Rye and District Hotel and Caterers Association has been making a real effort in recent months to attract more visitors to the town - not in the peak holiday period when we have all we want, thank you, but towards the beginning and end of the season when the town is so much pleasanter and less congested. We wrote in December (GAZETTE no.14) about the lack of support the Association was receiving from the South East Tourist Board, and indeed from Rother Council; Jerry Card, then the Association's Chairman, told us that the tourism people at Eastbourne were more use than either.
Now the SE Tourist Board is trying to redeem its reputation, and on Saturday members of the Association's committee were showing round Rye, as part of a three-day tour of the Cinque Ports area, a party of "incoming handling agents". This peculiar phrase describes British firms who arrange tours for overseas groups, often with specialised interests: art, antiques, needlework, castles - one lady from Thornton Heath was in the middle of setting up a holiday for people wanting to stalk deer! Mrs. Joanna Oswin of the SETB, who was escorting the party, said she had been most pleasantly surprised to realise the possibilities of Rye as a base for tours; usually operators like to have all their tourists in one large hotel, which of course Rye has not got, but she had now seen how several smaller hotels and guest houses could combine to accommodate one party, and she and others of the group felt that guests would very often prefer such an arrangement.
A delicious buffet lunch was provided at the Saltings Hotel, where the Association's new Chairman, Ian Gilder, welcomed the visitors after their tour of the town (which included a visit to the Model, and calls at other hotels and guest houses). It was very clear that Rye, on a beautiful spring day, had made an excellent impression, and Mrs. Shirley Hewson, the group's press officer, was warmly applauded when she said how much they had all enjoyed their visit. (They must have been half-way round the vineyards at Lamberhurst when the rain came down!) This is the fourth such visit which the Association has entertained recently, with the expenses borne by members; during March, a total of 65 American travel agents and writers came in three groups, and were lunched at the Saltings, the Peacock Wine Bar and the George. The Association's six-strong committee has obviously been working very hard on this operation, and we do hope the PR exercise has the success it deserves.
There are few empty shops in Rye at the moment, and most of those have their immediate futures mapped out for them already. It does, therefore, seem a pity that nothing has yet been done about the former Sussex Express office in Cinque Ports Street, right in the middle of our shopping area. When, back in January, the GAZETTE protested about the ceiling being allowed to collapse, it was at least cleared up at once; but absolutely nothing has happened since, and whenever it rains there is another puddle on the grubby floor. We are not sure whether it is still leased to the Sussex Express or whether it has by now reverted to the owners, the Post Office; but would whoever is responsible for it please either put it back into use, or at least whitewash the windows so that it doesn't look such a noticeable dump and shame the town!
The Bennetts, of Half House, Military Road, have lost their cat - not the one found walled up behind Camiers, since theirs only went missing a fortnight ago, and is ginger-and-white, a smallish two-year-old answering to Tom. The three Bennett children are very sad about his loss, particularly when a stray rumoured to be in Peasmarsh turned out not to be theirs. They are still hoping that he is on an extended razzle, or even offered a home by someone else; if anybody has any information, please ring Rye 223404.
2.
Mrs. Kate Blackhall, who died recently in hospital at the age of 83, was born in Rye, daughter of the builder George Huggett. With her late husband she kept a greengrocery shop at the bottom of the Landgate since before WW2. Lately she had been one of the residents in Badger Gate.
Rye's latest catering innovation opened on Saturday. The Old Vicarage in East Street will be serving vegetarian (rather than the stricter vegan) lunches in their new small restaurant from 12 to 2.30 every day except Sunday and Tuesday. Everything is home-made, and where possible they are using organically-grown produce; though organically-grown lemons, for example, do present insuperable problems in Sussex! Eggs, which are allowed, are free-range - and the menu, changed daily, sounds quite delicious. In the evenings (except Sundays) the restaurant serves non-vegetarian dinners to hotel guests and diners from outside.
The matter of Mr. Apps's paint came up - for the last time, as it turned out – at Rother's planning meeting on Thursday. The Planning Officer had suggested that he should be asked to repaint in a darker green; but Mr. Shackleton, who would not normally have gone over to a Planning Committee, asked for permission to address the meeting, and as a result Jimper Sutton's proposal that the shop should be allowed to remain as it is for up to five years was carried by the committee. This generous and sensible gesture was one of the last to be made by the present committee - the new one will, of course, be made up from those Councillors elected on 5 May.
