In the course of checking Community Centre bookings for the Town Diary, we were extremely interested to find that the Department of Transport has just booked the hall provisionally for Thursday to Saturday, 7 to 9 May (they will have to work round the WI Market on the Friday). What for? They didn't tell Mrs. Metcalf, but we may all draw our own conclusions, and mark the dates in our diaries - if in pencil only for the present, in view of the D o T's track record here so far!
If this event - whatever it may be - is one to which the D o T will wish to invite Town and District Councillors for a preview, they are going to have a problem. On 7 May, there won't be any Councillors! It is election day for Parish and District Councils here and elsewhere, and all Councillors automatically stand down on the Wednesday to make room for those declared elected after the count on the Friday. To make sure they have invited all those ultimately successful, the Department will presumably need to ask every Rye candidate for both Councils. Incidentally, if a General Election should be announced for 7 May, the local elections will have to be moved to the end of the month; Rother staff, who deal with the Bexhill parliamentary constituency as well as their own and all the Parish Council elections, are doubtless praying hard...
St. John Nursing Cadets Sgt. Claire Piper and Cpl. Denise Thomson reached the top of their profession - as cadets - on Friday evening, when they were presented with their Grand Prior badges by the Commissioner for Sussex, Mr. JHS Shippam; he came all the way from Chichester for the occasion.
The Grand Prior award is the top of the ladder of certificates for which all Marilyn Mitchell's girls work extremely hard. Normally it takes three years to gain all the 12 certificates required, but Claire works fast and she was given special permission to receive her award early. As well as annual certificates in Home Nursing and First Aid, the two girls selected a wide range of subjects, from Fire Fighting to Brass Rubbing. Displays at the St. John HQ on Friday illustrated the full quota. (Also on view were the pictures taken by Paula Sams and Ann Newman on their St. John-sponsored training cruise in the Malcolm Miller in 1985.)
Most of the 33 nursing cadets in the Division (which has a waiting-list) were on parade. Zena Streeton, Marie Magrath, Sally Mitchell, Sheila Crisford, Claire Beamish, Victoria Beach, Jayne Burns, Tina Burns, Sara Crisford, Nadine Mitchell, Natasha Mitchell, Amanda Ockenden, Kirsty Piggott, Angela Robus and Helen Robus were presented with assorted certificates by Commissioner Shippam. Three cadets are now only two certificates short of their dozen for the Grand Prior badge; Mrs. Mitchell, who joined St. John when she was 7, has now seen (here and in her previous Division) at least 41 of her girls receive this award - an award which she never gained herself!
Jayne Burns was enrolled as a nursing cadet in an impressive ceremony which is probably one of the few occasions when Latin is spoken in Rye nowadays - the motto of the Order, "Pro fide, pro utilitate hominum", is part of the Code recited jointly by cadets and parents. Mr. Shippam had a special word for the parents, whose encouragement, he said, is vital to a child embarking on the long journey towards the Grand Prior award.
After the ceremonies and before the refreshments, visitors were invited to watch displays of first-aid (with some horrid stick-on wounds) and home nursing, with 8-year-old arms struggling bravely to fold a sheet. Temperatures were taken, bedding was changed, the Commissioner murmured words of encouragement, and a really good time was had by all.
2.
Mrs. Nellie Button, of New Road, died in King's College Hospital, London, on 17 February. She was the widow of Mr. John Button, who died suddenly in June, and she leaves a son and daughter and grandchildren. The funeral took place earlier this week.
Mrs. Annie Reed, who died in her sleep in Rye Hospital on 20 February, was 92. She came to Rye from Maidstone in the early 1920s with her late husband Arthur, who was one of the first conductors on the East Kent buses in Rye; he held the job for 36 years, and was very well known in the area. The family used to live in Pottingfield Road, but Mrs. Reed passed her last years very happily in Greyfriars. She leaves three sons and a daughter, nine grandchildren and 17 great-grand-children; two are in Australia, but she had the joy of seeing all the rest of her family during her last illness. The funeral is at Hastings crematorium on Tuesday (3 March) at 2.
We mentioned some weeks ago a problem over the lack of Station Approach bus timetables other than those of Hastings & District, and we sent a copy of the report to ESCC's Transport Design & Development at Lewes - the group set up to sort out (among other things) the problems which were likely to arise when all the buses went private last October.
