Yesterday I heard from my CCT colleagues that our building, All Saints Langport, had become the victim of lead theft. Lots of historic buildings, especially churches have lead roofs...
Anyone who's read a newspaper in the last 10 years will know that lead theft from church roofs is becoming an increasingly common problem in the UK due to the price of metals like lead increasing rapidly as other less stable commodities drop in the recession.
Anyone who also works for the CCT will know that some CCT churches are seen to be more at risk because they don't have regular activities in them, a sophisticated (and expensive) roof alarm, or a local community around them to put the thieves off. None of these are true of All Saints Langport, but it explains the empathetic reaction I got from other members of staff.
Whilst very upsetting and frustrating (it's proving very difficult not to take it personally, or for New Saints as a group to see it as a personal affront), this also provides an opportunity. The local community have already, since hearing, proven vocal about their passion for the building, and we can use this expression to produce something active and positive. We are planning to include a 'lead theft awareness' event as part of a larger (and much more fun) series of events in an HLF Application. This will show legacy, community activism and passion from the New Saints to the community (and the HLF), to show that we're serious about what we're doing.
Good News
On a much, much brighter note, I got an email this morning saying that our first attempt at a funding application has been successful!
Do you remember ages and ages and ages ago when we applied for money from Somerset Crimebeat to provide New Saints with portable office equipment including laptops, memory sticks and a digital camera? Well, we've finally got the result (a good lesson in waiting and waiting and waiting to hear from grant funders).
This will be a huge positive boost to the project as it means we can do effective training on social media (I wouldn't be surprised if this blog started getting more than one contributor), have a much more digital approach to meetings and site visits, and ensure much more regular and efficient communications within and from New Saints!
Wooooooo :D