Permission was refused for a frozen food store and shop at Rye Harbour, and for a house at Houghton Green. It was granted, with conditions, for two self-contained flats with pedestrian-only access in Fishmarket Road; for a music room in The Grove; for a garage in North Salts; for a fire escape at Fletcher's House; for a New Road garage extension; and, also subject to conditions, for John Jempson & Son's application to use the Farnborough Engineering building. No decision was taken about the Town Council's proposal to site a portacabin on the New Road playing field.
The only application this week is from Mr. Collins of Wish Street, who last month obtained permission for change of use for the Ferry Road windmill to a guest house. He is now asking for permission for a considerable amount of rebuilding - though not of the mill itself - but he tells us that the plans attached to the application in the Council Offices are by no means final and were put forward merely as a basis for discussion with the planning authorities, so we are not describing them in detail at this stage.
The St. George's Day service at St. Mary's Church on Sunday somehow managed to include three separate functions. The Town Council attended officially, robed and escorted by both sets of maces (bearers of the small silver ones were Lucinda Simpson and Andrew Manktelow); the Scouts and Cubs paraded their standards and renewed their promises; and the opportunity was taken to dedicate the new organ stop given in memory of Canon John Williams. Mrs. Williams, her daughter and son-in-law were present, and after the dedication Mr. Charles Procter, Rye's organist, impressed the congregation with an inaugural "peal", presumably using the new stop though it was difficult to isolate it in the torrent of sound.
The Annual Church Meeting on 12 April at the Town Hall had a record attendance. Mr. Ken Gasson, Churchwarden for 15 years, was presented with an antique walking-stick by his fellow-Churchwarden Mr. Bob Bowler on behalf of the parishioners; there was much amusement when on examination this turned out to be a sword-stick: Mr. Bowler was re-elected, and Mr. Edwin Gibson, of St. Anthony in Church Square, was elected as the new Churchwarden.
Reporting on the parish finances the Treasurer, Mr. Chris Davson, said that 45 suggestions for spending the Leonard Stocks bequest had been received and all were carefully considered. Many asked for better heating, and the PCC would be considering a £50,000 scheme for a gas-fired boiler and new system of heating. Already ordered is a new set of hymn books, much needed and a very suitable memorial to Mr. Stocks, who as a sidesman had handed out so many of them in his lifetime.
THE RYE GAZETTE, 27.4.83 - page 3
The man who may well be Rye's new MP at the next election came to the Town Hall last week in an unofficial capacity, when Ken Warren of Hastings attended the AGM of Rye Conservative Association. Also present, briefly, were the Chairman and Agent of the Rye and Bexhill Association, which is about to lose Rye; and also Mrs. Ruth Cooke, Chairman of the Hastings Association which will gain us.
Mr. Pritchard, Chairman of the Rye Association, introduced the two Conservative candidates for Rother Council, Mr. Cawdron and Mrs. Tomich, and Mr. Warren promised them his support. Mr. Warren then paid a tribute to Mr. Godman Irvine, speaking of his tremendous ability, his work as Deputy Speaker, and his long service to the constituency. He went on to refer briefly to his own career as an aeronautical engineer and a Paddington councillor (when among his constituents were Peter Rachman and Christine Keeler); he had been one of the team working for Margaret Thatcher's leadership, and he spoke of her as "a second Churchill in this century". He made no secret of his anti-CND views, and said he realised the considerable backing that the CND movement seemed to have in Rye (though it appears that the meeting at the school to which he referred in fact took place a year ago). In answer to questions, Mr. Warren emphasised that he would fight for the survival of the Hastings-to Ashford railway line as he had done, successfully, for the Hastings-to-Tonbridge one; he also feels strongly about road improvements in the south, which has not in his view had its fair share of the money - a recent survey showed that 19,000 vehicles a day go through St. Leonards! He added that he would hope to hold an occasional "surgery" in Rye for the benefit of people at this end.
