There will be: Fairground Attractions, face painting, candyfloss, pig roast, treasure hunt, traditional stalls (including plants, bric-a-brac etc.), and a chicken contest with great prizes! All profits will be donated to St Margaret’s Church Repair Fund.

The Dean of Christ Church will open the fete at 12 noon. At 3pm a procession will leave the village green for St Margaret’s for a blessing of the well, followed by evensong at approximately 3.30pm. The fete will close around 5pm.

If you have any memorabilia you would be willing to lend to the exhibition, or any memories you would be willing to share with us, please get in touch with Fr Russell Dewhurst on 01865 242680 or Charlotte Robinson on 01865 794288 or by email.

“Children will love reading the story in this beautifully illustrated picture book and listening to it read aloud on the DVD. Offering a wealth of creative activities and stimulating experiences, this is the first book in what promises to be a delightful series.” Rewarding Reading, Key Stages 1&2
Teaching and Learning Magazine.

Author Renée Edwards, has lived in Binsey, Oxford for a year, “These books and DVDs are a new way of presenting good old fashioned healthy fun for children at home, at nursery, primary school or with grandparents and other carers. They are designed to dip in and out of over time, inspiring planting, sand sculpture, simple activities, reading and listening. I am happy for this opportunity to offer the books at their most popular time of year and to help preserve St. Margaret’s Church. I appreciate our precious church as do my friends and family and I have made many a wish in the well!”

Lewis Carroll composed Alice in Wonderland after a picnic in the surrounding area; it was also a historic site of pilgrimage for St Frideswide, patron saint of Oxford. According to tradition, Frideswide felt compassion for Algar and while in Binsey, prayed to St. Margaret of Antioch and St. Catherine of Alexandria, who instructed her to hit the ground with her abbess’s staff. Once Frideswide did this, the ground gave way to reveal a well, whose water she used to cure Algar’s blindness - this well can be found today at the Church of St. Margaret in Binsey.

The Magic Wanda books including the DVD are available with this voucher for £11.99 each, including postage and packaging – for the chance to win a second book FREE please include the name Lewis Carroll, inspired by the well at St. Margaret’s Church, gave the well in Alice in Wonderland.

2000 books are available between now and the church fundraising Binsey Fete on 20th July 2008 (St. Margaret’s Day) £3.00 per book purchased with this voucher (for example) will go to St. Margaret’s Church, Binsey, so £6000 of the £30,000 required to repair the church can be raised before the fete and grant applications submissions later this year. The plan is to repair the church roof in 2008 to prevent further damage to the interior, and to complete the works next year.

The books are being sold at cost price plus the donation and postage, and you have 1p change from £12.00 to come and make a wish in the well!

To read more about the books and place an order please go to the dedicated link on www.MagicWandaBooks.com

2008 National Year of Reading!

The Contemplative Mass will be at 7pm on: 6th June, 20th June, 4th July, and 18th July.

You can read this year’s gift day letter by clicking here (You need Adobe Acrobat Reader or another means of viewing PDF files).

We raised over £250 for Christian Aid at the coffee morning. Many thanks to all who took part.

The organ will be dismantled later this year, the components repaired and restored by skilled craftspeople, and the instrument re-assembled. Alongside the restoration project, St Frideswide’s church will produce a booklet detailing the history of the organ. Local schools will be invited to visit the church to learn about historic pipe organs and the importance of heritage and conservation. When the restoration work is complete, there will be a series of organ recitals allowing the entire local community to hear the fully-restored organ at its best. The newly-restored organ will also be available to members of the local community for practice and tuition, and Sunday mornings will hear and enjoy the organ once again, fulfilling the original designer’s intention.

The St Frideswide’s organ was originally designed and built by Alfred Hunter, the finest craftsman of the Hunter family. Peter Collins has been selected as the organ builder who will carry out the restoration: he is very experienced in restoration work, and was the parish’s first choice to perform the work.

Commenting on the award, parish priest Father Russell Dewhurst said, “This pipe organ is a fantastic gift to the community from the nineteenth-century residents of West Oxford. It was in danger of being lost, but thanks to the generosity of the Heritage Lottery Fund and other donors, we now know that we will be able to hand it on to future generations in excellent condition.”