APPEAL -- Exactly one year after the launch of the £80,000 appeal to restore the spire of St Giles, Goodrich, a thanksgiving service will be held in the church on January 20. Work on the spire started in July and was completed in early December. Some scaffolding still remains on the lower part of the tower - this will allow additional re-pointing between the stones of the tower to be carried out over the next month. The appeal committee would have liked all scaffolding down in time for the service but felt that, with scaffolding already in place and with funds available, it made sense to do this additional work now rather than in a few years time. The project got tremendous support from parishioners past and present and the people of neighbouring villages. In addition the work was made possible by an English Heritage grant which covered 65 per cent of the costs and the assistance of other charities including the G C Gibson Trust and the Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust. An additional boost to fundraising was given by the Old Boys of Felsted School, Essex which was evacuated to Goodrich during World War Two. The Service of Thanksgiving and Praise for the restoration of the spire will be held at St Giles, Goodrich on January 20 at 11am. The preacher will be Bishop John Neale, who was one of the pupils of Felsted whilst it was at Goodrich. A plaque to commemorate the spire restoration will also be dedicated at the service. After the service light refreshments will be served at Goodrich village hall at a reception for those attending the service.