Hailsham Town News

The hours for each of the bank representatives at the Post Office on the High Street are as follows: Monday - Barclays, Tuesday - Lloyds, Wednesday - NatWest, Thursday - HSBC, Friday - Halifax. Halifax and Lloyds will not start until April as their current Banks are still open in Hailsham.

HAILSHAM PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY PDI Competition, Round 4 last week was judged by Ray Beckwith. Unfortunately the programmed judge had not been able to make it and so President Ray Beckwith stepped forward. His task was made all the more difficult because whilst all images are displayed anonymously, his inside knowledge of many of the Members individual styles and tastes meant that he may have an idea of the photographer. Therefore absolute objectivity was thus essential throughout together with an ability to fairly critique notwithstanding the sensitivities of commenting upon and judging the images of colleagues. The task however was accomplished with aplomb with Ray providing extremely fair analysis, together with concise, clear comments and advice upon all images. Indeed, both in the Development Class (24 entries) and Advanced Class (35 entries) Ray found the overall quality of images such that he held many more back for further consideration before confessing that he found it extremely difficult to come to his final choices. Those images eventually chosen and now going through to the PDI finals are as follows. Development Class: Sand and Seaweed by Liz Cottingham, Tree in the car park by Ben Cottingham, Tranquillity by Chris Hall, Dahlia by Elaine Rumary, Into the mist at the Golden Gate by Christine Puttock. Advanced Class: Dunstanburgh morning by Bob Bell, Sarah by Carole Lewis, Through the buttercups by Andrea Irvine, Focussed by Bob Bell, Foxglove by Marston Hart, Underground isolation by Chris Underhill, Douro reflection by Jack Taylor. Those selected successful images can be viewed on the Society's website at www.hailshamphotographicsociety.co.uk.

HAILSHAM LIONS EASTER RAFFLE time has started. Hailsham Lions are holding their annual Easter Raffle to win a scrumptious chocolate hamper. Tickets are £1 each and available from their Book Shop, opposite the cattle market, Market Street, BN27 1AG, where a huge selection of pre-loved books and jigsaws are on sale every day between 10am and 2pm. All proceeds from the Raffle will pay for a local family to attend the spectacular Easter Pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk being staged at the Hailsham Pavilion on 8 April. The lucky winner will be drawn at the Lions' Easter Tombola being held on 5 April as part of the town's street market.

THE PEVENSEY MINT HOUSE was the subject of the March meeting of Hailsham Historical and Natural History Society. Jo Seaman was the guest speaker entitled If These Walls Could Talk. The building spent 100 years as an Antique shop and is Grade 2* listed but it was originally built in 16th Century as an inn, boasting the largest kitchen in the south of England. A plan of Pevensey was carried out in 1595 for Queen Elizabeth I, showing a genuine Tudor building. Then, it had 2 floors each one being a large hall possibly operating as meeting halls. Later the upper floor was altered to accommodate a long corridor with rooms on either side coinciding with the growing Iron Industry which was feeding Pevensey from 1570 to 1703 with ships able to sail the Hurst Haven River transporting supplies. It became a visitor attraction when Henry Allen bought the building in 1902. The present archaeological work is uncovering 16th Century features behind 20th Century panelling and the building is now registered as ‘At Risk’ due to damp. The Hailsham Historical & Natural History Society meet on the first Wednesday of everymonth at the Charles Hunt Centre, Vicarage Field, Hailsham, BN27 1BG at 7 for 7.30pm. Access is from Vicarage Field East Car Park (next to Waitrose). If you would like to comealong to a meeting, visitors are very welcome to pay £3 on the door. Members attend talks free, and membership is £15 annually, renewable each January. Enquiries: T: 01323 843102,M: 07850 893997, E: [email protected]. The April meeting is a talk on The Wonders of Bird Migration by James Duncan.