Iden

THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: Iden Parish Council met on Tuesday 5th March , in Iden Village Hall, for a normal meeting followed by the A.G.M. Chairman Ray Griffin opened the meeting by announcing the death of James Ramus, a very popular Iden resident, a farmer, and an Olympic sailor, who will be much missed by his wife Joy, and family. Phillip Allard has joined the council, and was warmly welcomed. Councillor Michael Miller said how nice the beech hedge around the War Memorial is looking. Markers are to be placed around the ditch in the playing field car park, as some people have driven into it The gate from the car park to the church is to be reconstructed to make for easier opening.The finger posts in Iden are all back and looking good. The Iden Fete this year will consist mainly of a boot fair, plus burgers and bacon rolls on the burger stall, and teas and coffees in the pavilion. Villagers are urged to buy Grand Draw tickets early, before the fete if possible, to ensure entry to the draw. The fete is still under discussion. Meetings are still in progress. Local and Parish elections are imminent. The next Parish Council meeting is in Iden Village Hall, at 7.30pm on April 2nd.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Mar 2019, 05:00 BST
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Iden news

THE A.G.M.: A good number attended the A.G.M. The 2017 minutes were read and signed.There is to be a separate meeting to choose playground equipment for the park in Iden. Ray Griffin encouraged villagers to use our red phone box in the village, as there is not only a general fondness for its history, but it would be useful in an emergency .BT will only allow us to keep it if we use it sufficiently. All councillors were impressed with the village daffodils, which have greatly increased in numbers since the purge on recent planting. Keith Glazier, Chairman of East Sussex Council expressed the reason for our recent increase in council tax, which equates to about 80 pence on band ‘D’. The cost of adult social care and children’s services are very high and very necessary, and therefore expenditure on potholes and all the various facilities which need to be included in the budget, come out of the remaining 30%, as 70%, is spent on the elderly and children who are our most vulnerable. Councillor Paul Osbourne praised Keith for his input regarding a reletively small increase as opposed to many councils. Keith said that Health and Social care are now working together for the good of the community, and their joint concept is working well. Paul Osbourne said that the Community Grants Projects amount to £150,000 per year, and grants can be applied for when the project re-opens. Parking in the Rye is under review, as it is of constant concern, due to our narrow streets. Mary Philo, our Parish Clerk presented a slide-show on ‘On-line mapping, which she feels could be very useful to accentuate interest in Iden’s various projects. It was an informative meeting for Iden dwellers.

A DISHONEST WOMAN: I always feel a bit of a cheat when I buy artificial flowers, as though I’ve turned my back on nature. Last week I bought several bunches of daffodils and some chrysanthemums and flooded the house with fresh flowers, a posy everywhere, the kitchen, the loo, and a vase in every empty space in the lounge. They were a real joy, and for five days they brought the house alive. However, daffodils have a short shelf life, and I was left mourning my dead daffs [not with soggy bottoms], but definitely slimy bottoms. Disposing of them was a lot less romantic than arranging them while fresh. Even when I was a dirt-poor newly- wed, we would have beans and fried eggs in order to afford a few fresh flowers. This week I bought some very presentable artificial foliage from the market and some fake white hydrangeas, in order to begin cutting down on the work fresh flowers involved. I already had some artificial peonies and Cosmos, and althoutgh they manage to look allowable, but they will never be the same. For one thing they haven’t gone through the same seeded or bulbous conception as real flowers, or the waiting period before they come out in bud [a kind of horticultural pregnancy], and they won’t be mourned like real flowers after a short untimely death. My artificial flowers may live to be as old as Methuselah, but they will never be valued in the same way as real ones.

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A JUMBLE SALE ON SATURDAY 23RD MARCH: There is a jumble Sale on Saturday 23rd March, at 1pm, in Iden Village Hall, in aid of the Gambian charity championed by Sue White. For any enquiries, please ring Sue [01797 280453]. Entrance is 20 pence. Everyone loves a jumble, and this one supports a very good cause.

A NEW SECRETARY NEEDED FOR THE VILLAGE HALL: Iden Village Hall needs a new secretary. Present secretary Jill Johnson is retiring from the position. For enquiries, please ring Jill Johnson [telephone 01797 280330]

A SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION: There is a Service of Holy Communion in Iden parish Church on Sunday at 9.30am.

THE IDEN AND DISTRICT NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY A.G.M: The A.G.M. of the above is on the 22nd March at 7.30pm, in Iden Village Hall, following which is a lecture fromTerry Geogge, entitled’A World of Wildlife’. There will be refreshments and a raffle.

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PANCAKES: Did you all have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? Pancakes are a bit underestimated aren’t they? Well, they do contain protein, fat, carbohydrate, and vitamin ‘c’ [if you happen to like lemon and sugar.] Not only that, they are cheap as chips, and you can feed a family for next to nothing. Of course, the housewife gets repetitive strain injury from flipping them, only to find there is no batter left for herself [I’ll have another one mum], but all in all pancake day is rather special. We didn’t have pancakes on shrove Tuesday, I forgot all about it, but we have them now and again anyway. I can get my husband to paint the spare bedroom if I give him a stack of pancakes. He eats so many, and I haven’t the heart to say no [I hate to think what its doing to his blood sugar. It’s rather nice to think of everyone in Iden with their frying pans out, butter melting in the pan, ready for the same sanctified feast. Next to Christmas dinner, its probably the only meal we all have that’s exactly the same. No good committing a crime on Shrove Tuesday, because everyone can say,! Not Me Guvnor, I was at home making pancakes!”

MY FAVOURITE THING: Forget Julie Andrews with her ‘Raindrops on Roses’, sitting here writing this I’ve just discovered I’ve only drunk half my tea. There’s a couple of extra little slurps left. It’s one of those ‘Whiskers on Kittens’ moments!

CONTACT ME: If anyone has anything to add to the Village Voice, please contact Gill Griffin [telephone [01797 280311]