In our issue due out on 2 February we shall be launching THE RYE GAZETTE ADS - the advertising supplement mentioned on the recent subscription form. We have no idea what the demand may be for small quick cheap advertisements aimed simply at the town, but we hope to find out; a circular is going out to all Rye traders. As well as trade ads, however, we shall be very pleased to take personal announcements such as in memoriam and thanks notices, congratulations on birthdays and engagements, sits. vac. and for-sale-and-wanted ads. Readers will know that births, marriages and deaths, as well as golden weddings and all birthdays from 80 onwards (just tell us), are regarded as news and appear in the main part of the paper for free.
For displayed advertisements prices will start at £2, with the advertiser providing the copy; but for short personal announcements (about 20 words) which can just be typed out in the usual GAZETTE style, the price will be £l. These should normally be delivered in writing to 94 Udimore Road, together with the cash and the name and address or phone number of the advertiser (even if this is not part of the ad). The supplement will be photocopied first thing on Monday morning, so all copy should be in by Saturday mid-day except in very special circumstances.
The increasingly decrepit condition of the former Sussex Express office in Cinque Ports Street is beginning to cause comment. Last summer, when the Express closed the office for financial reasons, at least two local businesses were interested in taking over the lease, but neither could get a satisfactory response from tenant or owner. The building is owned by the GPO and was put up at the same time as the Post Office next door. The Sussex Express have been tenants from the start, and it was opened with considerable ceremony 21 years ago and closed with considerable regret last July.
There have been puddles on the floor for some weeks - soon the water will reach the scatter of uncollected mail - but now the ceiling is beginning to descend in sodden chunks, and it will only take another couple of stormy nights before the whole lot falls. Will the Post Office then do something about its property? Does the Sussex Express care to have its image, in the town where it was born, tarnished by a fascia board bearing its name ornamenting an incipient ruin? We do hope that something will be done, at least when the lease comes to an end; in the meantime, its condition, in a busy shopping street, is becoming a noticeable disgrace to both owner and tenant.
When, before Christmas, a press report said that there was to be a study into the possibilities of using railway land around Rye as a bypass, some people in the town were very puzzled. Such a survey was done some years ago, but since then there have been developments which would seem to make a bypass alongside the railway almost impossible.
We therefore wrote to the County Highways Engineer asking what route they had in mind. It appears that anyone who thought the report meant we were actually likely to get a bypass was being over-optimistic; equally, anyone living beside the railway who was wondering whether it was worth putting the potatoes in, can go right ahead. A government White Paper in 1980 meant the cold-storage of all plans for new roads, and this survey is merely intended to update the information about existing land use - there has, for instance, been a new bungalow built beside the Rope Walk level crossing, and the Goods Yard supermarket is presumably still simmering gently somewhere. The spokesman makes it quite clear that we are no nearer getting a bypass than we have ever been. It is just that since British Rail is thinking of selling off some of its surplus land in the area, the Department of Transport thinks it ought to check up on the latest position. (Of course, the whole thing really hinges on whether we are likely to keep our railway or not, always a slightly sensitive subject whenever BR talk about making cuts; it would be extremely irritating for the County Council to go to the trouble and expense of building a new road alongside the railway, only to find all the tracks being taken up two years later!)
2.
Loud and sinister rumours are circulating in the town. about a 3 1/2 day week for Rye Library. Miss Marshall, assistant in charge, assures us that no final decisions have yet been taken, though County Council "proposals" do have a nasty habit of becoming hard facts. There is to be a meeting of representatives of the 21 smaller libraries on 13 January at which the whole question of cuts will be discussed and on the basis on which these cuts should best be made, and this meeting will report to the Library Committee, which meets in February to decide on future plans.
The Committee has already promised to safeguard the Book Fund - the money allocated for buying new books - and indeed to increase it slightly (it has been the same since the mid-seventies), so obviously any cuts will have to come mainly from salaries, but staff feel that each library knows best where such cuts can best be made, much depending on the amount of behind-the scenes work (books for the housebound, etc.). Whatever action is taken, says Miss Marshall, is likely to start with the new financial year in April.
Perhaps it is just as well that Rye Printing have just provided the town with another photocopier, as the loss of the Library one for two days a week would alone present many people with problems.
