Mountfield

VILLAGE HALL: Mountfield Village Hall Committee held its annual general meeting last week (June 28th). Caroline Hollamby gave her chairman's report to the assembled crowd and, as we have observed before, the MVHC has much to be proud of. The last year has seen the installation of the ciné equipment, master-minded by Amy Ely, and the inception of both the children's and grown-ups' film clubs. The exterior of the hall has been jollified with the tubs and baskets of flowers for the second year running, master-minded by Chris Holden, and the development of a wild flower bank on the corner. The bonfire bash, Christmas Gathering and the Children's Party were all great successes. And there has been an on-going programme of works to overhaul the roof, fix damp related problems and provide ventilation in the storage room. The next task is to upgrade the floor in the hall which is why the hall is scheduled for closure for two weeks from August 13th. The booking system has been updated and an online booking diary is being developed, master-minded by Alison Sarson. And despite the programme of works, the finances are in good shape under the watchful eye of Neil Whines.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Jul 2016, 03:00 BST
Updated 25th Aug 2016, 18:41 BST

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Caroline expressed thanks to the Parish Council and British Gypsum for their support and for the contributions made by former committee member Sarah Cole, former bookings contact Jackie Whines, the occasional backroom techie Steve MacDonald, and Shirley who keeps the place spick and span. If you want to know who is currently on the Committee, take a look at the first paragraph above. Every member of the Committee — Caroline, Neil, Amy, Chris and Alison — takes responsibility for something and gets their hands dirty. Caroline did point out one gap in their armoury: they could really do with someone who could oversee the maintenance and odd jobbery that the hall needs. This needn’t be time-consuming so if you think you can help, however informally, do get in touch with one of the Committee. Finally, Caroline announced that she feels it is time step aside from the chairmanship (but not the Committee). She has led the line for the four years since Dave Craven stepped down.

For such a tiny village, we are blessed with the a wonderful parish church, the King George V Field, the Football and Bonfire Fields, and the Children’s Playground. But the most valuable and most widely used resource in the village — for clubs, parties, weddings, funerals, christenings, knees-ups, meetings, films and more — is Mountfield Village Hall.

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PARISH COUNCIL: Next Tuesday, 12th July, is the next meeting of Mountfield Parish Council. The agenda is up on both the noticeboard and the parish website and includes broadband provision, the children’s playground, the usual planning and enforcement, and more. 7.30 pm in the Village Hall, all welcome.

MOUNTFIELD CLUB: Mountfield are the only club who have two teams competing in this week’s Hurst Green and District Summer Snooker League quarter finals. Steve Smith’s team have a difficult away match at Etchingham while Kevin Gray’s team go to Cramp.

The Club are due to announce dates for the next charity quiz, BBQ and other events in the next few weeks but, for now, everyone would like to wish Steve Sutton a very speedy recovery from his on-going battles. Last week saw his second major operation and our thoughts are with him and Mandy and the family.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: Rachel Craddock writes: “This year’s annual outing saw 26 of us enjoy the first dry day for ages this summer at Wisley Gardens. The gardens were beautiful as usual although some of the displays, especially the roses, had taken a bashing from the constant rain. The glasshouse was full of amazing tropical and temperate plants. The orchids were gorgeous and colourful. One of the garden displays was a floral spaceman which was very impressive. All in all a good day was had by all of us and we arrived back in Mountfield armed with plants, memories and just a wee bit tired.”

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FINALLY: The mention of Steve Sutton reminds us of a few other old soldiers. Jim Gray is back from a stay in dock and was looking very chipper when we passed him and his dog on the lane the other day. It’s very nice to see Helen Doyle back in circulation — although she is driving again. And we met Jackie Spriggs jogging through Battle on one crutch last week; the village had been so peaceful for weeks…

On a complete change of tack, Bernie from opposite the old pub (that has a funny ring to it!) has written to say that he reckons he saw three muntjac on a recent evening walk. Any other sighting or information would be welcome. Muntjac are difficult to control (small and almost entirely nocturnal) and, if they can establish numbers, can devastate the ground flora of our woods, particularly bluebells, anemones and the rest. (We’ve not tried it but apparently they are delicious.)

FINALLY: If you have anything for the Village Voice, we can be contacted on 880614 or via [email protected]. We always welcome contributions and feedback.

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