Mayfield and Five Ashes Village News

EAST SUSSEX ANIMAL RESCUE - DUSK CAN BE DEADLY

As autumn progresses and daylight fades earlier, wildlife is increasingly active when our roads are at their busiest. WRAS’s casualty records show that road casualties account for around 5–6% of admissions during late summer and early autumn, rising to approximately 8–10% during late November and December as our dark evenings get longer. Although fewer wildlife casualties are admitted overall during the autumn and winter, road casualties do not fall at the same rate—meaning they form a much greater proportion of the animals needing our help. Please take extra care when driving at dawn and dusk: Reduce your speed, particularly on rural and wooded roads. Watch the verges for movement and reflected eyes. Be prepared for more than one animal to cross. Use your lights appropriately and remain alert.  If you hit or find an injured wild animal, stop only where it is safe to do so and contact a wildlife rescue organisation for advice; for animals which are safe to handle, you can also get them into your nearest emergency veterinary centre – they won’t charge you. Please do not approach dangerous injured deer, badgers or foxes, as frightened animals can cause serious injury. For road casualty deer, please call Sussex Police on 999 if a road hazard or 101 otherwise and they will arrange for a deer warden to attend. Slow down. Stay alert. Give wildlife a chance.

MAYFIELD FESTIVAL CHOIR

Mayfield Festival Choir – Mozart Mass in C Minor and Schubert Stabat Mater Sunday 15 November 2026, 7.30 pm, St Dunstan’s Church, Mayfield  Mozart: Great Mass in C Minor. Schubert: Stabat Mater Mayfield Festival Choir.  Conductor: Jeremy Summerly. Orchestra: Ripieno Players Soloists: Sofia Kirwan-Baez (Soprano), Aneska Diament (Alto), Francis Melville (Tenor), Ed Birchinall (Bass) It’s hard to believe that Mozart rattled off the Great Mass in C Minor well before he was 30, and even more surprising that Schubert can have trotted out his impressively mature Stabat Mater before he was 20. But in 1783 Mozart had a point to prove. The C-minor Mass was written to showcase the vocal prowess of Mozart’s new wife, Constanze. Mozart took Constanze to Salzburg as his soprano soloist in order to parade her in front of his father and sister, as well as to goad the much-despised Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. It worked. Schubert had no such personal agenda: he was simply writing a lot of music in his late teens under the watchful eye of Anton Salieri. Salieri is often imagined as a twisted and jealous character, but actually, as well as admiring Mozart’s music, Salieri also inspired the young Schubert to unimaginable feats of creativity. Schubert’s Stabat Mater reflects well on Salierei and, indeed, on Schubert’s brother, Ferdinand, to whom the Stabat Mater was affectionately dedicated. In this performance, Mayfield Festival Choir and the Ripieno Players under Jeremy Summerly are joined again by the stellar Soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez and young vocal scholars from the Royal College of Music. Ticket cost: £30 (centre), £25 (rear), £15 (south side), £8 (north side). Under 25s £5 (any seat). Available: a/ online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/mayfieldfestivalchoir; b/ in person from Sew Inspired, Mayfield; c/ by phone from 0333 666 3366 (This is a general booking line operated for us by TicketSource. Please be sure to say that you are booking tickets for Mayfield Festival Choir – Mozart & Schubert. A postage fee of £2.50 will be applied to each order.) Would you like to sing with us? We would love to hear from anyone who has experience of choral music and is keen to be part of a friendly but ambitious choir. Contact the membership secretary through the website: http://www.mayfieldfestivalchoir.org/join-the-choir.

ST DUNSTAN’S CHURCH

Our church is the hub of a vibrant and welcoming community comprising both Mayfield and Five Ashes. St Dunstan’s is open every day - 9 am to 4 pm in winter months, 9 am to 5 pm in summer months. Do come and visit us for one of our services or for a time of quiet reflection.  There is also a prayer labyrinth in the churchyard. Our Parish includes the Chapel of the Good Shepherd located in the Cottage Hospice in Five Ashes where services take place twice each month. The St Dunstan’s Mayfield Organ Trust. Organ Scholarship 2026-2027,  St Dunstan’s Church, Mayfield, offers an Organ Scholarship, with applications open to candidates aged 16 plus. The scholarship is an excellent opportunity for those looking to develop their skills as a church musician in the Anglican choral tradition, in a safe and supportive environment. Specifically, it provides the valuable opportunity of acquiring skills and experience in accompanying services, working with our choir, gaining insight into the planning and execution of a high-quality music programme, and serving the needs of the church through music. These skills will provide a grounding that could lead to further experience in contexts such as school, university or cathedral scholarships as well as music-making at parish level. Mayfield is a thriving musical hub and home to The Mayfield Festival. The church is a key venue for festival concerts and our Director of Music is a festival director. There will be many opportunities for the organ scholar to be involved in festival performances and potentially to be involved in organising and putting on events in collaboration with the festival’s Artistic Director, Jeremy Summerly. The award, which will be renewable annually (normally for the durationof the candidate’s academic course) will be up to £2,000 pa, depending on the package of duties agreed with the candidate.  Renewal will be conditional on the efficient performance of the duties listed. The Scholarship will be awarded irrespective of the religious convictions of the candidate, but a basic level of understanding of the nature andethos of Anglican church services would be expected.

A272 -A267 ROAD SAFETY GROUP - WELLBROOK HILL

At the recent ESCC Planning meeting, the speed reduction from 50mph to 40mph at Wellbrook Hill was on the agenda. The motion was passed and will be going ahead. Good news. Clarification is still required on the actual speed limit at the A272-A267 junction, which is currently 60mph. Why is clarification needed?  This is a response from Nick Skelton, ESCC  to Susan King,  May 2025. ‘I am pleased to inform you that the Road Safety team will be progressing Traffic Regulation Orders for speed limit reductions that address the sections of road covered in the first two proposals under your stage 2 objective. For the A267 Wellbrook Hill, consultations will be carried out to change the existing 50mph speed limit to 40mph, which will go from the Mayfield Bypass roundabout through to the start of the 40mph in Five Ashes. We will also be consulting on reducing the national speed limit from Five Ashes 40mph to Cross-in-Hand. It is proposed that the existing 40mph ‘buffer’ speed limit on the approach to the 30mph limit through Five Ashes is extended to cover the junction with the A272, the rest of the A267 towards Cross-in-Hand will be reduced to 50mph.’ The New A272 – A267 RSG will be seeking further clarification.

WADHURST CE PRIMARY AND NURSERY SCHOOL

Wadhurst CE Primary & Nursery is looking for an enthusiastic, caring and dedicated Level 3 Nursery Assistant to join our wonderful team. 28.5 hours per week. 52 weeks per year. Salary: £26,427 pro rata. As part of our nursery team, you will help create a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment where every child can flourish. To find out more and to apply, please visit the Wadhurst CE Primary School & Nursery Recruitment & Vacancies page on our website: https://www.wadhurstpri.e-sussex.sch.uk/.../jobvacancies, or email us at: [email protected]. Closing date for applications: 16th November 2026