Westfield village voice - April 6

Sunday April 8th Easter Day – 5:45 am, Sunrise Service followed by breakfast in the Parish Hall; 8:00 am, Holy Communion, Book of Common Prayer; 10:30 am, Easter Celebration and Eucharist, Bring a bunch of flowers to bring the cross to life.

Personal Prayer. At St John’s there are always a couple of people available at the back of the North aisle after the 9.30am service and after the 10.30am Family Service to pray confidentially with anyone who wants someone to pray with them. If you would like someone to pray with you just go and ask.

Westfield Community Choir. The new Westfield Community Choir has had an enthusiastic start, and meets on Wednesdays, from 7.30-9pm. You do not have to be a brilliant singer or read music! just ring 01424 753684

Lifts for Nine Thirty Start – we need volunteers who can offer lifts on a semi-regular basis between Geary Place and church for the Nine Thirty Start service. If you think you can help in anyway with this please speak to Howard Williamson (or phone 07710 753404).

St John’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting. The Annual Parochial Church Meeting is on Thursday 19th April starting at 7.45pm in St John’s Parish Hall. The meeting is open to all those on the electoral roll at St John’s.

Church Envelope Scheme. New boxes of envelopes for the new financial year for the Church Envelope Scheme are available to collect from today. Please will members collect their new boxes of envelopes from the back of the Church and try to be up-to-date with their donations by the end of this month. If you are able to deliver any that are not collected, that would helpful. Please contact Peter Aubrey 01424 755135 if you wish to join the scheme or transfer to payment by standing order.

Church Finances. We continue to work hard to balance the books and thank every member of the congregation for their continued financial support. We are more than aware of the precarious financial climate in which we live, but thank God for the generosity of our congregation.  As always throughout the year it is inevitable that we lose a few regular contributors to parish funds. Due to the snow and other matters recent Sunday collections at St John’s have been much less than we might have normally expected and we remind everyone that even without a Vicar we still have to pay our contribution to the Diocese as well as all the other regular parish expenses. Any increase in regular giving is always welcome and there are ways to increase the funds that we receive without necessarily increasing the amount you give. If you are a UK tax payer then the Gift Aid scheme allows us to claim back the tax on every pound donated to us. For further details please speak to Peter Aubrey or Brian Collins.

Advance notice of forthcoming events. Further details will appear in the weekly notices and parish magazine.

6th April 10.00am Good Friday workshop (St John’s Parish Hall)

19th April 7.45pm Annual Parochial Church Meeting – (St John’s Parish Hall).

May 7th (Bank Holiday Monday)

Loaf Project - May Day Cycle Ride from Canterbury to Hastings

or for those who prefer to walk,

Join one of the Loaf Walks. A choice of 4, 9 or 18 mile routes exploring country footpaths and beautiful areas between Rye and Hastings. (Please see church noticeboard for further details).

Westfield Scouts. Thank you to everyone who supported the annual Westfield Scouts Duck Race at Forge Stream last Sunday, which raised £191 for the Scout Group funds.  It was a lovely family event in glorious weather, with burgers and hot dogs enjoyed before around 180 ducks were thrown to race (rather slowly this year!) down the stream.

Westfield School News. We return on Monday 16th April. We are also collecting Sainsburys and Tesco vouchers and are very grateful for any villagers donations. They are welcome to drop into the school office or Richard at the newsagent is happy to collect them for us. If anyone has any spare tractor tyres, our Reception class is looking for a few for their outdoor area for planting. Please can people call the school office before donating just incase we get a huge response.

Westfield Football Club are hosting their next fundraiser on April 14th. Did you know that the cost of just the officials for a first team home game is usually around £150!. You also may not know that everyone involved in playing, coaching & helping at Westfield FC do so unpaid. The clubs first team (playing in Senior Football County League Division 2) are one of if not the only team playing at that standard with unpaid players. Their next fundraising event is a Greyhound Race Night on Saturday April 14. at 7:30 in the Clubhouse. It is free to enter & hot food (eg sausage & chips, pizza & chips etc) will be available at a reduced rate of £2.

The Westfield Horticultural Society Spring Show results. The glorious taste of early summer which we have recently enjoyed should have been the makings of an outstanding Spring flower show. The lack of wind, high temperatures and dry conditions keeping down the slug and snail populations were perfect for superb daffodils and early flowering shrubs. Alas, while the examples which made it to the display tables in the Community Hall last Saturday were a credit to their owners, they were few in number—as were their vegetables and potted plant friends. Compared with the recent shows exhibits were sparse, many classes had only one entry and there were many empty spaces. Numbers of exhibitors and entries were well down by over 40% and the younger generation section had only one entrant. However, the floral art was magnificent and well supported. New exhibitors made a fine showing, standards were very high and Mrs. M. Wren took the two top awards. Home produce tables were laden with goodies, but the handicrafts section was thin on the ground. Explanations for this blip are hard to come by, but the committee hopes this will be a one off and look forward to a better showing in the Autumn.

