Rodmell and Southease

SPRING SHOW: Rodmell Spring Show was a great success and there were some wonderful entries in all classes. This year the flowers everywhere seem better than ever and the profusion of blossom is astounding. It's such a wonderful time of year and I always wish it would go on longer. I have to say thank you to all those who worked so hard getting the spring show organised. There were some wonderful cakes at the tea bar. I actually bought some to take home, and had to walk carefully up the village with them perched precariously on thin cardboard plates. I made it without dropping my precious load and they went down well at Sunday teatime.
Rodmell & Southease newsRodmell & Southease news
Rodmell & Southease news

TELEPHONE BOX: I wonder what is going to happen to our telephone box, which has stood out by the bus stop to Lewes for many years. It’s hardly ever used these days, so I believe it will shortly go out of action. I know the last time I used it, it was in a dreadful state, full of leaves and cobwebs. I know many places who still have the red telephone boxes, which are the real old ones, have made them into various other things such as minute libraries, coffee shops etc. Perhaps our more modern one could become a Village Information Bureau.

BLUEBELLS: The bluebells are bursting into flower now and one sees clumps that have sprung up along roadsides as well as in woods. I have quite a few in my garden and didn’t plant them, they are self-sown. The bank of daffodils that Bill Dartnell and yours truly planted many years ago outside our house, have really given a good display this year and for once didn’t seem to suffer from visitors to the village picking them for Mothers’ Day.

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DOG OWNERS: Various people who walk in this area are complaining about dog owners, who are either not clearing up after their dogs, or are clearing up but are hanging the poo bags on fences. Evidently this is especially happening along the cycle path between Lewes and Kingston. Perhaps a poo bin is needed like the one in Rodmell (which not everyone uses). I was surprised to read about the dogs who were poisoned by grapes. I knew chocolate wasn’t good for dogs but I had no idea that grapes have a toxin that causes renal failure. It must be difficult when people have children and dogs as children will often give to dogs what they eat themselves.

CARER: As many of the readers will know by now, I am a carer and until recently was responsible for two people who needed me to cope with them. I go to Care for the Carers meetings, which are held in Ringmer Village Hall (St Mary’s Room) on the first Tuesday of the month and find it very helpful. If you are a carer, and are finding life difficult, do come along, as a trouble shared with others in the same situation is a trouble halved. Kat Matthews, who is the person who runs the meetings, is lovely and very approachable. The time is 10am to noon and refreshments are provided.

OLD AGE: I really feel the young of today need to pay some sort of insurance to cover them for their old age, as it appears the NHS is just not going to be able to cope in the future. The press has mentioned that the middle classes are being targeted by care/nursing homes who are just not being paid enough by local authorities for poorer people to live in homes. This happened when my father was in a home over 27 years ago. My father shared a room with another man towards the end of his life. Because his funds were running out, his family used to mock my mother when they visited, saying ‘You rich people pay, whilst we get it for free’. They would then add that they had bought new cars, had expensive holidays etc. I have heard many people now say ‘I’m not going to save for my old age. I’m jumping on the bandwagon like people who abuse the system, and the government will then have to pay for me as well’. You can’t blame them and this will cause yet more problems. Mind you, low interest rates don’t help savers. People of this day and age seem to use credit cards all the time, as they must have what they want and look at the problems it’s causing. I, like many others my age, was encouraged to save for a rainy day and only buy what I could afford. Now it’s a case of must have must buy, without thinking of the consequences.

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