Winchelsea

Battle of the Somme: The Friends of the Ancient Monuments & Museum have organised an illustrated talk by Peter Rolington who is a battlefield tour organiser with experience of the battlefields of Belgium and France, as well as a charity fund-raiser. The talk is entitled: ‘WW1: The Battle of the Somme’ and will take place tomorrow at 2.30 for 3pm in the New Hall. Tickets will be on sale at the door and the cost is £5 p.p. which includes tea, sandwiches and cakes.

New Hall Meeting: It is the New Hall Management Committee’s Annual General Meeting on Sunday October 5th at 9.45am. The New Hall Society is a registered charity which is funded from hire fees, donations from residents, local societies and events, also fund raising and an annual grant from the Parish Council. Chairman of the Society thanks all who donated items for their stall at the Summer Fete and helpers, on what was a successful day which made over £300.

Season of Thanksgiving: The Harvest Thanksgiving Communion service is this Sunday October 5th at 10.30am in St Thomas’ Church. As part of the service the Junior Choir will be singing and there will be a harvest produce table. Canon Whitehead is also planning to invite a guest preacher who all will hear about in good time.

Sussex Policeman: The next meeting of the Second Wednesday Society takes place on Wednesday October 8th at 2.30pm in the New Hall. Life of a Sussex Policeman is the subject of the talk given by Neil Sadler who will be providing some interesting ideas about the local man on the beat. The cost of the lecture and home-made tea is £4 visitors and £1 for members.

Talk to the councillors: There will be no ‘meet your counsellor’ in October at the Court Hall and the November meeting will be the last in this year’s series. If anyone would like to talk to councillors Anna Hargreaves and Stephen Turner or has suggestions for them to take forward for the budget, this is being discussed at next months meeting. All residents are, as always welcome to attend and have their say.

Traidcraft Harvest: During the Harvest Festival service at the Methodist Chapel last Saturday morning Rev Michael Ward, leading the service, reviewed changes in the Festival over the last fifty years. The usual custom at Harvest Festival involved the church being decorated with an abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables and produce, typically displayed over the dais, in every nook and cranny and even between the organ pipes. It was a celebration that stemmed from the Jewish Festival of First Fruits which promised a future harvest. After the service the produce was packed in boxes and while still fresh quickly delivered to elderly and poor residents in the community. A few years’ later as the trend moved towards convenience and fast foods, tins and packets of food, though less nutritious, were preferred because of the longer shelf life and in due course delivered to the needy. Nowadays Harvest tends to focus upon specific needs, such as sending pens and notebooks to school children in The Gambia or buying Traidcraft goods to help the farmers, artisans and small businesses in third world countries. At the service Rev Ward had a selection of Traidcraft items for sale, from cleaning products to coffee and gardening gloves. He has also organised a Christmas sale of fair trade goods at 11 Ashford Road, Hastings on November 7th and 8th from 10am till 8pm. The Festival service ended with a harvest lunch that included fresh salad and fruit trifle, followed by a collection taken in aid of the charity Traidcraft Exchange which aims to bring greater fairness and quality to trading.

Advanced Aerial Imaging: Many onlookers were gathered in the churchyard of St Thomas’ last Thursday morning to watch the drone flight demonstration in action. This small quadcopter drone, operated by remote control, contains two motors and two sets of propellers on each of its four arms. It can hover and travel at speeds of 3.6 to 50 metres per second and is approximately 2ft high by 3ft wide. A high definition video camera attached to its base was used to survey the church roof without Richard the architect needing to leave the ground. Instead he could watch the filming on the monitor screen while the drone, like a giant insect, buzzed around the church roof piloted by one of the AAi (Advanced Aerial Imaging) team. The company AAi was set up by ‘Chief Pilot’ Simon Dunn who has a background in flying helicopters and Boeing 747’s. Simon explained to the audience the benefits of using an unmanned aerial vehicle for inspecting roofs. Currently the only way to make these inspections is by using scaffolding. However this can be expensive and unsightly whereas the drone method means any elevated section can be inspected from the ground in greater detail, quickly and more cost effectively. The technology is expensive (£20,000 for a drone) but daily hire costs can be reasonable depending on the structure involved. It was a free demo for the church which now has some exceptional images of the roof for future reference.

Harvest Prayer: The annual Harvest Evening Prayer begins at 3pm in St Richard’s Church, Winchelsea Beach, this Sunday October 5th. After the service light refreshments will be available on the ground floor of the church.

Arts & Crafts: Every Wednesday from 10am till 12 noon there is an Arts & Crafts for Fun morning in the Winchelsea Beach Community Hall. The number to contact is 01424 813928 to find out more and arrange to come along.

Monthly Fellowship Lunch: The main outreach into the local community is the Fellowship Lunch which is on the last Friday in the month and all are welcome to come along. Friday October 31st is the date of the next lunch at 12 for 12.30pm in the Winchelsea Beach Community Hall and booking is essential on 01797 227168 in order to know numbers. The Fellowship Lunch consists of a very appetising meal followed by a short talk. During the lunch donations are invited to support local charities and meet expenses.

Cindi Cogswell

31 Highfords, Icklesham