Playden

We are most grateful to Chandlers of Rye for the loan of a piano; Morpheys for the transport of the said piano; and Richard Adams for the extremely generous donation of all the postcard prints of his paintings, and the scanning etc of the lovely special picture which he created for us., to produce the prints. Twenty five were made and only four are still available.

The Treasurer is delighted to announce that takings were significantly up this year, and the Friends of Playden Church benefited by over £2,000.

Thank you also to all the friends who came to support the event and the concert by Ryesingers.

The next event is the Midsummer Open Gardens on 21 - 22 June.

Playden Parish Council held the Annual Assembly and Annual General Meeting consecutively last week.

All current councillors - Mr. David Stone, Mr.Tony Lenihan, Mr. Alan Blackham, Mr. Paul Osborne and Clerk Mr. Ray Harrington-Lowe were present along with the 5 members of the public who were sufficiently interested in Police and crime, Road safety, Planning, Waste Disposal, Affordable Housing and the Butt Field, to tun up at the meeting. Also attending were ESCC Cllr. Mr.Keith Glazier and RDC Cllr. Mr. Nick Ramus.

The current Chairman, Mr. David Stone, indicated his willingness to carry on and was elected unanimously. Mr. Paul Osborne was elected as Vice Chairman.

The Annual Report of the work of the Council states that “Our aim is to work within the Local Government framework, to consult and inform residents of Playden, that any actions taken are generally in accordance with their wishes, and to protect and improve the rural environment of Playden and to maintain its identity and independence.”

Fine words. Unfortunately it had not been possible to deliver a copy of this report to all households in the village.

Reports and Minutes are posted on the website on www.playden.info and the Notice Board at St’ Michael’s Church entrance.

Residents are urged to continue to report pot holes or other highways problems on www.eastsussex.gov.org or on 0345 60 80 193.

All residents are urged to keep hedges and trees trimmed back from the roads and footpaths. If they continue to cause a problem, RDC will do the work and send the bill to the householder.

The closing balance at the end of the financial year was £1940. The Precept will be kept as low as is feasible, and is maintained at £5,000. A modest sum will be spent on updating the website, which is available for parishioners to submit news of forthcoming events etc..

Mr. Davenport reported on the on-going problem of incorrect post codes. This is a Post Office issue and would need a substantial number of people to lodge a formal request, until which time we must await the inner workings of the GPO.

Vanessa Smith enquired about the usage of the Butt field. It was suggested that she contacted the Trustees. She interested in archery.

Mrs. Lovell enquired if there was any progress on ascertaining ownership of the boundaries of the steep part of New England Lane. Bushes and detritus are falling into the lane. Cllr Glazier will endeavour to find out more.

There will be a Neighbourhood Watch meeting at Playden Oasts on 13th May from 8.30 to 9 pm.

The next Parish Council meeting will be on 5th June at 7.30 pm in the W.I. Hall. All members of the parish are urged to attend.

The exhibition of Art and Craft held in St. Michael’s Church last weekend was very well attended. There was beautiful work on display from a huge variety of talented local people. Great interest was shown in the signed, limited print run of the special picture by Richard Adams and only 5 remain. The refreshments were very popular with home made cake available as well as tea and coffee.

Ryesingers performed a lovely Water Music concert on the Saturday evening to a pretty full church. There were familiar poems too, including The Owl and the Pussycat and Cargoes. Everything had a link to Water Music, and the choir made its entrance to the Sailors’ Hornpipe played on the treble recorder.

Very sincere thanks are offered to everyone who worked so hard and the visitors who came. The funds raised for the Friends of Playden Church are not currently known. We are grateful for all the support shown.

The next event to be organised by The Friends will be the Midsummer Open Gardens on the weekend of 21st and 22nd June. Come for a stroll around Playden, visit some gardens and have tea and cake to fortify the inner man or woman.