Fairlight

On Sunday, May 6, there will be a service of Family Worship at St Andrew’s at 10.30 am. Later on Sunday, at 6 pm, there is to be Holy Communion at St Peter’s. At Pett Methodist Chapel this Sunday, the 10.45 am worship will be led by preacher Mrs Jennifer Winnington.

Did you make a note about the Ascension Day service at St Peter’s next Thursday, May 10? It will start at 10.30 am, and not 7.30 pm as previously understood.

Christian Aid, always a popular event in the village, opens as usual with Coffee Morning in St Peter’s, which will run from 10 am until 12 noon on Saturday, May 12. This is in parallel with the Playgroup’s event, next door in the village hall.

MOPPs today and next Friday: Today, Friday, May 4, Sharon Sellens will be the guest, though not as a singer as she was last month, but speaking on the subject of Dementia Friends. Nicola will be along today as well, with her Age UK toenail cutting service. JJ Fashions will be here, too. Today’s lunch will be sausages and mash, followed by meringue nests with fruit and cream.

Next Friday, May 11, Barry Cooper will be along with a short talk giving some benefits advice. Lunch will be beef and mushroom pie, followed by peach cake.

Bank Holiday Walking for Health: The Health Walk that will be leaving the village hall at 10.30 am on Monday, May 7 is the third walk of 2018 to fall on a Bank Holiday. Sure to do you good, then!

The Parish Council: The first session that included both the Agenda Item 3 opportunity for the pubic to comment on up-coming agenda items as well as a general Open Forum after the meeting proper is closed worked very well, with neither fragment taking overlong, and speakers controlled and disciplined. This was an encouraging start to the experimental run. For the rest of the meeting, the Council worked smoothly in putting a substantial amount of flesh on the bare bones of the agenda.

Early on, District Cllr Carl Maynard reported the estimated cost of repairing Sussex’ potholes was £400M, while there has been a ring-fenced allocation of £1.17M to this need. As this is less than 0.3 per cent of the total damage, things are not about to get much better. A little late, as the appellants were unaware of the usual timescale, was a request for financial help from Collette Slack on behalf of the charity Riding for the Disabled, which has been operating to great effect at Fairlight Hall for the past three years. Currently there are 25 volunteers working with 50 clients, and the PC was delighted to support the enterprise with a grant of £250. The PC will investigate what professional or other assistance, and at what cost, could be available to them when considering the proposed Wakehams Farm development, and to take such advice if it is appropriate. With regard to the Hastings Country Park Visitor Centre, there was a proposal from Rachel Ellis, who works for the prime movers on this project, Groundwork, to have a drop-in session in the village hall. Unfortunately, this was held on Wednesday of this week, and so the notification was too late to get into the paper. In any case, we have been kept up to date excellently by Haydon Luke, the Council’s representative on the project.

A diary note says that there will be a Wakehams Farm development exhibition in the village hall on Wednesday, May 16. Further details will be shared when they become available. While this can be seen as a means of disseminating information, it will also allow those behind the potential development to assess any possible objections and complaints from residents, and to adjust their plans so as to obviate confrontation.

A library in the village: An agenda item entitled ESCC Libraries Strategic Commissioning Strategy (sic) reported that this was progressing well. It is understood that Fairlight’s interests proceed under the aegis of John Sinclair and Wendy Hatch, and that the chances of a satisfactory outcome for the village – that used to attract 40 to 50 attendees at each Mobile Library visit – are looking favourable. Far more details will be added next week.

The Residents Association AGM: Do give a thought to attending the FRA AGM, which will be on Wednesday next, May 9 at 7.30 pm in the village hall. After the business end of the evening, guest speaker Michael Plumbe will be telling of ‘the little bits of Hastings you see but never notice’.

Another of the Playgroup’s renowned Jumble Sales: The donations will be accepted for the second week running next week, on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, May 8, 9 and 10, though not on Monday next, which is a Bank Holiday. They cannot accept any electrical items or child car seats, or video cassettes. If you have large items, they can tell you who, how and when they may well be able to collect them. When you can then buy them is between 10 am and 12.30 pm on Saturday, May 12 in the village hall.

The Art Club’s annual exhibition: Always heavily subscribed, the Art Club’s popular annual exhibition is coming up on Saturday, May 19 from 6 to 9 pm, and tickets for the evening ‘do’ are £4 each in advance from either the Post Office or from Carol on 814178, or £5 on the door. There’ll be cheese and wine available that evening. The exhibition will still be there on the Sunday, too, from 10.30 am until 4 pm, with free admission and with refreshments served throughout the day.

Open Green: On Saturday, May 12 from 2.30 pm, the bowls club green will be open to all-comers, be they novices or experts, all they need is an interest in bowls, and a desire to play. It’s all free, and refreshments will be provided free, too.

Plant Sale for charity: There’s a plant sale coming up on Sunday, May 13 from 11 am until 2 pm, with proceeds going to the Cinnamon Trust, a national charity for the elderly, the terminally ill and their pets, and the Hastings and Rother Disability Forum, which promotes the right of disabled people to engage in and be consulted on matters which affect them. The sale is at 65 Battery Hill. The last similar event was a great success, so we must help the organisers repeat their achievement.

Gardening Club change of programme: The proposed visit to Butler’s Farmhouse, which was to have taken place on Monday next, has been postponed until Monday, August 6. And in its place next Monday will be a talk, in the village hall at 2.30 pm, by Stephen and Helene of Stonelynk Organics explaining how to ‘organise an organic growing area’. With this talk Stephen and Helene will be introducing themselves to Fairlight. Tea and coffee will be available, and non-members are welcome on payment of £2.

Open Gardens weekend: This year’s biennial event is only five weeks away, and anyone hoping to demonstrate quality dry beds may have their work cut out and swamped. This time round, the beneficiaries are to be MOPPs, much lauded and appreciated in the village and surrounding area. Make a note now to see what fellow residents have achieved in their gardens, each one a remarkable feat of clay.