A TORRENTIAL downpour drove them inside the parish church, when their aim had been a picnic on the beach. The Loaves and Fishes project, in Blackburn diocese, had involved as many towns and villages, schools, businesses, and organisations in the Morecambe Bay area as possible, culminating, on Whit Monday, with a blessing on the beach on Arnside promenade.

All the coastal communities of the area had been asked to host Loaves and Fishes meals of fish and seafood, offering them to people of all faiths and none, to celebrate the gifts of God in the natural world. "What we hope for from this project", John Rodwell, who chairs the diocesan Environmental Group, said, "isa better awareness of the good things nature provides, and the fragile nature of the world we share with other creatures."

They also hoped the project would provide an opportunity for local fishmongers and bakers to promote their wares with better sourcing and sustainable production.