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Group tours
Over the years we have welcomed many local community groups to Christ Church and given them a tour of the church, highlighting its historic features, and giving them a glimpse into the house so they can see first hand how we manage to live here. They are always proceeded by a flurry of tidying and sweeping but finish with a…
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Off to America
It has been a very emotional time for all of us, as Fred has moved to America to study at university. His passion for cycling has resulted in him being awarded a cycling scholarship by Marian University in Indianapolis, in the state of Indiana. Fred is thrilled to finally have amazing cycling facilities, such as an outdoor velodrome, on his…
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20 years!
This week we mark 20 years of Christ Church living. It is hard to believe that it has really been that long, especially when it feels like we still have so much to do. Yet thinking back, we have achieved a lot and it is these markers that make you realise just how much. During those 20 years, we have…
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Unusual Things video
We have been featured on the YouTube channel ‘Unusual Things’, which focuses on finding famous graves and other quirky, unusual things. The channel’s creator, Paul, came to Welshpool in search of actor Gary Holton’s final resting place in Maesgwasted Cemetery, and keen to explore further, he wandered in during one of our open afternoons. It’s an interesting video from the…
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Record Breaker
Not quite church restoration related, but very much part of our family story here so I wanted to include this news in our Journal. Many of you will know that our son, Fred, is a keen cyclist and for the past 5 years or so has been involved in road racing. (He has also always been an avid reader of…
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Our new addition
We couldn’t let 2020 close without introducing our new addition to the Christ Church family… ‘Tacho’ – our now 6 month old puppy. She has settled into Christ Church life very well and we absolutely adore her. She is certainly a very positive distraction in what has been an unusual year, especially for the boys. She is a ‘Sprollie’ –…
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Tower repairs.
One major aspect of the restoration of Christ Church is the repair of the Tower. It is the part of the building that causes the most worry, especially during a stromy night! At 110ft tall access is clearly an issue. In the past we have hired a cherry picker to get to where we can to check over the stonework…
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Bird Table
This week me and my dad decided to make a bird table to give the birds some food to eat and so we could see what different birds live in the churchyard. Firstly, we found and cut all the wood that we needed to create this bird table. Then, we put the edges around the base so the seeds wouldn’t…
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Welshpool’s link with Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Over the years we have been frequently asked the whereabouts of the grave of Gary Holton, the actor who was famous for his role of Wayne in the 1980’s comedy-drama show Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. Gary isn’t buried in the churchyard here at Christ Church, but his ashes are interred in neighbouring Maesgwasted Cemetery with his grandparents. Gary’s parents once owned…
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Bookshelves
One of the outstanding House-build jobs we had yet to complete was to build a wall of bookshelves in the ‘dining room’ area of the ground floor. It has always been daunting to start as we knew that it would need a big chunk of time to complete. Lockdown has very generously given us that time. Working from one of…
