Winnie Munn is blind and mentally handicapped. Until recently she was a patient at Hill House Hospital, though she and her friend Margaret Somerville now live in private accommodation in Hastings; both ladies are in late middle-age. Miss Munn has always particularly enjoyed "tactile experience" (the feel of things), and when art therapist Ivor Williams introduced the use of wood into the Hill House occupational therapy unit, she found a special pleasure in smoothing and polishing the free-style sculptures produced by the unit. (Some readers may have seen them on display at the Craft Market from time to time.)
Mrs. Jo Martin is a member of the unit's staff, and in April last year she went as a visitor to Hampton Court Palace - and noticed wood lying about after the fire there the month before. Wood, she thought - and with permission, eventually took back with her a 3' length of what turned out to be red Baltic pine, but so charred that it was quite unidentifiable. (She learnt later that Henry VIII had the wood brought specially from Scandinavia by sea, up the Thames to the site of his new palace; pine, then as now, was the trendy things)
First job was for the patients in the unit to rub off the charring - everyone ended up black - then the wood was sawn and drilled into an interesting shape. Finally, it was handed over to Winnie and Margaret. They really enjoyed themselves, sanding, rubbing in linseed oil, sanding again, waxing, and finally polishing the piece into a beautiful abstract shape, curved like driftwood but with the grain emphasised by the wax polishing.
After all this, it seemed only right that the wood should go back where it belonged - to Hampton Court. Winnie and Margaret, with Mrs. Martin and another staff member, were invited to the Palace to present the sculpture, and eventually it will end up there for good. But in the meantime it is travelling round with a lecturer talking about the restoration work which followed the fire; recently it went out to Canada.
Mrs. Martin tells us that the Hampton Court officials were absolutely charming to the Hill House part,,, They were shown all round, though Winnie and Margaret preferred the grounds; refreshments were provided, and when Winnie said she must get some cards, Mr. Gray personally escorted her down to theshop and helped her choose. But how could she choose, being blind? Simple, said Mrs. Martin; the cards with the smoothest, shiniest surfaces:
A Ryer has been made "Man of the Year" - by a German motoring magazine: David Robus, son of Kath and George Robus of Marley Road, went to work for Weslakes when he left the Secondary School - but 18 years ago he went out to Germany, and eventually married a German girl, and they now live at Neuss, near Cologne, with their two sons.
David works for the German branch of British Leyland, who of course make Range Rovers. He had the bright idea of setting up the Range Rover Driving Academy, offering drivers a two-day course: one day spent on off-road driving, followed by a second on-road day - more specifically, on the world-famous race circuit, the Nuremburg Ring. The accent throughout is on safer driving.
David has been personally responsible for this concept, and has developed it so successfully that drivers from all over Europe come to take the course; there is interest from the States, too, and it seems possible that he may go out there to set up a similar scheme. His sister Susan Polley tells us that it is the first course of its kind in Europe, and quite possibly anywhere in the world.
For this work, Off Road magazine - one of the largest in Germany - has given David its "Man of the Year, 1987" award, and he has appeared on German television to talk about his success. It can't often happen that an award of this kind goes to a foreigner, and Rye will be very proud of its son.
2.
Mr. Jack Doust, who was appointed Harbour Master at Rye in 1936 and retired in 1970, died in Essex on 25 November. He was 82. Jack Doust was born in Tram Road at the Harbour, and his parents later moved to Gordon Place. He went to work for the Jury's Gap Catchment Board (later Kent River Board, later still SWA), as assistant at the Harbour office in the early 1930s, and in 1932 married a girl from Teddington. Living in the Harbour Master's House across the river from the village - a much smaller house then than now - they raised two sons and three daughters (all of whom went to the Grammar School except for their younger son, who refused adamantly!). During WW2, Rye Harbour suddenly became an extremely important place for the Navy; Jack Doust's memorial here is really the Admiralty jetty, which was erected under his supervision for the landing barges to moor against. After the war, the Harbour was once again used by yachts, fishing- boats and very small coasters which were able to get right up to Strand Quay at the top of the tide, bringing timber to Hinds Yard and coal to the gasworks; but before he retired, Mr. Doust saw the arrival of Alsfords, whose wharf was to add a new dimension to the Harbour trade. In 1970, Mr. and Mrs. Doust went to live in Peasmarsh; but they didn't like the country, and soon came back to Camber. Margaret Doust died three years ago, and Jack remained in Camber for a time on his own, but then went to live with his daughter in Finchingfield, in Essex, where he died. He was one of Rye's legendary figures, and will be remembered with affection wherever local fishermen or yachtsmen congregate. The funeral took place at Rye Harbour Church yesterday; donations in Jack's memory may be sent to the RNLI - a cause dear to his heart, since so many of his friends perished when the "Mary Stanford" was lost.
