Netherfield

New Medical Centre and Village Hall: If you are a resident of Netherfield, Mountfield, Brightling or Catsfield would you use a medical centre located in a new village hall at Netherfield? If you are keen to have such a facility the community has to prove there is a definite and sustainable need for such a project. The relatively centralised position of Netherfield in these semi-rural communities could be a big plus factor in negotiations and could help relieve some of the pressure on the surgeries located in the towns nearest your village, which could be some way from where you live. It may also help, where currently, surgeries are held one day a week in village halls, such as Catsfield. It is not envisaged that these local weekly surgeries are phased out but supported in their efforts to promote the health of their community. It is hoped that some, if not all, of those same Doctors’ surgeries would be interested in being a part of this initiative. In the first step along this path we need your help. Send your comments both good and bad by email to [email protected], or text to 07957588172. Alternatively call 01424838410 and ask for Maurice who will be happy to discuss any thoughts you have on the matter.

Darvel Down & Area Residents Association AGM: On Thursday 26th November the DDARA held their AGM in the Netherfield Primary School hall. The Chairman, David Stone, opened the meeting with a short speech concerning the contribution to the community made by Ron White. After various administrative duties had been covered, including the election or re-election of committee members the meeting was opened to those present to raise any points they wished in the “any other business” section. It was at this point that the meeting became more lively and debates took place on the role of the Residents Association in today’s environment, a medical centre and what can be done to improve the lot of every part of the community. A fuller report will be given as soon as the minutes are received by the Village Voice. - Maurice Holmes

Action Fraud: There has been a recent series of incidents whereby fraudsters either phone or attend the home address of elderly members of the public, claiming to be police officers.
The fake officer/s will claim that they are investigating a fraud which they believe the elderly person to be a victim of. The fake officer/s will then request the bank cards and personal identification numbers (PIN) of the victim and claim these are needed for investigation purposes. If the first contact was made by a phone call, the fake officer/s will tell the victim that someone will be over to collect the evidence. In one case the victim was instructed to attend their local bank and withdraw all of the money from their account. The suspect was left alone in the victim’s house whilst the victim carried out the instructions.
Protect Yourself : 1. Before letting anyone into your home who claims to be from any law enforcement agency, ask to see their identity card and check it by calling 101. 2. Ask if they can attend at a pre-arranged time when a family member or friend can also be present. 3. If you receive a phone call from a police officer,  ask for their name and force and tell them you will call them back. Wait a few minutes and then use 101 to call them back through their force’s switchboard and verify their identity. 4. The Police will never ask for your PIN or passwords. Do not give this information to anyone. 5. The Police will never request that you withdraw/transfer any money to them.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Now for something completely different: Chapter 9

“Bright lights were everywhere and it felt warm. I was trying to understand where I was. The last thing I remember was the cold, the pain, the trees. My hand searching for respite. Yet I do not remember what happened next. My body does not seem to register a fall. No bandages, no drips. Nothing hurts or aches. I am not there but I am somewhere. Where? Is it a hospital or has someone taken pity on my predicament and dragged me into their home?

I could see the tunnel in front of my eyes was smooth and rounded. A lighter shade of grey on the walls of this apparition gave me the feeling that this was something clinical, yet there were no attendant smells of a hospital. Disinfectant and bleach. The end of this hollow vision did not seem finite. I seemed to be hovering in a space that was neither here nor there. Nothing was consistent. No beds, no doctors, no nurses. I looked at where I was lying. No covers, no clothes on me but fully dressed. My hands had fingers which I could not see, so I knew I could not steer myself back to reality. But that did not seem right. There was no transport to effect this transition.

I moved but I stayed still. My brain was attempting to understand this conflicting data and my eyes wept, but no tears. You cannot journey as I had, and not understand the images or the sounds, I told myself. It was not as it should be but I must have seen and listened to it all.

Staying calm and being rational would, I thought, see me through the challenge, although doubt had begun to permeate my thinking. How could it not? My eyes were stating facts to my head yet these facts were so improbable. Mysteries, which had no logic about them, were not figments of my imagination. I had seen them. I had heard the noise. Or had I?

The tunnel seemed to be forming a square. The walls were becoming a void. I had to be dreaming, living a process that was trying to disseminate my thoughts across the entire span of my consciousness. Shadows like ghosts altering as they floated through the vision of my senses. Where was I? Panic! Release me from this nightmare. Was it a precursor to a change from one dimension to another? A fever? Would I ever know? Would I see another apparition which would turn me into microbial flotsam? Just then a knock.............”

To be continued for the final time next week.

Remember any budding authors in the village or surrounding areas, you can still write a chapter in serial form leading up to Christmas. You can add to the storyline for next week, with the editor of this column (Maurice Holmes) selecting one from all the entries sent to the email address that follows. [email protected]. The number of words can range between 150 to 200 or more. Remember it is the last chapter next week. Just a bit of fun leading up to Christmas. So get your grey cells working and think of the next chapter. The Battle Observer comes out on Friday so entries must be received by the Monday morning to be sure of being printed the following week. Age is not a barrier as is open to all.

Contact: If you have any stories or articles of interest that will give our readership a reason to buy the paper please contact me on 07471000385 or via email at [email protected]

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