TDD replies that "Hastings & District have always arranged for timetables to be displayed and they are continuing this practice; other operators have not made arrangements for the display of their timetables locally... The Council is considering a proposal to undertake a study to determine the most beneficial role it could play in this matter."
This last sentence sounds like something straight out of "Yes, Minister"! The most beneficial role ESCC could play is not to mess about considering proposals to undertake, etc., etc., but to do something quick, before the summer visitors start to arrive. For instance -
Last week a Hastings artist (without a car) had undertaken to deliver to Smallhythe a painting from the Easton Rooms. We found him at the gallery at noon, disconsolate; he had rung H & D to ask about buses to Tenterden and been told that there was only one, early in the morning. If he could get to Iden, he asked us, could he walk the rest of the way? We sent him down to the Council Offices, who found him a perfectly suitable Tenterden bus leaving an hour or so later. Why hadn't H & D seen fit to mention it Because it was a Fuggles bus, of course!
122 guests of the Town Council Bequests Committee sat down to a meal of ham, turkey, salad and Black Forest gateau at the Community Centre on Saturday afternoon. Town Councillors and their spouses, with the Mayoress, Town Clerk and other helpers, prepared and served the meal at the long tables, and it was a cheerful audience in party hats who settled down to watch the entertainment by the Limelighters, a group from Hastings. Comic songs alternated with golden oldies from the nine singers, who finished with some WW1 melodies which must have brought back poignant memories for the oldest members of the audience.
Thanking the group, the Mayor also thanked her helpers and particularly Lesley Scammell for the weeks and weeks of work which had gone into the preparation of the party - always a much-enjoyed event. Take-home presents of mints were distributed - and to round off the entertainment one of the Councillors sang to the party; this is less improbable than it sounds, since it was Ringo, backed by his formidable music centre and sounding just like someone on the telly. Two coaches took most of the guests home (but it seemed a pity that they couldn't have picked up outside the Centre, so that the over-70s need not have walked down the hill in the dark and then boarded the coach from the middle of the road!).
3 - THE RYE GAZETTE, 25 February 1987
Yvonne Metcalf at the Community Centre is grieved to find, this year, that entries for the Pancake Race next Tuesday are not as sizzling as usual, and there are still half-a-dozen places left. The contestants aim to get sponsor- ship in advance from their friends/customers, and all the places are normally filled by the staff of the town's hotels and restaurants and pubs. But if an individual, perhaps someone from a quite different type of business, would like to take up a vacant place, Mrs. Metcalf would be delighted; she will be at the Community Centre from 9 to 12 on Friday and Monday mornings.
Prospective runners are reminded that every entrant gets a goodie-bag from the generous Gas Board, quite apart from the main prizes which the Board is also providing.
Rother has decided to appoint a dog-warden - not a permanent appointment, for this first year, but a contract with a firm which specialises in such work and which is appropriately called K9 (why? - try saying it aloud...). There has been talk about the warden being responsible for catching strays, and for educating dog-owners; but what Rye in general expects from him (or her) is some very forceful action over people who allow their dogs to make messes on the pavement or on public land. A little persecution, in a place as small as this, would go a long way with proper publicity! Rye and Bexhill both have byelaws against dog-fouling, but Rye's is more wide-ranging, and it is important that we get our share of this new service. Bexhill won't know by instinct when our pavements are dirty, so it is up to Rye people to make sure that the Council is told; phone calls (9 216321) and letters to the Chief Executive at the Town Hall at Bexhill will remind him that we don't like dirty pavements or dirty grassed areas. For dog-owners, peace of mind (once the new warden is on the prowl) will lie in the purchase of a pack of plastic gloves and a roll of bags, if they have no garden in which the dog can be left to do its duty in decent privacy; the Pette Shoppe has plastic scoops made for the same purpose.
People who know very well who the regular offenders are, but who don't want to confront their neighbours in court, will certainly find the new dog-warden a help. He (or she) can be tipped off that it would be "useful" to cast an eye over a particular stretch of road or open space at a particular time; if a prosecution then results, the evidence will be given by the dog-warden in an official capacity - and the identity of the informant will remain protected.
Congratulations to our new Greenpeace group, which has made a very effective appearance here, raising almost £700 in its first three events (sponsored walk £264, carol-singing C85, jumble sale £345). Even more successful was the Benefit Gig at Ma Beeton's on St. Valentine's Day, which raised £452 - and was much appreciated by a wide spectrum of local society, with no trouble and immediate' requests for a repeat performance later in the year. As well as Louis Turpin's band, and Pass The Cat from Hastings, the audience heard Green for Love playing for ex-professional singer Julie Rohan-Gates from South Undercliff.
