A report on Coast to Coast last Wednesday stated that the Department of the Environment had intervened in the Lydd Airport debate, instructing Shepway Council (the planning authority concerned) to defer consideration of the planning application for a month. It was due to be heard, and in theory decided on, yesterday.
Whether this will lead to the public enquiry for which the Lydd Action Group, backed by Rye Town Council, was asking remains to be seen, but at least the new runway plans won't be hustled through without more information being obtained and the neighbours getting a chance to comment.
Since there have been rather unnerving stories going round the town recently, along the lines of "Rye Hospital to close on a temporary basis early in December on the instructions of the Regional Health Authority", we spoke on Monday to the Hastings Health Authority's General Manager, Alan Martindale.
He assured us that there is absolutely no question of Rye Hospital closing on any basis in December (and such an instruction would anyway come from his Authority and not from Region, which dictates policy rather than details).
As we reported a fortnight ago, the HHA passed various recommendations at its meeting on 15 October, as a means of reducing its overspending in the short-term while more permanent solutions were considered. Rye Hospital was not mentioned at all at that meeting. It was, however, agreed that there should be a review of all the HHA services and sites in the District.
A Strategic Review Group has now been set up, with medical and Health Authority representatives among its members, and it will hold its first meeting (in private) on 10 November. The Group is likely to take some time to complete its study, and it will then report back to the General Manager and through him to the HHA before anything at all actually happens (apart from the recommendations already agreed). What, if anything, the Group will recommend concerning Rye Hospital remains to be seen; but as things are at present, there is absolutely no justification for the present rumours - and we are very relieved to print Mr. Martin-dale's assurance on this point.
We asked Mr. Martindale whether storm damage to the HHA's properties wouldn't increase the overspending problems; he is hopeful that money for repairs would not have to come out of current revenue. At the Community Health Council meeting at the Town Hall on Monday - with a very poor local attendance despite the hospital-scare headlines in last week's News and Express - the HHA's recently-appointed Director of Finance, Ruth Ratcliffe, was less optimistic when asked much the same question; but the matter is still under discussion (and is not of course a problem confined to the Hastings area).
Rye lost a very good friend last week - lost him to what we all hope will be a long and happy retirement. David Cranston, who has been Rother's District Representative at Rye for more than ten years, dealt with his last enquiry, directed his final tourist and soothed his ultimate worrier on Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Cranston live in Hollington, and we hope they will come over to Rye from time to time to keep an eye on the place, where he has been a most popular, helpful and well-respected member of the community.
Mrs. Rita Swain of Tilling Green, who has been on the Rye office staff for 9½ years, takes over as District Representative. Mrs. Christine Turner will be joined behind the rates desk by Jeremy Ford of Battle, who has already had a taste of working in Rye in recent weeks. And the Tuesday and Friday courier service to Bexhill will continue unchanged.
2.
Mrs. Alice May Chaplin, of Fishmarket Road, died in St. Helen's Hospital on 1 November after being taken suddenly ill at her home; she was 85. Mrs. Chaplin was the widow of Mr. Horace Chaplin, who died in March of this year - the same week as her brother, Mr. Stanley Monk of Tillingham Avenue. Mrs. Chaplin, who had no children, was married twice; her first husband was George Sweatman of Tower Forge. As a girl, she went to work at the High Street ironmongers in the days when it was still owned by the Stocks family; she became the book-keeper for John Dennis, who took over in 1926, and continued to keep the books and sometimes work in the shop as well until she finally retired well after the end of WW2. She leaves two nephews, the sons of her brother Stanley whom she helped to bring up when their mother died while they were still children. Mrs. Chaplin was a staunch Baptist, and the funeral takes place at Rye Baptist Church on Friday at 1.30, to be followed by cremation; family flowers only, but donations in her memory may be sent to St. Michael's Hospice in St. Leonards.
On Sunday week (15 November) the annual Lifeboat Memorial Service will be held at Rye Harbour Church at 3; the preacher will be the Rev. Harry Potts, from Winchelsea.
Chairman of Bother Council Roy Pulford, who lives in Northiam, has just launched an appeal for funds to help in replacing the hundreds of trees lost in Rother District during the storm. Not much detail is given, but it is clear that the money raised will he applied to tree planting throughout Rother - not just putting back avenues of flowering cherries in Bexhill: Cheques should be made payable to Bother Council Tree Appeal - and both cheques and cash can be handed in to the Rye Council Offices to be sent over to Councillor Pulford at Bexhill.
