Staplecross

First (1st) was the superb MacMillan Nurses National ‘Coffee Morning’ event that was held in 1000’s of places, up and down the country, last Friday morning, September 25th, in support of this fantastic charity. Everyone knows the work that these dedicated and caring people do, so I need not expand on that, but you all aught to know that thanks to the herculean work undertaken by our own few little hero’s, the fabulous amount of £1587:00 - which includes gift aid - was raised and will be added to their much needed funds in due course. Organised this year by Pauline Scowen,- and aided and abetted Mike & Anka Buss, this year’s event was another great winner, so special and heartfelt thanks must surely be sent to them for all the fantastic work that they all put in to help make our parish contribution to this event, such the success that it was. Grateful thanks must also be extended to Eunice Wood, for all the delicious and varied cakes she made, that were sold so rapidly, thus helping to swell the coffers for this very worthy charity. Sincere additional thanks must also go to those who helped on the day, as generously giving of your time, is so valuable and appreciated by all. and to all those who also helped make this a success by donating various gifts and items for the Tombola and the Raffle, etc. The biggest ‘Vote of Thanks’ must go to all those lovely people who took the time to pop in and share some of their time with us, for spending money at the stalls and generally helping to boost the funds. Without you, the public, our lovely community, our families and our friends, the final total sum raised for this amazing cause may not have been so great, --- so a huge “THANK YOU” to you all.

Second (2nd) event that took place during the afternoon of the same day (Friday September 25th) was the charming and delightful “Harvest Festival” undertaken by our own Staplecross M.C.P. School. This was magnificently produced by the wonderful Head Teacher, Liz Avard, - and directed by all the amazing staff from all the years classes. But the top awards must go to the pupils themselves. From the new reception class ‘beginners’ who only started school 3 week ago,- to those ‘experts’ -The Kestrels in Class 6. According to the comments from the guests of this delightful event, this was a real pleasure to attend with the pupils all behaving themselves (!) showing good manners and being polite to the ‘old folks’ as they served them the delicious celebratory afternoon tea following the service, all very willing and with lovely smiles upon their faces. The praises must be shared out with all the teachers, the classroom assistants, those ‘co-opted’ to assist and the stars themselves, - the pupils. So many grateful thanks for a lovely afternoon event from all those who attended. Nowadays, many of us live quite privileged lives, compared to some people and perhaps the terminology “asset rich & finance poor”, springs to mind, and at times, we may take many aspects of our life styles for granted, almost invisible in some cases, so at events like these two, it’s really lovely to be able to give something back whilst helping others less fortunate than us.

Third (3rd) event - this was the annual Village Hall autumn Jumble Sale which took place the following day (Saturday September 26th) and whilst it may not have the glamorous titles of the preceding two events, was still an important event in our community calendar. All monies raised at this event will go towards the upkeep of the premises, thus ensuring that the community continue to have a Village Hall to be proud of. The superb sum of £645:29 was achieved and grateful thanks must go to ALL those who came to help, - to those who collected, sorted, stacked, sold, cajoled, begged & pleaded in whatever capacity, whether selling ‘the stuff’, or selling raffle or tombola tickets, cakes or cuppa’s, as without your help, this ‘unglamorous’ event would not have been quite so successful, so to all - a sincere -- “THANK YOU”

ROTHER RAMBLERS: Making the most of this unreliable weather the members of this popular walking group have two (2) more outings planned for this week, for our enjoyment and both are in our area. Walk No: 1 is a 10.5 mile circular tour of Icklesham via Udimore. and will take place on Sunday October 4th when all those interested in joining this walk will meet at the Icklesham Recreational Ground OS EXP 125. TQ878164. (SatNav TN36 4BN) at 10.00am. Parking is available on the street and in adjacent lay-by’s. A picnic lunch is suggested with a possible pub ‘stop off’ at Udimore. The ‘walk leaders’ for today will be Julia & Con. and for all further details of this walk, please contact them on 01424~437928 or Mobile no:s 07743~940638 or 07834~ 698107. Walk No: 2 is much closer to home, and of a much shorter mileage. This will be a 6 mile circular meander of Ewhurst Green to Northiam and is arranged to take place on Tuesday October 6th. The meeting place will be Ewhurst Green OS EXP 124. TQ796246. (SatNav TN32 5TE) at 10.00am. There will be a short refreshment stop midway, option of lunch at the pub (the White Dog Inn) after the walk. Roadside parking is available to the west of the pub, but please park prettily and respect the residents own areas. The walk leaders will ascertain if those staying for lunch at the pub, may have the use of their car park, whilst walking. The ‘walk leaders’ for this outing will be Rita & Lionel and for further information please contact them on 01424~752452. Strolling through any part of our glorious countryside is both a privilege and a pleasure, and at this time of the year, doubly so,- so if you can, do try to get out & about a bit and make the most of this lovely season.

