IT might have been dreadful weather outside, but inside Spreyton Parish Church was a small world of wonder when the Friends of St Michael’s Church staged its second Christmas Tree Festival.

Held over the weekend of the final Sunday of Advent, the weekend before Christmas, the festival was to help towards the funds needed to replace the church electrical circuits, lighting and heating.

Since the founding of the Friends in October 2014, when the first Festival was held, the “thermometer” beside the lych gate has crept upwards so that, with a contribution from the Parochial Church Council, it is around half way towards the £30,000 target.

Theme for the trees this year was Christmas Around the World with the trees being testament to the ingenuity and imagination of people in and around Spreyton.

Some trees had a short history of the country.

There was a Memory Tree on which people could hang messages in memory of a loved one, with one “guessing tree” that carried tags with clues as to where it represented, being an island 17 miles long and 11 miles wide.

Individuals and village organisations, groups and businesses had donated or decorated trees.

On the font was an arrangement of white flowers with foliage and huge candles in glass lanterns in memory of Eve Collins who did so much for Spreyton church, especially at Christmas.

Among some of the clever ideas were the dried orange slices hanging on the California tree, the small poinsettia and long, red chillies on the Mexico tree.

Tea bags sprayed silver were among the decorations on the tree for India while the tree for Australia included paper boomerangs.

Main organisers were Alethea Kennerley, chairman of the Friends of Spreyton Church) and Judith Hedley-Dent.

Mrs Hedley-Dent said there had been “an amazing” response this year when the Festival was announced, “a really good community event.”

Ever thrifty Spreyton had bought the trees from Crediton Parish Church, reusing the ones from that Festival. These trees will stay up until Twelfth Night.

The Memory Tree was blessed during the carol service that Sunday evening, part of which was held in darkness, the only lights being the trees and the candles.

Someone commented that the festival brought the parish church alive with the atmosphere and the scents. Refreshments were available.

Sue Read