GAZETTE no. 45, the issue due out on 27 July, will he the last for a fortnight; we are not printing on 3 August. Anything: needing publicity before 10 August should therefore reach the Editor by next weekend, please, or it will be too late. We shall be printing on 10 and 24 August (not 17th) and will be glad of material for those two issues, since there seems likely to be very little happening in the town then - the major events are the Carnival on the 6th, Rye Racers on the 14th, and the Raft Race on the 28th.
Rye is in need of another traffic warden. The job is full-time (no evening work) and since it means working out of doors in all weathers, candidates must be fit and active. The police would like to be able to appoint a local man or woman if possible. If you are interested, please call at the police station and fill in a preliminary application form.
June Haviland and her pupils were extremely pleased with the enthusiastic response to "Showbiz" at the Community Centre last week. Despite the hot weather, there was a full house both nights, and audience and dancers all enjoyed themselves very much. Miss Haviland deployed her team to good effect, with even the newest recruit getting a chance to appear somewhere. Of course, the babies got "oohs" and "aahs" from the audience, particularly tiny Emma Wiseman doing a solo turn in what must have been a stifling Bunny Bobtail suit. At the other end of the age range were Lucy Scrutton and Sarah Whiddett, Kathryn Hale and Lynda Bell, showing what the big girls can do; and of course, the adults, having a lovely time with their fun tap routine. The production made the most of the stage extension presented to the Centre last winter. The decor was simple but effective, and thanks to Mrs. K. Easton the costumes were most attractive (except, perhaps, for the low-comedy beard adorning the gardener in an otherwise melancholy piece); someone must have laid out a fortune in hairgrips! Ronald de Vlam compered cheerfully, and Myrtle Ball was splendid at the piano, while Miss Haviland made sure that Mrs. Anne Wiseman was among those thanked at the end. June herself and her sister Kim gave a stunning demonstration of a Fame-style workout, so we know what to expect from the group next year; and another pleasure was to see how many quite remarkably pretty girls there are coming up (Miss Rye organisers, please note).
An international event - in Camber? Yes, indeed; this weekend the Romney Marsh Shearing Society holds its International Sheep Shearing Contest, to include the Shearer of the Year Finals, at Broomhill Farm, Camber, from 10 to 6 on Saturday (23rd) and from 11 to 3 on Sunday. This event was first held in 1928 and was revived three years ago by Brian Goodsell of Udimore, now Senior Wool Board Instructor (though some readers will remember his meteoric career as a shearer) and local farmer Frank Langrish. Last year top shearers from all over the world competed, and this year's guest of honour is Godfrey Bowen, almost a legend in shearing circles. Among the competitors will be Brian's son Barry, 19, who has only been shearing for a year or so but who won the national junior championship at the Royal Show recently. Robert Bull, of Peasmarsh, who won the national open championship for the fifth time, will also be at Broomhill.
As well as the actual championships (the final involves shearing 20 sheep, and last years’ time for the job was 23 minutes!), there will be a country fair with dog trials, a pet lamb competition, shire horses - plus various sideshows, trade stands, funfair and of course refreshments and a bar. Parking is free, but entry for adults costs £1. A family day out, as the organisers rightly claim.
2.
Miss Margaret Middleditch, of Church Square, died in a St. Leonards nursing home last Wednesday, after illness defied magnificently over many years. Cremation is private, but there is to be a memorial service at St. Mary's on Friday (22nd) at 2 pm. Miss Middleditch was 79, and will perhaps best be remembered in Rye as one of the founders - with Mrs. Holmes, Mrs. Bessie Pope and the late Mrs. Phoebe Bourne - of the Red Cross Over-60s Club. Miss Middleditch came to Rye as a newcomer in 1946, and by 1947/8 was going round seeking members for the Club - which began life in the room over what was then the Co-op and is now Peppers in Cinque Ports Street. Daughter of a Harrow schoolmaster, she had trained as a secretary, and during the war was doing a job in a hospital which she used to describe as being that of a quarter-master sergeant, in charge of stores and housekeeping generally. She was a quite invaluable member of the Red Cross, not only for her work for the Over-60s Club but available to help in many other ways; and her friendly interest in people made her a much-loved member of our community.