Mrs. Margaret Anne Bourne (affectionately known as "Pop"),of Pottingfield Road, died in St. Helen's Hospital on 26 November, aged 80. Mrs. Bourne is survived by her son and daughter. The funeral takes place today (Wednesday) at noon at Hastings Crematorium.
The 1987 "Cornucopia" at the Easton Rooms is, as always, a delight to the eye and a temptation to the wallet. This year Eric Money has assembled an exhibition in which most of the gallery's regular artist-craftsmen are taking part, with one or two newcomers as well (a basket-maker, for instance, whose work we haven't seen before). Linda King has several attractive batik pictures on silk, new to Rye but also available from her shop "Fab and Groovy" in Hastings Old Town. Margo Bruce has a display of engraved glass, and there is more glass in the Craft Gallery up the stairs. Pictures cover all the walls, of course - some are rat expensive for a Christmas show, but all are enjoyable (we particularly liked Isobel Burgess's flower-pieces framed in what looked like drift-wood). Swinging or soft toys lure in the younger passer-by (a complete hand-puppet Punch and Judy set can be purchased - the crocodile has the sausages!). There are rugs, jewellery, and some interesting turned wood, and lots more. For this particular show, customers can take away purchases at once instead of waiting until it ends on 31 December; if there are no topping-up supplies in the attic, a frantic phone-call goes out to the occupant of the vacant space - "More, more..."
Vivian Bathurst, nee Townsend, writes from Farnham to tell us that her parents Bill and Betty are really enjoying village life (in Wiltshire). They keep busy with bowls, painting, swimming and gardening (nothing about a fresh accumulation of farm machinery and period-piece mangles, you will note!). Adrian and Louise have a son, born on 18 November - a fourth grandson and fifth grandchild for Dr. and Mrs. Townsend. Vivian herself is back at work in the local Middle School; her predecessor was there for 17 years, and after two months she feels it is a hard act to follow, particularly as the Headmaster retires at the end of term. But she is obviously enjoying it - with her experience at Thomas Peacocke Lower School to help her. Her two sons are well settled in at the local comprehensive; Chris still enjoys his cricket, but is turning out to be good at golf, while Martin specialises in cross-country running, and also rides.
3 - THE RYE GAZETTE, 2 December 1987
Hearts sank on Sunday night when, for no apparent reason, all the electricity in the town and some nearby villages went off at 7.40. It returned briefly (just time to boil up a kettle) 2½ hours later, and then went again - returning for good, to everyone's intense relief, shortly before 11 pm. Next day the mains engineer at Eastbourne told us that the problem was not a spin-off from the storm, as many people suspected (a tree finally breathing its last, perhaps), but simply the failure of a circuit-breaker at the major sub-station at the top of Rye Hill.
Would it be possible for someone who understands burglar-alarms to explain to us why some are triggered off by a power cut (to the embarrassment of their owners, who can't stop them until the power comes on again or the battery runs down) - while others aren't? On Sunday evening at least one alarm at the top of the town was in full cry, while two in Cinque Ports Street were mercifully silent. Why?
