Mayfield and Five Ashes Village News

MELFORD HOUSE ‘BAD WEDNESDAY’: A Play based on the untold story of Mayfield Author PL Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins, by Nick Harrison. Melford House is thrilled to announce an exciting, professional production of a brand-new play, ‘Bad Wednesday’ in its intimate, drawing room setting and in the very village where P.L. Travers once lived. The play promises to be an evening of revelation and surprise as it examines a part of Travers’ life not known to most people. What happens when Travers is confronted by the boy she chose not to adopt at birth in favour of his twin brother? Based on real life events, the play explores the fractious relationship between the successful, complex and unconventional P.L. Travers and her adopted son, Camillus. The unexpected arrival of his unadopted brother, Anthony, 18 years later shakes the foundations of all their lives. Featuring actress Joanna Bending as P.L. Travers, known as a regular on TV’s Doctors, Coronation Street and Eastenders as well as the National Theatre and Royal Court. Ryan Heenan plays Travers’ adopted son. Heenan was recently seen on stage in the West End production of Back to the Future as well as on tour with Jersey Boys and Grease. Gabriel Lumsden makes his professional theatrical debut as Anthony. Directing is twice Off West End Award nominee Martin Parr. Performances take place October 3-6th at 7.30 and 3pm. Tickets are priced at £15 and £20 To book tickets and for more information, visit www.theartsfair.com

MAYFIELD GIRLS SCHOOL A LEVEL EXAMS:We are proud to announce that our students have excelled in this year’s A-Levelexaminations, achieving an outstanding 81% of grades at A*-B, with half of all gradesawarded being A* or A. Mayfield’s Upper Sixth girls have secured places at prestigiousuniversities across the UK and abroad, including Oxford, Bristol, Durham, York, UCL, King’sCollege, and The Courtauld Institute of Art. The girls will be pursuing a diverse range ofcourses, from traditional subjects like Economics, English, Maths, Modern Languages, andthe Sciences to more specialised fields such as Architecture, Engineering, History of Art,Law, Medicine, Psychology, and Veterinary Medicine. Headmistress Deborah Blighexpressed her delight, saying: "I am thrilled with our latest exam results, which build upon our long-standing tradition of academic excellence. These achievements are a testament to the hard work and commitment of both our students and teachers. Just as important as their fantastic A-Level results, our students leave us with a strong moral compass, lasting friendships, and the confidence to embrace the next stage of their lives with hope and optimism. I am deeply grateful to our students for sharing their many gifts and talents with us during their time at Mayfield, and I look forward to hearing of their continued success in their future endeavours. Here’s an update on how some of our local Mayfield village students have fared: Annabel, the winner of the Royal Geographical Society's Young Geographer of the Year Competition, is set to continue her academic journey at Durham University, where she will study Geography. Annabel said: "Thank you so much to all the teachers who've helped me and given me so many opportunities and so much support. It has been an amazing seven years.” Evangeline has secured a place at Bristol University to study Biology. Reflecting on her time at Mayfield, she said: "Since joining Mayfield two years ago, I have made many meaningful friendships and unforgettable memories. All my teachers have been incredibly supportive and encouraging when navigating the challenges of studying four A-levels. I have truly enjoyed my time at Mayfield and am now looking forward to studying Biology at Bristol.” Imogen is excited about her future plans: "I am thrilled that I will be pursuing my studies in Archaeology and Heritage at York. My time at Mayfield Girls since year 7 has been incredibly enriching, and I am grateful for the wonderful experiences I've had.” Wishing Annabel, Evangeline, Imogen and their peers every success as they embark on exciting new chapters in their lives! Breanna Shines on stage at National Conference. Breanna, a Sixth Form student at Mayfield, recently performed her award-winning scene, "Sonnet 34: Director’s Cut," at the Pearson Edexcel Lit in Colour Student Conference at Birmingham Rep Theatre. After winning Bloomsbury's national scene-writing competition, Breanna was invited to bring her script to life before an audience of over 400 students and educators. Her performance highlighted her exceptional talent, both as a writer and performer, making Mayfield Girls School proud. The Lit in Colour initiative, which promotes diverse voices in the English curriculum, provided a fitting stage for Breanna’s work. Her success is a testament to her dedication to drama and literature, inspiring her peers and underscoring the power of creative expression. Congratulations to Breanna on this outstanding achievement! Congratulations to Annabel, Evangeline, Imogen Breanna. Emily Craig, a former Mayfield Girls School pupil, won a gold medal in the Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls at the Paris Olympics alongside her rowing partner, Imogen Grant. This victory comes after finishing agonisingly close to the medals at the Tokyo Olympics, where the pair missed out on a bronze by just 0.01 seconds. The pair’s win was one of 14 golds won by Team GB at the Paris Olympics. Reflecting on her win, Emily said: “This entire Olympic experience has just been incredible. I'm just so grateful for the support from everyone over the last three years - to spend the Olympiad unbeaten and to top it off with being crowned Olympic champions is more than I ever dreamed I could achieve.” Congratulations Emily, we’re so proud of you! Open Morning & Sixth Form Information Evening: Want to find out more about Mayfield Girls School? For further information please visit our website www.mayfieldgirls.org or contact Shirley Coppard, our Director of Admissions, on: 01435 874600 extension 418

