WADHURST TOWN IN FOCUS - FEBRUARY 2008
MULLINS MEMORIAL FUND
The Mullins Christmas Quiz proved very popular this year and 77 completed entries
were submitted. The eventual winner was the Windham Wright family and the runners-up
were Sheila Cooper and Heather Lewis-Plant. The Mullins Committee is very grateful
to the compiler of this excellent puzzle which entertained many over Christmas.
If you know someone who you feel might benefit financially, practically or emotionally from our support, please pass the information on to one of the Office Bearers on 01892 782181, 782835 or 783212. Be assured that whatever we do is done in complete confidentiality.
WADHURST TWINNING ASSOCIATION
was delighted to welcome ten friends from Aubers at the Winter
Social in January. They would particularly like to thank them for their generosity
as regards their contributions to the gathering. For details about the Twinning,
contact the Membership Secretary Janet McFarlan on 01892 783291 or the Secretary,
Heather Woodward on 01892 783212.
Carillon Cottage Jumble Sale
is to be held on Saturday 16 February 9.30 to 11.30am at the Commemoration
Hall. Offers of help (Friday evening and Saturday morning), jumble, raffle
prizes and cakes, would be greatly appreciated.
Jumble may be left at Carillon Cottage or at the Commemoration Hall (on the evening of Friday 15th) If jumble requires collecting please call:- Dot Smytherman 01892 783208 or Sarah Rodgers 01892 782455.
WADHURST PROBUS CLUB
With the unfortunate closure of the Wadhurst Social Club, the meeting on Tuesday
5 February will take place in the Upper Room at the Greyhound; starting time
as usual 10.00am and the speaker, as usual at 11.00am, will be Heather Woodward
on 'The Sussex Air Ambulance'. Arrangements for future meetings are currently
under discussion.
We are delighted to announce that the March meeting on the Club on Tuesday 4 March will be a special event. Dame Kelly Holmes - our local double gold Olympic medallist - will be talking to the club in the Commemoration Hall at 11.00am in aid of Hospice in the Weald. Probus is offering the event to the whole community and tickets will be available from the Hospice shop in St James' Square from the middle of February.
WADHURST FOOTPATHS SOCIETY
Members and friends meet on the last Sunday of each month in the car park behind
One Stop, Washwell Lane, Wadhurst at 2.00pm. The next walk will be on 24
February though Lamberhurst and Hoathly Farm.
The booklet "Walks around Wadhurst" published by the society describing a range of circular walks in the area around the village, has been completely revised and updated, with two additional walks bringing the total to 17, and with suggestions for linking the walks to make longer outings. The revised booklet is now on sale at Barnett's bookshop, price £3.
KENT & SUSSEX BORDER LIONS CLUB
We meet every third Wednesday at Hurst Green Village Hall, all are welcome.
Ring David Francis on 01580 200672 for more information.
CARE FOR THE CARERS
Are you caring for a relative or friend? Would you like to meet other carers
for a coffee and a chat? Then come along to our monthly meeting at Carillon
Cottage, every third Thursday from 10.30am - 12 noon. For further details please
contact Sarah Burchett (01323 738390).
Stop Smoking Service
Is your New Year resolution to quit smoking? Increase your chances of success
by attending drop-in sessions run by the Stop Smoking Service at Belmont Surgery
on Wednesdays 11.00am to 1.00pm starting on the 9 January. You do not need
to be a patient of the surgery and no appointment is needed. You will get free
friendly support and advice and nicotine replacement on prescription. Other
venues and times are available, phone 0800 9178896 for more information.
Hospice
in the Weald - Wadhurst Link
Thank you to Val Tunbridge who very kindly hosted another coffee morning and
bring and buy for the Hospice on Wednesday the 12 December at her home in
Old Station Road. Thank you also to all those who were able to support this,
especially Eileen Hemsley who again kindly sold her cards to raise further
monies for this very deserving cause. I am sure Val will be very glad to
hear from anyone who would like to hold a coffee morning in the near future.
(Cups and saucers available to borrow).
A further date for your diaries - Wednesday 26 March - the usual afternoon of Chicago Bridge with a fabulous tea and small raffle will be held in the Commemoration Hall, Wadhurst. Tickets are available shortly - £25 per table - please contact me to book early and avoid disappointment! Linda Kings (01892 783461)
Murder Mystery "M'Nango Valley"
WOW would like to invite you to "M'Nango Valley" a murder mystery
evening on Saturday 9 February. An explorer has returned recently from his
adventures and has plans to open a theme park in Wadhurst - he hopes to win
the support of the locals (you!) but not surprisingly he encounters some opposition
and what with one thing and another this leads to a murder! Would you like
to join us for a home cooked three course supper and help solve the crime?
