Winchelsea

The Good Friday service (today) at St Thomas’s Church begins with Stations of the Cross at 12 noon, led by Michael McFadyean. At 2.30 pm until 4 pm David Page will be leading the Good Friday meditations. On Easter Sunday 31st March the day begins at 6.30 am for the Sunrise Service on the beach at Dogs Hill Road (Winchelsea Beach) with Rye Baptist Church, to be followed by breakfast at St Richard’s. Remember that clocks go forward an hour for British Summer Time on Saturday night and an hour of sleep is lost, so be careful not to over-sleep. Afterwards the 8 am service will be held in St Thomas’s Church with Dick Dengate and then at 10.30 am David Page will be leading the morning worship.

The traditional ceremony of the annual Mayor Making Ceremony takes place on Easter Monday, as it has done for over 700 years since the town first existed. Starting at 11 am the event will be in the Upper Court Hall and is always well attended. This year it happens to fall on the 1st April, April Fools Day so we may have to watch that no tricks are played on the new Mayor. On that day the current Mayor Roger Neaves will be handing over the chain of office to jurat Stephen Turner who looks forward to being the Mayor of Winchelsea for 2013/14. The name of the Mayor elect has always been a closely guarded secret before the day, until now. In a break from tradition Winchelsea has named its new Mayor (Stephen Turner) ahead of the Easter Monday Mayor Making celebration. Stephen has lived in Winchelsea for most of his life and ran a tea room in the town with his wife Jo. He is now involved with several local charities on a part time basis and is a serving Councillor on Icklesham Parish Council. Stephen is also part of the management committee of the New Hall and is a trustee and committee member of the Winchelsea Cricket Club where he first played at the age of thirteen and to this day continues to be a playing member.

Winchelsea Archaeological Society has organised a Cellar Tour around the town for Monday 1st April at 2 pm meeting in Castle Street. The cost is £5 p.p. and the proceeds are in aid of WAS. A Guide Book is provided for this popular event and the tour lasts about 90 minutes. If you would like to book online please email: [email protected]

The Mobile Library will be making its regular fortnightly visit to Castle Street on Wednesday 3rd April at 1.40 to 2.10 pm, for books and information.

Winchelsea Garden Society is holding its annual Spring Show in the New Hall on Saturday 6th April at 2 pm. The show will consist of exhibits of flowers, floral art, pot plants, vegetables and cookery plus two children’s classes. Teas will be served throughout the afternoon. Please make sure that your completed entry forms are submitted by 7.30 pm on Thursday 4th April to the Show Secretary, Cleveland Place, Friar’s Road TN36 4ED and entries must be staged between 10 am and 11 am on the morning of the show.

On Wednesday 10th April the Rye & District Association of the National Trust has arranged a VIP Tour of the Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition and other galleries at the British Museum. The cost is £42 p.p. which includes coach travel. If you would like to find out more and also for bookings (to be made before the end of March) please phone 01797 253763 to speak to Ros Adkins.

A visit to Lullingstone has been organised by the Garden Society for Thursday 11th April. Please be at the bus stop by the Town Sign at 9 am for the visit and to return by 6 pm. This is a guided tour of plant-hunter Tom Hart-Dyke’s World Garden and of Lullingstone Castle and Church which is one of England’s oldest family estates. Church and Castle were both rated *** in Simon Jenkins’ England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses. The UK’s first ever ‘World Garden of Plants’ contains plants from all around the globe which have been grouped in their respective countries of origin. Tickets are now on sale at £22 p.p. from Winchelsea Post Office which is open mornings only.

The Annual General Meeting of the Winchelsea Conservation Society will be held on Saturday 27th April at 10 am in the Lower Court Hall. There are a number of topics and changes to the Constitution for discussion and the Society hopes as many members as possible will attend. All are welcome and refreshments will be served after the meeting. The Society held two public meetings in 2012, the second of which was attended by our MP Amber Rudd and two Planners from Rother District Council. Both meetings were interesting and informative. Two further meeting dates for your diary are planned for the coming year (1) a Talk on Restoring and Maintenance of Old Buildings on Saturday 18th May at 10am in the New Hall and (2) a Talk on Rookery Barn and Rookery Field by a Consultant Archaeologist on Saturday 5th October at 10.30 am, also in the New Hall. Reminders of these events will be issued nearer the time.

Winchelsea Beach

A Table Sale will take place in the Community Hall tomorrow (Easter Saturday) at 2 pm. There is still time to book a table and the number to contact is 01797 224820.

Don’t forget that British Summer Time start this weekend and the clocks go forward one hour on Saturday night. This means that the mornings will be darker for a while longer but the evenings increasingly lighter.

Also this weekend it is the Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday 31st March with Rye Baptist and St Thomas’s Churches (over 20 people attended last year). Remember to set your alarm for the early start, to be at the beach by Dog’s Hill for 6.30 am. After the service breakfast will be available at St Richard’s Church. Later at 9.15 am in St Richard’s Church David Page will be leading the Sunday Eucharist service.

The Mobile Library will be making its fortnightly visit to Sea Road at the usual time of 11.55 am to 12.30 pm for books and information this Wednesday 3rd April.