EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
The Trussell Trust Foodbank at Brixton Hill Methodist Church is open every Wednesday from 11:00-1:00. The Hub enables people to come and receive professional advice, including support around benefits, money management and signposting to other help. Our hub provides welcome refreshments, a warm space, and the chance for people to just chat and share.
We are seeking to make a positive impact to the lives of those in our community. Would you like to join our volunteer team?
ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SERVICES
Circuit Christingle
Sunday 8 December 3pm @ Clapham
Carol Services 22 December
10am@ Lambeth Walk
10.30 @ Streatham
11am @ Brixton Hill
3pm - Joint All Age @ Stockwell
6pm @ Clapham
Christmas Eve
11.30 @ Clapham - HC
Christmas Day
9.30 @ Lambeth Walk - Led by Revd Shortman
10am @ Brixton Hill - Led by Revd Markay
10am @ Tulse Hill - Led by Revd Dr Lyons
10.30 @ Stockwell - Led by Local Arrangement
10.30 @ Springfield - Led by Revd King
11am @ Clapham - Led by Revd Dr Lyons
11am @ Streatham - Led by Revd Shortman
Watchnight
10.30pm - Joint Watchnight Service @ Springfield
11pm @ Brixton Hill
11pm @ Clapham
CIRCUIT ANNUAL TRIP 2023
WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL
Winchester is a beautiful and interesting place to place to visit especially for people who love history. Our guided tours at the Cathedral were very informative and educational, thanks to the very experienced and knowlegeable tour guides who led our groups.
Apart from being England’s ancient capital, it was also the former seat of King Alfred the Great who together with his brother, defeated the Danish Vikings at the Battle of Ashdown and in the year 871, at the age of 21 he was crowned King of Wessex. He made Winchester its capital and it remained so until the Norman invasion in 1066, which led to the transfer of the capital and chief royal residence from Winchester to Westminster- City of London which quickly became the largest and principal commercial centre because of thewealth it accumulated from trading.
During Albert’s reign, apart from protecting his kingdom against the Danes he also promoted learning and literacy. He was described as ‘the ideal but practical Christian ruler who was a truthteller (whatever they mean by that) brave, resourceful and a pious man who was generous to the church and anxious to rule his people. He died on 26 October 899 at age 51 but the exact circumstances and the place of his death were not known but some says it was ill health. He was laid to rest at the Cathedral of Winchesterbut was moved about, a few times and believed that in the process his bones were lost.
A statue of King Albert the Great was built in 1899 to mark the millennium of his death (he ruled from 849 to 899) and was finished by 1901. It was built in a prominent spot near the intersection of the High Street and Itchen River.
The group will remember this as we’ve passed by this statue 3 times looking for a place to drop us off. Some of us were fully emersed and enjoyed the Saturday Market along the shopping street that we missed to visit the Great Hall which housed the mysterious King Arthur’s Legendary Round Table in the Legendary location of Camelot and we also missed the long gallery, the remains of the Winchester Castle via Sally Port underground where the secret dark and creepy passageways were built for the royal family to escape if the castle was under siege, the Itchen River known for its good water quality and many more tourist attractions.
A day is not actually enough to visit this lovely place so, given the chance, visit and enjoy Winchester which now became the most expensive place to live in the UK.As one blogger describes it, ‘Winchester combines the best of city life with the freshness surrounding of the Countryside’, no wonder it became the most expensive place to live in.
BATH TRIP
Many of our number had not been to Bath before and were soon gazing at the beautiful honey coloured Georgian architecture as we drove into the City Centre and our drop off point close to the Abbey. We were there in time for lunch and we soon set-off in different directions to find some lunch and visit the City’s many lovely shops and attractions. In the afternoon we gathered at Bath Abbey for our guided tour and in three separate groups we went inside. We had to don hard hats and hi-viz jackets, because this was a tour with a difference! The abbey was part way through a £20 million-pound project to rebuild the ancient floor which over the centuries had dropped and become uneven. We went behind closed doors to see part of the Abbey where the floor had been lifted (along with the remains of 7,000 people buried underneath!). We saw how the foundations were being dug out and replaced with state-of-the-art underfloor heating powered by the natural hot springs under the City. We then went outside to the stonemason’s yard where the thousands of flagstones, many containing inscriptions and memorials to the dead, were being painstakingly restored. The tour was really fascinating, and we learned a lot about the Abbey’s history as well as its present role as a Parish Church and a place of witness and spirituality.
We finished the day in Bath with a visit to the Rev. David and Sarah Musgrave. We wondered what their neighbours must have thought as a giant Coach parked outside their house and 54 people turned up for tea! Their house is on a hill with beautiful views over Bath (see photo above) and their garden was absolutely enormous so there was plenty of room for us to enjoy our tea and cakes and hear all about their life in retirement. It was lovely to see them again looking so relaxed and happy.
Sadly, it was soon time to set out on our journey home but the drive back to London was full of laughter, thanks to the raffle, quiz and bingo games that Shirley had prepared for us. Everyone had a wonderful day out and even before we arrived back at Brixton Hill, we are already asking ourselves – where shall we go next year?! Watch this space!!!