December 2024: With the Church Hall refurbishment just around the corner, the Hallraisers hosted a number of events as part of Amberley's Open Doors, in a final push to reach our fundraising goal.

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To kick things off, there was a sparkling Christmas Fair.  Moving from its usual venue of the chilly Square to a warm and fragrant Church Hall, visitors could sample spiced apple juice and mince pies while perusing a range of festive stalls.  The traditional offerings - Janet Aidin's delicious homemade jam and seasonal gingerbread and crafts made by our Ukrainian friends, Iryna and Viktoria - went down particularly well.  There were also some new stallholders: our own Hallraiser, Michael Donovan, with gorgeous gifts from his shop Rouiller White, and the suzani jackets by Lulu Fern proved to be especially popular, as did Tesh Patel's Christmas trees.  Santa (the perfectly cast Steve Kennett) was also there to ho-ho-ho it through the morning, looking resplendent in his fur-lined jacket as he handed out lucky dip gifts.

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Next was Stella's Tunics, where Stella Kemp had put her hand to sewing some gorgeous tunics from repurposed fabrics, in aid of the kitchen refurbishment fund. They sold like hotcakes and were much admired when they were sported by their elegant owners as various Christmas events later in the month.

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Finally, Drewitt's Farm hosted a celebration of global holiday traditions, where guests could sample festive treats from around the world.  Fuelled by warming glũhwein and fragrant glögg, there was something to suit every taste...from the spicy flavours of India, to the succulent tastes of sunny New Zealand, to the fresh pannetone and apfelstrudel from snow-capped Europe, no passport required!

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The events, together with Joy Cameron's Christmas cards, raised an astonishing £2,130 towards the Church Hall kitchen refurbishment.  The Hallraisers would like to thank everyone who supported us at our festive events, particularly the Chalkpath Theatre Group, who donated all the money they raised at their Christmas production to the kitchen renovation fund.

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