Two recent queries in the GAZETTE have been answered by readers. Frank Palmer of Strand quay says that his Sussex dialect dictionary associates "wish" with "wash" and given it as meaning a damp meadow or piece of ground liable to flooding. This seems a reasonable explanation of why the present Ferry Road area was referred to as The Wish. Mrs. Tarrant refers us to Leopold Vidler's copy of a seventeenth-century map of the town which gives "The Wishe" as a strip between Ferry Road and Cyprus Place or thereabouts, and then marks an area nearer the auction room as "Further Wishe". So, it would seem that in the days before the railway The Wish was the whole area from the Town Wall to the Tillingham in that corner of the town - anyway, it included both the Adelaide and the Ferry Boat inns. Presumably Wish Ward, Wish Street and Ferry Road came later as specific street names; but Ferry Road must go back a bit too, because it is a long time since there was a ferry over the Tillingham. Paygate Cottage (see "Planning" this week.) was the tollkeeper's cottage for the gate which could close the bridge.
Bath Buildings, home of one of the 1933 firemen, was a row of cottages facing the Salts near the Rother Ironworks and belonging to the company; as a girl working in their office, Mrs. Helen Goodwin of North Salts used to be sent to collect the rent. In her day they were getting rather run down, and were later demolished as condemned, though her mother remembered them as pleasant enough cottages occupied by working craftsmen. Were these cottages built to replace the public bathhouse, or as an annexe to it?
(In 1821, by the way, an order was made to prevent people bathing between the Tillingham sluice and what is now the railway bridge - presumably, suggests Leopold Vidler, in the interests of public morality, since the water then came right up to the foot of the cliff and swimsuits were not normally worn! It was, though, pleasant to see lads bathing off Strand Quay at the top of the tide last Wednesday; suddenly the river seemed part of the town again, instead of an adjunct to the Harbour.)
Another query now, this time about a little periodical called "The Herald of Rye" which came out monthly, at 2d a time, in the late 1890s. We have only seen a few pages of the fourth (February 1898) issue. but seems to have had a great deal in common with The GAZETTE, including obituaries, forthcoming events, discussion of current local topics, and a diary of the previous month's events in the town which shows clearly that things haven't in fact changed all that much in 85 years. It seems likely that the Herald was one of the assorted journals that J N Masters published during his long career; the Vicar of Rye, reviewing the first three issues in the parish magazine, said "No. I was splendidly bright; no. 2 was deliciously personal; no. 3 is delightfully domestic". Did it ever get beyond the fourth issue - and has anyone just possibly got any copies which we could come and look at?
THE RYE GAZETTE, 20 July 1983 3.
We are very pleased indeed to be able to report that the former Rye Oil Refineries, in Harbour Road, which closed early this year, has now reopened. The business has been bought by Mr. Patrick Reardon of Winchelsea, with a partner. They are at present, with a staff of two, engaged on converting waste oil into fuel oil (instead of lubricating oil which was a much more expensive process). But within a couple of months, Mr. Reardon tells us, the firm will be in business selling gas oil, derv and home heating oil, and will be looking for customers - farms, businesses, private households - who will appreciate the opportunity to deal with a local firm. Those interested, even at this early stage, should get in touch with Mr. Reardon on Rye 223324.
A car park in need of rain is a bit unusual, but Vidlers would like a nice downpour as soon as possible to settle the new gravel surface of the one in Rope Walk. The resurfacing was done nearly a fortnight ago, and the area was rolled; but for the stones to bed down properly, Colin Stutely tells us, rain is essential. Then he will arrange to have the whole surface swept over and the loose material removed - at present, there would be no point. In the meantime, however, the stones are being spread by car tyres all over Rope Walk, and those living nearby are not very happy about the state of their hall carpets.
Mr. Stutely tells us, too, that he is fed up with having the fence between the car park and the road repaired; the gap between the entry posts is calculated for private cars, and heavy traffic is supposed to use the entrance the far side of the Agricultural Hall, but there are regular offenders and just now one of the posts is broken and the fence beside it flattened. The weeds along the fence (the road side) don't improve the appearance of the area, either - does this count as a verge, ESCC?
