Fairlight

Two services this week, Sunday, October 13… one at each end of the village. You’ll need to be up nice and early for the 8 am service of Holy Communion at St Peter’so, which is followed by Morning Praise at St Andrew’s at 10.30 am.

And ‘our’ Methodist Church… which is, of course, in Pett, this Sunday morning will be hosting a visit from the London City Mission. Harish Patel and a team from the mission will be at various churches over a couple of days and Harish will be leading the Pett morning worship at 10.45 am. All are most welcome.

Let there be light…? The members of St Andrew’s Church are considering the possibility of lighting up the church tower so that it can be seen to greater advantage from the surrounding area. So that you may have a chance to see what this lumière will look like (there is no ‘son’), there is to be a lighting demonstration on Thursday 17th October. All residents are invited to view the demonstration and will be encouraged to give their comments and ideas afterwards. Many will wonder about light pollution, though I believe this has been considered in the design. Meet at the church at 7 pm when refreshments will be available. Parking is available at the church or in the field diagonally opposite the church entrance.

The Players’ Murder Mystery… is tomorrow, and it’s been a sell-out for the best part of the last week. If you have your tickets already, please remember that the show is billed at 7 for 7.30 pm start. Among the cast of eight are three newcomers to a Players’ stage – Tom Edie, April Kitney and David Shortman (though David was a voice-off in our 2011 Summer production)

And talking of murder, the Players hope to have tickets for their November production on sale at the Post Office this weekend, and can guarantee that they are not yet sold out! For Norman Robbin’s thriller - Prescription for Murder, directed by Roland Garrad, seats will again be £6, and, as ever, the Post Office will have the tickets and seating plans. As is normal for a Players’ production, they are delighted to introduce newcomers in a main Fairlight production – Emily Belfield , Pauleen McLaughlin and April Kitney (whose first outing is actually in the Murder Mystery tomorrow) plus the overdue and more than welcome return of Greg Slaughter. The run of the show is from Thursday 7 to Saturday 9 November at 7.30 pm each evening, with a 2.30 pm matinee on the Saturday.

Fancy some good singing…? Then go and listen to the Village Choir at Pett Village Church this coming Sunday afternoon at 3.30 pm. Their afternoon concert is in aid of Farm Africa, and promises to be well worthy of your time and attention.

The Literary Society… has had the first in the season’s series of fortnightly engagements, but the next is on Wednesday week, October 23 in the village hall at 2.30 pm. On this occasion, the speaker will be Kevin Gordon, and his subject The History of the Houses of Parliament. New Members are always welcome. While non-members may attend meetings for a humble £2, the Society’s annual subscription is only £7 – what a bargain! If there’s anything you’d like to ask, call either 814037 or 812563

Bowls Club Bridge… is now running once again in the village hall, fortnightly on Fridays. Whoops! I missed the first one in the series, which was last Friday, October 4, but I’m telling you now that the next session will be on the October 18, and then November 1 and 15 and – I’ll remind you of all further engagements as we get a bit nearer.

Head scratching again… No, not so much the nit season (although of course, it is) but quizzes are in the air. Indeed, the Residents’ Association’s Quiz is coming up tomorrow week, Saturday, October 19 in the village hall at 7 for 7.30 pm start. It will cost you £6 per ticket, which includes food, and they recommend teams of six, so get ringing round… Take your own drink and glasses, and please let them know you’re going by Wednesday, October 16 to give the caterers a fighting chance! Tickets are available at the Post Office, or from any Committee member – that’s Joyce Grant, Trevor Lewing, Lyn Mosley, Mary Stewart, Sally Watson, Barry Prime, Ken and Joan Hall.

Seeded players… Members of the Gardening Club are reminded that the seed catalogue is at the garden club hut until the end of October. Last orders will be taken on Saturday, October 26 when the hut closes for the three winter months. You are able to get all your top quality King’s seeds at wholesale prices, be they for flowers or vegetables. You know the drill (!) - just call in at the hut between 10 am and noon.

Today at MOPPs,… You can enjoy your ham, egg & chips followed by spotted dick, as well as the visit from our M.P. Amber Rudd. Next week, on October 18, Celia King will be along offering some chair-based exercises. As I write, I’m not sure what the kitchen will be offering that day

Next Tuesday at the Tuesday Ladies Club… on October 15 at 2.15 pm in the village hall, the guests will be from Edinburgh Woollen Mills, who will be able to point those attending towards some warm clothing in which to wrap up for the winter. And as far as I’m concerned, that starts in just over a fortnight when British Summer Time comes to an end (with the clocks going back on Sunday, October 27 Tuesday)

Schools out… on the street, where multitudinous cars of those at work at the Hastings Academy have been obliged to park on the A259. With the build apparently complete, the site landscaping is taking its time. They could have built an Olympic stadium and dressed it all around in less than the two and a half years they have taken so far. I have always been comforted by the thought that the proper top dressing of the dreaded 259 would probably happen when all on site was complete. However, the architects’ plans seem to show an allotment of 60 parking spaces in the grounds, and that’s to cater for the 106 people who currently wish to park. Of course, that’s not allowing for a higher intake equalling more staff, equalling more parking. Who agrees and passes these ill-founded ideas?

Bin there, seen it, not done it… There are three principal rubbish bins on Waites Lane, one near the Battery Hill junction, one near Knowle Road corner, and then one near Meadow Way. The first and third of these have been overflowing for some time, so much so that our Council Chairman, Andrew Mier, felt the matter should be reported to the relevant authorities, who gave him a courteous phoned reply. As yet, not too much has happened to redress the situation. I believe this is because the job has been sub-contracted to the Ancient Mariner, and it is well-known that he only un-stoppeth one of three.