Cross in Hand, Horam, Blackboys & Five Ashes

FARM WATCH: Coordinator’s Update. This week there have been two reports of loose animals on the public highways, both were horses. As always, please check your boundary fences and hedges at least once a day, including where railway lines pass by.

METAL THEFT: Top Tips for Tackling Metal Theft. Remain vigilant and report anything suspicious, as metal theft can occur any time during the day or night. If you see someone on a roof without scaffolding, report it to the police and record the details of any vehicle being used. This information can greatly help police should there be any such thefts in your area. Keep an eye on any nearby schools, places of worship and disused buildings and report anyone you may see trespassing particularly on the roof of the buildings. Be vigilant if you see vans or workmen arriving unexpectedly at the building between 6pm and 8am, as they could be stealing the lead from the roof. Where possible, restrict vehicle access to buildings by locking gates and ensure that any perimeter fences are secure. Remove any means of transporting metal away from the property such as wheelbarrows and wheelie bins. Keep these items in a secure place. Ensure that ladders are stored in a secure place and out of sight of any passers-by. Ideally, keep them chained or secured to a wall in a secure outbuilding such as a garage or shed. Remove any water butts or garden furniture that could give would-be thieves access to the roof of a property. Don’t leave any scrap metal you may have such as copper piping, outside the property or your home in full view of passers-by. Regularly check your building/property before it rains to ensure that no thefts have occurred and that your property will not be subjected to water damage. Be a good neighbour and keep an eye on empty properties in your street or area and again report any suspicious activity to police. If you have copper or lead on show on your property, paint it black so it doesn’t stand out. Painting the metal black can help deter a thief from targeting the property. Consider anti-climb paint. This can be administered 6ft or above however signage must be provided to forewarn individuals that it has been used.

CRIME AND INCIDENT UPDATES: 0463 12/03/2018, a red Massey Fergusson tractor, chassis number V160748, engine number U782022, has been stolen from Bemzells Lane, Hailsham. 0254 13/03/2018, a cattle water drinking tank has been stolen from a field in Shepherds Hill, Buxted. 0679 13/03/2018, a Bailey Ranger Prestige 2008 5050/6 caravan, serial number SGBSG06BY80705568, has been stolen from a field in Witherenden Road, Mayfield. 0624 14/03/2018, premises in Eridge Lane, Crowborough, were broken into by cutting locks. Nothing is believed to have been stolen. 0802 15/03/2018, a sheep owner from Eridge Green found a Staffy type dog chasing their pregnant ewes, one of the ewes had blood on it and was injured. The sheep owner managed to capture the dog and hold on to it until its owner was located. 1268 15/03/2018, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service attended a barn fire in North Street, Hailsham. The fire was successfully extinguished. 1002 16/03/2018, due to the owner of machinery that was stolen having kept a record of the serial number, police were able to return these items when they were recovered by the Metropolitan Police. Help keep Sussex safe. If you saw or heard anything, or have any information about any incident in this message please contact us online, email us at [email protected] or call 101, quoting the reference number provided. Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

TICKET FRAUD: Flight ticket fraud alert. Fraudsters are attempting to entice victims who are looking for cheap flights abroad. Victims have reported booking tickets via websites or a popular ticket broker, only to discover that after payment via bank transfer or electronic wire transfer, the tickets/booking references received are counterfeit. In some cases, all communications between the company or broker and the victim have been severed. Fraudsters are targeting individuals who are seeking to travel to African nations and the Middle East, particularly those wishing to travel in time for popular public and religious holidays. Be aware that purchasing tickets from a third party, particularly when initial contact has been made via a social media platform can be incredibly risky. If tickets to your intended destination appear cheaper than any other vendor, always consider this; if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Look for the logo: Check whether the company is a member of a recognised trade body such as ABTA or ATOL. You can verify membership of ABTA online, at abta.com. If you have been affected by this, or any other type of fraud, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting actionfraud.police.uk

