There was some astonishing generosity in the town on Saturday. Mrs. Marjorie Twine and her helpers (including Janet and Ray Wood) held a coffee morning, with stalls, at her home in Pottingfield Road and raised £230 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Rye Memorial Hospital Fete took £793 before expenses (probably not more than £50, said treasurer Brian Tuck of Lloyds). And although the detailed results of the Lifeboat Week collections are not yet in, Joan Parkes says they will be well over £2,000 - thanks particularly to the group of oilskin-clad Round Tablers who collected £500, and the Bedford Arms which contributed £50 from a silly-cricket match. Earlier in the week, a coffee morning in Mill Road brought in £189 for the Arthritis & Rheumatism Council - kind hosts were Mr. and Mrs. quick.
Orange tape closing off the Gas Works car park last week caused some surprise - not to say mild alarm among those who read the notice referring darkly to residues! The problem arose when someone pointed out to Rother (who lease the car park from the Gas Board) that there were some patches at the river end of the site where the surface had an odd blue-green stain: could this be a nasty, seeping up from the bowels of the gas-works (closed in 1958)? Playing safe, Rother shut the car park and consulted the Gas Board. Yesterday, workmen (quite unworried and without protective clobber of any kind) took soil samples, to be analysed at the Board's central laboratories in Old Kent Road.
Worrying about the loss of quite a large car-park in the middle of the holiday season, Rother has given itself emergency powers to use the Fair Salts if necessary. However, as long as the weather continues dry so that Gibbet Marsh is usable, it shouldn't be necessary; and anyway, the Salts are booked for the Fair from 25 July, so we must all hope that the Gas Board's lab will be able to make a quick decision about why the Wish Street park is blotched with blue, and what should be done about it.
Forty members of the EF Benson Society were privileged to take luncheon on Sunday at Lamb House, at the hospitable invitation of Sir Brian and Lady Batsford. This was the high point of the Society's Rye weekend, which had begun with a tour of the town on Saturday morning, a walk to Benson's grave in the cemetery and back along Military Road in the afternoon, and out along the old tramway in the evening. (One very small dog did all three walks, and she finished, her owners said, very much less exhausted than they were!) The sun emerged on Sunday in time to persuade the ladies to wear garden-party hats; a delicious cold collation was _provided by Simmons Restaurant, a feast for the eye as well as the palate which even Lucia might have envied, and the guests lolled on the grass or in chairs under the trees, sipping their wine and scrambling in a civilised way for the last slice of a particularly exquisite hazelnut gateau! Tea at Robin Hill, which members of the committee have rented for the week, provided a pleasant close to the event.
On Tuesdays and Fridays, Rye Hospital patients will be able to enjoy the arrival of a trolley shop, bringing sweets, stationery and toiletries to their bedside. Miss Pembleton asked the WRVS if they might be able to provide this service, and Mrs. Harland of New England Lane has taken it on. As well as selling her usual stock, she will be happy to take orders for particular items, buying them in the town and bringing them to the patient on her next visit. The whole venture is non-profit-making, as is the similar service at Greyfriars.
2.
A water-skiing accident at Castle Water on Saturday resulted in the tragic death of Tim Docksey, aged 27, of Hastings. He was being towed by a speedboat when he collided with a moored vessel, receiving head injuries from which he died in RESH that evening. Tim was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Docksey of Broad Oak; he had been a pupil at Thomas Peacocke School, where his mother Molly was for many years on the staff. His wife is expecting their first baby this month. To say that everyone is very sorry seems hopelessly inadequate...
Mrs. Molly Vickers of Fair Meadow died in Rye Hospital on 10 July. She is survived by her husband, son and daughter and five grandchildren. The funeral took place at Tunbridge Wells yesterday, with family flowers only; donations in her memory may be sent to the League of Friends at Rye Hospital.
TPS staff have so far heard from three ex-pupils with university successes to report. Robert Pickering of Camber tops the list, with a spectacular First in Computer Studies at Imperial College, London - closely followed by Amanda Briggs of Pett with a 2.1 Mixed Honours degree from Cambridge (Philosophy plus Social and Political Science). With one year to go at Cambridge, Paul Chillingworth of Lea Avenue has also gained a 2.1, in Part I of his Maths Tripos. Congratulations to all three - any more?
