Westfield village voice

12.15 am Westfield Scouts Annual Duck Race - Forge Stream Race starts at 1.00pm

Personal Prayer. At St John’s there are always a couple of people available at the back of the North aisle after the 9.30am service and after the 10.30am Family Service to pray confidentially with anyone who wants someone to pray with them. If you would like someone to pray with you just go and ask.

Westfield Community Choir. The new Westfield Community Choir has had an enthusiastic start, and meets on Wednesdays, from 7.30-9pm. You do not have to be a brilliant singer or read music! just ring 01424 753684

Lifts for Nine Thirty Start – we need volunteers who can offer lifts on a semi-regular basis between Geary Place and church for the Nine Thirty Start service. If you think you can help in anyway with this please speak to Howard Williamson (or phone 07710 753404).

Wednesday Bible Study - Lent Course. We are running a Lent Course on each of the five weeks of Lent, so that we can learn, discuss and pray together. The evening sessions start on Wednesday 29th February at 7.30pm. If you prefer an afternoon meeting they are being held on Friday’s at 2.30pm. Both meetings will be at Holyoak, Workhouse Lane. Do give it a try: no expertise or prior knowledge is required, only open hearts and minds to learn together. For further details please ask Helen or Michael Patten.

St John’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting. The Annual Parochial Church Meeting is on Thursday 19th April starting at 7.45pm in St John’s Parish Hall. The meeting is open to all those on the electoral roll at St John’s.

Westfield Horticultural Society Spring Show takes place tomorrow Saturday 31st March in the Community hall starting at 2.30pm

Church Envelope Scheme. New boxes of envelopes for the new financial year for the Church Envelope Scheme are available to collect from today. Please will members collect their new boxes of envelopes from the back of the Church and try to be up-to-date with their donations by the end of this month. If you are able to deliver any that are not collected, that would helpful. Please contact Peter Aubrey 01424 755135 if you wish to join the scheme or transfer to payment by standing order.

Church Finances. We continue to work hard to balance the books and thank every member of the congregation for their continued financial support. We are more than aware of the precarious financial climate in which we live, but thank God for the generosity of our congregation. As always throughout the year it is inevitable that we lose a few regular contributors to parish funds. Due to the snow and other matters recent Sunday collections at St John’s have been much less than we might have normally expected and we remind everyone that even without a Vicar we still have to pay our contribution to the Diocese as well as all the other regular parish expenses. Any increase in regular giving is always welcome and there are ways to increase the funds that we receive without necessarily increasing the amount you give. If you are a UK tax payer then the Gift Aid scheme allows us to claim back the tax on every pound donated to us. For further details please speak to Peter Aubrey or Brian Collins.

Advance notice of forthcoming events. Further details will appear in the weekly notices and parish magazine.

31st March 2.30pm Westfield Horticultural Society – Spring Show (Community Hall)

6th April 10.00am Good Friday workshop (St John’s Parish Hall)

19th April 7.45pm Annual Parochial Church Meeting – (St John’s Parish Hall).

May 7th (Bank Holiday Monday) Loaf Project - May Day Cycle Ride from Canterbury to Hastings or for those who prefer to walk, Join one of the Loaf Walks. A choice of 4, 9 or 18 mile routes exploring country footpaths and beautiful areas between Rye and Hastings. (Please see church noticeboard for further details).

Westfield Scouts are holding their annual Duck Race on Sunday, April 1, at the Forge Stream Bridge, Cottage Lane. Lucky duck numbers are £1 each from Scout Leaders, Archers Butchers, or at the field on the day. If you cannot be there, please buy a duck and it will be raced for you. Burgers and hot dogs will be on sale from 12.15pm before the ducks are thrown at 1pm. There is very little parking available, so please do not bring cars down to the field.

Westfield School News. We break up for our Spring holidays on Friday 30th March and we return on Monday 16th April. We are also collecting Sainsburys and Tesco vouchers and are very grateful for any villagers donations. They are welcome to drop into the school office or Richard at the newsagent is happy to collect them for us. If anyone has any spare tractor tyres, our Reception class is looking for a few for their outdoor area for planting. Please can people call the school office before donating just incase we get a huge response.

Village Tidy. Thank you to all the volunteers who took part in the village Spring Tidy on Saturday. The village looks lovely at the moment, especially with the daffodils in bloom along the main road. Litter picking is a job that should not need doing, but bottles, cans, crisp packets and food containers seem to reappear all too frequently. Thank you as well to those residents who quietly pick up litter in their own areas throughout the year.

Westfield Football Club are hosting their next fundraiser on April 14th. Did you know that the cost of just the officials for a first team home game is usually around £150!. You also may not know that everyone involved in playing, coaching & helping at Westfield FC do so unpaid. The clubs first team (playing in Senior Football County League Division 2) are one of if not the only team playing at that standard with unpaid players. Their next fundraising event is a Greyhound Race Night on Saturday April 14. at 7:30 in the Clubhouse. It is free to enter & hot food (eg sausage & chips, pizza & chips etc) will be available at a reduced rate of £2.

The Westfield Horticultural Society Spring Show will take place tomorrow Saturday, 2.30p.m. March 31 in the Community Hall. Show schedules are available from Archers, Westfield News and the Hub, or can be downloaded from our website www.WestfieldHorticulturalSociety.org.uk. You do not have to be an experienced gardener to enter as there are plenty of suitable classes for beginners, the young, and young at heart. As well as horticultural classes we also have classes including photography, art, home produce, floral art and handicrafts. Entrance is free to members and children, 50p to others. There will be a plant stall, raffle and tombola together with refreshments, and of course a superb display of fruit, vegetables and flowers. Please come along and support us. Why not give it a try?

