Etchingham

The Easter Sunday Church Service will be conducted by the Reverend Peter Clark, with a little Easter gift for children. The service will start at 10.30am, the clocks go forward this weekend, and it does not feel like it but we will then officially be in British summer Time,so all Sunday services will be at 10.30am from now until the clocks revert to winter time in the autumn. There is not a Good Friday service in Etchingham, you are welcome to attend Burwash at 2pm, if you cannot get to the Etchingham service on Easter Sunday you will be welcome at Burwash for Holy Communion at 8am.

One Man Theatre by Brian D Barnes M.B.E., many thanks to Ken Thomas for providing the following report.

It was billed as “The Passion Story- a Dramatic Reading” by Brain D Barnes and it took place at Etchingham Villlage Hall on Palm Sunday, March 24. With an audience of just under 50 from Burwash and Etchingham, Brian came on to the Stage at 3.00p.m. and for the next 90 Minutes we all listened, enthralled, as he took us through the age old story of over 2000 years ago.

We have all known the story all our lives, the journey of Jesus into Jerusalem on a Donkey on Palm Sunday, symbolising his coming as the Prince of Peace but Brian had very skilfully blended the words from all the Gospels into one continuous narrative describing the events leading up to and after the First Easter day.

All this Brian related in his own inimitable way, keeping the whole audience absolutely ‘spellbound’ as he read through his text with such, expression and meaning, his voice ranging from the very quiet to the very loud, so that the whole story was being retold in a unique and exciting way. There was complete silence throughout the ninety minutes, not a single interruption, but at the end, the applause showed just how much Brian’s Dramatic Reading had been appreciated. It had been a very moving presentation, and for me, having been to the Oberammergau Passion Play in 2010, stands alongside it as a very memorable afternoon. Thank you Brian.

Etchingham & Fontridge Cricket Club is a friendly team of mixed ability and ages, normally playing Sunday village cricket games, and occasionally on Wednesday evenings during the summer in small Twenty/20 competitions.

During the season they run weekly practice sessions in their own nets at the top of the Lambing Field, in the spring and summer every Wednesday from about 6.30pm till the light fades. If you are interested in getting involved, even if you can only commit to one or two games a season, the Club is keen to see the village Club continue and grow and therefore always need to increase the playing squad. You can find out more on line at www.etchinghamvillage.co.uk/village-organisations/etchingham-cricket-club or www.facebook.com/pages/Etchingham-Fontridge-Cricket-Club/119092951438048?fref=ts

The Bistro will be opening on Saturdays from March 30. Opening from 10am till 2pm for Saturday Brunch, in addition to the usual Bistro menu there will be a special dish each week, such as Smoked salmon and Scrambled Eggs with English Muffins, Kippers in Cider with Lighthouse Bread, Very Special Eggs and more.

From Saturday April 20 the Bistro will be open in the evening from 7pm. the menu will change regularly and feature “Saturday Evenings with a rota of your Favourite Chefs”, details of chefs will be announced nearer the date. No tickets are required on Saturday evenings, but is is always advisable to book a table as seating is limited. Guest Chef nights will be re-launched in the autumn.

Following the success of Mothers Day, the Bistro will be open for Brunch on Sunday March 31. Choose from Smoked salmon and scrambled Eggs to Roast Beef with all the trimmings, apple pie and custard or chocolate brownies and ice cream, plus a childrens menu. To keep up with Bistro news go to the website http://www.bistroatthestation.co.uk

On Saturday April 6 the Etchingham Shop & Deli will hold a Charity Duck Race. It will take place at 12 noon on the River Dudwell, starting on Oxenbridge lane and finishing at the rear of the shop, where a BBQ and refreshments will be served. The aim is to raise money for a village charity with each entrant purchasing a duck and nominating a charity, ie Darby & joan, Under 5’s, FES etc. The winning duck owner will reveive a giant Easter Egg, there will also be a prize for the best decorated children’s duck and the best decorated adults duck. The race is open to everyone, young and old, with all profits going to the winners nominated charity. Go to the Shop and buy your duck, take it home and decorate it and take it to the race. Shop Easter opening; Good Friday and Saturday, open as normal. Easter Sunday, 8am t0 1pm. Easter monday, closed.

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 colin.boylett@gmail.com