For around 23 years John Bimson has lovingly cared for the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Hemyock. To mark his retirement a painting of his house by Brian Doble was presented by Deputy Warden David Bawler at a recent service. Speaking on behalf of the church Mrs Mary Beal, Warden, thanked John for his voluntary dedication and hard work, particularly as he is a member of another church.

St Mary`s Church is for everyone in Hemyock. It is always there for the big events of life like weddings and funerals and also for quiet thought and contemplation. It is there as a landmark and symbol for the village.  But although it`s there for everyone, not many contribute to its costs and we are asking if you can help put that right.

It's Monday April 19th.

No not that election but the ones at the St Mary's Church's Annual Meeting.

It is with regret that on December 7th 2009 St Marys Guild held its last meeting in the Church Room. The rector David Sherwood led a quietly moving service, and Joan Lawrence played the Guild hymn.

Val White gave a broad ranging history of the group from its first days as the Mothers' Union through its change to St Marys Guild.

Did you know that February 22nd to March 7th is "Fair Trade Fortnight"?

This is organised by Traidcraft and is being supported by many industries as well as by the Diocese. We are all being encouraged to buy and use "Fairtrade" products, and especially this year, tea. At the moment just 10% of the tea we drink is fair-trade. Look out for various "Big Brew" events around that time, one of which will be on March 6th in the Church Rooms at Hemyock when we shall be having a "Big Brew" from 10am till 12noon. Fair-trade coffee and other goods as well - look for the posters!

As I write, the death toll in the Haiti earthquake has risen to two hundred thousand and is still climbing. Like you, I am shocked by the devastation of this natural disaster and stunned by the misery and chaos being heaped upon a nation already burdened by poverty and depravation.

Like you, I find myself wanting answers to why this has happened and why God would be willing to allow the people of one of the poorest nations on earth to suffer in this way. As I listen for those answers, I hear some saying that this simply proves that God doesn't exist. And I hear those at the other end of the spectrum stating that we are living in the 'end times' and quoting carefully selected verses from apocalyptic scripture to support their argument.

There are now three village notice boards in Hemyock located at the Parish Hall, the entrance to Longmead and adjacent to Millhayes Hall. The additional notice boards at Longmead and Millhayes were erected in response to increasing village activities and the need for publicity. The Parish Council hopes that these and not telegraph poles will be used in the future. It was felt that the use of telegraph poles made the village look untidy.

There was a robust but amicable debate about proposals to allocate land to the North of the cemetery for allotments at the February meeting of Hemyock parish Council. With land owners on either side of the cemetery refusing to allow their land to be used for access, allotment holders would need to use the main footpath through the cemetery to entrance their gardens.