Rye now has what Radio Sussex calls a "village diarist" for its Sussex Scene programme. Town Councillor James Menhinick of North Salts has taken on this voluntary job, so at last we have a proper mechanism for getting Rye news on the air. Mr. Menhinick tells us that once a month the programme will phone him for a brief chat "on air" about what has been going on in Rye lately, and what is due to happen in the near future. If people have items for the programme which can't wait until his regular spot, he will pass them on direct to the Brighton team for inclusion in the ordinary news - or so he hopes.
To talk to Mr. Menhinick, ring Rye 2233XX - around midday is a good time. (He hopes to fix a regular day for his broadcast; if he can, we will be glad to tell readers so that we can all have the chance of listening to Rye news going out.) Now that Mr. Menhinick has been appointed, he is the proper channel to Radio Sussex publicity - and the GAZETTE is happy to bow out.
A Radio Sussex newsletter, recently received, gives the first proper programme details we have seen:
On Saturdays, there is something for anglers and sailors at 7 am; then "Saturday Briefing" at 7.55, followed by 3- hours of "Rollercoaster" ("pure fun and enjoyment" it says). They have a review of country music at midday, Gardening Club (phone-in) at 1.05, and a sports programme all afternoon.
On Sundays, the newsletter gives no times for the morning programmes, but "Sussex Sunday" is followed by an inter-school's quiz, then "Sunday Scene" looks at the arts in Sussex. At midday "About Sussex" visits a local community, on the lines of Down Your Way. Then there are programmes about swing, and folk music; and Sunday afternoons are occupied by local groups presenting their own programmes. 5 sees the BBC Top 40, and at 7 there is a programme about local rock music.
Monday to Friday: 5.30 to 8.45 sees two local briefing programmes, including weather and travel news. "Collington Plus" at 8.45 offers music and chat with show-biz characters. "Sussex Scene" at 11 is where the occasional local item is likely to appear (they apparently visited Rye Pottery and Rye Tiles last week), and where the village diarists report. A consumer programme at 1.10 is followed by "a special blend of music and humour spiced with regular dollops of travel information" from 3 to 6.
The programmes can be heard on medium wave, 258m (1161 kHz); or on VHF, 95.3 or 103.1. (We found reception on medium wave was better, if the set is turned in the direction of the transmitter at Bexhill.) The number for phone-in programmes is Brighton 698411, and items for the newsroom can go either via Mr. Menhinick or direct to Brighton 686008 if you are feeling really extravagant.
On Friday, 27 January, at 9.40 am a Royal Navy helicopter will land on the Upper School playing-field at the back of The Grove. This does not imply the sort of disaster that we associate with helicopters along our beaches; far from it. The team are on a public-relations tour of schools in the area, and are expected to stop for perhaps half-an-hour.
Mr. George Blacker thoughtfully asks the GAZETTE to publicise the helicopter's arrival in good time since, he says, older people living near The Grove might otherwise find the unexpected noise rather alarming. So perhaps readers who have elderly friends or relatives in that part of the town might like to warn then beforehand that there is nothing to worry about?
2.
Mrs. Lena Pay (nee Hatter), of Cyprus Place, died in hospital after some weeks of illness, on 8 January; the funeral took place on Monday. Mrs. Pay, a widow, was in her seventies. Until she became ill at the end of last year, she had been an active member of Rye Baptist Church, with a particular interest in the Sunday School and in mission work.
Mr. Frank Pope, of New Winchelsea Road, died very suddenly on 8 January. Mr. Pope was 73, and leaves a widow, children and grandchildren. Until his retirement he had worked as a painter and decorator, most recently for Turner Bros. of Winchelsea; he was a keen supporter of Rye United FC, and the Club was represented at the funeral on Monday.
Under this title, Miss Kathleen Goldie-Smith of Military Road sends us an account of the donkey-cart driving group - part of the Riding for the Disabled Association - which helps to entertain the children at Hill House.
The donkey group was set up in 1978, the pony-riding group three years earlier. The donkeys live at Hill House, under the special care of Miss Ruby Stoodley and Mr. Terry Gilbert, and are a familiar sight on Tuesday mornings, going round and round on the hospital drives and paths. Most of the riders come from Hill House School, and Miss Goldie-Smith and her helpers were particularly delighted to fine, last term, the pre-school group we mentioned in last week's GAZETTE "who completely stole our hearts, and we can hardly wait for spring to share this pleasure with them again".
