THE Laneast Church medieval stained glass window repair appeal continues as the friends of the church held their highly anticipated craft and gift event.

After months of planning and promotion the team from the Friends of Laneast Church transformed Altarnun’s church hall into an exhibition space large enough to display the talents of the 20 artisans who took part.

The event was accompanied by dry weather and attracted a large number of visitors.

Fires at either end of the hall created a cosy atmosphere and the kitchen and serving teams in the café worked hard to serve both exhibitors and full tables of customers –the first bacon roll being served as early as 8.30am on the second day with an array of home-made cakes, hot soup and ploughman’s lunches also available.

Those attending were also treated to music by Barbara Griggs on her harp and had the chance to stock up on Christmas gifts.

The two-day extravaganza was opened and closed by Laneast Church’s the Rev Deryn Roberts, who said: “The stalls were beautiful, the work displayed real talent, the café was so inviting and it was clear that a huge amount of effort had been put it to make this event happen.”

The cost of repairs is estimated by the parochial church council to total £76,000 and with around £2,000 raised from the event, the team is well on the way to securing the amount it needs to restore their church to its former glory.

It was a large team effort and thanks were expressed to Alison Ashby, Jen Bousfield, Pete Bousfield, Jane Bullivant, Paul Burden, Alissandra Burtonwood, the Cornish family, Shelia Cottingham, the Francis family, Bob Griggs, Barbara Griggs, Dave Groves, Mary Groves, Suzanne Gynn, Kate Handford, Nigel Handford, Nita Holmes, Ray Holmes, The Inney Crafters, the Jones family, Diana Maynard, Louisa Orchard, Rae Orchard, Pat Overton, Jan Polatch, Karen Ponting, the Raynor family, Ann Sheldrake, Maggie Smith, Tracy Speed, the Williams family, John Woods and Avril Woods.