Fairlight Village Voice

After a long, dry summer, I suppose this weekend’s biblical downpours prove the old saying: be careful what you wish for. With the reservoirs supplying Fairlight running low and East Sussex officially declared a drought area, I recently heard a Southern Water spokesperson appealing to the public to use water carefully and, if possible, pray for rain. Well, somebody must have been listening, because the heavens have certainly opened. Whether this is the result of divine intervention or simply British weather having a sense of humour is open to debate. But it does bring me rather neatly to church matters this weekend, and even I have to say, that’s what you call a pretty smooth and seamless link!

ST ANDREW’S will be holding its Holy Communion service at 11am this Sunday, 1st November. November already? Surely someone has been fiddling with the calendar. Meanwhile, the PETT METHODISTS are on their travels again. This Sunday, they’re heading over to the Emmanuel Centre in Battle for a visit and service at 10.30am. Clearly, they’re determined to see a bit more of East Sussex than the inside of their own chapel! And, of course, next Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, when both churches will be holding their services at slightly different times. St Andrew’s will begin earlier than usual, at 10.15am, while the service at the Pett Methodist Chapel will start at 10am. More details next week, assuming November hasn’t somehow turned into December by then!

And talking of how time flies, it’s already a month since those lovely volunteers from EAST SUSSEX HEARING last visited Fairlight to poke, prod, clean, fix and generally perform miracles on those NHS hearing aids we all love so much. The good news is that they’re back again, setting up camp in the Village Hall between 10am and 12 noon on Friday morning, 6th November. So, if your hearing aids have developed a mind of their own, are making strange noises or have decided to stop working altogether, this is your chance to get them seen to. After all, we wouldn’t want anyone missing out on the village gossip, would we?

At THE COVE, it’s Vinyl Night this Tuesday, 3rd November, followed on Thursday 5th by London band, House Above The Sun, bringing their blues-tinged indie rock to the village between 7pm and 9pm. Meanwhile, over at THE ROYAL OAK in Pett, Saturday evening, 31st October sees their Halloween Disco get underway at 8.30pm, with karaoke thrown in for good measure. So, if you fancy an evening of spooky goings-on and the opportunity to demonstrate your vocal talents (or lack of them), you know where to go! Filling their usual Sunday 4.30pm slot this weekend, November 1st, is Admiral Finn’s Reloaded, Hastings’ highly popular rock-based band, well known across East Sussex for delivering high-energy, power-packed live performances. With Halloween behind us, I suppose it’s reassuring to know that some things can still frighten the neighbours without the need for fancy dress!

As we get nearer to the festive season, the inevitable Christmas fairs begin popping up in local village halls. First up is TINA JAMES, who has hired our very own Village Hall for next Saturday, 7th November. Tina is a local artist and craft designer who makes everything herself. Her impressive range includes leather bags, Bloomsbury-style lamps, glassware, painted clocks, candlesticks, cards, decorative plates and plenty of other tempting gift ideas. The hall will be open from 10.30am to 4.30pm, giving you plenty of time to find that perfect early Christmas present. And with everything handmade, you might even find something a little more original than the usual offerings on the high street. It’s never too early to start Christmas shopping, although some people appear to have started about six months ago!

It was good to hear that SOUTHERN WATER will be attending the latest PARISH COUNCIL meeting this Tuesday evening (27th). If you’re reading this online, there’s still time to attend, but if it’s The Hastings Observer you’re reading, you’ve missed it! Sadly, Village Voice has an unfortunate publication deadline of Monday midday. By the time I go to press, much of what happens at Parish Council meetings is already yesterday’s news. However, the general feeling around the village seems to be that work is progressing well under the new contractors, which is encouraging.

On a related subject, if you’re using ROCKMEAD ROAD over the next week or so, either on foot or in a vehicle, you might want to take a little extra care. Work continues on the boreholes, which I understand is going to plan. However, the approach to health and safety seems, at times, to be rather more relaxed than we’re accustomed to here in Old Blighty. Let’s just say that some of the manhole covers aren’t always where you might expect them to be! So keep your eyes open and your wits about you. We’re used to the odd pothole in Fairlight, but a manhole without its cover takes road hazards to a whole new level. At least with a pothole, you can usually see the bottom of it!

And so to the ongoing drama known locally as WAKEHAM’S FARM, or, as some would like us to call it, “Pond Field”. Actually, after all this rain, the latter name would seem far more appropriate! Perhaps we should forget about housing and apply for planning permission for a marina instead. We are now reliably informed that the application will be heard by Rother’s Planning Committee on, wait for it, 10th December. I use the word “reliably” advisedly because, after all the unexplained delays, deferrals, postponements and hold-ups, I’m beginning to wonder whether anyone actually knows what the word means any more. Still, fingers crossed. Stranger things have happened, although at this rate, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we needed to order next year’s diaries before we finally discover what’s going to happen!

And finally, how refreshing it was to see some of our local Scouts out and about in the village over the weekend, knocking on doors and selling poppies for Remembrance Sunday. I don’t know the names of the two youngsters who knocked on my door, but whoever they were, they were an absolute credit to their families. Their enthusiasm, politeness and willingness to give up their time for such a worthwhile cause genuinely restored my faith in humanity. If they’re anything to go by, perhaps the future isn’t quite as bleak as some of us occasionally fear!

Until next time, have a great week.

Bob Scattergood – [email protected]