Colin Hudson, in charge of Rother's public recreation land, has hardly had time yet to sort out his priorities for replacement. But his reports to Bother from time to time contain mention of donations from private citizens in the form of seats, trees, etc., for a specific site in memory of a friend or relative. So presumably this might be a good moment for anyone thinking along those lines to offer to replace one of Rye's fallen giants? Those on the Salts, of course, come to mind; but what has happened, for instance, in Rye Cemetery?
For those who want to help on a national scale, donations are sought by The Woodland Trust (Autumn Park, Dysart Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire), many of whose woods have suffered badly. The National Trust has its own appeal for its own properties, which also include woodlands as well as the parks and gardens of its-many stately homes.
Ken Warren is pressing the Environment Minister on a related subject: how to get rid of the trees which have fallen in places where they cannot simply be left to season for the timber trade - often with the bowls left by the roots filling up with water and creating a danger to children. An aerial survey of Hastings and St. Leonards alone shows that over 5,000 trees are down, with "a further substantial number in dancer of collapse" (Alexandra Park is in a very bad way in places), while he estimates that a similar number have fallen near houses and roads in the country areas of his constituency, in addition to what happened in woodland. Many householders and small farmers cannot afford to remove the trees, but it is simply not practicable to leave them where they are. He asks the Minister, in effect, what he is proposing to do about it. (Driving round by Tenterden, Ashford, Folkestone and Hythe last week, we were appalled at the damage but also puzzled at its peculiarly spasmodic occurrence, with no obvious reasons why some trees fell while their apparently identical neighbours survived.)
Finally, on a brighter arboreal note, we hear of several households, local and otherwise, who have been far from sorry to see particular trees down. Front rooms have become suddenly lighter, sea views have appeared which were not there a month ago - and one lady (not local) who had been trying for years to persuade the National Trust to cut down four trees which were blocking her view woke up on Friday to find that the storm had done the job for her!
- 3 THE RYE GAZETTE, 4 November 1987
Saturday's noontide wedding at St. Mary's was between Fleur, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Knapp of Udimore Road, and William Blanford of Sedlescombe. Fleur's attendants were Anna & Jury (nee Crouch) and Helen Weight of Hastings; their pale apricot silk ballet-length dresses were beautifully designed to match Fleur's full-length white one trimmed with the same apricot silk - she had a short veil anchored by a circlet of pink flowers on her dark hair. Mrs. Knapp's outfit was in vivid sunshine-yellow with black accessories. The reception was held at the George Hotel, and the honeymoon is being spent in the Canary Islands. The couple will live in Hastings, where Fleur works at Traveltime; William farms with his parents at Sedlescombe.
Friends of David and Pauline Street, of the bookshop in Market Road, will already know of the recurrence of David's back injury from an accident eleven years ago. We now learn with great regret that, as a result, Mr. and Mrs. Street have decided to put the shop on the market as a going concern, complete with all the fixtures and stock - ready to walk into and open up. This is a rare chance for someone wanting to set up in business in Rye's pleasant surroundings, in a shop which has built up a very considerable amount of local goodwill. As well as the two showrooms (at present, new books are downstairs, second-hand ones above) and a cloakroom, there is attic storage space - all in a pretty timber-framed building right at the top of Market Road. The agents are County Group (Rye 223946).
In Watchbell Street the parable of the talents is being given a modern slant in aid of the St. Anthony's Restoration Fund. A well-wisher passed on an idea from another parish, where £260 distributed in £5 notes to parishioners with nimble fingers brought in a total of over £4,000. The well-wisher has offered to provide the £5 notes in the form of an interest-free loan, and members of the church are being invited to see just how far they can make one stretch, by buying materials for cookery or craft work, for example, and giving the sale profits back to the church before starting on the next round. Of course those who prefer to provide their own £5 notes (whether or not they normally worship at St. Anthony's) are most welcome to take up the same challenge; and if anyone has products to sell for the Fund, we will be glad to say so in the GAZETTE.
Although there was some damage to,the Church and Friary after the storm, Fr. David's newsletter reports that it is hoped it will be covered by insurance.
Two wildly different musical events compete for Rye's attention on Saturday week.
At the Community Centre, desperately fund-raising for its new roof, the Semi-Quavers are providing an evening of jazz. There will be a bar, and tickets cost £2.50 from the Centre (Monday and Friday mornings) or from Seacruisers in Winchelsea Road or from any committee member. The Semi-Quavers are a Kent group who have played several times in Rye recently, and are spoken of very highly; it should prove to be a most enjoyable evening, for those who like jazz.
