It was a cold, damp and dismal day in the middle of summer when we celebrated St Peter’s Day, 29th June, at Brooke with a communion service at 7:00pm followed by local strawberries and cream and a little drop of bubbly, which cheered us all up no end. The church was resplendent with flowers on every window sill and the service was taken by Revd Canon Lee Francis – Dehqani assisted by our new curates Iain Osborne and Charlotte Osborn. Charlotte spoke on the life of St Peter and what we might learn from it and Mary Brooks continued the tradition of reading the lesson from St Peter’ s treasured Book of Common Prayer printed in 1627 and presented to Brooke in 1631.
A few days later on a proper warm and sunny summer’s afternoon St Peter was the venue for a Summer Concert followed by tea and a wonderful selection of cakes. This little concert was the idea of Terry and Gill Greer’s granddaughter Maddy and members of the talented Greer family performed several beautiful pieces for us; Maddy sang songs accompanied on the piano by her singing teacher Helen Covington, sister Hannah sang a song :from ‘Les Miserables’ and grandfather Terry played various pieces on his oboe also accompanied by Helen Covington. The recently formed ‘Riddlington Singers’ came and sang for us too, it was only their third performance but I’m sure we will be asking them to return. The concert was enjoyed by a full church and all donations given will go to St Peter’s fabric fund. Our grateful thanks go to all those who decorated the church, entertained us and provided the tea and cakes and well done to Maddy for the inspiration.
A Dove Cottage Day Hospice has recently opened not far from Brooke at Jubilee Farm on the Ridlington Road and a :friend whose late partner had benefitted :from their care and friendship during his visits there took me along to their Open Afternoon on Sat 8th July. There was a delicious afternoon tea provided of sandwiches, cakes, strawberries and cream along with a refreshing glass of Pimms, Morris Dancers entertained us throughout the afternoon and all this with beautiful scenic views across the valley towards Ridlington.
It struck me that there were not many Oakham faces amongst the visitors and I wondered if its presence was not well known of in this area. A registered charity, Dove Cottage’s services are free of charge; guests can spend a day in a safe environment, with nursing care, activities, complementary therapies, chaplaincy support, home cooked lunches and snacks and benefit from meeting and talking to people in a similar situation to their own as well as providing carers with support and a break from their responsibilities. Tel 01572 722630 E-mail rutland@dovecottage.org
The original Dove Cottage Day Hospice was set up in the Vale of Belvoir in 1996 and I can recommend their quaint cottage cafe (all run by volunteers) near Stathern with charity shop, garden and playground beside the Nottingham to Grantham canal. Just the place for a half day trip out for coffee/light lunch and a stroll along the canal path and if you catch the right day the parachutists from Langar airfield will come floating down nearby.
Dates for your diary:
Ride and Stride Saturday 9th September
Harvest Festival Service Sunday 17th September to be taken by Reader Alan Rudge at 6pm.
All welcome to stay for refreshments afterwards.