On Saturday 1 December the Salvation Army’s Fair Christmas Fayre, now in its eleventh year, will return to London’s Oxford Street. It will feature over 25 unique stalls selling eco-friendly, fairtrade, upcycled, recycled and charity gifts and fashion. The fayre, which will give shoppers a chance to enjoy the sparkle of Christmas in a way that is fair for the world’s poorest people and the planet, will be at Regent Hall, 275 Oxford Street - just a few metres from Oxford Circus. ​​Organiser Hayley Still said: ‘We are delighted once again to bring together a rich variety of ethical traders. The fayre offers shoppers the opportunity to buy high quality Christmas gifts, whilst also making a difference to the lives of others.’

Sixty-five religious leaders have written a letter to the Times supporting the real Living Wage. They include twenty Catholic and Anglican bishops, a Roman Catholic archbishop, thirty Jewish rabbis, the president and vice-president of the Methodist Church, and the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. The letter cites concern at low pay and in-work poverty 'which is damaging family life and robbing future generations of a secure and stable home'. It comes as celebrations are planned with 4,700 employers accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, which oversees the real Living Wage (currently £8.75) and the London Living Wage (currently £10.20) - set to rise in line with the real cost of living. Research has found that one in five workers is paid less than a real Living Wage, meaning millions are struggling to stay afloat financially as their wages don't meet the real cost of living.

A 16-year-old is reported to have been killed in front of his parents in the Tulse Hill area of London - the fifth stabbing in the city in less than a week and the 119th this year. Local vicar Rev Richard Dormandy said people in the community are struggling to come to terms with what happened. This latest victim was found unconscious in the street, but the paramedics who attended were unable to save him. ‘People carry knives in the mistaken belief that it's going to help them in a time of need. It won't help them - it might actually lead them to murder someone. The police and community organisations, many Christian or church-based, are seeking to address the situation’, said Rev Dormandy. It is time now for Christians to be lights in the darkness. You are invited to fight violence with prayer and to join the ‘Peace on Our Streets’ campaign: see

A Romanian man has been charged with people trafficking after 21 Vietnamese stowaways, including children as young as 12, were found inside a refrigerated lorry at Newhaven. The eleven children were passed into the care of social services, but one has since absconded, a spokesman for East Sussex County Council said. The children were said to be ‘fine’ and did not require medical treatment. After the ten adults were interviewed by immigration officials, two were removed from the UK. Following his arrest, the driver was charged with assisting unlawful entry to the country, and was remanded in custody to appear at Lewes Crown Court at a later date.

A UK hospital is investigating a patient's death after the UK's first robot-assisted heart valve surgery. The pioneering robot-assisted operation ended in catastrophe, with a cascade of failures causing the death of retired conductor Stephen Pettitt at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. Lead surgeon Sukumaran Nair and his assistant could hardly hear each other due to a ‘tinny’ sound emanating from the robot console Nair was operating. He had to shout to warn his colleague that the robot was stitching up the valve incorrectly - and then shout again when he saw the robot knock one of the surgical assistants' arms. The patient's aorta was damaged. As events spiralled out of control, the two robotics experts who should have been on hand to take over in a crisis could not be found, having already gone home. The surgeons abandoned the robot and began open chest surgery, but by this point the patient’s heart was functioning ‘very poorly’. He died days later of multiple organ failure. The coroner said it was ‘more likely than not’ that the patient would have survived conventional open-heart surgery.

In a BBC documentary to mark his 70th birthday, Prince Charles said the idea that as king he would continue making interventions was 'nonsense'. He said he would have to operate ‘within constitutional parameters'. He has campaigned on issues including the environment, wildlife preservation, architecture and the use of GM crops. When asked about what some people call his 'meddling', he said he had always tried to remain 'non-party political'. He said: 'I think it's vital to remember there's only room for one sovereign at a time, not two. So, you can't be the same as the sovereign if you're the Prince of Wales or the heir. The two situations are completely different.' Asked whether his public campaigning would continue, he said: 'No, it won't. I'm not that stupid. I do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign. So of course I understand entirely how that should operate.’

On 11 November 1918, the Armistice was signed, bringing an end to the First World War. Big Ben sounded in Parliament Square to ring in the news as thousands gathered to celebrate, sparking three days of jubilation across Britain. Prime minister Lloyd George told the House of Commons, ‘I hope we may say that thus, this fateful morning, came an end to all wars.’ The national mood was not exclusively joyous. Wounded veterans met the news in silence, reflecting on a victory that had cost so many lives. Over the next two years, 5,000 war memorials were erected in towns and villages, as reminders of the past and warnings to future generations not to repeat the mistakes of history. This year, appropriately, Armistice Day coincides with Remembrance Sunday. The two-minute silence will commence at precisely 11 am, marking exactly 100 years to the second since the war came to an end.

The UK will join Italy next year as the slowest-growing economy in Europe, before holding that title alone in 2020, according to a European Commission forecast. These gloomy predictions are based on a soft Brexit - meaning that Britain is expected to lag behind all its EU peers even if Theresa May can reach a deal with Brussels before 29 March.  The commission expects consumer spending growth to remain weak, continuing a poor performance since the June 2016 referendum. The result will be GDP growth of only 1.2% in 2019 and 2020. The forecast came as the IMF sounded the alarm over the mounting risks to the European economy from a no-deal Brexit, the escalation of trade disputes around the world, and high levels of Italian government debt.

We praise God for a glorious autumn, a welcome respite for farmers from the difficult weather conditions of recent months. As with many of our industries, farmers are frequently frustrated by regulations, many of which are sensible and beneficial, but some less so. The recent removal of access to certain seed dressings and spray chemicals has seriously reduced the armoury of crop protection available to the agronomist, resulting in reduced yields or fields having to be re-sown. The chemical alternatives to the banned products might actually prove to be more harmful to the environment.

This winter cathedrals, churches, schools and community projects around the country are hosting choir concerts and carol services and raising their voices for the voiceless. There will be a huge number of amazing events, everything from sing-along spectaculars to classical choral concerts to bucket-bearing buskers, to help transform lives and communities. They will be raising money for the Church Urban Fund; a social action charity working in local communities throughout England to tackle injustice and poverty including modern slavery, the voiceless and powerless, in need of help and support. Gifts will aid work with asylum-seekers, homeless people, families facing food poverty and financial exclusion, and those feeling they are on the edge, isolated and lonely. Recruiting for and organising these events is going on now.