Some of the helpers have donkeys of their own and are familiar with the endearing ways of these animals. Donkeys and ponies are asked to do only an hour's work each time; they seem, Miss Goldie-Smith says, to have an intuitive understanding of their compassionate role, and enjoy it.
The group would like some more helpers, so that they could add an occasional Wednesday afternoon to their Tuesday sessions, which would suit the school. Present helpers include Sir Charles and Lady Jones, Mrs. Wendy Barnes and her daughter Angela, Mrs. Yvonne Metcalf, Miss Mary Harvey, Miss Wendy Spencer, and Mrs. Sandra Pidoux and her small daughters. If anyone would like to join them when the scheme starts up again in the spring, please get in touch with Miss Goldie-Smith for more information.
Regular readers will remember the GAZETTE complaining about the 16.40 train from Charing Cross being retimed last May so that it no longer connected with the train getting to Rye at 18.12. The proper connection, BR said, was the 16.28. Mr. Clifford Foster has been checking the timetables for Fixtures and tells us that BR have now disowned even the 16.28 as a connection for Rye; they say that the three minutes allowed is not adequate to cross the line. Travellers who want to be sure of making the connection should get the 16.03 from Charing Cross. So the journey now takes over two hours, instead of one and a half as it did last winter.
This makes us nervous about what should have been a good-news story from Mrs. Kingham of Lea Avenue. She points out that the new Saturday timetable is in fact an improvement for travellers going west, since there is now a two-minute connection at Hastings for the Eastbourne/Brighton train and a three-minute one for the return journey. And very nice too - as long as BR at Hastings don't also decide that three minutes does not constitute an adequate connection when there is a line to cross and fail to hold the Rye train. The answer seems to be check, check and check again.
(Enquiring about the new Saturday trains to London, last Friday, we could get no reliable information at all from the very pleasant girls at Hastings and Ashford. However, Canterbury knew all about times; for the enquiry office there, phone 0227 65151.)
3.
HE RYE GAZETTE, 18.1.1984
Reporting last week on the proposed rebuilding of the Garden Room, we said we felt sure that such a scheme would find favour with Rye people. This assumption was not entirely correct, as the following letter from Dr. Alec Vidler makes clear - we print it in full since it expresses the opposite point of view.
"You say you feel sure that local opinion would be in favour of rebuilding the Garden Room at Lamb House. What grounds have you for this assurance? It may be that newcomers to Rye would like to have it rebuilt so that they could see what it looked like. It was not a specially beautiful building and was no great loss to Rye. I am sure the original decision of the National Trust not to rebuild was right, and that it now has much more important things to do with its resources."
What do other readers think? We will gladly pass on comments to Sir Brian Batsford, who really does want to know - on behalf of the National Trust - how local people feel about the proposal.
Jumble sale addicts (and people with a boxful of post-Christmas discards) will be glad to know that after a long gap there are two sales coming up soon, one at the Lower School (for school funds) in Ferry Road on Friday evening, 3 February at 6.30, followed by the NSPCC sale at the FE Centre on Saturday, 4th, from 10 to 1. Both organisations will obviously be glad of jumble, help, and support from a gratifyingly long queue. (Sorry we didn't hear about the Day Centre sale today until too late for last week's issue.)
The Thrift Shop at the Red Cross Centre reopens this month (see The Week's Events) after a break in December.
Not much has been happening since Christmas; it is therefore a pity that the final weekend in January has evening clashes of events. Ryesingers' production of "HMS Pinafore" takes place at the Community Centre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 26 to 28 January, and tickets are now on sale at Terry's DIY in Tower Street: £l for adults, 75p for children and OAPs. Proceeds from the Thursday show go to Inner Wheel charities.
Also on Thursday, 26th, there will be a meeting at Thomas Peacocke Upper School, The Grove, at 7.30, for everyone (not only people connected with the school) to discuss the progress of the new sports hall project. Matters have now, we understand, reached the point at which the local community must express support for the idea if we want something-. which will be available for community use. The alternative is for ESCC simply to build the new gymnasium which has been promised for the school and which it badly needs. But ESCC is willing to have a larger building if the extra money comes from local sources, and "local" at this stage means Rother Council. Obviously, it would be unreasonable to expect Rother to contribute unless councillors were convinced that the centre really would be used by the community as a whole (Rye and the villages) and not just by the school. So, if you are at all interested in sports facilities at local level, do come along and see what is proposed - and add your own ideas - so that those in favour know what sort of support they are likely to get.