Awards were given to the following:

Rosebowl — most points in classes 1—30 M Crouch

Easter Cup 31—42 M. Crouch

Alice Button Cup — home produce classes C. Lynch

Berry Goblet — best handicraft B. Graham

Spring Goblet — outstanding floral art M. Wren

Miniature Cup — best miniature arrangement M. Wren

Junior Cup — best junior exhibit Flossie Nijhuis

Spring Cup — most points in show M. Crouch

Spring Vase — members only, class 22 M. Crouch

Certificates:

Most points in art section C. Lynch & D. Maynard

Most points in 6—11 age group Flossie Nijhuis

The committee would like to thank all who supported the show by helping, setting up, entering, the raffle and tombola operatives, kitchen staff, our judges and the public for coming. More information is available from our website www.WestfieldHorticulturalSociety.org.uk.

The Westfield HUB. Results of the Hub Easter Bonnet Competition. The very colourful display was kindly judged by Whitegates manager, Danny Rickaby. First prize went to Doreen Smith with her classic bonnet which had obviously required a lot of work, 2nd prize to Marion Eaton who made very creative use of some rhubarb leaves, and third prize to Pearl Rhoades. They each received an Easter Egg! A reminder that The Hub is closed on Good Friday, 6th April. Thereafter the Hub is open as usual at The Old Courthouse on Fridays from 10am – 12 noon

Westfield Rollerbooting Club meets at Westfield Community Hall every Friday from 4.30-6pm. It costs £1.50 per child and there is a tuck shop available. Very small children younger than about 3 must be accompanied by an adult. Organisers are CRB checked and first aid trained. There are some spare boots available to borrow. Further information is available from Rachel Pritchard 07866 894397.

Westfield Community Hall is now available for hire on Monday evenings from 7.15pm. It also has a Facebook page. Ring 01424 754446 to book the hall.

Westfield resident author Nick Brown continues his guided walks in the area, all carry a charge of £3 per person. All walks are circular and start at 10.30am, and dogs are welcome. Please check his website www.spanglefish.com/1066routes for more detailed information. It is advisable to book in advance by ringing Nick on 07918 907265. Nick’s book ‘The 1066 Country Walk’ is recommended by the 1066 Tourist Board and signed copies are available from him.

Future guided walks include :

Good Friday 6th April @ Herstmonceux Castle

Saturday 14th April @ Alfriston

Saturday 26th May @ Guestling

Saturday 9th June @ Brede

Wednesday 13th June @ Great Dixter, Northiam

Thursday 21st June @ Battle

Sunday 8th July @ Firle

Wednesday 15th July @ Queens Head, Icklesham

Saturday 28th July @ Bodiam Castle

Sunday 26th August @ Pevensey

Saturday 8th September @ Alfriston

Wednesday 19th September @ Ticehurst/Bewl Water

Nick is also the organiser of the 1066 Relay. The second staging of the 1066 Relay takes place on Sunday, May 6, with 50 - 60 teams from the South East expected to take part. The 33.25 mile course follows the 1066 Country Walk, starting in the grounds of Pevensey Castle. The route passes such iconic landmarks as Herstmonceux Castle and Battle Abbey, before going through some breathtaking countryside between Westfield, Icklesham and Winchelsea to finish in Rye. The event raised over £1600 for local charities last year.  Nick is looking for volunteers to marshal in the Westfield, Doleham and Icklesham areas; ring him on 07918 907265 or visit the race website: www.spanglefish.com/1066relay.

The Westfield Wildlife website is worth a visit. Go to http://westfieldwildlife.wordpress.com to share wildlife observations. Any wildlife observation whether mammal, bird, insect, or flower may be posted on the website, and photos are particularly welcome. Have you seen a hedgehog recently? Westfield Wildlife is appealing for all hedgehog sightings, including any road casualties, because their numbers have declined so drastically over the last few years

Westfield Golf Fellowship’s next fixture is a day at Chart Hills on April 26 with limited places. The £50 entry includes coffee & bacon roll, 18 holes, a hot meal and prizes. For more information please contact Nick or [email protected]

Rye & District Lions Outwitted!!. Rye and District Lions Club “managed” to come second for the second year running in a quiz against Hythe and Romney Marsh Lions. In a very close run match, Hythe and Romney Marsh won with a total score of 139 against Rye’s score of 134. The quiz was held at the Woolpack Inn, Brookland and the questions were set by former Rye Lion, Neale East. Categories ranged from questions on Romney Marsh, Rye, films, general knowledge, etc. Questions were also set on the year 2011 and one or two Lions were heard to say that they could not remember things from yesterday, yet alone a year ago. Rye had some consolation in one of their tables having the highest score of the evening of 55 points compared with the second table scoring 50 points. At mid-point the Lions, partners and friends enjoyed a supper of sausage and mash with veggie alternatives. Together with a raffle the evening raised a total of £223 which will be donated, as in other years to the pub’s charity, the Brookland Sunshine Club, towards outings for local senior citizens. A new item this year was a new etched glass trophy for this event, kindly donated by a Hythe and Romney Marsh Lion. Rye Lions are girding their loins for the annual Senior Citizens lunch on the 15th April, which is now fully subscribed with over 100 seniors booked in. The Lions welcome enquiries from anyone who would like to join them for fun with fundraising. Ring 01797 252921 or visit their website at www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/ryedistrict/ for information. The Lions now have a video; just type in ‘The Lions Story’ on Youtube to find out all about the Lions.

For information and news about Westfield, please see the village website www.westfieldvillage.co.uk.

To send information for the Westfield Village Voice, please email [email protected]

George Sunderland, Heathfields.