Last week we reported that "three or four cottages" in Fishmarket Road were threatened by a landslip which had cracked their retaining walls; the occupants were stoutly declaring that they were going to stay put. That was written on the Monday.
By the Wednesday it was clear to everyone that the problem was very serious indeed and was likely to spread along the whole pretty terrace of Victorian cottages. Rother had warned all the residents that the position was dangerous and they should move out, and had offered temporary accommodation to those who needed it - the Housing Manager told us this week that in fact hardly anyone had taken up the offer. But last weekend it was clear that most of the twelve households were choosing to sleep in the spare-rooms of friends or relatives, though many were back in their own homes during the day. One London-based couple departed with their furniture; one house is empty and for sale anyway. But these houses are not among the most expensive in Rye, and most of the occupants are either first-time buyers or elderly people (there are no children involved). They are not going to find it easy to get fixed up with alternative accommodation for any length of time while things are sorted out.
Exactly what has happened? It seems likely that no-one will ever be sure of the order of events; it is known that trouble at the bottom became evident late on Friday afternoon (29 January) while the people at the top had no idea anything was wrong until the following morning. By then it was clear that the retaining wall at the end of the Church House garden had fallen into its orchard half-way down the cliff, together with a large quantity of earth, paving slabs, etc. The adjoining garden-end (8 Church Square), which had no retaining wall, had also slipped down the cliff. Because the orchard, running below both, was considerably overgrown, the slithering debris had been held there rather than falling straight onto the houses in Fishmarket Road. It seems to be agreed that the root of the trouble is the rain-sodden soil (just under 8" last month).
Rother staff have been keeping a constant watch on the whole situation for the past ten days, including weekends. But they are in a difficult position. Apart from ensuring the physical safety of the residents, the Council is not actually responsible for seeing to the cliff, which is privately owned - largely by the people at the top whose land runs most of the way down, and partly by the people at the bottom whose gardens creep up it. Whatever repairs are eventually needed will cost a great deal of money, even if the situation gets no worse; access to the cliff for machinery is a problem on its own, since the houses are in solid terraces top and bottom. Also, until the cliff face appears to have stabilised, it would be madness to put any extra strain on it, even to drill down into it for an initial survey. Mr. Bird, of Rother's Technical Services office at Battle - who has known Rye well for years - is spending a good deal of his time here. Though nothing can be done for the time being about the part of the cliff which has already slipped, he is also looking very thoughtfully at the rest of it (from Aviemore to the Hilder's Cliff steps) for the first signs of trouble further along. If anyone living there notices cracks, slippage, etc., please contact Mr. Bird's office immediately (Battle 3371) or notify the Council Offices. Mr. Bird told us on Monday that the cliff is undoubtedly continuing to move - how fast, and how much loose material there is, are unfortunately still unknown factors.
The problem has attracted the attention of the media; Rye was on Coast to Coast three times last week (Friday's programme showed the Wee Nestie site, which is not actually the current cause for concern!) Some residents have been so pestered by journalists that they-may well have decided to leave their homes to get away from the press rather than from the cliff…
(continued on page 2)
2.
Mrs. Mary Anne Caister, known to her family and friends as Annie, died in a St. Leonards nursing-home last week, aged 91. A local girl, she married William Caister of Tram Road, Rye Harbour, who worked as a carpenter with the family building firm there. In 1930 the firm split up, and Mr. and Mrs. Caister and their young son moved up to Udimore Road, with Mr. Caister working for the joinery section of Hinds. Their son Thomas followed his father into the building trade, and was working for Ashendens when the firm was building the house in New Winchelsea Road which he and his wife were waiting to move into. His parents moved down to a bungalow in New Winchelsea Road to be near them, but when his father died 20 years ago Mrs. Caister settled with her son and his family. She went into the nursing-home 16 years later, when she needed full-time nursing care. Mrs. Caister was a member of the British Legion (both her husband and her son were in the RAF during the war); she leaves two grandsons and two great-grandchildren, so a good Harbour name survives. The funeral took place at Hastings yesterday.
