Quiet Garden St Peter's- a hidden

Sue (one of the volunteer gardeners) with the Rev'd Dave Collier

I was met at the entrance to the Quiet Garden at St Peter's Birkdale by the curate Dave Collier and one of the volunteers Sue. 

I was kindly, and swiftly, provided with a cup of tea when one of the visitors flourished a tea towel at us. Now it is fair to say that none of the parishioners present had ever seen the item before and there proceeded to be a vigorous debate about when the towel had been produced. The consensus was that it originated from the 1960's. The gentleman who brought it in could not shed any light on the date other than to say it belonged to a grandparent of one of his extended family. Anyone any ideas?  I think the 1960's may be a little too far away.  I am not sure when squashes made an appearance on the greengrocers bench in Birkdale  but they are hardly common even now. Although I can see the attraction to the writer of the verse as it allowed her/him to say :

Squash gossip,

Squash criticism,

Squash indifference

It sounds very heart felt, so much so you wonder what was going on at St Peter's at the time.........

Dave Collier and Lyn Shaw with the tea towel

The Quiet Garden behind St Peter’s Vicarage, is set back from St Peter’s Road.  This Garden – open to the public 9:30am-4.30pm (summer) or dusk (winter) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and after the 10:45am service on Sundays. Please walk down towards the Vicarage- the gate will be open. It is a hidden gem.

As the churches website says: The Garden includes a Prayer Hut – in effect, a tiny chapel where you can sit undisturbed – and Labyrinth – a path to walk away from the world and its cares into God’s peace before walking back into the world with that peace – as well as paths and benches and sensory features.

Dennis Whalley, Dave Collier join me in the sunshine

A team of volunteers helps to maintain and develop the Garden. They are there on Monday afternoons, 1:30pm-dusk (in winter). If you would be interested in joining the team, do drop by one week!

I was shown round the garden by Dennis Whalley another one of the volunteers . Like so many other people I met today he was very knowledgeable and his enthusiasm was most uplifting. He and Sue we great ambassadors for The Quiet Garden

I really should say before leaving The Quiet Garden how magnificent the refreshments were. The cakes would certainly win the Mary Berry stamp of approval, so make a note, if you like cake, that St Peter's cake stalls are well worth a visit.