Winchelsea village voice

For 25th & 26th August the opening hours are 10 am to 6 pm and on Monday 27th August from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is free and there will be a Grand Raffle. The pictures are for sale and proceeds will go towards the Winchelsea Millennium Artefacts Society to preserve the town sign, beacon and tapestry.

Also this weekend it is the Winchelsea Book Fair 2012 starting today (Friday) and Saturday 25th August from 10 am to 5 pm in the New Hall. Good quality second hand paperback and hardback books as well as related materials (pictures, posters, postcards and maps) will be on sale and proceeds are in aid of local charities.

Morning worship at St Thomas’ Church this Sunday 26th August begins at 8 am and is led by the Revd. Dick Dengate. At 10.30 am the Choral Eucharist takes place and the preacher is the Revd. Malcolm Pickering.

Help is still needed by volunteers to be hosts to greet visitors to St Thomas’ Church, especially at weekends and bank holidays. Please contact Alan McKinna or leave a message in the church if you are interested in volunteering.

On Sunday 26th August the Annual Residents’ Cricket Mismatch will take place at 2 pm at the Cricket Field. The match is between two teams, one of full-time residents, the other of part-timers, and is open to all ages and abilities. If you think you have what it takes to play or you have a visitor interested in playing please contact Richard on 224446. The match has been described as an excuse for a cricket tea and is also a great opportunity to meet other residents and for young people to mix. Also, spectators are always very welcome (especially if they bring an appetising dish).

A leaflet will have been delivered to every household last week and posters will also be placed in a number of points in Winchelsea advertising the poll concerning the Footway Lights. Please note that voting takes place at the Court Hall from 4 pm to 9 pm this Thursday 30th August. Steve Foreman (the Clerk) on behalf of Icklesham Parish Council would like to know whether/not Winchelsea residents want the footway lights turned off from midnight to 5.30 am. Every resident who is entitled and registered to vote in a local election (will need to supply confirmation) in the Ward of Winchelsea is being asked to express their opinion. Many Councils in other areas are turning off footway lights late at night and turning them back on in the early hours of the morning to save fuel costs and contribute towards reducing CO2 emissions. In Winchelsea it is estimated that a saving of £750 each year could be made and the cost of altering the lights would be recovered within about 18 months from these savings. Opinion varies as to whether this is a good idea or not because others are concerned about safety and security. The Parish Council consulted the Police last year who said there was little evidence to show that safety and security would be compromised but no one could be sure as research on this subject was inconclusive. The outcome of the poll will be reported to the Parish Council on 10th September 2012 and the result will be posted up on the Parish Council notice board on the corner of High Street and St Thomas’s Street.

If you were wondering why there were tall dark tepees in the field by the New Hall last Saturday these were where the reception was held for Winchelsea’s biggest wedding this year. It was the marriage of resident Alice Kenyon’s son Pete to Beatrice Holt and there were approximately 350 guests and around a dozen bridesmaids and pageboys. The retired Revd. Canon Howard Cocks conducted the service in St Thomas’ Church which was beautifully decorated with flowers and bouquets of pink and white antique roses. During the ceremony there were volunteer drummers (from the Olympics 2012) an aeroplane display over the field and a grand finale of fireworks. I would also add congratulations from the town to Pete and Beatrice on their marriage and Christian blessings for their future.

Now that we are down to one petrol station in Rye the only other one between here and the motorway (M20) is the Total Garage at Brenzett roundabout. However this normally busy and reliable garage has, in the last two weeks, been reduced to just two workable pumps. As a result of this inconvenience potential customers not wanting to queue have driven off in the hopes of making it to the next station. For drivers travelling south-east this would be the Shell garage in New Romney, another 5 miles away. Those heading for the motorway would probably have to divert to Ashford. The reason for this unexpected change at Brenzett is that since June (2012) Shell has acquired 253 petrol stations around the country and this includes the Total at Brenzett (though not the recently closed Total Garage in Rye which would have been useful) and the completion of this new ownership should come into effect around December this year. In the meantime a number of Total’s drivers were recently dismissed as part of the new reorganisation which has left Total in the unsatisfactory position of having a diminished supply of fuel deliveries.

Cindi Cogswell, 31 Highfords, Icklesham