Craig’s climb on ITV Border

 Click here to watch Craig’s appearance on ITV Border.

This is what is happening here in Christian Aid Week this year:

It’s been difficult to decide what to do this Christian Aid Week (10th- 17th May) but in the light of the past generosity of people round here, (£2,215 last time we collected in 2019) and since help is needed more than ever for the world’s poorest people, we decided at St. Mark’s Church that we would do as much as we can. 

So, we are planning to do a Door to Door Delivery of Envelopes and finish off with a Pop-Up Coffee Morning. We won’t be collecting for fear of passing on the virus, but there will be plenty of opportunities to hand in filled envelopes. The envelope can be popped through the Vicarage door, or into a collecting bucket at the David Willan Food Hall, or it can be brought to Church on a Sunday or to the Pop Up Coffee Morning which will happen some time during the week beginning the 18th May. More details of this later.

What’s more, there are plenty of opportunities to give on line. This is the Christian Aid website address -  https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christian-aid-week, where there are more details of the sorts of projects that Christian Aid supports.

Rose Katanu Jonathan sitting on the dry land caused by extreme drought in Dili Village, Kitul. Photo: Tom Pilston/Christian Aid. 

Rose is caught in a cycle of climate chaos. From severe drought to flooding, extreme weather robs her of what she needs to survive: a reliable source of water. Your donation could help Rose's community build a dam. Please give what you can.  Elspeth Jayne.

Parish News for May

Click here to find out about what is happening at St Mark’s Church this month.

Reports from Natland Parish Council

These are the Minutes of the April meeting of the Natland Parish Council. Riding of horses and of bikes on Helm was discussed, including input from the Lord of the Manor. 

The Parish Council has been meeting mainly by Zoom over the past year. Here is their Annual report and interim accounts.

When the Church Tower became a mountain

He did it! The equivalent of Everest! Nearly £7,000 has been raised so far after a comprehensive publicity campaign led by chief fund-raiser Collin Mansfield. It's not too late to give via Justgiving.

Natland Parish Council - Agenda for next meeting.

The Parish Council will be meeting on Monday 26th April at 7pm on Zoom to discuss such matters as cycle tracks on Helm and the whereabouts of the new WI centenary planter. Click here for more details.

Craig is About to Leave Basecamp

As many of our readers will recall our intrepid curate Craig Bentley
volunteered back in the early autumn of 2020 to climb the church tower of St Mark's 500 times in a week to raise funds for St Mark's and for the International Nepal Fellowship. Little did he realise that at the end of March 2021 he would still be in training and waiting to make a start.

Well, the 18th January came and went in “Lockdown 3” and a new date had to be set for the third attempt at the ascent. Surely Bonington, Hinkes, Hillary, Tensing et al did not have to wait so long to embark upon an attempt at Everest?

The new start date is Monday 26th April and he is aiming to “summit” on Sunday 2nd May. 

The good news is that the amount raised has now reached over £2,500.00 which hopefully will grow “exponentially” once Craig finally gets underway.

As before please tell all your friends and family about this event. Thank you to those who have already made a financial contribution. If you have not already done so and would like to contribute this can be done in several ways..................

 Via the Just giving page at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/thecrazyclimbingcurate?

Text 70085 to Craig which will donate £5.00 or you can specify another amount.

Once again A huge thank you in advance from Craig and all his Sherpas for all the support of any kind that you can offer to make his incredible efforts seem worthwhile.

Happy Memories of Natland.

 I was so delighted to come across the Scrapbooks about Natland. (These photographs of old Natland were assembled by Don Shore and are available via the Features tab at the top of this page. Ed.).  I would love to get in touch with Dora Bianchi.  During the War my mother, my sister and I lived in the School House with my grandmother and aunt, while my father was away in the army.    I used to play with Dora Kitchen.  I don’t know if she remembers me: my name then was Barbara Snaith.  I remember the chickens and I think we spent quite a lot of time with each other.  After the war, my parents, sister and I drove to Natland and happened to see Dora.  We gave her a ride in the car, and I remember she was quite thrilled as she said it was her first time in a car (it was a fairly new experience for us, too!). 

I remember playing with Susan Kendall.  I remember her mother letting us feed the chickens and sometimes collect the eggs.  She also used to send us to search for eggs that had been “laid astray.”    It was lovely to see photographs of Dora and Susan. 

And, of course, I remember Miss Proctor very well.  I started school in her class, and I went to Sunday School at St. Mark’s Church. 

I remember a little boy called Graham who lived in one of the houses on the opposite the School House, on the other side of the Green. 

So many years ago, but my memories of that beautiful little village are amongst my most precious.  It was such a joy to read the memories of others.  Thank you for such a great feature. 

With all good wishes,    Barbara Chiari.

Please contact the address on the right if you have any information to pass on the Barbara.  Ed.

The Weather in Natland in March

March	2021	Mar. average
Temperature at 8 a.m.	5° C	4.4° C
Minimum Temperature (Ave)	3.8° C	2.8° C
Maximum Temperature (Ave)	9.5° C	8.4° C
Rainfall	167mm 6.7"	100mm 4"

March was another wet month. We had a warm spell at the end of the month. We are now into the driest quarter of the year and hopefully can go further afield unlike last Spring.   John Dobson.

Parish News for April and all about Easter in Natland.

Here is the link to everything that will be going on at St. Mark's Church this Easter, and for the rest of the month. 

The Church is open for services with organ music and flowers on Easter Day.  8am Holy Communion. 10am Holy Communion. 2-3pm. Easter Outdoors in the churchyard.  There's more information too about the Easter Trail around the village, on page 8.