Miss Elsie Dyer, formerly of Leasam Lane, died in Rye Hospital on 1 February. She was 96. Miss Dyer came to Rye before the war, to join cousins who were living at the house then called Eight Acres and now Blanchiand House. When the big house was given up, she moved into what had been the gardener's house, Eight Acres Cottage, and lived there until 1983 when she was taken ill and eventually went to Greyfriars. Her neighbours remember her as a quiet but friendly old lady, very fond of dogs and babies, and well known to the Rye shops which she visited once a week, taking a taxi into the town but doing her own shopping. The funeral took place at Playden Church yesterday.
(continued from front page)
Sunday's "Observer" has a picture of Miss Philpott and one of the Church House garden; the article talks about "homes being carried onto the flood plain" which presumably means that the Fishmarket Road houses could be swept down onto the Salts. It describes Rye (not very tactfully) as a "mud pie" shaken by juggernaut traffic, and says that scaremongering would drive away thousands of tourists (but in this connection, see page 4). However, since it was the Observer which gave such a helpful airing to the A259 route last year, we must forgive them much. As for mud pies, perhaps an iced bun would be a better simile - the icing is undoubtedly slipping off the sides, but the good solid stuff in the middle is surely not going to let us down.
Ken Warren, who was in Rye on Friday for a (once again unadvertised) surgery, went round to see for himself, accompanied by Mr. Clarke and Mr. Bird of Rothe, he talked to residents, and said that Rother's main task was undoubtedly to coordinate the various insurance companies, loss assessors, etc., so that there should be agreement on what action should be taken. He was obviously very sympathetic for those concerned, and wants to be kept in touch with the situation. Rother now has a list of the owners, occupants and (in most cases) the insurance companies involved; Mr. Bird hopes that the latter may feel inspired to get together over what must be regarded as a single issue.
The Town Council's planning committee, meeting on Monday night, added the cliff to its agenda. But the Town Clerk tells us that she could only report the position and not suggest action on any major scale; the Town Council is even more powerless than Rother, since none of the property is town-owned. It seems possible that the Council will wish to offer the Town Hall as a venue for meetings (held privately) between all those involved, including the insurance companies; but more than this it cannot, the Town Clerk thinks, undertake to do.
Ralph Olesen at Highways at Bexhill was not available on Monday, but it seems likely that ESCC is keeping in touch with Rother in case the A259 should become a great heap of brick rubble after yet one more wet night. As long as the road remains clear, however, it is presumably not a Highways problem.
(See also "A Round Tour", page 6)
- 3 - THE RYE GAZETTE, 10 February 1988
Congratulations to Sally (nee Todd) of Rye Goldsmiths, and Robin Cardwell of London, who were married in Chelsea Registry Office on Monday; the reception was at the old Michelin building in Kensington, now a very stylish restaurant. Sally wore a black-and-white silk two-piece (and we grieve to record that her devoted follower and watchduck, Sir Francis Drake, was not among the guests). The honeymoon took place yesterday, and today Sally expects to be back in the shop. She and Robin will be living at West Stratton, near Micheldever in Hampshire, and at his flat in Kensington High Street, but they aren't sure now exactly where they will be on 29 February - which is (wait for it) Robin's twelfth birthday!
Far and away the most unusual planning application this week is for change of use of part of the Mariners Hotel in the High Street. The Canterbury Oast Trust, a Kent-based organisation, wishes to use the bedrooms and private accommodation to house eight mentally-handicapped people, with 24-hour staff support. The restaurant would continue as now, with the residents helping paid staff to run it. Joseph Graham of the Trust tells us that the prospective residents come from professional families and have until now been living at home (not in institutions); they are mobile and articulate people aged between 21 and 40, used to living in a normal community, who now feel ready to get away from home and cope on their own as part of a group. The intention and hope is that the residents will blend into the life of the town, using its facilities like anyone else. There will be no extra burden on the support services, no extra wheelchairs on the pavements; and all the residents have families who will remain very much in touch, and visit from time to time. The local Mencap branch is much involved with and approving of this scheme, and doubtless its Friary Gardeners project would prove useful to the Mariners residents who are not working in the restaurant.
