On Sunday afternoon, whilst England played New Zealand at Lords, the men's tennis final took place at Wimbledon and the Grand Prix at Silverstone was at its height, members of Blandford Methodist Church gathered at the Manse to say farewell to Deacon Alison McMillan.
The Manse garden was looking its best (Alison having done a lot of the hard work herself), the sun shone, and all around folks chatted whilst enjoying a cup of tea from Alison's collection of fine china teacups and saucers or they partook of a wonderful homemade fruit punch.
Alison then served up a delicious cream tea (the scones having been made by Di Browning) and a selection of homemade cakes. Folk could be heard saying, "Would you like jam first or cream first?" Tina presented Alison with a beautifully decorated cake that on the top held a miniature tea service, which was later cut with everyone receiving a piece.
Margaret, on behalf of the church congregation, presented Alison with a gift voucher for John Lewis and a voucher for Afternoon Tea for two at the Ritz. Alison thanked everyone for their generosity, saying she couldn't wait to visit the Ritz to which there was a lot of leg pulling about how she should dress and behave on the occasion. She concluded by thanking everyone for coming and supporting her whilst she had been in Blandford.