If you should see a little red Yamaha rapped with a helmet-box advertising the GAZETTE, please give it a wide berth - particularly if you are driving a lorry! Not having ridden a bike for 25 years, the Editor was surprised to find that her new moped did stay upright when she took her feet off the ground; but she felt much better about the whole thing after four hours of very hard work on a Saturday morning in the Upper School playing field recently. She was taking Part I of the National Motorcycle Training Scheme, the Bronze Star, which is designed to teach control of the machine before moving on to road conditions (Silver Star, leading to the D.o.T. test). Instructor Julian Jones was rather more accustomed to keen lads on their first bikes than to mature ladies on motorised shopping-trolleys, but he had endless patience and made generous allowance for potential hysterics from someone desperately flinging out her right arm yet again as she prepared to turn left. Round and round the playground she went, mercifully the only learner that morning, practising doing the right things for kerb starts, turning right, turning left, in and out of a row of indestructible cones and at last progressing to a reasonably tight figure-of-eight. (Clutch control and use of gears would normally be included; but the GAZETTE machine is designed to manage without them.) The final test was to follow the instructor like a dog to heel - now fast, now slow; and then there was a run-through of the regular checks - "This must have a battery somewhere, surely?" - and it was over. Weak at the knees the Editor rode home, proud owner of a Bronze Star sticker.
Chief Instructor in charge of the Rye Centre is Mr. Douglas Beales (Brede 882173). He says that in fact many of the young spurn the Bronze course and start right in on the road at Silver. But Saturday's experience was probably the best £7.50's worth ever; not only does it teach a new rider the basics, but it also makes one much more aware of what the dangers are and would be every bit as valuable to an over-confident beginner as to someone scared stiff at being back on two wheels again after quarter-of-a-century on four.
4.
There is good news for organisations which hold occasional fund-raising and cheese parties or the equivalent and are worried about tangling with the licensing laws. We understand that legislation is about to come into force allowing for the holding of up to four such events each year without the need for a formal drinks licence; though this may not be quite as good as it sounds, since apparently the fire precaution regulations attached to a licence will still have to be observed and therefore some places may simply not be suitable. Anyway, we shall have more information about the exact position once the new law actually takes effect.
A rather alarming notice came round with the milk recently. It seems that our milk rounds could well be in danger - not only here, of course, but throughout the country. People will remember how, in the bad weather last winter, the milk somehow turned up every morning; not everyone may realise that the milkmen will bring other things too. Cream, of course (preferably ordered in advance), but also eggs, butter, potatoes, bread of various kinds, fresh fruit juices, squash and fizzy drinks. For some households who find shopping difficult, the milkman will even bring a regular grocery order, collected from the Dairy Shop which was part of Winters Dairies when they worked from the yard opposite Walter Stocks. It is a help to the milkmen if households have a regular order, though, of course there have to be alterations at times; we sometimes wonder how they always do manage to produce the extra pint required, but presumably it averages out over the large area which Winters serve. Let us hope that whatever it is the Common Market is up to now, it won't affect our milk deliveries.
Seeing an ad in Fixtures, we wondered what the Rye Lace Group was, and got ourselves invited along, to have a look. The Group started as an ordinary evening class back in the autumn, but was threatened with closure when numbers did not reach the required 15 - rather too many to teach conveniently anyhow, says instructor Carol Williamson, who comes over from Ham Street to take the class. But the half-dozen or so pupils, all novices, were so much enjoying their lessons that they made arrangements to continue as a private class, which meets at the FE Centre every Thursday from 7 to 9, continuing through the holiday season.
They could do with a few new members, and would like to build up a waiting-list so that if someone drops out they have a replacement. Cost is £2 a session, and what is so helpful about this delightful hobby is that the equipment is not expensive. For around £9, through the Group, a beginner can set herself (or indeed himself, why not?) up with all that is necessary, including the modern equivalent of a bran-stuffed lace-pillow: a large expanded-polystyrene disc rather like a flying saucer, well adapted to take patterns and pins and bobbins with plenty of room and weighing almost nothing. Experienced lacemakers who like a bit of variety have several pillows on the go at the same time and part of the charm of lacemaking is the range of pretty bits and pieces which can be used to turn out the beautiful end-product. Glass-headed pins can be used instead of ordinary ones - they even come with tiny decorations on top, if you like to be a little extravagant. Traditional bobbins used to be made of wood or bone; they still are, and on display were two ranges of real beauties turned by local people, but they also come in wood-stained plastic, looking quite presentable, and prettiest of all in twisted coloured glass. The beads which are attached to the end ("spangles") are not just for fun - they are necessary to weight the bobbin so that it lies in its proper place and does not slither about on the pillow.