Congratulations to the staff and congregation of St. Anthony's, who made a supreme effort for their Christmas Fair on Saturday - and raised a well-deserved £1,567 for the Restoration Fund: Certainly they had The Lot - Father Christmas, Miss Rye, the Town Crier, a Christmas tree, seasonal background music - as well as stalls which completely filled the Community Centre, squeezing John Ryan and his sketch-pad up into the far corner. (Did z2a know that Pugwash was born in the old "Eagle", but was then considered to be too juvenile for the comic's image?) There was a magnificent bookstall, a profitable antiques table, cakes and crafts and plants, a tombola, Treasure Island and raffle, a lucky dip, generous ploughman's lunches, and lots more...
Meantime, in Winchelsea there were two fund-raising events the same day. The NSPCC coffee ritorning in Cleveland House, organised and largely stocked by Marguerite Fuller, raised 21,004; the Greyfriars Christmas Fair raised £949. (Last year's figures were £888 and £850 respectively, while in 1986 the Catholic Church Fair brought in a very handsome £860.)
Once again, on Saturday, Father Christmas arrived to turn on the town's lights, by invitation of the Chamber of Trade, and once again the High Street and Lion Street are a delight after dark. The horse and landau went round the town at a spanking pace, with Miss Rye and the venerable gentleman aboard; the lights were turned on at the George, the party stopped at the bottom of The Mint for a breather and a chat with shoppers at that end of the town, and then returned along Cinque Ports Street again and finally up East Street to the Town Hall. There, too, the lights went on on facade and tree, and Town Councillors and the St. Mary's choir sang carols with the crowd at the foot of the steps. Charles Proctor, formally gowned and wearing his mortar-board, set the tune with a little electronic organ (which normally lives in the vestry, said Canon Maundrell), and the regular popping of balloons, lavishly distributed, provided the rhythm section. Choir and Council then joined Father Christmas and the Mayor for a glass of sherry and a mince-pie before dispersing to admire the street scene. (Miss Rye - Caroline Davies - certainly did her duty by the town, and assured us she enjoyed her day; having spent most of the morning at the Catholic Church Fair, she turned out again in the afternoon, still wearing her pretty white dress, velvet robe and coronet - and all this on a day when a close friend was getting married, so that she had to miss the wedding.)
Both George Shackleton and Roger Breeds made clear to Rother that the Planning Officer's proposal to move the Museum down to the Heritage Centre was not likely to be well received in Rye - Roger is on the Staff & GP Committee, George is Rother's representative on the Museum Association committee. So now a sub- committee from Rother (including our three Councillors) is to meet informally with Town Council and Museum Association members to discuss the problems associated with the state of the Ypres Tower.
4.
The last two weekly lists (sorry we left this out last week) include half-a-dozen Rye applications. Tony Campion is applying to demolish the existing workshop in Paygate Yard, off Udimore Road beside the bridge, replacing it with a two-storey building for use as a picture-framing workshop. The plans show a sort of doll's cottage at the far end of the site from the road, pretty to look at and with windows facing towards the road and the river rather than overlooking the playing-field. There is also an application for a double garage and covered linkway at 122 Udimore Road; and for an internally illuminated RAC sign at the Hope Anchor Hotel. Two applications arise from the storm, both likely to be delegated: the chimney at Holloway House was leaning and had to be demolished and rebuilt; and at Jeake's House the Hadfields seek permission to replace damaged slates with hand-made Kent peg tiles, to restore the original appearance of part of the frontage. Finally, there are detailed plans for what already has outline consent: the manager's flat at Abbey Autos, next to Rye Foundry. The present building is two-storey, the upper part being of elderly corrugated iron; the new one would have a third storey in the roof, incorporating a balcony overlooking the river, and would be built of brick and timber - undoubtedly a great improvement on the site's present appearance.
Meryon Sumpter, who lives in Cornwall, has been investigating outlying twigs of the Meryon family tree - branches extending beyond the magnificent main document prepared for Cdr. Peter Meryon at the time of the family pilgrimage to Rye a couple of years ago.
