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Blanket coverage

16 November 2012

THEY started last February to knit "a brand-new imaginary roof" for St Olave with St Giles, Marygate, in York, to help meet the cost of repairs after a large quantity of the lead had been stolen. They had to replace about 80 per cent of the lead on the roof of the chancel, a large area on the nave, and also repair the organ, which had been damaged by the rain.

Not that they expected the knitting to keep the rain out. The Priest-in-Charge, the Revd Jane Nattrass, suggested that if they knitted enough sponsored squares - she reckoned that they would need about 5000 to cover the roof - it would go a long way towards raising the £60,000 that they needed.

The idea received a great deal of publicity ( News, 2 March), and contributions of knitted squares, together with cheques, came from a number of places - including Norway. Together with fund-raising concerts and other individual donations, they raised about £10,000 to put together with £20,000 from Ecclesiastical Insurance, and £30,000 from a local trust in York. So they are in the happy position of being able to go ahead with their repairs, and they hope to have the organ in use by Christmas.

Meanwhile, the squares have all been sewn into blankets. Some are to go to a children's hospice, but most are to go to the Knit-a-Square project, which provides warm clothing and blankets for children in Southern Africa affected by AIDS.

 

 

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