Cookham

4:09pm Thursday 18th October 2001

OCTOBER is a month for darker evening and the dubious fun of trick or treat on Halloween.

Cookham Village still brings boats moored at the riverside as the warmer summer days shine in between days of torrential rain. And visitors to the Sir Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham High Street are still paying their respects to the country's most celebrated artist of the century.

OXFAM will benefit from two events. On Tuesday October 23, there will be an Oxfam coffee morning held in the Cookham Parish Centre at l0.30am when Sir John Mortimer will be the VIP speaker. A former barrister, novelist and playwright who has a new book out called Summer of a Dormouse which has had excellent reviews. He should be an amusing speaker and tickets are available at 07770 8663l0 or 0l628 522255.

Barbara Walmsley will undertake her annual Oxfam fast in November when she hopes to raise more than l0,000 for the charity. Thirty six hours is the fast period for her from the morning of Friday, November 9, to the evening of Saturday, November l0, and then she will continue collecting outside Sainsburys in Maidenhead on the Sunday. Barbara's husband, Charles Walmsley, is a licensed minister at Holy Trinity Church, Cookham, and is also devoted to raising funds for Oxfam. Barbara is always amazed to find such generous sponsors and she is hoping she will receive cheques and e-mails with pledges to add to the fun of the event.

AT Cookham Dean Parish Church there will be a healing ministry during the family communion at 9.30a.m on Sunday October 21, and the friendship lunch, for those who generally eat alone or would like to make new friends, will be in the vestry at l2.45pm. Next Saturday October 27, there will be a Julian Meeting or prayer of the quiet in church at 9.3Oam. This is an ecumenical event when anybody is welcome. There will also be the Childrens Society box opening in the vestry at 2pm.

AUTUMN fair at Cookham Dean Parish Church will be on Saturday, November l7, in the Village Hall when all proceeds go to charity.

COOKHAM and Cookham Dean Horticultural Society meets in the Cookham Dean Village Hall on Wednesday, October 3l, when there will be a talk on growing sweet peas. The annual subscription is 3, and can be paid at the door, otherwise admission is l.

NOVEMBER Nocturne will be on Saturday, November 3, at 8pm to raise money for Cookham Dean Parish Church. Entertainment will include Billie Sherlock soprano, David Hazeldine tenor, Gill Green contra-alto and Jeremy Andrews bass. Tickets are 7, or 5 for concessions.

THERE have been a lot of changes at Holy Trinity Church, Cookham where a new parish administrator, Barbara Bellman, has taken over from Terrie Robinson who had been parish worker and parish administrator. The church is to appoint a youth worker and it is hoped to make an appointment by the end of November so that the youth worker could start work in the New Year. Assistant curate the Rev Valerie Bonham, is leaving and her last Sunday at Cookham is on December l6.

PUMPKINS are much in demand at Holy Trinity Church as a pumpkin party is being held in Cookham Parish Centre from 5pm - 7pm on Wednesday, October 3l, for young people aged 7-11 years. Anybody who knows where there are pumpkins would be welcome and lots of helpers are wanted for the actual fruity event.

CAR thefts and thefts from cars as well as burglaries continue in the area and motorists are again warned not to leave anything valuable or visible in their vehicles.

By Judy Baylis