In 1979, at the suggestion of the Planning Officer, Rother Council introduced an award for a scheme contributing to the appearance of the District because of its outstanding design. The award is offered every four years (the life-span of each elected Council), and the 1979 one went to Messrs. Le Fevre, Wood & Royle for Harbour Cottage, the Lestocqs' home at The Point, Rye Harbour.
The Planning Department is now inviting entries for this year's award, to be made in March. Projects must have been completed within the last four years, and do not necessarily have to be new buildings, or even buildings at all; entries can be sent in by anyone concerned. Full details are contained in a leaflet available from the Planning Officer, Town Hall, Bexhill (there is a copy in the Ferry Road offices), and entry forms must be returned to Bexhill by 4 March. (They rather nicely point out that only the winning entry will be publicised - so one can risk entering something out of the ordinary without looking a fool in public if it is unsuitable!)
When Peter Marsden, a senior archaeologist at the Museum of London, discovered that no-one could offer a permanent home to a fifteenth-century boat excavated by accident in Kent and that it was therefore destined for the dump, he decided that he would have to found a shipwreck museum. There is, of course, a good deal more to the story than that, as Mr. Marsden told the Friends of the Rye Art Gallery at the Town Hall last Tuesday - illustrating his talk not only with slides but also with silver coins retrieved from the sea floor and the wooden remains of a gun from the same source.
Mr. Marsden is particularly interested in three historic wrecks on our bit of coast, one of course being the Amsterdam, run aground by a drunken crew in 1749. He is in the middle of very promising negotiations with Hastings Town Council to found his museum in the Old Town there. One of his wrecks is in Rye Bay, so we hope to report further on this project as Mr. Marsden's plans mature.
We were recently given the negative of a photograph which had apparently been found under the floorboards of the former Collegiate School building, now the Saltings Hotel. Curious, we had it developed to show a school group: 30 girls of all ages, one boy about 11, six seated ladies in big straw hats and a seventh in the middle in a large Queen Mary toque. The girls and the younger women are wearing light-coloured dresses, and all the girls are wearing sunbonnets and carrying crooks. The impression is of a speechday or school play in about 1910, and the formidable lady in the middle is probably Miss Kate Stonham, who opened her Collegiate School on Hilder's Cliff in 1901 when it outgrew its premises first in Watchbell Street and then in the Congregational Church Hall. She handed over to the Misses Moon in 1920.
If anyone would like to see the photo, or can remember the exact occasion, we would be very pleased to call on them.
THE RYE GAZETTE, 12.1.83 - page 3
At certain times of year, a Saturday seldom passes without a jumble sale in Rye - sometimes two the same afternoon, occasionally three, so that regulars have a problem deciding which queue is likely to be the most rewarding, and curious collections of second-hand goods pass and repass in the road. Your reporter understands that pre-war rummage sales were run primarily by "the gentry" for the benefit of "the poor"; but all this changed with clothes rationing, and a good many of us now in middle life spent some five years of our childhood clad mostly in larger children's outgrowns and have never been able to resist the lure of a jumble sale since.
They are apparently a purely British institution. Americans have garage sales, but these are normally in aid of the owner of the garage who is choosing this way of clearing out his attic, and not for charity. Continental visitors also seem to find the idea a new one. Goods come from two sources: people who are desperate to get rid of a couple of boxes, or indeed half a houseful of discards, and are grateful to anyone who will remove them; and supporters of a particular cause, some of whom nobly sacrifice precious possessions and those who see a marvellous opportunity to dispose of their less popular bits and pieces ("I'm sure Auntie would be glad for the Scouts to have that pink vase."). Buyers, on the other hand, come regardless and often don't care or even know which charity they are supporting; the fact that it is a charity; however, clears the conscience about impulse buys - even if the purchase goes straight back into the next jumble, the buyer has at least made a small contribution to a good cause at no great inconvenience to herself.
Half-way between giving something outright to a jumble sale and putting it in a commercial auction-room comes a fairly new idea, the 50:50 Auction. This is a normal auction sale, often with a professional auctioneer doing the selling, with goods entered in advance and on view beforehand in the usual way. But it is organised as a fund-raising venture by the supporters of a good cause, and half the sale price of each item goes to the charity, the rest being handed over to the owner. It can sometimes produce very pleasant surprises for sellers (and therefore also for the charity), and also many good buys for those with an afternoon to spare. It is much less exhausting physically than a jumble sale, and you don't have to queue outside in the rain for half-an-hour beforehand to have a chance of getting a bargain.
