Friends of Holy Trinity

The FOHT Committee

The Friends committee met recently to discuss its continued role supporting the PCC through its remit to raise funds for the maintenance of the fabric of the Church, a Grade 1 Listed building and its facilities but excluding revenue items. About half of these funds come from membership donations and the rest from events.

The committee is headed by the Vicar and it will be interesting to see how involved our future incumbent might wish to be as the last two vicars have very much left the committee to its own devices. However when Jill Price and the writer were Churchwardens, the financial needs of the PCC were easily matched with the FOHT activities. The PCC Fabric Committee is now dealing with some very large projects which the Friends can support but in a limited financial way. The FOHT committee currently has eight members, one of which needs to be a PCC member with the PCC nominating four members and the other four being nominated at the AGM. At that meeting any amendments to the constitution will be put up for approval together with proposals for funding projects. The AGM will be in early May at a date to be defined.

The writer has been Vice Chairman of the Friends for many years. He has advised the committee he wishes to stand down from this role at the next AGM but is happy to stay on the committee, subject to agreement at the AGM that Ian Mitchell becomes Vice Chairman.

Events

Covid had a severe effect on the ability of FOHT to raise the funds essential for the maintenance of the Church fabric. With Covid behind us, we do hope that our supporters will be willing to attend future events. It was encouraging that Mary Macleod’s talk last year on the Vikings was very well supported while at present, the committee have a further five or six potential talks that we can follow up.

Tom Heap has agreed to give a talk to us when we find a suitable date. Tom is a Rural Affairs Correspondent for the BBC in Country File and a radio reporter for a Radio 4 Podcast ‘39 Ways to Save the Planet’ which is now in book form. More recently Tom has been presenting the Sky News ‘Climate Show’. With the spotlight on Climate Change, we are sure Tom’s talk will be very popular; subject to numbers, it will be held in the Meeting Room or in the Church.

If you are interested, the Friends have a website (although not up to date as someone is needed to maintain it!). The site gives an appreciation of fund raising events back to 1999 and church projects up to 2015 that have been supported by FOHT. See: http://www.foht.org.uk

John Price

Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group

We are a small and friendly group that meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month (except December); venues vary between All Saints’ Community Hall, Melbourn and Holy Trinity Church Meeting Room, Meldreth. Our meetings usually begin at 7.45pm. We begin with notices and prayers and then either have a guest speaker or in house entertainment. We finish each meeting with a cuppa, biscuits and a chat. There is a charge of £2 to cover expenses. Each year we choose a charity to support and kick start this with a raffle at our AGM in January; our charity for this year is Camsight. At our AGM in January we received the formal reports and thanked those members who were standing down. We then had a bring and share supper which was much enjoyed by all.

On Tuesday March 28th we will meet in All Saints’ Community Hall when we are looking forward to a talk about ‘Jimmys’ which will be given by Barry Griffiths. And on Tuesday April 25th, we will be at Holy Trinity in Meldreth to hear from The Lift off Choir. If you would like to know more about the group, would like a programme or need a lift please contact one of the committee members: Diane Blundell (01763) 221415, Angela Leach (01763) 262793, Sue Toule (01763) 260955 Mary Bailey (01763) 220171 and Mary Purdy

Diane Blundell

Melbourn and District Photographic Club

With the season entering its last few months, we have a full and varied programme including competitions and lectures. March events are as follows:

7 Mar Three Counties Cup vs Saffron Walden & Letchworth: Judge: Adrian Stone

14 Mar 3rd Open PDI Competition: Judge: Clive Harward

21 Mar Wild Islands, The Falklands – Lecture by Mark Sisson

28 Mar Print of the Year: Judge: Vic Hainsworth Meetings are held weekly from 7.30pm-9.30pm on Tuesdays in Foxton Village Hall. The Club has a diverse membership, with a friendly and supportive atmosphere, and always welcomes new members. For details about the Club, and to see some of our work, visit our website at melbournphotoclub.com. If you are interested in joining, we are happy for you to join up to two meetings free of charge before deciding. To do this, just email me at melbournphotoclub@hotmail.com.

Peter North Secretary

Veg Club Saturday Meeting Dates

Below are the dates of meetings for the rest of the year. Please email Margaret Lynch if you can host September. Meeting dates are: March 11, April 1, May 13, June 10, July 8, August 12, Sept 9, Sept 23, October 14, November 11, December 2

Margaret Lynch & Sandra Ray

Scarecrow Festival June 10th

The village Scarecrow festival will be held on the weekend of the church fete. Theme not decided but there are two options: ‘Top of the crops’- Popstars or ‘The working wheat’ -Jobs. Email us with your preference at: meldrethscarescrow@gmail.com. If you are interested in helping out, please also get in touch.

Roger Faires

Fancy Rat

The National Fancy Rat Society will be holding a rat show in Meldreth Village Hall on Sunday 26th March, between 11.00am and 4.00pm. Visitors very welcome; refreshments will be available. Any questions email at: (cyber_ratty@yahoo.co.uk)

Mary Giles

Arthur Rank Hospice; Charity Event

Chariots of Fire event takes place on Sunday 19th March. More than 260 teams have already signed up so time to get involved. Arthur Rank Hospice Charity is the partner of the event organiser HCR Hewitsons Charitable Trust. The event is set to raise £71,000 to help fund the expansion of their Charity shops. To enter a team, visit: chariots-of-fire.co.uk before 5.00pm on 15th March. Come and watch the race or visit the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity’s JustGiving page: justgiving.com/campaign/ chariotsoffire2022

Sarah Cawley Head of PR and Communications

Meldreth Holy Trinity Church Fete

Save the date! Saturday 10th June 11.30am—4.00pm

Refreshments * Barbecue * Raffle * Family Games * Competitions * Bottle Stall * Books Plants plus lots more! For news or offers of help, please contact Toni 07584 195956 or canntwins@icloud.com

Toni & Karen