ST DUNSTAN’S DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: Sunday September 29th - Our monthly Choral Evensong services start again on September 29th. We invite you to join us for this traditional service in which our choir sing the service and the psalm at 6pm. Sunday, 6th October – Come along and join us for a Parish Walk in the Village. This will be a very gentle walk and will start from the Church Porch at 2pm. Dogs are most welcome. We will return to St. Dunstan’s at about 3pm for tea and cake when Fr. Michael will take a short Service (and we invite dogs to stay for the service too). There will then be a chance to have a get-together and chat. Please feel free to join us for either the walk or the tea, or both, - you will be made most welcome. Saturday, 7th December – We will be holding our Christmas Market again this year from 10am until 2pm in St. Dunstan’s. This is always a chance to ‘shop locally’ and we will have more fabulous stallholders with us again this year. If you would like more information or would like to book at stall then please contact Nicky in the Parish Office on: 01435 873484 or by email: [email protected]. More details to follow in the coming months. Nicky Higgins Parish Administrator.

“KNOW YOUR PARISH” The Mayfieldians are holding a “Know Your Parish” event at St. Dunstan’s Church on Saturday, 28th September between 10.30am and 1.30pm with the support of the Parish Council and St. Dunstan’s Church. We are aware that many of our local groups and societies would like to attract new members and we think this will be a perfect way to promote your particular activity. There is limited space available so a table will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Be as creative as possible in order to attract new members – perhaps we can have a competition to find the best group! There will be no charge for a table and the event will be free of charge for visitors. A number of groups and societies have already been approached but if you haven’t received an invitation, please contact Jeanette on: [email protected] as soon as possible.

MAYFIELD BONFIRE SOCIETY: Thank you to all our lovely supporters at the Mayfield Bonfire Carnival on Saturday. You can’t have failed to notice the many societies marching in their coloured ‘smugglers’ jumpers! Each Society has their own colours. Mayfield Bonfire Society’s stripes are turquoise and black. We’d love to welcome more members to march with us and showing off the Society colours but we are short of the jumpers. This is a little request for any knitters out there who might be able to make up one or two jumpers for us please? We have a pattern and can supply the yarn. If you’re interested in helping out your Bonfire Society we’d love to hear from you! Social evening every third Thursday at the Rose and Crown Mayfield Join us for a chat and a drink. All welcome including your furry friends. (in the main bar or if it's busy in the function room) Next gathering October 17.

SATURDAY PICNICKERS: Weekends tend to be family orientated which means that Saturdays can be a bit too quiet, especially for those who live alone. Picnickers has been running in London House, since 2022. People bring their own snack or pop into a local shop and buy a sandwich, pasty or pie and we make tea or coffee. If you would like a bit of cheerful company on Saturdays, do come along and join us. We are in London House from 12.30 until 2.30 p.m. and everyone is welcome. Valerie Donovan: 01435 873253.

WOODHILL SURGERY A well-deserved accolade has been given via a Patient Survey. “We are writing to congratulate the practice on its excellent scores in the 2024 GP patient survey, which are amongst the best in the country. We are especially pleased to be able to highlight your achievements at a time when media, political and public attention is so focused on healthcare, and on primary care in particular. This result is a testament to the effort and dedication of everyone in the practice. We would be grateful if you could pass our appreciation and congratulations to everyone in the practice for all the hard work. Dr Claire Fuller, MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, Medical Director for Primary Care Alex Morton, Group Director for Primary Care & Community Services Delivery & Support” SAVE THE DATE – FLU CLINIC The 2024/2025 Flu clinic is just around the corner and our Flu clinic will be held at Five Ashes Village Hall on Saturday 19th October. Appointments will be required and details will follow. Andrew Cornell Managing Partner Woodhill Surgery, Station Road, Mayfield.

