A coachload of Ryesingers came back from Blackpool very pleased with themselves last Sunday, and rightly so. The Blackpool Music Festival is a major musical event, and they were up against the big guns of the choral world, choirs with fifty or sixty members and twice-weekly rehearsals. The 34 Ryesingers competed in eight events and their lowest mark was 80% - 87% gave them second place in the Mixed Voice class, and they were amused to find that a hasty scribe had written their certificate to read "mixed vice"! They even beat, twice, the large choir from Reading who will represent Britain in the European "Let the People Sing" contest. Ryesingers' main strength, naturally, is in the classes for smaller choirs or specialist groups, but they also took part in classes for large choirs and found the experience very exhilarating. They had worked extremely hard for this Festival, preparing 11 pieces in six weeks after learning the Haydn Mass for Rye Festival, but they felt well rewarded by their musical success and everyone had a lovely time.
However, conductor Lesley Brownbill does not let her members lie back on their laurels; rehearsals begin immediately for "The Pirates of Penzance" in January, and the choir will also be practising carols, since there are only just over eight weeks before Christmas.
Have you still got the electoral roll form put through your door at the end of September? If so, you risk losing for your whole household the right to vote in next spring's local elections as well as in any possible Parliamentary election next year. So please post off the form at once, or hand it in to the Ferry Road council office if you have lost the prepaid envelope; if you have lost the form as well, they will be happy to give you another. But hurry - the returns were due to be sent on from Rye last week.
(When the local elections do come up - and there will be voting for Rye Town Council and Rother District Council at the same time - the GAZETTE intends to publish a supplement with brief details about all Rye's candidates for election, both present members standing again and new contenders for office.)
Monday, 25 October, marked the fourth birthday of the WRVS Over-Sixties Lunch Club, which is organised by Judy Brown at the Community Centre. An excellent meal was served and much enjoyed by the 86 guests and helpers. Making a rare appearance was Mrs. Butchers, now resident in Greyfriars but once a very familiar sight in Rye as she cycled about her work as a District Nurse. Judy made an enormous birthday cake which was cut by her chief helper, Mrs. Phyllis Apps. Entertainment was by Mr. Ball at the pianoforte.
There are only 62 children at Tilling Green Infants' School at the moment - though numbers will build up as the year goes on; but they tossed their wellies recently to such good effect that £198 was raised from sponsors for school funds.
There has been considerable criticism of the very slow pace at which the SWA excavation up Udimore Road has proceeded recently. It appears that the difficulty is a seam of reinforced concrete about 12" thick, which was presumably laid at some time to strengthen the road at the foot of the hill. An SWA spokesman at Hastings said that although preliminary test borings were made they failed to reveal this hazard; there is no trace of it in the boring about five metres uphill from the present trench, so they hope that the worst is now over, and work will go faster. A recent excavation in Tillingham Avenue revealed a subsoil composed entirely of rather grey sand - some people have all the luck!
2.
For their 1982 project the Hastings, Bexhill and Rye Crime Prevention Panels, with the generous help of the British Insurance Association, are installing door safety chains in the homes of senior citizens in the area, completely free of any charge. The work will be done by members of the panel or by Special Constables, so no need to worry about strangers in the house. If you are elderly, have no chain on your door and would like one installed, you or a neighbour can collect a form from Rye Police Station asking for this to be done - or write giving your name and address and phone number if you have one. They will then get in touch with you.
A service newly on offer in Rye is the sort of thing one might only expect in Central London - a courier service. Andrew Shephard, 19, son of Peter and Marian Shephard of Winchelsea Beach, is filling in a year between school and polytechnic, and decided to put his car to good use. He is not licensed or insured to carry passengers, but if you want an urgent letter delivered or a spare part collected or an order sent off in a hurry, Andrew is your man - and he is prepared to go off at very short notice if necessary.
Michael Fairbrother and Partners, of Hastings, are due to open their estate agency in the Apothecary's Shop "any day now".
Le Fevre, Wood & Royle are applying on behalf of Leo Bonassera for planning permission for work on the Grist Mill, his Strand Quay pottery. It is proposed to alter the present living accommodation on the top floor and to convert the first floor into a showroom for carpets and furniture, as well as building a garage and generally tidying up the piece of waste ground at the side of the building. In view of the architectural importance of the building, it is hardly necessary to add that Le Fevre, Wood & Royle are not thinking in terms of prefabricated concrete-slab walls and a corrugated roof! Mr. Bonassera already has stone on the site for the walls, and the roof will be slated to match the existing building - the rest of the plot will be grassed over and suitably fenced.
Friday night's vigil at the Methodist Church was well supported, with nearly 20 young people staying the whole night, and many more worshippers coming for part of the time. Ian Pidoux, Stuart Davison, James Gladstone and Sid Vincett were in charge of the proceedings, and Mr. Pidoux says that there is considerable enthusiasm for a repeat performance. Of course, the object of the vigil was not primarily to provide an enjoyable entertainment; but it is pleasant to report that those taking part did enjoy it, all the same.
When the Leggatt School of Dancing announced recently that it was closing in Rye, there was grief and consternation among the young ladies who very much enjoyed their dancing lessons. Happily, however, all is now well. Joanne Haviland, whose mother runs the De Haviland Dance Studio in Hastings, had been thinking about starting her own school anyway, and she was able to negotiate with Leggatt to take over their Rye interests. Five weeks later, Joanne has a flourishing school with around sixty pupils of all ages.
