After much fretting about the weather – the sun finally came out on the afternoon of the 23rd July for us to enjoy the music of Dickie White and Friends while about 80 of us picnic-ed splendidly in the beautiful garden of The Old Mill House.  As always it was a most convivial afternoon, catching up with old friends and making some new ones with the added bonus of raising £1010 for FOSMA.
Thank you to everyone who came and supported us and to Tim and Karen Bestwick for their very generous hospitality.

On 8th July we were delighted to welcome Chris Mason, a local Swift expert, to Church House where he gave an introductory talk about these amazing birds while a dozen or so of us enjoyed a delicious tea.  Afterwards we embarked on a walk around part of the village where swifts were known to frequent, and learnt about their habits and habitats.  We were fortunate enough to see some swifts both entering and leaving some of their homes – ie special boxes attached to house walls – and also observe them screaming and swooping across the skies above us.  It was a most enjoyable and informative afternoon and we made £110 for FOSMA which was great.

Aspirata Vocalis, a 30-strong choir from Copenhagen, are touring England, performing in Winchester Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral , Romsey Abbey – and St Mary’s Adderbury!
They thoroughly enjoyed their visit, with a full English tea, plenty of wine, and the beauty of the church filled with evening sunlight and of course its wonderful acoustics
And how we enjoyed having them. A lovely group of enthusiasts who gave us a varied programme of Danish hymns anthems and folk songs, featuring a stunning soprano soloist
The evening finished with everyone joining in a stirring Abide With Me in deference to the Manchester bombing
Highly enjoyable, with the added benefit of raising £554 for FOSMA funds.  Many thanks to all who came and supported the event.

Another year of events for FOSMA is being planned and now we have a real focus!
FIRSTLY, we have agreed to fund the complete refurbishment of the second south window despite the revised quote being considerably higher than expected.  Hopefully the work will begin soon.
THEN the big task is the tower, which was highlighted in the Quinquennial Report as needing significant repair work. The cost of this has been estimated at c. £400,000.   It is hoped that the Heritage Lottery and other grant giving bodies will agree to fund  the lion’s share of this, but even with their help, FOSMA will probably need to raise c.£30,000 over the next 18 months to make up the shortfall   It is hoped the work will be completed late 2018.
So as you can see, your support is needed even more than ever and with that in mind, we have three dates for you to put in your diaries to get things started before we have a proper ‘launch’ a bit further into the year when you will be able to come and hear for yourselves exactly what the work entails.

• RHODESIA AND ZIMBABWE – Rhodesia – the Gem of Africa and the situation after Independence when the country was renamed Zimbabwe. Friday 3rd March – 7.30  pm.  Church House.  A talk kindly offered by Jill Reeve-Johnson
• POETRY EVENING Thursday 27th April – 7.30 pm.  Church House.
• VOICES ACROSS TIME - Thursday 21st December.  7.30 pm.  Details nearer the time.

Tickets for the talk and Poetry Evening are available from Trish Fennell 01295 811059 trish.fennell@btconnect.com  and Val Scarff 01295 810386.
We do hope you will support us in our mammoth task – St Mary’s tower is such an iconic landmark in the village that we ALL enjoy.  Let’s get it back to its full glory!
As always, thank you for your encouragement and support.
Trish Fennell
Chairman

Jeannette and Andrew Barnes attended a concert in Yorkshire 18 months ago and were so captivated by the performance that they were determined to find sufficient sponsorship to bring the Christian Forshaw Sanctuary Ensemble to St Mary’s Adderbury
Their efforts were amply rewarded last Sunday, as were an audience made up of Forshaw ‘groupies’ from far and wide, and the good folk of Adderbury who hadn’t a clue what to expect
So lights off, hush, a distant rumble from the chancel, a beautiful vibrant soprano from the back of the church, then the church organ quietly shepherding in a piercing saxophone – the atmosphere was haunting and electric
This was Christian Forshaw, and the wonderful acoustics of St Mary’s were the perfect venue for the perfect symmetry of his ensemble
We heard an eclectic programme of this entrancing music from liturgical movements, a Wesleyan hymn, a lighter Vaughan William melody then back to ‘some more miserable stuff’ as described by Forshaw, whose arrangements so skilfully embraced the talents of the players – and it was far from miserable! None present had ever believed they would hear such an enthralling rendition of Nunc Dimittis.
The event will live long in the memory, and raised  approximately £1680  (figure to be confirmed) for FOSMA (Friends of St Mary’s Adderbury) and their ongoing programme of fundraising for the fabric of the church.  Thanks to everyone who supported the evening.
Thanks go to all the sponsors – and foresight of the Barnes!

We are very much hoping that the refurbishment of the second south window will be carried out within the next few months and FOSMA have agreed to fund this project, subject to a faculty for the work being granted.

Many thanks to everyone who enjoyed and supported our Jazz in the Garden at the end of July at The Old Mill House. The showers held off pretty well and it was a lovely opportunity to sit and enjoy a convivial afternoon of picnics and friendship in the beautiful garden. We raised £1441 which was fantastic. Thank you so much to Tim and Karen Bestwick for the loan of their garden and also to Dickie White and Friends for the great music.