Rodmell and Southease Parish Pump

The weather was certainly warm today (Friday 30th) and people were making the best of it. The roads were busy and our pub was full as it was half-term and families were out enjoying themselves.

May I make a plea on behalf of those of us that live near the pub, if the carpark is full, you can use the bus laybys but leave room for the buses. There is also a large carpark at the far end of the village, which is for Monk’s House visitors, but don’t mind others using it when they are not open. Please do not block the driveway entrances to people’s houses on The Street, especially near the pub, as it causes havoc if people can’t turn in or out of their house, and also, we get large farm vehicles, oil deliveries and horse boxes trying to negotiate their way through badly parked cars not to mention emergency vehicles. Please consider people living here and don’t be inconsiderate – thank you! I had someone recently park right across the steps of my side entrance, how considerate was that?!

The ‘Trees of Heaven’ as they are known are beautiful at the moment, especially the one in the pub garden. The real name of this tree is Sumac (or Sumach) and it spreads like wildfire. I have many in my garden and people have asked me if they can have one, so I often pot them up as plants for patios and actually have one in my greenhouse. I planted up various pots of bulbs 2 weeks ago and to my surprise they are all popping up and looking very healthy. This weekend I shall do more planting up then clearing up, as now the leaves have started falling. Compost heaps have built up and there are lots of weeds to clear. Today whilst I was sitting having a cup of coffee in the garden there were butterflies and ants flying around making the most of the warmth of the sun.

As one gets older life get’s more complicated, as those of you of a certain age no doubt know. Packaging on pills and tablets in jars you can’t open, can cause havoc if you can’t find the right implement to open them and at times I’ve had to ask people in my pub, shops in Lewes, and friends and neighbours to help me out. The Jeremy Vine Show has yellow lettering on a white background which can’t be read if you have eyesight problems/what’s wrong with black lettering on a white background? Recently because I’m not using my car at the moment because it’s waiting for Tim to sort it out, I thought I’d use our bus service when I went to look at it, there was the timetable in a dark corner, rather too high up for some of us, and is such small print I couldn’t read it anyway. I did phone a neighbour to ask her the bus times and she helped me. Someone else said to do a write up in your column because it is a problem for some and they said, ‘why can’t we have bus stops like the ones in towns, that give you lit up times of buses coming?’ We don’t have gas in our villages either so we won’t get help with standing charges on electricity plus our potholes will get bigger and bigger. We don’t have streetlights either, but then most villagers don’t want them. A lot of villages are far worse off than Rodmell so we must count our blessings. The lack of banks, stores for necessities of life, a bus station in our county town, makes life harder and dare I say anything about parking or having to walk up dirty great hills… the list goes on.

When I read through what goes on in the villages around here, I’m amazed at what a social and hard working and artistic group of people we have in our vicinity.

What’s on in our Villages: 9th November C7 meeting in Iford Hall 7.30pm 11th November, Kingston Parish Council meeting at Kingston Pavillion 12th November 7.30pm Kingston WI talk on History of Sport Kingston Parish Hall 14th November 12.00-4pm Rodmell Christmas Fair in our church (St. Peters Rodmell) 17th November 12.00-3pm Citizens Advice are running sessions at Kingston Pavillion for free confidential and impartial advice and help with benefits, housing issues, cost of living, debt, energy and much more. They also do a free adviceline on 0808 2787892 Tues-Thurs 10am-3pm [email protected] www.lewesdistrictca.org.uk/rural-outreach 17th November 7pm-9pm Rodmell Parish Council meeting in Rodmell Village Hall on The Street 24th November 7pm at the Abergavenny Arms Charity Pub Quiz in aid of St. Peter & St. James Hospice – tickets from Maureen Ford [email protected] tel: 01273 474980 mob: 07887 656621 £15/person 2 course buffet included. 15th December 12.00-3pm Citizens Advice are running sessions at Kingston Pavillion

Thankyou to Sussex Express on putting larger headings on Parish Pump columns as it makes lives easier for readers. Ali asked for this to be done as, I’m sure many other people did too, so many people mentioned it to me. Thanks Ali.

I’m sure all the children enjoyed their Halloween Party at the pub on Saturday as the pub always makes a real effort to do things well. The staff probably enjoyed it as much as the children as they are a young bunch!

I’m looking forward to a talk by Ian Everest on 6th November. I hadn’t publicised it as all the tickets sold straight away once the word went round in the farming communities. It’s a bit like the old market day times, when it was on opportunity for all farming folk to catch on news. I used to love going to these at Steyning, Haywards Heath, Hailsham and Lewes.