It was a delight to attend the Lammas Parish Communion at St Peter's on Sunday. The service was led by the Revd Maggie Metcalfe and introduced by Agricultural Chaplain Rhoddy Voremberg.Rhoddy explained that Lammas comes from the Old English "hlaf messe", meaning "loaf mass/feast". From ancient times, villagers would bake a loaf of bread with the first of the harvest grain and bring it to Church to be blessed by the priest. Lammas day is 1 August, and is one of the traditional quarter days of the farming year. In most years, it marks the beginning of harvest, although in 2026 the harvest started a few weeks ago. Our harvest festivals at the end of September and beginning of October celebrate the end of harvest, when "all is safely gathered in".The Lammas loaf was baked by one of our regular communicants at St Peter's, and was blessed and handed back to the congregation as part of the Communion bread and wine. Throughout the service, we gave thanks for the abundance of harvest. Maggie asked us all to pray for the continuance of that abundance, particularly for our Church and village.#LoveWhereYouLive #Britford #ChalkeValleyChurch #Lammas
On a warm Summer evening, with a slight breeze, the historic Church of St Peter's provided the perfect backdrop for an electic selection of organ music. Many locals came to enjoy the evening, with a complementary glass of wine, making the Church almost full to capacity.Husband and wife team of Ben and Cathy Lamb (Ben is the son of our organist Shelagh Lamb), introduced and played a varied choice of pieces, which were a delight to hear:Karg-Elert - Nun danket alle GottVaughan-Williams - RhosymedreFelix Mendelssohn - Allegro maestoso e vivace (Sonata 2)Augusta Holmès - Clair de luneWilliam Mathias - ProcessionalCecile Chaminade - ValseLeon Boëllmann - Minuet GothiqueJ.S. Bach - chorale prelude Wachet auf, ruft uns die StimmeJoseph Bonnet - Variations de concertIain Farrington - Steal awayTheodore Dubois - ToccataPietro Yon - ToccatinaPlease come back next year, Ben & Cathy!#chalkevalleychurch
On a beautiful sunny (but not toooo hot) evening in late June, friends and neighbours of St Peter's Church gathered for a delightful evening.The Church was nicely full for this annual event. Revd Maggie Metcalfe led the proceedings, introducing a selection of hymns chosen by parishioners in Britford. Among the favourites were "For All the Saints", "Love Divine", "Shine Jesus Shine" and of course "Jerusalem". The organ was ably played by Shelagh Lamb.Shelagh's brother-in-law Jonathan Lamb provided most of the poems. Jonathan is a native of Britford, but has travelled widely in his work for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is a prolific author of humorous poems, designed to be read aloud. He performed an excellent selection, and had the audience laughing loudly. Jonathan was kind enough to sell copies of his book "Lamb Couplets" at the evening, with all the proceedings going to St Peter's Church.After the Songs (and Poems) came the Sausages. Outside in the evening sunshine, with a glass of wine. It was a happy evening enjoyed by many.