For those who like opera, Puccini's "Suor Angelica" at St. Mary's is likely to be a very different matter from New Sussex Opera's 1986 production, "Amahl and the Night Visitors". It is, says the handout, "a tale of mortal sin and expiation by divine grace". Sister Angelica is the daughter of a noble family, sent in disgrace into a convent after the birth of her illegitimate baby - and things
get no better for her after that, as far as we could tell. Collectors of rare works should keep the evening free, since the opera is not often performed... Since all the parts are for women, New Sussex Opera is throwing in a performance of Brahms's cantata "Rinaldo" (male chorus and tenor solo). Tickets are £2.50 (children £1.50) at the door, or from EMBS.
So - you pays yer £2.50 and you takes yer choice, so to speak!
4.
Rother's Planning meeting on 22 October ran on so long that it had to be finished off the following week, and some of the local applications were among those deferred. In fact there were very few for our area anyway. Permission was given for not more than two houses on a site in Tram Road at the Harbour; for a 10" x 12" advertising board inside the doorway of the Old Vicarage in Church Square, until December 1990 only; and for a house to replace Wee Nestie in Fishmarket Road the application dates from 1985, but approval of amended plans was not given at that time because of "movement on the site" says the Planning Officer's report (something of an understatement, people who remember the excitement at the time may think - GAZETTE no. 163). The plans for the conversion of Holloway House into a hotel were also approved. Amended plans have been requested for the conversion of the Mission Hall at Rye Harbour into a dwelling, and also the approval of the DoE; an amended plan is also required for a first floor extension at 19 Cadborough Cliff; and at Frenchman's Beach caravan site a request for two staff caravans has been deferred for further information. A request for another 14 caravans on the site was refused.
The Planning Committee agenda includes regular lists of applications which have waited longer than the normal time, with the reason. The October list includes the housing proposed for the allotments site at the back of South Undercliff, and we are intrigued by the reason given: "Confirmation of land ownership to be agreed before Agenda Report prepared". As far as the town in general is aware, the allotments have been owned by Rother since 1974 when they were taken over from the old Borough Council; has some interesting snag arisen?
The agenda for the full Rother Council meeting on Monday gives (on page 5 of the green Planning Committee minutes for 27 August) the 14 conditions imposed on the McCarthy & Stone development at Strand Quay; we can't possibly list them here, but those interested can study them at the Council Offices.
Finally, this week's list contains two Conservation Area applications: one for the erection of a conservatory on the rear flat roof at The Centre in Market Road, with access from the first-floor flat; and for the installation of a roof window at the rear of 2 West Street.
There is not much Rye interest in the Channel Tunnel - anyway, not to judge from the passengers on H & D's tour of the affected area last week, most of whom came from Bexhill. However, those of us who did go came home with a really helpful background - and considerable sympathy for the pretty little village of Newington which will be totally swamped by the Tunnel access arrangements plugging its valley. Anyone who happens to be in Folkestone may care to visit the Eurotunnel offices in Tontine Street, down by the Harbour, where there is a lavish display of plans, etc., plus a promotional video, all hostessed by a charming French girl married to an Englishman. Construction work on this side of the water was only apparent in one place, the hillside beside the Dover road, where contractors were working on an access road just below the top of the cliff - (access to what?)
This trip runs again on 4 February. Others in H & D's "Tomorrow's World" series which readers may find more to their taste are to Gatwick Airport, to see the new terminal under construction, on 26 November and 3 March; and Docklands Revived, including a ride on the Dockland Light Railway, on 7 January and 31 March. All tours are on a Thursday, leaving Rye at 8.50, back by 5.30; adults £6, children £3, OAPs £4.50. Book at Baldwins Travel, who have a leaflet full of other tours.
One aspect of the Tunnel approaches which may well affect our A259 fight is the depot at Willesborough, just outside Ashford, where all the HGVs will converge for customs clearance, etc. It seems quite important that those coming along the south coast should be diverted from the A259 early on: If not, we shall get the lot through the middle of the town if the proposed route can't be fought off...
5.
• Talking to Councillor Brian Champion at the weekend, we realised that our storm reports left out much of the problem at The Link, on Tilling Green Estate. Four families living in the top-floor flats were evacuated when chimney-stacks came down; and the remaining five - a total of some 25 people altogether - were also asked to move out until Rother's staff were certain that the other chimneys were safe. Most of the nine households found accommodation with families or friends, one couple was housed in Badger Gate and one family went into bed-and-breakfast; but emergency repairs meant that all nine were soon back in their own homes. Major roof repairs will, of course, follow.