We mentioned some time ago that there was a link with the Woodside Estate at Peas-march, which belonged to a Meryon connection after the death of Thomas Pix, until it was sold just after WW1. Among the lots at that sale - which took place at the George Hotel on 9 October 1919, and broke up the estate - was "the Lordship of the Manors of Ewhurst, Iden and Mote, with valuable Fines Arbitrary, Quit Rents and Heriots". Mr. Sumpter would be very glad to know who bought that Lordship in 1919 - and indeed, it would be interesting to learn who the present Lord is (or are the three Lordships now held separately?). His first approach, naturally enough, was to the Manorial Society, which would (he assumed) have records. Doubtless it has - but to his astonishment the secretary flatly refused to discuss the matter!
From time to time a specialist firm conducts an auction sale of assorted Lordships of Manors. Nowadays these titles don't normally carry a great deal of clout, and the "fines arbitrary, quit rents and heriots" hardly constituted a living wage, even in 1919; but people do pay money for a Lordship still. Can anyone tell us who nowadays is the Lord of whatever Manor includes Rye - could it possibly still be the Abbot of Fecamp?
Leah Mercedes opened the Linen Press in the High Street 18 months ago. Now her mother Jean Hammond is taking over the lace and linen shop, though Leah's sister Debbie will continue to sell oriental jewellery there - and Leah does intend to keep up her own Far Eastern connections, though she won't be going out there this year, as she had intended.
And why not? Because she is about to become the new owner of the Peacock Wine Bar in Lion Street. This will reopen on the evening of 11 December, for the Christmas and New Year season - closing again for a fortnight early in January, and then reopening permanently with a new menu and perhaps other alterations. Leah and her mother will be living over the wine bar.
Jane Edgar, who took over the Peacock from Chris Howard 7i years ago, is going north, to run a boarding kennels and cattery in a remote part South Yorkshire. Had she done this sort of work before, we asked? No, she said - but then she hadn't run a wine bar until she came to Rye: We wish her the very best of luck with the Yorkshire doggies and moggies.
5.
Lochin Marine on Thursday entertained the Mayor, Mayoress and Town Clerk, and the Chairman of Rother Council, to a tour of the works and a buffet lunch. The excuse - if excuse were needed - was perched up on the slipway: the first of the 47' Tyne lifeboats which the company is fitting out for the RNLI. "RNLI': Robert and Violet" had been freshly painted and completely fitted out after extensive speed and endurance trials (we reported on her initial launch in GAZETTE no. 238). All the elaborate radio and direction-finding equipment was in place, and she was due to be based at Alsfords' Wharf for a few days of further trials before the final handing-over next week. She slid gently stern-first into the water, and departed - this time under her own power - displaying on her stern her ultimate destination: Moelfre, a tiny peninsula on the north-east coast of Anglesey in North Wales. However, when she leaves Rye she will go first to Poole, where her new crew will train with her before they take her round to Moelfre; her official naming ceremony will take place on station some time next spring. (And who are Robert and Violet, we asked the RNLI? They're not saying; the donors want to remain anonymous.)
Lochin are working on a second Tyne at the moment, and a third is due to arrive early next year. The building of the new slipway for the Tynes means that Lochin are now able to handle larger craft and can take on re-fit work; but they are also building Lochin 33 and Lochin 38 boats, and are currently negotiating for a new pilot boat for Dunkirk in France. The company is cautiously confident about the future.
Lochin have also, of course, built twelve Brede lifeboats, which figure frequently in the RNLI magazine "The Lifeboat". The latest issue lists all the services during March, April and May of this year. The Exmouth Brede went out once, Fowey four times, Girvan once, Invergordon once, Oban (the relief and the regular Bredes) 13 times, and the Poole Brede 7 times. Poole also has a Boston whaler and a D-class, which together added a further 12 services - Poole is apparently a very difficult harbour to negotiate! Our own C-class at the Harbour went out once, on 20 April, retrieving a fishing-boat which was bumping her bottom off Dog's Hill with a failed engine. The present Moelfre boat (a 47' Watson) went out once, and its D-class four times.
This is party-time in Rye, with many of the town's organisations holding a social occasion for members who have worked hard over the year. One such occasion OM, was at the Town Hall on Thursday, when the Mayor held a Social Evening.
