Be More Mancroft

Christmas at Mancroft

• Edward Carter

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0:00 | 22:20

We share the joy and work of a Mancroft Christmas, from wall-to-wall carols and Advent hope to the craft and care behind the church’s flowers and garlands. Along the way we hear from Diana in the flower cupboard and Robin backstage at the city lights, with stories of charity, creativity, and community.

• Advent rhythms, carol services, and festive plans
• Diana’s guide to Christmas arrangements and pillar garlands
• Moving beyond floral foam to eco methods and chicken wire
• Team changes, training new hands, and the legacy of festivals
• Charity card shop and tree festival partnerships
• Norwich arts scene and the city lights switch-on
• Stained glass, nativity window, and the meaning of light
• Community meals for those alone and how to help
• Kitchen mishaps, favourite carols, and keeping perspective
• Year-end gratitude and a warm Christmas blessing

Join us for the Charities Carol Service at 5pm on 7 December

SPEAKER_04:

Well, hello and welcome to the December 2025 Be More Mancroft Podcast. I'm Edward Carter. And I'm Judy Ball. And it's lovely you've joined us. December, Judy. Goodness me, an exciting time of year, isn't it? Do you like December?

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, I do. I do. And there's so much going on. There's so much happening at the church, isn't there, in December?

SPEAKER_04:

It's very busy, yes. Guess how many carol services we have all together, do you think?

SPEAKER_03:

I've no idea.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean th there are some of the more like concerts. Seven, eight? Oh no, no. Higher, higher. Really? Yes, yes. Well, I mean, if you think of all the schools and the charities. It's over twenty and with with concerts. Yeah, yeah. So December is um kind of wall-to-wall carol services. Yeah, but it's lovely. I I I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_03:

It's a lovely atmosphere, I think.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, yeah, that's right. I mean, of course, technically through December we're really an advent.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, do you have an advent calendar ever or not? I do.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

My daughter-in-law presented me with one yesterday.

SPEAKER_04:

And is it one way you open the windows and there's a nice treat? Oh, it's very nice. Yeah, yeah. So of course Advent runs up to Christmas and then the end of the Advent calendar is Christmas Day, 25th of December, right? But actually it's lovely having all the the carols and everything right through December. Because um yeah, I mean I wish in a way every day could be Christmas, but every day is like Christmas because God is with us every day. So yeah. Yeah, definitely is. In fact, I was thinking back the other day to five years ago when it was the pandemic and the lockdown and we had to be quite careful and things were much quieter. And I think there were all sorts of things that we tried to do at the church then, including the flower arranging, because we couldn't do the normal thing. But I I was remembering I think everyone made flower arrangements at home, didn't they?

SPEAKER_03:

We all had a I think we had a wire frame. I think we had the frame and we had to decorate the frame. That's right. We did use artificial flowers. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we did different ones, and I think they all went onto the pillars, didn't they? That's right.

SPEAKER_04:

And they're they're still most of them I think are still very much surviving. Yeah, yeah. So the one you you so you made one. I made one.

SPEAKER_03:

I didn't do silk flowers, I did my cold porcelain ones that I've done.

SPEAKER_04:

Loved it, which you're so skilled at, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm sure your one's still there, and um they'll be put up in in the in mid-December, I think. Anyway, on a on a flowers theme, um I had a chance to meet up with Diana Porden. Ah, yes. She kind of coordinates the the flower arrangers team. I thought we could listen to to the interview I did with her now. Oh yes, lovely. Well, I'm actually here in the church, downstairs in um in the the choir vestry area, but one of the cupboards is the flower arrangers cupboard. And I'm here with Diana, Diana Paulham. Diana, it's so lovely um to be meeting with you here, because you're very much involved with the the flower arranging. And of course we are approaching Christmas. Um I spotted one or two Christmasy things in the cupboard. What what what's really special about the flower arranging this this time of year, would you say, running up to Christmas?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, this time of year we uh look forward to doing quite a bit just before Christmas. We'll be doing the flower arrangements on the nineteenth.

SPEAKER_05:

Right, nineteenth of the summer, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Just before our nine lessons in Carol.

SPEAKER_05:

Lovely, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And just before that, we're hoping to get something on the pillars, the garlands that hang down from the pillars. Yes, the great stone pelapers. That's right.

