Fletching

HOLY WEEK SPECIAL SERVICES: Wednesday, 10am Holy Communion; Maundy Thursday, 7pm Holy Communion marking the Institution of the Lord’s Supper. March 25, Good Friday, 2pm The Cross of Christ, readings and music. March 27, Easter Day, 10am Festival Parish Communion. As Holy Week and Easter fall during the interregnum it will not be possible to have a Healing Service, Foot-washing, or Service of Light this year. However, other Holy Week services as usual. Sunday morning services during the interregnum will continue as before with the generous help of retired clergy. There will also be Evening Prayer (1662) at 5.30pm on the first Sunday of each month, and Holy Communion at 10am on the first and third Wednesdays until further notice. The Calendar of Services will continue to promulgate services monthly.

EASTER SINGALONG: The Chromatics Choir invite you for an Easter Singalong at Fletching Village Hall, tomorrow, Saturday, 3.30pm to 5pm, £5 on the door. Tea included. All proceeds to Dementia UK.

MARTIAL ARTS: Kobudo Martial Arts meet Thursday at 5pm

FLETCHING PARISH COUNCIL: Speed limit reductions in Piltdown. Following the results of the recent speed data surveys, the parish council was pleased to support a Community Match Fund application to East Sussex County Council for speed limit reductions in Shortbridge Road and Golf Club Lane. We are applying to reduce the speed limits to 40mph and have agreed to contribute £1,500 towards the costs. The Piltdown Residents Association has kindly offered to contribute a further £1,500 and it is hoped that East Sussex County Council will fund the rest. The total cost for both roads is likely to be approximately £5,000.

The parish council has agreed to support Piltdown Residents Association’s request to install posts around the edge of the verge at the junction of Shortbridge Road and Sharpsbridge Lane to protect it from vehicle damage. The association will fund the cost of the posts and continue to maintain the verge and the planting, keeping it as a pretty focal point for Piltdown. We have also agreed to support the installation of three white village gateways at key entrance points to Piltdown; Shortbridge Road and at both ends of the A272. They will be similar to those in Maresfield and it is hoped that they will encourage drivers to slow down. Once approved by Highways, the gateways will be funded by the Piltdown Residents Association.

CLEAN FOR THE QUEEN: A big thank you to Rebecca Anderson, Lady Noel Collum and Ian Setford for helping clean up our parish on Saturday March 5 for this special birthday.

NORTHALL LANE: We have been advised that the resurfacing of Northall Lane is scheduled to start on March 29. Please contact the clerk on 01444 483080 or [email protected] for further information.

PARISH ACTION PLAN UPDATE: Since the Parish Action Plan was produced in January 2015, we have addressed over 50 percent of the issues raised by local residents. This is fantastic progress, especially with only half a dozen volunteers. We would like to thank everyone for the huge contributions they have made so far but to continue with this work we still need more volunteers. Our biggest achievement so far is the launch of the Fletching Festival as a direct response to your requests. This will be a new and exciting community event for the whole parish, which will take place on Saturday July 16. The huge range of activities planned will start with a children’s soap box derby, fun and games on the Recreation Ground, followed by a street party in the High Street in the evening. The event will have a traditional rural country feel and will be an excellent opportunity for the whole parish to get together and have some fun. The committee meets once a month and anyone is welcome to attend and see what’s happening or share his or her ideas. We have also begun to look at long-term projects that will enhance our rural parish, such as improving parking in Fletching village. We have held public parking and road safety meetings and follow up meetings will be held soon to update you on our progress.

An updated Parish Action Plan has now been produced so that you can see the progress we have made on all the issues raised. This has been published on the parish council website www.fletching-pc.org and you can request an electronic or hard copy from the clerk.

If you would like to help us tackle a particular issue, or would like to join our Steering Group, please contact Katherine Rumble on 01444 483080 or e-mail [email protected]

FLETCHING FESTIVAL: It’s time to start thinking about your entries for the competitions being run as part of the Fletching Festival (July 16). Children’s Soap Box Derby: Ever fancied building a soap box car and riding it down Fletching High Street? Well this event is for you. Open to all children (sorry no mums and dads, boooo), the aim of the event is to give all you budding soap box builders the opportunity to design and build a soap box car, then ride it on a closed road. Prizes will be awarded for ingenuity, creativity and the ability to safely navigate your Soap box car through a set of obstacles. It’s not all about speed. You’ll need to start building soon, you must be able to brake and steer reasonably well and no pedals, motors or engines are allowed. Only one rider in each car is allowed and helmets must be worn. This event is kindly sponsored by Savills Estate Agents and Impact Prestige Bodywork of Sheffield Park.

SCARECROW CONTEST: Would you like to make a scarecrow for display during the week before the festival and on the day itself? It can be any size or shape, start thinking about what materials you might need such as straw, wood, sacking, old clothes and a hat. Photos of your scarecrow could be used on future adverts for the festival and there will be prizes for the best ones.

MAKE A VEGIMAL: Can you create an animal out of fruit and vegetables? How about a cauliflower poodle? Or a tortoise with pineapple skin for a shell? Could you carve a marrow into a diving dolphin? You can use things like toothpicks to hold your vegimal together, how about using olives or peppercorns for eyes? Start planning your creature now and there’ll be prizes for the best ones.

BEST CAKE: Are you a keen baker? Why not enter your favourite cake recipe into our Best Cake competition and see what our taste testers think.

BEST DRESSED HOUSE: Do you live between the Recreation Ground and Atherall’s Farm? Maybe you would like to decorate the outside of your house for the festival and win a prize. You could use lights, bunting, balloons, lanterns, flowers or even artwork.

There will also be various other competitions on the day such as a Children’s Pet Show, Find the Flag and a children’s drawing competition. For more information on any of our competitions please contact Katherine Rumble on 01444 483080 or e-mail [email protected]. Competition entry forms will be available nearer the time, watch this space.

100 YEARS AGO: Sussex Express 24 Mar 1916. Longevity at Fletching. The hand of death has removed from the parish within the past week three old inhabitants, whose total ages reached 282 years. They were; Mrs King, aged 95; Mrs Mepham aged 94; and Mr Farrant, aged 93.

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