Hailsham

CHIDDINGLY FUN DAY: Chiddingly School Fun Day is tomorrow, Saturday, at 11.30am. Entry is £5 which includes barbecue and one drink.

HAWKES FARM FAIR: From 11.30am to 2.30pm tomorrow, Saturday. There will be live music, barbecue, bar, raffle, inflatables, games, crafts, face painting and lots more.

FOLK AND FUN SONGS: Advance tickets are still available for Hailsham Choral perform music for a summer’s evening tomorrow, Saturday, from 7.30pm in the Civic Community Hall, Vicarage Road. The Conductors are Jozik Kotz and Barbara Edwards. The Accompanist is William Hancox. Tickets at £12 and U18s £6 are available from the Camera Centre, Hailsham High Street, www.wegottickets.com and on the door.

CELEBRATE HAILSHAM DAY: Town folk can take part in Celebrate Hailsham Day from 9am to 3.30pm tomorrow, Saturday. Along with the many market stalls, selling produce, gifts and crafts, many town centre shops will be offering discounts off their goods and special promotions on the day. There will be stalls with food, gifts and accessories. Entertainment from the Sussex Stompers, Memphis Flyers and Hailsham FM. Face painting for children, courtesy of Christchurch, there will also be a sensory tent, activity stalls from a range of local community groups and Hailsham Lions will be selling candy floss. Hailsham Parish Church will be open for free refreshments.

HAILSHAM MENCAP: There is a fundraising Jumble Sale tomorrow, Saturday, at Horam Village Hall. It opens at 2pm and entry is free. Refreshments will be available and the event is in aid of the Hailsham Mencap Society. The story behind this is that there were three friends, two of which were actively involved in the said society, and the other friend liked to organise jumbles and other fundraising things, Sadly, one of the friends died recently, and the two remaining friends decided to run a last jumble sale in her memory, to raise, hopefully a lot of money. Ring 01323 440079 for collection, and enquiries.

OUR PARKS FITNESS: Every Saturday morning from 9am and 10am at Western Road Recreation Ground. Great fun and gentle exercise for the whole family, but especially encouraging the over 55s to come along. Join this free group, just turn up at the Rec on a Saturday morning or better still, if you have access to the internet, please register at www.ourparks.org.uk for numbers. If you would like to come along just turn up. Wear loose fitting comfy clothing and bring some water.

HOPS OPEN GARDEN: A Hailsham Old Pavilion Society fundraiser in the beautiful grounds of Butler’s Farmhouse, Butlers Lane, Herstmonceux, BN27 1QH, thanks to the generosity of Irene Eltringham-Willson and her husband Peter. Irene is no stranger to opening her garden to the public, in her capacity as County Organiser for the East Sussex Branch of the National Garden Scheme.

Tomorrow, Saturday, HOPS will be your host for the day between 11am and 4pm, in this lovely one-acre garden with views to the South Downs. They will be serving light refreshments including ploughman’s lunches, cream teas and a selection of home-made cakes. There will be a raffle and tombola, sales of local crafts, books and plants, and music to entertain you during your visit. Parking is adjacent to the property and most of the garden is wheelchair accessible. Entry will be by donation (suggested amount £4) but regret dogs cannot be admitted.

COMMUNITY GROUPS FORUM: Are you a local community group or charity and wish to benefit from sharing experiences and ideas with other local groups? The Hailsham Community Forum is always looking for community groups, associations and charities in the area to exchange ideas, learn from each other, network and collaborate. Over the next few months we are looking forward to welcoming short presentations by businesses and entertainers who have a little something different to offer at Hailsham events as well as useful speakers on grants, fundraising and recruiting and retaining volunteers. The next forum meeting will take place at 6.30pm on Tuesday 3 July at the Hailsham Parish Church lounge. If you are interested in attending, register with Hailsham Town Council on 01323 841702 or email: [email protected]. The Hailsham Community Forum will have a What Can I Join in Hailsham stall and prize draw in Vicarage Field as part of the Celebrate Hailsham Day event on Saturday 30th June.

