All good wishes to Smickey, Helen and Thia Chiula as they head off to Africa. Helen has been given the chance to volunteer as a Children’s Centre Manager for the BeeHive Centre in Chilomoni, Malawi – Smickey’s homeland. We look forward to hearing from them in due course.

Rev. John & Eileen Beardsley, now living in Tewkesbury, send greetings to all who remember them and mention that they regularly come across Rev. Stanley Finch (one-time Vicar of Broughton) who lives quite near. John has grown a set of whiskers, by the way!

Congratulations to Ray and Gill Askew on the birth of their first grandchild, Thomas Ray, on 22 Aug. in the States.

Thursday, 10^th October is the date fixed for the consecration of the new Bishop of Blackburn in York Minster by the Archbishop of York. His formal inauguration as the Bishop of Blackburn will be on 19^th October at Blackburn Cathedral. We wish him well.

We’ve had a good harvest of church magazines from far and wide in the wake of the holiday season: from Chamonix, Talloires, Epernay & Peronne in France; from the Peak District (parishes of Birchover, Middleton, Stanton-in-Peak & Youlgreave); from Southwold Methodist Church (Suffolk); from Tewkesbury & Apperley Methodist Churches (Glos.) and from the West Somerset Methodist Circuit, Glastonbury Methodist church & Mendip Methodist Circuit - both Somerset. From nearer home we’ve had the ‘regulars’ from Christ Church, the URC and St Michael’s with St Mark’s; from St Paul’s, Warton and from Oakworth Methodist Church. Others have come from St Leonard’s, Walton-le- Dale and 3 Churches Together (Bretherton, Croston & Mawdesley in W. Lancs.).

The date of this year’s ‘Radio Lancashire Sings Christmas’ has been set for Thursday, 19^th December.