Fairlight village voice

IN church this Sunday, July 15… there will be Morning Prayer at St Andrew’s at 10.30 am, the service being led by Rev Frank Rowson, with a special inclusion to mark the ‘new year’ for St Leonards’ Rotarians, who have a new Chairman in John Easter.

In church last Sunday… it was ‘Sea Sunday’, the day when churches across the land remember the 1.2 million seafarers who are the oft unseen toilers who move some 95% of the goods we use and rely on every day, around the world. It was, therefore, highly appropriate that Ken Holmes, our Lay Reader, should take the Service at St Andrews as he is the church representative to ‘The Mission to Seafarers’.

Ken spoke about the difficulties seafarers face in leaving their families for months as a time, the loneliness, living in cramped conditions with very few possessions and sometimes putting their lives in danger sailing in very rough conditions. A retiring collection was held for The Mission to Seafarers who visit seafarers on their ships, offer telephone and internet facilities in the seafarers’ centre, respond to emergency calls for assistance, distribute bibles and other Christian literature and provide practical help & support to crews in some of the remotest parts of the world as well as working with industry and governments to ensure that the rights of seafarers are not forgotten.

This is a very worthy charity doing much good work for the well-being of those who might otherwise be forgotten and taken for granted.

There’s a Treasure Hunt tomorrow… Saturday, July 14, round Fairlight in which people of all ages will be able to take part. The starting point will be St Peter’s on Broadway at 2.30 pm. There will be prizes for those with the most correct answers, as well as refreshments back at the church. It is a fundraising venture for the church so there is an entry charge of £5.00 for adults, £7.50 for couples and children are free! This event is really a great fun way to support our local churches.

A lot of interest… was shown in the co-operative cultivation of 2.5 acres on the edge of Fairlight village when it was mooted earlier this year. Now organiser Joanna reports that, after the initial set-up period, the membership has settled down and there are a few membership places available. The enterprise already has a number of members from the village, and Joanna would like to get a few more.

Those participating are dedicated to growing vegetables, herbs and flowers organically, and the original group consisted of 20 members, each paying a £50 fee per annum. Each member contributes 50 hours a year of their time for planting, weeding and harvesting. The land is certified organic by the Soil Association, has a supply of water and is well cultivated.

If you are interested in joining this initiative as it is now - up and running - and would like more information, please either phone Joanna at 07976 845768 or email [email protected]

It’s the Gardening Club Show tomorrow… in the village hall, opening to the public at 2.30 pm. In the meantime, it is worth noting that, if you’ve been lavishing love on your Lady’s Mantle and forgotten to get your entry form in, then you have until 6 pm today, and the best way of ensuring you beat the cut-off is to get it to Carol Ardley at Mistral on the circle. For the vast majority of us, watchers rather than doers, get along tomorrow and see what can develop when you get down and dirty in a Fairlight garden.

Fairfest follow up… their great street party and exhausting but fun Barn Dance with preparations for their second actual Fairfest, the Music & Arts Festival which will all be happening on Sunday August 26 on Wood Field Recreation Ground.

When the Committee was puzzling over who best to invite to declare the proceedings ‘open’, they came up with idea of having a Fairlight King and / or Queen to do the job, to lead the band and parade up Commanders Walk and to open the Festival at 12 noon - and also to judge the children’s fancy dress competition.

Who, then, is equipped to undertake this task? The entry requirements state you will need a regal wave as you ride in your open carriage and be able to give a short speech of ‘Welcome’ to open the Festival. Crowns will be provided!

You can put yourself forward for one of these prestigious positions by completing an application form (available from the Post Office,) or you can nominate one or more friend, but it is important that you don’t forget to ask them first. You or they may have to audition for the part and the Committee’s decision is final. Of course, you do not have to have two people apply as a pair for both jobs – you could get one post and meet ‘the other half’ who you’ve never seen before! All applicants must be over 16 and live in Fairlight. Just fill in the form which is available at the Post Office and pop it in the box provided there. Or you could email Jennifer at [email protected]

Posters about this will be going up shortly, and they will join the posters advertising the Children’s Art Competition and the Photograph Competition, which are already on display. Prizes for the Art Competition are to be donated by the Art Club. Both the Art and Photograph Competitions will be judged at the Festival.

If you would like more details about any of the above please contact Jennifer Annetts 01424 812476

The property formerly known as Warren Farm… is being replaced by ‘Warrenders’, at the top of Commanders Walk. The new build was the subject of an excellent pubic presentation in the village hall some months ago, and now we learn that the new foundations are being completed this week, to be followed by a new drainage system. On July 23, the steel framework starts to go up and that should take a week. However, you will want to know that, on July 23, a crane and a large lorry laden with the steels will be arriving. While every care will be taken, you may wish to keep your car off the road, and you might like to alert anyone who is likely to visit you, that day. The crane will probably be leaving on Friday, July 27.

On the following Monday it is hoped to make a start on building the walls. There will be updates on progress. Given the wet weather, the horrible barn has been very useful in keeping stores dry so it will probably be some time before it can be demolished. The owners, Jacqui Lait and Peter Jones, have been first rate communicators about what they are doing, and they hope the building work hasn’t caused you too much inconvenience. Feel free to come and talk to them or phone 07770 611 820 if you would like any further information.

PCSO’s on the move… you may already have heard that Sharon Aldridge, our PCSO, has accepted a job in Hastings. Presently, recruitment to the police service is very limited, and with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, ongoing Diamond Jubilee events and the government conference in Brighton in October all needing police resources, the new recruits will not be trained until the autumn. So Richard Perchard will be responsible for Marsham Ward until about the end of the year, when we should be getting a brand new PCSO.

There is a write up on Richard, who comes here from duties in Westfield but who was in Fairlight prior to Sharon’s arrival, on the Sussex police website (together with what he claims is a not too flattering picture!). Richard’s email is [email protected], and his phone number is: 101 Ext. 66262; Mobile: 0779 633 6862; Twitter: @Rye_Police

He was in the village on Monday this week, and he usually uses a marked police Land Rover so if it is seen (possibly in the village hall car park) you can be sure he’s about somewhere.

Don’t ring us… Parish Council Chairman Andrew Mier has reported ‘a defective and filthy public payphone.’ It’s the one at the corner of Waites Lane and Battery Hill, and as Andrew says ‘the phone is broken and the whole box is filthy and encrusted with fly excrement. It has clearly not been visited by either an engineer or a cleaner for a very, very long time.’ In the days when many have mobile phones, some of which work in our village, there are still lots of people who don’t have them, and a phone box can be handy when your mobile is down the sofa again. It would be even handier if you could talk to someone when you got there, and without risking catching some debilitating disease.

Nearly there now… the Floral Club’s rather special Flower Festival, entitled Tempus Fugit, (or even Time Flies for the non-classicists!), will be with us next Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22, from 10 am to 4 pm in the village hall each day. Those who have been to previous Fairlight flower festivals will know they will see many displays to admire, and that a high proportion will be absolutely stunning. Don’t take my word for it; just make sure you have a put a mark in your diary that will get you to the hall for a satisfying viewing. Admission is by programme, available on the door for a mere £2.

Fairlight News… Next week I shall have confirmation of just who will be taking up the reins of the ever popular Fairlight News, as the management of the mag. evolves from an extremely taxing one man show into a team effort.

KEITH POLLARD

Brookfield

Broadway