The Christ Church Community Hall is well and truly open. Bishop Richard Cheetah, the bishop of Kingston was on hand to pronounce a solemn blessing on the whole enterprise.

It all started some five years when a generous legacy prompted the then Vicar and his warden to consider how to make the most of it. The idea of putting it towards the building a hall that would serve the whole community, immediately felt so right that it is was reported they ran into the churchyard to look at the possible site and may have indulged in a silly bit of dancing!

That was the easy part of course. There followed years of exhausting work by dozens of volunteers and generous donors to make it happen. At the party which followed the blessing, the current vicar, the Rev. David Guest (pictured) attempted to thank them all.

In addition to being stunningly beautiful, the hall is already very popular and heavily booked. A job well done.

Article supplied by Mireille Stanton