Progress Prizes were presented at Lower School on 10 July to 17 pupils who had in one way or another done just that little bit more at school - not necessarily only in the classroom - in the course of the past year. First-year winners were Rosemary McLellan, Denise Whittington, James Bailey, Maurice Goodwin and Timothy Saunders (who also won the Classical Studies Prize). In the second year, prizes went to Debbie Fryer, to Eliza Phillippidis, and to Loraine Charman and Natalie Ward (who also shared the June Homard Shield for general helpfulness in school). The Chess Cup went to Brett Looker, and the Maths Prize to Robert Pearson; they were also among the eight 2nd-year boys to win Progress Prizes, joining Neil Brown, Simon East, Peter Fee, Christopher Mathews, Barry Stunt and Matthew Wilkinson. Nicholas Hart won the single-wicket trophy. The prizes were presented by ex-Rye Grammar School pupil Michael Hills, Manager of the Overseas Branch of the National Westminster Bank; he had, he told his audience, not done too well at school, and it was only as a junior clerk at the bank's Heathfield branch that ambition seized him and his career really took off - as a result of that vital little bit of extra effort.
Leaving Lower School at the end of this term is Mr. David Walton, who has taught English and History and been in charge of the library; Mr. Walton, who was on the staff of the Secondary Modern School, is taking early retirement. Miss Dyer (Art) is also leaving, as is Mr. Thomas's secretary Vivien Mathews who is to be married next month and will be moving from Rye. Miss Hill of the PE staff is leaving Upper School - and so is Mrs. Margaret Woolard, who taught at the Secondary Modern for four years before crossing the Rother to The Grove. At Thomas Peacocke, Mrs. Woolard has been Meryon House mistress since 1973; she taught Maths, and more recently Needlework, and has been very involved in helping pupils with work experience and careers generally - her own experience will be much missed by staff and pupils alike. Mr. Gil Wright (English) has also made his mark on the school, which he joined in 1980 - both he and his solicitor wife Fay have been leading members of the staff dramatic society, also helping with pupils' dramatic activities (in the traditional sense, of course!). Mr. and Mrs. Wright are leaving for Dorset, where she has been offered a job too good to resist.
Julia Thomas at Leasam House would welcome any offers of help for the summer playscheme, which runs for the first two weeks of the holidays - from parents, of course, but also perhaps from older pupils: any public-spirited work of this kind, she points out, does look good on a subsequent UCCA form or job application! All sorts of activities are planned; for details, ring Julia- she will be very pleased to hear from you.
- 3 - THE RYE GAZETTE, 16 July 1986
Saturday's noontide wedding, with plenty of well-wishers to welcome the bride as she arrived at St. Mary's, was between Alison Hill of Peasmarsh and Peter Neurater. Alison is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Clifford Hill; both her parents are much involved with religious affairs, taking part in conferences and lectures in this country and abroad. Dr. Hill's late father Bill was a staunch member of the Congregational Church, and the Rev. Ralph Essex assisted Canon David Maundrell in the marriage service. Alison arrived at the church in a white Rolls; waiting for her were three bridesmaids, all cousins of her own or Peter's, wearing pink crinoline dresses with ruched bodices and full sleeves, with ribbon neckbands and flower head-dresses in white, pink and green. Alison wore a white hooped crinoline with a deeply flounced lace bodice and hem and a full-length veil, and carried a bouquet of pink and red flowers set off with ivy tendrils (all the bridal flowers were by Rachel Sarrieddine). The anthems during the service (Mozart's Ave Verum and Purcell's Rejoice in the Lord Aiway) were sung by Madrigalia, whom Peter's mother had heard at the Cheltenham Festival. Two grandmothers, one from each family, were present, with Mrs. Edie Hill (nee Baker) as senior representative of the Peasmarsh side. The reception was held at Maidstone, where the couple will be living (both have jobs there); they refused adamantly, Mrs. Hill senior tells us, to disclose the honeymoon destination!
Bastille Day on Monday was a bank holiday in France - which accounts, the Harbour office told us, for the large number of visiting French yachts in Rye, taking advantage of the long weekend; there were visitors, too, from Holland and Germany among the fifty or so boats of all shapes and sizes whose assorted pennants fluttered so cheerfully in the sunshine as the afternoon tide rose.
The star attraction was undoubtedly Paul Kennard's "Mascotte", back at the quay to have her mast and engine installed. On Sunday morning a not-very-large crane wrestled manfully with the enormous mast - no taller than many of the yacht masts around it, but at least twice as thick - for more than an hour before it was finally dropped neatly into the socket in the deck. By afternoon a bosun's chair was rigged up which enabled Paul to be hauled up to the top of the mast he had made himself, to take photographs of the scene - a proud man enjoying a very proud moment. The engine also went aboard, so once the rigging is finished work can start on the living quarters below deck.
