THEY are very keen on Christmas trees in the diocese of Llandaff, but they are also keen on knitting. In St Mary's, Nolton, in Bridgend, they had a whole array of festival trees decorated not only with conventional baubles, to brighten the church, but also with knitted angels, both on the trees and floating above the crib.

It was the seventh year for their five-day Christmas-tree festival, the Area Dean, the Revd Michael Komor, said, and this year they had 43 trees on show. "Various groups, ranging from schools to charities, come in and decorate a tree along a particular theme, and then each year we choose a different charity to support from the proceeds. People that come along to the festival are able to vote for their favourite tree." This year, they were supporting Bridgend Women's Aid.

 ot far away, at the Resurrection, also in Bridgend, the whole tree was composed of leaves knitted by the craft group. They will eventually be sewn into blankets for a hostel. And knitting was also the theme at Llantrisant Church, where members of the Click and Chatter group knitted baby clothes to adorn a tree that will be sent to Africa.

At Penarth, their 13th Christmas-tree festival attracted more than 2000 visitors. "Christmas trees are a great way to welcome people into our churches and demonstrate how active they are," the Archdeacon of Morgan-nwg and Priest-in-Charge of Cwmbach, the Ven. Christopher Smith, said. "They have grown hugely in popularity over the past decade, and they are a valuable reminder of what Christmas is all about - they help people think about the real meaning of Christmas."