As a result of all this activity, the group have sent £880 to HQ. It meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 8.30 at 33 South Undercliff (the St. Margaret's Terrace end); the next meeting is on 3 March, new members very welcome.
In fact, it is probably still worth expressing an interest even if you are tottering towards your forties - but Rye Police are looking for mature and levelheaded people aged 25 to 35 to assist them as Special Constables. This must be one of the few jobs where the only financial reward is an annual boot allowance (plus some travelling expenses) - but Rye Police hope that their Specials also get some satisfaction from serving their community. If you are reasonably fit, the right age, and willing to help others in your spare time, call at the police station or ring Rye 222112 for more details.
4.
Rye's flag-days for the coming year were decided last week by a sub-committee of Rother's Staff & General Purposes Committee. The list is as follows:
Community Centre Association (Pancake Race) 3 March
Multiple Sclerosis Society 9 May
St. John Ambulance Brigade 30 May
Mencap 6 June
Alexandra Rose Day 20 June
RNIB 27 June
RNLI 18 July
ARC 5 September
RAF Association 19 September
British Legion (Poppy Day Appeal) 7 November.
Locally-represented groups which were unlucky this year were the Red Cross, Greenpeace and the Sea Cadets; Dr. Barnardo's, the British Polio Fellowship and the National Children's Homes were also turned down.
Now we know where we are about that, what about house-to-house collections? Readers will remember the situation last spring (GAZETTE nos. 177 and 181) when it became clear that two charities well-supported locally (RNIB and ARC) had both picked the same week to go round with tins. ARC gracefully stepped down in favour of RNIB, whose literature was already printed - whereupon the RNIB collectors were all too often pipped at the post by Spastics Society collectors appearing from nowhere to retrieve envelopes - indeed, some of the RNIB people were actually offered the Spastics envelopes! (As far as we know, there was no feedback to Rye about how much was collected in those envelopes the "local" charities, of course, always announce gratefully how they have done.)
We were cold-called the other evening by a stranger seeking a Spastics Society collector for May or June; when we expressed surprise at this approach out of the blue (how did she know we wouldn't simply go off with the envelopes?) she told us she had already recruited 30 collectors in Rye. If some of those 30 read the GAZETTE, may we ask them - since they have such a wide chdce of date - to be considerate enough to avoid collecting in a week already bespoken by another charity? In return, will local branch secretaries let us know as soon as possible which weeks they have chosen for their house-to-house collections, so that we can print a list before the end of March? Careful planning should make it possible to avoid any awkwardness, and enable people without unlimited spare cash to have some ready for their own pet cause.
The Gas Board has now finished in Traders Passage, and is getting on nicely in latchbell Street; on 9 March they move into The Mint. ESCC's cobbling team (led by Dennis Cutting of Broad Oak, who learnt the art from his late father Raymond, caretaker of Rye's cobbles for over 30 years) has started in Mermaid Street, arranging its working area to ensure that the garage owners can get out at all times. Once the Gas Board is out of Watchbell Street, the cobblers will move in. After three weeks in The Mint, the Gas Board will move into West Street - followed in due course by the cobblers. The Gas Board reckons to be finished entirely by Easter; the street repairs, cobbles and otherwise, will be taking a lot longer.
Various closure orders were advertised in the Sussex Express on Friday. When The Mint is closed to through traffic, it will become two-way to allow access from either end (one way is likely to be backwards, though!). The orders could in theory run until early July for Mermaid Street, and early September for the rest; but in practice this usually means that ESCC is playing safe, and with luck it won't really be that bad. There will be no waiting in Market Road, the section of High Street outside Goldens/Natwest, or in West Street. We aren't listing the diversions, since to Rye people they will be obvious. The dovetailing of the two operations must have been a nightmare; but the eventual result will be well worth it - pavements and all!
5.
The result of the questionnaire to shopkeepers about Sunday opening was very disappointing. Readers will remember (GAZETTE no. 203) that Rother wanted to tidy up the position, with its tangle of byelaws for summer Sundays in different places, but the Council needed two-thirds of the shopkeepers in the District to say yes before it could take any action.
