Despite the overcast weather and change of time, the annual Billingsley BBQ and village fete was well attended and a great evening was had by all. The Churchwardens and rest of the St Mary’s PCC would like to thank everyone that supported or helped run the event. Special thanks go to Frank and Rose Cartwright and everyone at Rays Farm for yet again allowing us to host the event at this wonderful location and to Harry Scriven for donating the delicious burgers and sausages! Stottesdon musician Emily Bond played an excellent acoustic set for nearly 3 hours and there were plenty of stalls for people to enjoy in between visiting the animals, and sampling the delights from the BBQ and Bar! Almost £1800 was raised for St Mary’s Church in Billingsley from this event. Some of the money will be put towards the Churches refurbishment fund – we are currently raising money for the installation of a kitchenette and fully accessible toilet inside the Church. This will enhance the experience of our visitors and of anyone attending services at the Church. It will also mean we can start to use the Church for more community events once our facilities have improved. The trustees from Deuxhill Village Hall generously gave us a significant sum towards this fundraising project following on from the sale of the hall, but we still have quite a shortfall so money raised from this years BBQ will give the appeal a real boost!