For the most recent letter please see here.
It has become a tradition in the village for the four churches (St Anne (Church of England), Christ the King (Roman Catholic), Methodist and the Brook Church (evangelical) to produce a joint Christmas card that is delivered to every household in the village. As has become my practice, I am pleased to provide you with your 'electronic' version.
Winter was quite late coming this year, the first heavy frost was not until overnight on the 13/14th November so we had a very cold start to our Remembrance Sunday service but by the time we gathered round the War Memorial for the Act of Remembrance at 11 o'clock the sun was shining brightly. The service is always very poignant and this year we were able to preface the two minute silence with the sound of a bugle playing the Last Post, something which was much appreciated especially by the veterans present. The War Memorial can be seen in the picture of the church below.
British weather being what it is, three days after that cold night of the 13th we had overnight temperatures into double figures (Centigrade that is)! We have had a few flakes of snow, but nothing that settled, though further north they have had a covering from which comes one of the 'out of the mouths of babes' stories. My two year old grandson, looking out at his first snow said "We will have to be careful, there may be Polar Bears"!
St Anne's churchyard has had something
of a "short back and sides" during the last couple of months. Over the years
the trees in front of the church had become seriously overgrown, almost obscuring
the building from view. So, in consultation with the local authority's
arbiculturist, a programme of pruning and thinning has been carried out.
The cedar still stands majestically there, though no longer overhanging the
building. The flowering trees have been cut well back, but will bush
out rapidly once the growing season starts..
Another
project we have done in the church grounds is to reinstate the old Victorian
lights. There are cast iron gas lamp posts by each gate, though the
lamp heads have long since fallen into disuse and eventually eroded away.
We have replaced the heads with reproduction lamps and fitted electric lights.
Revisions to the website since the Autumn newsletter include:
In the general enquiries area:
In the family enquiries area
I'm not fishing for complements, but it is nice to hear that
my efforts with the website are appreciated:
"Your recent issue of Bagshot news with autumn illustrations was good to receive. Keep the web going. Jill"Having been able to introduce two distant relatives "Thank you once again for your help and I do so enjoy your newsletters from Bagshot."
"Lovely Newsletter and gorgeous pix. Well done and thanks. Lynne "
"Thank you, Neil - interesting as always. What a big task you have set yourself, but it is appreciated. Thanks. June"
"Have enjoyed reading all the updates. The archaeology centre section was very impressive - thank you for that."
"I would just like to say that I am impressed by this website as I moved out of Bagshot many years ago now but when I came across this site it brought back many memories for me. Phil"
With best wishes to you, and those you hold dear. I hope
you have an enjoyable Christmas and that the New Year will fulfill your
wishes.
God Bless,
Neil
(webmaster)
home: Bagshot
St Anne's Church
The opinions expressed here are those of the author,
writing on his own behalf and not representing anyone else or any
organisation.
copyright © 2004 Neil Bartlett and licensors. All rights reserved.