Bobbin lace is basically a simple mechanical process: the maker follows a pattern drawn on to paper pinned to the pillow, winding the thread round the pins as the pattern dictates. Needlepoint lace is more skilled, since it is worked in the hand, and Carol Williamson will be taking an all-day class in this on Saturday, 22 October, at the FEC from 10 to 4 (details in the evening-classes brochure, due out before long). On display, to encourage the workers, were some really lovely needlepoint collars which Carol had made; she designs these for modern-style clothes, including one intended to pretty-up the collar of an ordinary shirt.
Hearing from a reader about the difficulty of attending unemployment benefit interviews at Ashdown House now that the Department has moved up to London Road, St. Leonards, from its office near the railway station, we spoke to the Deputy Manager at Ashdown House, Mr. Witchell. He told us that the staff don't like the move any more than the clients do; and he does appreciate the problem with buses for people coming over from Rye (our correspondent spent three hours on a very hot day getting to and from a five-minute interview). The Department pays travel costs, less £1, for the three-monthly interviews, which are obviously necessary as a check; but we wonder if it might be cheaper as well as more convenient for a staff member to come over to Rye by car perhaps twice a quarter, than for everyone in Rye drawing benefit to go over to St. Leonards - either by train and bus or by the infrequent 410 service which passes Ashdown House. Now that Social Services are about to open their offices in Cinque Ports Street, perhaps they could find a corner occasionally for someone to conduct these check-up interviews rather nearer home? Or would there be room above the new Council Offices?
Mrs. Bateman tells us that the Cadborough Cliff lily we asked about last week is officially called dracunculus vulgaris, the dragon arum. It is apparently often found near seaports, grown from corms brought home by sailors, and is not all that rare. Also, says Mrs. Bateman, it smells! This is because it is insectivorous, luring the unfortunate creatures into the swelling at the base of the flower and then dissolving them. The smell can be so nasty that unsuspecting neighbours have been known to check the contents of the larder in case something that have been thrown away was still around...
How nice to hear that the purchasers of Paygate Cottage, beside the Tiilingham Bridge, do not want to demolish the tiny house! The vendors had been seeking planning permission for this, with the possibility- of rebuilding entirely; but Mrs. Jane King and her daughter Linda, of Ferry Road, are enormously looking forward to restoring it to a dwelling-house again, and though they will have to apply for planning permission both to do this and to build on a small but vital extension, they promise that it will revert in appearance to the cottage it once was, when the occupants collected the tolls at the gate across the road.
Other planning this week: a double garage for Western Barn and change of use from shop to residential for the ground floor of 15C in Wish Street.
Last Thursday 180 RAFA standards were borne round the arena at Wembley Stadium by proud representatives of local branches taking part in the Royal Tournament; Gordon Stanbridge went from here. He says that the morning rehearsal was quite peaceful, but once the show started it was really hectic backstage and you had to be in the exact place at the exact time or you were in trouble! They had two performances, the evening one in front of the Duke of Kent, and the contingent marched several times round the arena (rather envying the shirt-sleeved audience but not the uniformed bandsmen ahead of them). Meals were provided; Mr. Stanbridge says that the Army still can't cook vegetables but fortunately beer is still a lot cheaper in the NAAFI!
The school's second-year juniors, aged 8 to 9, have raised £335 for the RNLI by a sponsored spell. The money is to be used for repainting the Hastings lifeboat which the children visited earlier in the year. The Hastings cox, Joe Martin, came to the school on Monday to receive the cheque during Assembly.
Helen Menzies-Sacher, 11, has won a certificate and an inscribed Parker pen with the compliments of Messrs. W.E. Smith. Helen was one of 35 entrants from the school in the firm's competition for young writers; there were 33,000 entrants from all over the country, but she had three poems on the short list and ended among the top 20 contestants. The school also gained a certificate for the high standard of its entry overall.
6.
"Simplicissimus" was a humorous magazine founded in Munich in 1896. More satirical than our modern Punch, and with a much higher standard of artwork than Private Eye, it was frequently in trouble with the law in its early days, since it enjoyed mocking the august national institutions with a typically Bavarian sense of humour. The Rye Art Gallery has just opened an exhibition of 100 of its cartoons, compiled in Munich and on show in East Street until the end of August. Students of European history at the turn of the century will find it fascinating (the drawings cover the period up to the beginning of WW1); but there is no need for this to deter other people. Jokes were much the same then as now!
