During the winter of 2019 the flag pole at St Cross succumbed to the wind and was found broken and beyond repair on the floor. Estimates were obtained for a replacement oak flag pole, but the £3,000.00 price tag made it impossible to replace from a recognised manufacturer.

Rod J and Colin H decided to try to locate a piece of oak 20 ft in length and 4 and a half inch square ( 6.09 m X 11.3cm according to Google). After visiting numerous timber merchants near and far, we were met with the same answer accompanied by a shake of the head “Sorry we don’t stock timber that length. Trawling the internet we discovered that a company in Leicester had a depot in Winsford who manufactured large oak gazebos and other large oak garden furniture items, although they do not sell timber to the public, they took pity on us and we were able to arrange to buy the timber from them. BUT after it was delivered we realised that it was not 4 and a half inches square but 6 inch square.
Down hearted, but not deterred by this we marked the size required, and commenced to reduce this to our original size.

Working as a team, plus additional help from Brian M and Ged B we made good progress, surprising ourselves, within a couple of weeks we had produced a respectable looking flag pole.

On Saturday 22 Feb 2020 (a dry day for a change) we transported the flag pole on a trailer, powered only by man power, and erected the pole, we raised the Union flag, and celebrated with champagne, unlike the launching of a ship, we did not smash the bottle, we all raised a glass to toast our success to those who helped, and to ensure that St Cross will have a flag pole for many generations to come.

On Sunday 23 Feb 2020 after the Communion Service the congregation gathered around the flag pole while Alan said a prayer and gave a blessing and also a word of thanks to the people involved.

Colin H.

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