(The GAZETTE is anxious to be strictly impartial politically, and if the other parties will produce their candidates in the town we shall be very glad to report on their meetings too.)
The current show by twenty "Printmakers” at the Easton Rooms gives no sign of the short notice at which it was arranged, due to the unexpected withdrawal of the promised photographs by Linda McCartney. The group, which includes local artists Robert Greenhalf, Pamela Nash and Davida Smith, are showing a wide range of prints, so there should be something to appeal to every taste. Also on view are ceramics by David Vaughan, some of which must surely be among the largest the gallery has yet shown; the all-weather garden stools are surprisingly comfortable, and there are a couple of interesting bird-tables.
"Admiral Lord Nelson: his life-and times" will be celebrated at the Rye Art Gallery in East Street from 7 May to 3 July, with a two-part exhibition built around the great man. One is a small travelling exhibition on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, consisting of photographs of portraits, documents, and so forth. The other, arranged by curator Margaret Casson, has about 80 pictures and sculptures of Nelson, his associates and aspects of his life, with a selection of Nelson memorabilia; it has been assembled from a number of major museums and galleries and from private collections. We do congratulate the Gallery on what will obviously be an important as well as an interesting exhibition, which will be opened by the Rt. Hon. The Earl Nelson of Trafalgar, no less, at the Private View on 6 May.
Rye says goodbye this week to Mrs. John McCready, better known locally as Georgette Thurston of the Sussex Express. Georgette married fellow-journalist John McCready in November and has spent subsequent weekends driving down to join him in Devonshire. Now, however, John has a new job on the Kentish Times in Dartford, and he and Georgette have found a flat in Erith, Georgette has just taken her qualifying exams (she has been coping with Rye, Battle and all the villages before even finishing her training), and hopes that if she passes, John's paper will have a job for her too. We wish them both the very best of luck.
Georgette's successor on the Express, starting in mid-May, will be Martin Ellis, 23, who comes from the West Sussex County Times and is an experienced rural-area reporter. If he can find accommodation, Martin would like to live in Rye; so if anyone has a flat to let to a permanent tenant, please write to Box 301 at the Sussex Express, High Street, Lewes.
THE RYE GAZETTE, 27.4.83 - page 4
We listed last week the six candidates for the three Rye seats on Rother District Council. Voting will take place on Thursday, 5 May, from 8 am to 9 pm, at the Civil Defence Centre in Ferry Road or the Further Education Centre in Lion Street, depending on where you live. There will, as we said, be no election for Rye Town Council since the nominations equal the vacancies.
Rye Town Council says goodbye and thank-you to five of its members:
MR. RICHARD PREBBLE, the "father of the Council”, couldn’t be sure offhand when he first joined it, but we all know he has given Rye long and valuable service. At the last meeting of the present Council he was given a copy of "A Book of Rye". He and Mrs. Prebble are happily settled in Fairlight - with, he says, less traffic than in Udimore Road but a much noisier dawn chorus!
MRS. DORIS CHATTERTON has been on the Council for four years, and is giving up for personal and family reasons. She will, however, continue to help with the work of the Bequests Committee - and also keep on with her WRVS jobs as cook and expert parceller-up of paperbacks.
MR. KENNETH CLARK, the well-known local historian, joined the Council at a recent by-election; we are sorry to say that it is because of ill-health that he is unable to stand again this time.
MR. CLIFFORD JORDAN has been a member of the Council for the past four years; he was also one of the youngest members of Rye Borough Council at the time of the 1966 Royal Visit. He is giving up the Town Council now so that he will be free to contest, in due course, a seat on the County Council.
MR. JOHN LUCK is leaving the Council after seven years because he is about to move to Winchelsea. He has served on the Planning and the General Purposes Committees and for two years was Deputy Mayor.
Eleven members of the present Town Council are among the 16 nominees for the new one:
MR.WILLIAM SIMPSON is, of course, our present Mayor, and Mayor-elect for the coming year. His daughter Mrs. Doreen Dodds acts as his Mayoress, and in addition he has two sons, one a consultant anaesthetist and the other (educated at the Grammar School) a solicitor. Mr. Simpson and his late wife first came to the town in 1956 when he was appointed Chief Inspector at Rye Police Station, and in due course they decided to return here after his retirement in 1969. He was first elected to the Town Council in 1976, and has served on the Planning, Bequests, and General Purposes Committees - though now, as Mayor, he is automatically on the lot.