• It seems clear that the storm brought out all the advantages of living in a small community. Neighbours, friends, relatives, Meals-on-Wheels and other welfare services - all combined to make sure that those who might be at risk were not, and in general this DIY approach seems to have worked well. However, there may well have been a few people who somehow slipped through this informal network, and the Town Clerk (or any Town Councillor) would be glad to hear about such households for future reference. Heaven forbid that there should be another night like that of 15/16 October (though Canon Maundrell pointed out cheerfully that the Great Storm of 1287 was only one of a series lasting some fifty years!). But in the event of another major power cut in the area for whatever reason, the Town Council would find it much easier to check up on people who might lack the support of neighbours if they had a list of likely names in advance.
Several people have remarked to us how nice it was that neighbourly support was often two-way; younger, all-electric households checking on the wellbeing of older people nearby were delighted to be offered the use of gas cookers, or hot water to bath the baby!
When work on the station forecourt was finished, large signs saying "Taxis Only" appeared in front of all nine parking spaces immediately in front of the station building. A week or two later, three spaces on the market side of the row were redesignated "Parcels". But where were private cars, collecting or delivering passengers, to wait? One local man, putting an elderly relative on the train after a funeral, drove into a taxi space and was spoken to very rudely by one of the taxi-drivers. We passed on the complaint to the Area Passenger Manager at Ashford: presumably the driver could have pulled into a "Parcels" space without risking abuse, but it didn't seem very polite to his aunt!
That was nearly two months ago, and the position remains the same. To add insult to injury, we noticed recently that some cars parked in the six spaces on the far left of the station had been afflicted with windscreen notices accusing the drivers of not having "paid and displayed". But anyone driving down Station Approach and seeing a space empty here turns left into it - going nowhere near the main car-park with its ticket machines; and there is no indication in this parking bay that any payment has to be made, so how are drivers to know?
David Woodhouse at Ashford told us a month ago that the matter of waiting space for private cars was in hand. Since then we have heard of two more drivers spoken sharply to by taximen. On present showing, private cars can only wait in the six spaces right over to the left, and even then they risk an unjustified complaint from BR; the drivers also risk getting their feet wet, since after rain two of the spaces are largely occupied by a gigantic puddle!
The more virtuous drivers have therefore felt constrained to drop their passengers and luggage as near the station as they can get without actually risking encroaching on the taxi space. Then they drive into the car park and pay 50p. Then they return to the station and help their guest over the line or whatever. Finally they retrieve the car after a rather expensive ten minutes, and drive home. It doesn't really encourage people to travel by train!
Perhaps Mr. Woodhouse would expedite the action he promised us he was taking, and put some short-term parking conveniently in front of the station for the benefit of private car-drivers. The present position is that you can legally deliver a parcel to the station, but not a person!
6.
Husband and wife, Angela Braven and Gus Cummins came to live in Hastings in 1979, and local art-lovers are already familiar with their work; this is, however, the first time they have shared a single show at the Easton Rooms. Angela Braven goes for colour and general joie-de-vivre; her outdoor scenes are best described as Louis Turpin gardens which have got away, while her room interiors are almost as full of plant life as her garden views. As far as we know, Gus Cummins paints nothing but room interiors - of a very special kind: beautifully drawn and constructed still-lifes composed from the sort of clutter which lies about in attic or cellar or workshop - the perfect material for a really challenging "Kim's Game". Her pictures are blazing with colour and light, his are sombre, almost monochrome; two Angela Bravens in a room might be overwhelming, two Gus Cummins depressing - one of each would be perfect, for anyone with that sort of money. (The cvs on the wall make it clear that there are plenty of buyers in that category.)
Upstairs, Mary Bennett shows some striking ceramic sculptures. Some are catalogued as shawms (and we are in no position to argue), some as jugs (which really must be a matter of opinion). Two straightforward bowls look a little lost. Any of her pieces would make a talking point - but not for long in a household with small children!
