Christmas Fayre

On Saturday we had our Christmas Fayre. Once again the weather was kind to us and, as you can see from the photo, we had a great turnout.

"Now, how do I explain to my wife I won them all on the bottle stall?"

"Lalage betrays her experience on the racecourse by signing to other vendors to fix the price of her plants"

"I'm not a sunflower. I'm a tiger"

As always a magnificent craft stall!

Father Christmas gets asked whether Rudolf's carrots are organic.

Sr Chiara just can't resist that glorious pink icing!

Holy Ghost Advent Party

This is Kathleen Ryan whom I first met in the early 1990s when she came to the parish I was in at the time to borrow some crockery for the Holy Ghost Old Folks' Party! Little did I think that one day I'd be at the Holy Ghost and Kathleen herself would be enjoying the fun at an elegantly re-branded Senior Citizens' knees up!

Now who else do we see? Ah, yes. Here's Alice who never fails to do her bit on a Friday morning and ensures that everything we have in the Church glistens and gleams at all times. Thanks, Alice!

And then there's Princess Norah of Balham, here seen displayed in all her regal splendour. It's good to see her on her feet again!

This year we have some special guests. Fr Marcus' parents have just celebrated their wedding anniversary and have come over for the weekend. Tomorrow Fr Marcus is taking them to France on the Eurostar. They'll be back Tuesday night. Meanwhile here they are picking up tips to take back to Tenby!

The Advent Party wouldn't take place at all without the hard work of Helen, Maxine and all the helpers. Yes, that's right - the same ones who worked so hard to put on yesterday's Christmas Fayre.

Now what's going on here...

"So let's work this out. 170 people needing to be fed, and all we've got is 4 Christmas puddings. Oh well, not to worry. I'm sure it will work out in the end"

"Listen lads, I hear there's a magician coming. He can cut one in half, and make another one disappear, but one of us is going to have to go home with his wife"

"The Fr Marcus fan-club just couldn't be kept under control..."

"Ahem. Sorry ladies, did you carry out a risk assessment before doing that?"

Is it Really for Young People?

Some people have asked for more information about the forthcoming Youth Retreat that will take place in the parish over New Year.
When is it? It starts on the evening of Friday 29th December and finishes after lunch on Monday 1st January.
Who will be there? Amongst others, the Friars of the Renewal (you remember Fr Benedict Groeschel who gave such an excellent evening of recollection recently?). Apart from them, other religious, and lots and lots of young adults.
Really? Are you just saying that? Check it out for yourself. This video was made using images from last year. You know, the one you missed!

Resolution@Balham

The theme for this year's New Year Youth Retreat at Balham is "Resolution". You can view more details about the retreat by clicking this link to the relevant page on the Youth 2000 website. The retreat is an annual event in the parish organised by Youth 2000. Last year we attracted 300 young people between the ages of 16 & 35. This year the organisers are hoping to hit five hundred!

The Retreat includes talks on concrete aspects of Christian life, Holy Mass, and lots of opportunities for Confession. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Church throughout the Retreat and there is all-night Adoration (optional!).

Interested? Check out the link above then send us an email at the Holy Ghost. Too shy to come alone? Then bring a friend!!