11th September 2021. Today we held a surprise church lunch to celebrate Simon’s twenty five years in ministry and also to mark 3 years of his ministry here at ABC. Over 70 church members were joined by specially invited guests from Simon’s previous church at Aston Clinton for a an informal buffet followed by two short speeches. At lunch time Simon was told by Nicky to get ready to go for lunch with Diane, his mum. The family all piled into the car and Nicky then drove the 400m to the church whilst Simon was totally unaware of what was going on. The event was orchestrated by Brenda supported by a team of volunteers who somehow managed to keep the event under wraps. At the conclusion of the meal, after the speeches and the thanks, Simon was presented by a caricature drawn by a local caricaturist, Bob Bond. We all thought Bob captured Simon’s likeness very well.

The cake was made by David Hanchard and decorated by Helen Lawrey. Simon’s card was designed and created by Perrie Sims.