Winchelsea

This year’s Parish Church Meeting takes place tonight (Friday) at 7 pm in the church and not 1st March as originally scheduled. During the meeting the Churchwardens will be elected and members of the Parish Church Council selected.

Winchelsea Garden Society is holding its Annual General Meeting tomorrow (Saturday) in the Court Hall at 10 am. The meeting will be followed by coffee and biscuits. If you would like to become a member the number to contact is 01797 226524 and the cost is only £3 a year.

The morning Eucharist in St Thomas’s Church begins at 10.30 am this Sunday 24th February. Rev’d Teresa Monro, recently the first woman to preach at St Thomas’s, will be leading the service. This is also Roger Marvin’s last service as the organist at St Thomas’s so please come along to say farewell to him and Margaret. Tea and coffee will be served after the service.

The Highway Agency will be carrying out resurfacing works on the A259 from the Rectory Lane junction with Mill Lane in Winchelsea as far as Icklesham. This will take the entire length of Rectory Lane and Hastings Road. Work begins on Monday 25th February until around Friday 15th March, between 8pm and 6am each weekday night. During working hours, there will be a 40mph speed limit, with lane closures and temporary traffic lights in place. Road users will be escorted past the works at 10mph. When work takes place on the A259 bend at Sandrock Hill above the Motel, Monks Walk leading into the town, will be closed.

The annual service for Women’s World Day of Prayer is on Friday 1st March, 10.30 am in Rye Baptist Church. Prayers will include praying for France. ‘I was a Stranger and you Welcomed Me’ is the theme and the speaker is Revd Teresa Monro from Playden Church. Refreshments will be available after the service.

FOAM (Friends of the Ancient Monuments) are holding their Annual General Meeting on Saturday 2nd March. This will be in the Lower Court Hall as from 10 am and members are invited to attend.

There will be a Church Market next Saturday 2nd March from 10.30 am to 12 noon. Donations of produce, plants and books will be gratefully received (contact the church warden 01797 226618). February’s Church Market raised £307.78 for church funds and many thanks for your support.

Winchelsea Archaeological Society is holding a talk on Saturday 2nd March at 3pm in St Thomas’s Church. The talk which will be given by Dr Nigel Saul of Royal Holloway, University of London is entitled: Richard II, Visionary or Tyrant? Admission is £4 per person and free for members and those under 16.

There has been an increase of deep pot holes on the main roads in Winchelsea. The ward councillors are compiling a list of damaged roads, pavements and verges in the town to be sent to East Sussex County Council for action to be taken. Please contact 01797 224446 if you would like to add any faults to the list.

After the screening of the Winchelsea Community film, The Red Slipper, £500 was collected for Help the Heroes. Thank you to all who supported the event. If you would like a free copy of the film on DVD call 224446 and all donations made to Help the Heroes will be gratefully received.

Angela and Roy Pepper gave an interesting description of their tour of the Holy Land, from Gaza to the Golan Heights, last Saturday in the Methodist Chapel. The talk was very well attended and the audience contributed with their own experiences of visits and pilgrimages to those familiar places we know from childhood: Jerusalem, Nazareth, Samaria, Galilee and Bethlehem, amongst others. In the last few years Israel has become one of the most popular holiday destinations, with its well-preserved history dating back over 3000 years and its present cosmopolitan mix, coming together through the Judaeo-Christian heritage.

Icklesham Parish Council (IPC) met on 28th January at Winchelsea Beach Community Hall. A representative for the Parochial Church Council of St Thomas’s Church requested an increase in the grant for churchyard maintenance to assist with the regular grass cutting. The graveyard occupies a central position in the town and as well as being used for burials is used by residents and visitors as a place to walk through and sit. As it is likely that all parishes will be capped in 2014-15 and there will be a rise in inflation it was thought prudent to allocate funds accordingly to take into account of churchyard maintenance.

Regarding the available allotment plot at the Cricket Field site it was agreed to proceed with the clearing of this root-bound plot to make it suitable for cultivation. It was thought that pulling out the roots was more effective that stump grinding as a permanent solution. An agreed cost of £290 was decided by IPC to remove the roots by use of machinery.

Winchelsea Beach

Strandline Secrets is a walk along the beach looking at the different items washed up by the sea such as shells, seaweeds, sponges and mermaids purses, to tell us more about our marine life. You are advised to wrap up warm. The walk takes place this morning (Friday) at 10.30am to 12 noon and you will need to meet at Lime Kiln Cottage Information Centre. Donations will be greatly appreciated by Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.

The fortnightly Bingo evening will next be held on Wednesday 27th February at 7 for 7.30 pm in the Community Hall. Light refreshments will be available and families are welcome to attend.

Icklesham Parish Council (IPC) met on the 28th January in the Community Hall. In response to the request for a memorial seat in Harbour Field the council approved the location and seat design without arm rests. Permission was granted for the seat to be ordered which would be at no cost to the council. It was pointed out that there are more seats on the Smeatons Lane side than on the Dogs Hill side and that restrictions would have to be made for any future seats on the Smeatons side.

There are currently spare allotments in Pett and the Parish Council are interested to know if residents in surrounding communities, waiting for a plot might like one. To find out more please contact Pett Parish Council.

IPC has lately been in contact with Southern Water over the drainage issue in the Winchelsea Beach area. To help solve the problem a survey needs to be carried out to find out the cause of the flooding in various places. It is most likely that an upgrade of pumps is required but so far the recent bad weather has contributed to a delay in the survey which would clarify this. Residents will be informed once a date has been set for a camera survey of the sewers and a meeting arranged.