The endless complaints about the Station Approach loos continue, mostly in connection with their filthy condition - "the town should be ashamed" said one visitor. What will bring an end to them, everyone hopes, is the building of the new public toilet block as part of the supermarket development around the station.
A recent Rother committee agenda revealed that Rother was being asked to contribute up to £17,000 towards the cost of these loos - since what is required is going to cost more than the supermarket developers were pledged to - so we checked on the position with Peter Bridges at Battle and got good news. Work really is imminent on the new railway car park, and he tells us that the loos are being built as part of this first stage, all on the far side of Station Approach from the main site. So presumably, if all goes according to plan, both the old loos and the complaints they engender may well be a thing of the past by Christmas
As for Rother's £17,000, the pain of this should be reduced by the news that there was a £6,700 "overspend" on the work on the Strand Quay toilets. The provision of a wheelchair-access loo there was originally costed into the estimates at £11,000, but this allowed for adding an extension to the existing building; in the end, they found that it could all be fitted into the present space by converting a store-room, so the job only cost C4,300 - and as we reported in May, for that Ellis Bros managed to rehabilitate the Ladies as well (we didn't actually venture to inspect the Gents).
4.
... to the Southern Water Authority, who last week set in place at Strand Quay stout wooden ladders down to low-tide level on the town side, making life simpler for the crew members whose boats are moored there (but just too late for your reporter's scramble down to Albarquel the previous weekend!).
• To Courage, brewers, (and Ellis Bros) for the beautiful repainting job at the Pipemakers Arms; the work included the removal of the rather tawdry coloured lights and the erection of a new (and, we hope, lorry-proof) hanging sign, as well as some very expert signwriting straight onto the pebble-dash surface.
• To ESCC Highways for the row of bollards fencing off the cobbled area beside Strand Quay where the new seats are set, with a start on the patch next door.
• To Turner Bros of Winchelsea (and of course to Trust House Forte) for making such a lovely job of patching one of the George Hotel entrance pillars. These are not made of stone, but of wood; a careful study of the right-hand one will show where a new section was spliced in to replace rotten wood, and then shaped freehand to match the curve.
• To Rother Council, for the smart new doors to their garage at the top of Cyprus Place.
... and finally to Rother's dustmen, who did the Town Hall a good turn recently. Looking for somewhere other than the attic stairs to house the surplus chairs, the Town Sergeant started to turn out the downstairs cupboard. The mound of rubbish in the forecourt grew and grew (it included a lavatory cistern!) - and there was a coffee morning due there next day... The Town Clerk is really very grateful to Ringo's mates for shifting the heap so promptly.
Complaints having reached the GAZETTE about barbed wire perilously close to pedestrians and cars in that permanent headache, Deadman's Lane, we went to have a look. Five strands of spiked wire embellished the boundary at the foot of Mr. Trundle's Hilden garden - a risk to the paintwork of a car, the clothes of a pedestrian and particularly to the eyes of a child. We pointed this out to Mr. Trundle, who assures us that the wire is only temporary - an immediate reaction to his fence being felled by a lorry and a subsequent break-in to his garden shed beside the lane. He too is not really happy about the safety aspect, and has now decided to replace the barbed wire with something less dangerous.
The current exhibition at the Rye Art Gallery in 0ckman's Lane, "The Cinque Ports", remains open until 17 August; the gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 to 1 and 2.15 to 5, and on Sunday afternoons from 2.30 to 5.
The exhibits include a very pleasant selection of paintings, prints and even an occasional old photograph, all relating to one or another aspect of the Cinque Ports, and lent by Kent and Sussex museums and councils. There are also documents and souvenirs - including a cherished paper napkin commemorating Lord Curzon's installation as Lord Warden in 1894. The painter George Graham is represented several times, notably by a view of the Ypres Tower with its tiled roof still in place and a cottage chimney close beside it, and a view of Rye Mill with the old sluice in front. There is also a 1909 drawing of a fishing-boat under construction on the bank of the Rother, by Martin Hardie. Non-Rye pictures which caught the eye were an 1843 view of Folkestone showing an immense railway viaduct leading down to the harbour station (is this still there?). A charming study of Hastings from the sea in 1882 shows bathing-machines drawn up on the edge of the water - but apparently no harbour arm. There are lots more; do make a point of visiting this exhibition.