945 questionnaires were sent out; 493 were returned, 327 saying yes, 148 saying no, 18 blank. 452 - almost half - were not returned at all. We would like to have said that at least the Rye shopkeepers did return theirs (whichever way they chose to vote), but alas, even this would not be true; Mr. Dennison at Battle, who was in charge of the exercise, tells us that the figure of 48% not returned was much the same throughout the District.
So now what? Rother has tried twice, with a proposal which would not have made any major alterations to the present byelaws but would at least have coordinated them throughout the District - and half our shopkeepers couldn't be bothered to express a view either way! So it's back to square one, with all its implications - implications particularly hard on the privately-owned shops which do open (and they are not all catering only for the tourist trade). Implications hard on Rother, too; if they are forced to prosecute, it takes up staff time and ratepayers' money. Hard on us all, really?
Rother provides various cleansing services for its residents; we thought readers might be interested to know just what these consist of, for Rye.
Rother spends getting on for £750,000 a year on refuse collection throughout the District. The 14 teams of dustmen collect the equivalent of 56,000 bins of rubbish a week, from 35,500 dwellings and 6,000 commercial or mixed premises. This is all taken to one of two tips - Rye's rubbish goes to Mountfield - where the problem becomes ESCC's, since District Councils collect refuse and County Councils dispose of it. The dustcarts - we have two, and four dustmen (one of them, of course, a Town Councillor) - have the hardest life of any of the normal road-going vehicles operated by the Council, and take up a lot of the maintenance team's time. As well as the regular collections, Rother makes special domestic collections for surplus settees, pianos, lawnmowers, mattresses, etc. - £2 a time (or £17.25 if you feel like chucking out a whole lorry-loads), a rate not increased since 1981, in an attempt to prevent countryside dumping.
Since all Rye is on main drainage, we needn't go into the details of sewage disposal (are country cesspits still emptied by a contractor with the very inappropriate name of Pearl?). But the Council is also responsible for cleaning the public loos, twice a day by a team of one man and one woman; we were sorry to see that the report named Rye as an area where vandalism is "a significant problem" in the loos.
Objectives and standards for street cleaning are defined in the report as "to cleanse highways (both carriageways and footways), public twittens, courts, etc., in the defined areas of the District so that they are clean and free from litter, broken glass, animal excrement, etc.". In Rye this is now done by the yellow Scarab, driven by one man with another pulling an electric storage cart in attendance on it; when Scarab is occasionally out of action, the team both use electric carts, but when it is working it can deal with the centre of Rye in three hours, leaving the rest of each day to cover the outlying areas and some of the villages on a fortnightly rota.
Finally, the litter-bins - perhaps one of the things most complained about in the town. There are apparently 60 or so in Rye, and they are emptied by tractor and trailer early every morning - except for Sundays in the winter. The street sweepers empty them again during the day, says the report. But since the sweepers normally only work in the middle of the town for the first three hours of each day, this presumably means that what is put in after 11 am stays there until next morning. So it would be helpful if people who must put their household rubbish in the bins would do so last thing at night, so that their sordid detritus is removed before the town gets busy next day.
6.
"It's a bit worrying that the Community Health Council doesn't seem to be hearing much about Rye Hospital these days" said its secretary Anthony Wade to the Community Lunch Group last week. There was a stunned silence; if Rye is happy with things as they are at the hospital, why should we be writing to the CHC? The new Hastings hospital is due to open in 1992, and we all know that our hospital is then likely to be at risk again - but now? Anyway, Mr. Wade says he would like to hear from all Rye Hospital users, particularly with reasons why they need to use this hospital as opposed to one at Hastings; hard facts rather than emotions are going to be the most use when it comes to the crunch later.
The future of Rye's accident unit is apparently still under discussion, and the CHC have been unable to find out whether it is still functioning at night or not - has anyone taken a minor accident up thae at night, and if so were they treated or told to go over to RESH? He really would like to know. He would also be glad to hear, as soon as possible after the event, from people who have had to wait longer than they think reasonable for out-patient treatment in Hastings: the hospital, the date, which clinic, and details of the timing involved. (Someone to complain to, at last! Don't just tell the neighbours, tell the CHC...) Hastings 433221 (CHC, St. Helen's Hospital, Fredericks Road, Hastings) will find Mr. Wade, eager to hear from you.
