayer Walk will be back in the grounds of both Sandford Church and St Philip’s Church in early June. Please feel free to drop in for a time of quiet reflection if you are passing.
Virtual-choir Crucifixion Over the next few weeks, some members of the Choral Union and Choral Scholars will participate in a virtual-choir recording of Sir John Stainer’s passion cantata The Crucifixion. This piece was once a Holy Week fixture in almost every parish with a good choir, and after decades in…
The Garden Gang awaits news of the latest public health guidelines with a key date being 5 March, but while we all wait nature does not. It is thrilling to see snowdrops and daffodils blooming, while the days are getting longer. We haven’t gardened together since October 2019 which is…
Christmas Cards In response to the wonderful Christmas cards sent by members of the Sunday Schools to the SandMillers (plus others), this message was received: “This morning I got a lovely surprise from one of the little girls – a handmade Christmas card from St Philip’s church….It is a lovely…
Well, it is February 2021 and, since the beginning of the year, all of us have been keeping within 5km of our homes when going outdoors for exercise. Speaking for myself, I love to be outdoors every day and to feel the weather around me and to have the sky…
Quicksilver, of distant notoriety, Cross Country Quiz, Mastermind, University Challenge, Pointless, ok, we all love a ‘quiz’. The smug feeling of being able to answer that one obscure trivia question or the frustration of grasping for that either/or choice. On a cold Thursday evening, nine eager teams, suitably charged with…
We are investigating whether there is any interest in re-starting a craft group albeit virtually! More and more people are getting crafty and creative in lockdown and revisiting old hobbies. We are seeing if perhaps people might like to come together to craft, chat and encourage each other over Zoom,…