Friday evening (27th) also sees an open evening for parents and guests of the ATC (details next week), and Michael Tweedie taking "A New Look at Dinosaurs” with Natural History Society members and others at the FE Centre at 7.30.
If, therefore, you intend going aboard "HMS Pinafore" on the Saturday, you would be wise to book early, since it looks like being an even more popular night than usual.
The Rye Council for Voluntary Service holds its regular six-monthly open meeting at the Town Hall on Thursday, 2 February, at 7.30. There will be speakers on the Day Centre, the Sports Hall, the work of the Community Health Council, and non-degree courses run by the Open University. As usual, everyone is most welcome to attend the meeting, though only representatives of organisations will get actual invitations.
4.
(VERY SORRY - we must apologise to about one-third of our readers, who may have already noticed that in their copies of this week's paper pages 3 and 6 are transposed. This comes from too casual an approach to the photocopying, and will not, we hope, occur again!)
Writing some time ago about Laurie Band's slide show of old Rye, we remarked on a building on the corner of Tower Street marked "Ceramic Stores". Mr. John Smith has been able to tell us more about this, and we felt sure it would amuse readers accustomed to the rather more commercial range of ceramic ware produced in the town nowadays. Mr. Smith found for us an extract from "Highways and Byways in Sussex" by E V Lucas, first published by Macmillan & Co in 1904 (we hope Macmillan will forgive us for quoting without permission):
"Among the industries of Rye is the production of an ingenious variety of pottery achieved by affixing to ordinary vessels of earthenware a veneer of broken pieces of china - usually fragments of cups and saucers - in definite patterns that sometimes reach a magnificence almost Persian. For the most part the result is not perhaps beautiful, but it is always gay, and the Rye potter who practises the art deserves encouragement. I saw last summer a piece of similar ware in a cottage on the banks of the Ettrick, but whether it had travelled thither from Rye, or whether Scotch artists work in the same medium, I do not know. Mr. Gasson, the artificer (the dominating name of Gasson is to Rye what that of Seiler is to Zermatt), charges a penny for the inspection of the four rooms of his house in which his pottery, his stuffed birds and other curiosities are collected. The visit must be epoch-making in any life. Never again will a broken tea-cup be to any of Mr. Gasson's patrons merely a broken teacup. Previously it may have been that and nothing more; henceforward it is valuable material which, having completed one stage of existence, is, like the good Buddhist, entering upon another of increased radiance. More, broken china may even become the symbol of Rye."
"Lappy" Gasson made the mosaic table-top now used as a fire-screen in the Town Hall; he must also have made the remarkable case which contained a stuffed owl, and which was briefly on view in Gassons' window in Cinque Ports Street when the shop held its closing-down sale. The Ceramic Stores in Tower Street was, Mr. Smith tells us, burnt down; not very long, we would suspect, after the book was published, since it was replaced by the house which now forms the Conduit Hill end of Devonport House (built by a Mr. Stocks, another "dominating name" in Rye at the time). How much of Mr. Gasson's unusual ware, we wonder, still exists in Rye? (And what was his proper Christian name?)
Although E F Benson's own contemporaries are now few and far between, he is remembered with affection by younger people living in the town between the wars. Mrs. Elizabeth Ashby, nee Ellis, was brought up in Tower House, and she and her brother were allowed to play in the Lamb House Garden, using the side door, and never told off for making a noise even when Benson was working in the Garden Room. He even used to produce chocolate and hot Marmite for his young neighbours! John Aiken, as a lad, used to play chess with the distinguished author and Freeman of the town at the top of the road; John's father Conrad was, of course, an equally distinguished author living in Jeake's House.
Cynthia Reavell, to whom we are indebted for this information, is thinking of preparing a booklet about Benson, primarily for the Tilling Society but possibly also with a wider appeal, and she would be glad to have (c/o Martello Bookshop) any reminiscences from those who knew him. She is already in touch with one of his domestic staff, now an elderly lady living in London, who remembers the author as "a friendly man with blue eyes and a nice smile", fair to his employees and tradespeople and not given to interfering in the running of his household. (Not like Miss Mapp at all!) Lamb House had three evacuees at the beginning of the war, when Rye was receiving rather than dispatching them; we don't suppose anyone is in touch with them now?