Tickets are £15 per head, available from Janet Goldsmith 01892 783264. It takes place at Uplands Community Technology College, the action starts at 7.30pm and a team of talented local actors will be performing. The bar will sell wine, beer and soft drinks and the seating is arranged in tables of six. All proceeds will be going to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Mayfield and District U3A
The Mayfield and District U3A will meet in the Memorial Hall, Mayfield on
Thursday 21
February at 2.00pm, when the speaker will be Robert Milner on ‘The Jane Austen
Industry’. Non members are welcome.
MINI MARKET will be held in the Methodist Church on Saturday 2 February from 9.30 to 11.00am. We are most grateful for your support.
PARENTS AND TODDLERS GROUP
Meetings are held every Monday at St George’s Hall from 9.30am. Everyone welcome!
For further details please contact Nina on 01580 201158.
WADHURST HISTORY SOCIETY
looks forward to the return of Chris McCooey on Wednesday 13 February,
talking about Sussex Heroes – 32 men and women, and one dog. The meeting is
in the Commemoration Hall, 7.30 for 8.00pm. On Wednesday 12 March,
Michael Pratt will talk about Winchelsea in the 18th Century.
The Society is very grateful to several people who have recently donated various documents which will add to the information we are gradually accumulating about domestic and small business life in Wadhurst. They are exactly the artefacts which will be ideal for further research and display. Thank you very much.
Many people in Wadhurst are interested in doing their own family research and the History Society Committee and Task Groups would appreciate any help such people might be able to give so that, as quickly as possible and certainly before it is too late, we can accumulate a full picture of Wadhurst over the years. People in their 80s now will have their own memories plus what they heard from their parents and grand-parents about life in the early 20th Century and in the 19th Century in this (at that time) farming community. That community has now changed greatly as we are all very well aware. We need to track those changes and their implications on our community so that future generation can understand when, how and why they happened. The memories can be recorded orally or written down. The important thing is to air them and what a lot the younger generations will learn and understand.
Would you therefore be interested in researching the Industries and Agriculture of Wadhurst, or the Development that has so altered Wadhurst, or the big Estates and the important Buildings and Houses of the environs of Wadhurst, or the History of the Families of Wadhurst, or would you like to interview members of “old Wadhurst” families and long- standing residents ?
If so, please would you contact David James on 01892 890330 or Heather Woodward
on 783212.
Currently research continues on Wadhurst between the years 1936 and
1946 which includes Shovers Green, Churchsettle, Cousley Wood, Sparrows Green,
Durgates, Best Beech, and Tidebrook. Others are working on Life in
Wadhurst between the Wars 1919 to 1939.
Because there are huge gaps in our knowledge of Wadhurst, any help you may
be able to offer would be gratefully received, as also would be documents and
artefacts.
WADHURST WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
Members who did not manage to get
to the January meeting – it was a very wet and windy afternoon – missed a very
interesting talk on the ‘Life & Times
of Dick Whittington’ given by Mrs S Bridge. He became mayor of London four
times, a record which still stands, and was anything but a pantomime figure:
a wealthy member of the Mercers’ Company and confidant of kings. He was also
remarkable for dying at the age of 67 which was then considered a very venerable
age. The talk was accompanied by a slide show of drawings depicting London
and aspects of life in those times, many reproduced from contemporary sources.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday 14 February. Mrs J Kinnes-Bourke will talk aboutElsie Bowerman: Survivor of the Titanic. We look forward with interest to the entries for the monthly competition which is Souvenir of the Titanic. February trading stall is cakes.
Stonegate Farmers Market
Saturday 9 February, 10.00am to 12.30pm in Stonegate Village Hall. Over twenty
stalls selling wonderful local produce and refreshments. For more information
call 01580 200386.
Tea with Tigger: Bring your babies and toddlers for a chat over a cup of tea and biscuits on Tuesdays from 2.00 to 4.00pm at Carillon Cottage. For further information contact Carillon Cottage, Tel 01892 785658.
WADHURST BRIDGE CLUB
New Members are most welcome to join a group of friendly players of varying
standards.
Help and some tuition is given. Friday afternoons 2.00 to 5.00pm at Sparrows
Green Pavilion.
Telephone Margaret McAuley on 01435 867824 or 07964 347898.
OPEN CIRCLE
Too old for Sticky Fingers and OASTies? Too young at heart for Cameo Club?
But in need of a bit of cheerful company, coffee and a chat? We meet on the
fourth Friday of each month . Why not come along to Open Circle at Carillon
Cottage on Friday 22 February, 10.00 to 11.30am?
Are you interested in making wine?
The Wadhurst Winemakers' Circle meets at the Sports Pavilion, Sparrows Green,
on the first Friday of the month where we have regular speakers on various
subjects and wine tastings. The next meeting will be on 1 February at 7.30pm.