Earlier, he explained the function of the CHC. It stands in relation to the NHS just as the other Users' Groups do to the Post Office, the Gas Board, British Rail... The 200-odd Councils were set up in 1974, in rather belated response to the post-war consumer revolt against the "you-do-this-because-we-say-so" attitude of Them generally. There are 16 Hastings CHC members, all volunteers who give a great deal of time to the job; our nearest members are Bruce Palmer at Camber, Roy Pulford at Northiam and Constance Owen (co-opted) at Playden. The election procedure is incredibly complicated, and we will attempt to describe it when it happens again next year; but if someone from Rye is interested in becoming a member, doubtless Mr. Wade will be glad to explain the system. The Council meets monthly, in different parts of its area; members of the public are welcome, and are allowed to speak (within reason - no political harangues!) but "if we get five, it's a crowd" said Mr. Wade sadly. There are five teams (sub-committees) each angled towards a particular aspect of health care; the tiny drugs team is currently trying to find out more about the prevalence of Aids in the District, but is getting no help from the HHA.
To sum up; if you are unhappy with any aspect of health care here (or in Hastings) and can get no joy out of the people concerned, the CHC is here to advise you and if necessary pursue the complaint on your behalf. A phone call or letter could be the start of a new deal not only for you but also for other people with the same problem (and the system works, we've tried it!).
The Town Diary was very much impressed to receive from the Women's Section of the British Legion a list of fund-raising events until the end of the year - two in March and then one a month until December. On 7 March they open a Soup Kitchen (with filled jacket potatoes) at the Community Centre from 11 to 2; later events include two Ploughman's Lunches, a Spring and a Christmas Fair, and the usual St. George's Day rose sale at the Town Hall on 23 April.
The Women's Section works hard to raise money for the Legion's General and Benevolent Funds, which help the widows and children of those killed both in action and on peace-keeping duties. 1968 was the only year since the war when not a single member of our armed forces has been killed, so the need is an ongoing one. As well as rest homes and flatlets for disabled ex-service people, the Legion provides allowances to widows and ex-servicewomen, and there is a welfare fund. "We cannot do all this without the generous help of the public; help us to help those who helped you" is the message.
7.
Town Councillors were as much impressed as we were by the quality of the light from the lamp over the brick arch in the Gun Garden; they liked it much better than either the bluish or the yellow light, and are recommending to ESCC that it should be used all through the centre of the town (except for Church Square, which they agree should remain lit by old-style tungsten bulbs).
While ESCC ponders its decision, we thought readers might be amused at what was being said about street lighting almost 90 years ago. In December 1897, "The Herald of Rye" - a lively if short-lived attempt at what would now be called a community newspaper - had been dealing with the subject. "With regard to the whispered proposition of Electric Lighting in Rye, the warning-note sounded by 'The Herald' last month has been clearly echoed in more than one quarter. It is sincerely hoped that the Council will strenuously prevent anything under the name of 'improvement' interfering with the Old World architecture and the attractive antiquity of the Ancient Town" (in the same article, the writer complains about "stucco abominations and inartistic slate"). A letter from Charles Foulkes of the Watchbell Studio continues the theme: "...the incandescent gas may be, perhaps, a practical improvement, but it sadly spoils the evening effects that are so picturesque here. There are so few towns like Rye, that she ought to be treasured like some rare jewel in a museum, for the dwellers in noisy cities to admire. Let us, then, keep her as much as possible as she was in the old days when the smugglers sat armed in the Mermaid. Let us still have our cobbled streets, however unpleasant they may be to our boots. Let us still allow grass to grow in a few of our streets, but above all, do not let us have electric light." (We found this reprinted in "Rye's Own".)
• A charming compliment to Adams' toy department appeared in the Daily Telegraph last Tuesday: a woman's page writer was complaining that smart toyshops now don't sell the kind of toys children actually want to play with. Everything is in natural wood and exquisite taste - but if your child wants a doctor's outfit in a plastic case, you are sunk: She went on to name Adams as a shining example of the sort of shop which strikes a balance between ghastly good taste and fluorescent plastic. "What is your buying policy?" she had asked the girl behind the counter. "We buy toys the children like" came the surprised reply. What an extraordinary idea, commented the author bitterly - and what a very nice (and completely unexpected, Clifford Foster says) national ad for Adams!
• Landgate WI members lest week heard Mrs. Pauline Chalk, of Butler & Hatch Waterman at Tenterden (now County Group), speak about her long and interesting experience as an auctioneer - a male-dominated profession but one in which she has found great satisfaction. Landgate WI are very pleased that one of their members, Jeanne Caister of New Winchelsea Road, has been given official approval for two designs in cork, incorporating the WI tree logo. This means that they can be sold for WI funds - and we hope to see both wall thermometer and egg-timer at the Group Craft Show next month.
