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Hot on the heels of a celebration of fine fashion through the ages, a different kind of design will be the focus of a church’s next fundraising event.

The Advertiser reported last year about the major work going on to restore St Nicholas Church in Willoughby and also to bring its facilities up to date – and that has seen a rich variety of events to boost the money received from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the restoration and from other sources.

Last week saw the fashion show – with the twist of churchwarden Karen Nichols dressing up in memorable outfits from the past between the main features – but on Sunday, April 16, anything goes when it holds a scarecrow festival.

This runs from 1.30pm-4.30pm, with families and village organisations invited to build a scarecrow to be displayed in the church.

Back to the future... Willoughby churchwarden Karen Nichols brought history to life at last Thursday's fashion show as she donned a variety of outfits from across the decades.

There will also be crafts for children to make crowns and Commonwealth flags for the coronation, refreshments – plus a prize for the best scarecrow.

In terms of the said the ongoing projects, Mrs Nichols said things were going well and the village has continued to receive good news: “Our nave roof is complete and looking amazing as is the stonework repairs to date – we still have some more to do there.

Fundraising fun continues apace at historic Rugby village church