Staplecross

STAPLECROSS VILLAGE HALL: TREASURER APPEAL ~ Those dedicated people who look after our village hall, are still looking to recruit a new treasurer for the Village Hall, due to their current treasurer, Andy, retiring from this position to enjoy a form of retirement. We thank him sincerely, for all his services to the Village Hall. Therefore, as a result of this, the committee are now seeking a volunteer replacement to fill this role. As stated previously, - you do not need to be a banker, or an accountant to take on this task, ~ and, although it may appear a rather serious or daunting position to take on, this is also a fairly simple role to play and definitely nothing to be frightened of. The new treasurer just needs to be competent, numerate and willing to give up a few hours a month to help run this vibrant and popular venue. Help will always be on hand from other members of the Village Hall Committee to guide you along the way. This role is open to any gender, any age and ability - and this may be of particular appeal to someone who has not long moved into our parish, as this could be a super way of becoming part of our lovely community, or perhaps some-one retired, - recently or not, so please don’t let the word ‘Treasurer’ put you off considering the role !. So, do please give it some serious thought & consideration, as without this support, all others cannot function. The A.G.M. of this group will be in early March 2016 (8th) when decisions regarding this appointment will be announced & welcomed on board. Therefore, would any prospective candidate, please contact the Village Hall Chair.~ Hilary Ganly on [email protected] or Alastair at [email protected] -as soon as possible, to enquire of just what is involved in this position. You could be pleasantly surprised at how simple and straight-forward this position could be. This is such a worthwhile little job, which will give great satisfaction to whoever takes it on, - whilst knowing that you will always be greatly appreciated for doing so. Also, we have a new lady who will be taking on the role of the Village Hall Booking Clerk in the very near future, as Cheryl, the present clerk, has also decided to ‘retire’ from this role. Again we would like to send our grateful thanks to Cheryl, for the great job she has done over the past few months. Until our new lady takes over, may we ask that all enquiries regarding the hire & use of our lovely hall, be it a morning, an afternoon or an evening hire, please do so - again, via Hilary. You may contact this lady on 01580~830704 or via her email, as previously given.

STAPLECROSS LUNCHEON CLUB APPEAL: Many of our residents who attend this superb social gathering, were saddened to learn that after careful consideration, unexpectedly, this meeting had to be cancelled due to many of the staff/volunteers involved, being ill and under the weather. This goes to show how important this group is to a great number of people within our community and as a result a little reminder of the appeal made recently, on behalf of this little dining group is repeated here. I have often told you of the delicious 2 course meals that are provided every month at the Village Hall in Staplecross and where for a very small cost of £6:00 per person, a small group of happy and very friendly diners meet up to enjoy the simple, delectable and home cooked meal, eaten amongst congenial company, in comfortable surroundings. Well, sadly for any number of reasons, the numbers of those attending these lunches, are declining and the hard working organisers now find themselves in a bit of a quandary and are now looking into the economic and validity of continuing to provide these lunches. The Luncheon Club has a superb group of people ‘In Charge’ -so to speak - who do all the hard and messy work involved in this, including;- selecting the menu’s, preparing the food, who cook & serve, clear & clean up, who lay out the hall & tables and tidy it all away after we’ve gone home. These lovely people really enjoy doing it, - but there does come a time when the costs going out outweigh the diners coming in!. Hence this ONGOING APPEAL !. This super little dining group is looking for -’MORE BUMS ON SEATS’ - Yes, WE NEED YOU !. Additional members are urgently needed and would be so very welcome. The meals, as I’ve said many times before, are always delicious, freshly cooked with the provisions often locally sourced, and of great variety. Rules are few and far between and you don’t even have to live within the parish boundary as several of our diners travel from outside, (-which just shows you how great the meals are! ) Please come along and join this lovely club group and help prevent another local social club from being lost to the community. We meet every 3rd Wednesday of each month at 12.30pm in Staplecross Village Hall. Our next date for the meeting of the Luncheon Club will be Wednesday March 16th so please contact Sally on 01580~830000 or Dennis on 01580~830816 for all further information. We really do look forward to welcoming you to our table.