Last March Thomas Peacocke School PTA raised £400 in this way, and they are hoping to do a lot better on Saturday, 5 March, in the Upper School Hall, when Mrs. Pauline Chalk of Butler & Hatch Waterman’s Tenterden saleroom has once again volunteered her gavel. The PTA emphasise that for this sale they are not only after antiques but will sell anything within reason that anyone cares to send in, from beds to bric-a-brac to boots - and of course sellers don't have to be connected with the school. More details nearer the time - we mention the event now so that people can cast a thoughtful-look round their attics in good time.
For normal jumble, the Scouts would, welcome contributions to their sale at the Scout Hut at 1.30 on Saturday, 22 January (Cecil French on Rye 2909 br Peter Dee on Rye 3694 can arrange collection). Next in the diary is the NSPCC, whose Second-Hand Bargains Sale takes place at the FE Centre from 11 to 3 on Saturday, 29th any articles of clothing or small domestic items in good condition as well as the usual bric-a-brac will be gratefully received at the FE Centre on Friday evening, 28th, between 6 and 8 pm - or phone Mrs. Anne Wood Icklesham 412. Thomas Peacocke Lower School (Ferry Road) is already collecting goods for its annual jumble sale on Friday, 4 February, at 6,30 pm, and will be pleased to receive boxfuls during school hours or can arrange collection if necessary (Rye 2545 extension 32). They want to raise money for a hi-fi system for the hall.
Rye Ramblers had an almost record turn-out for their New Year Walk, when 20 members spent a spring-like afternoon in Brede High Wood. Anyone interested in joining the group should ring Mrs. Ungar, Rye 3709.
(NB Our photocopiers apologise for the poor reproduction of pages 2 and 5 on some of this week's copies; their machine was a little under the weather on Tuesday.)
THE RYE GAZETTE, 12.1.83 - page 4
When top brass from the Services takes part in a school assembly it means that something rather special is happening, and on Monday at Thomas Peacocke it was a proud Headmaster who accompanied Air Commodore P.V. Mayall, the Air Officer Commanding the whole-of the Air Training Corps plus the Air Section of the CCF, to the platform.
Flanked by the Wing Commander and the Wing Musketry Officer, Air Commodore Mayall presented to members of 2274 Squadron (Rye) ATC, the Commandant's Cup for .303 shooting.
It was, he said, a quite outstanding performance for a Squadron to win this Cup two years running, particularly one based so far from "a military environment'.
He also presented medals to the team members not won automatically because of the Cup, but on account of their individual scores in the contest: each had total marks of over 60 and all four came within the top 12 in the country.
The team consisted of Sgt. Kevin Fleet, Cpl. Paul Boetius, Cpl. Jason Osborne and Cadet Robert Roscoe; only Jason is still at school, but Kevin and Robert were also able to be present to receive their medals in person.
Air Commodore Mayan's point about Rye's distance from a military environment is a good one. Although they have their own range for .22 shooting, the use of Lydd-Range for .303 practice has had to cease, since it is now needed full-time for Army training, and the team has to go the far side of Brighton to find a suitable range.
The Cup Contest is fought out between all the ATC squadrons in the country, and is a postal shoot, i.e. the scores are verified and sent in; Rye knew last June that they had won.
June was a good month for the Squadron, since they almost swept the board at the Wing Parade and Sports Day at Crawley when 22 squadrons competed in the annual athletics match; Rye won the Junior, Adult and Overall trophies, and James Nunn brought home four gold medals and Steven Lovecy three.
In case anyone wonders whether the boys find time to do any flying, the answer is yes. Normally six cadets each term can go gliding at West Mailing, and eleven can fly at Manston. Since there are 30-plus cadets in all, this means that with luck everyone gets off the ground at least once during the year and often twice.
We reported recently on the presentation to Brian Sealy on his retirement from the command of 2274 Squadron. The new CO, Chris Bell, is not merely the youngest in the Wing at present, but as far as can be ascertained the youngest the Wing has ever had by 11 years; he is still a Pilot Officer but has been impressively elevated to Acting Flight Lieutenant by virtue of his new command! A member of 2274 Squadron during his years at Thomas Peacocke (he, lives in Beckley), Chris is, now a very junior civil servant - not really surprising, since he is only 23, However, he has very varied interests which are bound to rub off on the lads under his command. He tells us, too, that they are considering inviting girls to join on an equal basis with the boys if a woman member of staff can he found to attend meetings - it is interesting to think that the day of the chaperone is not dead.
