Strawberries in the rain

So... this year's Strawberry Tea in  celebration of our Patronal Festival had a theme of umbrellas...

It all started so well. People arrived happily and were settling down to enjoy a relaxed afternoon in the vicarage garden.

Then the rain started. As the first few drops fell, we embarked on the fastest "gazebo-putting-up" ever seen - fortunately Nicky had this down to a fine art, and the rest of us just did as we were told.

 We even managed to perfect the technique of putting up a gazebo while standing underneath it! It's not too clear in the photo, but I can promise you that by this stage it was raining quite hard.

We hoped it might just be a passing shower, but as it turned out, it rained from 4.10, just after people arrived to 5.50, just before they left...Hmm. 

Opinions varied on who was responsible for this. Some people thought it was my fault - perhaps I had accidentally offended the ancient spirits of the place in my sermon in the morning. Personally, as a believer in every-member ministry, I thought it was an indication that the laity needed to pay more attention to their prayers - I can't do everything, you know!

However, those who came were undaunted, and at least it meant that everyone huddled together and talked to one another, energised by their struggles against adversity (that pesky drip that always seemed to find the back of your neck!). Feedback afterwards seemed to suggest that people had enjoyed themselves anyway - we are made of strong stuff at St Peter and St Paul.
   

The strawberries, as ever, were delicious - thank you Stonepitts farm - and so were the cakes and sandwiches made by our intrepid team of bakers.
Many thanks to all who came, baked, put up gazebos (and then more gazebos!). With any luck we might have all dried out by next year.