Friday December 16th is the last film night this year, when we will be featuring George Clooney in “O Brother, Where Art Thou”. This is George Clooney as you’ve never seen him before, in a combination of bluegrass music, comedy and fantasy, set in the Deep South, and loosely based on Homer’s 'Odyssey'.
However if these film shows are to continue next year we need to attract more people, so there will be a short questionnaire to gather your views and suggestions for films to be shown in 2006. You can also send your views and suggestions by email to Michael at editor@slaley.org.uk.
The Revd. David Irvine asks that Slaley parishioners take note of recent events in Tynedale:
“From local press articles most parishioners will be aware of a number of thefts which have taken place in churches in the Tynedale area, and of the latest occasion when the Revd. Roger Cutler was attacked when locking his church at St John Lee.
In the light of these happenings it is right and proper that all parishes should take stock of their own situation and be proactive in taking care of their own parish church. Each of our parish churches is open during the hours of daylight and it is my fervent hope that this shall remain the case – a closed church does not best serve people. In addition our church insurers’ own guidelines state that the safest way of protecting a church and its contents is by keeping it open during daylight hours.
It is in this connection that I ask for help from all people in our parishes. The best way of protecting a church is by using it. In this respect I do not refer only to Sunday worship but to the use of the church on a daily basis. Please could I ask you to pop into your church as often as is possible – perhaps when going past to fetch the paper or to post a letter, when out for some jogging exercise or when walking the dog. When visiting the churchyard perhaps you could also pop into the church for a few minutes.
A final word of caution: at all times I would ask that you have due regard to your own safety and if at all possible visit the church in company. Use the church in a normal way, and let it be known to all that yours is a well-loved and well-used church where people are going in and out on a frequent basis. This is the best we can do to protect our churches. "
As another worry, two cars were left overnight in a field near Slaley as a result of an accident, but were found the following morning to have been vandalised. Do please take care when leaving cars unattended, and certainly remove anything valuable or precious from the vehicle – even children’s car seats can be taken.