NEWS FROM HART CHURCH APRIL 2024

My lady Spring is dressed in green; she wears a primrose crown. Baby buds and twigs are clinging to her gown. The sunshine’s if she laughs at all and if she weeps the raindrops fall. April is here, spring has arrived we can see it, feel it, and enjoy hearing spring. The spring flowers, daffodils, hyacinths, and anemones bring colour to our gardens, birds are nesting, singing morning and evening, and hopefully, frogs spawn in the garden pond. I hope you have enjoyed eating several hot cross buns and even several chocolate eggs. Hot crossed buns were first made by monks in the 1300s and distributed to feed the poor. They became very popular and were marked with a cross to symbolize Easter. Queen Elizabeth 1 restricted their sale to Good Friday, Christmas, and funerals. In 2017 Woolworths in Australia sold 72 million buns. Chocolate eggs first appeared in France and Germany when chocolate was still a luxury item, it was the chocolate company Frys who introduced the eggs to the U.K. in 1873 and were the first to make the hollow egg. The earliest eggs were designed with a distinctive “crocodile pattern “to conceal any imperfections. It was a delight to see so many old and new friends in the village hall supporting our Easter Fair, thank you for your financial contribution not only to Hart church but the other stalls that were raising money for a number of charities, It enabled Church to bank £1000 towards our yearly contribution of £24,000 to the Durham Diocese.

This year June 6 marks the 80 Anniversary of the D. Day landings this was the largest seaborne raid when 156,000 Allied and American troops left southern England for the Normandy area of France. The success of this invasion resulted in victory, and there have been almost 80 years of peace. We wish to support the Royal British Legion as they ask us to remember the sacrifices made by so many, we are using the enduring symbol of the red poppy to be the vital component of a Remembrance display outside and inside Hart Church on June 13/14th. We are asking for your help in creating the poppies, perhaps knitting or crochet, we have taken patterns from the web. Your completed poppies can be left with Rev. Janet in Hart vicarage or Hilary Squire I Magdalene Drive or Anne Johnson Manor Croft at the end of Magdalene Drive Phone No. 269699 .

Please join us in Remembrance by visiting the church and seeing displays in June.

200 Club Winners - February 2024

£50 no 116 Ness and Peter.

£20 no 31 J Percival.

£10 no 38 M Collingwood.

£5 no 17 A/ L Elliot.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE.

Have a Joy-filled weekend. We look forward to seeing you at one of the Church services.