The Paddy Aiken photographs of Camber Castle (GAZETTE no. 184) are now on view in the Library reading-room, eight on show at a time, accompanied by maps and prints relating to the Castle's history - all whetting the appetites of those barred from looking at the place itself.
5.
Mrs. Anne Moore, who lives in Battle, is the Rother Councillor for Sedlescombe and also a County Councillor, and she was one of those in the top-brass party which escorted Lord Vinson on his tour of the Rural Development Area (GAZETTE no. 175). She was therefore also one of those who heard Robin Paine in the Hatleys development speaking with feeling about the problems created for the new businesses there by the enormous (and unheralded) rates bill which had recently landed on their doormats; a proportion of the previous year's rates plus those for the coming year added up to almost £1,000.
Rother's Policy and Resources Committee tonight considers a request from Mrs. Moore which - she tells us - stems from that visit, though it has wider implications. She asks the Committee "to consider reinstating the Council's former policy of giving assistance with rates for small businesses when they are starting up. The first year is clearly the most important for this, but I think it would also be helpful if one could taper the grant off over the first few years until the firm was established." Mrs. Moore then refers to the Harbour Road units, and concludes "I feel it would be a way in which this Council could make a real contribution to revitalising the economy of the area, and assisting with the employment problem."
The press book this week shows various thefts: £30 in cash stolen from the SWA Scots Float depot, a 201b anchor taken between 30 June and 3 July from a mooring at Rye Harbour, a cheque card and cheque-book removed from Camber beach when the owner had not been keeping an eye on them, a Cancer Relief collecting box stolen from the Cinque Ports Hotel between 3 and 5 July, and two thefts from Castle Water: £250-worth of seat modules stolen from a speedboat between 22 June and 5 July, and various boat parts including steering wheel and steering gear and a Mercury outboard engine which went missing between early May and 6 July. And we offer condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Gamier, whose pick-up truck, parked peaceably outside the Council garages near Banister's Corner, had its £200 windscreen deliberately smashed by one of a gang of youths who threw a dustbin at it one Saturday night recently. A local man who saw most of what was going on was not able to identify for certain which of the six actually threw the bin, so they all had to be allowed home to Bromley unhindered, alas!
When the Transport Act becomes law in October, there is likely to be a new ESCC-sponsored bus-pass system covering the whole county - instead of the present patchwork operated by some local authorities (eg. Hastings) and not others (eg. Rother). Beneficiaries will be those who are of pensionable age, the blind, people who have difficulty in walking, and scholars aged between 16 and 18. ESCC will be "wholesaling" the passes to local authorities, who will then retail them to eligible individuals at whatever discount a Council reckons it can afford.
Rother is at present wondering how it can best participate in the scheme. There is no money in this year's estimates to allow for subsidised fares, let alone free travel; the proposal is that for the rest of the financial year the passes should be available at cost (ie. at what Rother pays ESCC for them) and the Council will discuss what can be done in future years when they have better information about what the take-up is likely to be.
The system will be based on an identity card with a photograph; this will be a one-off purchase, which can then be used to buy a pass each year. Ted Joy, who wrote the report going before Rother's Policy and Resources Committee this evening, assures us that full details will be issued when Rother actually starts to operate its scheme, some time in the autumn.
In the meantime, if you are eligible, it might be worth having a photograph taken in readiness if you happen to be anywhere near a photo-booth. It comes expensive having to go over to Hastings specially, when the time to order yourself a card arrives.
6.
Regular readers will know that for several years now there have been problems at the Museum with water penetrating the (theoretically) stout stone walls of the Ypres Tower. The building belongs to Rother, who inherited it from the old Borough Council, and it is leased to the Museum Association, with Rother responsible for the maintenance of the fabric.
Over the past two years, while the Museum staff have struggled with flooded floors and weeping walls and windows, Rother has been in consultation with English Heritage. This is the organisation in charge of the nation's historic buildings and sites generally; it is otherwise known as the Historic Buildings & Monuments Commission, alias the Department of the Environment, and originally the Ministry of Works, and it is supposed to be expert in dealing with this sort of problem. But it seems fair to say that as far back as 1982 the Museum Association committee was almost permanently worried about problems with damp, which had started after the roof had been resurfaced and the pointing newly re-done by Rother using a type of mortar especially recommended by the D o E! Eric Le Fevre said then that this hard mortar was not suitable and could only lead to trouble - and how right he was...
