Ilkeston - St Mary's
Church Tree Festival
w/e 23 December 2012
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
  St Mary's held their first Tree Festival last
year and have repeated the event this year from the 16th to 24th
December. It was opened on the afternoon of Sunday 16th by the
Mayor of Erewash, Councillor Jennifer Hulls at the annual concert
held in the church by Ilkeston Brass and the Chaucer Junior School
Choir. The church has been open daily since then for viewing
of the trees.
Nearly thirty trees were on display including the blue one by
the Mothers' Union to the left of the door in the porch of the
church.
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Not only was the church decorated with Christmas trees but ivy
rings also adorned the pillars and a beautiful flower arrangement
greeted visitors just inside the doors.
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Another flower arrangement sat on top of the font which was flanked
by two trees by St Mary's Coffee Bar on the left and ,the Dallimore
Primary School Foundation Unit on the right.
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The decorated pulpit was topped by a simple white trees by Ilkeston
Life, a community based magazine.
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The trees had been provided, sponsored and decorated by many
different groups, organisations, businesses, schools and other
churches as illustrated by this row of three in the south aisle.
From the left they were by the staff and families of Wilkinson's
store, the Salvation Army and the children at Kensington Junior
School whose theme of the "Twelve Days of Christmas"
with a partridge at the top drew admiring comments from many
people.
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All of the trees had something to commend them and a lot of thought
had gone into their decorations. The tasteful addition of red
poppies were used by the Royal British Legion on their tree near
the altar whilst the tree on the left of this image in Saint
Peters Chapel was decorated with a variety of hand made items
by the members of the Knit & Natter and Craft Groups that
meet regularly at Avago Crafts.
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The church's Nativity Scene is still awaiting the arrival of
a baby in the stable whilst standing opposite another imaginatively
decorated tree, this one by the Ilkeston W.I., took the Olympics
and Paralympics as their theme.
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The Olympic themed tree featured gold medals and torches as well
as photographs of medal winners (centre above) and other trees
in the Festival shown in this triptych included foot care implements
and shoe horns on the Camomile Foot Care tree (left) and drink
containers on the UChoose Smoothie Bar tree (right).
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Schools were well represented in the Festival and on the back
wall of Saint Peter's Chapel, twin trees by Year 1 of Field House
Infant School (left) were joined by others from the Ilkeston
Sewing Centre (centre) and David Thorpe and the staff who work
in his shop (right).
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The whole Festival was overlooked by the Magi from their lofty
position on the porch beneath the church tower as they made their
way towards the stable but in the week before Christmas, they
still had a way to go.
  Among
many other trees were contributions from the Cantelupe Tiny Tots
Group, Cantelupe Kids Club, Keith Hall Hair, St Mary's JC Club,
West Hallam Drama Group, Specsavers, the Flamsteed Centre, Robinsons
Solicitors, and Wykes, O'Donnell &Williams Solicitors. I
hope I've not missed anyone from that list but there was one
more tree. Standing near the altar was another where visitors
could write their prayer requests on cards and hang them on the
Prayer Tree.
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