Paul Ashby, who now lives on Walney, first signed the book on June 29th 1988, and he and his mother Nancy came several times in subsequent years. He has always found his visits rewarding - enjoying both the history and the atmosphere, and has often brought friends with him to introduce them to St John's. It was interesting tracking down his entries and we hope he keeps on coming to Waberthwaite.Let us know if you think your name may appear as often!
On Sunday September 12th we welcomed three intrepid pony riders, walkers who had braved the river crossing, and canoeists both local and from further afield. There were cyclists from the local area and some visitors who just popped down to find out what was happening. None of this would have been possible without a lot of work going into getting people involved – thank you to all those who helped with this. There were drinks and cake for weary travellers and the chance to hear about the history of the church. The volunteers on site met some really interesting people and we hope they found our story interesting as well. The money raised through sponsorship and donations so far comes to over £600 which will go towards getting the services needed to install toilets in the Old Laundry building. Our Mystery Traveller turned out to be Jackie Oakes unbeknownst to her helped us raise £82. It was a great event which has the potential to attract more people in the future.
AUGUST 28th & 29th. Are you on holiday and reading this? If so, you might be interested in taking a picnic out with you over the Bank Holiday weekend. Homemade picnic food will be on sale each morning on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th of August at Waberthwaite Village Hall. We will be open from 10.00 – 12.00 with a range of homebaked pasties, sausage rolls, traybakes, bread and cakes. All proceeds will go to support St John’s Church . You’ll find the hall just off the A595 opposite the school, LA19 5YJ. You can of course come along even if you’re not on holiday!
In John Betjeman’s Guide to English Churches, our church was described as “a church worth bicycling 12 miles against the wind to see”. We want you to take up the challenge by finding a way to travel there on Sunday September 12th. You can just come for a visit or you can chose to be sponsored by friends and family. You can download a map showing a 6 mile radius from the church to help you decide where to start from, but any route, any distance and any mode of transport will help us raise money to put much-needed toilets on the site. There will be a prize for the most inventive and unusual journey. There will be drinks (and a portaloo!) on site throughout the day with volunteers to welcome you from 10 onwards. Please help us by getting sponsors. We have a Just Giving page, but still take cash and cheques!! https://www.justgiving.com/stjohns-waberthwaite For more details look on Facebook, visit the Heritage Open Day site heritageopendays.org.uk or contact Catherine Winzor 01229 717649 cmwinzor@btinternet.com