MRS. JO KIRKHAM, the Deputy Mayor, will be the new "mother of the Council" (her phrase) - its longest-serving member, and the only one who was on the Rye Borough Council, to which she was elected in 1970. She came to Rye in 1967 with her husband Jim, and their three children are being educated at Freda Gardham and Thomas Peacocke. She was, as we all know, Mayor for three years from 1979, with her daughter Tracy as Mayoress since Jim was so often away at sea, and her Mayoralty was certainly a memorable one for the town (this is the Editor speaking), with royal visits, beating of bounds, and innumerable other events and improvements. Jo was a teacher before her marriage, and now does part-time and supply teaching at Thomas Peacocke; she is also on the Rye Bench, and the Chairman of the Museum Association.
MR. ROGER BREEDS has lived in Rye all his life and is a site manager with an East Sussex firm of builders, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who owned the firm which built the Memorial Hospital. He has always been interested in local affairs. At 16 he was the youngest representative on the Rye Trades Council and in the late 1950s and early 1960s he was Chairman of Rye Youth Club and Vice-Chairman of Rye Young Conservatives. He has been a member of the Town Council since 1976, serving as Chairman of the Planning Committee for the past three years. Mr. Breeds is also Vice-Chairman of the Harbour of Rye Advisory Committee and a member of the Harbour of Rye Management Committee, also a member of the Rye Harbour Boat Owners Association and the Rye Harbour Sailing Club. His wife Amy is Secretary of Rye Chamber of Trade, and their daughter Joanne is a pupil at Thomas Peacocke School.
(continued...)
THE RYE GAZETTE, 27.4.83 - page 5
MRS. GERALDINE BROMLEY became a member of the Council at the last election four years ago and has served on the Leisure and Tourism and the Planning Committees. She and her husband Robert, County Councillor for Winchelsea, have lived in the centre of Rye for 13 years, and she was a founder member of the Conservation Society and secretary of the steering committee which set it up. She helps with the Red Cross Shop and has worked part-time at the Tourist Information Office for the past two years, but has now given this up to devote more time to her guest house - she is on the committee of the Hotel and Caterers Association.
MR. ALEX BUCHAN, of Udimore Road, was elected to the Council at a by-election in 1981. He has lived at Rye for 28 years, and his two sons and one daughter were all at the Grammar School. In his two years on the Council Mr. Buchan has served on the Bequests and the Leisure and Tourism Committees and was among the people who steered the Bowls Club into being. He is also well known for his work for the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council's local branch.
MR. EDWARD EVANS is a retired local government officer (Islington Borough Council and London Electricity Board) and has lived in Rye since 1970. He was elected to the Town Council in 1979, and has served on the Bequests, Leisure and Tourism, and General Purposes Committees, he is a founder member of the Conservation Society, a life member of the Ratepayers and Residents Association, a life member of NALGO, and a member of the Rye Club.
MR. ERIC LE FEVRE is a Chartered Architect and with his wife Joanna started his Rye practice in 1963. He now works from offices in The Mint, and lives at Pett Level; Harriet is in the VIth at Thomas Peacocke, and Michael has just left the school to join the BBC. Mr. Le Fevre has served on the Council for the past four years, as Vice-Chairman of the Leisure and Tourism Committee and a member of the General Purposes and Finance Committee. He is Vice-Chairman of the Museum Association; on the Executive Committee of the Rye Council for Voluntary Service; a Past President of the Rotary Club; and a Trustee of the Nautical Museums Trust and also of the Pett Level Preservation Trust. He also belongs to several conservation and ecology societies.
MRS. HILDA NELSON-BARRETT has lived in Rye since 1968. Before that time she lived in London where she took a prominent part in municipal and local voluntary organisations and was for many years a hospital accountant. She has been a Rye Town Councillor since 1974, serving on most Committees; she is Chairman of Rye Rate-payers Association and also an active committee member of a number of local organisations including the Conservation Society, the Museum Association, the Crime Prevention Panel, and fund-raising for the blind, She served on Hastings Community Health Council as Vice-Chairman at its inception, and is a Governor of our two primary schools. Her particular interests are housing for elderly people and the promotion of recreation and sports amenities for the young people of the town.
