Purleigh, Tom Gower , a member of the 1st Maldon troop, has been to the Centenary Jamboree in Highlands Park, Chelmsford with two other Scouts from Maldon and one from Southminster.

Amongst other activities, they have visited Gilwell - the Scouting equivalent of Denman College to the WI movement.

This house was bought for Scouts of east London but then became the centre of Scouting in Britain.

Tom has been sailing on Alton Waters and involved with Project Starburst in which the Scouts have taken part in community projects across the county. He also got to meet the Chief Scout through a scouting game known as "Pegging".

SPECTACULAR VIEWS

The members of All Saints Church, Purleigh, CM3 6QJ, are opening the church tower for the afternoon of Sunday August 19 from 2pm to 5pm.

The tower will be manned by the Tower Bell Ringers and afternoon teas will be available.

There will also be an exhibition and demonstration by the Chelmsford Marquetry Group, as well as a display of a collection of clocks, where you can bring your old clock to find out more about it.

A small collection of darning mushrooms will be on display along with needlework in progress, and there will also be craft, book and bric-a-brac stalls - and of course homemade refreshments.

Admission to the church is free but it will cost £1.50 to climb the tower. Please wear flat or low-heeled shoes.

Children of eight years and over may climb the tower if accompanied on a one-to-one basis by an adult. For further information, ring 01621 850739 or 828119.

GARDENERS' SOCIETY SHOW

The 2007 Purleigh and District Gardeners' Society Annual Show will take place at Purleigh Village Hall,Mill Hill, Purleigh on Saturday August 25, from 2 pm.

Teas will be available during the afternoon and there will be an auction of exhibits donated for sale at 4.15pm.

If you would like to enter something you have grown, cooked or sewn, there are 96 classes including Juniors.

Entries have to be in by noon on Friday August 24 and staged before 10.15am on Saturday August 25.

Schedules, which include tips on preparing your entries, are available from the show secretary on 826988.

WINE TASTING

This fundraising event held in Purleigh village hall on Thursday August 9 was well-attended and a great success.

Robin Greatorex brought Italian wines, two white, one rose and one red, with guests enjoying plenty of samples. His talk was accompanied by a map of Italy showing the wine-growing regions. Afterwards guests enjoyed a finger buffet.

The evening raised £281.18 for St Peter's Hospital, Maldon.

FUNERAL

The funeral service for Audrey Heard was conducted by the Rev Elspeth Bland in All Saints Church on Monday August 13, followed by cremation at Chelmsford.

Audrey had lived in Purleigh for most of all her life, attending the village school and marrying a local man. She was a member of the Evergreen Club whilst it existed and was always an enthusiastic supporter of the village church.

She leaves two sons, John and Brian, a daughter Susan and several grandchildren, to whom we extend our sympathies on the loss of a lovely lady.