Once again, we chose St Mary’s Church Hall as the venue for the Birchfield Big Local Christmas meal. All was going well with the meal in the all-electric kitchen till the lights went out. Yes, we blew the fuse on the electricity meter!
Fortunately, most of the food was cooked so we were able to sit down to a great meal – just needed a few candles to add to the occasion. Phil Mckenley entertained us with his guitar – acoustic only!
A huge thanks to volunteer coordinator Mehnaz and Lurlyn for organising the food and to everyone who helped in the kitchen including Mehnaz, Yasmeen and Naheed. Also, thanks to Russell, Adlin and Nyah for setting up in the hall.
We used the occasion to start decorating the Christmas tree that was later displayed at the Christmas Tree Festival in the Church next door. The festival ran from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th December and included performances on the Friday by children from St Mary Primary School and Handsworth Community Choir. This was followed on the Saturday by performances by children from St Clare’s Primary School and St John Wall Secondary School, who have been participating in after school music clubs run by Kate Luxmoore, Ifa Yoruba Contemporary Arts Trust. A female Brass Quintet from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire also gave a superb performance on the Saturday afternoon.
