Winchelsea

Seaside talk: Writer and lecturer Jane Darcy will be giving a talk this evening (Friday) at the Literary Society's meeting, on the subject of '˜The Romantic Seaside'. Non-members are invited and the talk starts at 7 for 7.30pm in the Lower Court Hall. The Literary Society are also welcome to attend Rye Bookshop on Saturday April 28th from 10am, to be joined by Colin Bateman, who will be signing copies of his crime thriller '˜A Dreadful Trade', set on the coastline of Kent and Sussex. He also wrote '˜The day of the Jack Russell', '˜Divorcing Jack' and '˜Fire Storm'.

Spring Concert: The Winchelsea Singers will be performing highlights from Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah, the biblical prophet, at their Spring Concert this Saturday April 21st at 7pm in St Thomas’ Church. In the second half of the Concert they will be singing favourite choruses from operas by Verdi, Mozart and Donizetti. The Singers will also be joined by popular soloists Grace Constable, Garry Marriott and Michael White. All are invited to come along, listen and enjoy. Entrance cost is £12 by programme at the door and a bar will be available.

Conservation AGM: The Winchelsea Conservation Society is holding its Annual General Meeting on Saturday April 21st at 10am in the Lower Court Hall. Chairman Deborah Rodley invites all members to attend and light refreshments will follow the meeting.

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Garden Events: There has been a change of date for the visit to ‘Borde Hill’ and ‘High Beeches’ gardens. For reasons beyond the Garden Society’s control they have had to move the trip forward by one day, to Monday April 23rd. The cost for travel and entry to both gardens is £23 and tickets are on sale at Winchelsea Farm Kitchen. Also the Society’s social evening, with refreshments provided, is in the garden of Boundary House on Thursday April 19th between 5 and 7pm.

Spring Show Results: Congratulations to the exhibitors at Saturday’s show and thanks to everyone who helped and to all who came along to support this thoroughly enjoyable event. With such a bad spring, weather-wise, it was assumed that entries might be down but in fact they were up, with an increase in the number of individual exhibitors as well. The stalwarts that were setting the scene and arranging tables were concerned that they wouldn’t all fit in. But fit they did thanks to their organisation and the entire display looked wonderful. Spring had definitely sprung in the New Hall! Many visitors from outside the town popped in to enjoy a cup of tea, view the exhibits and generously buy raffle tickets. Winchelsea’s new Lady Mayoress Deborah Rodley was there to present the prizes and cups, the first of her many duties to come.

There was also much enthusiasm for the gardens and cooking themes and a big welcome goes to all new members who produced some very special entries. The Garden Society is now looking forward to lots more fun at their next horticultural events. Results for this year’s Spring Show are as follows: The society’s cup for Flowers - John Dunk. The society’s cup for Floral Art - Celia King. The society’s cup for Pot Plants - Hilary Roome. The society’s challenge bowl for Cookery - Celia King. The overall winner’s salver for Flowers, Vegetables, Pot Plants and Floral Art was won by Celia King.

May Arts: The next Winchelsea Arts Concert will take place on Saturday May 19th at 7.30pm in St Thomas’ Church. This will be a Piano Recital by pianist Giancarlo Staffetti who will be playing music by Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel and Prokofiev. Giancarlo was a close friend of the outstanding pianist Thomas Harris whose life tragically ended in 2015 at the age of 22. The Brazilian-born Giancarlo moved to Paris to study piano and composition and is currently in the final year of his Master’s Degree. He is also receiving lessons with Tom’s former tutor, Joan Havill, Senior Professor at the Guildhall. After the concert there will be a buffet supper with Giancarlo in the New Hall from 8.30pm and this will be a fundraiser for both Winchelsea Arts and the Thomas Harris International Piano Foundation. All are very welcome to attend and tickets for the concert cost £14, Children £7 and for the buffet, £25 which can be purchased online at winchelsea-arts.org.uk or from the Farm Kitchen.

Winchelsea Beach

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IPC Recreation Ground: Icklesham Parish Council recently had the football pitch at Harbour Field, Dogs Hill inspected under a programme sponsored by both the Football Association and the Institute of Groundsmanship. A detailed report on works needing to be done should soon be received and any works recommended will probably be undertaken by IPC’s current contractors. Also concerning Harbour Field, the Open Spaces Committee carried out their own inspection of the ground and identified a number of works needing attention which will also need to be completed. These inspections are all part of IPC’s long term strategy to improve standards in the area. The date and venue for the next full council meeting which is the Annual Meeting, is Monday May 14th at the Community Hall (Winchelsea Beach) starting at 7.15pm.