Piddinghoe

YOUNG AND LOVELY: Teenagers get such a bad press these days and so it is good to report that there at least two youngsters who can be proud of themselves in Piddinghoe. Jenny Cornish is 19, works as a lifeguard at Seahaven Leisure and is currently planning a major trip to a third-world country where she will work hard to ease cases of poverty and deprivation which are rife there. To this end she has been cracking on with a busy fund-raising programme to help finance the projects she is sent on by national volunteer charities. She has taken on a bob-a-job-style line in putting herself up for odd jobs around the village in return for donations, including dog-walking, baby-sitting, shopping for the elderly, lifts into town for the infirm and even stripping down an old garden bench, making it look like new and ready for painting for one of her customers. All this however was put into the shade by her Tea and Cake afternoon at the village hall last Saturday. With the help of mum Claire and friend Rachel she invited all villagers to come in for a cup of tea, a slice of cake and a chat about her charitable ambitions. It was a roaring success. The delicious home-made cakes were mouth-watering dreams, looking for all the world like professional productions and the atmosphere really jolly. No wonder nearly £300 was raised and that will be a great help when Jenny sets out for either Africa or Asia within the next few months. Now we turn our attention to Kelsey (don’t know his surname but he is well known around the village because he is just 13 but looks 20). This big lad does not say much but he is a delight for everybody, helping out wherever he can and his latest offer is dog-walking which he will undertake for a modest £5 a walk to relieve some of the more elderly pet-owners in the village. There are not many youngsters in Piddinghoe these days but everybody is glad to have Kelsey who lives with his parents in one of the Purnell Cottages, among us. He even contributes occasionally to our parish magazine (The
By The Newsroom
Published 25th Jan 2019, 05:00 BST
Updated 7th Feb 2019, 17:37 BST
Piddinghoe newsPiddinghoe news
Piddinghoe news

GOOD LOOKS: For some reason the village is looking particularly smart and attractive again at this time of year, probably just before the snow comes to cover it in white. It is hard to know why but paths and kerbs seem a good deal tidier, recently. Villagers are weighing in with several improvements including the sandbagging and puddle-filling taken up by Isla, Jonny and David H on the Village Green where we have to be very careful because nobody actually admits to owning the land there. At the Newhaven end of the village, a few holes have been filled and Councillor Angie is chasing the authorities who are responsible for doing it to do more. Also it is lovely to finally see Malthouse now back to its brilliant best after more than two years of painstaking refurbishment. Now the old, flaking green visage has been replaced by natural wood rafters that suit it much better, all the rest of the exterior is now painted completely black and white and a superb patio and path has been laid towards Gill’s cosy refuge at the rear. It must all be a huge relief to owners Gavin and Birgit and a huge satisfaction to Gill’s nephew Guylee, the architect. All that appears to be needed now is new grass in twitten between Malthouse and Royal Oak where long-standing scaffolding caused a mudflat.

GOODBYE TO VAL: We had to bid a fond farewell to Valerie Bailey, another doyen of the village, who moved away a couple of weeks ago to be nearer her family (particularly her daughter) quite close to the lovely Lake District. We’ve known for some time that this lovely lady was going. The nice house she shared with husband Peter on the corner of Court Farm Close had been up for sale for well over 18 months but a sale fell through thanks to the thoughtless deeds of a rogue bidder and then Peter tragically suffered a heart-attack and died late last year during a journey to visit the property they had agreed to buy up north. Finally another sale has gone through and Val is on her way with our best wishes. We have had some ‘lovely Vals’ in this village including Valerie Mellor who lived here (moving from Birmingham) in 1985 and became Village Historian until her death following a short illness in 2012. Now here goes another one, but still going strong.

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CURTAIN UP AGAIN: News comes to us that the Piddinghoe Players whose debut-performance in War and Peace at the village hall in November was such a hit are in rehearsal again. It is not a secret and the production will be on show in March. But so far the subject matter is a secret.

CHURCH SERVICES: Fourth Sunday of the month (this Sunday) at St John’s, a Common Worship Holy Communion Service with hymns and an address that lasts no longer that one hour starting 9.30am. On February 10, and every second Sunday of the month, a half-hour service led by Rev Mary Sitwell lasting just 30 minutes, usually in Ladies Chapel.

FILM NIGHT: The next movie to be shown at Piddinghoe Village Hall will be The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman about two dying men set on accomplishing their dearest wishes before they depart. A heart-warming, slightly black, comedy we are told. Also, we are told, it has been prevented by the film-makers from appearing on television since its release in 2007 but, courtesy of Mrs Jill Hentschal, it comes to the big screen at Pidd next Friday February 1.

PILATES: With Rebecca tomorrow (Saturday) in the village hall from 8.15am.

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INDOOR GAMES: Darts and table tennis equipment is available free again in the village hall on Wednesday nights. If the hall is not lit by 7.30pm, just ask one of the neighbouring houses for the key.

ART AND KNITTING: Jill’s ladies gather at 2.30pm on Thursday afternoon with brush and needle.

YOGA: Tim Blair’s Thursday night class starts at 6.30pm (village hall).

Related topics:St John's