Fairlight

It's always the same when the clocks go back: '˜I'm tired!' '˜Well, it's really twenty to twelve, you know.' And '˜It's very bright this morning, isn't it?' '˜Not for half past eight '“ that's the real time.' Never mind '“ give it five months and we'll all be doing it all again, just the other way round'¦
Fairlight newsFairlight news
Fairlight news

Church Matters: There’s worship in the parish this Sunday, November 6, with Family Worship at 10.30 am at St Andrew’s. This is the service to which you should be taking your filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Yes, the clocks are back, so the Informal Communion at St Peter’s will be starting at the ‘winter’ time of 4 pm.

Shoebox Appeal: The note for St Andrew’s, above, mentions those filled shoeboxes being due in this Sunday, but if you don’t want to go down that path, but would still like to support the principle, you can make a donation to the Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Appeal, and you can do your giving either online or by contacting the Church Treasurer, John Relfe, on 272012. Incidentally, a minimum £3 donation per shoebox is essential to cover UK transportation and overseas shipping. Full details of all this can be found at www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Today at MOPPs, and next week, too: Today, Friday, November 4, there will be the popular Celia King with her chair-based exercises. Also in the hall today will be Nicola’s Age UK toe-nail cutting service, and on top of that there’s a star prize for the raffle. Lunch today is fish and chips, followed by cheesecake. Next week, on Friday, November 11, the entertainment will be by the excellent Regency Singers, and the usual Friday slap-up lunch will consist of roast lamb, and then Pavlova for afters.

Get your ticket at the station?: No, no, that’s for the Rock Island Line! Get these tickets, for the Players’ production of The Ghost Train, from the Post Office. There should be some available for each of the four performances next week when the play runs – from Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 November, at 7.30 pm each evening, with the added attraction of a 2.30 pm Saturday matinee now the clocks have gone back. The dozy, aged Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army was the author of The Ghost Train when only a young man of 27, and the play has been entertaining folk in their thousands ever since. This production is the second directorial stint in the village for David Birchell, and the cast includes a couple of newcomers to Fairlight. Tickets are only £6 each, so grab yours now. A bargain, when you consider that the three miles from Hastings to Ore on a real, though sadly not steam, train will cost you £2.60 single for a single.

The race is not to the swift: So don’t rush, just amble down to the village hall for tonight’s 7.30 pm Race Night, being run by The Club, formerly very well-known as Activate to raise some funds.

Of course, for catering purposes, you should have secured your ticket ages ago now, and if you’ve left it this late, I’m not sure what your chances are. Still, as the Bible goes on to say ‘Time and chance happeneth’, so give it a go. Tickets are £5, and Wendy is the person to deal with. She’s on 812297.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Parish Council meetings: There’s an imbalance in the scheduling of Parish Council meetings, occasioned by the postponement of October’s meeting because of the hall floor renovation, and so there are to be two meetings in three weeks, one already gone on Tuesday last, and the next on November 22, followed by the December break and a total of nine weeks until the New Year meeting on January 24.

Keeping your hand in: The Bowls Club’s next Whist Drive in the usually fortnightly winter series will not be with us until Friday, November 29, after a long No Deal month. Devotees will just have to grin and bear it, possibly with a bit of Patience.

Speakers Corner: Speakers Corner were forced to take a break when the hall floor received some much needed attention, losing a visit from Ken Brooks, but they return to the norm on Wednesday next, November 9, when they will welcome Wilf Lower, who will be telling of the last days of Music Hall and Variety. As usual, visitors are welcome to attend on payment of a highly reasonable £2 fee.

Fuchsia perfect: For their November meeting, on Monday 7 next week, the Gardening Club will be welcoming Fairlight Hall Head Gardener Whitney Hedges, on a reciprocal visit as it was only last month that the Club found itself down at the Hall for a fascinating afternoon. Next week Whitney’s subject will be fuchsias, in the village hall at 2.30 pm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A Sussex Small Animal Safari: Have you an hour ton spare on an interesting topic tomorrow morning? On behalf of the Friends of Hastings Country Park, Laurie Jackson will be giving an illustrated talk under the title at the head of this item. It will cover keeping track of shrfews, mice and voles, and will be at All Saints Church Hall, All Saints Street, Old Town Hastings from 10.30 to 11.30 am. The cost is £2, but is free to members of the Friends. If you’d like more details, please contact Jill Howell on 812526.

Preserve this in your diary: The date has been announced for the AGM of the Fairlight Preservation Trust, which will be on Saturday, November 26, in the village hall at 2.30 pm when there will much good to report and to celebrate, following what will, by then, be the completion of the Stage III berm. This has been delayed as there was a shortfall in the amount of rock estimated to be necessary for its completion, but a large quantity is being delivered to an ongoing project in Hastings, and two smaller barge loads will be transhipped to Fairlight. As long as they don’t have ‘Hastings’ running through them, or three or four licks and they’ll be gone!

The Trust will be amending its Constitution at the AGM, and members are reminded to take their membership cards with them in case it is necessary to take a vote on any resolution or general matter. Some members will find it difficult to locate their cards. Non-members are welcome to attend the meeting but may not, of course, vote. Any matters or items members wish to raise under Any Other Business should be notified to the Secretary, Paul Draper, in writing by Tuesday, November 22.

At the conclusion of the AGM there will be a celebration to mark the completion of Stage III. Light refreshments will be served, so it might be advisable to walk to the meeting. Members who made donations to the Trust and thereby contributed to the raising of the Partnership Funding, utilised to meet the cost of the berm, are particularly invited to attend.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage at www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/

2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RyeandBattleObserver

3) Follow us on Twitter @RyeObs

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

The Rye and Battle Observer - always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.