Staplecross

COMMUNITY NEWS & REVIEWS: For a rather small community and parish, the residents have recently enjoyed no less than two (2) social events within two (2) days of each other !. Event No: 1 ~ STAPLECROSS MCP SCHOOL - Every parent - and Grand-parent - who attended the '˜HARVEST FESTIVAL SERVICE' was surely filled with love and pride (and no doubt, a few stray tears !) as they listened to the words and songs performed especially for them, by these precious children, at this special service which was held on Friday last (12th) at St. Mark's church, in Staplecross. Two services were held this day - Swallows and Robins performed in the morning and were followed by Kingfishers and Kestrels in the afternoon. The little stories, poems and the uplifting harvest hymns from both services, were performed with much fun and enjoyment and were such a pleasure to hear whilst seeing all the items of food brought to the church for distribution later on, together with the monetary donations freely given, were not only humbling but were made more so by the willingness and the sincerity of the pupils to help those in need and much less fortunate than themselves. All sums of money collected during these services will be donated to the '˜Methodist Homeless Charity' - and all the harvest produce - so generously given - will be donated to the Battle Food Bank in the very near future. Our own Canon Christopher Irvine was invited to come along and took great delight in both services and led us all in the closing prayers and thanks to the school. This is a '˜life lesson' - not on the actual school curriculum - but one that should encourage them to be a kinder, helpful and better aware of the world around them in their later adult life - leading hopefully to a better world for us all. Following the afternoon service, the always much appreciated and welcome '˜tea & cake' refreshments were served with the pupils taking on the roles of '˜waiting staff' This was clearly a job they all enjoyed, as their attentiveness to our welfare was
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Oct 2018, 06:00 BST

EVENT No: 2 ~ This was the ‘grown-up’ event which took the form of the Ewhurst Parish Community’s ‘HARVEST FESTIVAL SUPPER’ - complete with ‘entertainment’ and was held at the Staplecross Village Hall on the following day Saturday 13th October. This was a delightful evening with delicious food brought by guests and shared around the various tables set up within the hall. The mainstay of the meal was Quiche - with salad and various accompaniments - and it was amazing to see so many different varieties of these dishes gracing the tables. Once again, Canon Christopher was a special guest and led us all in the short but sincere prayer of thanks and gratitude for all our blessings. The entertainment was eagerly looked forward to as it is not normally associated with our English Harvests. It came in the form of a short exhibition of ‘Flamenco’ dancing. This dance troupe was brought to us by “Helena’s Flamenco & Spanish Dance School” - proudly introduced by Helene and thereafter narrated by her husband with the ‘help’ (!) of grandson ‘Anton’(?). The short introduction to several flamenco dances were beautifully and expertly performed by Anastasia and Nancy and just to prove that this type of dance is NOT just for the young - an amazing 85 years young, Varina, energetically danced a ‘Farrucca’ - a dance to celebrate the grape harvest - using fast and furious footwork and actions. To add to their accomplishments, the dancers accompanied themselves with the clever use of castanets, another amazing skill which added to the enjoyment of the performances. The dances were all lively, the steps complex and the movements skilfully executed. All in all a delightful and entertaining celebration of Spanish harvest-time. For those who have expressed a wish to learn more about this exciting form of dancing, there will be “Flamenco Dance Workshops” with Helena “La Leyenda”. Coming to ‘The Hub’ Quarry Farm, Bodiam on Saturday October 27th. These workshops will be suitable for beginners, and adults and children alike. Please call or text 07963~959262 or if preferred you may email:[email protected] for more information. It promises to be friendly, healthy and most importantly - fun.

STAPLECROSS BONFIRE SOCIETY: ADVANCE NOTICE - SATURDAY OCTOBER 27th. This date has been eagerly awaited by a huge number of people as it is one of the highlights of our parish year. This is an amazing night for all concerned from the early Fancy Dress event which takes place in Staplecross Village Hall at 5.30pm - Judging begins at 6.30pm. The amazing Torchlight Procession with 100’s of flaming torches lines up and moves off promptly at 7.15pm. - starting the village’s long awaited noisy, exciting and dazzling parade from the village through to Cripps Corner then returning to the bonfire field to the conclusion of the evening with the lighting of the bonfire and the firework display. Please remember this is a ‘dark village’ - with NO street lighting OR road kerbs -mostly uneven grass verges- along the parade route, so please take extra care, especially with children, bring warm, dry clothing - AND TORCHES- to help when returning to your vehicles at the end of the evening. This is also an ADVANCE NOTICE of the ROAD CLOSURE between Cripps Corner and Staplecross (B2165) to allow the Torchlight Procession and all those that accompany them safe passage from Staplecross down to Cripps Corner and back up again to the field where the rest of the evenings events will take place - the highlight - as stated - being the lighting of the huge bonfire and the eagerly awaited fantastic firework display The road is generally closed from 7.00pm until 10.00pm (approximately) so please ensure you choose an alternative route during this time. For more information regarding this evenings activities please check out their website at www.esbs.org.uk This promises to be another great night out for all the family, so don’t miss it !