Across the courtyard in the Stormont Studio is a selection of work by John Banting (1902-1972). A leading Surrealist in the years between the wars, he was a friend of Edward Burra - which brought him to Rye in 1961, where he lived at 62 Church Square before moving to Hastings in 1965. When he died eight years later, the Times obituary described him as an artist who adapted Surrealist conventions for satirical purposes. Fifty years before, in the Paris of the 1920s, he first encountered Surrealism - and from then until he went to Ireland after WW2 he moved in the leading artistic circles of the day. The exhibition includes 87 works in different media (a ceramic tile was designed with the help of David Sharp in the early 1960s), and although your reporter would find it difficult to make any intelligent comments, admirers of the Surrealistic style of painting will be glad of such a splendid opportunity to study its development over almost half a century (1924 to 1971).
The McCarthy & Stone development on Strand Quay is apparently to be called Deal Court (one entrance will be onto The Deals, and of course the site was a timber-yard). The Court in the name means that the apartments are the company's new up-market design - bigger and more expensive than the Home version (Homeridge, Homestream, Homepeak, Homepine, Homelees... perhaps they just ran out of Homes?) Features mentioned in "Priority Customer News" sent out to enquirers include Adam fireplace, carpets throughout, fitted kitchen, bathroom with shower, and mirrored wardrobes. Also there is "a new open-plan aspect in the residents' lounge to provide an area of spacious comfort in which to meet friends".
We gleaned this information from a batch of literature passed on to us (for professional rather than personal use at this stage, we hasten to add!) by a reader. Her enquiry for one of the Rye apartments produced a letter saying that the show apartment was likely to be open next summer, and shortly before the opening she would be invited to a "presentation" at which she would be given full details and the opportunity to reserve, in advance of the general public. Some months ago the company told the Town Council that the apartments would not be advertised outside the immediate Rye area for a year after they were completed, and this particular reader lives well away from Rye; so people here who are likely to be interested ought to get themselves put on the firm's "priority mailing list" in good time or they might find the whole lot booked up in advance by farsighted mature widows from Birmingham!
Nowhere in the literature could we find any indication of the price of the Court apartments; nor was there any firm date for completion of the development. (Demolition work started with enthusiasm just after the storm, but it seems to have slackened off again lately, once the tiles had been taken off Ebenezer.)
7.
The press book warns householders about bogus insurance salesmen, following an incident at St. Leonards when a young mother was sexually assaulted. The man involved was in his late 30s or early 40s, short dark hair, tanned complexion, medium height, slim, well-spoken and wearing glasses (a photofit picture is available). The police would like to hear from anyone who has had cause to suspect a similar caller. They would also like to hear from people approached by men offering to repair storm damage - particularly if the offer includes escorting the householder to the bank to draw out cash (at least one couple have been cheated in this way, with the money taken and no work done at all). Rye Police Station - Rye 222112; if in doubt, ring them.
A major burglary in Winchelsea between 17 and 31 October resulted in the theft of £19,000-worth of paintings, porcelain and silver (there is a list at the police station). Condolences to the unfortunate - and unnamed - householder.
Parents of senior TPS pupils may like to know that PC Alan Turnbu21 is once again conducting a road safety campaign at the school in December - aimed primarily at those likely to be buying their first moped, bike or even car, and covering all aspects of ownership from legal and safety viewpoints. He hopes to make the new road-users really aware of the dangers to themselves and others. Last year's course, he told us, was very successful, and he hopes that this one will be equally appreciated.
• Belated birthday wishes to Mrs. Gwynn of Wish Ward, who was (unbelievably) 80 recently. She thought she was to celebrate by having lunch with her London-based family; and so she was, in a way, but the lunch was actually eaten over the Canary Islands! Her family decided to treat her to a surprise flight in Concorde - a two-hour jaunt from Heathrow, with the hundred or so passengers being treated like royalty, she told us. Many of them were celebrating a special occasion, and one cheerful old lady, wheelchair-bound, had come all the way from Yorkshire for the trip. We rather suspect that Mrs. Gwynn, well known for looking after people in the town, simply looked after her too...
• A full column in the Railway Development Society magazine "Railwatch" refers to the meeting at Hastings in September (GAZETTE no. 239). The Branch Chairman, Trevor Jones, has submitted comments to the DoT arguing that if the railway facilities at r:'ye are to be made less commodious by the new A259 route, the least the Department can do is to provide funds for the line's improvement and electrification - at no cost to British Rail (good try, Mr. Jones!). More importantly, the group is concerned that proposals for the new road shall not be used as an excuse for putting off electrification of the line.
• The weigh-in for the giant pumpkin at Williams Bros was checked on two sets of commercial scales, because it came out at the suspiciously round figure of 40 lbs exactly! Joint winners were the Monastery Restaurant and Dick from the book- makers'; the pumpkin went into the restaurant window, and Dick was very happy with a pot plant. The monster was grown by Peter Rider of Peasmarsh, who gave it for charity - competitors were asked to put 10p in an increasingly heavy box for the blind.
