Being Shrove Tuesday, St Luke’s held its first pancake party for years, as dozens of people arrived at the Community Hall for an hour of fun. There was no charge – not even a pot for donations – as we wanted to attract as many people as possible. A number of children came from the church primary school, and I spotted my friend Geoff passing on his way home from an after-school class, so invited him to pop in too.

Inside, a fresh pancake was leaving the kitchen every minute, ready for each ‘customer’ to fill with sugar, syrup, or lemon juice, and then eat at the tables. In addition to that, there was a crafts table set up, and pancake-tossing races from one end of the hall to the other to entertain the younger ones.

All it really lacked was a party atmosphere: perhaps a little music would have livened it up a bit. Nevertheless, all had an enjoyable afternoon, as we across the road prepared to begin the period of Lent.

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