Udimore

At the Udimore Gardeners’ meeting in the Hall last Friday evening there was an animated discussion of our current gardening problems, from which we all learnt at least one helpful new tip, followed by a useful seed and plant swapping session. Members have now been issued with a full list of future events, which start with a visit to Hole Park, Rolvenden, on Saturday April 20. More details will appear in this column in due course.

At noon today the Good Friday service in St Mary’s Church will include hymns, prayers and periods of meditation.

To celebrate Easter Sunday there will be a Family Eucharist, starting at 11.15am.

All of you who knew Michael Ward will be interested to hear that there’s a new exhibition of his perceptive and entertaining photographs at Rye Art Gallery (at the eastern end of High Street). It opens tomorrow (Saturday) 10.30 am to 1pm, and 2 to 5 pm; also on Sunday, and the two Bank Holiday Mondays from noon to 4pm. It continues there every day except Tuesdays, at the same times as tomorrow and Sunday, until Sunday May 12. For this special exhibition Elizabeth Ward has chosen over thirty of his best works, which include portraits of the Beatles, Benjamin Zephaniah, Beryl Bainbridge, Bob Hope, Tony Hancock and Susannah York, each of them accompanied by Michael’s lively account of how the photo came to be taken - an exhibition not to be missed!

This marrow-chilling easterly wind looks like bringing us one of the coldest Easters on record, but I hope that it will be a joyful season for most of you nevertheless.