FHB - family hold back - a phrase I first encountered in the North West but which I am led to believe originates from the West Midlands.  The BSS is our next outreach event - The Big Summer Sing, a songs of praise style invitation service to be followed by a 'strawberry tea'.  I'm not entirely sure what the latter is, since the butties seem to be the same as for any other tea; the defining quality seems to be the dish of strawberries and evaporated milk that follows.

Yesterday I was chivvying up our lunch club folk to pick their hymns as I had only one request - for 'Abide with Me'; perennially popular, guaranteed to flood the place with tears and inevitably linked to funerals.  By the time I left I had 17 hymns and songs - far too many for one service.  So, what to do?  In the end I decided to go with the FHB approach, and start with those chosen by non-church people and then add in one or two chosen by church folk who don't normally pick hymns.  In the end I have eight, plus a recording of 'You raise me up' (is that a hymn?) for the BSS.  Then the Sunday afterwards we will have 'BSS-2: family favourites' using the songs and hymns requested by church folk.  Not sure we'll have strawberries two weeks running, but maybe I can persuade someone to make us some scones or cakes for family tea?

A nice problem to have - and we will quietly lose 'Abide with Me' from the running order, as those who asked for it subsequently put in a further request...