Ninety-four people sat down to a salmon and strawberries supper at Ware Priory on Wednesday of last week to raise money for repairs to the town’s 14th century church. Hosted by the Ware Society, the supper and subsequent raffle raised a magnificent £735."The Society would not raise money for a religious denomination," said Hon. Secretary Jill Henson, whose brain-child the supper was. "But St. Mary’s Church is an important Grade I listed building, with an horrendous repairs bill, and the supper was in aid of the church fabric appeal." The Vicar of St. Mary’s, Canon Hugh Wilcox, told the supper party that £174,000 had already been spent on repairs to the south aisle, mainly to put right poor workmanship and materials from a 19th century restoration, and total repairs could top £700,000.The Society’s chairman, Rita Weeks, paid tribute to the cooks and helpers, including Jill Henson, Claire Hopkins, Shirley Jennings, Catherine Perry, Peter Rolfe, Brenda Rosser, Kathy Sanders, Margaret Stockman and Janet Watson, with particular thanks to Tony Bayford for cooking and dressing the salmon. Ware Town Council and the town clerk, Janet Buttery, were thanked for use of the hall and cutlery and thanks for financial support and raffle prizes was given to Tesco, Choc-a-bloc, C. Mitchell's greengrocers, Marion Brown of Meals on Wheels and the Rockingham Press. During the evening, diners were entertained by the classical guitarist, Dominic De Rosa. For further information please contact: Jill Henson on 01920 463160 or David Perman on 01920 467868

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