Other recent planning applications include a new vehicular access to 28 New Winchelsea Road; the use of Store no. 3 in Rock Channel as a pottery; and permission to incorporate the living accommodation above and behind the EMBS office in the High Street as part of the building society premises, with some alterations.
School House was covered with glory last week, winning the Lower School House Quiz, the Upper School Speech Competition, and the Upper School House Play contest. The play was written by Mark Curry (of whom readers have heard before, in various TPS contexts), and it is hoped that it can be put on again at an Assembly, in which case we hope to have a fuller report.
Lower School Speech Competition winners, once again judged (and prizes given) by Rotary, were Joanne Turner, Debbie Waters and Alison Corke of 2.M, who spoke about "Healthy Food". Second were Edward Thomas, Beatrice Cole and Ryan Hewgill of 1.0, on "Warfare", followed by Claire Harrow, Xanthe Pamboris and Joanne Pugh on "Pandas". Though School won the House Quiz which followed, it seems fair to add that the result only came after a tie-breaker against Sanders.
Last Wednesday Upper and Lower School pupils paid (if they wished) 50p for the privilege of coming to school wearing whatever they liked! The money went to the charities supported by the four Houses, and over L550 was raised altogether.
Comic Relief benefits by £184 as a result of the band concert on Friday at lunchtime. The band calls itself, modestly, "God's Worst Experiment" - but in fact He wasn't doing badly on that basis, since they played very well; the only problem was that the degree of amplification almost drowned the music! Fans pressed ten- deep against the stage, while grown-ups came and went hastily at the very back; in the balcony, the noise seemed even louder. The mile-of-pennies went five times round the hall - the problem was shovelling it up afterwards, small brown coins from a matching woodblock floor... Tapes of the concert are available from the school, price £1 - contact someone in the Sixth Form if you want one, but don't expect the neighbours to love you!
4.
Isn't the English language tricky! Ron Dellar, chairman of the Hotel & Caterers Association, spoke crossly to the Sussex Express last week about the Town Council's attitude to tourism. He said - or is quoted as saying - "One cannot have too much respect for a senior Rye town councillor who declares that 'money spent on advertising Rye is a waste of money'." It is clear to all who know Mr. Dellar's views that he has very little respect for that councillor; but it could equally well mean that however much respect he could possibly express, it would not really be adequate! However...
The gist of the article was that the Hotel & Caterers Association feels that both Rye Town Council and Rother are neglecting to mount an all-out drive to attract even more tourists to the town. Indeed, Mr. Dellar goes on to say that Rother's approach is "root and limb one of complacent amateurism". Perhaps this is an indication that he intends to alter things by standing for Rother himself in May 1991? He was one of two H & C candidates who failed to gain seats on Rye Town Council last May when a third, Agnes Bennett, was successful.
There is a permanent dichotomy over tourism in the town. Many of the residents, old and new, feel there are too many tourists already and the last thing Rye wants is to attract any more - while the commercial element is naturally keen to have the streets thronged with visitors whose wallets are well-padded with paper (or better still plastic) money. Of course there is an overlap area between the two sides: the traders, their families and staff also have to contend with the queues in the banks and post office, the congestion on the pavements and lack of parking-spaces, while the residents appreciate that there would be less choice in local shops if there were fewer visitors to support them - and indeed, the finances of St. Mary's depend very much on tourist income.
However, there will be considerable respect locally (despite Mr. Dellar's lack of it) for the "senior councillor" whom he does not name. (No prizes for guessing!) The Town Council has very limited funds to spend on its own account, and much of the Town Clerk's time is taken up in persuading more affluent groups like Rother and ESCC and the Development Commission to spend their money here instead.