The Westfield HUB is open as usual at The Old Courthouse on Fridays from 10am – 12 noon. Their next event is the Easter Bonnet Parade today, March 30! with judging at 11am. Entry fee is £1 on the day to support Hub funds, so use your imagination to create an individual Easter Bonnet. There will be prizes for best traditional, creative and under 12’s entries.

Westfield Rollerbooting Club meets at Westfield Community Hall every Friday from 4.30-6pm. It costs £1.50 per child and there is a tuck shop available. Very small children younger than about 3 must be accompanied by an adult. Organisers are CRB checked and first aid trained. There are some spare boots available to borrow. Further information is available from Rachel Pritchard 07866 894397.

Westfield Community Hall is now available for hire on Monday evenings from 7.15pm. It also has a Facebook page. Ring 01424 754446 to book the hall.

Westfield resident author Nick Brown continues his guided walks in the area, all carry a charge of £3 per person. All walks are circular and start at 10.30am, and dogs are welcome. Please check his website www.spanglefish.com/1066routes for more detailed information. It is advisable to book in advance by ringing Nick on 07918 907265. Nick’s book ‘The 1066 Country Walk’ is recommended by the 1066 Tourist Board and signed copies are available from him.

Future guided walks include :

Saturday 31st March @ Rushlake Green

Good Friday 6th April @ Herstmonceux Castle

Saturday 14th April @ Alfriston

Saturday 26th May @ Guestling

Saturday 9th June @ Brede

Wednesday 13th June @ Great Dixter, Northiam

Thursday 21st June @ Battle

Sunday 8th July @ Firle

Wednesday 15th July @ Queens Head, Icklesham

Saturday 28th July @ Bodiam Castle

Sunday 26th August @ Pevensey

Saturday 8th September @ Alfriston

Wednesday 19th September @ Ticehurst/Bewl Water

Nick is also the organiser of the 1066 Relay. The second staging of the 1066 Relay takes place on Sunday, May 6, with 50 - 60 teams from the South East expected to take part. The 33.25 mile course follows the 1066 Country Walk, starting in the grounds of Pevensey Castle. The route passes such iconic landmarks as Herstmonceux Castle and Battle Abbey, before going through some breathtaking countryside between Westfield, Icklesham and Winchelsea to finish in Rye. The event raised over £1600 for local charities last year. Nick is looking for volunteers to marshal in the Westfield, Doleham and Icklesham areas; ring him on 07918 907265 or visit the race website: www.spanglefish.com/1066relay.

The Westfield Wildlife website is worth a visit. Go to http://westfieldwildlife.wordpress.com to share wildlife observations. Any wildlife observation whether mammal, bird, insect, or flower may be posted on the website, and photos are particularly welcome. Have you seen a hedgehog recently? Westfield Wildlife is appealing for all hedgehog sightings, including any road casualties, because their numbers have declined so drastically over the last few years

A thank you from Katie Chapman who ran the Hastings Half Marathon last Sunday on behalf of the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance. WRAS (Charity Registration No. 1108880) was established as a voluntary group in 1996, but founder Trevor Weeks has been rescuing wildlife since 1985. The charity was set up to provide a front-line rescue & hospital service for people finding wildlife casualties as well as offering advice and information. If you would like to support Katie, please follow http://www.justgiving.com/Katie-Chapman3

Westfield Golf Fellowship’s first fixture of the year took place last Thursday at Dale Hill. On a beautiful day, Chris Smith (Boz) won with 39 points, second was Lee Case on 37. Both are “village boys”! Up next is a day at Chart Hills on April 26 with limited places. The £50 entry includes coffee & bacon roll, 18 holes, a hot meal and prizes. For more information please contact Nick or [email protected]

Rye & District Lions Hit the Right Note. For the second year running, Hastings Music Festival held a Primary Schools Music Making Day at the White Rock Theatre, building on their experience from their first event last year. As last year, the Lions Clubs of Rye and District, Battle and Villages and Hastings sponsored this event. Some two hundred children from five schools took part in the competition from Crowhurst, Catsfield, Sedlescombe, Stone Cross and three groups from Little Ridge Hastings, making a total of seven competitive groups. The trophy winners were the children from Stone Cross CP School, who performed with percussion instruments, including many drums. Sedlescombe CE School was second and third was Little Ridge, Hastings CP School. The Primary Schools Cup for the winners was donated by Ann Hohenkerk, who has been involved with the London College of Music for over 40 years – as a student, teacher and an examiner. The cup was presented by the Adjudicator, Alison Mary Sutton, a singer and Singing Diploma Examiner and Molly Townson, the Chairman of Hastings Music Festival. Rye Lions President, Terry Cobby, congratulated all the children on their magnificent efforts. Next year it is hoped to make this event even larger, with two sessions spilt between the morning and afternoon with differing age groups. The Lions welcome enquiries from anyone who would like to join them for fun with fundraising. Ring 01797 252921 or visit their website at www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/ryedistrict/ for information. . The Lions now have a video; just type in ‘The Lions Story’ on Youtube to find out all about the Lions.

For information and news about Westfield, please see the village website www.westfieldvillage.co.uk.

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

George Sunderland, Heathlands

Westfield village voice - March 30