If you would like more information please contact Rose on 01580 200504 or
Shirley on 01580 201250, or just turn up.
St John Ambulance Wadhurst Division is holding
a Jumble sale on the 19 April, in the Commemoration Hall. Doors open at 9.30am
to 12 noon, entrance by Donation. We would be grateful for donations of jumble,
bric-a-brac, books, etc. Please bring all donations to the hall on the evening
of the 18th, between 6.00 and
8.00pm. No large furniture. Enquires to Marge (01580 200378), Paul (01435 883517)
or Cindy (01892 784714).
Wadhurst Scouts are holding a Jumble Sale in the Commemoration Hall on Saturday 23 February at 9.30am. Please bring any jumble to the hall on Friday evening from 6.30pm or telephone 01892 783303 for collection.
WADHURST INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHERS
WIP meets every second Tuesday of each month, at 7.30pm, upstairs in The Greyhound
Pub, Wadhurst. The next meeting is on 12 February.
BEDGEBURY PINETUM
Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra will be performing at Bedgebury
Pinetum & Forest, Nr Goudhurst, Kent, on Saturday 7 June. Tickets are £30
(subject to booking fee) and go on general sale from ticket hotline: 01842
814612 or on line from www.forestry.gov.uk/music
AFTERNOON FELLOWSHIP has made a good start in this the new
year and has a full programme to look forward to.
Recently we have been delighted
to welcome some new members and it would be great to see even more in 2008.
Give us a try! St George’s Hall, 2.30pm, every fourth Thursday.
The next meeting
will be on 28 February when the talk will be Community Beat by PCSO Marc Simmonds.
Sparrow's Green Recreation Ground
The Parish Council is investigating
how best to use the land donated to it by the Voelcker family. Any facility
should benefit a wide range of people and we’re particularly interested in
providing more facilities for teenagers. Our working plan is to build
a multi-purpose all-weather pitch, however
we’re happy to consider any serious suggestion as to how best the land could
benefit you. If you have any suggestions or advice please contact the Clerk,
or use the feedback form at www.wadhurstpc.info where can also find more information
on our plans.
WANTED: Are you getting married on Saturday 17 May 2008 and
having your reception in a marquee?
Might CTIW borrow it (the marquee) on the
Sunday evening for our annual ‘Songs of Praise’ service with the Wadhurst Brass
Band? Telephone 01892 785041.
CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU
Crowborough CAB runs a confidential advice service in Carillon Cottage every
Wednesday from 9.00am to 12 noon. No appointment necessary. Just drop in
or call 01892 785658.
NEW WADHURST RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
Our recently formed Group would like to wish all residents of Wadhurst a Happy
New Year. Following our early success as a group in highlighting and dealing
with issues of concern we hope to be able to continue helping the community.
The new community bus which replaced the Post Bus is now up and running on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and goes via Wadhurst-Mayfield-Crowborough. For more information Tel: John McIvor 01892 783843.
At the moment our meetings are on the second Thursday of the month at Fazan Court from 10.00am to 12 noon. Next meeting 14 February. If you would like to be involved please come along. For details Tel: 01892 782294 / 783843.
WADHURST GARDENING ASSOCIATION
Don’t forget the recording of the BBC’s Gardeners’ Question Time on Sunday
10 February on Radio 4 at 2.00pm. CDs can be purchased from the production
manager, Yvonne Allan on 01608 646444, or email yallan@tmtv.co.uk
Our next meeting is on Monday 11 February at 7.30pm in St George’s Hall, Sparrows Green, when Mr Christopher Wade will be taking of Italy – Tuscany to Venice. The Competitions will be two leeks, and a bowl of bulbs, corms or rhizomes.
WADHURST TREFOIL GUILD
We all enjoyed our first meeting after Christmas.
Our next meeting is the AGM on 4 February at 2.15pm.
WADHURST BRASS BAND - www.wadhurstbrassband.co.uk
As you can
see our events diary is filling up quite nicely. The number of people who have
asked us back after last year means either a) we are doing something right,
or more likely b) our tactic of always buying the organiser a drink or two
is paying off.
Of course a new year means a new repertoire so we have some brand new music and some old favourites that have been resurrected (who mentioned Ken?). It’s amazing how quickly the boss can turn our fumbling efforts into something actually presentable.
New Players Welcome: If you play an instrument please get in touch. Jenny’s number is below or you can contact us through our website. Our rehearsals are on Thursday evenings at 8.00pm. Everyone is really welcome and if you happen to play cornet (maybe trumpet), bass (tuba), or percussion then that is even better.
