Fairlight

MOPPs today: Today, Friday, February 1, Richard Ostle, from Solicitors Gaby Hardwicke, will be the guest speaker. Richard will be followed by turkey, chicken and bacon pie, with meringues and fruit and cream for afters.

The Gardening Club: Next Monday, February sees the first meeting of the year for the Fairlight Gardening Club and it starts off with their Annual General Meeting at 2.30 p.m. in the village hall.

After the official business, members will be able to renew their membership and collect their new schedules for 2019. Two outings have been scheduled for this year plus a variety of interesting speakers. Following the suggestion of one of their members, the Club will be trialling a Member’s Evening later in the year with an opportunity to compare produce/share slides/discuss garden problems and so on. New members will be very welcome and at a cost of a mere £6 per household this is truly a bargain! As at previous AGMs, please take along a contribution for the ‘bring and share’ buffet and you’ll be able to enjoy some nibbles and a chat whilst watching slides from last year’s Summer Show. Issy Horsley and a member of her team will also be carrying out a demonstration of the defibrillator just in case any of you gardeners out there overdo it!!!”

The Parish Council: For their first meeting of 2019, the Parish Council met last Tuesday week. It was pointed out that there is still a casual vacancy caused by the sad and sudden death of Cllr Nick Jones, and that this could be filled by the co-option of a volunteer, who would then be up for election in May this year. Cllr Andrew Mier, currently Vice-Chairman of the Council, indicated his intention not to stand for election in May. A considerable amount of fairly low-key business was dealt with, and the most interesting item of news concerned the mooted community clubhouse to be situated on Wood Field. A considerable amount of feedback has been generated on the subject, all’ I believe, being fully supportive of this excellent idea.

As has become the new norm, the public participation in Agenda Item 3 and during the Open Forum has been stimulatingly involved, with much of the interest still concerned with the possibility of 150 new properties on East Field.

The Bling Crosbies are coming: Worth mentioning again is the forthcoming evening of a full three course meal with entertainment by the Bling Crosbies, a local duo with an excellent reputation. This event, in the village hall on Saturday, February 23, starting at 7.30 pm, is being organised by Keith Thompson-Smith for the FRA If you would like more details, please call Keith on 250111. Until they’re all sold out, tickets are available from the Post Office and General Stores priced at £15 each.

The Pantomime Group: Director Wendy Hatch and the entire company are to be congratulated on delivering a real winter warmer of fun and some corny jokes with this year’s Rumplestiltskin. The show was highly rated and much enjoyed by those who saw it. The next item on the Pantomime Group agenda is their AGM, which will be here a little later this month, in fact on Friday, February 22 at 7.30 pm in the village hall. A comprehensive review will appear in the March edition of Fairlight News.

Healthy walks: The latest healthy walk will take place on Monday next, February 4, leaving the village hall at 10.30 am, with Cas and Ian Barlow.

Not such a funny smell: There’s a smell in the village and it’s funny. By which we mean funny peculiar, rather than ha-ha, but it’s not really peculiar at all, as it is unpleasantly obvious what it is, though it isn’t known where its coming from. It strikes intermittently where Smugglers Way runs into Lower Waites Lane, and is something that should be sorted by Southern Water. But don’t hold your breath. Oops – on second thoughts…!

The dumping of rubbish: Does anyone know who is dumping carrier bags of rubbish in or near litter bins in Fairlight? This has happened a number of times at the bus shelters opposite the hairdressers and estate agents and also near the junction of Waites Lane and Battery Hill.

If someone has a problem with refuse collection they should contact Rother or one of our district councillors. Refuse collection is a Rother District Council matter. Contact details for Rother Councillors and, indeed, County and Parish Councillors, are available on the village website – https://www.fairlight.org.uk

One might have thought that it takes more effort to get rid of any excess rubbish you may have in this manner, rather than to do it properly.