SPEAKER_04:

I think those garlands. They're wonderful.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, but it depends on lots of people getting together to sort things out, and for Edward kindly hangs them for us. Oh no, I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

We have a we have a for the flowers that we'll be doing on the nineteenth, we have a mixture of fresh flowers and also on the shelves, because they're irradiators, they have to be artificial flowers, and we do we do the porches, as people will remember. And we tend to always stick to the red and yellow. Yeah. The sort of obvious colours for Christmas. Ideally it would be red and gold, but um we can't really.

SPEAKER_01:

Yellow is a form of gold. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Because I mean normally week by week there are probably two or three people do the flowers. Um but at Christmas, I from memory, it's everyone or everyone's invited to come along, aren't they?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, yes, it's it's nice when people can get together like at harvest or Easter, at Tronor especially when everybody gathers.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And we're a very good um friendly group and we all get along happily together. That's wonderful. And it's lovely that we can have our yearly summer party which is our way of thanking everybody. Yeah, yeah. No, I always love coming to that.

SPEAKER_04:

Um how many people do you think altogether there are on on the flower ranging team?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, there are now twenty-three. Wow. And ten years ago, I checked it up, ten years ago there were forty-four. Oh gosh, right. So I'm afraid we've lost a lot of people. And this is largely because of people getting older and being less able to to help us. We have a couple of young no, three three people, I think it is, are under under fifty who are a great help. And one of those, Rebecca, she's she's a real gem because she enables us because she she is a professional well person she deals, she has her own shop, but she's also got a flower arranging business, she does workshops and helps people to make a real prone. Yeah, and she's amazing. She's lovely, and so she always helps me um in the buying of the flowers for special occasions when we read great quantities.

SPEAKER_04:

So so you you've actually been involved then for many decades, I guess. I have.

SPEAKER_02:

Well the first time I remember arranging flowers was for my own wedding in 69. And Barbara Harold persuaded me to do uh my first arrangement, and I did a little one at the South Store. And looking at it now, it's just a small pathetic array of dahlias. The photo on the photograph. But um I've been involved with Barbara for a long time. We shared a flat before we were both married. She married one year and I married the next year. But we'd shared a flat. And so I got to know her well, and we actually went on holiday together before we were married. Wonderful. And she was a very professionally uh trained person and she was a national judge. Oh, right arranging, yeah, yes, and and Barbara arranged for three no four four big flower festivals. Oh yes, flower festivals. Yes, yes. There was one Mancroft Past and Present. Yes. And there was one portrait of a parish, and the other one was a millennium.

SPEAKER_04:

So that was in the year two thousand, of course, yes. That's right. Yes, yes. So a flower festival is when the church is filled with flower arrangements and displays and people come to look from Mars around. They did, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And I did they have to pay to come in? I can't remember. But anyway, yes, the the church was absolutely uh bedecked with all sorts of um structures and flowers everywhere. But Barbara was such a professional, she could bring other people in to help us. It wasn't just us.

SPEAKER_04:

If we ever wanted to do another flower festival, we'd need an awful lot of planning and lots of extra people to help us.

SPEAKER_02:

And I'm not and I'm not professionally trained as she was, you know. And of course Roy was able to help her a lot as well.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, yes. So w over the years, what's what do you think has changed about doing the flower arranging? Um perhaps not even technical things about what's different about doing flower arranging now compared with, I don't know, twenty or thirty years ago.

SPEAKER_02:

Well uh uh quite a bit has to do with the cost, I think, today. Yeah. It it is people are struggling to find flowers that they can afford to use, although thankfully the the church will reimburse people. Yeah, of course, yes. Really need to be helped in that way. Yeah. And of course the other big change is that we can't now do oasis arrangements.

SPEAKER_04:

Because there's a worry about that some kind of ecological impact of the city.

SPEAKER_02:

Because Oasis is made of microplastics, which is a definite no-no in this regard. No, no.

SPEAKER_04:

No, well I've certainly enjoyed seeing I mean it's been a challenge, I know, hasn't it? Using the chicken wire and that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02:

But um it takes at least twice as long to use the chicken wire. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

But there's talk of a an ecologically sound um oasis system.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, and and the owner and I can both look into this ongoing project. No, but it's still to be proven that it will be ecologically.