(The Town Model, whth is undoubtedly a tourist attraction, is self-financing and more - but is out of service now until its new home at the Heritage Centre is ready.) The Town Clerk and the Council feel it is right to spend the town's money on what will benefit the whole town - since the whole town elected the Council - and they concern themselves more with street lighting, pavements, litter-bins and the care of our open spaces than with supporting purely commercial interests. Everyone is rather wary nowadays of the word "promotion" (in the sense o' advertising); indeed, recently the Town Council decided not to be represented o the Rye Promotion Group, despite (or for all we know, because of) the Group's reorganised constitution. It is just possible that the reaction of many Rye residents to that decision will simply be "Good!".
• Rye Short Mat Bowls Club has now shifted its base again, to what seems likely to be its permanent home: the Upper School gym (attached to the Sports Centre). Here it meets on Tuesdays from 8 to 10 and on Fridays from 7 to 9; details from The Ice Box or the Sports Centre - new members will be most welcome. The Club has entered three competitions, and Tony Wood from Tilling Green was a finalist at the Stour Centre in Ashford last Sunday.
• The Rye Bowls Club has received officially the bad news which was all too obvious: the bowls green on the Salts will be out of use for the coming season. A letter from Rother's Colin Hudson (who will be at the AGM tomorrow week) confirms that no part of the green will be playable on next summer; the quite unexpected amount of rain has ruined the timetable for the repairs.
However, the Club will still be able to play Away matches - and to boost members' morale on strange greens, there is a smart new enamel badge for the new season. Designed by Dick Oliver, and particularly appropriate for a Club which normally plays on the Salts, it shows a ship on stylised blue waves, surrounded by a green circle bearing the Club's name and the year - 1982 - of its foundation.
5.
The Rye & District Movie Society's guest night is always keenly looked forward to and much enjoyed, and on Friday at the FE Centre there was an excellent mix of old and new films. The first, "Rye Town Walk", was made in 1978; at first we thought we had misheard the date, since the town centre looked very much the same then as it does now (even the cars weren't that out of date) - but gradually little details (a different shop-front, a missing window) settled the matter.
Then we all went "Beating the Bounds, 1982". This took place in the May before the GAZETTE started, so we are describing it more fully than usual. Jo Kirkham was Mayor at the time, and decided to repeat the ceremonies last performed by Leopold Vidler in 1928. She had to put in a good deal of research and leg-work beforehand, first to check where the boundary stones ought to be and then whether they were there still; to replace missing ones, she commissioned them in concrete from Michael Mayock, and Peter Dee's Scouts set them in place. There were three rivers to cross; but Tim Brodrick and friends rigged up a plank bridge across the Tillingham, SWA lent their punt for the Brede (and Rye firemen arranged a ladder bridge over the barbed wire fence between it and the road), and David Cade with the Sailing Club rescue-boat made endless trips across the Rother as twilight fell. The intrepid group, 72 people in all (but some dodged out of the middle section - it was a bitterly cold day!), started from Pollards Wharf in Military Road and went up the New England steps, through the cemetery, along the ridge below Leasam House, across the Tillingham valley and up to Cadborough Farm, where Mrs. Hacking provided hot drinks. Then down the cliff, across the A259 and the Brede, out nearly to Winchelsea and then round by Camber Castle to Harbour Road and the laborious Rother crossing, finally emerging onto New Road at the start of the houses and home over Monkbretton Bridge (crossing rivers four times in all). It was a memorable day, and those who took part got certificates to prove it. Jo herself did the commentary for the film, which is a really worth-while record - for next time?