The comments from English Heritage recorded in a report to Rother's Staff & General Purposes Committee last week don't mention this. There is the possibility of a grant for a major preservation effort, but a specification of costings is required, and the committee instructed the Chief Technical Officer to get on with this, and to seek tenders. Mr. Clarke had already prepared a rather depressing report on the condition of the tower (appendix A to agenda item 6.3, S & GP Committee, 9 July, for those who want to read it in full). The basic trouble seems to be that the water off the (waterproof) roof runs straight down the walls and creeps round the edges of the mortar joints into the building. We suppose it would be quite indefensible in terms of conservation simply to instal some decent guttering?
• Freda Gardham School has won a £100 award in the WE Smith Young Writer's Competition, and individual certificates for good work have gone to 4th-year pupils Theresa Balcombe, Abigail Standen and Julie Young, and to Kellie Penfold, Simon Rice, Luke Rozier, Edward Thomas and Martyn Woollett in the 3rd year. In the "Cadbury's Book of Children's Poetry" to be issued as a Beaver paperback in September, there will be poems by Julie Young, Kevin Mallen, Claire Bayntun, Simon Rice, Nicholas Robus, Martyn Woollett and Nadia Bagwell; and Highly Commended certificates issued by Cadbury's have gone to Theresa, Claire, Simon, Edward and Abigail as above, plus Tanya Bagwell, Sophie Blattman, Alix East, Sara Heffernan and Joanne Weeks.
• There were 7,000 entries in a recent competition held by Barclays Bank for its under-18 savers, so the Rye Branch is proud to announce that one of the hundred second-prize winners is its customer Clare Summers, of Tibbs Farm in Udimore. Clare, who is 15, wins a pop video tape - an appropriate prize, since the competition was titled "What's in a hit?"
• Leslie Woolley of Cinque Ports Street and Keith Hale of New Winchelsea Road have both been awarded silver pins by the British Tenpin Bowling Association for services to the sport. Both have been involved with tenpin bowling for more than 25 years, Mr. Woolley mainly in administration while Mr. Hale has been in bowling centre management, promotion and journalism. In his spare time, Mr. Woolley is an enthusiast for snooker locally; Mr. Hale prefers the outdoor life, and is a member of Rye Bowls Club.
• Rye Colts (under-13) cricketers have had an enjoyable season in the new Newbery Friendly League. They beat The Grove, Hillcrest, William Parker 'B', Bexhill Colts and Sidley Colts, and lost to Westerleigh, Claremont and Vinehall and to William Parker 'Al. 19 boys played in matches and several others in the two practice games.
7.
This week sees an interesting application for Strand quay: Ward Associates of Beckley, as prospective purchasers, are asking for full planning permission to convert the ex-Colebrooke warehouse behind the Ship Inn into two shops, two flats, a maisonette and three garages. The plans available at the Council offices show a conversion which does its best to retain the warehouse atmosphere. The building at present belongs to Mr. McEntee of Icklesham, who had it re-roofed recently - no small undertaking, since from outside it looks like two buildings, one much taller than the other and therefore with two separate roofs. Further down, the brickwork is badly in need of repointing and even repair in places, though the planking at first-floor level is in better order than some at Strand quay. (Presumably, if the application goes through, the Ship Inn will do something about the rubbish stacked outside its back door in the alley between it and the warehouse?) The only other Rye application this week is from Mr. and Mrs. Fox, asking for change of use of part of Playden Cottage in Military Road to a guest-house.
Saturday fortnight, 2 August, had better be a fine day: Round Table have picked it for their annual Carnival. The procession will start to assemble at Tilling Green from 11.30; entries for the children's fancy-dress competition should be there by 12 (the organisers promise that every entrant will get a prize of some sort). Judging of floats and fancy-dress will be at about 12.30, for a departure at 1.15. Floats can be entered in the commercial or non- commercial class, with prizes of £30, £15 and £5 in each class - and points won go towards a float's total for the News Cup which covers all the local carnivals. As well as the floats and the fancy-dressers, the procession will include at least two bands and two groups of majorettes, and will be led by Miss Rye as it winds its way through the town and down to the Salts.
Here the attractions will include a clown act - Paddywack and Supermouse, with an exploding car; "Japanese wrestling giants" - not actually Sumo supermen, we gather, but enormous rubber figures; and a low wire act - or not-very-high tightrope, perhaps? There will be plenty of stalls, both commercial and charitable (usually some rather good crafts turn up), a bar and refreshments, sideshows, several entertainments specially for children - and instead of a raffle, something called roller-dice with a Metro car as prize! The programmes should be on sale by the weekend of 25 July - and prospective car-buyers should make quite sure they have one, since Skinners have offered £50 to Round Table funds for every sale of a new or second-hand car during the first two weeks of August as long as the buyer produces a Carnival programme.
