The annual seasonal sale was held on Sunday November 25th, 2018, after 11am Mass. The hall was warm and welcoming with brightly coloured stalls laden with all kinds of tempting treats.
As soon as we entered the hall a crowd began queuing to buy delicious Christmas cakes, puddings and preserves.
For those who were feeling peckish some young people of the parish were selling mouth-watering cakes which could be eaten in ‘The Corner Café’, at tables covered in pretty gingham tablecloths at the back of the hall. Tasty hot mince 
pies and cocktail pasties were also available to buy at the kitchen servery along with coffee and mulled wine.
On the stall manned by staff and parents from St. Joseph’s school there were fragrant lavender bags and useful jute shopping bags for sale along with many other items. There was a lucky dip for the children who were also provided with free lemonade and popcorn. The 
UCM stall held an assortment of bric a brac, plants and books.
The Sisters from the Holy Family Convent had obviously been very busy as on their stall there were some beautifully crocheted blankets, bags, shawls and baby clothes for sale.
For anyone looking for Christmas cards there were some lovely 
religious ones handmade by Lorraine. There were also some stunning cards ‘for all occasions’ which had been artfully designed by Father Philip. There were pens for sale which had the parish name printed on them and also pretty candles, sheets of brightly coloured wrapping paper and cute little gift bags.
There was a professional hairdresser available to trim people’s hair, a champagne and bubbles raffle and a silent auction for a gold cross and chain.
Raffle tickets had been on sale for a few weeks and the prizes were a selection of luxury hampers crammed full of delicious Christmas treats and beautifully wrapped bottles of wine.
A lot of effort goes into making a fund-raising event like this a success. The hard work of people both in the weeks before the sale and on the day itself was acknowledged by Father Philip when he thanked everyone before drawing the first raffle ticket.
Our thanks too to Gloria Atkinson for writing this review for the parish website