STOP PRESS (Tuesday pm): "Whirlybird" (page 1) - the whole visit is CANCELLED.
5.
We have two appeals this week for car drivers.
The Monday Club for elderly people meets at the Clinic in Ferry Road on Monday afternoons - only the first and third Mondays in each month (not the fifth, and not on Bank Holidays). This is a very pleasant occasion for a get-together, a chat and a cup of tea, much enjoyed by members; but some cannot get there unless they have transport. Total time could not be much more than an hour or so each month; if anyone can spare this, please get in touch with Mrs. Anne Hacking at Cadborough Farm (Rye 2233XX).
The Day Centre, now established on Wednesdays at the Baptist Hall, could still do with an armchair or two, and always welcomes helpers in any capacity; but what it, too, needs most at present is a panel of car-drivers. Mrs. Wild and her team could now cope with more members, if they could be got to the Centre around mid-morning and taken home during the afternoon. It need not be the same driver both times; Mrs. Wild would, ideally, like to have a rota with a few "spares". A small mileage allowance is offered. If there is anyone living in the outlying parts of Rye, or in one of the villages, who would be able to help here - who perhaps comes into Rye regularly on a Wednesday anyhow? - Mrs. Wild would be delighted to hear from him or her on Rye 225497; or contact Neil Weatherall at social Services in Cinque Ports Street, Rye 226922.
Paddy Aiken's photographs on display at the Hamilton Galleries in Cinque Ports Street are indeed a promise of summer - and sometimes hold memories of summers lost for ever, notably in an idyllic shot of the Royal Military Canal, still with the great elms along the bank. Paddy's flower studies are loving and detailed; you can almost hear the bees among the clover in a straight shot of a happily neglected patch of pasture. She is more interested in wildflowers than in garden ones, though she records both: water-lilies and dog-roses, poppies and yellow flags and fritillaries, all have caught her eye. Her landscapes, mostly local, reflect her attraction to trees, their shapes and backgrounds - from trees on the Marsh to a rather spooky one in Savannah. She also shows examples of her work as a portrait photographer.
Paddy tells us she has been much helped in setting up the exhibition by her neighbour Linda King - the leaves which echo the trees are Linda's work. Young Susan Wooding of Rye has made the mounts; she does this commercially and can be contacted on Rye 223730. Linda's phone number is Rye 224861; and Paddy herself can be reached at Rye 223143, if she or her husband John are not in the gallery. Gallery owner Caroline Glibbery also has some of her own paintings on view, mixing well with Paddy's work.
A treat is promised at Rye Library over Easter, when the photographs which Paddy Aiken took of the inside of Camber Castle on the final day of last summer's dig will be on show. These will not be for sale, since D o E permission to photograph was given on that understanding; but the Department has supplied most helpful captions and other material to accompany the photographs - which will, we suspect, be a revelation to those who knew the Castle in its carefree and neglected days.
Mrs. Yates suggests that we might usefully remind people that the final date for applications to the County Council's Grants Sub-Committee (on which she serves) is 10 February. Projects such as summer-holiday play schemes are eligible, and grants are usually for sums between £200 and £500. Details are available from Social Services, so now that we have our own patch office it is quite simple for anyone who thinks a particular scheme might rate a grant to go and talk to Neil Weatherall and find out.
As far as John Ciccone knows, no-one is yet contemplating for 1984 the sort of summer school that Jo (now in the Navy) ran so successfully last August. But this is just the type of project for which a grant would be payable if applied for now; what about it, someone?
6.
Rye's Crime Alert scheme makes progress: two new community co-ordinators have now been appointed, James Menhinick for the North Salts and Military Road area, and Joan Parkes for the area inside the railway line on that side of the town Bridge Place, Fishmarket Road, New Road and the Landgate/Rope Walk/Eagle Road "beat". Residents in the two areas will be notified of the procedure to follow if something untoward arouses their suspicions.
A very pleased Chief Inspector Dyson reports that, in the Rye Sub-Division anyway, the Sussex Police Christmas drink-driving campaign seems to have had a good effect. There was a bad start, with numbers up rather than down (five or six cases a week is above average for the sub division); but just before Christmas the message must have got through, because the Lion Intoxicator at the police station spent a bored and lonely Christmas and New Year with nothing to do at all!
