At the end of September an e-mail arrived from a church in Marden with regard to the Hope of Africa Children's choir. A Ugandan choir sponsored by a charity [A.F.R.I .C.A UK], on a 6-week fund raising trip to Britain, had found a week of their schedule cancelled. The people of Marden had been thrilled by their performance and felt that others would appreciate it too - could we help? By now, the choir was travelling to the north of England by way of Evesham and Wales but contact was made and a visit arranged for Wednesday 10th October with an evening performance in Holy Cross church. Accommodation and meals for 30 people was established. The only possible hitch occurred when at 4.30pm on the 10th an enormous coach arrived in Church Lane, the Scottish drivers doubtful whether they would ever get it down again. [Happy to say they did!] Seventeen young Ugandan performers [most between 10 -12 year olds, plus a few teenagers] arrived with their helpers, including their Pastor, doctor, and much equipment. By 7.30pm the stage was set, the audience in their seats and the show commenced. We were not disappointed. It is hard to say what was the most impressive - the childrens' smiles, their colourful costumes, the drums, the fascinating home made wooden instruments, the volume of their singing, the rhythmic dancing or their sheer energy. Their programme included traditional African and Gospel music. The audience responded enthusiastically, were pleased to buy from the craft stall and to make donations to the their cause - raising funds for their school and a local hospital. The company dispersed to their hosts for the night and reappeared on Thursday morning at Thurnham Primary School to join in the school assembly. From there they were welcomed to perform at Madginford Park Junior School, before lunch and a performance at St John's C of E Primary School, before leaving for their next venue. All of the schools expressed great interest and appreciation of the performances and joined with the hosts in expressing their privilege in having experienced the performances. [ Many letters were send from the children in all the schools expressing their feelings and reaction to the experience - the comments below came from Thurnham School.] Cool! I liked the dancing because it was really fast. They must have lots of energy! I liked it when the girls danced on the boys' backs. I wish they could have stayed and taught us how to dance. The singing was loud and fast. I could feel the beat in my heart when they were stamping hard. When I came to school this morning I felt grumpy, but the music has made me feel happy.

HOLIDAY CLUB - OCTOBER 2007 Being a person of no experience of these things, I was somewhat surprised that I found myself volunteering to help out with the club being run at Thurnham School by members of Holy Cross church. I was even more surprised to find myself not just a helper but also a team leader. Add to this having a case of "man-flu", I really didn't know what I had let myself in for. The theme was PIRATES; Images of ships, treasure and some ruthless marauding went through my mind. I wasn't sure how this would fit with running a children's club. In good faith, I made a pack lunch for myself and for Ben who had agreed to join me on this journey into the unknown. The brief was set from the High captain of the seas (Chris RATCLIFFE) and all the various ships set sail, once the crews had been pulled from the docks. The three days were well organised. All aspects were taken into account. From physical warm ups to that song that we all love so much now (Smile at the storm), everyone was expected to be involved, and some of us even had to lead from the front. What were the aims set for us? Points; and then some more points! My directive from the start was to ensure that the Red team beat the yellow team, led by the infamous rascal Ed. Despite this, it was always a case of trying to catch them and in the end we were not successful. Even though bribery was used to some good effect, our team just never clinched those final points required. Anyway, I digress. The aim as I saw it was to give children, teenagers and adults alike, some time to have fun, make some pirate-orientated crafts and enjoy tales of Fiery Ping and his friends. Oh, I nearly forgot that we were also there to here about the message of Jesus and what he has done for us. We heard about the story of Saul and his meeting on the road to Damascus, which led to his conversion. Team leaders were asked to give some testimony as to when they had become a Christian and if there were any specific reasons why. (What I didn't understand was the game of squashed bananas. If you don't understand this part, ask Ed when you next see him.) The Grand finale to the three days was dressing up. Can you believe it; a room full of scary pirates who later paraded to see who were the best. Those who attended and were involved enjoyed a fully energised three days of meeting together and learning more about how God can work within all of us. What can I say? I was tired every day but had enjoyed a superb time. Ben stated that he wished there could be a holiday club every weekend - I told him he needed to speak with Chris… See you next time. Nigel White