Fairlight

A reminder for the church community that those who are already geared up for the job could do with volunteers to help either to run the refreshment stall at the Village Hall Fair next Saturday, June 7, or to provide some cakes for it. Or, of course, both.

Later on that evening (Saturday June 7)… at 7.30 pm, the Fishy Band will be in Concert at The

Coffee Box, Hastings Centre on the Ridge. Tickets for this pleasant evening in prospect are priced at £5 each, and all proceeds will be going to Christians against Poverty and The Food Bank. If you’d like to go, email Wendy at [email protected]

Please confirm…If you are interested in being prepared for Confirmation in the next year, or perhaps you might like to be part of a Christian Basics course. If you answer either or both options positively, then you should let Rector Richard Barron know. Meetings can then be arranged to suit.

An incredibly positive outcome… as a result of yet another magnificent response from Fairlight in support of this year’s Christian Aid Week, a very grand total of £4,258.39 was raised. Thanks are extended to all who contributed.

The Messy Church… meets on Wednesday next, June 4, between 4.30 and 6 pm. So, if your child or children fancy a bit of mucky fun, which you are welcome to share in, have a word with Maggie on 07547 897469.

Does advertising pay…? Well, obviously. There’s the Observer each week, plus the Fairlight’s own polished email system, and then there are posters. But when should they go up to be most effective? One month is barely enough, two months is too long. However, St Andrew’s Autumn Fair poster for an event that is almost five months away in mid-October is possibly premature.

The Floral Club… enjoyed a very relaxed afternoon at their meeting last week, with some of the members making some excellent Ascot hats, while those watching them work took advantage of the pleasant chance to socialise. New members would always be welcome to join this long-established, thriving group.

As we move into June… there’s that date for the Floral Club’s ‘Putting on the Ritz’ coming along on Saturday, June 28 (in the village hall!) By the time you read this, tickets will be available from Fairlight Post Office or from Norma, who is on 01797 223924. They’re £8 each. As an added bonus, the icing on the cup-cake, the tinkling of teaspoons will be accompanied by the tickling of the ivories by Fairlight favourite, Iain Kerr, the pianist of immense talent and vast charm. That should make you doubly certain of attending!

Don’t forget the Fair… the summer event to support the village hall, which is tomorrow week, Saturday, June 7 from 12 noon to 3 pm. Go along and have a bit of fun and spend a few, or several, bob. The money taken all helps to maintain the rental rates at a very reasonable level, so frequent users are actually helping themselves. Charity begins in the village hall…

Need access to the village hall…? This note is for village hall key-holders, of whom there are more than a few. The new entry system will be turned on week commencing Monday, June 2, and all those who have a key, or are entitled to open the premises for their club or society, should have acquainted themselves with the new instructions, which have been circulated. If they don’t the outcome could be alarming!

When you unlock the door, you’ll hear a bleep. You then have 20 seconds to enter the Foyer, and deactivate the alarm. On the left hand wall adjacent to the Main Hall door is a small control panel. All that you need to do is open the lower panel, and enter the code that has been supplied and you have remembered.

On leaving, after checking no one else remains within, open the panel again and press the exit code (which has also been supplied and you have, again, remembered.) Again a bleep will be heard, and you then have 20 seconds to leave the hall and lock the doors. On no account go to any other part of the halls during this period, as the alarms will be activated.

There will a notice on the door warning that if you do not know, or have forgotten, the code, the door must not be unlocked.

For the third time of offering… it’s Fairfest, our very own Glorious Day Out in High Summer. And in case you are mentally free-wheeling through the early dog days in anticipation of the fun and frolics, make sure you remember that this year the date is Sunday, July 27, a full month earlier than the first two ‘Fests.’ The date has been brought forward in order to get a lighter and, hopefully, warmer evening, so everyone can enjoy the live music well into the night.

The exciting programmes are almost ready and these will go on sale shortly, at 50p each, from the Post Office.

This year, for the first time there will be a team from Rye Dance Centre coming to entertain everybody, as well as the Rye Ukulele group. Luckily, Fairlight’s own Aidan Tigwell will be singing and playing with his group Dorey the Wise, and the always popular group The Kytes will be there at their brilliant best.

