Spring Fling shouting slowly subsides

By the time this issue of The Star hits the stands to nourish your curiosity, for First Church it will be all over bar the shouting. Not in any mortal sense. Just that two of the year’s main extracurricular events will be behind us. 

That’s to say, in no particular order of importance, the annual Spring Fling hit the catwalk on 6 September with the wardrobe of locals enhanced by their own good judgement and donors’  generosity.

Once again, those optimists sporting shapely ankles and a sylph-like figure strutted their stuff in garments that would otherwise have fetched a pretty penny at Christies.

This year the sterling organisers lifted their game to a new, higher level. Not satisfied with the standard flounce or pirouette, each garment had its own theme. So, there was the hardy Day in the Vineyard, and a Night on the Town followed by the more sedate Garden Tour, the Wedding in

Wairarapa and for genuine punters we’re Off to the Races. 

The ambitious show was conducted with veuve and class. Eat your heart out Yves St. Laurent et al. And all this achieved without nudity or titivation – although a couple of flimsy items did cause the fainthearted to blush!

In spite of the biblical injunction that man does not live by bread alone, the next major project to be ticked off was the fabled Martinborough Cookbook. This was last published in 1992 so high time for another edition. As a welcome act of nostalgia all the original recipes have been preserved including the old ads. A blast from the past which has been hugely supported by locals in stumping up for the printing costs. 

An initial run of 500 has been ordered with a release date of 6 September.

To those whose mothers or grandmothers have an old-fashioned edition on their kitchen shelves _ its high time these are replaced with the spanking new thriller. Join the queue!

Both of these projects say a great deal about community spirit. If there is a single strand of First Church’s mission statement it would surely be community involvement – alive and well – so a resounding thank you to all those generous supporters.

Dates to remember and diarise:

** Monthly Book sales: Saturday 28 September in the Church Hall, Weld Street, Martinborough 1:30 – 5:00 p.m.

** Sausage ‘n Soup lunch with koha Sunday 29 September 11:30 a.m. start. Everyone welcome.