Fairlight

The next Midweek Meeting is Wednesday, September 30. This will be the third in this new series of fortnightly meetings. Do please remember to book with Kath if you would like a meal. Any payment for the meal is voluntary and can be put in the basket by the door. Around £2 is sufficient to cover costs.

Harvest Festival at St Andrew’s is on Sunday week, October 4 at 10.30 am. The theme is Thanking God, and you are invited to bring fruit, vegetables, tinned food and packets which will be distributed locally. There will be a voluntary retiring offering for the Diocesan Harvest Appeal. As we are all aware, there are food shortages in East and West Africa and this Appeal focuses on going some way to redressing the appalling situation for many out there, especially women and children.

And a diary note for Saturday, October 17, when St Andrew’s Autumn Fair will b held in the village hall from 11 am to 3 pm. Lunches will be available from 12 noon, while there are to be stalls, tombola, games, a mini-auction and a raffle throughout the event. All proceeds from the Fair are going to support St Andrew’s Church.

MOPPs: Today, Friday, September 25, Celia King will be presenting her popular chair-based exercises, and it’s time once more for the free toe-nail cutting service. Lunch today will be sausage and mash followed by fruit crumble. Next Friday, October 2, the group will be entertained by the Regency Singers, and there is also a star prize for the raffle. The favourite foods on offer that day are roast chicken followed by trifle.

They’re tonight, so don’t miss ‘em: That’s the Panto Auditions, in the village hall at 7 pm fairly sharp. They’re taking place in readiness for next January’s production, which will be Beauty and the Beast, directed by Jennifer Annetts. So, make up your mind which side you’re on and get along and show them what you are capable of. The show runs at the end of January 2016, and rehearsals do not start yet awhile. If you are keen to be in it, but find next Friday impossible to attend, have a word with Jennifer on 812476, or email her at [email protected]. Newcomers will be made welcome, and do offer your services if you’d like to be involved, but don’t fancy actually getting up there on the stage.

Harvest Festival Celebration: This Saturday, September 26, there’s a Harvest Festival celebration event at the Cove and lasting, by the look of it, just about all day. There’s a fun dog show, Morris dancers, sumo wrestling, face painting (for the children), a yard of ale and, in fact, there will probably be something to suit everybody’s tastes. Get on down and join in the fun!

Saturday night at the movies: Who cares what picture you see? The Fairlight Players, that’s who! And they will be screening Mamma Mia, the singalong film version of the musical based round Abba songs, on Saturday, October 10, with the village hall doors open at 7 pm. Tickets, which are £7 each, are available now from the Post Office, though if you are unable to get there, you can give Carol a call on 814178 to make your reservation. Your ticket also gets you ‘selected cinema snacks’, and access to the raffle and the licensed bar. This is currently a very popular style of entertainment, possibly as originated by the Ovaltineys with the light bouncing along the words. (Ask your grandma!) Get a ticket, get gargling, and then get singing along.

Bowls Club: After a wet and windy week the weather became pleasant for the last game of the season, between the President’s and the Chairman’s teams. Five triple teams enjoyed the sun on the green competing against each other in support of either the President or Chairman, and after eighteen ends were completed, the President’s team ran out winners by eleven shots.

Last Sunday, an extra ‘social’ game was held, which was sponsored by Just Property, for which the club sends grateful thanks to Charles Perez. The winner of the trophy and fifty pound prize was Roy Flatman, with the runner up, Colin Yellop, receiving a twenty pounds prize. An enjoyable day to bring the season to an end!

The green is now closed for Autumn renovation which started on Monday last, consisting of three days of much hard work with scarification, hollow tining, new seed distribution and the application of seven tons of top dressing. So, is that it from the Bowls Club until next April? Not at all, for they now start their winter series of (usually) fortnightly whist drives on Friday, October 9. They’re all in the village hall on Fridays, commencing at 7 pm sharp, so arrive between 6.30 and 6.50 pm. Each evening wll cost you £4 to participate. a reminder will be sent out nearer the time .

A poster will be displayed within the bus shelters for each date of each whist drive.

Saving Corfu Donkeys: As mentioned earlier, those deserving donkeys in Corfu will be getting some much needed help – but only if you go to the village hall tomorrow, Saturday September 26 and support the table sale that has been organised by Joyce Grant and her daughter Dawn. The fun starts at 1.30 pm, and it’ll cost you a mere 50p to get in!

Harold Road Surgery: Of the several GP practices serving our residents, Harold Road Surgery is the one that is actually ‘twinned’ with Fairlight, running surgeries at 12 noon in the village hall on Mondays and Thursdays. Here’s a reminder of their annual flu immunisation for and within the village. It will operate on three Thursdays in October – the 1st, 15th and the 29th, from 10 to 11 am on each occasion. The doctors’ advisory note cites 12 categories of patient who are particularly advised to avail themselves of a jab, but the catch-many if not all is those who are over 65.

First Responders: Next Saturday, October 3, it’s the time for our First Responders to hold their Coffee Morning in the village hall, from 10 am to 12 noon. These trained volunteers are rostered on standby, ready to respond speedily to medical emergencies in the village, and likely to be able to reach someone in trouble before the regular ambulance and paramedics can get here, just when a couple of minutes matter most. You cannot call them – they are notified automatically when an ambulance is called for on those medical aspects for which they have been trained. This is the ultimate belt and braces insurance you may need in an emergency. We have two responders at present, and should soon have two more, so support for this facility is vital. You will also be able to refresh your memory when it comes to dealing with someone choking, or if you need to use the public defibrillator on someone. Please give them your support tomorrow week.

Fairlight’s Macmillan Coffee Morning: Morning organiser Sue Clarke reports that, despite the absence of several generous regulars who were either on holiday or otherwise unable to attend, last Saturday’s event has so far totalled £839. Further small amounts are continuing to come in, and Sue comments that Fairlight residents can be proud of their support for this excellent service. For our part, in an age where so many have had the benefit of Macmillan support, be it personal, or for a relative, friend, neighbour or acquaintance, we can all thank Sue, Karen and all the helpers and bakers for their hard work leading up to Saturday last.

Rosemary Lane closure: Rosemary Lane will be closed for three days on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, October 7, 8 and 9, which is the week after next. The daily closure each day will be from 9.30 am until 3.30 pm. A diversion using Battery Hill and Peter James Lane will be in place

Battery Hill: It looks, above, as if they will be working on Rosemary Lane next week. But what about Waites Lane and, even worse, the top, shady, south side of Battery Hill? Driving that bit gives you the same feeling a skier must get at the moment he knows he’s lost it, and has no control over what happens next. If this isn’t done before the winter sets in, Battery Hill will become even more dire than it is now, and that’s saying something.

Bus stops: Smart new poles have gone up in the village, each of them claiming to be a Bus Stop. What a pity, then, that, subject to the current complaints and their answers and resolutions, the powers that be should spoil the new stops with complete works of fiction, entitled Bus Timetables.

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