MAYFIELD EVENING W.I. The W.I. is a unique organisation which is shaped by its members, connecting, supporting and empowering all women of all generations. Joining the W.I. offers an amazing range of opportunities for making friends, sharing and learning new skills and creating real changes on issues that matter to us and our communities. We meet every second Tuesday of the month (apart from August) at 7.15pm for 7.30pm at Colkins Mill Church, just at the end of the High Street. (Our October meeting will be held at Five Ashes Village Hall as it is a film night). Do come and join us at any one of our evenings and meet us all. For any further information, please contact Chrissie Robinson on: 01435 862825. BW 01435 873000.

MAYFIELD LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY: Evening meetings will resume at 8pm in the Mayfield Scout and Guide Hut on Wednesday 30th October, when members will hear a talk about Pevensey Castle, its history and changing fortunes. Visitors will be most welcome. Brian O’Connor, Chair: 01435 873477; Gill Marenghi, Secretary.

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION: Mayfield, Five Ashes and Hadlow Down Branch. Next Branch Meeting - Wednesday 23rd October at Mayfield Cricket Club. The bar opens at 6.30pm and the meeting commences at 7.00pm with a brief session of branch business which will incorporate the 2024 AGM, followed by a fish and chip supper (or chicken or scampi) at a cost of £8.00. All guests and non-members are very welcome. There is no fee for attendance and we would dearly love to see new faces at this branch meeting. I think you would enjoy the evening in convivial surroundings with bar, speaker and pre-ordered supper. If you are interested or would like more information, please telephone/e-mail me or our secretary Rosemary Lillywhite: 01435 872130. Also please let us know if you would like to join us and to advise your meal choice by 21st October. Our supper will be followed with a talk by Rod MacArthur and his talk is entitled ‘History of a Medal’. Having heard this talk before I can confirm it is an interesting talk about the bravery of the armed forces and sailors during the operations of the supply convoys of WWII. Come along and learn more! Soup and Social Lunch - Wednesday 27th November - Mayfield Cricket Club. As the name suggests this will be a very simple format of a choice of homemade soups and French bread at a modest price of £3 per head. Doors open at 12 noon and the bar will be open until 2.30pm. We hope that this will provide a welcome opportunity for social interaction between members and guests, without the formality of a speaker or our usual Branch meetings. Please could you contact Rosemary Lilllywhite to confirm your attendance, so that we can ensure we have sufficient soup available! (email: [email protected] or telephone:01435 872130) 24 The Mayfield and Five Ashes Branch Website – We have an on-line facility which can be accessed at: https:// branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/ mayfield Kevin Swaine: 01435 872197 / 07970 787465 [email protected]