In Germany in the early 1900s they laughed about the difficulties of women with jobs, the peculiarities of modern fashion, and the perils of going abroad. A 1912 mill boss says to a deputation from his workforce: "The matter is quite simple, gentlemen: in times of economic prosperity, you starve because prices go up; in times of economic decline, you starve because wages drop. Good morning!" (Shades of "Brass"!) An elegant opera goer complains to her escort that she can't really enjoy "Tristan" because she is out of touch with the latest developments in Wagner's private life. The team who produced the magazine were all then in their twenties, and it is interesting to see how they treated subjects which du Maurier had dealt with in Punch some twenty years earlier, though in an entirely different style, and indeed which can still crop up in Punch today - newcomers lowering the tone of the neighbourhood, people who marry for the wrong reasons, tourists, intellectuals... And you don't need to know German; all the captions are translated. There is an excellent Munich-produced catalogue, which can be hired if you don't want to keep a copy.
Graham Clarke's annual shows at the Easton Rooms are now such a feature of Rye life - this year's is the twelfth - that summer would not be quite the same without them. Graham started showing in Rye soon after he moved to the Maidstone area, where he taught (at the College of Art, of which he is now a Governor) until recently; but he now devotes his time entirely to his own paintings, prints and books printed on a rather special 1820 press. There are not many people nowadays who write, illustrate and print their own books in a typeface which they have also designed - Graham is one of them, and he is also involved in running the mill where his own specially watermarked paper is made for him. The current exhibition will, as always, reinforce his reputation as a painter of witty and intricate village scenes, of kindly caricatures, of boats and landscapes (and those who were wise enough to add his work to their collections in the early days must be rubbing their hands now, since prices are up just a little since then).
Upstairs in the Craft Gallery is a beautifully displayed selection of unusual, cheap and pretty jewellery in a very modern idiom. All designed by women, and obviously with a young fashion market in mind, the pieces are made from inexpensive materials such as bone, paper, ribbon and
perspex, and their charm lies in the unusual shapes and lively colours, with prices from as little as £2.50 and mostly in the under £10 range. Do have a look, even if you are not normally among the gallery's clientele.
In complete contrast to the lightweight craftswoman-ship upstairs are Dougal Bricknell's vast bloated teapots which accompany Graham Clarke's work downstairs. These amusing pots are intended for admiration rather than use - the ecclesiastical one would surely prove impractical for even the largest vicarage tea-party – and they display the most beautiful glazes on their smooth flanks. Dougal is a neighbour of Graham's at Boughton Monchelsea, and obviously shares his quirky sense of humour!
(At the private view on Saturday, people were looking rather thoughtfully at the garden which links the two galleries. There was some speculation that the Trustees might be purposely allowing this to revert to a state of nature, having been got at by the ecology lobby; certainly there were going to be plenty of thistle-heads for the finches!)
7.
• The Editor would like to express her gratitude to the various Good Samaritans who, after her literal downfall on the Conduit Hill cobbles on Thursday, picked her up, mopped her down and eventually plastered her over. A report on the current position about the handrail will appear shortly! (The GAZETTE's household-hints department would like to testify that milk does a marvellous job removing bloodstains: a sodden but favourite handkerchief left some hours after the accident, in a bowl of milk (balance, as it happened) and then rinsed out and left in a fresh supply for a further soak, emerged absolutely spotless, and the same treatment worked with thoroughly dried-on stains on a blouse. Something to do with enzymes, apparently - but worth knowing.)
• As a tailpiece to our recent account of Badger Gate, Mrs. Linden tells us that two of the residents have their own small gardens there and grow their own vegetables.
• At the Rye WI July meeting, Rye members and their guests from Woodchurch WI much enjoyed an illustrated talk by Mrs. Cannety-Clarke on "Enjoying Music". Cups won by Rye members for skills ranging from darts to dressmaking were on display.
• The Community Centre committee has decided to make every effort to install a toilet for the use of disabled people, probably in the foyer if they can find the space (it needs a lot more room than one might expect).
• Naming no names, because it is obviously not possible to produce a complete list and unfair to produce an incomplete one - but we do keep hearing about this year’s school-leavers who have got jobs, at all levels. We hope to have something about this next term. Congratulations to all concerned, anyway!
• Despite a very long-established notice painted in huge letters on the wall of the warehouse on Strand Quay, Mr. McEntee complains that he cannot now get proper access to it because of the new bollards recently erected by the Highways people along the edge of the car park there. Since he pays industrial-use rates for the building, he is not at all pleased! (Walking round that way to look at the problem, we were much struck by the extraordinary effects of weathering on the soft stone of the Grist Mill next door - it looks more like sculpture than structure in places.)