WEALDEN ALERTS: Supporting Local Business. Wealden District Council continues to provide support for local business, since 2015 over £335,000 has been provided through the council’s discretionary business rate relief scheme. At its meeting on March 14 Cabinet approved policies to ensure support. Local policies are in addition to support directed by the Government and mean that overall, Wealden is on course to provide some £400,000 in business rate support to help local businesses during 2018/19. Small businesses also benefit from changes introduced by the Government to Small Business Rates Relief. Over £8m will have been awarded to over 5,000 local businesses in 2017/18 through the enhanced scheme. Full details of all the different business rate relief schemes available in Wealden are available on the Business Rates Relief page of the District Council’s website.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS: Following on from last week’s piece on supporting your local business, I came across an interesting scenario when trying to park in Heathfield High Street to pick up medication from the chemist. Although three parking bays were vacant outside the delicatessen, I was denied access to one of the spaces to allow a towed converted horse box pizza unit to park. I understand pizza is produced in the horse box for consumption in the delicatessen. Not only is valuable parking space being taken up from 4.30pm but I do question the health and safety element of hot pizza being transported across a public footpath into the deli and the level of hygiene standards within the horse box. I am sure the other eateries in the High Street are not happy especially Dominos Pizza. They all have to adhere to strict hygiene law, pay business rates, rent, staff and utilities and most of all VAT if they exceed the threshold. This operator does not have the overheads our High Street eateries have which is not fair. I would have thought The Community Oven, as it is called, should consider parking up in local villages where its services would be welcomed and not impinge on the local eateries that have very high overheads.

CROSS IN HAND: Isenhurst Junction. No reported incidents last week.

PARISH ASSEMBLY: Heathfield and Waldron Annual Parish Assembly Monday, April 9, at 7.30pm Heathfield Community Centre, Sheepsetting Lane. Presentations for the evening David Mantz, the work of the Kent and Sussex Air Ambulance Organisation; Bill Philps from Age Concern about their new project, Proposed Men’s Shed for Heathfield; Leigh Lonsdale, an update on the Heathfield and District Volunteer Centre; Dale Poole from East Sussex Highways, overview and reporting procedures. All are welcome. Please come along, see what is happening and talk to your parish councillors.

MAYFIELD AND FIVE ASHES: The Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition at Mayfield Festival. This international competition for outstanding young concert artists is recognised around the world as a unique event. The competition has played a major role in the careers of many internationally celebrated musicians. Competitors, aged between 16 and 27 years will perform in one of three sections: piano, strings or wind (including brass); they must be of concert performance standard and be ready for a professional career. NB. Students in full-time education may apply for free tickets for rounds one and two of the competition. For the hardy concert goer with stamina there will be over 37 hours of music from which to choose over 16 hours of playing time during the competition with the chance of hearing some of tomorrow’s great stars. Please refer to: www.mayfield festival.co.uk for further information and tickets.

HOSTS NEEDED: For Mayfield Festival and TW International Music Competition. The TW International Music Competition is now held as part of the Mayfield Festival of Music and the Arts. In 2018 they expect to have about 100 competitors aged between 16 and 27 years. They are all concert performance standard and ready for a professional career. The concert runs at Mayfield School from Wednesday, May 2 to Sunday, May 6. The competition has a great reputation for its friendliness, partly because of the hosts who take in these musicians in the local area. It is tremendously exciting to have a talented young musician practising in your house, filling it with music. If you are a host, you could have your competitor for all five days, but if they do not get through to the later rounds of the competition you could have him or her for just a day. If you have a spare bed and could potentially offer to host a young musician for a few days in early May please contact Steve Swanton. Another way to get involved with the Competition is to be a steward or president at the performances. If you are able to help at some point during the competition, please contact [email protected]