A CAPTIVATING AUTUM PROGRAMME OF MUSIC EVENTS TO DELIGHT THE SENSES: The Mayfield Festival may be over for another two years but the music goes on. Four events in Mayfield during the autumn provide something for lovers of classical music to look forward to with world class performers once again to the fore. Following his masterful direction of the performance of all six of J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos at the 2024 Mayfield Festival, the Harpsichord virtuoso Jack Gonzalez-Harding returns to Mayfield to continue his association with the works of the greatest of baroque composers on Sunday 29th September, when he performs the Goldberg Variations. These monumental pieces set a standard to which keyboard players aspire and they showcase Bach’s ability to produce compositions of both deep intimacy and profound joy. This concert will take place in the Chapel of Mayfield Girls School by candlelight. Tickets are £20 (free for age 25 and under). Three weeks later, on Saturday 19th October, MGS once again plays host, this time in the Concert Hall, when we welcome back to Mayfield six of the section winners of this year’s Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition. Comprising the best of a strong field, all this year’s section winners are already performing at professional concert standard and some could well go on to become stars of the world of classical music (as many previous winners of the Competition have done). The ticket price of £12.50 (free for age 25 and under) represents a bargain opportunity to see some outstanding young musicians in performance. On 17th November St. Dunstan’s Church plays host to the Mayfield Festival Choir for their autumn concert. With performances of Vivaldi’s Beatus Vir, Lotti’s Missa Sancti Christophori and Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia this promises to be a special night. The box office will open on the 6th October, when ticket prices will be announced: https:// www.mayfieldfestivalchoir.org/tickets/). Concerts by the Choir have a habit of selling out so make sure that you book your tickets early. Closing the autumn concert programme on 14th December is that perennial and seasonal favourite, Handel’s Messiah. Featuring the world-famous London Mozart Players, Mayfield Consort, St. Dunstan’s Parish Church Choir and superb soloists, all conducted by Jack Gonzalez Harding, an evening of magnificent music and outstanding performance awaits in St. Dunstan’s Church. Ticket prices are £30, £15 and £10 (free for age 25 and under). The box office for the Goldberg Variations, Winners Concert and Messiah is already open and tickets can be purchased: Online: https://ticketsource.co.uk/ mayfieldfestival. By telephone: 0333 666 3366 (quoting Mayfield Festival) In person: Sew Inspired, High Street, Mayfield and Lambert & Foster, High Street, Wadhurst. A booking fee applies to payments made by debit card and credit card and an additional postal service fee applies to tickets that are sent from TicketSource by Royal Mail.

MAYFIELD GOLFING SOCIETY: What a summer we have had weatherwise. 28 golfers ventured down to the lovely Cooden Beach Golf Club near Bexhill, after heavy overnight rain. Although the day was dry, hot and muggy, golf was interrupted by a Typhoon! This was followed by a very loud Thunderbolt. More evidence for global warming (as if needed)? No, the Eastbourne Air Show was taking place at the same time so we were treated to a succession of war planes flying above us. Scores were mostly good. In the individual competition for the Mayfield Cup, there were 4 players clustered on 39 points. This wasn't quite good enough because there were 2 better scores. In second place with 40 points was our sometime Sri Lankan visitor Alan Bond. But the surprising winner took the trophy with 41 points. Surprising because it was only Scott Wightman's second event after recently joining the society, and no-one has ever heard of a Scotsman admitting to having a handicap of 30! Not for much longer. There were 7 teams of 4 with the best 3 scores on each hole to count to the team score. A poll before the event correctly predicted the winning Dream Team who came in with 130 points. Not so much a competition, but more of a procession as they won by a clear margin of 3 points. The team members were Alan Bigley, Pete Smith, Graham Meadows and Rob Weavers. See Mayfieldgolfingsociety.com for details. Mark Hughes.

MAYFIELD BAND: We are now well and truly into our quiet season, with just one wedding to go. We are working towards a concert in October which we will be performing jointly with our friends at Lingfield Silver Band, in Lingfield, and we hope to replicate this in Jack Gonzalez-Harding 26 Mayfield in the autumn. In the meantime, we’ll be at the Know Your Village event on 28th September at St. Dunstan’s, so come and have a chat if you want to find out more about the band. We’ll have a few instruments with us, so you can also have a blow. Be careful though, you might get hooked.

Mayfield Youth Band: As the new term is now upon us, don’t forget that the most important part of your child’s education by a country mile is learning to play a musical instrument. It’s the foundation stone on which everything else can be built. Cellist Yo-Yo Mar said: “Music enhances the education of our children by helping them to make connections and broadening the depth with which they think and feel”, and there’s a truck load of science that backs that up. It’s just not worth risking it. Speak to me or speak to your school to find out about the opportunities. If you come to us, we will provide the instruments, and your children can learn in a fun group environment, where they can make new friendships, and open the door to a lifetime of joy. Ideal starting age is 7-8 upwards, but it’s down to the individual, and of equal importance, parental support. Simon Rudge: 01435 01435 872007 or [email protected].

