Netherfield

The warm-up that was underway was striking (sorry about the pun), because of the jazzy boots both the boys and girls were wearing as they passed, shot and dribbled around the pitch. It showed too, to any disbelievers, what sport can do when kids get involved. Looking at the precision displayed by the players, it indicated to us both that there could be future stars in the making. The grounds looked good, better than they have been for years and indicates why this tie-up with Pass & Move went ahead.

It should also be noted, that Tony, from Pass & Move visits the grounds on a Friday afternoon/evening, not only to make sure that the grounds are in tip-top condition for the games on a Sunday, but also to pass on his knowledge of the game to any youngsters from the local area who want to kick a ball around. Why not try it?

Whilst we were unable to stop for the actual game we understand that Pass & Move won 7-1. Striking!

Hopefully, this column will get a comprehensive report on matches in the future from the man himself.

East Sussex Hearing Resource Centre: The Centre is a registered charity working in partnership with Adult Social Care to provide a no charge mobile information and advice service for Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people living in East Sussex. The vehicle is equipped to offer demonstrations of assistive equipment and hearing screening tests.

The mobile unit will be visiting Battle on Thursday 1st November 2018, and will be in Market Square from 10.30am – 3.30pm.

The bus is accessible to wheelchair users and representatives from both the East Sussex Hearing Resource Centre and Adult Social Care will be available to provide individual information and advice on all aspects of hearing loss.

For further information please contact: East Sussex Hearing Resource Centre,

Tel: 01323 722505 (voice/text/fax) e-mail: [email protected]

St. John the Baptist, Netherfield: Harvest Festival is a great favourite time of he year, and last Sunday was no exception. The Autumnal themed flowers and decorations were really beautiful. During Holy Communion gifts wre presented at the altar, to be distributed to the needy.

Then we all sat down to a delicious meal, contributed by ------ourselves! Thanks to everyone who brought it all together - .Gillian.

Autumn Fair: St. John the Baptist, is holding its Autumn Fair on Saturday 27th October from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be a variety of stalls, games for the children, a raffle and refreshments. Admission is only £1 with children free and this includes a cup of tea or coffee. If you are interested stalls are available to hire at £10. It is always a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere so do come along and grab some bargains. Enquiries to Paul Smith on 01424 774233.

Netherfield Village Hall Library Service: The Library opened once again for business and two people came to view what we had on offer. Don’t forget the Library is open on Wednesday between 2 and 4 o’clock. As usual there is a great choice of titles on offer and these are there just waiting for you, our customers, to come along and borrow and read at your leisure. Tell your friends too. It costs you nothing, as it is our free service we offer to our community. You can browse, sit, relax and read and enjoy a cup of tea at the same time. What could be better?

Claverham Monday Badminton Club: Numbers keep rising. Fourteen this week. Old friends keep arriving after their summer sojourn elsewhere. I guess the draw is the competition we provide and the benefits of the venue which is run efficiently and well by Andy and his team.

When we arrive each week now the courts seem to be full of action from people playing indoor tennis and badminton, not on the same court I might add, but separated by a large floor to ceiling green curtain, which Andy pushes back at 8.00pm to reveal all.

Only one lady this week, Lyn, who has new glasses to help her with her game. She stated that they took a bit of getting used to as she casually donned them at the start of the proceedings. As she is normally a good player I think she felt frustrated that things were not quite making the difference she had hoped for. It is early days.

Our intrepid explorer Marco, sorry Ben, took a bad fall this week chasing a difficult shot. I think he thought the “shuttle” was the flight he was catching and in his mind he was lifting his leg to put his foot on the first step of the stairway to board. Whilst it looked painful, he was able to continue thank goodness, without any seemingly ill effects. We were all glad of that as none of us likes our game interrupted for any reason. Just joking!

More next week.....

Reflections on a garden: Completing the trimming of the leylandii, sloe and hawthorn at the weekend left me with a few scratches on my uncovered arms. With the weather being so balmy it appeared to be the ideal opportunity to complete the smartening process, curtailed by me after a number of intense hours last week Due to the density of our laurels along the border, next to the field, shaping any of our trees and shrubs in this area is a difficult operation. That is why a tee-shirt seemed to be the best sort of attire for the job. Not clever I feel with an arm full of cuts and thorns.

Once this task had been completed it was back to putting back together the flap at the back of the motor mower. Age has meant, like me, that parts our wearing out and bits pop out when they shouldn’t. In the case of the mower a rod, enclosed by springs and plastic fits into holes at each end of the handle which are slightly wider than the rod that fits in them. I hope you are keeping up with this description as I shall be asking questions later. Wear has meant that the holes do not secure the rod like they used to, so they keep popping out. Unfortunately, dismantling is the only option which requires, spanners, perseverance and a sense of calm to complete. To compensate I have packed the holes at each end of the rods with spacers. This ensures a tighter fit and hopefully a resolution of the problem. We shall see.

The falling leaves from our trees present an ever increasing problem annually. As the trees grow, so the amount of leaves increases. Ash, oak, acer, apple and pear, walnut and the like shed their covering during this time of the year. In general, it is not a problem, except when it falls onto and eventually into, the pond. We never seem to catch it early so the netting panels, especially crafted to cover the pond are never positioned in time to catch them all. Once they are in place then the job they do keeps most of the leaves out of a watery grave. Plus, we need the harvest to continue our leaf mold production rate which, when fully decomposed presents a pleasant earthy aroma and crumbly texture, much like compost. It also is great for texturing the soil in the vegetable beds.

More next week........

Contact: If you have any stories or articles of interest that will give our readership a reason to buy the paper please contact me on email at [email protected]. Call 01424838410 and ask for Maurice or text 07957588172