Enquiries about floats and the procession generally should go to Eric Bourne (Rye 224188), and about stalls to Colin Stutely - office hours in each case. They would particularly like to know in advance about floats.
Now that former "spares" customers have had the chance to become regular subscribers, we shall be printing only a handful of extra copies each week. The Editor will be carrying these round with her ("Stop me and buy one!") while they last; if you want to be sure of one, phone before the issue goes to press mid-morning on a Tuesday. Extra copies started when the printing was done in-house and cost very little; now that it is done commercially, any unsold copies represent a trading loss which the paper's finances will not stand - even though Cinque Ports Stationers do give us very generous terms.
Family holiday plans mean that this year the GAZETTE will not print on the last two Wednesdays in August. The next issue after 13 August will come out on 3 September. If you need advance publicity for any event during the second half of August, you must get in touch with us by 11 August at the very latest.
Next week - Royal Wedding Day - pick-up points are likely to get their batches early, but letter-box deliveries may arrive at any time during the day!
Thrift Shop, Red Cross IN, 10.30 to 4 (and Friday and Saturday)
Last day of term (school starts again on Tuesday, 2 September) Rye Conservative Association coffee morning and bring-and-buy, 11 High Street (by kind invitation of Mrs. Festing), 10.30
Methodist Church Summer Sale, Methodist Hall, 10 Royal Wedding (but not, alas, a public holiday)
• Welcome home to Mrs. Barbara Lloyd of East Street, after several months away from Rye as a result of breaking a leg when she slipped while doing the St. Mary's flowers.
• This was the RAF's year to manage the Royal Tounament, so Gordon Stanbridge was particularly proud to carry the Northiam and Rye RAFA Branch standard in the arena on the day that Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson visited the show.
• Mr. George Shipton of Devonport House would very much like to thank the couple who picked him up and dusted him down the other day when he had a fall in the street - he doesn't know who they were, but he is very grateful.
• The donors of Rye Harbour's new lifeboat are the Lewes Branch of the RNLI; they raised the money, and HQ suggested it would be suitably spent on a be for Sussex. Doubtless the Harbour will be able to thank representatives of the Branch in person when the boat is dedicated - probably in September, when the holidays are over and the slipway likely to be reasonably clear.
• Although it was 14 years ago that Sheila Barton took over the job of WRVS Organiser in Rye from Marjorie Spratt, it is over 20 years (not "nearly" 20, as we said in last week's birthday greeting) since she first started sending out the cards to tell drivers and mates when their meals-on-wheels duties came round. In fact she is now in her 23rd year of doing this particular job, and calculates that she has sent out 7,962 cards in that time:
• The chair-seat which took an open-air drive last week has been restored to its grateful owner by Mr. and Mrs. Stanton of Cliff Court, who rescued it from the Military Roadside and left it tentatively with the Globe Inn, not knowing what else to do with it - until they read their GAZETTE: (If you lose something, we'll be happy to try and find it for you too.)
• Help the Aged is collecting old spectacles, frames, odd lenses and cases between now and September, and at River Books in Lion Street Anne Hamilton has a box for this purpose. They will be refurbished, graded, and eventually sent to elderly people in the poorer parts of the world who would otherwise have no spectacles at all. Anne is not sure just how far into September the appeal runs - so if you have anything for her box, perhaps it would be best to take it in at once?
• Saturday, 26 July, will offer a real pleasure for garden-lovers. Four Church Square householders are opening their gardens to the public that afternoon, from 2 to 6; £1 secures admission to all four, and teas are to be available. Mr. Banks, Mrs. James, Mr. and Mrs. Watson and Mrs. Proctor will be at home at no. 18, The Jolly Sailor, no. 32 and no. 46, to raise money for the Friends of Rye Art Gallery, so the organisers hope for lots of visitors - and a fine day.
The fearful noise at 2 am last Wednesday was a rail-grinding machine working along our line, with showers of vivid sparks and clouds of smoke: "a free fireworks display?" said BR's David Woodhouse hopefully when someone rang Ashford to complain:
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office, published by Mrs. Mary Owen, 2 Cyprus Place, Rye, TN31 7DR (0797 222303), and printed by Cinque Ports Stationers of Rye. Deadline is Monday afternoon for each Wednesday's issue, delivered to subscribers and pick-up points in the town. The paper costs 30p, and spare copies and back numbers may be available from Cyprus Place. (Copyright Mary Owen 1986)