Mayfield and Five Ashes Village News

NEW A272-A267 ROAD SAFETY GROUP

Welcome to the New A272/A267 Road Safety Group. This group has been set up to bring together users of the A272 and A267. Many of you reading this will associate Susan King and Melvyn Butcher with the A267 RSG Group. We were two of the three founding members. Due to recent serious online security issues and the time required to resolve them, Susan and I felt the only way forward was to start a new group. Hence the name: The New A272 /A276 Road Safety Group. The A267 is the main arterial road from Tunbridge Wells to the coast. The road terminates at the Boship roundabout. The A272 joins the A267 at Hadlow Down and proceeds to Petersfield in Hampshire. The group's involvement will start at the A272/A267 Junction and end at the A26 Budletts Roundabout (near Uckfield.) The reason for expanding the area is that we have been receiving several enquiries from people living near or driving along both the A272 and A267. The original group was created in November 2025.

MAYZING CHOIR

The Choir was established around five years ago and has since expanded into a fair old size, thus creating an awesome swell of sound which we'd very much love you to become a part of. The experience is exceptionally good value, at just £7.00 a session. The people behind this sound swell are very friendly, and can become friends if you so wish. There are no divas, tantrums or fashion statements, only a shared love of singing, which can be anything from The Beatles to Beyonce, from Jazz to the shows.We are looking for Ladies and gentlemen of all ages. Please come and join us! Choir sessions are held on Wednesday Evenings, 8.15 pm till 9.45 pm. Very good value for money, £7.00 per session. Cash only on the night. The Mayfield Scout Hut, Tunbridge Wells Road Mayfield, East Sussex. Contact 07973 198604

MAYFACS COMMUNITY CAR DRIVERS WANTED

We are seeking volunteer Community Car Drivers to join our MAYFACS Team. Our Community Car Service runs every day of the week for those who need to access medical appointments but cannot get there any other way. In the last 4 months, requests have increased by 60% which could mean an additional 200+ drives this year! More appointments are being scheduled for Saturdays to get people the medical care they need in hospitals that are getting through waiting lists. This means we really do need more help to support this vital service for our community. Do you work Monday to Friday and would love to volunteer for MAYFACS, but are only available on Saturdays or at certain times of the week? Do you have any spare time to undertake a drive every now and then? Do you know if your Employers offer matched volunteering time as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme? Community Car Volunteers can choose what how often they are available to drive for us and the more drivers we have, the more this shares the support needed. You can also choose whether you prefer to support local drives within our Parish or travel further afield. It really can be flexible around what you can offer - even one drive every month or so really helps take the pressure off the service. The service is open to anyone who needs help getting to medical appointments, and it really does make a huge difference. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Expenses are reimbursed for volunteer drivers.

Mayfield Fireworks Display – Saturday 15th November MAYFACS is one of the collecting charities for this year’s Mayfield Fireworks Display on Saturday 15th Novemberbetween 5 pm – 7.30 pm in Court Meadow, Mayfield. Please come along and enjoy the celebrations and supportthe local charities!

Easy Fundraising Online – raise funds for FREE whilst Christmas Shopping!!!

Please consider MAYFACS when doing your online shopping especially in the run up to Christmas. Over 8000 retailers will donate to MAYFACS when you simply shop Online. This means you can raise a FREE donation for MAYFACS every time you shop online. All you need to do is to sign up to Easy Fundraising, choose MAYFACS and then shop as normal! https://easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mayfacs/

Paint and Sip

Paint and Sip – Wednesday 19th November at Mayfield Cricket Club. Our next Paint and Sip event will be inspired by the beautiful Mayfield in the snow – an opportunity to paint your own inspired picture of a local view! Book early to avoid disappointment! £30 per person. Email [email protected] to confirm your place or to be on the mailing list for the next one!!

MAYFIELD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

A Mayfield Horticultural Society event: November ushers in our Zoom series of talks over the winter and affords you the opportunity of a stimulating talk from the comfort of your own home! Our November Zoom meeting is on Tuesday, 18th November at 7.30 pm, and Steve Edney will talk to us about ‘Think beyond the flower, perennials for winter structure’. Steve owns a nursery called ‘The No Name Nursery’ in Sandwich, Kent with his partner Louise Dowle and is one of the UK’s most knowledgeable younger plantsmen, as well as a Chelsea Gold Medal winner! The photograph shows them celebrating their Gold Medal win a couple of years ago. He’s a lovely guy and a very enthusiastic speaker - I’m sure his talk will be entertaining as well as informative. It’ll concentrate on why planting for some structure is so important visually when looking wistfully out of the window during those long winter months and what plants to use; some of them will no doubt be quite unusual and different! I’m really looking forward to it and hope a lot of you can join us. Members will automatically be sent the free Zoom link a few days before the talk; non-members pay £5, contact: [email protected] for details of how to pay.

DEER AWARE

Watch out for deer. As evenings get darker, deer become harder to see and are often more active near roads. Each year, thousands of deer are involved in vehicle collisions across the UK. Slow down in high-risk areas. Take extra care at dawn and dusk. Use full beams when safe, but dip them if you see a deer. Don’t swerve suddenly, brake firmly and stay in control. By staying alert, you can help protect yourself and wildlife. Learn more about avoiding deer collisions: www.deeraware.com

FIREWORKS

Vicky Halford wrote. Hi everyone, I just wanted to mention that there are fireworks in the area tonight, and unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any notice given beforehand. We have young horses out in the fields, and they are absolutely terrified. It would have been really helpful to have some warning so we could have brought them in or prepared. If anyone plans to set off fireworks in the future, please could you share a quick post here to let nearby residents know? It really does make a big difference for those of us with animals. Thank you!

HADLOW DOWN PARISH COUNCIL

Hadlow Down Parish Council have a vacancy for one Parish Councillor. If you are interested, please contact the Clerk for further details. The co-option of a new Councillor is now taking place at our December meeting, Tuesday 2nd December at 19:00.

BALLET BESQUE

Ballet lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Hadlow Down Hall with Ballet Besque. Professional ISTD syllabus and examinations. www.BalletBesque.com

HADLOW DOWN DRAMA AND VARIETY CLUB

We are delighted to announce that the HDDVC will be performing a pantomime on the 13th and 14th March, 2026. We are delighted that Julie Twigg will be directing the panto we have selected, which is Dick Turpin. We felt this panto would be a bit different, and is not one that we have performed before. On the 3rd December at 7.00 pm, in the Village Hall, we will be holding a ‘read through’ evening; an opportunity for those interested in joining the cast to get a flavour of the panto prior to casting. We always welcome new members and hope that you will feel you can join the cast, help backstage or support front of house.