Icklesham

So it must be officially Spring now. The Vernal Equinox was last weekend, and we have more daylight than darkness. It means that we can work in the garden until later in the evening, which is good for the garden but plays havoc with my back!!

CHURCH NEWS: Today, Friday 25th March there is a service of Stations of the Cross at noon at Winchelsea, and also a Meditation at Icklesham at 2 pm to mark the solemn hour of Good Friday, the final hour of the Crucifixion. On Saturday at 8pm in Winchelsea Church there will be the united Easter Vigil and first Communion of Easter. The 9.30 am service at Icklesham on Sunday will be Parish Eucharist for Easter Sunday. We are very sad indeed to learn of the sudden death of James Wesson, who would have been leading some Easter services. Our condolences to his parents at this dreadful time.

LILIES: Christine writes,”Thank you to all those who have donated Easter Lilies. The church will be decorated on Saturday 26th March. If you have not given a lily but would like to put flowers in the church, please come along on the Saturday morning after 9.30 am. The flowers, with the list of those remembered, will be on view at the Easter Sunday service and all the following week. There will be more than 100 lilies displayed, so please make time to find a few moments to visit and enjoy the beauty of the church and the flowers.”

WEATHER: If only that east wind would decrease, it would feel quite warm. I suppose if it changes direction to the west, we shall have yet more rain. Which do you prefer? The daffodils seem to have gone on and on and on flowering this year. Having opened the first flowers before Christmas in the very mild weather, the colder snap has delayed some species and there are still plenty around. Isn’t March supposed to go out like a lamb? ARE there any lambs in the fields yet? And the Westfield March cuckoo hasn’t arrived yet.

QUEEN’S HEAD: Over the Easter weekend there will be a Mini Beer Festival, featuring micro breweries and live music. On Friday 25th Loose Change will be playing Covers from 9 - 11. On Saturday 26th from 4 - 6 Anita Jardine will play Folk and Blues. On Sunday 27th from 4 - 6 John Paul Miller will play Covers. And on Monday 28 from 4 - 6, Los Twangueros will play Coooool !

PARISH COUNCIL AGM: On Wednesday 30th March at 7 pm in the New Hall, Winchelsea there will be a very important decision. We have heard this week that our Parish Councillor Mrs. Merricks cannot support the recommendation that Option 3 be approved and put on the agenda for the Parish Annual Meeting. Option 3 is the plan and site we discussed with Parish Councillors on 14th December, when we agreed to knock down the old pavilion and rebuild on the same site, subject to outline planning. Another recommendation is that the village needs to be consulted on the proposed plan. If you remember we did that on 15th May 2012. It is hard to prove that we held this meeting as there were no minutes taken. But it resulted in a unanimous vote to build new. Those of us who have been involved with the project from the early stages are now used to this internal blocking. We are led to believe that our parish Councillors are there to represent us. On this occasion we were not consulted and many of us feel disappointed with the representation. Is it right that one person can represent us without consultation or communication on such an important topic which has so much village support.? It should be said that Cllr. Nick Warren is giving the project excellent support. It should also be said that Cllr. Mrs Merricks did conclude her report hoping that her comments and proposal will be thought to be helpful. Please do make every effort to attend the meeting on 30th March as we will still be able to demonstrate how much support we have for this project. Since 2009 we estimate that approximately £23,000has been spent on the old pavilion. A good proportion of this, probably 65% was due to vandalism and roof damage, the rest funded by the Trust. Some people have asked why we now have hand rails on the pavilion. Apparently the Loss Adjuster suggested putting them up as a deterrent for skateboarders. Many of us are old enough to remember the pavilion as it was in 1959, with hand railing around it then. I know that it cost in the region of £800, which would have bought an awful lot of paint for both exterior and interior, leaving plenty of cheaper options for deterring skateboarders. Thanks to everyone for their continued support. Icklesham Village is now on Twitter. Icklesham New Pavilion and Icklesham Village are on Facebook.

KEEP WARM: Have you suffered from feeling cold this winter because your house is cold? Now is the time to plan so that you don’t have the same problems next year. A FREE Winter Home Check service is available all year round. It’s open to people on low incomes who are in certain groups more affected by the cold, including older people, families with young children, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. The service includes an assessment of your home, small works such as improving insulation or repairing boilers, emergency temporary heating, and advice on getting help to pay for heating. This is an East Sussex County Council service provided by Osborne Energy. But they didn’t send any contact details so you would have to contact ESCC for advice.

SCHOOL NEWS: Congratulations to Spiders class for their efforts in the Hastings Musical Festival. Football and Netball teams took part in a tournament at Vinehall School last week. Everyone played very well and the netball team won their first four matches, and were only beaten to the lead by Vinehall A team. £94 has been raised so far for Sport relief. The Headteacher Awards go this week to : Caterpillars, Poppy; Spiders, Cody; Dragonflies, Alfie and Bees, name missed off !! Perhaps it was all the class. A special Head Teacher Award goes to Mrs. Kirton, Mrs Davidson, Mrs Thomson and all of Spiders class for a fantastic performance at Hastings Musical festival. Class awards go to Caterpillars,Michael,& Renn; Spiders, Jacob & the whole class; Dragonflies, Charlotte & Siena; Bees, Gracie & Connor. The school will be closed until 8th April for the Easter holiday.

CONTACT: Please keep information coming my way. I can publish all sorts of previews, reviews, meetings and so on. Phone 815 247, pop round or use the email.

AND FINALLY: I hope everyone has a really Happy Easter.

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