Our recent reference to snug winter clothing at The Golden Fleece, and Care's reminds us that several of the agencies which used to be held by Gassons are now with Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Robins in Landgate, where there is a wide range of duffles, sweaters and other country wear. Those who remember the Robins' original shop, in Cinque Ports Street, which sold models and sporting equipment and was the mecca of small boys now well into their twenties, will be glad to know that they continue to sell sports equipment and have a full selection of sportswear including Thomas Peacocke School requirements.
However, the trade in models and kits, has, says Mr. Robins, been virtually killed by the arrival of video games, which is a very sad thought - and is, incidentally, confirmed by Chris Bell from his ATC experience. Model shops all over the country are having to give up entirely, but Mr. and Mrs. Robins have been wise enough to diversify, and as well as clothing and sports goods they have a very attractive line in reproduction desks and desk furniture. They are no longer concerned with saddlery, but ask us to point out that Keith Lovejoy, who used to do leather work for them, now has his own workshop in Wittersham where he will be
pleased to see former customers. (Some residents will remember the Cinque Ports Street shop as Bryans, for many years the only toy shop in Rye and the mecca of small boys and girls now well into their-forties and some way beyond...)
5.
We are very sorry to hear from unofficial but very reliable sources that Rye Oil Refineries, on the Rye Harbour road, is closing down at the end of the month, making eight people redundant. The firm, part of the giant Elf combine, has been engaged in re-refining waste oil; reason for its closure is the falling world price of oil, which means that this process is no longer economic.
Back in October (GAZETTE no. 5) we reported on a number of planning matters relating to the river, among them a project for light industrial units (and eventually 15 houses) along the Rock Channel frontage. Work has now started on the units. The development is in the hands of Le Fevre, Wood & Royle, and when John Royle mentioned to the GAZETTE that the contractors were having a very wet and muddy time getting the road and sewers in, we thought we had better go and have a look. The contractors must certainly be praying for a dry spell, and we very strongly advise anyone who normally uses the Rock Channel footpath to stay away from it for the present - it is virtually impassable without wellingtons. It will be improved in the long run, since Bournes are to move their perimeter road around the outside of their yard. Another improvement will be to St. Margaret's Terrace roadway, so that, to quote John Royle again, Bournes' and Jempsons' enormous lorries can give the St. Margaret's owners, who jealously guard the area outside their houses, a wider berth.
Light industrial units seem to be the fashion at the moment, since a planning application is now before Rother from Messrs. E.L. Hatley Ltd., of Peacehaven (architect, Robert Cohen of Hove) to construct a series of such units on the land along Rye Harbour Road, between Weslakes and Atlas Stone. The plans - outline only - show a possible 18 units, the smallest being 120 sq.m., grouped round a courtyard to allow loading. The building would be made of coloured metal cladding, with a ridge height of 24 1/2 ft. Parking along the road frontage allows for 52 cars. The plans show the building surrounded with trees or shrubs, with a small pond, but we seem to have heard that before! We were suspicious of a reference to a "new sewage pumping station", but this appears to be simply a small unit situated below ground and intended to direct the development's waste towards the main sewage works across the road.
(As someone pointed out to us, it does seem odd that anyone should go to the enormous expense of building a light industrial complex from scratch out on the Rye Harbour Road, when the Farnborough Engineering building is for sale conveniently near the centre of the town.)
Other-planning applications include one to use the dining room of 103 High Street to sell second-hand goods and one to alter the roof of 8 Watchbell Street at the back. There may well be controversy about an application which Rother Council is making to itself to allow a mobile ice-cream van to be stationed on the Salts from Easter to mid-September; objections to the Planning Officer, Bexhill Town Hall, by 28 January.
During a recent programme on the future of Radio 4, a listener complained that non-musical insomniacs were not catered for after midnight; why, she asked, could the World Service not be relayed in this country? The spokesman gave various reasons why not, but never mentioned that in fact it is - round here, anyway.