MRS. MONICA OLIVER came to Rye with her husband in 1948, and their three children were educated here; she worked for many years in the community as a Home Help. She has been on the Town Council for seven years, and is also a Governor of Tilling Green School, the Chairman of Rye Bowls Club, the first Chairman of ACCESS for the Disabled in Rye, and Chairman of the Bequests Committee and the Rye Merchant Seamen's Fund; a past president of the WI, a member of the Museum Association and the Conservation Society, and on the Rye Committee for the Blind Association. She is not allied to any political party, but her endeavours are for the people of Rye; she would like to see a Rye Town Councillor co-opted on to Rother's Housing Committee to deal with the problems of Council housing in the town.
MR. GEORGE SHACKLETON lives in Udimore Road and is on the staff of Boots The Chemists in Rye. He is the only member of the present Town Council who is also on Rother Council, on which he has served for the past four years and for which he is standing for re-election on 5 May. As a representative of the Ratepayers Association he has kept a keen eye on Rother's finances, and was largely responsible for the reorganisation of the rating system which has led to lower rates for Rye this year.
(continued...)
THE RYE GAZETTE, 27.4.83 - page 6
MR. DUNCAN STARKEY was born in Sussex and has always lived there. His grandfather came from Wittersham, so he learnt about Rye early. He is a Departmental Head at Ashford School. He moved to Rye in 1968 and has been a Rye Town Councillor since 1976. He was Founder Secretary of the Rye Conservation Society and is a long-serving member of the Rye Ratepayers' Association and a member of the Rye Museum Association. He believes in the future potential of small market towns and ports like Rye in the computer, leisure and science-park age.
The following nominees will be new to Rye Town Council:
MRS. OSMA JONES would have stood as a Labour candidate for the Council. She lives in North Salts, and has a grown-up daughter. A retired infant teacher, she taught first in Essex and from 1974 to 1979 at Ham Street primary school. Before becoming a teacher, she was a clerical officer and executive officer in the Home Office, and from 1943-6 a WRNS radio mechanic. She was part-time cashier of the North Kent Building Society from 1979 to 1981. She has been membership secretary of the Ratepayers Association, and also supports the Rye Art Gallery and Rye Festival. Her main interests are music and reading.
MR. JAMES MENHINICK came to live in North Salts in 1970. Before this he worked as an oil engineer in the Orient and the Middle East, and latterly in Scotland; he is now retired. He joined the Ratepayers Association some years ago and was elected Hon. Secretary in 1981. From his contacts on behalf of the Association with local authorities and many other public bodies he has acquired a great deal of knowledge of the needs and problems of the people of Rye.
MR. FRANK PALMER has lived in Rye for four years, but his family have farmed in the area for several generations and his grandfather was in the Rye police. He has himself recently retired from 31 years in the police force, where he was involved in cadet training for the 17-18 age-group, girls as well as boys, working at out-door pursuits in North Wales and elsewhere. He and his wife have one daughter and a small grandchild. Mr. Palmer belongs to various local organisations, and looking at the future of Rye he admits to a bias in favour of the residents - he is not keen on too many "attractions" to draw more visitors to the town.
MRS. JOAN PARKES came to Rye in 1949 (as Joan Burke) and apart from a few months away has never left it. She married Dr. Trevor Parkes in 1973 and continued to work closely with him until his death in 1977. She is Hon. Secretary of the local branch of the RNLI, Hon. Secretary and President of the Rye Players, a member of the WRVS, and her latest appointment is as Hon. Secretary of the Rye and District Bonfire Association. She feels she knows a great deal about Rye and Ryers, and although she has no experience of local government thinks she can serve Rye well as a Councillor.
MR. EDWARD WISEMAN came to Rye to teach about 15 years ago, and has been here ever since; he teaches at Thomas Peacocke, and he and Mrs. Wiseman and their three children live in Winchelsea Road. (Obviously a modest kind of chap, he defied all our efforts to extract from him more information than this!)
