Congratulations

I would like to give our congratulations to all the wedding couples who have just kept going and finally got married. You will have stories to tell future generations about the art of “doing it differently”. We haven’t had a large wedding here since February but we have had some very special, intimate weddings, filled with people willing the couple all the love and happiness needed. The atmosphere has been magical.

Layer Marney Tower in the snow.

Improvements

We are so pleased with the Cultural Heritage Recovery Grant (#hereforculture). Our battered twisted chimneys have been repaired by Alan. Up on the roof through the cold November, he has laid replacement bricks, repointed and the scaffolding has now come down. They are ready to stand for the next 100 years!

And so we move onto the improvements to the damaged barn floor. Historic England and Colchester Borough Council have approved the project.  The mini digger is in place and the careful removal of old brick, concrete and tarmac has begun. Care is needed as we don’t really know what lies beneath! We know what we have laid over the years but previous owners have left their footprints too. Without stopping to think I know we have old 1900 plans showing a electricity generator on the side of the barn, Also there is an old hand water pump just outside the barn in the Courtyard. The generator is well gone and the water pump doesn’t work, but as we dig we may find pipes or cables. Greg, who has helped with various digging projects, lives in hope of some fantastic find. This project will keep us going through most of January. If you watch our Facebook and Instagram I am sure you will be able to follow the progress!

Carol Service

I am looking out the office window at the moment watching Nicholas build a scaffold platform for our Rector Lydia to conduct the first ever Layer Marney Church drive in Carol Service this evening. Tickets distributed online, it is a sell out with 50 cars from our little village. Each car filled with people singing their hearts out! It is, quite literally, a new platform for our church to work from!

We looked at 2020 to be our best year ever….how wrong we were! Eventually we will get out of this trying time. Meanwhile, stay well, hum jolly tunes and only watch things that make you smile. May 2021 unfold into a positive year for us all.

Have a happy (if different) Christmas.

Warmest wishes

Sheila