Chailey

MESSY CHURCH: On Monday, April 4, from 4.30pm to 6pmish there will be fun activities, games, singing and a family tea. The Messy Church is for all ages and the cost is £1 per family. Call 01273 400785 or email [email protected] for more details.

‘MY FRIENDS THE ELEPHANTS’: is the subject of a talk by Edward Paget, at the village hall, at the Women’s Institute meeting on Tuesday, April 5, at 7.45pm. Please take an elephant with you to the meeting! Visitors and prospective members will be made most welcome, the cost being £3 which includes homemade refreshments. To find out more about the group call Carol Brown on 01825 723757.

‘OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS on Red House Common’ walk: with Commons Society member Ian Woolsey, takes place on Saturday April 9. Meet at 9am at the car park in Warrs Hill Lane for a walk on the Common to look for the new migrant arrivals and resident birds.

VOLUNTEERING AT THE BLUEBELL RAILWAY: want to find out more? A ‘Find Out More Day’ is taking place on Sunday April 10. Anyone, skilled or unskilled, who can offer a day a month or more to the Railway are invited to ‘find out more’ about volunteering in our various departments. And if under 16, you can gain experience in the 9F Club. Book your place on an orientation tour, and get more information about the opportunities at the Railway, by phoning 01825 720800 or emailing [email protected].

WARRS HILL FOOTPATH: East Sussex Highways will be consulting on the long-standing project to run a footpath alongside Warrs Hill Road from the New Heritage to the A275, a project to be paid from funds set aside as a Developer contribution when building the New Heritage. Because the footpath will run along the edge of Red House Common on common land, immediately beside the highway but outside the fence line, it is a condition that the project should be put to consultation with neighbouring residents and more generally before it goes to the Secretary of State for determination. East Sussex organises a Consultation Hub and for further details of this visit the Parish Council website ‘News & Events’ page at www.chailey.org. Prior to making an application in regard to the Warrs Hill footway, the County Council will be carrying out a public consultation exercise seeking comments about the proposed scheme which will run from Monday 11 April to Friday 29 April. Full details, plans and an online version of the survey will be available at www.eastsussex.gov.uk/haveyoursay.

MULTI-LOCO DIESEL GALA: at the Bluebell Railway takes place from Friday to Sunday 15 to 17 April. The event organised jointly by the Bluebell Railway and GB Railfreight (GBRf). GBRf is celebrating 15 years of operation in 2016, and this is the first of several events in which money GBRf raises will be donated to charity. Locomotives will be drawn from a selection regularly used by GBRf. It is planned (subject to availability on the day) to use examples from classes 20, 47, 66, 73/1, and 73/9. Rolling stock will be a mix of the Bluebell Railway’s own coaches and a 4-TC unit kindly provided by London Underground Ltd. An intensive three-train service for the three days is planned, with evening beer trains on the Friday and Saturday. The Railway’s resident Class 09 is expected to be making additional brake van trips, for a small additional charge, and each day raffle tickets will be sold for a cab ride on a selected afternoon service from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead. A selection of sales stands also will be in attendance, including a special GBRf stand where limited edition 15th anniversary memorabilia will be available to purchase. For more details visit http://www.bluebell-railway.com/event/diesel-weekend/ or call 01825 720800.

LAMBING: AT TOWNINGS FARM On Saturday April 16 from 2pm to 4pm Carole and Kevin Uridge invite members of the Commons Society and children to visit the farm for lambing time. There will be group visits to the lambing barn all afternoon. Meet by the Farm Shop Townings Farm, Plumpton Lane North Chailey BN8 4EJ. Please take care; advice should be taken for pregnancy, allergy and other health issues before farm visits. For more details of the visit contact William Coleman on 01444 831098.

ST GEORGES FETE: is one of the Bonfire Society’s biggest annual events and takes place on Saturday April 23. The Society are keen to hear from you if you are interested in having a car boot space or a stall; just contact them via www.chaileybonfire.co.uk or call Clare on 07985 112968. Also contact Clare if your local organisation or village group would like a stall. There will be arena events including a tug of war completion, Burgess Hill Rumblers drumming display and Chailey & Newick Rainbows and Brownies dance display. There will also be children’s rides, a barbecue, beer tent and a Fun Dog Show and entries for the dog show will be from 12pm. Classes start at 12.30pm and include: Prettiest Bitch, Handsome Dog, Best pair, Waggiest Tail, Best rehomed/rescued, Best Veteran, Best Puppy (up to 18 months), Most Appealing Eyes, Best Crossbred, Young Handler and the Dog the judge would most like to take home. Entry for the dog show is £1 per class and an advanced registration form can be obtained from [email protected] or by calling Diane on 01273 401900. More help is needed with activities on the day, so please if you can offer some time, even if it is only an hour, whether in the morning with setting up or the afternoon helping to man a stall that would be great. Please just call Diane on 01273 401900 and let her know how you can help.

CHAILEY WINDMILL: The Mill and Rural Life Museum will be open for the first time this year on Sunday April 24 from 3pm to 5 pm. Admission charges are £1 for adults and 50p for children aged 10 to 16. For more details call John Smith on 01825 723519.

TOY AND RAIL COLLECTORS FAIR: is on Saturday April 30 from 10am to 4pm at the Bluebell Railway’s Horsted Keynes Station. There will be stalls on the platform and a marquee within the station car park with railway artefacts and model railway equipment. Admission ticket costs £3 per person which covers both Horsted Keynes Station and the marquee.

PARISH COUNCIL OFFICE: During April the Parish Office will move to the Reading Room at Chailey Green, being located in the former Storeroom now refurbished as a permanent office. During the period of the move the better way to contact the Clerk will be by e-mail [email protected], as this will not change. The Reading Room continues to be available for meetings and other functions, to arrange a booking contact the Parish Clerk via [email protected].

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