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ROTHER RAMBLERS: Two more walks to help us enjoy all our beautiful scenery at our fingertips (- or toes in this case !) All organised by the members of our local walking group, the Rother Ramblers. Walk No:1 is planned for Sunday October 21st and is an 9 mile circular stroll all around Beckley. The meeting point is Beckley Village Hall - parking at the lower end of the car park. OS.EXP125. TQ853240. (satnav TN31 6RL) at the usual time of 10.00am. A picnic lunch is suggested and Tim will be your ‘walk leader’ for today and you may contact him on 01424~272459 or mobile:07831~768588 for all further information. Walk No:2 is arranged for Wednesday October 24th and is a delightful and informative meander of “Stanmer Park - The Chattri (The Indian War Memorial) - Clayton Windmills and Ditchling Beacon” The meeting place will be Stanmer, near Falmer, Brighton. OS.EXP.OL11. TQ336095. (satnav BN1 9QA) at the normal time of 10.00am. The walk notes state “Follow directions for Stanmer Park, clearly signposted from A27. Follow road to Stanmer Village - ignoring several small car parks. Meet in the car park adjacent to the church - but NB. the entrance to the car park is EXTREMELY NARROW ! - so please take extra care. Dogs are welcome to accompany you, but must sometimes be on a lead. Again a picnic lunch is suggested, with the additional treat of a possible opportunity to visit a tea room at the end of the walk. Wil is to be your ‘walk leader’ for this outing and you may contact him on 01797~260417 or mobile: 07801~189747 for more details.

[email protected]: Intriguing and thought-provoking are often the subjects of these fascinating talks held at St. James the Great church, in Ewhurst Green. This month however, they are that - and more !. On Thursday October 25th at 11.00am. Mr. Simon Earl, the Manager of the Bexhill foodbank will ask us the question “Do You Have a Strong Opinion about Food Bank Provision ? - For or Against”. This is also the title of his talk - where he will lead the debate on this emotive subject and he really welcomes the idea of a discussion following his talk, to air your views. As always, everyone is welcome and light refreshments will be served. Please come along and join in as your points of view really do matter.

WINE TASTERS @ EWHURST: If like many of us within the parish, you enjoy a delectable glass of wine now & again, then why not consider joining in the monthly Wine Tasting at Ewhurst. This is a super little social group of like-minded people who enjoy spending a couple of hours per month, - tasting and commenting on a selection of superb wines - plus tasty bread and a few nibbles - all wrapped up in good company, in a cosy venue - that being the Herdman Pavilion, in Ewhurst Green, (TN32 5TB) The date for the October Wine Evening is Friday October 26th. from 7.30pm - 9.30pm. No membership is required, - just a courtesy call to Jan (sec) to ensure there will be sufficient wine & nibbles for all to enjoy. -- It wouldn’t do to run short now would it ? A charge of £5:00 per person is required upon arrival. If you think that this is something that would be of interest to you, then do please contact Janis via her email: [email protected] to learn more about this very friendly and welcoming group. We are a very friendly and social group and will certainly ensure you have a warm welcome upon arrival and a glass of superb wine in your hand, very shortly after.! - Enjoy !

ADVANCE INVITATION: ‘ALL SOULS’ DAY’. - An invitation from Canon Christopher, is extended to all and sundry to come along and enjoy this special celebration which will take place on Friday November 2nd. at 6.15pm in St. James Church, Ewhurst Green. “Requiem” - a poem, in seven sections - will be read by well known local ‘lad’ - C.J. (Jonty) Driver and the Cello Suite No. 1 by J.S.Bach will be played by Martin Bradshaw, formerly a member of the ‘Archeus Quartet’. No tickets need to be purchased or seats booked, making this a congenial community gathering.

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Please make a note of this date and invite your family and friends to come along and share this special evening. For more information, please contact Canon Christopher on 01580~830925.

CHURCH SERVICES: Church services for the parish of Ewhurst, will commence at St. James the Great, Ewhurst Green on Sunday October 21st.Trinity 21. at 9.30am. This service will include Holy Communion.(CW) A service at St. Giles church, Bodiam will follow directly after at 11.15 am. This service will also include Holy Communion (BCP). There will be NO SERVICE today at St. Mark’s church, Northiam Road, Staplecross. If there is any church matter on which you feel you may need further assistance, especially Baptisms, Weddings and sadly, Funerals, then do please get in touch with the Priest - in - Charge, which is of course our good friend - Canon Christopher Irvine on 01580~830925. Help, love and support in some way, is always at hand and always so generously given, so do please contact him.

ANY NEWS FOR THIS COLUMN: PLEASE CONTACT ME: Life in and around our villages and community is far from being dull or boring as we have a welter of clubs, groups, societies, sports and other activities to take part in or just to spectate and support. If you are arranging an event in the foreseeable future, --- whatever the nature of the event and however large or small, indoors or out - and you’d like some extra free coverage for it, - courtesy of the Observer Newspaper - then please get in touch. If it’s of interest to you, - it’s of interest to us. Unnervingly Christmas is just around the corner, with lot’s of exciting events being planned, so it’s never too early to send in any of the details and to tell us what you are planning - so please do contact me, as I’d love to hear from you and to help ‘spread the word’ on your behalf. ..........Thank You.