Cross in Hand, Horam, Blackboys & Five Ashes

FAKE EMAILS: Watch out for these fake Netflix emails. There has been an increase in reports about fake Netflix emails claiming that there’s an issue with your account, or that your account has been suspended. The email states that you need to update your account details in order to resolve the problem. The link in the emails leads to genuine-looking Netflix phishing websites designed to steal your username and password, as well as payment details. Always question unsolicited requests for your personal or financial information in case it’s a scam. Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text. For more information on how to stay secure online, visit www.cyberaware.gov.uk

FARM WATCH: Coordinator’s Update. Reported cases of loose animals on the public highways this week has fallen from 122 to 16. A total of 15 sheep, and one cow. Please, livestock owners, ensure that your field boundaries are animal proof. Please ensure that you check your road, motorway and railway sided fields at least once a day. There have been several thefts this week across both East and West Sussex, items stolen include six bicycles, six gas bottles, three chainsaws, two strimmers, two number plates, two bluetooth speakers, 1.5 tonnes of cable, a tortoise and a charger unit. For more detail see reports below. Please remember to make a note of the serial numbers of any machinery you have as if they are stolen, they are easier to identify and return to the rightful owner.

PROJECT EDWARD: Will be supported in Sussex again this year as part of the overall aim - to reduce the amount of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads. This year sees Project Edward fall within The National Police Chiefs Council week of action for mobile phone use. In Sussex it will be using a combination of enforcement and educational messaging tactics. The police enforcement will be through, Roads Policing Unit using several unmarked vehicles to patrol strategic network of roads, looking at specific locations based on collision data and also reports that have come in via Operation Crackdown, the local anti-social driving reporting website. Officers will be supported by high visibility patrols from local police response teams. Sussex Safer Roads Partnership will deliver key messages around Project Edward to highlight to the public what the project is and what we are aiming to achieve, this will start to happen a couple of weeks before the day to raise awareness. Messaging around #Itcanwait will also be sent out through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The police partners in both East Sussex and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service are also proactively involved in the project and are looking to display posters on their vehicles. Sussex has over 150 community speed watch groups across the county. They will all be asked to be out monitoring speeds in their local areas in support of Project Edward. We will also be looking to Facebook Live from a couple of speed watch sites during the day and also be out with an unmarked traffic vehicle. The partnership has several Mobile Camera teams that will also be involved in the enforcement of speed limits in areas where the collision data shows that they should be present. The camera teams are able to identify other road traffic offences such as not wearing a seatbelt or mobile phone use, which where the evidence is sufficient, will seek to prosecuted. To support this day and the work carried out by Sussex and Surrey Police, East Sussex and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Services, and local authorities, members of the public can sign up to the pledge, committing to become a better driver and encouraging friends and family to do the same and make our roads that little bit safer for all, follow the link here:https://projectedward.eu/pledge/.

WEALDEN ALERTS: Let us build 214 new council homes. Wealden District Council is calling on the Government to increase the amount of money it can borrow so it can build an additional 214 council houses. If approved, it would increase the amount Wealden can borrow through its Housing Revenue Account by an extra £28.7 million. This would be on top of its current £71.7 million borrowing limit. ‘This extra borrowing is urgently needed to put more affordable housing in locations where it is most needed,’ said Councillor Graham Wells, Cabinet member for Housing and Benefits. ‘We will repay the money through rental incomes over the life of the property. Phase Two of our new build strategy is nearing completion. It includes 67 retirement living apartments in Grant Hill House, Uckfield, and 29 affordable homes at Leap Close and Old Hop Gardens in Hailsham. And four affordable homes in East Dean. The extra borrowing limit would enable Phase Three to undertake developments in Crowborough, Uckfield, Heathfield, Horam and Polegate, creating another 214 much-needed affordable homes. The full cost of Phase Three will be £44.3 million. This includes money from Right-to-Buy sales and shared ownership payments, as well as additional spending from the Council’s Housing Revenue Account. The 214 new council homes would be built between 2019 and 2022 and includes rebuilding Streatfeild House in Uckfield. This retirement living court is in need of modernisation. The proposal will increase the number of retirement living homes on the site by 11 to 55 and get rid of its existing outdated bed-sitting room stock.

