Winchelsea

Protection of buildings: The Conservation Society is giving a talk on '˜The work of the society for the protection of ancient buildings and the principles of historic building conservation' by Matthew Slocombe, its Director. Admission is free to Conservation members and £2 to non-members with the annual subscription cost at £3. The talk will be on Saturday May 14th at 2.30pm in the New Hall. SPAB (The Society of the Protection of Ancient Buildings) is Britain's oldest heritage body. Matthew is an architectural historian and has worked for SPAB since 1991. He recently published a letter in The Guardian concerning the re-creating of Palmyra's Triumphal Arch which was destroyed by Islamic State last October. The model stood in Trafalgar Square for a few days in April but for Matthew it was a poor substitute. He suggested that rather than '˜pretend digital copies can put things right in Syria' it would be better to concentrate on protecting the surviving ancient icons and buildings.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th May 2016, 10:21 BST
Updated 12th May 2016, 11:27 BST

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WAS cellars: Two guided cellar tours run by the Archaeological Society will take place on Sunday 15th and Monday 30th May. 01797 224446 is the phone number to reserve your place and the cost is £5 each with a guide book provided The tours are an opportunity to visit some of the town’s medieval cellars built between 1290-1310 which were used to store millions of gallons of wine imported from Bordeaux during the wine trade in the 14th century. Please meet at 2pm in Castle Street for the 90 minute tour.

Whit Sunday Pentecost: Sunday May 15th begins Christian Aid week up to May 21st and is also Whit Sunday the day of Pentecost. There will be a Holy Communion service at 11am followed by a baptism at St Thomas’ Church. Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire on Jesus’s disciples giving them the ability to preach in other languages and this also marks the birth of the Christian church. After Noah’s flood his early descendents who all spoke one and the same language, set about building the Tower of Babel out of pride and autonomy in rebellion against God. Thus God confused their tongues and scattered them across the earth which resulted in the interesting development of different languages, cultures and identities. The celebration of Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, confirms God’s saving grace to humanity with the spread of the gospel throughout the world.

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Pupil and teacher: Amongst Malcolm Pratt’s many interests and occupations which include Town Clerk and author of books on the history of Winchelsea, in his formative years he was also a teacher and pupil. It is this period of his life which will be revealed in Malcolm’s forthcoming talk entitled ‘A Life in Education – Pupil & Teacher’ wherein he will share some amusing stories of 48 years in the classroom. The talk is held in Rye Community Centre at 2pm on Monday May 16th.

Beethoven to Previn: The Winchelsea Arts series of concerts at St Thomas’ Church continues with, ‘From Beethoven to Previn – songs for soprano, cell and piano’ on Friday May 20th at 7.30pm. All are invited to come and listen and tickets are £12 each (£6 under 18s) from Winchelsea Farm Kitchen. The musicians are: Erica Eloff – soprano, Mark Nixon – piano and Leandro Silvera – cello.

Asparagus feast: The annual feast of English asparagus in season and wine tasting will be on Saturday May 28th at 7.30pm in the New Hall. The tickets are £15 p.p. which includes fresh asparagus served with salmon and Jersey new potatoes, plus a cheeseboard, sparkling wine to start and afterwards wine tasting. A licensed bar and raffle will also be available. The phone number for bookings is 01797 224446 to speak to a member of the Bonfire Boyes and the event is in aid of fundraising for the annual Bonfire Night celebration.

Police Commissioner Results: Following the election on May 5th for the Police Commissioner post for 2016, Katy Bourne (Conservative) was re-elected on a total of 139,335 votes. In second place Michael Jones (Labour) with 86,392 votes. Third place Patrick Lowe (UKIP) with 43,075 votes; fourth place James Walsh (Liberal Democrats) with 29,550 votes and fifth place James Doyle (Green) with 26,038 votes. The turnout was 22.56% up from 15.82% in November 2012 when the post was first set up.

Winchelsea Beach

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Morning worship: St Richard’s Church is open for Holy Communion this Whit Sunday May 15th at 9.30am and will be led by the Rector. Also, following the recent church elections members of the Parochial Church Council at St Richard’s are David Fawcett (Chapel Warden) Celia King (Chapel Warden) and David Jefferies (Treasurer).

Play Bingo: On Wednesday May 18th the fortnightly Cash Bingo will be in progress from 7.15pm with doors open at 7pm in the Community Hall. Friends and residents are all invited to come along for fun, excitement and always the chance of winning; also a raffle and light refreshments will be available.

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