• As well as running Meals on Wheels, the WRVS continue to send packs of paperbacks to our troops in Ireland, via detachments departing from Lydd. The packers used to be given brown paper by one of our local shopkeepers, who had it surplus from his business. But he has now left, and they would be glad of brown paper from anyone (pieces big enough to wrap packs of 8 paperbacks). A shop who can offer them a regular supply again would be most welcome. Offers to the WRVS office in the FE Centre, mornings - or ring Mrs. Barton, Rye.
• 47 Cooper Road tenants are due to have their houses rewired before the end of March, at a total cost of just over £23,500. The state of the wiring was one of the main worries tenants referred to at the meeting with the Housing Manager in October (GAZETTE no. 198). The question of fire safety at The Link (and other similar Rother-owned flats) is still under consideration; a full report will come before the Housing Committee as soon as possible, says Mr. Catt.
Mothers Union coffee evening and bring-and-buy (all welcome, including husbands) - 82 Udimore Road, at the foot of the hill, 7
Local History Group, business meeting, Library, 7.30
Nat.His.Soc., "Seychelles, unique by a thousand miles" (Mary Briggs), FEC, 7.30
Young Farmers Club 25th birthday dance
Mothers Union meeting (speaker, the Matron of St. Michael's Hospice), St. Mary's Upper Room, 7.30
Camera Club, "Windows on the World" (Robin Roberts), FEC, 7.30
Pancake Race, High Street (near Adams), 3 - followed by pancakes, raffle, cake-stall and prizegiving at the Community Centre at 4-ish.
• Congratulations to Lt. Douglas Sealy, RN, of Broad Oak (and ex-TPS), who was married on Saturday to a Cornish bride, Stella Fawley. His family drove nervously down to Helston (the forecast had been talking about snow) bringing the bridal flowers, but it was a beautiful day, and guests at the reception at the Mullion Cove Hotel gazed out at a sunlit sea. Douglas is a helicopter pilot at RNAS Culdrose and already has a house in Helston. We wish them both every happiness.
• Sandie Lazarus, who is available at the Council Offices in Ferry Road on three more Thursday mornings (tomorrow, 12 and 26 March) with information for those caring for invalid dependents, was to have spoken on Radio Sussex last week about the new DHSS-funded scheme. There was trouble with the phone line, however, and she will now be heard tomorrow (26th) on 258m some time between 2.30 and 3.
• The week's planning list includes an application from Alsfords for a lean-to extension to the old bus garage in South Undercliff, to house a resaw machine and a planing machine. There is also an application to join 16 and 17 Mermaid Street (Jeake's House and Quakers House) into one, for use as bed-and-breakfast accommodation; and another for the Centre Building in Rye Market, to be a discount retail warehouse for domestic electrical equipment.
• Women's World Day of Prayer is on Friday of next week - 6 March.
• Radio Sussex is running a £10 one-day playwriting seminar on Sunday, 15 March, at the University of Sussex. Hardly a Rye event - but has Rye some budding playwrights? Details from Gill Donald, Brighton.
• Weekend trains will be odd beyond Hastings, owing to track maintenance work; there will be buses to and from West St. Leonards or Bexhill, delays of 30 minutes, and some journeys starting earlier than timetabled. If you intend to travel in that direction on Saturday or Sunday, be warned!
• Long notice of an RAFA coach outing eau Saturday, 23 May, to the USAAF Air Display at Mildenhall; if you are even just interested, contact Gordon Stanbridge on Brede 882589 before too long, they book up early.
• A Rye shopkeeper could hardly believe it when she got a bill for £8 from Southern Water. The small shop has no running water or drains (she has an arrangement with next door) - so what is the £8 water rate for? Rainwater disposal, said the SWA. But it is a ground-floor shop, with something else (separately rated) over it; no roof, so surely no rainwater...?
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office, published by Mrs. Mary Owen, 2 Cyprus Place, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7DR (0797 222303), and printed by Cinque Ports Stationers of Rye. Deadline is Monday afternoon for Wednesday delivery; the paper costs subscribers 30p a week, and spare copies are sometimes available from Cyprus Place. (Copyright Mary Owen 1987)