SPEAKER_04:

Well, that's that's hope for the best from that front. But the flowers uh in Minecraft always look amazing, wonderful, and they they're such an important part actually of of you know the life of the church. They enhance our worship and just make it part of the welcome as well, actually, for people coming to the church. So many people have said to me, gosh, your flowers, um they're amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

Well we're yeah, we're always delighted when we have people coming, coming on the welcoming duty, they say people coming. Absolutely, yeah. Um think are you?

SPEAKER_04:

That's amazing because I know it's um it's uh it's got its challenges, but it's really amazing, yeah. So supposing there's someone listening who is uh says, Oh, I'm I'm really interested in joining the team. Um so you know, how how might they do that?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, the welcomers know that there is a um some leaflets in a pocket on the welcomer's desk.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And uh if they give them one of those leaflets, my contact numbers and details are on those leaflets.

SPEAKER_05:

Good, good.

SPEAKER_02:

And really to for welcomers to introduce them to to one of us.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

It would be lovely to have some younger people because um I mean I'm one of three who are, you know, constantly having to do jointly coordinate and lead.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So I'm so grateful to to Yvonne and Jane who are tremendous backups to me and help me out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

But it would be good to have one or two others to help with it, even with that leadership side, wouldn't it?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, definitely. Let's see.

SPEAKER_04:

I'm sure the next generation of flower rangers uh are waiting to come and join. Well, I hope so. Yeah, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02:

Um looking forward to being able to hand over. I've been doing it for fif for fifteen years being in charge. Um after Barb Barbara retired and handed over to me.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, wonderful. Well, Donna, thank you so much. I mean lovely to chat about about the flowers at Mancroft. They really are one of the the amazing things that happens at the church. Thank you so much. And we look forward very much, I do certainly, to seeing the amazing Christmas arrangements and flowers uh this year. Wonderful. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, we always look forward to doing them, especially for Christmas. Thank you. Oh, that was good listening to Diana.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, she works so hard and her team as well. As she was saying about Yvonne and Jane, they do a lot of work, a lot of hard work preparing things. That's right.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And actually just kind of keeping an eye on the flowers through the week as well. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Not just uh kind of come in for an hour or two.

SPEAKER_03:

The church looks lovely.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean the church always does look lovely when it starts, isn't it? No, it really does, yes, yes, and the Christmas garlands and hangings, all wonderful. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, actually, through December, the church looks very Christmassy at times, doesn't it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

It will do soon because the Christmas trees will be coming in first place.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, that's right. Well they're pretty much the whole of the first half of December, I think. Yes, three weeks, I believe. Slightly longer this year, yeah, that's right. Yes, I think it's pretty much till the fifteenth of December.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, I can don't know how many trees there were going to be, but it's quite a few. Yes, there are. Like, I don't know, three dozen or something. Yeah. And and the great thing is some of them are sponsored by businesses and organisations and they're all raising money for charity. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and and when you think about the card shop, which has been running for several weeks now, that's raising money for charity as well. So it's really good, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, so when do you put your tree up at home, Judy, normally?

SPEAKER_03:

I should probably do it next weekend. Okay, I used to have a real tree. Yeah. But I must admit I do have an artificial one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I love I love decorating it and I have lots of decorations with lights. I'm a thing I have a thing about lights.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, yes. Lovely, lovely, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, we we normally put ours up sort of middle of December, really, yeah. Yeah, so it's really, really nice and Christmassy, yeah. And actually there'll be all sorts of carol services, as we said earlier. And one of them this year we're doing the charity's carol service, which is for the card shop and the tree festival, the kind of combined charity carol service. Yeah, that's the the um I think it's the 7th of December. Right. Um the lovely carol service at five o'clock. So that'll be nice, good carols and everything. Yeah, yeah. Have you got a favourite carol as well or not?

SPEAKER_03:

I like the way in the main, because it's quite a bit. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, well yes, the gentle ones and the the big long ones, they're all lovely, really, yeah. And it's amazing to think of the actually literally thousands of people who will come to the church um to to visit, to see the tree festivals, carry on at the at the card shop, of course. And for services, yeah, yeah. And I met actually the other day I met um someone who um used to help with the guides uh the Mancroft Guides um group. And so she had she had memories of of coming to church with the guides, but she was in the card shop buying some cards as well. So yeah, I did a tiny interview with her actually. Oh, yeah. Well, I'm here in the church and I just met a l amazing, lovely person who's got some connections with Mancroft from years back. I don't even know your name, but and you uh uh do say what contact with Mancroft all those years ago?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, a big contact with the girl guides and getting to know the cubs and the scouts and the brownies and all the other Mancroft people. Uh very friendly time always, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Mancroft in my youth.