The third film was a browse through the Society's "Rye Scrap Book, 1987". This included the queen Mother's visit to the Sports Centre (at which, we are proud to say, Jeffery Waters got her press permit as the GAZETTE's photographer!); the Society's outing to Howlett's Zoo; Rye Carnival; the Rye Festival local history exhibition in the Town Hall; some graphic pictures of the October storm (including the damage to the Agricultural Hall which, Mrs. Waters told her horrified audience, cost £11,000 just to clear up!); and finally some sequences taken in her own garden, where a robin adopted them and Camber Castle "floated" dramatically as mist swathed the marsh.
Refreshments in plenty were served in the canteen during the interval - and immediately afterwards we found ourselves back in the canteen again! This film was the Society's prizewinning entry for an East Sussex competition in about 1963. It was shown by special request, and is entitled "Further Education": the storyboard tells of a group supposed to be improving its mind at the FE Centre but in fact enjoying an evening's gambling - until the Inspector arrives, when a series of very hasty reshuffles takes place. The Inspector departs satisfied, and with sighs of relief the casino is restored - but she has trouble with her bike lamp, and comes back in... Joan Gamier told us afterwards that most of the elegantly-dressed cast were no longer living in Rye, 25 years later; but it was a very real pleasure to see Hilda Dann as the Inspector - in the final shot, sitting in the croupier's seat raking the cash into her own lap with a gleeful grin!
Finally, we were taken to London to watch the Lord Mayor's Show in 1977, and to Tenterden during the past summer, a fascinating tour of the High Street and the nooks and crannies behind it.
There was loud applause from the audience at the end for Joan Camier, who introduced the films, and for Jeffery and Chris Waters at the projector; most of the commentaries were by one lady or the other, too. The Mayor thanked the Society, on behalf of the guests, for a delightful evening - and so say all of us. The group's archives must, by now, be extremely valuable historically.
6.
On Saturday, we took a walk round the town - right round, from Strand Quay via South Undercliff, Fishmarket Road, Military Road, New England Lane and the Cemetery back to Tillingham Avenue and home. We lifted up our eyes unto the hills where appropriate, in the intervals of watching out for running water underfoot!
From the start of South Undercliff, past Colebrooke's, there are just ten houses strung out along the town side of the road. The cliff behind them looks solid enough, much of it bare sandstone dropping more or less vertically (perhaps as a result of falls years ago, or maybe simply licked clean by the sea). The Catholic Church's retaining wall shows no sign of disintegration from below, but further along there has been quite a serious cliff fall from a Church Square garden, fortunately onto open ground - and leaving a large drain-pipe exposed at the top (surely the Church Square drains don't go out down the cliff?) Below the Gungarden the earth slipped some years ago, and the present planting of young fir trees presumably dates from then. Round the corner, the house at the foot of the Ypres steps can hardly be at risk, with the stoutly-anchored pub uphill of it; but then comes Wee Nestie and the threatened terrace at the start of Fishmarket Road, with the cliff high above it. From here to the Hilder's Cliff steps, the height of the cliff gradually falls, and the houses at the East Street corner of the High Street have terraced gardens; nearer the Lookout they are perched on the edge of the cliff again. From Lookout to Landgate, with a bank rather than a cliff, trees and bushes anchor the soil. (The area from the Landgate to the Strand needed a town wall since there, as the townspeople pointed out to Edward III, "the cliff defendeth it not" - not that the cliff is doing very well just at present!)
In Military Road there have been two falls (possibly three, though the third may have been storm damage to trees) - one on each side of the thatched cottage which is so much admired by visitors and stands below Point Hill. These are considerable falls, and must be very worrying to the nearby residents. Further along, however, the run of cliff below Saltcote Place seems to be untouched. But water is seeping out of the hill at every possible opportunity. It was flooding across the road by Cliff Court (where the waterworks used to be), washing yellow clay-mud onto the far pavement below one cliff fall, and creeping out of the verges all the way along. Up the New England Lane steps and path there were merry rivulets springing out of the hedge-banks, and the triple junction of land-drains on the bend of the path was gurgling away as if all the baths up the hill were being run out simultaneously. Further up, in the Lane itself, little streams and waterfalls came and went as the road curved. It was a beautiful afternoon, but if we had leant against the bank for a breather we would have got very wet. In the shelter of the lane, flowers were out which had no business to be, birds were singing who would normally expect to be sheltering in snow-covered hedges, and later on we found pussy-willow which, though not yet yellow, was fat and fluffy.
