Church

Church Bus shelter officially blessed by canon

By Faith Eckersall

newsdesk@stourandavon.net

Is this Britain’s holiest bus stop? Quite possibly, as the new Breamore bus shelter has been officially blessed after its predecessor was destroyed during a road accident in which a lorry crashed into it and the adjacent family home. The blessing of the New Forest village’s new bus stop was conducted by Canon Gary Philbrick from Avon Valley Churches. He was asked to hold the ceremony as a way of giving thanks for the lack of serious injury in the 2018 accident. The old bus stop and its thatched shelter were destroyed after an HGV veered off the Fordingbridge to Salisbury road in December 2018, hitting Grade II listed Japonica cottage. The driver had to be cut free from his cab, although his injuries were later described as ‘minor’. Paul and Gaynor Hammond were in the thatched cottage at the time and were unhurt, too, although Mrs Hammond had to be rescued from an upper window. Mr Hammond told BBC News he had heard a sound “like a bit of thunder” at around 6.40am. “The next thing the building was shaking as if there was an earthquake and then the house started falling in, there were bricks and mortar flying all over the place in the hall,” he said. Blessing the new Breamore Bus Shelter, Canon Gary gave thanks for the survival of the driver as well as for the safety of the Hammonds. The blessing included the words: “We pray, Father, that you would protect us from trouble wherever we go and keep evil far from us. “No matter where we are, we look to you as our protector, in whom we find shelter every day. Bless, we pray, this bus stop, that all who use it for travel, for rest, for shelter.” Canon Gary said that as far as he knew, Breamore’s was the only bus shelter in Britain to be officially blessed. “As there’s no official service for such a thing, I had to do some research and the come up with an appropriate form of words,” he said. He decided to link the idea of life’s journey with that of bus travel, as well as give thanks for the safety of the people involved. “It was an enjoyable thing to do for the village and we were very lucky a bus didn’t turn up in the middle of it,” he said. “Afterwards we enjoyed a glass of bubbly!” The opening was also celebrated with a ribbon cutting by Lynne Aggas, Chairman of Breamore Parish Council.

Tree festival winners finally get their prizes after lockdown

By Nicci Brown Better late than never, and almost exactly six months after the decision was announced, the winners of the Blandford Parish Church Christmas Tree Festival have received their awards! Pictured left to right are Janet Winder from the BFPC Allsorts Crafts Club, winners of the Mayor’s Choice, children from the winning school Downlands, and Claire Tennent from the Panda Pre School which won the public vote. They were presented with their awards by churchwardens Anne Shire and Rodney Smith. Because of the covid restrictions, the annual festival, featuring trees decorated by dozens of Blandford organisations, was in December 2020 staged in the windows of participating shops, instead of in the parish church. The church is now gradually opening up to the community as well as its congregation, but the announcement on June 14 of continued restrictions forced the postponement of what had been hoped to be its first concert of 2021 on July 7 with the Blandford Garrison and Town Community Band from the British Army Band Tidworth. It is hoped, however, that to celebrate the end of lockdown and replenish the depleted church coffers, The Blandford Parish Church Fete will be held for the first time in many years in the church and the churchyard on Saturday, July 24 between 10am and 2pm. There are plans for stalls in the churchyard, displays of the lockdown creations of the church craft groups, refreshments including coffee and cake, and an opportunity for all to remind themselves of the church’s fantastic interior.