Etchingham Village Voice

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY: This Sunday, November 8, is Remembrance Sunday, a service will be held at the village War Memorial, to remember those who gave everything for the freedom we enjoy today, followed by a Service in the Church for those who want to stay. Please assemble at the War Memorial by 10.45am for the service at 11am. When you go home, tell them of us, and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.

BONFIRE AND FIREWORKS: The village bonfire and fireworks is next Saturday, November 14, at the Cricket Field. Open at 6pm with Bar and BBQ, bonfire lit at 6.30pm, fireworks at 7pm, party afterwards with live music at Etchingham Club from 8pm. Enter the Cricket Field via the lane to Forge House, access on foot only, there is not any onsite parking, if parking on the High Street please park sensibly and not block any access, do not park on Borders Lane.

DIARY DATES:  On Wednesday December 23 the Christmas Lights Tractor Run will come through the village, actual toute and timings will be announced soon.  Burwash Christmas Tree Festival November 28 to December 2, Burwash Festive Evening Wednesday December 2, details of both to follow.

PLAYGROUND FUNDRAISING: The village playgrounds in Etchingham are run and maintained by a charity Trust, The Etchingham Recreation Grounds (Queen's Garden) Trust [ERGT], the Parish Council is the sole Trustee. A couple of years ago all the play equipment in Queen's Garden was replaced, at a considerable cost. This equipment will, of course, need replacing at some point in the future, so the Trust is aiming to raise at least £1,000 every year to build up the funds, so that when the time comes to replace or update items some of the funds will already be in place and less fundraising will be needed at the time, and also ensure there are funds available for repairs when needed. When you are shopping online you can help raise funds, at no cost to you. log into Give as You Live (GAYL) first and use the link on the GAYL site to go to the site you are buying from, GAYL will pay a small percentage from your purchase to ERGT, to join Give as You Live to raise funds for ERGT, use this link to sign up https://www.giveasyoulive.com/join/ergt . There are over 6,000 online businesses on GAYL, and it is not just shopping, also insurance and holidays and other services. We have now set up a new donation page at GAYL if you want to just donate a cash sum www.donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/etchingham-playgrounds  if you are having a clear out and planning to give away some items, perhaps suggest a donation to the playground fund.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH: We need more volunteers, some previous volunteers have left the village, or had to give up due to health or personal reasons. Can you help Etchingham Community Speedwatch (CSW)? Speedwatch is NOT about getting drivers fines or points on their licence, it is designed as an educational tool to remind drivers of the speed limits in our villages. Yes, those observed exceeding the speed limit by a significant amount have the car details forwarded to the Police and the registered keeper of the vehicle will receive a warning letter, no further action will be taken unless the vehicle details are recorded by CSW groups on numerous occasions. Etchingham CSW has been operating since January 2014. Volunteers do not need to spend a lot of time at the roadside – half an hour a month is just as useful as several hours. Our sessions are normally half an hour but can be longer.

The first step is to visit the CSW website https://www.communityspeedwatch.org/ where you can find out all you need to know about CSW, to volunteer go to the ‘Register’ tab and select ‘Join existing’, then follow the instructions to register. As soon as the registration is complete the local co-ordinator will be sent your contact details, he will contact you to complete the joining process and get you started on sessions.