Fairlight

Pews News: This Sunday, June 24, there is a service of Morning Praise at 10.30 am at St Andrew's, with the crèche available and Junior Church too.

At Pett Methodist Chapel, the 10.45 am service will be led by the Rev John Hellyer, Chair of the District, on the remarkable occasion of the 170th Anniversary of the Methodist Church in Pett Village. Coincidentally, this original date is just under two years after St Andrew’s at the top of Fairlight had been the Consecrated. Altogether the mid-19th Century was a powerful time for the practicalities of religion in the district!

In a more modern celebration, there is to be a Barn Dance in Pett Village Hall on the following Saturday, June 30. Tickets are £5 each, or £16 for a family, and can be obtained from Wendy Hatch, either by calling 07908 377845, or by emailing [email protected] The event starts at 7.30 pm, there is a live band and a caller, and food is included in your ticket price. Take your own drinks!

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MOPPs today and next Friday: Today, Friday, June 22, members are in for two treats simultaneously, with the entertainment of Jim Saphin’s singing, and bingo as well, though not at exactly the same time. For lunch today there’s to be sausages and then gateaux. Next Friday, June 29, Keith Osbourne will be along with his Music for Health. And lunch next week will be fish with a herb crumb topping, followed by tiramisu.

Open Gardens for MOPPs: Last weekend saw the fourth iteration of the Fairlight Open Gardens, with the proceeds this time round going to MOPPs. And what an amazing success it was! Some 526 tickets were sold, entitling all those people to visit all of the eleven venues on display over the two day event, and on top of the ‘gate money’, almost £2,000 profit was made from cakes, cuppas, burgers, home-made ice cream and Pimms. MOPPs thanks all those who generously opened up their properties, and worked so hard to ensure everything was beautifully presented, and then worked equally hard feeding and watering the visitors – only for many of them to have to tear out at the end of play on Saturday to replenish fading stocks of comestibles. Organiser and co-ordinator Kerry Gentleman not only had her and Jo’s own garden open, but also perfected the illusion of being in several places at once in the lead up to the weekend. MP Amber Rudd was seen at Kerry’s, too.

The fantastic outcome for this friendly charity, which had recently suffered from the slings and arrows of outrageous cut-backs, was a heart and bank account warming £4,414.10, which MOPP’s Chairman Robert Pasterfield says ensures that the future of their charity is secure. It couldn’t happen to nicer people!

Next Sunday is the second of MOPP’s Cream Tea afternoons: MOPPs held their first cream tea special two years ago, and here they are again with food, drink and fun on Sunday, June 24 from 3 until 5 pm in the village hall, which promises to be a great afternoon out, and all for only a fiver. Tickets, if you’re quick, can be had from the Post Office or by calling 07860 414277.

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Fairlight’s very own Library: By the time this has reached you, Fairlight’s brand new Library will already have been open to the public on both Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, from 2 until 4 pm. The first such Community Library in the County, this facility speaks volumes (!) for Chairman John Sinclair, Treasurer Graeme Gambrell, Secretary Wendy Hatch and Committee members Val Duffell, Lorna Hogan and Kathy Sinclair, who have really gone flat out to achieve their aim. The library has been declared open by Parish Council Chairman Cllr David Shortman, and a report should appear elsewhere in this paper.

The Players AGM: If you are a Players member, you will already know that the AGM is in the village hall tomorrow, and that there is a buffet supper and entertainment as a reward for those who have been there for the business end of the evening!

Hearing Dogs for the Deaf: A tea party in aid of the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf charity is coming up soon in July, and this advance note will be followed by some concrete details next week.

The Gardening Club July meeting: Stephen Harmer will be talking about the English Landscape Movement and its Gardens. As usual, this meeting is on the first Monday of the month, which in July is July 2, but what is noteworthy is that this is an evening engagement, commencing at 7 pm. It could well be popular, as summer evening starts have proved in the past, but there will be no need to rush down to the village hall straight after lunch.

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Fairfest: Just over a month away now until the ten-hour extravaganza, from 12 noon to 10 pm on Sunday, July 29. Details of what you will be able to enjoy through the opening hours will be appearing in the coming weeks.