Winchelsea

Blackfriars’ Cellar Tour: During Winchelsea’s Summer Fete next Saturday afternoon August 8th the cellar of Blackfriars’ Barn will be open to visitors for free. There will be two guided tours arranged by Winchelsea Archaeological Society of approximately one hour starting at 2pm and 3.30pm, meeting at the Barn. The cellar under Blackfriars’ Barn dates from the early 14th century and etched on its walls are some medieval drawings of sailing ships. In the 19th century the site was used as a barn but after demolition in the 20th century it was found to be constructed around the ruins of a much larger building. The National Trust now owns and manages this site.

Football Club: Icklesham Casuals Football Club is training for the new season every Wednesday evening at Icklesham Recreation Ground from 6.30pm. The club, which runs two adult Saturday teams playing in Divisions 2 and 5 of the East Sussex Football League as well as a veterans side, was formed in 1937 and has a proud history which includes maintaining a reputation for playing sporting football, a reputation that remains today with the 2nd team, made up of a number of very promising young local players, winning the East Sussex League Sportsmanship Trophy last season while the 1st team led the sportsmanship marks in their division. The veterans side were champions of the local Hastings Veterans League. If any local footballers are interested in joining a friendly village club please come along to training or if anyone is interested in offering assistance off the field the club would love to hear from you. You can contact the club at [email protected]

What went wrong: for Napoleon at Waterloo? Last Saturday afternoon Colonel Anthony Kimber gave a well-informed explanation of some of the strategies or lack of them which led to Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. Despite Napoleon’s successes in past campaigns in Europe, for every victory there was a disaster or near disaster. He generally lacked subtlety on the battlefield, preferring attrition over manoeuvre and the crude application of force. Through such means he chose the centre ground in order to crush the main body as quickly as possible using massed artillery fire while convincing himself that secondary matters would settle themselves. Often this led to blunders. The weather was also against him at Waterloo with a rainstorm the night before and a muddy field (which is the definition of ‘Waterloo’) to fight in. He also had stomach problems and it seemed that human weakness took its toll. However like the Romans it was not all about fighting and he made some good contributions such as improving roads, education and culture but as with many anti-heroes his was a rise and fall episode. The talk was organised by WAS (Winchelsea Archaeological Society) in the Court Hall and the intention was to have a floor plan of the battle with the audience participating in moving army pieces around the board in response to various commands. Regrettably this was not practicable due to the, much welcomed but larger than expected audience and the resultant lack of floor space for a good battle.

Icklesham Parish: The Rev’d Canon Hugh Mosely has announced his intention to fully retire as Assistant Priest at St Nicholas and All Saints and he expects to leave in October/November this year. A future plan for the running of Icklesham Church will be developed later in the year by the Parochial Church Council. In the meantime we thank Hugh and his wife Annabel for their service to the community and wish them well when they move to their new home in Ringmer.

St Michal’s Hospice: A coffee morning with sale of scarves and bags took place last Thursday morning in St Thomas’ Church and was very well attended. This was in response to the appalling fire which took place at St Michael’s Hospice recently. As a result of the coffee morning and sale the generous sum of £1400 was raised and gratefully received by the Hospice to help with its recovery and rebuild.

Winchelsea Beach

Book a table: Tomorrow (Saturday) there is a Table Sale in the Community Hall from 11am. If you would like to book a table please contact 01797 224820 but come and buy anyway from the stalls. A tombola will be available and admission is only 40p which includes tea and biscuits.

Minibeasts: A walk of about one mile around the nature reserve in search of minibeasts will take place on Wednesday August 5th at 1.30 till 3pm. Booking is essential by contacting Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and the walk is suitable for all ages but children must be accompanied by an adult. The cost is £3 per child and you will need to meet at 1.25pm in Rye Harbour car park. If you would like to come along you will find this is an opportunity to take a closer look and form an understanding of a large variety of spiders and insects hidden on the reserve.

Phillips’ farewell tribute: Michael and Joan Phillips have been committed members of St Richard’s Church for many years and in that time their contribution to parish life and the lay ministry has been vast. From founding the monthly Fellowship Lunches to Joan’s abseiling escapades along with regular involvement in the life of St Thomas’ Church they will be greatly missed. Last week they packed and left Winchelsea Beach to move to their new home in Rustington West Sussex and we wish them every blessing for the future. They also know that they will always be welcome back here.

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