SPEAKER_04:

So you were kind of running some of the uh uniformed organization groups here, were you many years ago?

SPEAKER_01:

I was in the Girl Guides group, yes. Yeah, fantastic.

SPEAKER_04:

The Mancroft Guides. Amazing. I think there still is a group now.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yes, I'm pleased to hear that. I always, you know, keeping keep an ear open for any uh news.

SPEAKER_04:

And and you you come to the church today, bought one or two Christmas cards. So what what do you what do you think of the church now? Uh now you're here today.

SPEAKER_01:

Well the bit I know very well is of course the lovely big window which have we when we came to our monthly Guide Scout Cubs and Brownies uh services, I can remember gazing at it and thinking, I shouldn't be, I should be listening and thinking.

SPEAKER_04:

Well, I think gazing at the window is a beautiful thing to do. Oh, it's so lovely to meet you today. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, that was nice talking to that lady coming back. Yes, and what was it? She said she she should have been thinking that she didn't. Uh she was busy with looking at the window. Well I know. Because the window is beautiful anyway. And of course in the east window, but I mean it's also of course has the nativity scene in it, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_04:

It does, it does. I mean it's an amazing window. Of course, yes. Yeah, yeah, and there is the nativity scene.

SPEAKER_03:

And of course you've got the lights coming in. If the sun shines through it, you wouldn't have lights then, but you'd have sunlight. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Well I suppose that's right. I mean, yes, they wouldn't have had Christmas trees in medieval times. They wouldn't have had Christmas lights, you know, no electricity or anything. But you're right, the the window, particularly that East window, would have been a bit like the Christmas lights. Yes. Yeah, what a lovely thought. Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, now of course Christmas lights are one of the big things about Christmas trees. Yeah, yeah, and I'm sure we both put lights on our tree at home. And and uh a week or two back in November it was the city lights, of course, were all turned on. And there's that funny thing on the hay market now, a sort of square thing. I'm not quite sure.

SPEAKER_03:

No, I haven't seen that yet.

SPEAKER_04:

Well it looks very exotic, and uh and there are mirrors, and you know, if you're good at taking a selfie, Judy, then you can go and take a selfie of you with that. Oh my word.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, I'm sure you'd be an expert at doing that.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the sit so turning on the city lights is a great thing, and and I'm always lucky because I'm asked to go and give a a little vicar's message for a for a few minutes, which I did. And I talked about Christmas lights, funnily enough. Did you know that the electric Christmas lights were invented by Thomas Edison about a hundred and fifty years ago now? Oh, he he first was the first person to make a string of electric lights. You know, he more or less was the one who pioneered light bulbs and electric lights. So he did that, apparently, and everyone was very impressed. And then I think a friend of his put a string of electric lights on a Christmas tree, probably a year or two after. And everyone was absolutely wowed by that. You know, they were amazed. And of course, you know, the rest is history really in terms of Christmas tree lights. Everyone loved it so much, they all wanted one. Yeah, so I did talk a bit about the history of Christmas lights, but then I did remind everyone, being a vicar of course, that the original reference to a Christmas light is in the Bible in the New Testament about Jesus himself. The light shines in the darkness. The darkness could not overcome it. So that's that's the original Christmas light. Yeah, Jesus. So I did tell the crowd that. Do you know they all listened really carefully. Um and well I think they even gave me a round of applause. Oh wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was good. But but the fun thing I love about going and doing the Christmas lights turned on is being behind the scenes. But during the whole thing, it lasts about two hours. Right. And there are all different groups, like dance groups, theatre groups, pantomime stars, you you you name it. They're all there. Um, there was someone dressed up as the Grinch. Oh, really? Did you like The Grinch? Anyway, the compare was Robin Evans, and I had a little chat with him actually. Just asking him about Norwich, what he loves about Norwich, so I thought I'd play that now as well.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh yes, like to hear that.

