Hailsham

WHO LET THE DADS OUT?: Tomorrow, Saturday, at St Mary’s Church for fathers and children up to 7 years old. Fun games, craft, refreshments and bacon buttie between 9.30am and 11.30am.

COFFEE MORNING: Historical Transport Film Coffee Morning tomorrow, Saturday, at Hailsham Pavilion 10am for 10.30am. Tickets £5 on the door or in advance includes tea or coffee Tel: 841414.

WATERWALK ART WORKSHOP: Tomorrow, Saturday, from 2pm to 4pm, Gallery North, 70 High Street. Contact 846938 to book.

HOLIDAY CLUB: Easter holiday bookings are now available at Freedom Leisure for swimming, ten pin bowling, a trip to the cinema, team games, arts and crafts. The club is open to children aged 6 to 12 years. To book, phone 01323 846755.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY: The next meeting is on Wednesday April 13 at the Methodist Church Hall at 7.30pm and is entitled Naval Yarns and presented by Commander Roger Paine.

ANNUAL TOWN MEETING: A date for your diary at the Civic Community Hall in Vicarage Lane on Tuesday April 19. Viewing of information stands from 6.30pm followed by the main part of the meeting at 7.30pm which includes a presentation and review of the past year by the Town Mayor and Chairman, Councillor Nigel Coltman. If members of the public want to submit a question or item for the Agenda, please advise the Town Clerk in writing (Town Council Offices, Market Street, Hailsham BN27 2AE) or email [email protected].

ROVTE: A free training opportunity for a Level 3 Award in Education and Training at Hailsham Children’s Centre starting on Friday April 15 from 9.30am to 1.30pm. This is an accredited 15 week training course for local community members who would like to gain skills and experience through volunteering in the delivery of short courses/workshops. Qualified trainers will support volunteers, working together to plan local community events. For further info contact Emma Turner 01424 423683 ext 22 or [email protected].

EASTER SUNDAY: At St Mary’s parish church Holy Communion 8am, Easter Sunday Holy Communion with crèche and children’s groups at 10.30am. Followed by children’s Easter egg hunt in the Vicarage garden. Easter Songs of Praise 6.30pm.

CORINTHIAN CHURCH: This Sunday the service is at 11am in Primrose Hall, followed by refreshments. The Medium on this occasion is to be advised.

CRICKET CLUB: If you feel you can help your local cricket club in anyway or would like to take part in the upcoming NWCF event on April 2 please get in touch with Rob Wilkinson at [email protected]

QUIZ NIGHT: The flower club is hosting a Quiz Night at Grovelands CP School, Dunbar Drive, on Saturday April 23. Doors open at 7pm, for 7.30pm start. Tickets £10 each, to include a ploughman’s supper. For tickets contact: Christine Campbell-Dykes 01323 842222.

HOPS SPRING QUIZ: It was a close run thing when Hailsham Old Pavilion Society (HOPS) held it’s Spring Quiz at Summerheath Hall, Hailsham, on Saturday, March 12. Just one point separated the winning team from the runners up with Hailsham FM, the town’s local radio station, being triumphant. Fourteen teams competed to be overall champions with the questions once again compiled and presented by Steve and Carol White. Contestants were put through their paces with brainteasers ranging from food and drink to current affairs, correct answers being greeted with a whoop of delight and wrong ones with a groan. A ploughman’s supper, provided by the HOPS Committee, made a welcome break at half-time. Each of the winning contestants received a bottle of wine, while the losers were presented with wooden spoons. The evening raised over £520 for the Hailsham Old Pavilion Society, a charity that exists to provide funds for the maintenance and upkeep of The Pavilion, Hailsham’s independent cinema, live music venue and theatre.

CHARLES HUNT CENTRE: Are any of your friends of relatives interest in their club, maybe just for meals or any other activity that is provided for the over 55’s? Tell them about the Club ant they would be happy to see them and arrange to show them around or discuss what membership of this great club offers. Membership is only £10 a year commencing Januarys and there is one month’s free membership to anyone who needs time to consider joining. Temporary membership however, will not include nail cutting. Pop in for a chat and to find out more.

TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS: Forthcoming meetings which the press and public can attend are the Planning and Development Committee on Tuesday at 7pm and the Town Council (and Trusts) meeting on Wednesday. Both are held in the Fleur de Lys meeting room or Council Chamber and are open to the press and public unless otherwise stated.

HISTORY SOCIETY: Hailsham Historical and Natural History Society next meet on Wednesday April 13, 7pm for 7.30pm entitled Naval Yarns by Cmdr Roger Paine RN, an interesting speaker,that the society has had the pleasure of listening to in the past. Come along to the Methodist Church Hall. All welcome. Visitors £2.50. Last month The Galapagos Islands – in the steps of Charles Darwin, was an illustrated talk by Graham Albon. Graham gave the audience some considerable history about the group of islands, 600 miles off the West Coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean known as the Galapagos Islands. The name comes from the Spanish, meaning saddle. Looking at the islands as they rise up from the sea, they look like a saddle over a horse’s back. Many pictures were of animals and birds only to be found on these Islands including some that members had never seen or heard of, along with the more common ones, such as Sea-lions, whales, sharks and penguins. There were also basking and land iguanas. The birds varied in size from tiny finches, to the massive albatross, with a six foot wing span (and we moan about our seagulls). Other birds were the great frigate, red breast, blue and red footed booby (their feet being these colours). In 1835, it was Charles Darwin, a naturalist aboard a global ship HMS Beagle, who put these islands on the map, having studied and recorded the different species of wildlife, whilst he was there. One particular example that he noted was, that a bird on one island had a different bill to the same bird on another island. Over thousands of years, the birds had adapted to their surroundings, birds getting food from seeds having a spoon-type bill, whereas on another island, food came from a crevice in tree bark, and the birds had pointed bills. This is just a brief account of these tranquil islands which Graham had visited, but which most of us will never see. For further information about this talk or the society, please contact David Bourne on 01323 440359.

SCALEXTRIC: Bridge Racing and Scalextric slot-car racing for dads and their children aged 7 years plus meet at Emmanuel Hall on the first Saturday of each month from 7pm to 9pm. Just turn up or if you need more information call Tony on 01323 849023.

YOUTH ZONE: This is for children in years 6 to 9 years and meets on the second Saturday of the month from 7pm to 8.30pm. Although usually at Emmanuel Hall, some of the meetings are held at other sites and venues so if you’d like to go along ring Julie first to find out more on 441059.

100 YEARS AGO: In March 1916, Rev F C Harvey reported: Mr Underwood, our organist, is appointed to a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve as Assistant Paymaster, so we shall at any time lose him. I shall miss his accompaniment of the Psalms especially. It has been a great pleasure to me and all the congregation will miss him at the organ. Mrs Farrant has very kindly consented to help us, and I have no doubt will do her best to make the singing go well. The Intercessory Services have dropped off during the late snow storm. We were really ‘two or three gathered together,’ yet we realised the promise as much. Will not Congregation begin again and get back to the 22 or 23 we had for many months. The War is still on. Do you realise it? Prayer is as much a force as ever. Perhaps this will be the last month of Afternoon Services and Church Room Services. The days are lengthening out fast.

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