(We are sorry that for reasons of space we have not been able to list consistently every local organisation to which every Councillor belongs, but we have tried to incorporate their main interests.)
…. our County Councillor remains, of course, Mrs. Joan Yates, of New Winchelsea Road. Like Mr. Terry Spencer, Mrs. Yates is not standing for Rother this time; she has been a member for some years, and recently Chairman, and now wants to give as much time as possible to her County Council commitments - she serves on four committees (Social Services, Libraries and Records, Environment, and Economic Control) - and also to her membership of Hastings Health Authority, which is now responsible directly to the Regional Health Authority since the abolition of the intermediate Area tier. Mrs. Yates has, she tells us, three projects which she is particularly keen to advance: one has already cleared the first hurdle a Sports Hall at Thomas Peacocke, to be used not only by the school but by the local community as a whole. She is also pushing for a bypass for Rye, which has been talked of for 30 years; and for the new District Hospital at Hastings, for which the earliest date is now 1986.
(concluded!)
7.
• Following last week's piece about the state of the Rye Art Gallery Garden, Ralph Wood says that in fact the Trustees have only had one complaint addressed to them, and that the complainant's problem is now solved. This being so, they naturally feel justified in leaving matters as they are for the present.
• After the tragic death of Nigel Baker a year ago, his parents at the Queen Adelaide presented to the school a trophy in his memory. This is awarded within Rother House, to which Nigel belonged, and is for "loyalty, endeavour and cheerfulness". It has just been awarded for the second time, and the winner is Chris Gale, 16, of Town Hall Cottage. Congratulations, Chris!
• Congratulations, too, to Valerie Petty, also 16, of New Road, who has won a place in September at the Laban Centre in Kennington to study dance. Valerie who takes her 0-levels at Thomas Peacocke this summer, has shown outstanding talent in contemporary dance throughout her years at the school, under the guidance of Miss Margaret Marshall, and she hopes to make her art her career. First, however, she has to take A-levels in dance-associated subjects, and ultimately a degree in it. We look forward to reporting in due course on "Rye Girl's Name in Lights"!
• On Friday Rye Players presented a short play, "Mr. Twenlow is Not Himself", followed by a musical entertainment, at the Playden WI Hall. Most of the cast were making their first appearance on the stage, and they played to a packed house, rocking with laughter. All performances were good, but Sue James as Mrs. Braby - a Cockney-type Hilda Ogden - was quite outstandingly promising. The singers sang very beautifully and an enthusiastic audience went away saying Do It Again Soon. Transport for senior citizens was provided by the Lions.
• We are glad to report that James Gladstone, curate to the Rye team ministry for nearly a year, is to succeed Stephen Seamer as the team member with special responsibility for Camber and East Guldeford. He will, we understand, move into the vicarage at Camber after his ordination to the priesthood on 26 June.
• Charitable cash: the ARC coffee morning at the Community Centre last Wednesday raised £111. The British Legion sold out of red roses for St. George's Day on Saturday, and made a total of £130 for the Poppy Day Appeal. Also on Saturday jumble sales raised £170 for the Fire Service and £77 for the Catholic Church.
• The Bowls Green will be open for play from tomorrow, 28 April. Rye Bowls Club has a full fixture list for the season; new Chairman is Mrs. Monica Oliver, with Mr. L. Paine as Vice-Chairman, Mr. H. Law (22 Pottingfield Road) as Secretary and Mr. R. Chubb as Treasurer - Mr. R. Weeks is once again Captain. The green is of course, open to all, at a fee of £1 a session or 60p an hour; shoes and woods can be hired, a service which proved very popular last season.
• The Putting Green is at present open at weekends only but will soon be open all week - admission 40p for adults and 20p for children. People will have noticed that during the winter work has been done to make the course more interesting to play over.
• It has come to police notice that on a number of occasions recently, motor vehicles have driven over the Ferry Road level crossing while the barriers are descending. Drivers are reminded that to use the crossing whilst the warning lights and bells are in operation is extremely dangerous, and action will be taken by the police against offenders.