BONJOUR: From Five Ashes Church of England Primary School. We are delighted to report that this term all the school’s classes have been involved in French role-play sessions with the wonderful, French-speaking secretary, Mrs Josling. Willow Class have been involved in greetings role-play sessions; they have been greeting different members of the school community to ask them their names and ages. Maple Class have taken part in a French Market where they enjoyed purchasing some mouth-watering fruit and, finally, Oak Class have been enjoying Zoo role-play sessions which allowed them to describe and name a variety of animals. They are also delighted to announce the Quicksticks hockey team competed in the cluster tournament at Heathfield Community College this term. Five Ashes is very proud of them all for the fantastic teamwork skills they demonstrated during the tournament. They are also very proud of Mavianne Munoz who represented the school at the local poetry recital where she performed Gran Can You Rap? by Jack Ousbey. She wowed audiences with her confident performance, engaging expression and wonderful character voices. Well done, Mavianne. The playground is now home to a spectacular reflection area which has taken the shape of a tree house. The reflection area designed by Ben Holmes with the support of the school community has provided the school with an area of serenity where pupils can reflect. School Council members in each year group have been busy designing the interior of the reflection area. They have had some wonderful ideas so far such as creating garlands which will be linked to school values and presenting pupils’ handwritten prayers in a designated prayer space. Once ready, they hope to open the prayer space to members of the community once a fortnight. Please do check their future news for further information. During the February half term the staff room was transformed to allow for a kitchen area to be built, providing children with a place to cook regularly. They cannot wait to smell and sample the delicious creations that emerge from the kitchen. Looking ahead to this term the school will be busy showcasing their acting, singing and dancing skills as they prepare for our Easter performance of The Selfish Giant. Willow Class will begin their Helping Hands learning journey where they will be exploring different ways of looking after our planet. Maple Class will be exploring Victorian London in order to compare it with London today. Oak Class will begin their World War One learning journey as they begin reading One Boy’s War by Lynn Huggins Cooper. However, One Boy’s War is not the only book that Oak Class will be focusing on this term, in fact books will be flying off the shelves as the whole school takes part in the first ever Reading Detectives Week. Everyone looks forward to sharing tales of the week with you in April’s edition.

MAYFIELD SCHOOL: Pupils from Years 9 to 13 attended the school’s recent annual careers evening and heard speakers from over 20 different career areas, including an airline pilot, solicitor, editor, film and TV director, journalist and novelist, accountant, banker, sports therapist, a Westminster civil servant, physiotherapist, psychiatrist, GP, an A&E doctor, nurse, structural engineer, aerospace engineer, chartered surveyor, stage make-up artist and vet. Many of the speakers were drawn from the School’s alumnae community and it was empowering for the girls to hear about how they have risen to the top of their professions, in many cases in male dominated professions. The aim of the evening was to raise the girls’ awareness about the wide range of career opportunities and to learn about the qualities, skills and qualifications each profession needs so they can make informed choices about their futures. The speakers also highlighted the importance of resilience, flexibility, adaptability and hard work in achieving their goals, qualities Mayfield School focuses on developing in their pupils to prepare them for the opportunities and challenges of a competitive and fast-paced 21st century employment market.

HORAM: Parish Council Meetings. Second Wednesday every month, Full Council Meetings 7.30pm Horam Centre , High Street Horam. Annual Parish Meeting will be held in Horam Village Hall Wednesday April 18 at 7.30pm.

MOBILE LIBRARY: Visits Horam every three weeks. Horebeach Lane 2.55pm till 3.45pm for further information on the service call 01273 4818170 or 481170.

BLACKBOYS: Cellar Head Brewery, New Place Farm, Framfield is turning one on March 31, noon to 5pm to celebrate we are holding a Birthday Bash here at the brewery. Cask ales on tap, along with some pilot brews too for you to try, a chance to see where the magic happens, and the barbecue on the go too. Come on down and celebrate an amazing start to the Cellar Head journey and to toast the next year ahead with us. For further details telephone 01825 890078.