Five former Town Councillors were presented with inscribed testimonials of thanks for their service to the town: Hilda Nelson-Barrett, Osma Jones, Joan Parkes, James Menhinick, and Bill Simpson (who was not able to attend, so the Mayor undertook to deliver his certificate personally). Many of the present members had brought their spouses to the party, and Mrs. Oliver assured them, amid laughter, that it really was Council business which kept her Councillors out so late from time to time; it had been an extremely busy year at the Town Hall. She thanked the Councillors for their support and hard work, and then spoke gratefully of her Chaplain, Canon Maundrell; her Mayoress, her daughter Suzanne; the Town Sergeant, Gus Gale, and second macebearer Les Paine; and above all the Town Clerk, Lesley Scammell. Mrs. Rita Swaine was congratulated on her promotion at the Council Offices, and she and her staff were thanked; the Council was also, said Mrs. Oliver, most grateful to the Model operators, who had been through a difficult and uncertain time, Maurice Ellwood in particular being a tower of strength. The Council's official seamstress and robe-repairer, Sheila Dee, was complimented, and the ladies of the press (Karen Brodie and your reporter) were not forgotten - it was pleasant to see Karen's husband Lee Pateman, editor of the Sussex Express, among the guests.
(It had been a long day for the Mayor; with the middle of the day booked for Lochin, she had risen before dawn to prepare the refreshments for the party!)
6.
The second book in the "Rye Memories" series, compiled by the TPS Local History Group and edited by Jo Kirkham, deals with "Leisure Activities" - the first of a three-part volume. It costs £1.99 and can be bought from D & P Street (Market Road), and Salon 54 (Cinque Ports Street) - and now also from Anthony Neville in Market Street.
There are 16 photographs - the printing process does not do full justice to them, but many people will be identifiable, by their own families at least - and four drawings by Luke Herriott of TPS. Mrs. Kirkham did most of the typing, teaching herself for the purpose, and Jean Kemp took over from there, fitting in the printing as best she could among the other school calls on her time. It would, of course, be possible to have the printing done commercially - but this would put the cost up by at least £1. If anyone knows of an organisation likely to be sympathetic to a grant application for this worth-while project - about £500 is needed to set the series on its feet once and for all - please will they contact Mrs. Kirkham at the school?
The text has been put together by the Wednesday-afternoon group at the school, with different pupils writing different paragraphs, working from the questionnaires completed by older people who live or used to live in Rye. This gives a slightly patchwork effect - but then memories are always something of a patchwork, and these memories are fascinating. The list of contents refers to all three part of the volume, so we know what to look forward to; there is also a list of contributors, with the surnames of both parents in many cases, and the familiar Rye names appear again and again.
We can't attempt to précis the information given, there is far too much of it and it is too varied to summarise. But - for instance - it was news to us that the Lower Hall at the Methodist Church was dug out by Ellis Bros in 1924 and was not part of the original Sunday School building; it was added to provide a club room with (surprisingly?) a billiards table. Swimming in the Tamkin was not as unhygenic as we feared (GAZETTE no. 239) - the water was taken into the pool from the river and then used to flush out the drains, emerging into the Tillingham by the gasworks (so people who swam off Strand Quay must have had to pick their day). "Several gentlemen" (tactfully not named) remember the Women's League for Health and Beauty practising on the Salts just before WW2! Chapter 4 documents the various educational establishments in the town in 1902, when "Miss Stonham's School" was not yet known as the Collegiate, and the Grammar School was still for boys only. There is lots of information about the various churches, the Scouts and Guides, and the ATC (but nothing at all about the Sea Cadets, as far as we noticed - did they perhaps not start until after WW2 here?). We hope that a future volume will give the story behind "Mrs. Hole's play caravan" depicted outside her home in Hinds' Yard, the now-demolished Ebenezer.
Jo Kirkham sent a copy of the book to the Queen Mother, and has had a nice letter back from a lady-in-waiting saying that Her Majesty is much enjoying it and looks forward to seeing future volumes. Could a better recommendation be needed?
