Rodmell and Southease Parish Pump
Rain, rain and yet more to come but at least the temperature has gone up.
As readers have probably gathered by now, I’m not a great sports fan, but I have to say I have enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics and would like to congratulate Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker, for winning mixed team skeleton gold on Sunday February 15th . As someone who loved ice skating from the age of 11, and skated for many years at the Brighton Ice Stadium at West Street, until it sadly closed, watching the various forms of ice-skating brought back many wonderful memories for me. After a family meeting to discuss my health problems, my grandmother (very much the matriarch) decided she was going to buy me some ice-skates to strengthen my feet and limbs, as at 11 I had just come out of Stanmore Orthopaedic Hospital and couldn’t walk well. I loved my shiny white skating boots and took great care of them. After having a few lessons, I took to it like a duck to water, enjoyed ice-dancing, and taught a lot of children to skate. I’ve always said that it gave me such a sense of freedom of movement and I would have continued doing it for many years had the stadium not closed. I actually met my husband there; he knocked me over literally! I’m sure many readers will remember the stadium with fond memories!
Although I was in Austria for a time at 18, I never learnt to ski, but wish I had, having watched the wonderful skiing at the Olympics. The competitors in the winter sports look so healthy, slim and wholesome, and the colours of their gear against the white snow and their bravery and talent is superb to watch.
Ben the manager for Iford Estate was on ITV Southern news recently, talking about the flooded fields, and flood plains in this area. We are lucky to have the South Downs surrounding us as some farmers can divert their stock to higher ground, but seed that has been sown in the lower areas is sadly being washed away. No doubt there will be food shortages due to the weather and farmers will have a lot to deal with in the coming months. Some good news though, as the new farm road at Iford, is near completion, and will help farm traffic, which gets larger and larger over the years, to be moved about more easily. The farmer I feel has been very patient, over this issue as it’s taken some years.
Our Coffee Club at our pub on Wednesday 18th February was very successful and Ian Bell came to meet up with Taff Davies from Glynde, to talk about Glynde Football Club, which they played for when they were young men. We have quite a few people from other villages coming to Coffee Club so do feel free to join us at any time.
Dates for your diary taken from our Parish Magazine
3rd March 7.30pm – The Rodmell Horticultural Society AGM, Rodmell Village Hall with a talk from Roger Ford ‘Goings on About Rodmell’s Gardens: past, present and possibly future'. Will it be risqué Roger?
4th March 8pm – Pub Quiz in the Abergavenny Arms. Teams of 6 people £2/person. Booking essential. 01273 472416
18th March 11am – Next Coffee Club meeting in the pub.
25th March 6.30pm – Rodmell Book Club in the pub.
Going through my file of letters and paper cuttings, that have been sent to me from readers of Parish Pump over the years, I found this and Ali tells me it is from the Freemasons. ‘The Rough Ashlar: is a stone, round and unhewn as taken from the quarry until by the industry and ingenuity of the workmen, it is modelled, wrought into due form and rendered fit for the intended structure: this represents man in his infant form or primitive state, rough and unpolished as that stone, until by the kind care and attention of his parents and guardians, in giving him a liberal and virtuous education, his mind becomes cultivated, and he is thereby rendered, a fit member of civilised society.’ Does this apply to women in their infant form as well? It sounds a very old way of thinking!
I have just been watching on TV, a programme about repairing our household goods rather than throw them out where they go into landfill. We cannot go on like this, and it’s very heartwarming to see all the repair shops, man sheds etc. cropping up where people give their time to repair things. Part of the problem is, that over the years things have gone down in price due to imports from places like China etc whilst trying to get things repaired has gone up, hence people find it cheaper to by new products. I have to say in the past I have done this myself. If we are to save our environment, we have to stop dumping and polluting and recycle more.
It was so heartwarming to hear that a farmer, who was not a young man, had rubbish dumped on his land and was told by his council that he was responsible for it, and it would cost him £40,000. When it went online the good old British public sent donations which were over the amount and he is donating it to other famers who have the same problem. In the past, and it may still be happening, this has happened to our local farmers, and it’s a terrible problem to them and just not fair, they have enough to cope with at the moment.
On a brighter note, Ali tells me that even in the grey and rain the wonderful area we live in provides beauty and calm. She says, if you have a moment (and some wellies) visit the Railway Land Nature Reserve in Lewes. The Winterbourne stream (a seasonal and rare chalk stream) is full of the most exquisitely coloured water, a natural phenomenon because of the clarity of the water filtered through the chalk of the South Downs. She tells me it looks stunningly blue even in the rain. The height of the water varies depending on the tide as the sluice gate that opens out on to the river Ouse opens when the tide is low and closes when it is high. So sometimes it is very wet and flooded and other times not. But you can get to it by following the path to the Linklater Pavilion from the Friars Walk carpark. It is a beautiful place to explore right in the centre of Lewes.