Robertsbridge

Firstly a huge thanks to all the collectors on Bonfire Night as the street collection hit a record high this year with the total at £3051.01 the other groups in the village will benefit from this grand amount. Many thanks to everyone that made a donation it is very much appreciated.

Today Friday 29th November at Poppinghole Farm Shop they are holding a Christmas Market between 2pm – 7pm. There will be stalls selling gifts made by local folks, a selection of Festive foods, Christmas Gifts and a selection of Christmas Trees and decorations. There will be a free shuttle bus from the village. For further details please ring 01580 880503.

Tomorrow Saturday 30th you can shop for gifts at the St. Mary’s Christmas Market at the Church room in Fair Lane. This is open between 10.30am – 2.30pm. Don’t miss the chance to buy some great Christmas bargains and maybe win a little Christmas Cheer.

Also tomorrow you can visit Poppinghole Farm Christmas Fair between 10am – 4pm in Poppinghole Lane Robertsbridge. Admission is free and any funds raised will be going to the MS Society. You can go along and join in the Festivities of Christmas and do some pressie shopping too. The Poppinghole Farm Spa will be holding an Open Day at the same time, so go along for a bit of pampering and a glass of wine.

I have heard a whisper that the man in Red, Father Christmas will be making an appearance at his Poppinghole Grotto on the very same day as all this is happening.

Sunday 1st December will see the return of DSE Band with Mr McGregor from Salehurst Primary School between4pm-6pm. Everyone is welcome with members free entry and just £3 for non-members and guests.

Salehurst Primary School is holding an open morning for prospective parents on Thursday 5th December between 9am – 10.30am. This is for parents of children that will be starting school in September 2014. Parents will be welcomed at 9am and can attend FAB assembly where the children show their work and receive awards. Following this at 9.30am there will be the opportunity to meet with the Head teacher and teaching staff. For further information or to make an individual appointment please email [email protected]

On Friday 13th December Salehurst Scholl is holding its Christmas Fair at the school between 3pm – 5pm.

Robertsbridge Christmas Capers is on Friday 6th December when the local shops and traders are open to wish you well for the festive season and open their doors until 9pm. There will be lots of activities throughout the village during the evening with a road closure in place from the bottom end of the High Street to the Station Road turning.

John and Jane at the George would like to tell you that they will be having Soul Xpress playing again in the pub at 9pm to celebrate their 8th Anniversary Night from when they opened up the George after its refurb. Congratulations to them for making it a success.

The following morning on Saturday 7th December it will be Village Monthly Christmas Market at Robertsbridge Hall between 10am – 12.30

A good chance to buy fresh produce, gifts, and a well earned coffee.

A reminder that if you would like to attend the Community Christmas Party at Robertsbridge Community College on Monday 9th December then you must RSVP to Tracey Ash by Tuesday 3rd December on 880360 ext. 121 or email [email protected] The only criteria for this invite is that you are retired and live locally.

Lynettes Calendars are on sale now at Belle Flowers and are £6 each. They will be available on Christmas Capers night as well. Lovely pictures of the local village houses and areas, makes a lovely Christmas gift.

With so much Christmas Spirit all ready in the village, you may not need to go into town to buy all those gifts you may be able to do it by shopping locally.

Sadly not everyone is community minded. Last week there was a vandalism incident on Robertsbridge Railway Station, where some mindless people threw white paint on the platforms and bridge. Luckily some of the locals helped to clean it with Ross the Station Master who has put in so much effort to make the station a pleasant place to travel from and to. If you have any idea on who may have done this please contact Tina Grevett or go in and tell Sandie at the Floral Boutique who will contact her for you. There is also a collection box in the Floral Boutique and throughout the village to show support for our station and Ross who runs it.

Finally it is with much sadness to tell you that Alan Ball died last weekend at St. Michaels Hospice and we would like to send our condolences to Norma and his family and friends. Alan was always a larger than life character and many people knew him for many different things. He loved dancing and was always at the local Tea Dance that the Bonfire Society used to put on once a month, he was always eager to help with transport of his fellow dancers. He supported Bonfire and a few years ago had his hair shaved off raising over £500.00 and a memory I have is of him dancing on the table at one of the senior lunches that the Society put on each year. He also played bowls and was awarded a trophy which he sadly didn’t see as it was delivered on the day he died.

In years gone by he was the coach for tug of war teams in the village and when it was a training night or a match you could hear him shouting at the top of his voice `Push, Push` because contrary to thought you push with your legs in tug of war and not only pull with your arms. There is so much that could be written but not enough space. When we get details of the funeral I will let you all know. Rest in Peace Alan.

Ladies Darts : We had a 7-4 win against The White Hart(Wadhurst) II last Monday[18th] but we also created a record for the longest time to checkout. Carol Apps and Jackie Danaher gave us a 2-0 lead before Alice Hodges(Robertsbridge) and Liza(Wadhurst) created history by taking almost half an hour to get double one with Liza eventually hitting the double but then Steph Goldsmith and Frankie Taylor took us into a 4-1 lead at the end of the singles. Carol/Steph won their pairs game so going into the trebles we were one game away from victory but the visitors won the first trebles game to bring the score to 5-4 and we thought it was going to be another nailbiting finish but victory for Eileen Morgan/Jackie/Alice and Carol/Alice/Frankie in the final two games gave us a 7-4 win. There were high scores from Carol[123,95], Jackie[112], Alice[97], Frankie[97,81], Steph[96,83] and Eileen [95,84]. On Monday[2nd December] we have a bye.

Friday Darts : Mountfield Club ‘A’ were the visitors last Friday who we beat 5-2 in the single darts with wins for Justin Hardy, Dan Smith, David Goodsell, Michael Stone and Guy Ballard while Dan/Guy won the Mens Pairs 1-0 and there were walkover for the Mixed Pairs and Ladies Pairs. There were 100+ scores for Guy [140,125,100x3], Dan [140x2,100], Justin[108], David[108], Michael[100], Stuart Miller[100] and Keith Stone[100]. We won pushpenny 5-0 with victories for Michael Stone, Dave Fortsch and David Goodsell while Ted Goldfinch and Alan Apps had walkovers. Michael scored a ‘goldwatch’. Tonight we are away to Mountfield Club ‘B’ at 8p.m.