Fairlight

MOPPs today and next Friday: Today, Friday, January 20, Ken Brooks will be the guest speaker, telling of ‘Hastings in Wartime’. His talk will be followed by a lunch of chicken wrapped in bacon, and then stewed apple with custard. Hope you’ve all got enough points left to cover your dinner.

Next Friday, January 27, there’ll be Celia King along with her chair-based exercises, to be followed by a nice lunch of roast lamb, with rice pudding with jam to follow.

A bit of a sad note within Co-ordinator Robert Pasterfield’s New Year newsletter, where he says he’s afraid he has to remind you that this is probably his last Newsletter. Carolyn Smyth joined MOPP’s as their new Co-ordinator on Friday, January 6, and Robert will be working with her during this first month of the year to familiarise her with the role and introduce her to everyone. I am sure you will join in welcoming Carolyn to MOPP’s and wishing her every success.

It is Robert’s intention to stay on as a volunteer, but he just doesn’t want to do the paperwork any more! In the last three years he reckons he has learned a lot and met ‘lots of lovely people who have genuinely touched my heart. Everyone at MOPP is very special to me so I’m delighted to be able to say that it’s not goodbye and that I will still be able to join you every Friday. I would also like to thank everyone for their support while I was Co-ordinator although I think laughing at some of my jokes was beyond the call of duty!!’ Well, that’s the feelings and thanks from his point of view, but there are countless friends among MOPP’s volunteers and members who would wish to thank Robert for all his input and work, to congratulate him, and to express how glad they are he will still be around. Thanks, Robert!

Tonight’s the night: Already on to their second session of 2017, the Bowls Club’s Whist Drives continue in the village hall this evening. You know the drill – be there by 6.45 for 7 pm start – as there’s a lot to get through in one short evening.

Time’s getting short, Red Riding Hood: Only a week to go now before this year’s village panto takes to the boards – six days until the Thursday opening night, which is the only one of the four performances where you can be pretty sure of getting a seat. So do go along o the Post Office and secure whatever booking you are fortunate enough to be offered, in a year where the demand is particularly heavy. Next Thursday and Friday evenings, at 7.30 pm, plus the Saturday matinee at 2.30 pm has ticket prices at £6 for adults and £3 for children, but you’ll have to make sure they have tickets remaining unsold! Saturday night attracts a premium where all seats are £7, though they’re about as available as rocking horse manure…

The Panto Group has kindly asked me to review next week’s production officially, which means that my thoughts on the piece will be appearing in Village Voice, followed by a possibly expanded version in Fairlight News. Accept no substitutes…!

Players’ auditions: If you didn’t manage to show what you could do last evening, it is to be hoped that you had informed Carol Ardley of your interest in appearing, together with your regret at not being able to attend on the due date, so that you could be accommodated at a separate time. Meanwhile, discussions will be on-going to cast those who have offered and fairly soon we will be able to publish a cast list in this column.

Speakers Corner: At their first meeting of 2017 the Speakers Corner members were entertained by three committee members of the Winkle Club. The talk was given by Richard Stevens with Phil White in charge of the computerised slide show. This unique club was started in 1900, when times were hard. The fishermen wanted to give the children a party so they started to raise funds and decided to call their efforts the Winkle Club. The winkles (which are gold if you are royalty!) are sealed with sealing wax and members have to produce theirs if they are challenged to ‘winkle up’. Many famous people have been members and by tradition the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is automatically one. Winkle Island was originally by the shore line and the old winkle has been replaced by the magnificent sculpture by our own Leigh Dyer. The Winkle Club still raises funds and gives only to local good causes. The afternoon ended with Phil singing a song about the Winkle club composed by the Headmaster of All Saints School!

On January 25 there will be a talk by Ken Brooks on the America Ground, Hastings; if you’ve never heard of it, you’re in for a fascinating afternoon. This replaces the talk ‘A Kick Up the 60’s’, because speaker Alan Haines, who was due to deliver it, is indisposed. All the fortnightly talks start at 2.30 pm on their respective Wednesdays in the village hall and visitors are very welcome on the payment of a humble couple of pounds.

Slap a bit of paint on it: You cannot have failed to notice that Waites Lane has been partly improved, but certainly disfigured, by the addition of white spray paint around the multiplicity of potholes that require attention. It might nave been easier to have painted grey, say, the very few parts that do not need attention. Battery Hill is not getting any better as the winter bites, and if we get a considerable amount of frost to punish the water-logged ground, then road surface chaos will ensue. So, what’s new? Battery Hill, you will recall was promised attention before the end of the year. I did ask ‘calendar or financial’? but reply came there none. Perhaps they don’t even mean this financial year, as they claim the Hill doesn’t need attention at all.

If you recall, many moons ago, when they blitzed the road down the hill and onward to Pett Level, they did come into our village with what I seem to remember was claimed to be a wonder machine, to seal and join major sections in the road. This was used principally straight up Waites Lane to bridge the two sides of the carriageway. That jointing strip still appears completely intact. Why not bring the machine back and do the whole road in six inch strips – it’ll never wear out!

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