Fairlight

Keith Pollard, Brookfield, Broadway

Just the one service this week, Sunday, August 25… and that will be Morning Praise at St Andrew’s at 10.30 am.

Wednesday Church meetings are continuing… Those Wednesday meetings at St Peter’s, under the banner of ‘Exploring the Christian Faith’, have two more weeks to go. But if the numbers continue to rise, as they have recently, and demand remains high, there could be a re-think leading to the series being extended. If you happen to be of those who has been considering attendance, do give it a try. It’s at St Peter’s, as I said, from 7.30 to 9 pm. If you would like a little more detail before committing yourself, give our very approachable Rector, Rev Richard Barron, a call on 812799, or email him at [email protected].

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A follow-up… to our earlier note regarding the Parochial Church Council’s stated aim that they would like to replace St Peter’s Church in five to ten years time, as the existing building is approaching the end of its useful, or usable, life. All the PCC would like to know is whether there is anyone ‘out there’ whose life experiences include the sorts of activity that would make any input to the re-building team and its project invaluable. If you possess such expertise, please do make contact with Rev Richard Barron, still on 812799, or one of the churchwardens, who can be reached on 812913. You need not be an avid churchgoer, but a spark of community spirit would be helpful.

Pett Level Rescue Boat Open Day… is this Sunday, August 25 from 12 noon to 4.30 pm. Get along there and give them your support and your spare cash. After all, if you ever find yourself in difficulties on the water, you can be sure they would give you their support. Their second major fund-raising project, which aims to refurbish their old boat-house, following their amazing achievement in building a brand new boat-house, is right on course, and any extra pennies (or silver or notes) you cab spare would not come amiss at this Open Day. The Boat House is just along from and slightly behind the Smugglers pub at Pett Level

Hypnotised…? Possibly, by the incessant showing of Celebrity Masterchef, which was on but not being seriously watched, while I typed last week’s Voice. And this is what led me, in a Freudian slip, to say that this week would see the Players read and cast ‘Recipe for Murder’. Sorry, but that is just wishful thinking, as Norman Robbins’ play is actually entitled ‘Prescription for Murder’. Anyway, by now, the process and the cast may be complete, and we shall be able to tell you about it next week. If you didn’t make it to the auditions, but would still like to be associated with the Players in some capacity, please give Secretary Carol Ardley a call on 814178. You can be sure of a warm welcome. Rehearsals are in the village hall at 7.30 pm on Mondays and Thursdays. New faces are always especially welcome, but this doesn’t mean you have to rush out and have plastic surgery…

Last call for the August meeting of the Fairlight branch of the Trefoil Guild… coming up on Wednesday next, August 28 from 10 am to 12 noon at St Peter’s Church. New members would be more than welcome and, if you missed the detailed outline of the day’s planned activities, which appeared in our Village Voice last week, please give Chairman Betty Snow a call on 812694. You do not need to have been in the Guide Movement to become a member of the Trefoil Guild.

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Roll up, roll up… to this month’s meeting of the Parish Council, which will be in the village hall on Tuesday next, August 27 at 7.15 pm. It really can be both instructive and interesting to watch the machinery at work, and we should remember and be grateful that all our Councillors are genuinely engaged in doing their best, voluntarily and for gratis, for the good of the community. And at the end of each meeting, there is an Open Forum, when members of the public can have their say (at the discretion of the Chairman), a much appreciated facility for those who have been obliged to bite their tongues for ninety minutes.

Hello Kitty… would anyone like to give one or two kittens a loving home? A message from Lyn Cooke asks for your help, as she has Jane, a beautiful year old cat who was probably abandoned and then brought Lyn her three kittens to feed and care for. They are beautiful - two black males and one tortoise-shell female. Mum Jane is incredibly ‘purry’, affectionate and chatty. The kittens are adorable and desperately need love and a home. Please call Lyn on 01424 815203 or 07802 280828.

Water, water everywhere… There has been another water main burst at the junction of Battery Hill and Waites Lane. Clancy Docwra have been highly active in putting it right, but on Monday were nowhere to be seen, although the hole and fencing were still in place. Perhaps they’ll just leave the hole open for the next one, to save time and excavations?

And there was also another burst in Lower Waites Lane, which seems to have taken most of the night to repair. Perhaps they could open up all Lower Waites Lane against the next burst…

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A couple of attractive outings coming up… Christine, of Fairlight Outings, is organising two further outings. On Saturday, November 16, she is planning a visit to ‘A Dickensian Christmas’ at Blenheim Palace and the ‘Living Crafts for Christmas’ Craft Fair, at Woodstock in Oxfordshire.

Negotiations are currently ongoing with the ‘Woodstock Arms’, which is close to Blenheim Palace, for an optional two course meal. Details about this will follow.

Entrance fee to Blenheim Palace, including the Craft Fair, is £12 per person plus the cost of the coach. Obviously, the optional meal will be extra.

And after Christmas and the New Year, on Saturday, January 25, 2014, there’s a trip to the Robin Cousins’ Ice Show at the Brighton Centre, 4 pm performance. The prices for top seats are £26.50 for adults and £16.25 for children. In both cases, of course, it’s plus coach.

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If you could be a contender, please contact Christine Jones on 813538 or by email to [email protected]

The Fairfest team… are organising a Las Vegas night at the village hall in October. No monies will be involved, only tokens. The person accumulating the most tokens by the end of the night will receive a prize. However, Fairfest needs some help, and would like volunteers with croupier skills to train and advise the committee on the rules and skills of the games – Craps, Blackjack, Roulette and Poker. If you are such a person, please call Terry on 812144. I’d like to help, but will wait for a Nevada Night…

Cold Calling in the Hot Weather… Jehovah’s Witnesses have been in the village recently going from door-to-door, but unless they are selling goods or services this is not ‘cold calling’ and is perfectly lawful. However, you are not obliged to engage in conversation with a doorstep caller unless you wish to. Interestingly, political canvassing is not cold calling either. Every reputable caller will carry identification which can be verified by a phone call. Don’t be afraid to ask to see it.

Of course, if any caller acts suspiciously or in an oppressive or threatening manner you should call the police on 101 or even 999 if appropriate. It seems unlikely that anyone has ever heard of a Jehovah’s Witness or political canvasser acting in that way (apart from John Prescott!).

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News from MOPPs for this week and next… Today, lunch will be quiche, salad and cheesy mash with steamed pudding and custard to follow. For the entertainment, there will be natural history slides with Felicity. By next Friday, August 30, the members will be ready for Cottage Pie, followed by banana & custard. That day there will be produce stalls, too

A friendly Cove… has Phil Traynor, the very popular Irish singer, at 7.30 pm tomorrow, Saturday 24, with the latest in their ever-popular series of Acoustic Nights at 7.30 pm next Wednesday, August 28. Just follow their instructions for a great evening’s entertainment - take your voice, an instrument or just go along and listen.

It’s the silly season in newspapers everywhere, and indeed there is not the usual amount of activity in the village just at the moment – apart from the normal bonfires and speeding cars – although the Fairlight Air Show last Saturday afternoon did feature an unannounced visit by the Red Arrows, which made quite a change from the usual diet of small planes at 500 feet, the odd menacingly hovering helicopter, and sundry returnees from exotic lands, going over at 30,000 feet. Even the potholes are quiescent, unless your tyres and suspension happen to thump into them unwittingly. Not for us a series of photos and column inches about the allegedly famous, but more likely infuriatingly fatuous, like Pippa Middleton and Simon Cowell. Damn – now I’ve mentioned them! Hoist with my own petard!