Fairlight

MOPPs today and next Friday: Today, Friday, September 22, singer Tim Gibson will provide the entertainment, and the lunch that follows Tim will be roast chicken, with tiramisu for afters.

Next Friday, September 29, the entertainment that will do you good is by Celia King with her chair-based exercises. Then comes lunch, which will be ham, egg and chips, and a sweet of sticky toffee pudding and custard.

The Snow Queen is coming: Not yer average long-range forecast, but a little factual note from the Fairlight Pantomime Group, who will be auditioning in the village hall on Friday, September 29. commencing at 7 pm, for Hans Christian Anderson’s renowned character the Snow Queen, who’ll be appearing in next January’s panto, with many others. This production will be the first time the group has played this title, and all would-be performers, with or without experience, are invited to go along and give it a whirl. It is always fascinating to see how newcomers develop into polished stars over a few short years. You could be one of those newcomers this season…

Tai Chi at the Country Park: The Friends of Hastings Country Park are organising a session of Tai Chi at the park tomorrow, Saturday, September 23, from 10.30 to 11.30 am. The session will be led by Catherine Burnett, and non-members of the Friends will have to pay a small fee.

The British Legion gives you more bang for your buck: The RBL, driving ahead locally through the efforts of Branch Chairman John Pulfer and his equally hard-working wife Margaret, and with the help of the Fairlight Lodge, in particular in the person of Maggie Boulter, are having an Evening of Racing with a Bang on Saturday, September 30 at 6.30 for the first race at 7 pm. The bang will arrive at about 9.15 pm when they’ll be presenting fireworks! An excellent evening’s entertainment is in prospect, with tickets only £8 each, while the under 16’s are welcome free. Those tickets can be had from the Post Office, or by calling Margaret on 814866, or Maggie on 812104.

What’s up, Dec?: Many will remember that Bob and Dec took over quiz production at the Cove when Linda Eaves left, expanding it as a regular feature, though their popular quizzes were to become homeless. Now they function on behalf of the Residents Association and MOPPs, and will next be operating live on Saturday, October 14 in the village hall. The doors open at 7 for a 7.30 pm start, and tickets, at £5 each, are available from the Post Office. You may have a maximum of six in your team. Lite bites (I hope there aren’t any spelling questions!) are available, and you take your own drinks.

The Parish Council’s monthly meeting: The September meting is next Tuesday, September 26, at 7 pm in the village hall. The agenda had not been published at the time of writing.

The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal: Our local Branch, which covers the five villages of Fairlight, Guestling, Icklesham, Pett and Three Oaks, always acquits itself admirably when it comes to donating to the annual house-to-house Poppy Appeal. Branch Chairman John Pulfer would dearly like to hear from anyone who would be willing to do some legwork between October 28 and November 11, and all the necessary training will be given to all willing volunteers. If you sense that you could fill the bill, please contact John on 814866.

Fairlight Open Gardens 2018: Please don’t regard this as just another minor news item, to be read and dismissed. It’s not. It could be a vital supporting factor in continuing the success of MOPPs. So please consider how attractive and interesting your garden is, and how unique, unless you’ve deliberately copied Capability Brown or Gertrude Jekyll (which would make it interesting enough in its own right!) And then contact Kerry Gentleman, either on 07456 631322 or by email to [email protected], and register that you would like to open you garden along with the others next June.

A date just flu away: Those among you who are registered with the Harold Road practice may have noted the village hall dates for this year’s flu jab sessions, which were originally and briefly slated for Thursday, October 5, with a second session on October 9. This latter date has a ‘1’ missing as it is actually Thursday, October 19, and the correction was quickly made. Both sessions will operate between 10 and 11 am.

Where do you live?: You may well know where you live, but there have been certain roads in the village with road name signs that, through dirt and decrepitude, did nothing to help you remember your address. A number of the worst offenders have now been replaced with pristine, shiny new signs that proclaim the name with almost a shout. Thanks are due to whoever masterminded the replacements.

The Hole Truth: So, the infamous pair of potholes on the Fairlight Road in the area opposite Hysted have been dealt with, but the general malaise is still evident in the west. A bit further on towards Hastings and a hole on the south side of the road, just where there is no kerb, is threatening suspensions on many a car, while a little further on, a general collapse of the road surface is merely waiting for someone’s sickly Smart car to expire there and totally fill the void. As you finally descend into Ore, hopefully with all four wheels intact, and as you pass the turning off to the right into Mill Lane, there is a rectangular pit across the road that is pretty much unavoidable. Probably due to an underlying fault, it shows it has been filled many times already, as you can see on Google Maps Street View. Another fill would not go amiss…

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