Fairlight

Brookfield, Broadway

There are two services in our churches this Sunday… one up the hill at St Andrew’s at 10.30am, this being Parish Communion, and the other, down the hill at St Peter’s, is evening Prayer at 6pm.

A series of meetings ‘Exploring the Christian Faith’… will be happening on Wednesdays from 7.30pm to 9pm, at which some pretty searching questions will be asked. If you would like to know more about these events, and to learn where they will be taking place, please call the Rector, Rev Richard Barron, on 812799, or email him at [email protected].

It’s the Garden Club Summer Show… in the village hall tomorrow, and it’s open to the public from 2pm to 3.30pm, at which point the winners in each category will receive their trophies and the generous plaudits of those they have annihilated with the excellence of their entries. This is also the moment when the raffle will be drawn, and the donated items, such as flowers, vegetables and cooked food products, will be auctioned off. All are welcome to attend. For those of you who have been following the progress of this, that and the other in your garden, and are pleased to see that a really healthy specimen has developed, just remember that show entries will be accepted up until 6 pm this evening. There is also no point at all in turning up tomorrow, looking round and saying ‘Well, I’ve got better than that in my garden!’ Get it entered, and see Carol Ardley at Mistral on the Circle, or give her a call on 814178.

There’s an evening race meeting… at the village hall tomorrow, Saturday, at 7.30 pm. There’s no need to pre-book, just turn up with your own food, drinks and glasses, pay your £3 entrance fee, and back a few nags for an enjoyable and fun event. Frank James will be calling the odds, and the evening is being mounted by the Residents’ Association for a bit fun.

This week has seen… the Tuesday Ladies Club meet for their monthly talk, and also on the Tuesday there was a cream tea function in support of Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. We’ll get a round-up of both for next Friday.

Trefoiled again… Our branch of the Trefoil Guild meets next Wednesday, July 24 at St Peter’s in Broadway from 10 am to 12 noon. This session is entitled Naughty but Nice, and concerns Home Economics. If you’ve been thinking about joining, why not give it try next week? Chairman Betty Snow can give you more detail if you require them. She’s to be found on 812694.

Fairlight Floral Club… will be celebrating the imminent arrival of a baby into the Royal household with a club competition entitled ‘A Royal Baby.’ This will be at their meeting in the village hall on Thursday, July 25, commencing at 2.15pm. If you’d like to visit and witness the club in full swing, you would be most welcome. You’d be meeting the members in an informal friendly atmosphere. If you would like more information, please call Club Chairman Sheila Benson on 01797 223927. Not sure whether the baby or the Floral Club will arrive first, though as I write this the national press thinks the baby is very imminent. That will enable the ladies to take their red or blue flowers, without having to guess.

The final Hospice Open Garden of the summer… will be at Fairlight Hall in Martineau Lane, Tuesday, July 30 from 10.30 am to 4 pm. You’ll be able to enjoy afternoon tea in the walled garden whilst listening to a variety of live music from Glashin, Jiggery Pokery and Frank Weeks and Friends. If you have never been to any event at the Hall, from the gardens you will love the stunning views over the East Sussex countryside to Rye and beyond. There’s a chance to buy plants, books and Open Garden gifts from the stalls. There is ample parking. Please approach from the A259 Rye Road; your exit will be onto Fairlight Road. Admission is £5, and this, and any extras you may pick up, all go to the very worthy St Michael’s Hospice.

That Bowls Club Open Day… saw no fewer than 24 teams playing throughout the day, with the overall winners being Dennis Moon and Falaise, with Harry Frostic and Herstmonceux finishing as runners-up. Last week stated that £1,200 was raised for the Prostate Cancer charity, which underestimated the amount by £60. It is likely that the cheque will be handed over at the club’s ‘do’ at the Brickwall Hotel, Sedlescombe, later in the season. The Brickwall had generously sponsored the Open Day event for the third year running.

This Saturday and Sunday… there is a Hospice Art Show to be enjoyed at the Arthur Easton Rooms, featuring works by all local artists, including, inevitably, several from Fairlight. The show is open from 10.30am to 6pm on each of the days. The show will be opened by Radio 2 presenter Alex Lester. There will be hundreds of works on view, and refreshments will be served all day. Parking is free, and entry is only £1, which includes a full catalogue. The Arthur Easton Centre is in the grounds of St Michael’s Hospice.

The strength of the signal for your Freeview telly … is in the news itself. Cllr Rev Val Gibbs has been investigating the possibility of getting a better service in the village since it became available here last year. It seems we are not the only ones having problems, especially during this hot weather, which can interfere with the signal. Now it appears that the new 4G phone operation can also make things much worse. This, of course, is progress – of the two forwards, one back variety.

At MOPPs today… you will have Turkey & Ham Pie with Fruit flan for afters. The entertainment will be by Keith Osborne. Next Friday, July 26, lunch will consist of Fish and Chips, followed by Apple Bakewell. I’m not sure of the entertainment next Friday, but it is the day of the AGM, which will start at 2 pm. I wonder if that counts?! A proposal will be made to amend the date of the AGM in future to September, which will be much easier from the point of view of the accounts.

Those who so enjoyed the treat of celebrated pianist Valerie Tryon’s recent recital at St Andrew’s Church could well welcome the opportunity to hear her playing once again. Valerie will be at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls on Wednesday, November 27. She will be playing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, commencing at 7pm. A preliminary examination of the likely costs, etc. shows that a full 16 seat coach from here would cost a return fare of £17.50. The fare could be reduced if more people were interested, and a larger, full coach were to be used. The party-of-ten price for the best theatre tickets would be £25 each (discounted from £31.50) Mid-priced seats are about £20 – 22. It’s early days as yet, but if you find the idea appealing, please let Geoff Wyatt know of your interest, either by calling him on 813300 in the evenings, or email him at [email protected] Geoff will then judge whether the trip is viable or not, and let you know.

The Parish Council vacancy… following the retirement of Vice-Chairman Alan Grant, has been mentioned more than once here in Village Voice, and the Council would like to know of those who have shown enthusiasm for being co-opted to the post before the Council meeting next Tuesday at 7.15 pm in the village hall. If you fancy serving your community as do those stalwarts already on the Council, you have mere days left to contact the Parish Clerk, John Edmunds, on 722226, or email him at [email protected]. However you do it, better get your skates on!

Driving Battery Hill in the summer… is not unlike tearing into the Blackwall Tunnel to find there’s been a power cut. Wise motorists put their lights on, whether they’re going up or coming down, but many don’t. No, they won’t help you see the road any better, but they could help others whose eyes don’t naturally have speedy Reactolite adjustments avoid running in to you. Put ‘em on!

Fairlight, the bonfire capital of the south-east… Last Saturday was a gorgeous day, followed by a balmy evening that gradually lost its intense heat without a breath of wind to help cool it down. Perfect conditions, then, for a smelly bonfire to hang, unmoving, across much of the village and seep not only into everyone’s garden, but through all those open windows. Thanks for nothing!

Seen it all now… A friend tells me he drove down Waites Lane the other morning to find he had to wait a while behind a parked car, to allow oncoming traffic through. Nothing unusual there, and most people coming the other way acknowledge your politeness. But not one particular van driver, who had a mug of something in one hand. And a slice of bread, or maybe toast, in the other. Is that what they mean by a running buffet?