EDGH OPEN GARDEN: Chalvington House, BN27 3TQ is a country garden open from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4pm on Wednesday. There will be refreshments and light lunches as well as cakes, produce and plants. Entry is by donation.

THE HUB: This is a social group for older people held at The Ropemaker Centre, Ropemaker Park, South Road. At 3pm this Wednesday, PCSO Sue Choppin (from Hailsham Police Station) will be giving a talk on Keeping People Safe. This will be followed by a cream tea. The cost is just £3 and first timers are free. Please book in advance on 01323 442485.

FREE BUSINESS CLINICS: There is a free business startup workshop on Thursday from 10am to 4pm in Hailsham. If you are looking into starting or have started your own business you may find this a very useful event. Also, if you run your own small business and would like to book a 1-2-1 appointment for a session on Friday July 27 you can also book. These are run by EDEAL and if you would like to attend email [email protected] to book or telephone 01323 641144.

WHAT CAN I JOIN?: Following the success of the January event when we welcomed over 300 people through the doors of St Mary’s for a showcase of many of the clubs and groups available in the town, there will be a mini event tomorrow at the Celebrate Hailsham Day. If you have any interests and want to join a club with these in mind or would just like to know what there is in the town, come along, and have a chat and we will see what we can find for you. There is a free prize draw for filling in a questionnaire about your interests.

COMMUNITY CENTRE: Bookings from residents and local community groups are now being taken for the hire of Hailsham’s brand new community hall, the James West Community Centre, which is located off Brunel Drive in the north of the town and opened its doors to the public on Monday. The James West Centre, named after the founder and Chairman of the Hailsham & District Sports Alliance who passed away in November 2016, consists of an 18m x 11.7m hall, able to accommodate an audience of around 200 seated for licensed public performances. The building also includes two meeting rooms (10 and 16-person capacity), a large kitchen, store rooms, toilets, changing rooms and a PA system. The facility can be hired for community events, sports, business meetings, memorial services, youth groups and other social events, as well as private function hire. The provision of a community hall and sports facility was made as part of the initial planning agreement between Wealden District Council and Welbury Farm developer, Taylor Wimpey. The Town Council, which agreed to take on responsibility of the new Centre, considered various proposals for the design of the building in 2013 and formally agreed a design plan which will allow the Council to accommodate a wider variety of users and to provide improved facilities which help meet the demands of the local sports clubs and community groups.

OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR: Staged as a main event in the Hailsham Festival at Summerheath Hall, Hailsham Theatres’ Director, Sam Elsby with Musical Director, Judith Brooke, bring to the Hailsham stage this critically acclaimed first world war musical by Joan Littlewood which has been revived to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1. Originally produced by Joan Littlewood at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, it is a satirical masterpiece which was made into a classic film in 1969, starring amongst others Maggie Smith, John Gielgud and John Mills. This revival, directed by Sam Elsby is a riot of music and colour, deeply moving and features some of the greatest songs from the First World War including It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, Goodbye…ee, and And When They Ask Us, Keep the Home Fires Burning and many more. Described in the Scotsman as “a show with ten million heroes” Hailsham Theatres will also present as a Hailsham Festival main event, a show to remember. Tickets will be on sale soon for all four performances taking place from Thursday to Saturday, September 20 to 22.

CHIDDFEST: Chiddfest Music and Beer Festival runs from Friday to Sunday, July 27 to 29 at Nash Street, off the A22 at Chiddingly. There will be two stages over three days with great music, glamping, fairground and much more. Tickets and more information are available at www.chiddfest chapter.co.uk or ring 07711 728038.

HEALTHY LIVING CLUB: A great day was had last Saturday at Battle Road Allotments Open Day. The Healthy Living Club attended again as last year was so good, and this year was even better. Thanks to Terry Miller and his team. The Hailsham Healthy Living Club are always pleased to attend these events. Several local councillors came along and it was a pleasure to chat with them and the many visitors to the open day about the beauty of our countryside. Hailsham Horticultural Society were also there and visitors enjoyed a barbecue amongst lots of other stalls with refreshments, plants, garden tools to name but a few . Many people simply wanted to ask the Allotment Society for general advice, and how to become an allotment holder.