'I thought it was a wrong address.' — Margaret on the first envelope.
A short piece on what the dole has meant in one particular kitchen, this winter, after a year in which the trustees agreed to walk more envelopes by hand.
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News & stories
The dispatches — short pieces, written down between meetings.
We write twice a year, usually. Once at the new year, once in late spring. The rest of what appears on this page is the small archive of what has gone before.
The Winter Fuel Help round, recorded in plain pounds and bags.
A short account of how the February distribution went, what we paid the coal merchant, and one small change we have made for next year.
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The original bequest — what we know and what we still do not.
A longer piece, by our longest-serving trustee, on the parish papers behind the charity, including what is and is not in the surviving will-extract.
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Notes from the Christmas dole-day rounds across Studfold.
A small selection of moments from the December rounds — the lane up to Studfold, the wind, the kettle on at the third house.
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A short word on the trustees' decision to stand down the formal visiting rota.
Why, after five years of trying, we have decided to return to the older, less formal pattern of visiting.
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This year's carol service at St Oswald's — bidding read by Eileen.
A short report on the 2023 carol service, including a note on the new brass lanterns donated by a parishioner.
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The Winter Fuel Help round in the year of the long thaw.
What the trustees decided when February 2024 turned out warmer than expected, and what we did with the small surplus.
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A short note on the parcel of land the charity still holds.
What the parish papers tell us about the small parcel of land JOHN WILLIAM FOSTER holds on behalf of the bequest.
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Twenty years in the Chair — a short note from David Gallivan.
The Chair's brief reflection on a quiet two decades. Notably short on rhetoric and notably long on names.
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Why we still print the dispatch on cream paper.
A small piece on why the JOHN WILLIAM FOSTER dispatch is, and will remain, a paper thing.
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On not advertising — a short piece about staying small.
Why we do not publish on social media, do not chase larger donations, and do not, will not, advertise.
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What the original wording of the bequest actually says.
A close reading of the surviving will-extract, including the section the Charity Commission quotes back to us in the public register.
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If you would like the dispatch in the post