The 12 months of Longton
Photography enthusiast Jon Bates and his wife Catherine have been busy snapping the best shots of Longton to create a calendar, with funds going to help replace the windows in St Andrew’s Church Hall.Jon, 44, said: “My family goes to St Andrew’s Church in Longton and we were aware of fund-raising efforts for the adjacent church hall, which is used by the community for numerous activities, such as pantomimes, craft fairs, Rainbows, zumba classes. “My initial idea was to produce a church calendar, but this quickly developed into a village calendar - which hadn’t been done before (and to raise more money). “I covered the production costs by including small adverts for local businesses. “My wife Catherine and I took all the photos and designed the whole thing using an online calendar printing company. “The pictures were local buildings and places of interest - the churches, the Brickcroft nature reserve, the old village stocks, etc - all recognizably Longton.Feedback from members of the church and the wider community has been great, and I’ve really enjoyed the project - I’m already planning the 2018 calendar.”
The calendars are on sale at Blundells, Spar and Booths, and cost £5.