Across the road in the Cemetery, we noted with regret storm damage to both the 1850 stone chapels; part of one roof is damaged, and so is a porch and window in the other building. The big cedar with the seat round it, which is so much a part of the landscape, is quite unscathed. The tree which came down, smashing gravestones beneath it, was a cypress downhill from the chapels, near the hedge by the farm; Rother's contractors have removed the tree itself, but there is an enormous tilted stump to show what a giant was brought low that night. What a superb opportunity for someone to carve a worthy memorial to the storm there!
Going down the steps to Love Lane, we were glad of our rubber boots. Here the steps are simply paving-slabs in places, joined up with a slither of wet grass down which walkers had already obviously come to muddied grief. Steering well clear and trespassing shamelessly on Edward Mills's field, we picked our way across what was virtually a sloping sponge with grass growing on it. It was tempting to see how things were in Love Lane, but we chose the Tillingham Avenue footpath to complete our circuit; alongside it, the river was brown with mud and flowing fast, but it was staying well within its banks.
It would be nice to think that nothing we have recorded here will be different in a week's time...
7.
As a result of the 1985 Transport Act, local Councils are now bound to license all "hackney carriages" - taxis to you - in their area. Bother had done this in Bexhill for many years, but now they have to cover Rye, Battle, etc., as well. Only licensed cabs are entitled to ply for hire - which is to say, wait about on spec, or pick up casual fares who hail them; other hire cars can only take advance bookings or phone-call orders. A non-licensed car which plies for hire in the strict sense is now committing an offence.
In order to obtain a licence, renewed annually, both vehicle and driver have to undergo checks on health and suitability. There has to be satisfactory insurance cover (which can be very expensive). The vehicle has to have a meter, set to a scale of charges prescribed by the Council. Once all this is done, an annual fee of (at present) £22 will provide the white "plate" which proclaims the taxi's licensed status; and with this plate it can hang around in likely places waiting for fares with complete legal authority. Without it, the firm could be in trouble and indeed face prosecution. Bother is anxious for this to be known now, while its staff are still just giving friendly warnings to offenders who may well not be aware of the new situation; they don't want to prosecute, but they just might have to, later.
Ted Joy, who is in charge of the licensing at Rother, tells us that he is still technically expected - unless the law has been repealed unknown to him - to check that there is always a bale of hay for the horse in the back of every hackney carriage:
Arthur Milton of Rope Walk was interested in our reference last week to the late Bill Sands, who carved the barge-boards above Martins, in the High Street. Mr. Sands was Mr. Milton's father-in-law and he, with Les Boreham, was also responsible for carving the Mayor's chair in St. Mary's; they signed it underneath, Mr. Milton adds - though we haven't quite liked to turn it upside down to have a look. Anyone studying the Martins frontage will see Mr. Sands's initials, WS, carved above the lower window-frame; the other initials there, RM, are those of Richard Milsom who presumably had the house built, or rebuilt, in 1926 (the date also appears). At that time he was a substantial Rye trades- man with a large ironmongery business on the corner of Market Road and the High Street; he is said to have owned everything between Longer House (Barclays) and the Literary Institute (Rye Club) - but he must have died or retired childless soon afterwards, since the name seems to have vanished from the town by the 1930s.