World Service programmes are not normally published in the press (not even in Radio Times) though somehow the Daily Telegraph manages to get hold of them. Broadcasts run continuously except for a gap in the early evening; they are mostly short programmes, many only 15 minutes long and seldom as much as an hour. All are in English and are comparable with, and sometimes repeats from, Radio 4.
The Telegraph gives the wavelength as 648; this is medium wave, and on our radio can be found on the medium band marginally to the left of the FM Radio 4 tuning above. Real insomniacs will find that the normal long-wave Radio 4 tuning (1500, still to some of us the old Light Programme wavelength) will deliver World Service from 3 am, presumably till some time before 6 when Radio 4 wakes up.
It seems unlikely that we get World Service as compensation for not having local radio, so presumably what we pick up is aimed somewhere beyond the seas. Wherever it is, they stay up very late - unless, of course, it is on its way to Australia? Perhaps one of our readers can throw some light on this rather odd situation.
Friday, 14th Natural History Society talk, "Natural History in Mediaeval Manuscripts" by Miss S. Pigrome, FEC, 7.30
Papa Joe's film: Monty Python's "Life of Brian", Pizzeria, 9
Saturday, 15th Coffee morning (Catholic Church), Tower Street, 10.30 (see below)
National Trust talk, "A Visit to South America" by Charles de Salis, Community Centre, 2.30
Sunday, 16th "Down Your Way" visits Rye, BBC Radio 4, 5.05 (repeat Monday, 17th at 11.03).
• Miss Olive Wickersham would like to thank all those who have sent contributions for the Raystede Animal Centre in memory of her late sister Gertie, £107 in all.
• Tickets for the Ryesingers' production of "The Pirates of Penzance" on 27, 28 and 29 January at the Community Centre are available from Terry's DIY in Tower Street - seats are numbered, so early bookers get the best places.
• Rye Majorettes gave the Community Centre £92 as a result of their Christmas show.
• The Tower Launderette will be closed from Sunday 16 January to Thursday 20th, both inclusive (reopening Friday 21st).
• We are glad to announce Mrs. Jenkinson's new courses for bridge players, with one group for complete beginners and one for more experienced players. Fee is £2 an
evening with a reduction for the full ten-week course. Those who are thinking of joining should get in touch with Mrs. Jenkinson at Graham's China Shop in the High Street, or ring Rye 2357.
• The Christmas party given by St. Anthony of Padua parishioners was such a success that they are now holding another social event - a pleasant happening at this bleak time of year - to which all are welcome, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. On Saturday, Chez Dominique restaurant in Tower Street will house a coffee morning from 10.30 to noon, with the usual raffle and bring-and-buy stall and a book stall. Proceeds will go to the Diocesan Fund for the Pope's Visit.
• All cricketers will be delighted that the President's Putter, the unique trophy so keenly fought for at Rye Golf Club every January (sometimes under snow) by members of the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society, has been won by Ted Dexter, successful at last in his fourth final.
• Mr. Fred Kurrein in Lion Street asks why lads short of pocket-money no longer come round offering to wash cars? He would be glad to see one, and so quite probably would others. The GAZETTE would be pleased to publicise any such service.
• Those who have wondered what on earth was happening to the putting green need do so no longer. Mr. Hudson, of Rother Parks Department, tells us that they intend to make it more interesting in time for next season. They plan to incorporate various hazards and bunkers, and to plant shrubs and flowers to break the monotony, help the drainage and direct players round the course in the proper order - not always easy at present. Had it not been for the very wet weather, the work would have made more progress, but it will certainly be complete by the summer.
• People who have been unsuccessful in tempting birds to nest in a standard-type garden nest box might like to visit the Dairy Market on a Thursday or Saturday, where David Street is selling a most unusual range. Whether the birds will like them any better than the normal version is not guaranteed, but they will certainly make a most attractive ornament for the garden: tiny miniature houses, complete with roofs and windows, each one different and with a variety of stout fixings to suit any site. They are made by a retired farm worker in Kent, who will make up any design you like to produce if you feel you know your own birds' tastes best.
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. It is published by Mrs. Mary Owen at 94 Udimore Road, Rye (Rye 2303), who is always glad to receive news items for inclusion. It costs 20p a week and is normally delivered to subscribers and pick-up points on Wednesday; deadline is Monday afternoon - first thing Tuesday morning for emergencies.
Photocopied by Sussex Secretarial Services, 11 Claremont, Hastings (942 2633).