THIS Saturday will herald the end of an era with a final coffee morning at the home of the Bishop of Truro, the Right Reverend Bill Ind, and his wife.

Each year Bishop Bill, as he likes to be known, and his wife, have invited the RNLI to hold a coffee morning at their home in Feock but this time, it is the last occasion that it will be with the Inds as the hosts.

Bishop Bill is due to retire next Easter with his last official day on April 30, 2008. He has been Bishop of Truro, which includes Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and two Devon parishes, since 1997.

He will be 66 on March 26, 2008, and said he thought that was a good age at which to retire. Easter Day will be his last working day as bishop and his retirement will take effect on April 30.

He said: "By the autumn I shall have been married for 40 years. For 40 years I have been a priest, and for 20 years a bishop, and to be here in Cornwall, celebrating all these things, is something for which I am profoundly grateful and thankful. I would not want to be anywhere else."

Clive Cliff, chairman of the RNLI's Truro branch said: "We thought last year would be our last coffee morning at the invitation of the Inds so we are delighted at the prospect of being able to hold another one this year."

There will be tea and coffee available, a raffle, cake stall, Christmas cards and calendars and one of Clarice Mortensen-Fowlers's famous pasties also being raffled off separately to the main raffle.