Mrs. Nellie Whitnall, of Cooper Road, has recently retired as the Red Cross Centre's "cleaning lady", a job which she has done for some 25 years - Centre organiser Hilary Bolton isn't quite sure, since Mrs. Whitnall has been there even longer than Mrs. Bolton has. All the regular users of the Centre will wish Mrs. Whitnall many happy years of retirement. Mrs. Sheila Sheppard, of King's Avenue, whose husband David already does the Centre's repairs, is to take over the dustpan and brush.
Saddened, as so many people are, by the changes which are overtaking Rye, Larry Hatter wants his children to have some record of what it used to be like when he was a lad twenty years ago. He is therefore trying to put together a complete set of "Rye's Own", and would like to hear from anyone with copies they don't want. He is not expecting to be given them for free; and he is finding that there are quite a few about for the early and late years, but a serious shortage of copies from its middle period. The magazine came out more or less monthly from November 1965 to December 1973; Rye Library has a (bound) set and also an index compiled by a previous staff member. If you can help Mr. Hatter, please ring.
Coin Club, "Modern Silver Coins" (C. Waters), FEC, 7.30
CSRF coffee morning and AGM, FEC, 11
Nat.His.Soc., "Birdwatching in Florida" (John Trowell), FEC 7.30
Women's BL coffee morning and nearly-new sale, FEC, 10.30 Sea Cadets jumble sale, CC, 2
Start of half-term week
Camera Club: club competitions, FEC, 7.30
Rye Pancake Race (for Community Centre funds) - High Street, 3.30, followed by prizegiving and refreshments at the Centre.
Thrift Shop (handing-in only), Red Cross, 10 to 12
Landgate WI, "Butterflies and Wild Flowers" (S. Bayliss-Smith),
CC, 10.30
Community Lunch Group, Clinic, 12.30 for 1
Local History Group (Clifford Bloomfield on the formation of Walland Marsh), Library, 7.30
• At last the problem of what to do with jumble-sale left-overs (not white elephants) has been solved by a charity based in New Romney, which collects, sorts, washes and finally dispatches suitable clothes to Mozambique. They also need nappies, soap, old spectacles - and of course money. For more information ring Stan Love, New Romney (evenings up to 10pm), giving a fortnight's notice if possible so that collection can be arranged conveniently.
• The London Night Out at the Bedford Arms on Saturday raised £120-plus for TVS's Telethon 88 appeal, as well as giving both regular and casual customers a very enjoyable evening. The footstool-kit competition is still open until the end of this week, 50p a ticket.
• All day on Saturday and Sunday, says BR at Waterloo, buses replace trains between Rye and Hastings, with delays of up to 45 minutes. You have been warned.
• From next Monday (15th) the telephone number for County Hall at Lewes will be (0273) 481000. Their new switchboard means that callers who know what extensions they want can get straight through - there are 850 extensions and 85 public lines, and the whole set-up has cost nearly £-m.
• The Red Cross is currently running a Hurricane Appeal - retrospectively. Those at the Centre's AGM in November will know that HQ, at Brighton found all sorts of problems landing on its plate - which now needs replenishing to the extent of some £30,000 to enable the branch to carry on its normal work. Donations will be received very gratefully at Dolphin House, and there are special boxes in the town; the appeal ends on 31 March, to be well clear of Red Cross Week (1 to 7 May). There is to be an Easter coffee morning at the Centre on Thursday, 24 March - more about this later, it will be special!
• Our supply of GAZETTE spares goes back to no. 8, with some gaps. If any reader who keeps the set is short of an odd copy, please let us know and we will find you another if we can. We don't want to take them to Shrewsbury!
• At the Chamber of Trade annual dinner ten days ago, Ken Warren proposed the toast of "Rye Town and Trade" - "The fortunes of the town" he said "are forecast 'fine'." We feel sure he didn't then know about the cliff - did any of his audience?
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 second post on Monday for each Wednesday's delivery; spare copies (45p) are available from Young Ideas, 7 Cinque Ports Street. (Copyright Mary Owen 1988)
STOP PRESS: BBC tv were due to be in Rye on Tuesday morning, looking at you-know-what!