• A wine-and-cheese evening at the Town Hall last Wednesday, for invited guests, raised nearly £300 for the Church of England Chil:-ren's Society. The speaker was Geoffrey Barlow, the Society's Sussex organiser, who announced that the Rye & District B inch had sent in £1,932 during 1986 - £527 of it from the sale of cards recycled by Viola Bayley and Phyllis Apps and sold at River Books in Lion Street or by Mrs. Bayley direct. The money goes, he said, towards helping the twelve thousand children cared for each year by the Society.
Mr. Barlow added that earlier this year he had made a film with Dr. Alec Vidler, the Branch's President, for Channel 4; it will be called "Two Men in a Marsh" (Romney Marsh, presumably?), and is due to be shown some time around Christmas. If anyone is able to give us the exact date and time by 14 December (our last pre-Christmas issue comes out on the 16th) we shall be very glad to publicise them, as many local people will be keen to watch.
Thursday, 5th BRCS Annual Meeting (speaker, Miss L. Covey on the history of Activenture), stalls, etc. - FEC, 2.30
Friday, 6th Vidler & Co's monthly auction sale, 10
Saturday, 7th Poppy Day street collection WBL ploughman's lunch, FEC, 11 to 2
Sea Cadets jumble sale, CC, 2
Film, "Jesus" - Baptist Hall at 2.30 and Community Centre at 7.30
Rye Art Centre Appeal launch, Stormont Studio, 7
Sunday, 8th Remembrance Sunday parade and service, St. Mary's, 11 (parade leaves Adams 10.40 - wreaths will be laid at about noon)
Monday, 9th Town Council committees (see TH board)
Camera Club, Cinque Ports Trophy competition, FEC, 7.30
Rye British Legion AGM, BL Club, 8
Tuesday, 10th Arthritis & Rheumatism Council ploughman's lunch, CC, 12 to 2 Rye A259 Action Group meeting, FEC, 7.30
Wednesday, 11th Women's BL service of remembrance (on Armistice Day itself), Clare Chapel (St. Mary's), 10.45 - all are welcome to attend
Rye Conservation Society informal gathering (members only), T. 6.30
Rye WI, "Look Back in Fun" (Mrs. Brayne), FEC, 7
• Those who feel the need for a bonfire and find there isn't one in Rye may like to attend the one arranged by Peasmarsh School PTA. It is held in the Glebe Field there on Saturday (7th) from 6.30; admission is 80p (children 40p), and seasonal refreshments will be available. Good luck with the weather this year!
• Engineering work between Tonbridge and Sevenoaks on Saturday means diversions between Ashford and London, with minor delays. On Sunday there will be no trains between Ashford and Staplehurst - again, diversions via Maidstone.
• Today week (11 November), the Over-60s Club is taking a coach to Eastbourne for a shopping trip. It picks up first in Iden, then leaves Rye station at 10; allowing for a good four hours there, it leaves again at 4. There are a few seats available to the general public, price £1.50 (phone Phyllis Cowper).
• Our report last week that Patric Dickinson would be reading his own poems at the Stormont Studio on Saturday did not really do justice to the occasion; he will in fact be doing just that, but the poetry is unpublished work, writ while he was having his portrait painted by John Ward, and it contains various thoughts on painting - most appropriate for the evening in question.
• Both Fuggles and Autopoint bus timetables are now on display in Station Approach. We naturally looked for the Fuggles one on the post marked Tenterden - but in fact both appear on post E, the one nearest the station. Mr. Crouch says firmly it is not the bus company's job to supply litter bins in this situation; the posts belong to the bus company, but BR as landowners are supposed to supply the litter bins, and did indeed supply the ones which vanished during the reorganisation. Next week: BR's case...?
• Friday sees the first of a series of Hunger Lunches in the Upper Room at St. Mary's, from 12.30 to 1.30 and contil.uing every Friday until 18 December. Proceeds go to Oxfam, and the parish newsletter says the idea was inspired by the contrast between the Christmas plenty in our shops and the urgent appeals for famine aid coming from so many Third World countries.
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 through Cinque Ports Stationers of Rye. Deadline is Monday morning for each Wednesday's delivery; subscribers pay on the basis of 40p an issue, and spare copies are available at 45p from Young Ideas in Cinque Ports Street. (Copyright Mary Owen 1987)