Westfield

George Sunderland

Heathlands

Christmas celebrations are now in full swing. The carol ‘Sing-along’ with Graham and Richard at ‘The Plough’ last Wednesday raised around £90 for the Winkle Club, which will go to various local charities. The WCA carols around the village Christmas tree, sung to music provided by villagers, was very well supported last Friday despite the damp weather. Thanks go once again to Jean and Wilf Tomsett for hosting this, and for providing the welcome hot soup afterwards, as they have done for 38 years! The ‘Carols by Candlelight’ at the church on Sunday was a lovely service, and the church looked even more beautiful than ever with Christmas trees from organisations and businesses adding to the atmosphere.

Church services this Sunday, December 22, are Holy Communion at 8am, and the All Age Worship at 9.30am. This will be held in the Parish Hall as it takes the form of a nativity play performed by the youth groups. There will be two Christingle services at 4pm and 6pm on Christmas Eve to accommodate all the children, so come to whichever suits your family best. The Midnight Holy Communion starts at 11pm. On Christmas Day, there will be Holy Communion (BCP) at 9am, and All Age Worship at 10.30am.

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Have you visited the Christmas Lights yet? Around twenty houses and gardens, mainly (but not exclusively) in Churchfield and Church Lane, are decorated with lights and Christmas scenes, and residents are collecting donations to St. Michael’s Hospice, so please be generous. This is the ninth year that the Westfield residents have supported the Hospice in this way; they raised an amazing £5,562 in 2012! The lights stay on until January 5. At the same time, Westfield Church is open each evening until Christmas Day for visitors to admire the display of decorated Christmas trees from village organisations. The theme is ‘A Christmas Carol’, and donations to the Hospice collected there will be added to those collected at the Christmas lights. Hot drinks will be available

The Westfield HUB meets at ‘The Plough’ on Fridays for chat over refreshments from 10am to 12noon, and offers carol singing today.

The Westfield Speed Watch Group now has a team of volunteers who are now trained and ready to go. You are likely to see us in the New Year using Police supplied equipment to record the speed of vehicles as they pass through our village. It is not too late to join us, so if anyone would like further information please contact Jackie on 01424 755210, or email [email protected].

The Friendship Club resume their meetings at the Parish Hall from Monday, January 6 from 2-3.30pm each fortnight. Whist, bingo, scrabble and dominoes are enjoyed by members with tea and biscuits during the break. Subscriptions of £5 are due on the 6th January. New members will be made very welcome. We like to take this opportunity to wish members and readers a happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.

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Future dates include a talk organised by the National Trust on Thursday, January 16 at 2pm at Brede Village Hall. Nick Shaddick a local art and design historian, will be talking about ‘Dante Gabriel Rossetti - his Art and Poetry’. Entrance is £3 (members £2) including refreshments. There will be an 80’s fancy dress disco at the Community Hall on Saturday, February 22 from 7.30-12.30pm. Tickets are £5 per couple (or £3 per person) and you need to bring your own drinks and nibbles.

Rye & District Lions, who include members from Westfield, are still appealing for help for the Philippines following the recent devastation there. Donations (cheques made payable to ‘Rye and Distract Lions Club’) can be sent to to Reg Emson, 22 New Winchelsea Road, Rye, TN31 7TA. Please mark the back of the cheque ‘Philippines Appeal’. The Lions’ next fund-raising event will be their Christmas collections outside Jempsons, Peasmarsh and Jempsons Budgens at Rye and Hawkhurst.

Visit the village website www.westfieldvillage.co.uk for information about village organisations, events, Westfield Community Association, the Parish Council, and all sorts of useful links. Remember this is YOUR website, set up to serve the village community, and your contributions, news and views are needed.

To send information for the Westfield Village Voice, please email [email protected]

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