Bishop's Stortford jigsaw festival raises £2,400 for Isabel Hospice and Methodist Church

Bishop's Stortford's second jigsaw festival raised £2,400 for the town's Methodist Church and Isabel Hospice.

Over 250 visitors were able to admire hundreds of completed jigsaws and buy vintage, wooden and named artist puzzles suitable for all ages while enjoying home-baked cakes and refreshments at the church in South Street.

The annual event, interrupted by Covid-19, was jointly organised by Methodist volunteers led by minister the Rev Gill Hulme and senior steward Frieda Wilson, with Isabel Hospice volunteers led by Renée Friend and Catherine Phillipson. The latter also runs a monthly jigsaw exchange at her home in Regency Close.

Renée, the East Herts hospice's Stortford Area Support Group chair, said: "The volunteers had set up over the previous week and were delighted with the amazing support from visitors, both locally and from further afield including Tring and Whittlesford.

"Thanks to their generous support and donations, the amazing sum of £2,400 was raised, to be shared between the Methodist Church and the hospice."

The charity uses the church building to host its Compassionate Neighbours, Grief Encounters and Living Well services.

The Methodist Church is open to all every day, except Mondays, as a warm and welcome safe space, a place to work, to read, to meet friends or a place to have a chat in a calm environment.

Snacks, soup, tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available, along with activities organised and run by organisations and charities in the town.