Sunday 26th June was the 10th anniversary of the fortnightly-held Morning Praise service conducted by Carrol Gillias at St. Denis church.
It was on Sunday 12th June 1995 that Carrol, ably assisted by Ruth Bilson, began to hold these services guiding the children of Pailton and the surrounding villages through the stories in the Bible and all that they teach us. Over the years the number of children attending has diminished but Carrol and Ruth, with the help of Carrol’s daughter Victoria, continue to celebrate the Family Service twice a month which is well attended by parishioners and always ends with cups of coffee and biscuits served by Ann Latham, creating a happy family gathering in the church. Those who attend regularly extend their thanks to Carrol and her helpers for providing this opportunity for family worship.
On Saturday 2nd July a few villagers accompanied members of St. Edith’s Church, Monks Kirby on a coach trip to Trinity College Cambridge to participate in a patronal festival held at their magnificent chapel.
Choirs took part from many parishes which are part of the extensive network of Trinity Livings The visit included a tour of the college and an excellent lunch in the imposing cloisters of this ancient seat of learning.
The village fete took place on Sunday 3rd July at the playing field in warm and constant sunshine which attracted visitors from all parts of the parish and surrounding area.
The theme of this year’s event was the sixtieth anniversary of the ending of the second world war for which an imaginative array of memorabilia had been assembled in the function room of the Pailton Ex Servicemen’s Club by Dennis Bilson assisted by Dick Moss with contributions by the committee and their families and friends. The exhibition included photographs, documents, model aircraft and weapons, supported in the background by recorded speeches of Winston Churchill which had served to fortify the national spirit during the war years. Visitors were particularly interested in the account of the bombing raid in the village exactly 65 years ago when the school had been destroyed never to be rebuilt. As part of the effect, many of the organisers were dressed in military uniforms with committee chairman, Stewart Le Cornu dressed as a naval officer, who opened the event in an appropriate manner with a prolonged blast on a portable air-raid siren
The principal attraction was the ever-popular Bilton Silver Band which provided a musical background of mainly wartime favourites arranged for the occasion by their director Barry Clarke
The traditional range of stalls, games and sideshows provided non-stop activity for the large attendance while the tea tent, pig-roast and clubhouse bar provided for their sustenance.
Prizes were won by many contestants most notably Pete Masters who excels at several of the games of skill. The rector of the Revel churches, the Reverend Christine Garrod, impressed many parishioners by her remarkable proficiency in the catapult shooting competition in which she achieved a top score.
The grand raffle produced many generously donated prizes which committee member Dick Moss was pleased to comment were won by predominantly local recipients. The star prize of a colour television, donated once again by a very generous but anonymous resident of Pailton, was won by Victoria Gillias (who is to seek her parent’s permission to give it pride of place in her bedroom!). The prize for the lucky programme draw was won by Mrs Julie Blogg of Pailton who gained a much admired picnic hamper.
The highpoint of the day was the exciting tug of war contest in which the adult team enlisted by Garry Dew, named ‘big ben’ beat another scratch team titled ‘Pailton’s best’. After this two junior contests took place with the ‘stragglers’ narrowly beating ‘Pailton warriors’ followed by the ‘lipgloss girls’ overwhelming the ‘tomboy longfeet’ squad.
After the announcements and prize-giving a message of thanks and appreciation was expressed to the organiser, Stuart LeCornu and his team of dedicated helpers who had ensured that this high-point of Pailton’s village life had once again been a resounding success, with generous proceeds being divided between St. Denis Church and the Village Trust.
As darkness approached, the merriment continued in the Ex-Servicememn’s club with local vocalist Kirsty Brown accompanied by a guitarist entertaining the appreciative gathering well into the night.
Villagers are already welcoming our new proprietors of Pailton Post Office and shop, Sharon and John Fitzsimmonds who took over the premises on 2nd July eager to develop the business and re-establish the news agency and off-licence. They moved in from Broughton Astley in Leicestershire where Sharon had gained valuable experience working in a post office for some years.
Our best wishes are extended to Sue and Dave Cook who recently sold the business after running it for several years during which time they became popular figures in the community.