THE CROSS INN: ‘Mine Host’, from this popular and very friendly pub, right in the heart of Staplecross village, have announced the appearance of local band “Release the Geese” - who will be coming to play live from 8.30pm onwards, at the pub on Saturday February 20th. This well known band, which has a popular following, will no doubt draw in the crowd, so make sure you arrive early to enjoy the music and the atmosphere. Great food will continue to be served until 9.00pm and a huge variety of popular drinks will of course, be available throughout the time. Also, the pub has started serving breakfasts now, from 7.30am until 11.30am - Wednesday to Saturday. They also are offering tea & coffee and delicious home made cakes daily for you to enjoy as well. How’s that for an afternoon treat ? Pop in for a chat about what’s on the menu and, don’t forget, with that special event just around the corner, this charming hostelry are now taking bookings for “Mother’s Day” - lunches & evening meals,- so to avoid disappointment, don’t leave it too late.- book now !

ROTHER RAMBLERS: Despite the unreliability of our English weather, or perhaps in spite of it, those stalwart members of the Rother Ramblers walking group are not going to be put off from enjoying being out in the free, fresh air whilst exploring some lesser known parts of our unique and beautiful countryside. Two (2)more walks are lined up for our consideration this week. Walk No: 1 is an 8 mile circular tour of Hurst Green, Great Wigsell and Silver Hill. Arranged to take place on Sunday February 21st. the meeting point will be at the Hurst Green Village Hall car park. OS EXP135. TQ733271. (SatNav TN19 7HJ) at 10.00am. Please note:This car park is behind the village hall on the A265, close to the junction with A21. As is usual, a picnic lunch is suggested. Adrian will be your ‘walk leader’ for this outing and you may contact him on 01273~514336 or Mobile No: 07729~861854 for all further details. Walk No: 2 is in a different direction, but just as delightful. Planned for Tuesday February 23rd this is a slightly longer stroll of 10 circular miles and is from Cranbrook via Angley Woods and Sissinghurst Castle. - wonderful to see at any time of the year. The meeting place for this stroll will be in the ‘Co-op’ car park in the heart of Cranbrook OS EXP136. TQ775359. (SatNavTN17 3DJ) at 10.00am.Once again, a picnic lunch is suggested. Carol is the ‘walk leader’ for this meander and you may contact her on: 01580~852432 for all further information. PS Don’t forget to take your camera’s, as there will be delights of all descriptions for you to ‘capture’ for future reminiscence.

EWHURST PARISH ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION: Just a gentle reminder of another year gone by and it’s now that time of the year again when the Ewhurst Parish Allotments Association will be holding their A.G.M. It will be held in the church room of St. Mark’s church, Northiam Road, Staplecross on Tuesday February 23rd. at 7.30pm. Many residents may not be aware that there are still a few vacant plots for rent, at the allotment site, situated in Lordine Lane, Ewhurst and this may be just the perfect time to consider taking one on. Last year, an amazing number and variety of fruit and vegetables were grown, to the delight of the growers, and of course, those that shared in their bountiful harvest. Each of these vacant plots, complete with their own private, lockable shed and with water laid on, are part of a well cared for allotment area, which is well fenced and offers some parking. The old adage - “Nothing tastes as good as when picked from your own garden and grown by your own hand” - is certainly true in this case. If you are interested in becoming a member of this little group and enjoy ‘growing-your-own’ fruit & vegetables and would like to obtain your own plot at a reasonable rent, to take this enjoyment a little further, then please contact Jacqui on 01580~830576 or email [email protected] for more information.

CHURCH SERVICES: Church services for the parish of Ewhurst will commence at St, James the Great, Ewhurst Green on Sunday February 21st. Lent 2. at 9.30am. This service will include Holy Communion. We are pleased to welcome back Reverend Dick Dengate (Retired) who will be conducting this service in lieu of Gordon Winchester, who sadly is still poorly. A service which will also include Holy Communion, will follow directly after at St. Giles church, Bodiam at 11.15 am. and the Reverend Dick Dengate, will also conduct this service.There will be NO SERVICE at St. Mark’s church, Staplecross today and if there is any church matter on which you feel you may need further assistance, then do please get in touch. You may contact either of the churchwardens ~ Graham Peters -on [email protected] and telephone no: 01580~830203 for Bodiam church matters and for Ewhurst Parish church matters, please contact Jo Goodwin-on [email protected] and telephone no: 01580~830601. Help in some form or another, is always at hand, so do please contact them.

PLEASE CONTACT ME: If you are arranging an event in the near future, --- however large or small and you’d like some (FREE) extra coverage for it,~ courtesy of the Observer Newspaper, then please get in touch. If it’s of interest to you, - it’s of interest to us. It’s never too early to send in your details and to tell us what you are planning, so please do contact me, as I’d love to hear from you and to help ‘spread the word’ on your behalf.........Thank You.

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