Staplecross, Ewhurst Green and Cripps Corner Village Voice

The church Harvest Supper starting at 6.30pm followed by a Barn Dance at 8pm takes place tomorrow (Saturday) in the village hall.

The tickets are £10 adults, £5 children and senior citizens, available from the church wardens (Lizzie Stern/John Barnes).

Staplecross Bowls Club will be holding a jumble sale at the village hall tomorrow (Saturday), starting at 2pm. Admission is 20p, with teas, cakes and a raffle.

The monthly Luncheon Club for residents of the parish over the age of 50 takes place on Wednesday, 12.30pm in the village hall.

The apple crop throughout the country this year has had mixed results and while some trees have borne plenty of fruit there have been many with a very poor harvest. Should you have a good tree and want to juice your apples the parish apple press is available for hire. Anyone interested should ring Maggie Whitaker on 01580-830041.

Bonfire Night gets ever closer and the Ewhurst and Staplecross Bonfire Society members are busy making arrangements for the popular event. This year there is a change of venue and it is to be held in a field off the Cripps Corner to Staplecross road, on the north side shortly passed Beacon Lane. A reminder to visitors that the road from Cripps Corner crossroads through to the Northiam Road, Staplecross, will be closed from 7-10pm for the torchlit procession between Staplecross and Cripps Corner. Car parking is available opposite the bonfire site with a request not to park on grass verges or block the road in any way in order to allow emergency vehicles safe transit. In order for all to run smoothly, marshals are required. Volunteers for marshalling should contact Doreen Matthews on 01424-870874.

The Table Top sale planned for next Saturday has been abandoned due to lack of interest. It is hoped to hold one sometime next year.

Ewhurst Parochial Church Council will again be holding a Christmas Tree Festival at St James Church and would be so pleased if your business/organisation/club is able to participate. Should you wish to decorate a tree (it must be maximum height 1 metre 3’3” in “old money”!) the Council is planning a discount for bulk purchases for those ordered through the PCC (not Parish Council, that’s a different organisation). To state your interest/intent please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

This year the trees will need to be in place by 6pm on Friday, December 14 so that the church will be open for the evening for mulled wine. The church will then hold a Christmas Market the following morning with hot drinks and mince pies on offer. On both these occasions voting will take place for the favourite tree, with the result being announced at that evening’s Carol Service at 6pm.

A message from the Garden Society to point out that because the village hall will be in use as a polling station on Thursday November 15, the Society’s scheduled date has been brought forward to Tuesday November 13, when D S Charlesworth will be talking about the running of a lavender farm and the use of lavender today.

This meeting is also the AGM when re-election of chairman and committee takes place. Pam Underhill who has been chairman for the past few years said at last week’s meeting she would like to see someone else ready to take up the reins and also to fill two vacancies on the committee. The Rose and Vegetable shows had been good but Pam was sorry that with a membership of 80, it would be nice to see more entries from members.

Mike Falcon, a member of the Society, treated last week’s meeting to a slide show of pictures he and his wife had taken on their Himalayan journeys.