STAPLECROSS W.I.: Making their way to St. Mark’s Church room, Northiam Road, Staplecross on Tuesday October 5th for their monthly meeting, will be the members of our local W.I. Looking forward to hearing their guest speaker who this month will be Mrs. Michele Krombholz and she will be telling us all about “Bodyshop at Home”. This is likely to be a popular meeting as we all like to ‘keep young and beautiful’ for as long and as best as we can. The meetings begin at 2.30pm and all ladies will be very warmly welcomed. This is a warm & friendly group of ladies with a lively interest in all that life holds. There is always something going on within the group, so why not come along and see what’s planned for the rest of the W.I. calendar. Please contact Ann on 01580~831944 for all the details.

MOBILE LIBRARY SERVICE: The little mobile library van will be arriving in Ewhurst Green on Thursday October 8th at approximately 10.40am. where it will serve the residents of this village with all the services you can expect to find in a main branch library, - only on a smaller scale!. It will then depart for pastures new in Bodiam at approx. 11.10am. Do make as much use of this amenity as possible, as this is such an important service to those who live in our rural areas. Inside the van doors, is a good deal more than just books, so step inside and discover it all for yourself.

EWHURST PARISH COUNCIL: This month’s meeting will take place on Thursday October 8th at 7.30pm in the church room of St. Mark’s church, Northiam Road, Staplecross. This meeting is open to the public and press alike and allows all residents of Ewhurst Parish community the perfect opportunity to come along and have your say. Along with your own Parish Councillors, there are usually representatives from both Rother District Council (Mr. Tony Ganly) and East Sussex County Council (Mrs Angharad Davies). During ‘Public Question Time’, you’ll be able to question, query, comment or complain on any or all of the things going on within our parish. We are here to listen to what you have to say and what you want ( or NOT want) to happen within this community. We are all working on your behalf, to make our parish, our community a better, safer and happier place to live, work and enjoy being in. Look for the big banner outside, - there’s usually sufficient car parking and all will be welcome.

STAPLECROSS BOWLS CLUB: The Annual Jumble Sale of this friendly and dedicated bowls club will take place on Saturday October 10th. in the Village Hall, Northiam Road, Staplecross . Doors will open at 2.00pm and the entrance is a miserly 20p per person. Going to a jumble sale is surely like going on a treasure hunt. There will be all sorts of hidden gems for you to seek and all you have to do to secure them is for a few coins to change hands !. Alongside all the bargains to be sought will be the usual refreshments, a cake stall and a raffle stall. Make sure you don’t miss out.

OUT and ABOUT: Possibly the last garden to be opened to the public this season in aid of St. Michael’s Hospice is that of Peasmarsh Place, This is a delightful 5 acre arboretum which is just bursting with colour at this time of year and features many rare trees that Viscount Devonport collected on his travels and planted here for us now to enjoy also. There is also a lovely walled orchard which has lots of old fashioned varieties of Sussex apples. Opening times are between 11.00am and 3.00pm and admission is just £4:00. There is wheelchair access but it’s limited due to the gravel paths, but guide dogs are welcome. There is parking available and the address is; Church Lane, Peasmarsh, and for those with Satellite Navigation systems, the post code is TN32 6XE. Bring the family along and enjoy Pumpkin Soup and delicious home-made cakes - all served in glorious surroundings and for such a worth-while cause.

CHURCH SERVICES: Church services for the parish of Ewhurst will commence at St. James the Great, Ewhurst Green on Sunday October 4th. Trinity 18.at 9.30am. This service will include Holy Communion. A Family Service and Harvest Festival service will follow directly after at St. Giles church, Bodiam at 11.15am. There will be NO SERVICE held today at St. Mark’s Church, Northiam Road, Staplecross. Both services will be conducted by Reverend Gordon Winchester and if there is any church matter in which he may offer assistance, then please don’t hesitate to contact him. You may contact him either at The Rectory, Ewhurst Green, or by telephone 01580~830268 or via his email [email protected]

PLEASE CONTACT ME: If your Group, Club, Society or Charity is planning to hold an event soon, however large or small and you’d like some ‘free publicity and extra coverage’, then please get in touch. If it’s of interest to you, it’s of interest to us. It’s never too early to tell me what you are arranging and we’d all love to hear about it, so do please tell me about it and I’ll help spread the word. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank You.

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