Hailsham Town News

This playing field is home to junior football, a skate park and play areas and the improvements will make sure they are fit for purpose for many years to come. Hailsham United Junior Football Club has over 200 players in various age groups and 28 FA-trained coaches. The site also hosts an outdoor gym, providing equipment for rowing, stepping, arm exercises and weight training and now has a strong role as a centre for health, fitness and recreation in the community.

A QUIZ FOR ST WILFRID’S is taking place at The Six Bells, Chiddingly on Sunday 28 September at 6.30pm. Teams of six at £5 per person can be booked on 01825 872227.

HAILSHAM WRITING GROUP welcomed 4 new members to its group this week, all having signed up at the recent Hailsham Festival Book and Authors Fair. Members enjoyed a five minute writing exercise about something they always carry with them “just in case,” the results of which produced much laughter, inspiration and in some cases raised eyebrows. This month the writing game was to include in a story a list of given words which included two people, two objects, places and an obscure word. This resulted in a clever and wide range of short stories.

The group is very proud to have amongst its members 3 winners in the Hailsham Festival Writing competitions: Maggie Jakins, Lita Allistone and a winner in both short story and poetry sections, Donna Ripley. The Group has recently launched its own Writing Competitions – A children’s Christmas story, A poem about the circus through a child’s eyes and for members and newbies only, A Mystery for the Alex Willis Award. If you are interested in coming along to this group or entering its competitions, please enquire on 07887 910150. The group runs on the third Thursday each month from 10.30am to 12.30pm, currently in the Gospel Mission hall, Station Road, Hailsham. The cost is £3 and includes refreshments.

CAR BOOT, MARKET & CAFÉ is this, and every Friday at the Cattle Market Site, Market Street, Hailsham from 6am to about 1pm. Free entry. Sellers £8 per car. Market café open breakfast, lunches and light snacks. Lots of stalls, plants, butchers, NatWest mobile bank (11am). All the other local Car Boot Fairs are coming to a seasonal end soon. Hailsham car boot and market is open all year round except Christmas week.

JOURNEYS FESTIVAL OF DANCE returns to Hailsham on Saturday 27 September from 12 to 1pm on Hailsham High Street. Get ready for a joyful celebration of movement and community as the latest Journeys Festival brings high-energy dance to the heart of Wealden. Dance the afternoon away with O’Driscoll Collective, organised by the brilliant team at 18 Hours Events, the performances are free for everyone to enjoy come along and be part of the rhythm.

HAILSHAM CEMETARY is being enhanced for the visitor. A dedicated space will be created in the chapel’s side room, where a Book of Remembrance will allow relatives to leave tributes to their loved ones who have passed. A bespoke glass cabinet will house the book, which will be open for visitors to view. Also, the bell that once hung on the exterior of the chapel will be displayed in a specially sourced glass cabinet, preserving this important piece of the cemetery’s heritage for future generations. Finally, an unused small building on the site will soon be converted into a waiting room for visitors, offering a much-needed space for those attending the cemetery.

THE PUBLIC TOILETS on the site of the old public toilets and then bike rack, have been closed for some time due to various reasons including vandalism and a faulty door mechanism. From 1 October they will be operational again and the facility will change to Monday to Saturday from 8am to 4pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. These are fully accessible, modern, and free-to-use and include two modular public conveniences, open to all users and a Changing Places facility designed for people with multiple or complex disabilities, featuring an electronic hoist, rise-and-fall changing table, shower, toilet, and accessible wash basin (RADAR key required).

FREE MUSIC WORKSHOPS are available for children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEND). SoundWorks third successful term is due to start at the beginning of October with start dates on application. There are two groups ages 5 to 11 and 11 to 19, which take place in the Hailsham Family Hub at Hailsham East Community Centre. There are limited spaces so to sign up email [email protected].

HAILSHAM PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY met for its Projected Digital Images (PDI) Competition Round 1 last week The judge was Paul Parkinson ARPS CPAGB BPE3. With an impressive number of entries to judge, Paul's task was never going to be easy. However, his dry sense of humour and easy-going nature and the occasional self-deprecating comments about judges in general, made for a very enjoyable evening. Showing himself to be as supportive of a large "crop" as many farmers, his comments, advice and suggestions on each image were both concise and extremely helpful. Paul's final selection of images to go through to the PDI Finals were as follows: Sussex Shield (Development Class) 24 entries: 1 - Farmers Gold by James Verona, 2 - Greylag goose by Paul Dryer, 3 - Hoi An street vendor by Steve Grace, 4 - Beach Art - by Ben Cottingham. Albert Hillman Cup (Advanced Class) – 48 entries: 1 - Kid's attitude by Carole Lewis, 2 - Through a window by Jack Taylor, 3 - How long have you been waiting? by Roy Broad, 4 - Tube travellers by Chris Underhill, 5 - Short eared owl flypast by Bob Bell, 6 - Now open wide please by Nick Ryan, 7 - Nigella and clover in blue vase by Cherry Larcombe. Congratulations to everyone who entered their photographs for the competition. Images selected to progress through to the final can be viewed on the Society's website at www.hailshamphotographicsociety.co.uk.

HAILSHAM HISTORICAL & NATURAL HISTORY Society will meet on 1 October in the Charles Hunt Centre at 7 for 7.30pm start. Non-members £3 on the door. Michael Blencowe will be giving a talk on The Wildlife of Sussex.

In September, Francis Pulham spoke of Newhaven Fort: Past, Present and Future. There were over 100 in attendance. In the 16th century the flow of the River Ouse started silting up on the Seaford side, so a channel was dug out to straighten the river so that ships could continue along to Lewes. Eventually a fixed harbour entrance became established which was known as the New Haven and the new name made the original name (Meeching) redundant. The French came and burnt most of the coastline from Portsmouth to Meeching (Newhaven), so cannons were placed beneath the cliffs at Castle Hill and a bridge was built to link the

Eastbourne side with the Brighton side during a visit of the Dukes in 1845. Napoleon and the Crimean War was to inspire defence building along with Queen Victoria’s visit to France in 1858 with a display of their battleships. Funding was immediately unlocked to build forts along the South coast. In 1863, John Charles Ardagh was commissioned to design and build the Fort on Castle Hill. His design was revolutionary in a way that his idea was to build the fort inside the cliff to disguise it from the sea. Also, his was the first of its kind to be built with concrete as reinforcement and covered with bricks which were made locally. It was to have 18 big guns and the first to install 2 Moncrieff guns and a pivot gun.

In 1908 Newhaven Fort was recognised as being so modern that it became a training Fort for the 1st and 2nd wars and the supplies of war were to go through the harbour. Harold Mason was responsible for getting the fort ready for WW2 in1939 and he had concrete covers made to hide the guns from the Germans. In 1940 the fort took 4 direct hits by German bombers, but no-one was hurt as the fort was too strong to have much damage. Newhaven became a hospital fort during WW2, bringing the wounded back home including from Dunkirk.

HAILSHAM BONFIRE SEASON has started. The programmes for the Hailsham event on Saturday 18 October, are already on sale in the town. The sale of these programmes goes towards local good causes and fundraising for putting on the event. From torchlit parades to epic fireworks, towns across Sussex are lighting up with tradition, fire, and community spirit. In addition to their own event the Hailsham Bonfire Society are attending Eastbourne on 4 October.