Only another 46 bricks of florists’ foam to cut into 8… A bit more wood chopping, then pack it all away to be created at the Holy Trinity School Fair.  To represent hazel pins, we’ll be using kebab sticks (not shown here).

If it all comes together without all falling down it will be quite a good activity – though we might end up with the adults having fun more than the kids!

I think we may need to paint those bales yellow – before they are eventually rendered with Plaster of Paris at the Lambeth Country Show. Otherwise the foam will suck up the moisture and the plaster will crack.

And check out our car tyre foundations(!) – 100 of them lovingly made by Jacky from Salt Dough, and painted at our homework club.

All in all, a great educational experience – and will be for all who take part.  The materials for this model cost a little bit.  If you would like to sponsor the model, donate here.

Thanks!

On 14th June at we’ll be making a 2 metre long model of the main part of our Straw Bale annex at Holy Trinity School Fair.  Those helping build the model will be able to see how a straw bale building is constructed and learn something about the advantages.

The “bales” will be made from flower arranger’s foam. The car tyres are formed from salt dough. Not quite sure about the roof yet – it could be thin mdf. Fulham Timber in Acre Lane will be helping with some scrap wood. We plan to repeat the operation at the Lambeth Country Show in July – but on this occasion we shall also “render” the model in plaster of paris.

Inspired by passing the £100k mark, the project team are now working out how to get to £200k!

We hope we’ll get a good boost towards this from our Gift Day Sunday on 15 June. In the weeks before this service we will be handing out pledge forms and asking people to prayerfully reflect on how much they would like to give towards the new community hub – anything from £2 to £100 a month. We hope that many people in the church will be moved to give what they can.

We will also be talking to local businesses, to ask for their support. An article in 24-7 magazine will help us get the message out there.

If anyone reading this knows any local business that will be supportive – please do get in touch!

Our straw bale building needs the support of the whole church and community… we hope that you will join us in thinking about the part you can play in making it a reality.

Thanks to some sacrificial giving and great generosity our Straw Bale fund has now reached over £120,000.  That means we’re nearly a third of the way towards our initial fundraising target of £380,000.The figure includes a grant of £15,000 from the Church & Community Fund, but the rest has been mostly given be members of Holy Trinity Church.

Our next fund-raising focus will be the church Gift Day on June 15th.  However, what we also need now is to find some support from local business, the wider circle of Holy Trinity friends / former members, and some success with large grant applications.  Unless we have a large injection of external funding, it will be impossible to fulfill this project because the financial resources here in Tulse Hill are so scarce.

Could you become a Straw Stacker by donating £1,000 or more?

Click here to find out more.

We are of course putting together applications to various trusts, but it is difficult at this stage because the design is not finalised and fully costed, and the more a trust gives, the more detail they want from us. Meanwhile, of course, we continue to have various initial design expenses.

Now that our Straw Bale Communion Table is being given official permission by the Archdeacon of Lambeth, we need a more decent top for it, rather than the old bit of MDF we had knocking around the church basement!  So here’s the new top, with varnish drying in what was earlier a sunny window!

I wanted to use the project to experiment with some ideas:  the wood is ordinary osb, varnished.  I had an idea that it would complement the straw, and that in due course, we might want to use it for flooring in the hall.  It looks nice, but there are still some questions to be resolved about durability.

Then I thought I would make my own clay to fill the routed cross.  Since we are having the garden dug up for a new water main, there was plenty to hand.  The experience convinced me to buy ready-made clay plaster when the time comes.  There are lots of little stones in the average garden, and it’s jolly hard to get it to a workable consistency.

And then it cracked – which of course, is now part of the rustic design!