Netherfield

Netherfield Village Hall Library Service: We now have three bookcase,s which require the process of mobility changes, to allow their installation into the Hall from their safekeeping area, during the session to be allocated as library time. They can then be wheeled back easily to the area set aside for their storage and maintenance. More and more offers of books, DVDs and CDs are arriving which is a great testament to the people of Netherfield and the surrounding area. This project I feel has given them a focus. Filling the gap left by the withdrawal of the Mobile Library Service in May is going well. There will be hardbacks and paperbacks on offer covering a large range of topics and genres. As I indicated last week times of opening are the issue at the moment so we do need your feedback on what works for you, its patrons. Morning, afternoon or early evening; once a week, once a fortnight, once a month?Should it stay open for 20 mins, an hour, two hours or more? Come on, let us know. Details at the end of the column as to how to get in touch. Please take two minutes to inform us.

Netherfield Village Fete: Saturday 18th August 2018 is the date that has been allocated for the Netherfield annual village fete which, as all those who enjoyed the experience last year will know, takes place on the Playing Fields at the Netherfield Village Hall. There will be all the usual stalls and things to do to make this a great occasion and I have been promised by the weathermen to guarantee sun and heat for the day. I had to offer a few days of rain beforehand but I thought it would be worth the pain. There will be a “Doggy” competition so get grooming. More details as they become available.

Netherfield School of Rock: Well, if you have any working “speakers” you would like to donate, or an amplifier that you no longer need we are looking for a couple. In addition, if you have any microphones we need some of those too. Budding Djs need to project and this equipment will make them fir the bill when it comes to looking the part. All the hardware we have at the moment is in perfect working order so we just need a little more to be up and running.. Contact details below. Yea man!

Netherfield and Battle Radio: For those of you that remember him, trying to emulate the voice and diction of Alvar Liddell will perhaps be a little too formal for the type of service we wish to promote within the community. He was of his time and very good at it too, but our local radio will be a little more relaxed. One of the projects though could be an appraisal of events that were captured on disc,at the time Alvar was around, on 78s or otherwise, that could be discussed at length after playing the item on air. Copyright would not be an issue due to the time lapse. Things such as broadcasts from 19 November 1939 at the Cafe de Paris in London, from my own collection, or a recording of a battle from 1914 – 18 war is another. A live recording of a revue in which Roy Plomley appeared from the early 50s, which has never been heard before is also a possibility. He was the gentleman who presented the first Desert Island Discs. If you have gems like these let us know and perhaps we can make a series of programmes which reflect this part of our history.

Tell me what you think by contacting me at [email protected] or any of the alternatives highlighted at the end of the column.

Reflections on a garden: Helianthus! Now there is a name to conjure with. Big, colourful and prolific or should I say invasive. This time of year the flower heads are bursting out and providing a blast of colour which almost hurts the eyes. Even in the heat that we have been subjected to over the last few weeks has not dampened their progress towards maturity like so many other species in the garden. They seem to thrive on adversity and being a “thug”, require careful husbandry as the season ends. Once in they are hard to get out.

Our apples are growing nicely and colour is beginning to appear on their surface. We have an abundance of fruit on some of the trees and nothing on another. Strange! I prune them all the same way and carefully remove dead and diseased parts of branches and leaves so as to cause the minimum of stress to the tree. Yet some just will not fruit. Is that perverse or not? Even our russet this year, which has given us 21 years of unbridled harvests, has not produced a single flower this year.

The pond water, despite the heat, is as clear as a bell. It is full of newts, dragonfly larvae and fish both golden and black. Whilst duck weed is a minor problem at the moment it does protect the pond life from the incessant rays of the sun to some extent and I hope cut down on evaporation.

More next week........

Claverham Monday Badminton Club: Where are the ladies? They seem to have deserted us at the moment. I know that Stoolball and tennis are big draws at the moment but badminton is an all-year-round sport for all. Oh well, I hope they will be back soon.

There were nine of us this week trying to play the game like there was no tomorrow. Some of the rallies were long, intense and extremely interesting to watch. Pairings are never an issue as everyone has the chance to play with everyone else, but that in itself adds a little something to the proceedings. It is amazing how some people gel with another and produce a partnership that gives a very slight advantage yet can play with another member of equal standing and not have that same level of rapport.

Unfortunately, Roy, who is the mainstay of the club, was unable to join in this week due to an over-exuberance at Somerfields in Hastings, playing badminton for 3 ½ hours in one go on Wednesday. This worked his aged knee joints beyond their safety margin and it left him muscle-stressed this week. When you get to his age, he is much older than any of us, you have to be careful. He will like that comment, will you dad?

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