St Leonards Church News July '26

St Leonard’s Church It was a treat to have been invited to Lyon House to celebrate 10 years of the village’s Knit and Natter group. Set up in 2016 as part of the plans for Woollen Woods in Berryfield Copse, the group has gone from strength to strength under the leadership of Elizabeth Gill. Over the last decade, the group has arranged or contributed to fourteen displays or exhibitions, decorated church window sills to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the Coronation of King Charles III, and the 75 th anniversary of VE Day. (The latter was pushed on a year owing to Covid, but bunting was still put up outside the village church on 8th May 2020 – prompting much excitement about a possible illicit event!). Alongside their artistic knitting, the group has supported a good number of charity initiatives, knitting baby blankets for the premature baby unit at Salisbury Hospital, further blankets for Ukraine, baby jumpers and hats, scarves and gloves for children, and beanie hats for the Mission to Seamen charity. The group’s most recent project is the village’s entry for Romsey Arts Festival. In ‘One Hundred Years of the Hundred Acre Wood’, the knitters (and others!) are providing woollen depictions of some of AA Milne’s best-loved stories of Winnie-the-Pooh and friends. The display is going up in St Leonard’s Church and will be open to the public on 4th July between 10.30am and 4pm. Given Winnie-the-Pooh’s famous love of honey, the church is also delighted to welcome Colin and Moraig Forrest-Charde, Sherfield beekeepers and honey-sellers, who will be on hand during the day. There’s rarely an event in St Leonard’s that doesn’t involve cake, so do please pop in and tell your friends! Clare Durham