Friday, 11 December, sees the last WI Market of the year, when orders placed earlier can be collected - normal sales as well, of course, and the Community Centre usually looks really festive on this end-of-season occasion. There are four events on the Friday evening: the WI Group Carol Concert (with tableaux) in St. Mary's, the National Trust Christmas supper (members only, at the Community Centre), the Movie Society's social evening at the FE Centre (postponed from the 4th), and a talk by Ian Rumley-Dawson to the Natural History Society on "A garden for growing birds". Saturday, 12th, has the FRAG Christmas Party in the evening at the Stormont Studio, and two events during the day - the St. John Nursing Cadets hold their Christmas coffee morning and sale, complete with Father Christmas and a number of stalls, at the HQ on Conduit Hill from 10 to 12; and from 1, the Action for Epilepsy Group has its Christmas Fair at the Red Cross Centre, serving afternoon teas as well as offering goods for sale.
7.
By now most people in the town will know that Town Councillor Brian Chapman, otherwise known as Ringo, is in St. Helen's after a expected heart attack on Monday last week. In Ward 6 he is undergoing a series of tests, and his mother, who is hoping he will be home at the end of the week, tells us that he is as cheerful as can be expected, welcomes visitors, and has made friends in the (mixed) ward. Get well soon, Ringo - the place isn't the same without you!
Trevor Paine, 21, of Ashenden Avenue, was riding his motorbike on a wet road last Thursday when the HGV in front of him braked sharply; so did Trevor, but the bike skidded him into the back of the lorry, and he was taken to RESH with a suspected broken leg. It was not in fact broken, but badly wrenched, and Trevor is now at home, on crutches, and undergoing physiotherapy while it mends. The bike, his mother tells us, was not much damaged.
An accident at Rye Foundry on 23 November meant that Nigel Evans, 20, of Three Oaks and David Sheather, 45, of Peasmarsh were taken to East Grinstead Hospital. Mr. Sheather is now home again, though he has to go back for treatment; we have no news of Mr. Evans's progress yet.
• The Arts Centre Appeal has been boosted by a most generous bequest from the late Mrs. Florence Tebbutt, of Watchbell Street, who has left the Gallery the princely sum of E10,000. The news came just as the Appeal was launched, and we heard it at the very pleasant coffee morning at the Stormont Studio on Thursday, which brought a further £63 towards the £150,000 needed.
• The WRVS Lunch Club celebrated Christmas on Monday of this week. 81 senior citizens and guests sat down at the Community Centre to a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, sherry beforehand, a glass of wine, pudding, coffee and mints. Margaret Owen, as usual, was the cook. Dorothy Wood played the piano, and Joan Parkes and Chris Waters performed that old favourite "Blodwen" (the Welsh lady and the vacuum-cleaner salesman) by public request. The guests all had a lovely time, but the helpers were exhausted!
• Brian Sealy tells us of yet another ex-Rye pupil now based at RNAS Culdrose: Lt.Cdr. Andrew Bull was at Rye Grammar School (and lived, Mr. Sealy thinks, at Northiam). He now instructs observers at Culdrose for the Fleet Air Arm. Douglas Sealy is working full-time in the search-and-rescue squadron there at present - and when he went to have his teeth seen to recently, there was Jo Ciccone ministering to him.
• The Draft Register of Electors for 1988/9 is now on view at the Post Office, Library and Council Offices. The task of compiling it, says Rother, has not been helped by other calls on staff time due to the storm, and the problems of getting round the rural areas, ditto. So it is particularly important this year that voters shall check the list, before 16 December; after that, if someone is not on, they can't vote for Town, District or County Councillors or in a Parliamentary election before February 1989.
• Rye firemen were summoned down to Lydd one evening last week to "see in" a plane with 8 passengers aboard which had reported difficulties. All was well; but Michael Bourn tells us that a call-out down there means four fire-engines attending, since water supplies are inadequate and they need machines with their own tanks. There are lakes, but they are a long way away. This is something which will presumably have to be sorted out if the plans for the airport do materialise.
