Fairlight

MOPPs today and next Friday: Today, Friday, December 14, the choir Cantabile will be entertaining the members. The lunch that follows will be fish pie, with rice pudding for afters.

On the following Friday, December 21, the entertainer will be Little Uke. Lunch will be a proper Christmas dinner, with roast turkey and all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pud. Super! A small word of warning for the week after Christmas – MOPPs will be closed on the final Friday of the year, December 28.

The Village Hall Winter Fair: Last week’s note bemoaned the weather that struck the always popular Christmas Fair, while mentioning that the support on the day was actually excellent. Proof that this was true comes from Frank James’ report that the sum raised for the upkeep of the halls amounted to some £1,700 – a record!

Brighter Fairlight competition: The Parish Council will be running the Brighter Fairlight competition again this month, and Cllrs Jennifer Annetts, Issy Horsley and Andrew Mier will be driving round the village to make their assessment. The winner will receive £50 and the runner-up £25, with the monies going to the charities chosen by the winners. If your lighting is visible, it will be judged. You do not need to do anything apart, of course, from purchasing the displays, putting them up artistically and switching them on.

The Pantomime Group: Rehearsals continue for Rumplestiltskin, which will be with us at the end of January. For all concerned in the New Year, the pace will pick up, and the nerves increase. The latter effect will already be enhanced by the fact that the tickets are now on sale at the Post Office! Get yours soon, as the last night always sells out very quickly. A nice little stocking filler for the family, perhaps?

FRA letter about Wakehams Farm application: The FRA has published its considered comments on the planning application uppermost in many people’s minds, and it neatly skewers all the well-rehearsed objections, as well as covering items less often mentioned, like the knock-on effect of the plan on Pett and Pett Level. The letter is out for residents to comment upon, and will not be submitted to Rother until the New Year. Have a good read, but the vast majority will be wholly in favour and uncritical.

Preservation Trust AGM: Omitted last week for unknown reasons, a report from the Chairman, David Shortman, on the Trust’s AGM says that the Officers and Committee were re-elected to their respective positions, and the Trust came out overwhelmingly in opposition to the Wakehams Farm proposals. To this end, it is noted that Dr Ruth and Leslie Kosmin have already registered their comprehensive comments on the Rother Planning website.

Potholes on Broadway: A few months ago, there was a water leak on Broadway just round the right-hand bend at the top of the road. After a wait (what’s new?), it was repaired, with a road closure ‘except for access’ notice. (It’s not clear what else one would use Broadway for except access) It was repaired and infilled, and left looking like a high relief map of the undulating South Downs. Vehicles soon emphasised the dokes, and a further infill was necessary. Now it’s so bad again the MoT want to use it as a vehicular suspension test. With all the practice they’ve had, why can’t road repairs last a little longer? Especially on Fairlight Road? But not on Battery Hill, because that never gets repaired in the first place…

FRA Christmas party: The FRA’s Annual Christmas Party is… tonight! Food, a bar and East Edna to entertain you. Suddenly found a blank space in your engagement diary? Try at the Post Office for a £10 ticket. You may be lucky!

It’s your Library: Our Library, cosily ensconced in the Post Office and General Stores, will close for Christmas at 4 pm on Thursday, December 20. It will re-open in the New Year at 2 pm on Tuesday, January 8. A good time for a good read. Make your selection, close all watertight doors, and settle in. Never mind the weather. The library committee wishes all readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Future Perfect for the Past Historic?: There was a good turn out last Tuesday for the meeting held to examine what interest there would be in the founding of a History group and, additionally, another dozen people had made contact to say they wanted to attend but were committed elsewhere. Organisers Paul Draper and Haydon Luke will be going ahead with the new society, almost certainly to be named ‘Fairlight History Group’, and at the formal inaugural meeting, to be held on Wednesday, January 9, they will formalise their Constitution and form the first committee. With the help of hall bookings secretary Joan Glastonbury, who was present, it is thought they have identified a monthly Village Hall slot on Wednesday afternoons, provided they can steer clear of other groups such as Speakers Corner! As the duo had suspected, there is a healthy demand for a local history society, and their task is now to discuss the way forward.