The first 100 Club draw of the year took place today. Number 43 was drawn first making its 4th appearance winning Jenny £43. First time winners David and Michael won £23 each when their numbers 66 and 29 were drawn.

During 2022 the 100 Club has funded essential roof repairs to the church, work to the guttering and hosted events to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. A huge thank goes to all members of the Club whose support has been so important and very much appreciated. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and may good fortune arrive for all.

If you wish to join the I00 Club and support either St Mary’s Church , Billingsley or St Bartholomew’s Church, Glazeley do get in touch or visit https://www.stmarys-billingsley.org.uk

The 26th 100 Club draw took place on Friday 7th October. The first number to be drawn was 81 and won Donna £45, number 85 was second out of the bag and won Edward £22.50 and finally Paul won £22.50 when his number, 97, was drawn third.

We have several three time winners and I am sure that it won’t be long before one of them becomes a fourth time winner. Alas there are a small minority who are yet to have their number drawn. Special sympathies must go to David who has 4 numbers and is yet to win a penny.

If you would like to join the club numbers are always available. Go to https://www.stmarys-billingsley.org.uk/friendsofbillingsley100club/ for full details and an application form.

A huge thank you once more to all those who support the 100 Club; you really are making a difference!

The 25th draw of the Friends of Billingsley 100 Club took place yesterday, Friday 3rd, and Rob did the honours; thank you! Two fat ladies, 88 won John the top prize of £45, Colin’s number 22, two little ducks, was drawn 2nd netting him £22.50 and finally number 76 belonging to Rebecca’s won her £22.50.

A huge thank you to all those members who renewed their membership last month during these challenging economic times. However, membership can be taken out at any time and there is now the choice to support either Billingsley or Glazeley church and of course community projects.

The 24th draw of the 100 Club was made by David on Thursday 4th August. Number 97 won Paul £49 and number 43 won Jenny £24.50 whilst her son-in-law David also won an equal sum when his number, 35, was drawn.

Through the generosity and support of Club members, St Mary’s now has a new portable heater and maintenance work that had to be postponed due to a lack of funds has been completed. The roof has been made secure by replacing and fixing broken and loose tiles. The guttering has been repaired where needed and painted and lime mortar repairs have been made to porch and eastern gable end of the church. As you may imagine maintenance of such an old building is always ongoing and we have been informed that in the not too distant future further roof work will be required to attend to failing laths.

This summer Club funds supported the planting of three flowers beds in the churchyard; one to commemorate the recent Platinum Jubilee and the other two to enhance the ecological diversity in the church grounds by providing nectar rich flowers for bees for as much of the year as possible. The Club also hosted a Jubilee picnic which was enjoyed by all those who were able to attend.

The book club that is located in the church is being well used and there are many books covering an eclectic mix of genres. This facility is open to all and we welcome you to come and take something that interests you. There are many recent best sellers to be found there too!

Shropshire Council recently informed us that we are unable to continue to hold the bonus draw at Christmas when all the income generated from ticket sales has been returned to winning members as prizes. Under the regulations that govern small lotteries such as ours the maximum prize money cannot exceed 80% of the total collected. This means that the rules of the Club have had to be amended to reflect this. We are not sure why it has take two years for us to be notified of this issue.

As you are aware the Club was established with 100 potential memberships on offer. Obviously numbers fluctuate slightly as members join and leave which affects the level of prize money paid out each month. We have never sold all the numbers available and the PCC has decided to extend the invitation to join to supporters of St Bartholomew’s Church at Glazeley. In practice this will mean that new members will be asked to indicate which church they wish to support and the fundraising element of their membership subscription will be allocated accordingly. It was felt that given the time and effort put into running the Club it should be put to best use and help our neighbours in Glazeley. The biggest benefit for all members is that prize money may well increase as we welcome Glazeley supporters.

Yesterday the 100 Club draw for July was made by Mike and Bonnie Garvey. It is great that all three numbers drawn belonged to first time winners. The results were; 1st prize, 42, netting Win £49, 2nd prize, 61 and £24.50 for Tom and finally number 49 winning Lin £24.50. Congratulations to the lucky members.

Mike and Bonnie have supported St Mary’s Church since they arrived in Billingsley six years ago in many ways. We thank them for their generosity and hard work and wish them all the very best as they move to their new home in the Cotswolds.

A community Jubilee Picnic, hosted by the 100 Club, was held in the orchard next to the church on Friday 3rd June. There was a splendid turn out from villagers plus a few members of the 100 Club who live further afield. Everyone had a super afternoon enjoying their picnics, refreshments and the splendid views and wonderful sunshine. Our thanks go to everyone who supported the event plus those who gave up their time to help with the preparations and clearing away. And of course the 100 Club members who made this event possible.

Rev. David Poyner said a prayer for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, a toast was made and a celebratory cake was cut. The June draw for the club took place immediately afterwards. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Wildblood for making the draw. Mr Wildblood was hoping to pull his own number out as it is yet to make an appearance but alas it was not to be; better luck next month! The first prize once again goes to lucky Eveline (59) who has very generously asked that her winnings fund something special for the churchyard, we thank you. James (28) and Julie (63) both won a cheque for £24.50 each.

Last night there was an excellent turn out for David’s May evening walk. As usual the weather was wonderful which I believe he orders especially! Following the walk everyone enjoyed the usual offering of refreshments but there was a lovely surprise when John shared a bottle of champagne to belatedly toast his recent milestone birthday. A wonderful and generous gesture and we wish John all the very best as he enters a new decade of his life.

John kindly agreed to draw the 100 Club number for May and 92 won Diane £52 and numbers 81 and 78 won Donna and Barbara cheques for £26 each.

Pland are shaping up nicely for the Billingsley Jubilee picnic so please make sure you save the date in your diary, 3rd June at 2pm in the Orchard.