• St. Anthony's was packed on Sunday night, for the first of the fifth-Sunday-in-the-month joint evening services. By 7.30, most of the congregation had departed but a few people were still standing round outside the church chatting. The street lights started to flicker, as in a bar at closing-time; was Someone trying to tell them something? Fr. David denied responsibility, when all the lights went out; but everyone was grateful to a driver who kindly switched on car headlights to enable the stragglers to get safely across the cobbles.
Thursday, 3rd Museum Association party, TH (members and guests)
Friday, 4th Vidler & Co's monthly auction sale, 10
Blood donor sessions, Baptist Hall, 2 to 4, 5 to 7.45
(Rye Action Group wine-and-cheese party POSTPONED to 8 January)
Saturday, 5th Women's British Legion Christmas Fair, Red Cross, 10 to 1 Cancer Help Group jumble sale, FEC, 11 to 3
Ryesingers perform Mendelssohn's "Elijah", St. Mary's, 7.30 Greenpeace supporters' party, Ma Beeton's, 8 to 12
Monday, 7th Camera Club, competition vs. Little Common, FEC, 7.30
Tuesday, 8th TPS Lower School presents "Wacky and his Fuddlejig" and musical items, Lower School, 7.30 - and Wednesday and Thursday
A259 Action Group meeting, FEC, 7.30
Rye Festival Council AGM, Stormont Studio, 8 (NB not Town Hall)
Wednesday, 9th NSPCC Christmas coffee morning, George Hotel, 10 to 12 Rye WI, Annual Meeting, FEC, 7
On Saturday at the Baptist Church there is the first part of a "Worship Weekend" led by Phil Rogers of South Lea Christian Fellowship. The programme begins at 10.30 and continues all day until the final celebration at 7.30.
Services on Sunday are at 11 and 6.30 as usual. Anyone is welcome, there is no charge, and if you play a musical instrument please bring it with you.
• Woolworths has its annual evening opening for senior citizens and disabled people on Thursday next week, 10th. From 6 to 8.30 the staff will be ready to help with Christmas shopping - and special invitations have been sent to the various sheltered housing and homes in the district, so this may be the chance to meet an old friend again. Members of the St. John Nursing Cadets will be in attendance as usual, helping with wheelchairs as well as being on hand to deal with any emergency. People requiring transport should ring Rye 222335 in shop hours, and it will be arranged for them. (Woolworths have extended opening hours during the two weeks leading up to Christmas - see the notice on the shop door for details.)
• The January issue of the monthly magazine "Country Living", which comes out early in December, is expected to have something in it about the Rye A259 route - though not, it seems, quite on the scale of the recent "Country Life" article. Those who didn't realise that "Country Life" is weekly nowadays are kicking themselves for not having hurried to get a copy in times
• At the Church of England Children's Society party last month, it was stated by the speaker that Dr. Alec Vidler was to appear on television in a film called "Two Men in a Marsh". So he is, it seems - but he is not one of the two men (Malcolm Muggeridge and poet Sydney Carter) visiting the Marsh churches. He is interviewed at the start of the film - just as well for his admirers, since it doesn't begin until 11.20 tonight, on Channel 4.
• £22 was produced by the Blind Association box at Williams Bros - mostly in 10p pieces, the proceeds of the competition to guess the weight of the giant pumpkin on which we reported in GAZETTE no. 247.
• Much innocent merriment was caused among small-ads readers in the town last week, by a Sits. Vac. announcement seeking a filing clerk for "Greek doctor's practice in Rye"! The reference to "Postongate" made it clear that it had been dictated over the phone - and the shorthand outline for "Greek" is marginally similar to that for "group"... (It happens to all of us sometimes.)
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 midday on Monday for Wednesday's delivery to subscribers and pick-up points; subscriptions are on the basis of 40p an issue, and spare copies (45p) are available at Young Ideas,7 Cinque Ports Street, Rye. (Copyright Mary Owen 1987)