Fairlight village voice

Fairlight News Editor Richard Pollard says he has received fewer entries than usual for the June issue of the News. But as the ultimate deadline is 10 am this morning, if it’s not with him already, you’ve probably blown your chance…!

Don’t forget it’s the Fairlight Residents’ Association AGM next Wednesday, May 16, in the village hall at 7 for 7.30 pm. There’ll be a free glass of wine awaiting you, and a display of the Association’s archive material about Fairlight. And you’ll have a chance to meet (and vote for) your committee and express your views on Village & Association matters.

Next week is Christian Aid Week… and last year the village gave the occasion massive support. Let’s hope we are even more generous this year and, to that end, you should go along to St Peter’s tomorrow, Saturday, May 12, as they will be holding a Coffee Morning from 10 am to 12 noon.

Nearly there… Don’t forget the always impressive Art Club Exhibition - with Cheese and Wine - which is tomorrow, Saturday, May 12, in the village hall from 6 to 9 pm. There’s scarcely any time left to get a £3 ticket in advance from the Post Office, Just Property or club members, so you’ll just have to pay £3.50 on the door!

Shounds good to me… The Wine and Social Club’s May meeting is on Monday next, May 14 at 7.30 pm in the village hall. It will be a wine tasting, which should whet everyone’s appetite and polish up their taste buds!

Standen room only… Next Tuesday, May 15, the Tuesday Ladies Club’s 2.15 pm meeting in the village hall will feature a talk by Mr M E Greatorex of the National Trust, who will be telling of Life in a Victorian Household. His subject is Standen, the delightful Arts and Crafts family home set in a beautiful hillside garden some two mile south of East Grinstead. Standen is hidden at the end of a quiet Sussex lane with breathtaking views over the High Weald and Weirwood Reservoir. The design of the house is a monument to the combined genius of architect Philip Webb and his friend William Morris. All the big names of the Arts & Crafts period are represented in the house, including ceramics by William De Morgan and metalwork by W. A. S. Benson. The Ladies Club welcomes visitors to this talk, and the charge is £2.Happy Jubilee Anniversary… A number of appropriate and eagerly awaited Community events have been organised by the Residents Association, Fairlight Church and Fairfest in conjunction with the Parish Council to celebrate the 60 glorious years of Her Majesty’s reign. Technically, I suppose, it should be 59 glorious years plus 1992, the one Annus Horribilis.

Sunday, June 3 at 10.30 am, Fairlight Church will have a special ‘All Age Family Service’ at St. Andrews featuring a celebration of 60 glorious years in music and song.

Monday, June 4, from 4 until 7 pm we’ll be enjoying the Fairlight Street Tea Party, to be held in Broadway (and, as tradition insists we state, ‘in village hall if wet!) From 3 to 7 pm, the road in front of the village hall and for 50 yards (yes, yards!) both running east and west, there will be a road closure. This is to be a ‘bring and share’ style tea party, so please bring something to share, e.g. sandwiches, cakes etc. Weather permitting, tables will be set out to accommodate the food, and it would help if could bring your own chair, although napkins and paper cups will be provided. Please try and walk or share lifts as parking will be limited. Tickets are only 50p from the Post Office or Wakehams Farm Shop or ‘on the door,’ and they entitle you to a tea, coffee or cold drink. Contrary to a malicious rumour, the party will not be teetotal though, of course, you’ll have to bring your own! Well, what do you expect for 50p?

The organisers hope you will enter into the spirit of the occasion and wear something

red, white or blue, or any combination of two or all three. There will also be two competitions to enter – the ‘quirky crown’ competition and fancy dress ‘1952’ with prizes for children and adults.

For the nervous or curious, special permission has been agreed with Rother Council for the Broadway road closure, with the proviso that, in the event that the emergency services need access, marshals will be on call to arrange the quick removal of pedestrians, chairs and tables. (Tables and chairs would be moved to the Village Hall car park and residents would be asked to go to St. Peter’s Church or the village hall)

If you or your club would like to help in any way in the planning or execution of this event please contact Jennifer Annetts on 812476 or by email to [email protected]

Monday, June 4, from 7.30 to 11 pm, there will be a Barn Dance in the village hall with a

Ploughman’s Supper (tickets, priced £7.50, will be available from the Post Office or a member of the Fairfest team).

Monday, June 4 at 10.15 pm, they are going to be lighting the beacon on Battery Hill. (At the viewpoint close to the junction with Peter James Lane) You may have to nip out of the Barn Dance for a short breather if you want to catch both events!

Get your ticket now… Actually, it’s a leaflet/map, but whatever, it will gain you admittance to no fewer than 11 Fairlight gardens on Sunday, June 24 from 10 am to 4 pm. You’ll be free to wander round any or all of the Open Gardens, enjoy the sea views, take a ride on a tractor, indulge in tasty refreshments, be inspired by the sculptures, try your hand at becoming an artist, come away with a tombola prize, a book, some preserves or a bargain from the bric-a-brac stall.

Those leaflet/maps can be obtained from Fairlight Lodge or Fairlight Post Office before the day, or at any of the Open Gardens on the day itself. A minimum donation of £5 is requested per person for entry to all the gardens, while children go free. All proceeds from this enterprising initiative will go to our Fairlight Community First Responders, and the event is being supported by Just Property Estate Agents.

Our first seven items this week concern events that are happening in the next seven days, and all are worthy of your attention. The remaining paragraphs are about things for your diary, or that need your help now, prior to the event taking place later, and this is another such item, this time about the Pett Level Rescue Boat, which is never far from our minds. It’s more fund-raising for their splendid Boat House extension, and they’re holding a grand auction in the village hall – here, not in Pett – on Friday, May 25 at 7.30 pm. Although they already have some 50 auctionable lots, they’d love to have more. Please contact fund raising organiser John Pulfer on 414866 if you have any quality items you would like to donate to this worthwhile cause. And do make a note of that date. Admission is free, but all who make a donation as they enter will be entered in a free prize draw for a first rate prize, about which more later! Not to be missed!

Keith Pollard, Brookfield, Broadway