• Efforts to preserve the South Eastern Railway Company keystone from the goods shed have, sadly, failed, on the way down it lost its top with the vital S, and a stone saying just ERC 1851 is not the same thing.
• The Town Sergeant tells us that he does not suspect villainy as the cause of the "danger - men at work" sign which has appeared in one of the Windows of the Landgate Arch. (The trouble with the clock, incidentally, is that when the mechanism was repaired it was not possible to get at the actual hands without putting up scaffolding and blocking the road, so now when it stops Mr. Gale has to go up and give them a bit of encouragement to get started again - physiotherapy, really!)
• Congratulations to Christopher Spencer and Martin Jones, who both obtained Honours degrees from Cambridge this summer. Congratulations too to Ian Turner, who has gained a First in Part I of his Natural Sciences Tripos, and also, we hear, a cash prize - always welcome at the start of the Long Vac.
• Thomas Peacocke PTA would have liked more than the 11 cars which turned up at their Boot Sale on Saturday, but even the refreshments on that very hot afternoon made £20 (take a bow Pat Baker). Among the boots there was one which was opened up on behalf of the Probe Venture Scouts Unit based at Guestwell, some of whose members are going to tour Holland for ten days at the end of this month as part of their Queen's Scout Award work.
On the other hand, the Catsfield Steamers were such a success at the recent PTA Barn Dance, which made a profit of £80, that the committee is planning a repeat later.
8.
Thursday, 21st Thrift Shop, Red Cross Centre, 10.30 to 4 (also Friday, Saturday and Monday)
St. Mary's Church wine-and-cheese party (invitations), CC
Farewell service for the Rev. John Pyke and his family, Methodist Church, 7.30
Saturday, 23rd Coffee morning for St. Anthony's Church, FEC, 10.30 to 12
Monday, 25th WRVS Lunch Club, CC, 12.30
Women's British Legion meeting, Red Cross Centre, 7.30
• Not quite in our area, but... There is a coffee morning for the National Trust at Little Manor, Winchelsea, from 10.30 to 12 on Saturday; and see the front page for details of the international sheep shearing event and country fair at Camber on Saturday and Sunday.
• Enthusiasm for the Rye Lace Group almost took the story off the bottom of page 4 this week, leaving no room for the vital information about how to join; those interested should either ring Rye 223256 between 8 am and 4 pm on a weekday for more information about this unusual and friendly class, or just turn up at the FEC on a Thursday evening after 7.
• Both regular and new blood donors are reminded that the team will be at the Baptist Hall tomorrow and Friday, from 2 to 4 and from 5 to 7.45. New donors are asked to come early if possible. (From experience, we would suggest that anyone on hay fever pills should check with the desk before rather than after joining the queue, in case when they get to the top of it they find they are not suitable as donors.)
• The RNLI house-to-house collection and flag day earlier this month realised the sum of £1672 - slightly more than the figure given on the thank-you postcards and £40 up on 1982.
• Rye Library are now taking bookings (tickets are free, but limited) for their "Ghouls and Ghosties" session on Tuesday, 16 August, from 10.30 to 12. They ask that children should be old enough to be parked without their parents, and that they should come appropriately dressed!
• Fire precaution work at the Old Vicarage in East Street is taking longer than had been hoped, and although they are open for dinners as usual, people wanting lunch would do well to check up first (Rye 225131).
• Attractions at Rye Carnival on 6 August will include a dog show on the Salts. Details are given in a poster in the window of the Pette Shoppe in the High Street, for dog owners who want to start grooming in good time.
• The coffee morning in Fair Meadow on 13 July raised £150 for the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council.
• Last Tuesday's sale for East Guldeford Church made £127.
• The League of Friends of Greyfriars are better off by £340 as a result of their fete in Winchelsea on Saturday.
• A Crescent outboard engine was stolen from the yard at Sea Cruisers in Winchelsea Road on 12 July.
• The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association needs people in the Rye area who are willing to help with fund-raising and empty collecting boxes. Mrs. Tayler at the TSB office in the High Street will be very glad to hear from volunteers (Rye 222500).
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), and news items for inclusion are always welcome - deadline is 'Monday afternoon, 9 am Tuesday for emergencies. The GAZETTE costs 25p weekly and is delivered to subscribers and pick-up points on Wednesday morning. (Copyright Mary Owen, 1983)