SPEAKER_04:

Well, would you believe it? I'm here backstage for the Christmas switch on of light in Norwich, uh in the heart of Norwich, and I'm with Robin Evans, who's sort of comparing tonight, and I'm about to do my Vicar's slot. But uh Robin, it's great to see you. And um I'm asking everyone what they most like about Norwich.

SPEAKER_00:

So, what would you say? Uh thank you. I think the best thing about Norwich is it's it's a bit of a hidden gem, it's out of the way, but the creativity that blooms here and blossoms here. Uh there is so much art being made in this city which is of such high quality and is so community focused, and it's a delight to be able to go and see it on any night of a week in Norwich.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, I know, there's so much to do, isn't there? And you've done this compare job at the light switcher on a few times, haven't you? Yeah, what what do you most like about this particular evening?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so I've been doing this since I think 2021 or 2022. What I really enjoy is that it can be miserable weather, but people still band together, have a really good time, and you see smiles on faces even when it's absolutely torrential.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, it's definitely a bit damp out there tonight. Rowan, thanks so much. I'm looking forward to doing my start in a minute. Cool, thank you. Much appreciated.

SPEAKER_03:

That was good to hear a reminder of how good Norwich is from the point of view of arts and the community spirit. A great community spirit in Norwich. Yeah, that's right. Yes.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean all the different things happening through the year, but lots of them in December, of course. Yeah. Yeah, no, I really enjoyed chatting with him. And I think that it's easy to sort of um perhaps make too much of it, but there is a great community feel to Norwich, I always feel.

SPEAKER_03:

And of course there's I don't well they still do it, but it's Andrews Hall every year.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

There is a big Christmas lunch done by I'm not sure of the Salvation Army, but there's loads of volunteers who help to do a a meal and they serve, cook and serve.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

So it's not just homeless people, but people who are lonely. Anyone feels they need to be with someone.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03:

Um and they can go along and have a a free.

SPEAKER_04:

That's right, yeah. I think because the Snowdry's Hall's not opened quite a bit. But it's not a wonderful thing. I know one or two people who who helped with that very much. So yeah, yeah. Yeah, could the thought of cooking Christmas lunch for two hundred people, Judy, do you think you could do that or not?

SPEAKER_03:

Well when I was first married, and I was not a brilliant cook, my first Christmas, I managed to cook the turkey upside down. Oh and I put it on the t I don't know how I got it on the plate when I think about it. But anyway, and I know my my new husband was looking and saying, Yeah, I can't carve that. Right. It's upside down. Oh no. So it it was all right, we it turned over and it wasn't. It wasn't just and then the next year I had my uh parents-in-law and I was I was so excited about this and I was entertaining a bigger turkey, and I put all the roast potatoes around it and I did this beautiful thing. But when I went to get it out of the oven, of course it was quite heavy. Yeah. And as I pulled it out, I managed to tip it somehow. I couldn't hold it properly, and the whole lot went on the kitchen floor.

SPEAKER_05:

The whole lot Oh it was disaster.

SPEAKER_03:

It was disaster. I think the third Christmas, Ralph cooked it.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Goodness. Oh my word.

SPEAKER_04:

Well it is kind of high stakes, isn't it, in terms of Christmas cooking. Yeah, because um I mean it's lovely to have a meal, perhaps there are family and others gathered. You know, you really, really want it. We we all want it to be an amazing meal and just being together and sharing together. But um but I know a lot of people get quite stressed out by by cooking cooking a Christmas meal. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm sure this year, well, whatever your plans are, there'll be good. I'm looked after now. I'll go I have people my daughter in law does a fantastic Christmas dinner. Yeah, and I'm sure everyone will be enjoying I had a problem for Christmas. So there of course it can be a sad time of year for some as well. Yeah, yeah. Well, December. Can't quite believe the year's pretty much come to an end. Um it's been another good year, an interesting year. Full of full of things, hasn't it? Yeah, yeah. Always is good. Always a pleasure to to meet up with you. And um to enjoy our chat. Yeah, absolutely. And um goodness me, next time we meet it'll be well, another year. We'll come and start a new year, twenty twenty six. Yes. So lots lots to look forward to. Yeah. Great. And a happy Christmas. A very Merry Christmas evening.