Etchingham Village Voice

AIR AMBULANCE: Have you got your tickets? The Etchingham Trust for Sports and Recreation (ETSR), the Trust that runs Etchingham Village Halls, registered charity number 1076642, have a presentation today, September 19 at 7.30pm by Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (AAKSS) about the work they do and how you can help.

Tickets are £10 each, if you have not got yours, you can buy your ticket on the door, doors open 7pm. Proceeds from ticket sales will be split between the two charities, ETSR and AAKSS. To keep the helicopters flying, and the Rapid Response Vehicles on the road costs £56,000 every day, 88% of that funding comes from donations and fundraising.

MORE TALKS: We are hoping to be able to put on more talks and presentations to raise funds to support our village halls. Let is know if you have ideas for interesting speakers, perhaps you have attended a presentation elsewhere that others would find interesting. Let us know by emailing [email protected] or [email protected]

PLAYGROUND FUNDRAISING: The village playgrounds in Etchingham, East Sussex are run and maintained by a charity Trust, The Etchingham Recreation Grounds (Queen's Garden) Trust [ERGT], the Parish Council is the sole Trustee. A couple of years ago all the play equipment in Queen's Garden was replaced, at a considerable cost. This equipment will, of course, need replacing at sometime in the future, so the Trust is aiming to raise at least £1,000 every year to build up the funds, so that when the time comes to replace or update items some of the funds will already be in place and less fundraising will be needed at the time, and also ensure there are funds available for repairs when needed.

A few years ago, ERGT inherited the Viper Play Area on Station Approach, the equipment in that area is now nearing the end of its useful life, so substantial fundraising will soon be needed for repairs and replacement in that area, every penny raised now will ease the financial burden later. When you are shopping online you can help raise funds, at no cost to you. log into Give as You Live (GAYL) first and use the link on the GAYL site to go to the site you are buying from, GAYL will pay a small percentage from your purchase to ERGT, to join Give as You Live to raise funds for ERGT, use this link to sign up https://www.giveasyoulive.com/join/ergt . There are over 6,000 online businesses on GAYL, and it is not just shopping, also insurance and holidays and other services. We have now set up a new donation page at GAYL if you want to just donate a cash sum www.donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/etchingham-playgrounds if you are having a clear out and planning to give away some items, perhaps suggest a donation to the playground fund.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH: Can you help Etchingham Community Speedwatch (CSW)? Etchingham CSW always needs new volunteers to replace those that have to give up for personal or health reasons, or move out of the village. Speedwatch is NOT about getting drivers fines or points on their licence, it is designed as an educational tool to remind drivers of the speed limits in our villages. Yes, those observed exceeding the speed limit by a significant amount have the car details forwarded to the Police and the registered keeper of the vehicle will receive a warning letter, no further action will be taken unless the vehicle details are recorded by CSW groups on numerous occasions. Etchingham CSW has been operating since January 2014. Volunteers do not need to spend a lot of time at the roadside – half an hour a month is just as useful as several hours. Our sessions are normally half an hour but can be longer.

The first step is to visit the CSW website https://www.communityspeedwatch.org/ where you can find out all you need to know about CSW, to volunteer go to the ‘Register’ tab and select ‘Join existing’, then follow the instructions to register. As soon as the registration is complete the local co-ordinator will be sent your contact details, he will contact you to complete the joining process and get you started on sessions.

ETSR 100 CLUB: Have you joined the ETSR 100 Club to help raise funds for the running and maintenance of the Village Halls, there is a monthly draw with three cash prizes, for more details on how to join contact the ETSR Administrator, at [email protected] or 07855 239848.

HIRE THE HALLS: It is easy to hire the village halls for your next children’s party, celebration, club meeting or whatever else you have in mind. For all information about the halls please take a look at the updated website etchinghamvillagehalls.co.uk or contact the ETSR Administrator, at [email protected] or 07855 239848.

CHURCH OPENING: The Church is open daily, 10am to 4pm, for visits and private prayer.

CHURCH SERVICES: Sunday Services are at 11am every Sunday, unless advised otherwise. Sunday September 21, Reverend Thomas Pelham; September 28, Reverend Liz France; October 5 (Harvest Festival) Reverend Thomas Pelham; October 12, no morning service at Etchingham – United Benefice Service St Philip’s Burwash Weald, 10.30am, 4.30pn in Etchingham, Compline, Reverend Thomas Pelham; October 19, Reverend Thomas Pelham; October 26, Canon Patrick Sales.

CHURCH CONTACT: For Baptisms, Funerals, Weddings and all Pastoral matters, contact Reverend Thomas Pelham 07856 256174 [email protected] , for other Church related matters contact the Churchwardens, Caroline Moore 01580 819272 and Mary Barnes 01580 819142

YOUR EVENTS: As soon as you have the details send them to me to add to this page, get the details to me as soon as you have them to get maximum publicity. Get information for this column to me as soon as possible. There are several ways to get your info to me, but email is preferred because there is less chance of errors during copying. I normally need information by 10pm on Sunday, Monday afternoon at the latest, to be sure it will be in time for inclusion. You can deliver to 2 Park Farm Close, telephone 01580 819532 or 07483 211838 or email [email protected]