MAYFIELD HORTICULTRIAL SOCIETY: Seedy Saturday 2025. If it seems early to remind you of next year’s Seedy Saturday seed swap and social on 1st February, it’s because September and October are ideal times to start saving your own seed to sow or swap next year. Easy flowers to try are cosmos, poppies and marigolds; wildflowers: yellow rattle, oxeye daisy and tufted vetch; vegetables: peas, beans, squash and tomatoes. First dry them well and then label and store in a sealed envelope. Don’t forget to write down the variety if you know it and da poppies and marigolds; wildflowers: yellow rattle, oxeye daisy and tufted vetch; vegetables: peas, beans, squash and tomatoes. First dry them well and then label and store in a sealed envelope. Don’t forget to write down the variety if you know it and date collected! It seems hard to believe that our autumn series of talks have started next month; Tuesday 15th October 7.30 for 8.00, Colkins Mill Church Len Bernamont, Bateman’s - Kipling’s influence and maintenance of the gardens today. Tessa Crowe: www.mayfieldhorticulturalsociety.org.uk [email protected]

FIVE ASHES HORTICULTRIAL SOCIETY: A very successful Summer Show was held at Five Ashes Village Hall. Everything went as planned with the weather being almost perfect. Entries were very slightly down on last year with the main difference being in Division 1 (veg, fruit and flowers) no doubt reflecting the difficult (strange) weather this year. We humans haven’t known what to expect from one day to the next – confusing for us, let alone plants. An alternate way of looking at it is that it was a victory to overcome those conditions and produce an entry. The judges remarked on the high quality of the entries in all Divisions and it was a pleasure to see the Hall filled with colour. The trophies were presented as follows:- Banksian Medal Classes 1 - 46. Ken Audsley, The President’s Cup. Classes 47 – 52. Kay White Jim Dickson Cup. Classes 2 – 25. Karenna Wrightson, Warren Floral Cup. Classes 26 – 40. Karen Green, Ticehurst Cup. Class 1. Ken Audsley Falkenstein Cup. Classes 54 – 70. Susanna Parker Wakefield Cup. Classes 71 – 78. Susanna Parker, Alfred Harman Cup. Classes 47 – 52. Kay White, Five Ashes Plate. Classes 79 – 82. Susanna Parker, The Hartfield Trophy. Class 102. Seb Baker. Children’s Trophies: Amy Phillipson Memorial Trophy. Class 53. Emily Strong, Hitchcock Cup. Classes 1-82 & 101-102. Emily Strong, Pennington/Riley Prize. Classes 84 – 87. Sophie Baker McDonnell Cup. Classes 88 – 91. Emily Strong, Fenner Cup. Classes 92 – 95. Sophie Baker A.C. Hemsley Cup. Classes 96 – 99. Sophie Baker. Both inside the halls and outside on the Playing Field there was lots of entertainment, plenty to eat and drink, Wealden Brass to listen to, a Fun Dog Show, stalls and attractions and sports. All visitors seemed to enjoy themselves. We now look forward to the Village Pumpkin and Schoolchildren’s Pumpkin growing competitions followed by our AGM on 9th October in Five Ashes Village Hall at 7.30pm. Graham Playfoot:, 01825 830511

ENERGY EXPO, FIVE ASHES VILLAGE HALL - COME AND MEET “EDDI”: Five years ago, the Village Hall committee introduced a number of energy-saving measures into the building with a view to overall cost reduction for the running of the building as well as reducing the overall demand of the energy required to run it. The opportunity arose to incorporate a number of technologies into the redevelopment of the building after the successful bid to the National Lottery. The most recent investment was the installation of further solar panels to complement the existing ones and battery storage to make use of stored energy to offset some of the demand required to run the building overnight. As part of the new installation an “Eddi” was installed which monitored production from the panels and diverted some of this to the immersion heater to provide hot water for the building. On Sunday October 6th, starting at 10.30am, the Hall will be open to anyone who wishes to come and view the various energy saving and generation systems we have in place. There will be a short formal introduction to our strategy in The Ash Hall followed by the opportunity to view the equipment and talk to Energy advisers afterwards. Please come along and take the opportunity to hear about the potential for your own situation. We will be featuring:- Air source heat pumps; Solar panels; Battery storage; Energy Diverter; Led Lighting; Underfloor heating; Motion sensors. Geoff Gregory.

MAYFACS: Monthly Trips Thursday 3rd October. Visit the historic town of Battle £10. Thursday 7th November Annual shopping trip to Bluewater £10. Thursday 5th December Christmas bowling trip £17. Please visit our website: www.mayfacs.org.uk for updates of weekly activities or contact us at the MAYFACS Office on: 01435 873888. You can also join our monthly eNewsletter mailing list to get full details on everything that we do to support our community by contacting [email protected]