Posters will go up shortly inviting children and parents to join the Activate Band as they parade up Commanders Walk led by the King and Queen of Fairfest. Here in Village Voice there will a constant stream of updates and reminders of the various attractions and events that will be featured.

Something else new this year is a Hula Hoop contest. Remember the Hula Hoop craze – let’s see if you can still do it, and the grandchildren can show us all up. (But don’t mention the clackers!)

Watch Village Voice for the names of the new Fairfest King and Queen.

Offers of help, raffle prizes, donations, memorabilia for the WW1 exhibition, or if you have a gazebo you wouldn’t mind lending, please contact Jennifer 812476 or email her at [email protected]

The Gardening Club monthly talk for June… is on Monday next, June 2 at 2.30 pm, when the speaker will be Alison Marsden, and her subject Choosing and Combining Plants for Style and Impact. Alison comes to Fairlight from Gardening by Design.

Have a go… The Bowls Club is running a taster session to enable newcomers to see how they get on with the sport. It’s at their Open Day this coming Sunday, June 1, on the green just off Commanders Walk at the entrance roadway to Wood Field Recreation Ground. Want a little reassurance and guidance before you go along? Give either Sylvia Taylor on 813518 or Allen Lawrence on 813886 a call.

The Tuesday Ladies Club… were taken on a coast to coast trip in Costa Rica (and they all wished it had been for real!). Graham Albon’s talk was an eye opener as nobody present had any idea of how progressive Costa Rica is. For instance, they abolished their army in 1949 and in 1989 their President was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. They have incredibly green credentials with their electricity all coming from hydro power, their many volcanoes (some still fairly active) are national parks and their wildlife is protected. Christopher Columbus gave it the name Rich Coast when he landed there to repair his ships in 1504 as he saw many native people wearing gold ornaments. Graham said that the hotels, boat trips and Costa Ricans were excellent and the country is becoming more of a tourist attraction, but luckily it is still not being spoilt. Apparently, the potholes in Costa Rica are bigger than ours in Fairlight, but they leave them to deter too many American visitors! (So why do we leave ours?)

The Club outing to Ruxley Manor is fully booked, and Mary has a waiting list.

Flicks in the Village… have their June film next Thursday, June 5. Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson star in Saving Mr Banks, the story of Walt Disney getting Mary Poppins author P L Travers to agree to his proposed ‘treatment’. Pett Village Hall is the venue, 7 for 7.30 pm is the time.

What goes round… has come around again. The Church Tower is open from 2 to 5 pm right through to the end of September, (and on Fridays, too, in August) every weekend and Bank Holiday. It will not be open in the event of rain - or a wedding. I understand the former is more to be expected than the latter. On fine, clear days, France can be seen from the tower. Up the steps and it’s on the far right.

Today at MOPPs… The entertainment is by Pat Bryer, a Joyce Grenfell Impersonator who should be right up everyone’s street, and the day’s menu is fish pie followed by steamed sponge and custard.

Every week I finish Voice and submit the copy. Then it’s dog walking time, and being Tuesday, there are always several cars parked along the end of Broadway, at least one of which is too near the corner. I get angry, but then it wears off. This week I’ve remembered. Why don’t these selfish parkers realise how much danger they are putting others into? Drivers are forced to approach Waites Lane a mere fifteen feet from the corner with others coming up the slope and turning left – to be faced instantly, head on, by approaching traffic. Please park more considerately on Tuesday mornings. An extra 20 yards walk will probably do you and your offspring good, and may save someone from a very nasty accident. Perhaps registration numbers would help?

What is it about Village Voice…? Finished by Tuesday morning, by the time it appears on the Friday, what I’ve moaned about has sometimes been corrected. Take the long-running sewer problem by Meadow Way. I reported that the wind-swept road signage had been repositioned, but that no work had been done. By the time the Observer came out, the infill work had been done. But sadly, the gang with the asphalt and the ironwork were clearly not authorised to return the redundant road signage to the depot, and so the signs now repose in a big heap against a convenient wall. Watch that space…!

Keith Pollard, Brookfield, Broadway