Week beginning December 30th 2002

Victorian Carol Evening in Hedon : once again this annual event was a sell-out, and it was easy to see why. Carols by candlelight, with the ancient Town Hall decked out with evergreens and golden decorations, and led by the choir in Victorian costume - just the sort of thing to get everyone into a REALLY Christmassy mood! The atmosphere was wonderful and the company excellent (to say nothing of the mulled wine, savoury nibbles and mince pies!) I can highly recommend anyone to try and get tickets for next year's event when they go on sale - I will let you know when that is in this column (but I'll get mine first…)

Preston Carol Singers : The carol singers from Preston Methodist Church would like to say a big 'thank-you' to all those who have supported them this year. At the Sandhill Garden Centre in Preston the amount raised was £115.40 and their singing round the village has raised a further £145.62. Both amounts will be sent to Martin House, the children's hospice at Boston Spa.

Christingle Service in Paull : the afternoon service at St. Andrew's Church, Paull, on the Sunday before Christmas drew a large congregation. The children present were asked to help assemble the Christmas crib and enjoyed putting the characters and animals in their places before joining in the Christingle service that followed. When the children stood round the crib, holding their Christingles and singing "Away in a manger" by the light of the candles, I'm sure I wasn't the only one with a lump in my throat. The collection during the service raised £63 which will be sent to the Children's Society to aid their campaign against bullying in schools and at work.

Paull vs. Bridlington? : The people of Paull are asking questions! They have heard reports that Bridlington Town Council has received a grant of £10,000 towards the upkeep of the public toilets in the town. Paull, however, have to foot the bill themselves. As Bridlington has around 10,000 Council Tax payers and Paull just a few hundred, it seems a little unfair (to put it mildly) that the smaller community is expected to manage on its own! To put non-locals in the picture, when the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, in its infinite wisdom, decided to close a number of public toilets as a cost-cutting exercise, both Bridlington and Paull were on the hit-list. Both communities receive large numbers of visitors who require - expect, even - basic facilities to be provided for them, and both communities accept this and wish to provide these amenities. The village of Paull receives a steady stream of visitors year round, and even on Christmas Day we had a number of fishermen here (presumably trying out rods they'd received from Santa.) The toilets are not used by the residents of Paull but by visitors to the village. Even so, a referendum carried out in the village indicated that local residents wish to see the toilets reopened for the convenience (if you'll pardon the pun) of these visitors, despite it being at the locals' expense. The Parish Council have agreed to take over the running of the toilets on behalf of the village, and are even now seeking financial aid from various sources, as coming legislation will require extensive improvements and the council want to ensure that the cost does not become a further burden on our tax-payers. It is the Parish Council's aim to get the toilets re-opened in time for the coming summer. Needless to say, we in Paull would really LOVE a contribution towards our public loos too!

Church services for Sunday January 5th 2003
I haven't got a full list for you this week, but those I have been notified of are :
Paull - St. Andrew's Parish Church : Holy Communion at 11.00 a.m.
Paull Methodist Church : service at 3.00 p.m.
Hedon Methodist Church : services at 10.30a.m. and 6.30 p.m.
Preston Methodist Church : service at 10.30 a.m.