Etchingham

In July the Village Summer Fete will be held in Queen’s Garden. Last year, during the Fete, I put on a display of old photographs, postcards and documents in the Church, depicting much of the village history.

I am planning a similar display this year, it will be based around my collection of old photos and postcards, if I can borrow enough suitable items from village residents I hope to also include a display of memories of the school, as this will be the last year in the current building. If you have any suitable items I can borrow, let me know as soon as possible to help me plan space. You might have photos, books, documents, press cuttings or other items from your school days, or perhaps from parents or grandparents. I also have access to a lot of items relating to Etchingham Women’s Institute, so would like to also feature that in the display, if you have anything W.I. related that I can borrow please let me know.

If you have photos or small documents I can either borrow the originals for the display or make copies so that you can have the original items back straight away. If you have books or larger items I will need to see what you have as soon as possible so that I know how much space is required and pick the items up a couple of days before the display.

I will also be doing a display during the Flower and Dog Show, it would be good to have a different theme for the display, ideas welcome, one suggestion has been a display marking the centenary of the start of World War One, this is a possibility if enough items can be found, the items could relate to the time period and not necessarily all be related to Etchingham directly.

For both displays the available space is the area around and on the Choir Stalls and the Chancel in the Church.

Parish Magazine, the very latest date for items to go into the next Parish Magazine is Sunday March 16, so if you have not got your information to Phillipa, do it today.

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Thursday April 10.

The meeting will begin at 7.30pm and an agenda for the meeting will be published during the week beginning March 31.

Please remember that the Annual Parish Meeting, although chaired

by the Chairman of the Parish Council, is not a Parish Council meeting but a meeting for the parishioners of Etchingham. If you have any items of business that you would like to be discussed at the meeting, please notify the Parish Clerk as soon as possible.

Before the APM at 6.30pm, representatives from ESCC and the Contractor will be at the Village Hall to give an update on the new School and Community facilities and also provide illustrations and details of materials to be used in the construction.

There will also be an opportunity to say farewell to PCSO Tom McAspurn who has been our PCSO for a number of years and I am sure there are many in the village that will wish to thank Tom and wish him well in his retirement.

These will also be the final meetings in the current Village Hall so it will be time to bid a fond farewell to the Hall and acknowledge its many years of faithful service to the village.

Lastly, a reminder to all village groups and organisations that contributions for the Annual Parish Report need to be sent to the Parish Clerk by the end of March.

Are you concerned about the speed of traffic through the village? You will probably be aware that a Community Speedwatch group has been set up in the village, working with Sussex Police to help reduce speeds. The group has set up an online questionnaire to gather views and comments of village residents regarding traffic speeds. The questionnaire can be accessed on the Community Speedwatch website www.communityspeedwatch.co.uk , on the Home Page click on the Questionnaire tab and enter DSE4J7 into the code box, answer the seven questions and add any comments, suggestions and ideas you have.

If you do not have internet access and would like to contribute your views ask a relative or friend to help you fill in the questionnaire on their computer.

If you require further information about Speedwatch, email [email protected] .

Next week the group will have a static monitor set up for about a week, the device will monitor traffic movements 24 hours a day and record the speeds of the vehicles, this will give the group a bit more detail of when the worst times are for speeding traffic so that speed checks can be targeted to the worst times. In a few weeks time the group has the equipment booked for a week and operators will be out at various times and locations every day in that week between 7am and 5pm so if you see our operators out on the roadside give them some support as you pass.

Battle Area Community Transport, flexible bus services for the Etchingham area. To Eastbourne, second Monday of alternate months; February 10, April 14, June 9, August 11. To Ashford or Tenterden, third Friday of alternate months; March 21, May 16, July 18. To Rye, fourth Thursday of alternate months; February 27, April 24, June 26, August 28.

All bookings need to be made in advance, times and pick up locations will be arranged according to requests made. Your bus passes can be used on all journeys. To book or get further information call Lyn on 01424 772001 Monday to Friday, 9am to 12 noon.

Get information for this column to me as soon as possible, if you have a diary of events planned for the year let me have the dates and I will put in a list of village events for the year so that people can put the dates in their diaries. There are several ways to get your info to me, but email is preferred because there is less chance of errors during copying. I need information by 10pm on Monday to be sure it will be in time for inclusion, I can sometimes add extra items on Tuesday morning, but this cannot be guaranteed. Just a little reminder, I get plenty of information about events that are taking place, but I get very little follow up information, after your event try and remember to send me brief account of how successful your event was, it can be as simple as a thank you to those that attended and how much money was raised etc. You can deliver to 2 Park Farm Close, telephone 01580 819532 or 07941 786244 or email [email protected] .