No, it’s not yet Stir Up Sunday (but that must be soon?), when we include a Christmas-cake mixing liturgy in our Sunday worship. That’s always fun, although not so much the part where we cream the butter and sugar!  But this is a reminder to those who are offering a cake—or cakes—for sale at our ‘From the Church Gate’ Christmas stall at the Amberley A & P Show: the Show will be on Saturday 1st November, so it may be wise to start making them soon. Get in touch with our parish administrator or vestry members if you need help sourcing ingredients or subsidising the costs.

Last Spring, we took it in turns to look after the church stall for the day. Not only did we sell all but one of the cakes, but people enjoyed their time on ‘duty’ and had great conversations and laughs with locals and visitors alike. It felt really good just to be ‘our there’ and visible. Many older people living alone bought one of the smaller cakes—perfect for enjoying a slice with visitors over the festive season. And busy working families bought our largest cakes; they just don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen, but they still want the homemade taste.

Jams, marmalades and cordials also sold very well last year, and will be gratefully received again.

‘From the church gate’