Udimore village voice - March 23

In view of the high estimated initial cost of replacing the two finger posts at the top of Float Lane and Dumbwoman’s Lane, and the high recurrent cost of their regular maintenance, councillors decided that this expenditure by the Parish Council could not be justified. At the Annual Parish Assembly on May 16 the possibility of replacing either or both of them in their original form will be open to discussion. If there is enough public support in favour of this, the necessary funds will have to be raised by public subscription. Otherwise the County Council will be asked to replace them with the standard metal signs, which could also include warnings of limited access by heavy goods vehicles. Meanwhile, if you have views on this, any of the parish councillors will be interested to hear them.

The chairman reported that the Parish Council website (www.udimore.org) is now fully operational, potentially a very useful community resource and a means for many of us to keep in touch with details of local events and other news.

The coffee morning, raffle and auction in St Mary’s Community Hall last Saturday succeeded in raising well over £500 for the jubilee decorations of the Church and Hall, with more still to come in. The organizers would like to thank the many people who helped to make the event such a success.

That afternoon the talk by the accomplished garden designer Nuala Hancock attracted a large audience to the Hall, both members of the Udimore Gardening Society and others from further afield. We came with high expectations and were not disappointed. Among places which had inspired our speaker in her work were a range of classically designed gardens, several of them on a monumental scale, in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France, and among others in a range of gardening styles in this country our chairman’s own garden at Knellstone House. This was an inspirational talk illustrated with beautiful photographs.

If you read this in time, you may be interested to know that our Police Community Support Officer, Richard Perchard, will be at Brede Farmers’ Market (in the Village Hall) between 10am and noon today, Friday, ready to answer any questions you may have for him on policing or other related matters.

The Friends of St George’s Church, Brede, are holding a coffee morning in the Brede Scout Hall, Stubb Lane, between 10am and noon tomorrow, Saturday.

Tomorrow evening the special concert in St Mary’s Church Rye starts at 7.30pm. Performers will include Rebekah Gilbert, Helen Ridout and Holly Gurney, in a programme on the theme of time - appropriate to the concert’s aim of raising funds for the restoration of the famous church clock, now nearly 700 years old. Tickets are available from Martello Bookshop, or at the door, for £10.

Carol McCall has asked me to say that there are still a few tables free for the Attic Sale/Table Sale in the Hall, on Saturday April 14, from 10am to 12.30pm. Last year all 22 tables were taken, so if you’re interested it’s important to let her know soon (01797 223276). Money raised from the entrance fee and rental of the tables will be for Hall funds.

Richard Holmes, Beauchamps