A forged £5 note turned up in the town recently - less usual (and less painful) than a £10 or £20 forgery, but worth being wary of all the same.
Following the vandalism just before Christmas at Paygate Cottage in Udimore Road, four people (two juveniles and two adults) have been reported for summons.
Since 1977, the total number of crimes reported in the Rye sub-division each year has been somewhere not much over 700, with about a 50% detection rate. In 1982; the number rose unexpectedly to 909; the 1983 figure has, we are happy to say, dropped back to normal at 727 - and this includes crimes ranging from major burglaries to cash ill-advisedly left in a pocket in the school cloakroom.
The Rye sub-division covers 200 square miles, with 14 miles of coastline, and runs from the Hastings Borough boundary to just beyond Camber village. The police reckon the normal winter population to be somewhere around 22,000; in summer, they think, it could easily be three times that number. (Rother Council at Battle once told us that they reckoned there could be 10,000 people on Camber beach on a fine day in August!)
Rye suffered its fair share of falling tiles in the recent gales, to judge from debris on the pavements. But we hear of no major damage except to the big cedar tree in the churchyard, which lost several large branches in the early hours of Friday. It now looks far from happy, though luckily no damage was done to the venerable beech beside it.
Several readers have told us that the Mr. G. Bell we mentioned last week as presenting a seat to the churchyard must surely be George Bell, formerly of Sea View Terrace, who left Rye some years ago after the death of his wife to be near his family in Cheshire. He and Mrs. Bell are still remembered with great affection by friends at the top of the town.
Canon Maundrell wonders how many people have noticed that the St. Mary's clock has temporarily ceased to strike the hours, though the Quarter Boys are still busy at the quarter-, half- and three-quarter-hours? Accidental damage to the works has silenced the hourly bell. The clock is due to be serviced anyway at the end of this month, so the Rector hopes that all will be well then.
The Sussex Express is among a group of newspapers (including the Hastings Observer) which has just been sold by the Westminster Press to a local newspaper group from Harrogate headed by Mr. Robert Breare and Mr. P. Popple. It will be interesting to see what the group does with its new acquisitions; an item on Coast to Coast on Monday forecast an increase in the number of free papers at the expense of the paid-for ones with, possibly, some changes in emphasis seen in news reporting; but it was dealing with the local press in Kent, not here.
We are happy to reassure readers that Mr. Breare has made no approach whatever to the GAZETTE!
7.
Rye Baptist Church is applying for planning permission to construct a private car park on its land between the back of the church and the market, with access from the lane running down to the vet's surgery. Mr. Davison tells us that if they get permission, they will put the work in hand right away, since they are anxious to get it done before the summer for the benefit of out-of-town worshippers who have problems parking near the church. It will also, of course, benefit the Day Centre members, who will be able to arrive at the door instead of having to negotiate the side ramps up to the road.
Rother Council wants to allow the ice-cream van on to the Salts every year for the six summer months. Last year's experiment did not apparently cause any great upset, and brought in £1,000; but the estimates for 1983/4 show a sum of £500 only, so perhaps the sales were not as successful as the operator had hoped.
Chris Bell, formerly of Thomas Peacocke School and now in charge of the Rye ATC, recently attended an Outward-Bound course at Loch Eil near Fort William. He was camping, mountaineering, canoeing, raft-building, rock climbing, sailing - and then joined an expedition to climb seven 3,000-foot mountain peaks which was in fact cut short by various injuries within the group. Sunday, he says, was a day of rest - ie. orienteering in a thick forest, a cross-country run, films and a tug of war "but you do get some time to do the washing" (oh yes?). Chris obviously enjoyed it very much, and learnt a lot, he tells us; doubtless the ATC will learn some of it too as time goes on.
Long-standing readers will know that the GAZETTE does not attempt court reports since the main Rye Magistrates' Court coincides with our Wednesday morning delivery round. The Sussex Express does attend Rye Court, but naturally enough only reports cases which it considers to be of wide interest. We wondered if there were occasionally details which the Magistrates would like publicised, such as commendations to local people who had helped the police, and we asked the Clerk to the Justices whether it would be possible for us to enquire each week from the Rye office if anything of this kind had come up. The answer, readers may be sorry to hear, is that it is not possible. So, if there is a good-news story arising out of Court proceedings, we would much appreciate it if someone concerned would tell us so that we can give proper credit to those involved.
