A Fair Trade Breakfast and Coffee Morning will be held at St Mary's Church on Saturday 6th March, from 9.00am to 12.00noon.

Breakfast, Tea, Coffee, Cakes and Company also Fair Trade items, Bric brac, Books, Raffle will be available.

Breakfast £2.50, Coffee and cake £1.00

This year's annual Charity Christmas Puzzle has now been posted, and is available to download.

This, the 19th annual Puzzle that Gordon Gray has set, has a theme designed to help completion and will appeal to people who enjoy doing Crossword puzzles, such as in the Daily Telegraph (though it is not a Crossword puzzle). Puzzlers have plenty of time to find the answers and Puzzles should be returned, with donation, by 24 January.

Four winners will each receive a £25 prize.
Everyone who enters will qualify for a £25 prize draw.

So what are you waiting for, give it a go and download the Christmas Puzzle now.

The first meeting of the Guild will be held on Wednesday 13th January 2010, at 2.00pm in the church. The aim of each meeting is to enjoy a speaker, refreshments, social time and friendship. Future meetings will be held on the second Wednesday of the month at 2.00pm in the church. A warm welcome will be given to anyone wishing to join us.

We have an opportunity to bring a Bungee Jump to next summer's Carnival. It will cost £3,000 - we have to guarantee the organisers a minimum of 60 people who will each pay £50 to jump. We could have Bungee Jumping at the Carnival provided that, by the 10 January 2010, a minimum of 30 people;

• Have registered their interest to Gordon
• Paid a deposit of £25 as part payment for their jump costing £50
• Committed to raising a minimum of an additional £50

Our sponsors who, for many years, have supplied bridesmaids' dresses have stopped that line of business. Do you have connections with anyone who could supply such outfits.

To contact the Carnival Committee, see the Carnival website.

We have been kindly sent these photographs of the old vicarage by Patrick Graham whose father Peter was vicar of Eaton Bray from 1955 to 1963. The vicarage was the original site for the village fete (its a tad bigger now) and had a nearly 3 acre garden and large pond. In the picture Patrick is the toddler next to his father. You can find more on Peter Graham at http://peter.graham.muchloved.com/

The Vicarage, circa early 1960s

Patrick Graham outside the Vicarage with "Mrs Binity", circa early 1960s

Each photo can be clicked in turn to view the full version.

St Mary's sent out its first Travelling Crib during Advent 2004. Now the Travelling Crib is an established feature of December in the villages with our Mary and Joseph crib figures travelling from one house to another until they arrive back in church for our popular Candle Services on Christmas Eve.

Each day the family with whom the figures spent the previous night deliver them to the next recipients. It is an opportunity for two families to conduct a brief act of worship together and, in many cases, share some simple seasonal refreshments. As such it is a way of bringing a little religious focus to the run up to Christmas and an opportunity to get to know some other people in the villages a little better.

If you would like to take part in this delightful custom please sign up on the notice board in church - the church is open every day so you can call in any time. For more information please contact Gordon Gray.