• The Press Book at the police station shows a theft and a burglary (technically two different things, with a robbery different again). In Winchelsea Road, a couple booked into a guest house, and departed later the same day with the bedlinen and towels from their room. And on the night of 15/16 April there was a burglary at Duncan Grant's new fishmarket building, when £7 in cash was taken, plus a total of 7 ½ stone of smoked fish (cod, mackerel, kippers and haddock) and also herring roes and shelled prawns, all deep frozen. There could well be something rather fishy about anyone suddenly suffering from frostbite!
• The best of luck (he would certainly need it) to Jimper Sutton, who is contemplating a campaign to have Rye registered as a Free Port under recent EEC legislation.
8.
Thursday, 28th Open Evening, Thomas Peacocke School, 6.30 to 9 (see below)
Saturday, 30th Craft Market reopens, FEC, 10 to 4 (all day, this year)
Rye Allotments and Gardens Society jumble sale, St. John's, 2
Rye Dance Centre jumble sale, Community Centre, 2.30
Sunday, 1st Attic Sale, Community Centre, 10 to 1 (see GAZETTE no.29)
Monday, 2nd (BANK HOLIDAY)
Cadborough Jubilee Social Club's May Day Fete - all the usual attractions at the Community Centre, 2
Tuesday, 3rd FRAG talk, "The Press, the Media and the Public" (David Chipp, head of the Press Association) - Town Hall, 8
• HELP! The WRVS are running out of wrapping paper for their bundles of paper-back books for our troops in Northern Ireland. Any fair-sized pieces in reasonable condition can be left at their FEC office or in the Lib rary Box.
• Tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 10.30 the Hastings Community Health Council meets in the Town Hall - it only comes to Rye once a year - and Mrs. Yates (now better after her recent illness, we are glad to say) tells us that members of the public are welcome to attend, with the chance to ask questions at the end of the meeting.
• Also tomorrow, at the Crown Inn in Ferry Road, landlord Michael Pasqua and his wife, Vanessa are organising a knock-out darts tournament in aid of Multiple Sclerosis; there are cups to be won, a raffle, etc., and spectators are most welcome. A cheque for the proceeds will be handed over to Mrs. Kath Elworthy for the work of the Society, early next week.
Still tomorrow, computer will speak unto computer at Thomas Peacocke School's Open Evening, when visiting computers are invited to bring their owners to the ROSLA Block at Upper School to play games, compare notes and exchange ideas. Much of the school will be open, and there will be a chance to see the Celestron Telescope currently on loan from County; to visit the kitchens and dining rooms; and to see displays of pupils' work done in and out of school hours. There is music at both Upper and Lower Schools, dance at Lower, and the finals of the House Quiz. The programme really and truly offers something for absolutely everyone, and parents and friends are cordially invited.
• The Red Cross are holding a house-to-house collection, with a flag day on the Saturday, during Red Cross Week, 2 to 8 May.
• On Sunday, 8 May, from 11 to 5, the Perigoe Workshop Museum at Northiam is holding an Open Day. On view will be its collection of building tools, equipment, books and items of local interest, with old village photographs on show for the first time.
• An exciting day out is on offer for Sunday, 19 June, when a coach will leave Rope Walk at 7.30 am for Duxford Aerodrome, which is mounting a big air show, including an arena display with massed bands, etc., and a flying display - around four hours of entertainment in all. £5 covers the coach fare and the admission charge. Contact Gordon Stanbridge (Brede 882589) or Graham Trill (Rye 225548) for details.
• We are asked to point out that since the ground lies so unusually wet for the time of year, walkers and ramblers are causing local farmers a lot of grief by straying across fields instead of keeping to the footpaths. Please, if you go for a walk (perhaps because your garden is too wet to dig?), remember that growing crops, even grass, are a farmer's living and can easily be damaged by trampling feet.
• Long notice department: Rye's Bonfire Night will be on Saturday, 19 November.
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office. It is published by Mrs. Mary Owen at 94 Udimore Road, Rye (222303), who is always glad of news items for inclusion - deadline Monday afternoon, 9 am on Tuesday for real emergencies. The GAZETTE costs 25p weekly and is delivered to subscribers and pick-up points on Wednesday morning.
Photocopied by Sussex Secretarial Services, 10 Cambridge Road, Hastings (0424 422633).