Author: admin

To our friends and supporters

We Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here we are nearly at the end of a momentous year in all our lives and we have really missed putting on events at the Mausoleum and most of all we have missed you and your support.  We have so many ideas for 2021 and can’t wait to start.

To show our appreciation of your support and friendship in the past, we have had a free raffle this year.  All the members’ and supporters’ names were given a number and the draw took place  at our Zoom Committee meeting! On 1^st Dec. 2020.

All of us on the Friends of the Milton Mausoleum Committee send our sincere greetings to you, your family and friends, together with our best wishes for a better year ahead. We will be in touch.

We are delighted to inform you that The Mausoleum will be open every Sunday in September 2 – 4pm.

Clear procedures are in place to ensure that we meet Government COVID 19 guidance on cleanliness, and social distancing.

To help us protect the health of our volunteers and members of the public, our Volunteer Stewards will be wearing PPE, and all visitors must wear a mask on entering the building.

We will be operating a one-way system, the stewards will guide you around the building to promote social distancing, and sanitising product will be available for your use.

Our stewards have certainly missed our visitors and supporters this year due to the present circumstances; however the Mausoleum will be open at the following times –

The month of September, on Sundays from 2pm – 4pm

Our volunteer stewards will be wearing PPE and all visitors must wear a mask on entering the building. Our stewards will guide you around the building to promote social distancing. Sanitising product will be available for your use.

Events 2020

We are so disappointed that we were unable to present our Summer Music event this year but a date for your 2021 diary is Summer Music Concert 26^th June 2021. More details to follow in due course. We hope to have our wonderful Winter Music event in December and more details will be published later.

As I write the latest update to all our Friends and Supporters I am keenly aware of what a very different year this is for everyone.

Sunday, April 26th, should have been our Annual Lunch at the West Retford Hotel  – so a date for your 2021 diaries – please save the 25th April for the Friends Lunch. Our guest was to be Rob Smith, an historian whose specialism is the 1820 Nottinghamshire Settlers. They founded the village of “Clumber” in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, two hundred years ago on 25th July 1820. Our link to this southern hemisphere Clumber is the 4th Duke. Henry sponsored the “Nottingham party” who sailed from Liverpool on board the “Albury” on 13th February 1820. The Albury  arrived in Simon’s Bay (Cape Town) 2 hundred years ago today – 1st May. Sailing on to  Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth) the Settler’s then trekked inland towards Grahamstown and founded Clumber village nearby. Rob has agreed to come along to next year’s lunch and tell us more of the story!

Our open season was set to begin on Sunday, 3rd May. Along with all CCT churches, the door to Milton Mausoleum is firmly locked and no visitors are allowed in until further notice.

The AGM will not be held at the beginning of June and the current committee will continue until June 2021. I hope no-one has any objections, given the present crisis. We will be looking for new members to join the committee, so don’t be shy, think about what you could offer to the team.

At this stage it is highly unlikely our Summer Music event will take place on 25th July. This date was chosen to coincidence with the day of celebration to be held at Clumber Church, South Africa. We are planning instead for 2021.

However there is good news and light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel! We have electricity! The installation was carried out by Steve Wade (Milton) just before the lock-down, with Steve very generously donating his labour. Along with all of you, our very generous supporters, we have achieved a significant milestone in the life of Milton Mausoleum. The celebratory “switch-on” will have to wait a while – I hope not as long as until our Winter Music (December 5th) – but who knows!

Thank you for your continued support. We will breathe life back into our beloved building and there will be great celebration when we meet again.