Another epic year for Carols in the Barn, this time at Avington Farm in the barn which Robert Stent has converted into a very popular wedding venue.

This year, under our impresario Sonia Cragg, we did it rather differently from the static tableau we have done in the past.  We used the Bible Society pop up nativity story called ‘The New Noisy Neighbour’.  We were following the discoveries of a cheese eating, mystery solving mouse as she discovers who this new baby is, born in a stable where the rest of the animals are just trying to sleep….Sonia brilliantly acted as the mouse (of course) and invited the children to do various actions whenever she prompted them with key words..

Gradually the children, many of whom had dressed up as nativity figures, came up the front to form a delightful nativity scene.  

Interspersed with all of this, we read the classic readings and sang carols and drank delicious mulled wine and ate mince pies – what a great way to spend a really wet Sunday afternoon in December!

Thank you so much to Sonia – a huge achievement after your leading role in the Easton Panto, a lot of fun for all of us.  Thank you to our readers Steve Haywood, Andy Tan, Julia Wright, Phil Nevin, Tabitha Starr, Rob Starr, and Maximilian Terhalle.

Thank you to Gilly Greenwood and Mandy Seymour for the mulled wine and mince pies (really welcome on such a terribly wet afternoon).  Thank you to Simon Ffennell, Robin Greenwood and Sarah Hunt for organising the parking.  Thank you also to Chris Ellis who organised the sound and Robert Hall who organised our lighting.  Thank you to Duncan and Janet Gray for bringing over two of their sheep to add to the atmosphere and to Vanessa and Leon Rosewell for the hay bales.  Thank you to Adrian Webb who played the electric piano and David Parker who moved it from Easton and Sally Parker who managed all the Carol Sheets and handed out books about the New Noisy Neighbour to the families as they left.