THE Mayor of Derry, Cllr Martin Reilly, was among the 7000 people who sat at a loom (left) and wove their section of the seven tapestries being created during Derry's year as City of Culture. The three-week project Big Weave had been set up in the hall of St Augustine's by the Big Weave Team from England, as part of a worldwide community weaving project bringing people together - particularly relevant in Derry-Londonderry, with its divided culture.

The Mayor was welcomed by the Rector of St Augustine's, the Revd Patricia Storey, and the Big Weave Team, and invited to try his hand at weaving. "We are delighted," Mrs Storey said on the day, "and really appreciate his willingness to take part in the weaving. The project is a celebration of the fact that our community is made up of many threads, all of which combine to make our city the rich tapestry that it is."

St Augustine's, on the city walls, is a Church of Ireland church under the Bishop of Derry & Raphoe, and built on the site of St Columba's sixth-century monastery. All the tapestries, now completed, are of scenes of the city and its history. Six of them are being given away to other institutions and organisations, including the City Council, the Apprentice Boys, and a Roman Catholic church. That of St Columba will be staying in St Augustine's.