The start of the traditional 'flu season is perhaps the moment to remind readers of what would happen about the paper if the Editor were laid low. Assuming the copies were already printed and labelled, we would hope to have them delivered in bulk to our pick-up points, as follows:
Cadborough Stores: everything uphill from West Undercliff.
Squirrels: the rest of Udimore Road and Ferry Road, plus Cinque Ports Street as far as the station approach, and the Wish area, and the Strand.
Freezer Centre: the rest of Cinque Ports Street, and all the Rope Walk and Landgate area, and Hilder's Cliff.
Tuck Shoppe: everything uphill from the High Street.
Penny Royal: High Street, Market Road, The Mint.
(Copies would be left at Hazel's, Lower School and the George Hotel as usual, but with no extras.)
If we were unable to print at all, subscriptions would be extended as appropriate at the end of the current quarter; and we would try and let our pick-up points know the position.
8.
Thursday, 19th Coffee morning, Greyfriars League of Friends, Social Services office (25 Cinque Ports Street), 10.30 to 12
Thrift Shop, Red Cross Centre, 10.30 to 4 (and Friday, Saturday) Rye and District Council of Churches AGM, Baptist Church, 7
Friday, 20th All-night vigil of prayer, Methodist Church, 8
Saturday, 21st Celebration evening, "Christian Unity", Methodist Church, 7.30
Chamber of Trade dinner and dance, George Hotel
Monday, 23rd Women's British Legion meeting, Red Cross, 7.30
Tuesday, 24th TPS Parents Evening, 2nd year (Ferry Road)
Wednesday, 25th Over-60s Club, Red Cross, 1.45
• Congratulations to Mr. Tom Clark and his wife Louie, of Kings Avenue, who celebrated their Golden Wedding on 6 January; they were married in St. Mary's in 1934.
• Readers will doubtless notice the very elegant posters which the Conservation Society is putting up in the town in the course of its membership drive. Annual subscriptions are now due (£2 for individuals, £3 for married couples) and should be paid to Mr. Frank Palmer, The Strand (Rye 2226XX) - who would also be glad to hear from those wishing to join this watchdog group.
• Don't forget to look out for Dennis Kemp in our new telephone exchange (see GAZETTE no. 64) - BBC2, Monday 9.38 am or Friday (27th) 11.44 am.
• Mr. Gordon Stanbridge tells us that the RAFA coach trip to Hendon on 28 January is fully booked, with a waiting list; so, if you were thinking of going, he is sorry but it is too late.
• Two young ladies were involved in an accident outside the Queen Adelaide on Saturday afternoon - Miss Diane Tiltman of Kings Avenue came off her Honda in an attempt to avoid a girl pedestrian and was taken to Rye Hospital. She was, we are glad to say, released later after treatment for minor injuries.
• Mrs. Geraldine Bromley is looking for someone to help her clean and do the rooms at her guest house, Little Orchard in West Street. The hours could be extremely flexible. If you are interested, call and talk it over with her; but it would be best to phone first to make sure she is in (Rye 2238XX).
• The new Centre Organiser at the Red Cross is Mrs. Hilary Bolton, of Camber, already well known as the Centre's Welfare Officer. The new Secretary (with whom bookings for the Centre should be made) is Mrs. Diana James of Iden. The Red Cross is most grateful to retiring Organiser Mrs. Betty White, of Cadborough Cliff, who is continuing as a Centre officer, and to Lady Joy of Military Road, the outgoing Secretary.
• Despite dreadful weather for their January meeting, Rye WI members enjoyed a talk by Mr. Giddings of the SWA about the Bewl Bridge reservoir. Mr. Giddings kindly donated his fee to the local RNLI appeal (see last week's GAZETTE) and the WI members decided to have a sponsored "knit-in" for the same cause - more details, we hope, later.
• The new exhibition at the Easton Rooms, opening on 28 January, will be of paintings and prints, by various artists, of plants and flowers.
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office, and published by Mrs. Mary Owen, 94 Udimore Road, Rye (Rye 222303). News items for inclusion are always welcome - deadline Monday afternoon, Tuesday 9 am for emergencies. The GAZETTE costs 25p weekly and is delivered to subscribers and pick-up points on Wednesday; extra copies and back numbers can be ordered from 94 Udimore Road, while a few spares are available at Squirrels, 9-13 Cinque Ports Street, Rye.
(Copyright Mary Owen 1984)