Fairlight

Don’t forget that the highly appreciated Christingle service in Fairlight will be at St Andrew’s on Advent Sunday, December 3, at 4 pm, thus marking the start of the Christmas season. Of course, the Church will have a regular multiplicity of attractive dates coming up for Christmas. We’ll try to highlight each of these in advance, a little nearer the actual dates.

MOPPs today and next Friday: Today, Friday, November 24, there’s sausage plait in pastry for lunch, to be followed by tiramisu. The entertainment of the day comes from the ladies choir Cantabile. For Friday, December 1 next week, lunch will be fish and chips followed by jelly and fruit. Earlier, the entertainment that day will be by Keith Osbourne with his Music for Health. Nicola will be doing toenail cutting next week, too.

It’s that time of the year, when much of our Village Voice tends to be déjà déjà vue, with all the traditionally expected seasonal and festive events queuing up to entertain, often to feed and usually to exhaust us, in return for a relatively minor expenditure to attend each one. If you find yourself thinking ‘I’m sure I’ve read that before’ for much of what follows, you’re right. You have!

2017 Local Poppy Appeal: It is with great pleasure and a considerable level of pride that it is reported that the final sum raised in this year’s Poppy Appeal for Fairlight, Pett, Guestling, Icklesham and Three Oaks is £5,338.63. John Pulfer, the Poppy Appeals Organiser, would like to thank all those ‘house to house’ collectors and other volunteers for their superb efforts, and to add a special thank you to all who made their contribution to this worthy charity, ensuring the needs of those returning or returned from military service are met, as well as those of their dependents.

A note had appeared here advising all readers that ‘on the forthcoming Remembrance Sunday, Carly D’Arcy and her team from the Robin Hood at Icklesham, would be holding an Afternoon Tea.’ This was extremely well attended – almost a full house – as the Robin Hood is renowned for its superb Afternoon Teas. The whole event was aiming to raise funds for this year’s Poppy Appeal, and it resulted in a balance of more than £630. The next time you see mention of an Afternoon Tea at the Robin Hood, don’t miss it!

Fairlight Wine and Social Club: Joining the approaching celebratory events, the Wine and Social Club’s Christmas Party on December 9 is being thrown open to all-comers, not just Club members. There are already a few non-members with their names down as guests of existing members, but the Club wishes everybody in the village to have the opportunity of joining in the fun on offer, with an excellent supper followed by dancing to Honeypot. The Party will run from 7.15 to 11 pm, and will cost you £13 per head – just as it does for members. If you’d like to be part of the evening – whose reputation precedes it – please call Peter Jones by Monday, December 4. Peter is on 813538.

The Playgroup Jumble Sale: It’s tomorrow, from 10 am to 12.30 pm on Saturday, November 25. In the past, queuing has been seen from 8.30 am, so we’ll have to see what happens in the morning this time round. A report this week suggests that more than 1,100 nursery facilities nationally have closed in the last year, which makes the sterling efforts of all concerned to sustain our Playgroup through a difficult period even more impressive. Do go along to the jumble sale. You may do yourself a favour or two, and you’ll certainly be doing the group a favour, too. It’ll cost you £1 to get in, but even that small sum gets you a raffle ticket, and could get you another major favour on the day…!

Speakers Corner: At their meeting on December 13, the popular and entertaining local actor cum historian, Geoff Hutchinson will be a Benedictine Monk from Bygone Days (the well known village Over The Hills And Far Away.) Geoff’s talk starts at 2.30 pm in the village hall and visitors are very welcome on payment of £2.

Something special this Sunday afternoon: The Annual General Meeting of the Fairlight Preservation Trust will be taking place in the village hall the day after tomorrow, on Sunday, November 26 at 2.30 pm. What the Trust has achieved for the benefit of all Fairlight residents over the years is nothing short of remarkable, involving as it has very big money, inscrutable local government and a lot of time wasting, by other people, through prevarication and procrastination. Just because they have so successfully completed the third and final section of our protective berm doesn’t mean their work is finished. Find out at their AGM what they are doing now.

A hardy annual event: A popular mid-winter event is the village hall’s Christmas Fair, which falls this year on Saturday, December 2 from 12 noon until 3 pm. Hot food – right from the outset, Father Christmas, mulled wine and all the stalls you know and love will be there. Well worth a look and the expenditure of a few bob or more. See you there, then.

Parish council meeting: The November meeting of the Parish Council is on Tuesday next, November 28, in the village hall at 7 pm. An item, not on the agenda for the last meeting, but discussed nonetheless, was the suggestion that the open Forum be abandoned and replaced by item 3, allowing the public to talk about matters about to arise on the evening’s agenda, and to speak for a maximum of two minutes. Though the discussion was curtailed and incomplete, and no vote could be or was taken, next Tuesday’s meeting will follow this new format. It has been tried here before, some years ago, but did not persist. Perhaps Nicholas Parsons could be co-opted to wield the stopwatch and prevent the public from becoming Ramblin’ Syd Rumpos. Public apart, there are already occasions when one might wish for the speakers to be incisive and succinct, avoiding circumlocution, irrelevancy and repetition.

The Residents Association Christmas Party: The FRA has a special celebration marking the end of their 70th year, with a Christmas party on Saturday, December 16 from 7.30 to 11 pm in the village hall. Tickets are £8 each, and they’re available from the Post Office. Why go? Well, there’s to be free food, a fully licensed bar, entertainment by East Edna and Village Voices, and some more surprises besides. A great night in prospect.

Would you pay more for policing in East Sussex? Katy Bourne, the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, has launched a county-wide consultation to ask the public if they would be prepared to pay more for policing in Sussex. The consultation will close on Friday, 5 January, and the results will help inform a decision which will be reviewed by the Police and Crime Panel at its meeting in January. The online survey is very quick and straight forward to complete.

http://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/ get-involved/public- consultations It could be just the thing to get your brain working again between Christmas and the New Year. Have a read – it’s interesting. Then express your opinion.