Winchelsea

31 Highfords, Icklesham

Tomorrow being the first Saturday in the month there is a Church Market from 10.30 am to noon. Iain Kerr will be entertaining with piano melodies while you drink your coffee or tea and enjoy the good company. You can also purchase home-made produce, plants and hardback books with proceeds gratefully received for church funds.

• The Friends of the Ancient Monuments & Museum are holding guided Cellar Tours at 11 am on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May. Please meet at the Town Well on Castle Street before 11 am. The cost is £5 per person which includes a booklet and all proceeds are used to help maintain the ancient monuments of the town. You are advised to book ahead either by emailing [email protected] or phoning 01797 229525.

• There is another opportunity to visit the many different cellars in Winchelsea which date back to the 13th Century and discover how they were made and their purpose. On Sunday 4th May Winchelsea Archaeological Society is holding a guided Cellar Tour beginning at 2 pm, meeting as usual in Castle Street. The cost is £5 p.p. and the tour last approximately 90 minutes. All funds raised from the tours go towards archaeology in Winchelsea. If you would like to book tickets the email address is: [email protected] or phone 01797 224446.

• The Second Wednesday Society meets on Wednesday 8th May for a talk by Jean Stirk entitled: ‘Researching the History of Your House’. Check for clues and skeletons in the cupboard that you could bring to the talk. Light refreshments will be available and you will need to be at the New Hall for 2.30 pm.

• On Ascension Day this Thursday 9th May there will be a Circuit Holy Communion Service in the Methodist Chapel at 7.30 pm. It is a special celebration to mark Jesus’ ascension into heaven from the Mount of Olives forty days after his resurrection at Easter. This event also foretells Jesus’ second coming in the same manner as his ascension. Rev Ian H. Wales, (Superintendent Minister of the Hastings, Bexhill and Rye Circuit) will be leading the service which will be followed by light refreshments.

• The Patient Participation Group of the Ferry Road Health Centre is holding a talk by Larri Hayhurst R.N. on ‘Advance Care Directive’. This will be on Wednesday 15th May at 2.30 pm in the Ferry Road Health Centre and all are invited to attend.

• Rye & Winchelsea Rotary Club has now set up the 15th Annual Walk for Sunday 19th May. The starting time is from 9 am to 10 am convening at Phillips & Stubbs, Cinque Port Street, Rye. This is a countryside ramble over farmlands, skirting Winchelsea and into the Brede Valley to Icklesham for refreshments at the village hall then down to the Military Canal and returning to Rye via Camber Castle. This is about ten miles but you can choose the six mile walk or the shorter option of three miles. The walk is in aid of local charities including St Michael’s Hospice and League of Friends of Rye & Winchelsea Memorial Hospital and groups or individuals are invited to retain 50% of what they raise for their own charity or good cause. To enter you will need to complete a form (tel: 07530772000) or register by email at [email protected] and awards will be made for the team, family and walkers with most sponsorship.

• Last Sunday the students of Kent College Pembury gave an exceptional performance of The House of Bernarda Alba, by the poet and dramatist Federico Lorca. Staged in the round in St Thomas’s Church the audience were gathered close to the scene and thus drawn into the dark candlelit world of an all-female tragedy set in 1930s Spain. The formidable matriarch Bernarda Alba had imposed an eight year mourning period upon her household and kept her five daughters, dressed in black locked inside her house while the tension grew. One man is spoken of and jealousies and passions arise as the women seek to escape the oppression of Bernarda. Yet in her pride Bernarda elects to be a tyrant rather than a decent mother. After this intriguing performance tea and cakes were served and the proceeds went towards church funds.

Winchelsea Beach

• There will be a Table Sale tomorrow (Saturday) at 11 am which is a trial change of time, in the Community Hall. If you would like to book a table please contact 01797 224820.

• Tomorrow (Saturday) An Introduction to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is the first in a series of walks to observe the wildlife on the new salt marsh and visit the hides at the Quarry and Ternery Pool. Meet at Rye Harbour car park at 10 - 12 noon and donations would be appreciated. On Sunday 5th May there is a chance to see some wading birds and count the Whimbrel birds related to the curlew, leaving their roost at dawn. This is an earlier start meeting at Rye Harbour car park for 4.30 - 8.30 am.

• The 3pm Evening Prayer service is held every month at St Richard’s Church and the next service is this Sunday 5th May. You are most welcome to come along.

• The fortnightly evening of Bingo will be held in the Community Hall at 7 for 7.30 pm on Wednesday 8th May. Friends and families are always welcome to participate and light refreshments are available.