Training Band: Maybe you fancy learning to play. There is an enthusiastic group of learners who meet at 7.00pm on Thursdays before main band, and we have instruments available for you to try.
| Day | Date | Event | Time |
| Thursday | 21 Feb | Band AGM | 8.00pm |
| Saturday | 15 Mar | Spring Concert, Commemoration Hall | 8.00pm |
| Sunday | 11 May | Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells | TBC |
| Sunday | 18 May | Songs of Praise | TBC |
| Monday | 26 May | Crowborough Beer Festival | 2.00pm |
| Saturday | 14 June | Tidebrook Fete | 2.00pm |
| Sunday | 22 June | Eastbourne Bandstand | 3.00pm |
| Saturday | 12 July | Scarecrows | 2.00pm |
| Sunday | 6 Sept | Eastbourne Bandstand | 3.00pm |
| Sunday | 14 Sept | Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells | TBC |
| Saturday | 11 Oct | Poppy Concert | 8.00pm |
| Saturday | 6 Dec | Christmas Concert, Commemoration Hall | 7.30pm |
Contacts: Jenny Cooper Band Manager 01892 782247 Lydia Fuggle Secretary 01892 782308
PRAYER FOR THE ARMED FORCES OF THE COUNTRY
Could I suggest that the churches and chapels of Wadhurst parish consider introducing into their services periodically and on appropriate occasions the Prayer for our Armed Services:
We commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our Armed Forces at home and abroad ….give them courage to face the perils that beset them……. JJB
POUNDING THE PAVEMENTS
The 25th Annual Unlock London Walk will take place on Saturday 19 April and
will include Chelsea and East Fulham on the north side of the Thames, and Battersea
on the south.
There will be between seven and eight hundred walkers, including Peter Dwyer and myself, and we hope a contingent from Wadhurst. During the circular walk you will have the chance to visit a small number of churches, right across denominational boundaries, which act as check points and welcome centres. Light refreshments are usually available.
The sponsored walk provides massive support for the admirable work of Unlock. It provides Bible study material, which is particularly designed to meet the needs of ordinary working class people and does this in many areas of urban deprivation.
Peter and I find this event a truly joyful one and a first-class opportunity to meet and socialise with fellow Christians from all over the country. For further information why not give me a call: Tom Lawson 01892 782975, we would be glad to hear from you.
WADHURST DRAMATIC CLUB
“Oliver!” ... and beyond
At the time of going to press, the Club was delighted to see that a good week
in advance of the opening night, seat sales for “Oliver!” were already
exceeding 90 per cent of available capacity at the Commemoration Hall. And
the multi-talented cast of all ages, so ably directed and coached by the seemingly
inexhaustible Ro Mackinnon and her team of inspired hard-workers were well
into putting the finishing touches to, and 'finessing', their performances
for the opening on 24 January. A big 'thank you' is due to all those readers
of “Focus” who will have turned out to support this productionwhich,
by the time these notes issue, will clearly have proved itself to have been
one humdinger of a smash-hit..!
We were also very pleased to learn that during January, several of our younger cast members had responded to Andrew Lloyd Webber's UK-wide search for young, aspiring actors to bid for the rôles of Nancy and Oliver in “I'd Do Anything” which is based on the Lionel Bart musical. We wished them the best of luck and again, at the time of going to press, were awaiting further news of the outcome of their applications. On top of all that, by the time these paragraphs are published, another “Oliver!” 'orphan' and member of Fagin's gang – 10 year-old Amber Pursey – will just about have embarked upon a very busy rehearsal schedule for the rôle she's landed as Louisa in the “Sound of Music's” von Trapp family on the London stage. Many congratulations to Amber! And we hope people from Wadhurst and the surrounding areas will make an effort to go and see the production and cheer her on.
“The Curious Savage”
This play, described as a gentle comedy, has been chosen as the Club's Spring
production
(22 to 24 May) and will be directed by Wendy Barr. The author – John Patrick – is probably better known for his classic creation “Teahouse of the August Moon'. OpenAuditions for “The Curious Savage” will be held at the Methodist Hall, Wadhurst (almost directly opposite the main entrance to Uplands Community College) on Tuesday 12 February (8.00pm start) and all-comers will be very welcome. The play calls for 6 young people (five female and one male), two older stepchildren (two male and one female), the main character, Mrs Savage (middle-aged to ancient!) and 1 older male to play the Doctor. Further information from Wendy Barr on 01892 784241.
Club Coffee Morning
There will be NO Coffee Morning in February because of the matinée performance
of “Oliver!” on the Saturday when the former would normally have been
organised. Consequently, the next Coffee Morning gathering at Carillon Cottage,
High Street, Wadhurst will be on Saturday 2 March (10.30am to 12 noon). Anyone
interested in joining Wadhurst Dramatic Club
in whatever capacity is cordially invited to drop in for a coffee and a chat.
We hope we may look forward to welcoming you on 2 March!
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