FOOD AND DRINK: The Best of Wealden Food and Drink. Between September 22 and October 7, markets in Wealden will be decorated with Union Jack bunting and posters. It’s all part of the British Food Fortnight, the biggest annual, national celebration of good, local, fresh food and drink. Farmer markets are held at Uckfield, first Saturday of the month. Hailsham, second Saturday of the month. Heathfield, third Saturday of the month. Crowborough, fourth Saturday of the month. There is also a street market in Hailsham every Saturday. Community markets take place at Blackham, Framfield, Chelwood Gate, East Dean, Forest Row, Wadhurst. Country markets, specialising in locally produced baked goods are held at Pevensey Bay and Waldron. Wealden has an abundance of high quality food and drink products. You can expect to buy fresh bread, cakes, seasonal vegetables, meats, dairy produce, chutney plus local arts and crafts and much more. Details of the markets regularly held in and around the Wealden area are on the Wealden website www.wealden. gov.uk/localmarkets More about the British Food Fortnight national campaign can be found at www.lovebritishfood.co.uk

LOCAL PLAN: Extra-Ordinary Council Meeting. There will be an extra-ordinary Council meeting in the Main Hall Community Centre Sheepsetting Lane September 24 starting at 6.30pm to discuss the parish council’s response to the Wealden Local Plan. This will be an opportunity for residents of the Parish to listen and air their views on the matter. I understand it has been reported on social media that the phase 2 of the developments behind the police station and Dads Hill have been postponed due to lack of sales.

HIGH STREET LETTING: I understand the small former restaurant trading as Cake has now been let. If anyone reading this column knows who the new tenant is please let me know. All we need now is a tenant for the closed jewellery shop although I understand the lease expires this month.

CROSS IN HAND: Cross in Hand Primary School Newsletter. Mrs Massheder, head teacher reports: Over the summer the Year 5 and 6 children were offered the chance to create some artefacts to display for their learning journey on Ancient Greece and boy, did they go to town. We had terrific Trojan horses, magnificent masks, unbelievable urns and brilliant boats (apparently called ‘triremes’ thank you for telling me, Sam) amongst other things. Aren’t they fabulous?

Congratulations. She’s here. We have all been waiting for news from Miss Bax on the birth of her baby. I am so happy to tell you that baby Winter Rose arrived safely today (five days late, but we’ll let her off) and she is perfect and beautiful. Congratulations Hollie and Patrick.

Quiz Night. Have fun and support a good cause. Ooh, I love a good quiz, and if it raises money for a great cause, even better. Our church, All Saints, Waldron, needs to restore its church organ. They are holding a quiz night on Thursday, November 22 at the State Hall, Station Road, Heathfield. It starts at 7pm for a 7.30pm sharp start. The well-known quiz master Steve Bennett will be officiating. Tickets are £10 which includes a delicious supper. We are fielding a staff team, so it would be great to see you there, and who knows, a Cross in Hand team might be the winners.

Don’t forget the Friends Ladies’ Night today, Friday. It is a free event designed for you to meet new people and enjoy The Greatest Showman. Bring your own refreshment, glasses and nibbles.

BLACKBOYS AND FRAMFIELD: Sussex Cider Brand Launches Apple Appeal. Following last year’s success, Framfield based cider, Bignose and Beardy is once again launching its Apple Appeal, asking the local community with apple trees or orchards to donate any surplus fruit, dessert or cookers, for this year’s cider production. As a result of last year’s inaugural appeal, nine out of fourteen tons of fruit was donated, helping founders Steve Stark (Beardy) and Phil Day (Bignose) fulfil its 7,000 litre output of cider this year. The remaining apples were picked at special apple picking days hosted by Steve and Phil, which brought together volunteers wanting to be part of the Bignose and Beardy cider making process. Steve said: ‘The direct relationships we have with apple growers is at the heart of the business. Community is really important to us and people love the idea of their apples being picked, pressed and bottled as cider rather than see their fruit go to waste. The hot summer this year means this harvest will be a bumper one with trees especially laden and ready to pick already. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to donate. We have apple sacks available at the cidery if need be and everybody who donates will receive a bottle of cider in return too.’ Now in its fifth year, Bignose and Beardy is creating a real stir in the cider world, with outlets in and around the Sussex area now stocking the quirky brand as well as select craft beer and cider shops in London and throughout the UK. Its cider club, a monthly subscription box that is delivered to any door in the UK is going from strength to strength. Hedgerow, one of its 2016 dry ciders at its peak, recently received a silver award from Sussex and Surrey CAMRA. The brand is also a finalist in the Food and Drink category of this year’s Sussex Life Awards. This year’s apple picking days are September 23, and October 7 and 14. For more information on these and how to donate apples, please visit www.bignoseandbeardy.com or call 078111 53495.

Background Story. The Bignose and Beardy story started four years ago at the school gate. Both Steve Stark (Beardy), previously from Brighton and Phil Day (Bignose), originally from London had moved to Framfield around 2006 to start their families in Framfield, a small East Sussex village on the edge of the Weald. Phil left London to fulfil his lifelong dream of running a small-holding in the countryside. Phil purchased Upper Brook House farm at auction, which became a renovation project whilst still living in London. Commuting down to the farm at weekends, Phil and his family finally moved to the house when heating was installed and it was (eventually) liveable. Phil and Steve became friends after meeting through their children who were friends at school. Both were beekeepers in their spare time, but Steve was stung a couple of times and had such bad reactions to the stings that beekeeping was no longer safe for him to do. One night over a pint in Framfield’s local, they discovered another mutual love. Cider. After researching the industry and taking advice from Phil’s friend in the Midlands who runs a successful cider company, they took the plunge and invested in some basic cider making kit. They distributed flyers at the local village fayre advertising for local apples to be donated in exchange for cider. One hundred litres was made in Bignose & Beardy’s first ever batch. It was bottled when it tasted just right. With their desire to make more, Steve and Phil purchased more sophisticated equipment which led to a production of 3.5K litres being made in a day next time round. Last year, 7,000 litres were made. It’s fair to say that Bignose and Beardy Cider is an out of control hobby, as both Steve and Phil have full time jobs elsewhere.

