We had our annual butterfly count on Sunday afternoon and saw more butterflies than I think we've ever seen - normally they wait until the day and all disappear! As with previous years, we opened up the church to celebrate the diversity of butterflies and to take part in the Big Butterfly Count. The glorious weather I'm sure helped as many butterflies were spotted, origami butterflies decorated the church and as usual there were refreshments to be had.We continue to enjoy this event and look forward to repeating it again, so keep an eye out for more information.If you would like to see the results head over to: https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/ and please think about joining the count next year. You could also download the iNaturalist app to record and identify other flora and fauna.
As part of the Big Butterfly Count, we thought we would add a fundraising event to our calendar and so a very talented member of the congregation organised and ran a Butterfly Drive (a beetle drive but with a butterfly instead of a beetle).The games themselves were a lot of fun, quite fast-paced and varied with lots of laughter. These events are such a nice way to get to know people in a relaxed atmosphere, so do keep an eye out for future events.There were plenty of snacks to keep us going, a raffle and a plant sale.We also managed to raise some money, which is always good!
Between 6th & 14th June, the annual Love Your Burial Ground and Churches Count on Nature took place across the country and here, at Little Burstead, we also joined in. The weather wasn’t as good as last year but we were still able to make over 100 observations ranging from birds to fungi. This year was the first year we actually saw (although no photos) rabbits and mice as well as finally getting a photo of a very camera shy pheasant. Previously we have only had evidence of them around the churchyard. Due to all the rain, we were also able to document fungi, which we can’t remember doing in previous years.It is always amazing to see the great variety of flora and fauna that live around the churchyard and it is such a blessing to have such a beautiful, calm space where we can experience God’s creation.Thank you to everyone who supports the graveyard, who cares for all the nature in it and who helped during the time we were counting. The coffee and cakes were especially appreciated!
On Saturday 18th April at 7.30pm, St John the Divine Church on Outwood Common Road, played host to a fund-raising Quiz Night involving congregations from across the whole parish of Billericay and Little Burstead. Questions ranged from General Knowledge to Science; History to Music and even had some downright puzzling anagrams and other conundrums thrown in for good measure, thanks to the MC, Rachel and the keeper of the score board, Gary. Teams were arranged on an informal basis, although it has to be said that some took the proceedings a whole lot more seriously than others! In the end, the best team won, although there were only a few points in it. The whole evening had a fun vibe and there was lots of jollity and mirth involved. It must be remembered though, that the main reason was to provide some much-needed money for essential building repairs at St John's and St Mary the Virgin. Many participants commented on how much they’d enjoyed the evening and are looking forward to the next event.You can test your knowledge in preperation for the next one with a random sample of questions from the evening (answers further below):Q1 What is a funambulist? Q2 True or false - slugs don’t have teeth.Q3 Which London tube line has the most stations?Q4 Who shot JR?1. A tightrope walker 2. False - they have around 27,000 3. District Line 4.Kristin Shepard