This year Phil built a Cidery at the farm. Both are humbled by how well the cider is being received. Watch this space for more exciting Bignose and Beardy cider news to come.

MAYFIELD AND FIVE ASHES: Mayfield’s Film Society. Film on Friday’s new programme for 2018/9 has an explosive start with the first screening on September 28 in the Memorial Hall with Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, a documentary about the film star who was also an accomplished scientist. New members are welcome to the season of the best of World Cinema, showing nine films monthly until next May. Doors and bar open at 8pm for an 8.30 start. Full details on www.filmonfriday.org

MAYFACS: (Mayfield and Five Ashes Community Services). Knitting/sewing group. This resumed on Monday, September 10 from 2pm to 3.30pm in the Old Library. Do come and join us for a chat whilst you knit or sew. You can bring your own project or you can knit squares for our blankets being made for the Queen Mother’s Sewing Guild. To find out more visit http://qmcg.org.uk/ Photocopying Service We are delighted to be able to offer a laser photocopying service in the Old Library as from now. Basic prices are 5p per A4 mono and 10p per A4 colour. Come and see us to find out more. Ceramics Mornings. As part of MAYFACS commitment to develop intergenerational activities, the new ceramics painting session, where you can come and create your own tile, starts soon. This is open to absolutely everyone of all ages who want to do something creative, whilst enjoying others’ company. Each tile will cost £5 and there will be tea and cake available. This starts on October 12 at 10am to noon in Mayfield Scout and Guide Hall and then at the same time every second Friday in the month (see diary for dates). If this appeals to you, please contact Alex so interest in this activity can be gauged.

Matinee Film Afternoons. Please pick up a leaflet which details the six films being shown, dates, prices and venue. If you need transport by minibus to and from the film it’s important that you tell them now, so they can start planning for that. If you would like to volunteer to make a cake for the film afternoons, please also get in touch. Public Use Computers. The two public computers are available in the Old Library when the MAYFACS office is open. If you were a regular user in the library, why not come and try one of these?

BASIC COMPUTER COURSE: They plan to run another four week basic computer course on using tablets, smart phones, storing and editing photos and other topics but need to know what people want to know. Please do contact them. Can you offer your skills as a teacher or computer buddy occasionally? If you can, please do get in touch. Computer Buddies. They are pleased to say this will be on offer again on Mondays or Tuesdays from 4pm-5pm in the Old Library. Please ring Shirley or Alex to book a slot. Help with iPad, iPhone, Smart Phones, tablets and computers will be available. Please contact them if you would welcome help in your own home from a computer buddy.

MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT LUNCH: The Five Ashes Tea and Chat on September 26 will be a special one held in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support as part of their World’s Biggest Coffee Morning campaign. It will be from noon to 2pm in Five Ashes Hall with a book stall and bring and buy sale. Please keep the date free. Contact Details, Shirley Holland or Alex Firrell Most Mondays and Tuesdays Old Library, next to the Memorial Hall (look for the sign outside) Telephone: Shirley 07908 516 875 or Alex 07389 050605 www.mayfacs.org.uk; Emails: manager@mayfacs. org.uk or alexandra@mayfacs.org.uk If you prefer to write, please leave a letter at The Shopping Basket

Public Use Computers The two public computers are available in the Old Library when the MAYFACS office is open. If you were a regular user in the library, why not come and try one of these?

ST DUNSTANS CHURCH: Know Your Village Church and Churchyard. Tomorrow, Saturday, 10am to noon. Did you know that there is a kneeler at the Communion Rail in St Dunstan’s that depicts the history of the church and the village? This and other interesting artefacts will be on display on Saturday, September 22. In addition there will be displays relating to all that goes on in the church. You can hear the church bells ringing at 10am, handbells ringing at 10.15am, choir singing at 10.30am, join a church tour at 11am and a churchyard tour at 11.15am. It’s going to be a busy morning but above all a lot of fun. Why not come along and enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee and see what they’re up to. They look forward to welcoming you! Julia Lawrence 01435 872389

HORAM: Horam Natural Therapy Centre. The well loved and very competent Chiropodist Sue Ashton has announced she is retiring and hanging up her clippers. Many thanks Sue, you will be missed. The Centre is now looking for a competent chiropodist. if you are interested and have the correct qualifications please contact the centre on: 01435 812997.