The younger groups meet at the Community Centre on Saturday mornings, where the sound of energetic tap-dancing echoes down Turkeycock Lane - the tinies' class includes a little girl of three. Senior classes take place on weekday evenings, and Thursdays are a real tonic for eighteen adults (with one brave man), some of whom are reviving memories of their tap-dancing youth.
Joanne lives in Winchelsea Road, and at present works full-time in a Hastings office, but she aims to build up the school so that expanding; classes can fit in with a part-time job. She certainly intends to put on shows for the public in due course, but not just yet - she feels that not all her students are yet ready to appear on stage, and she would hate to leave anyone out. In the meantime, potential pupils should contact Joanne at Rye 4979, or call at the Community Centre on Saturday mornings.
This week is the last chance for casual visitors to see the Rye Town Model, which closes for the winter after the half-term holiday.
3.
The Rye Spinning and Weaving Centre, in the old Mission Hall at Rye Harbour, offers three interesting all-day courses next month: a Tapestry Day on 4 and 24 November, a Spinning Day on 10 November and 2 December, and a Dyeing Day on 18 November. They also have an evening class on Wednesday evenings from 3 November to 1 December, to cover the basics of spinning, weaving and dyeing. Further details of both from Angela Butcher on Rye 5143 - or call at the Mission Hall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays between 10.30 and 4.30.
Visitors to the monthly Craft Markets at the FE Centre will have seen some of the beautiful work for sale by Angela's pupil-colleagues, though we imagine the courses are not guaranteed to produce craftsmanship of this standard right off... The Craft Market will be open as usual this Saturday morning; next month it is earlier, 13 November, and you have the opportunity to buy your Christmas presents from 10 to 4.0.
An allied craft is that of embroidery, and Mrs. Joanna Graham of the East Sussex section of the Embroiderers Guild wonders whether there are people in Rye who would be interested in joining the Guild. At present meetings take place at the western end of the area, but the Guild would hold occasional sessions in Rye if there were local members. The group's current project is to make new hangings for a bed at Bateman's, and they need more workers to carry this out - training could be given and the work would be done mainly at home. If you would like to know more about this, do get in touch with Mrs. Graham (Bexhill 220188) who would be very glad to hear from you.
The Guild also offers a kind home to any embroidery materials which you may have got tucked away and not know what to do with. Such materials are sold at Guild meetings to individual members, and the money goes towards buying the right kind of thread for the Bateman's project. Angela Butcher has kindly offered to take over to Bexhill anything given to her for this purpose at either of the next two Craft Markets.
In our preliminary "tasters" for the GAZETTE we mentioned several appreciative homes for materials which many people would throw away, and the note about embroidery thread above perhaps provides an opportunity for a more complete list.
Silver foil (clean, please!): Guide Dogs for the Blind, c/o Miss Henley at Freeman Hardy & Willis; or British Diabetic Association, c/o TSB, High Street.
Postage stamps: British Diabetic Association, c/o TSB, High Street.
Green Shield stamps: Scouts, c/o 108 Udimore Road or Moores, Greengrocers, High St.
Newspaper (tied in bundles, please): Playden Church, the shed in the churchyard.
Jigsaw puzzles: Community Centre (Tuesday and Friday mornings).
Plastic carriers and large paper bags: Red Cross Shop (to Red Cross Centre any time).
Plastic flowerpots: WI Market, Community Centre, Fridays, 10-10.0.
Christmas and birthday cards: C. of E. Children's Society, c/o The Rye Bookshop.
Egg-boxes and dumpy honey-jars: Rye Wholefoods, Winchelsea Road.
Knitting wool: the WRVS urgently needs odds and ends of wool for knitting into blanket
squares, etc. - preferably bright colours but anything helps (see below).
Paperbacks (Mills & Boon as well as James Bond, and including Readers Digests): the
WRVS sends them to our troops in N. Ireland - leave at FEC office, weekdays.
Jumble generally: see Fixtures or ring Rye 2303 for next sale booked in Town Diary.
Glass of course goes to the bottle banks; and we feel sure that someone wants patchwork pieces, dressmaking leftovers, etc. - any offers?
Talking of throwing things away, Rother Council advertise that they are "restructuring the refuse collection service” from 1 November.
The Ferry Road office adds that it is rather a case of seeing how things work out for a while; but if the dustmen don't come on your normal day, do not despair, they will be along later in the week.
4.
Thursday, 28th Coffee morning (RNLI), Community Centre, 10.30
Friday, 29th Papa Joe's film: "The Mechanic", Pizzeria, 9.0
Saturday, 30th Craft Market, FEC, 10 - 1.0
Tuesday, 2nd Ski Film Evening (Baldwins Travel), Saltings Hotel, 7.30
FRAG talk: "Conservation and Wilderness Places", Town Hall, 8.0
29 October will be the fifth anniversary of the death of Dr. Trevor Parkes. He will always be remembered with love and gratitude by his family and by his "family" of patients.
• We are very pleased to announce the birth of a son, Silas, to Martha and Eric Money, of the Rye Art Gallery - born 16th October, 8 lbs. 10 ozs., and now back home at Iden Lock.
• Several former Iden residents have asked for a bulletin on Dr. Donald Nelke, victim of the recent shooting. Mr. Tom Vidler reports that Mr. Nelke is still in the Royal East Sussex Hospital but making good progress.
• A reminder that Kenneth Clark's talk on the Camber Tram (28 October) has had to be postponed owing to Mr. Clark's illness.
• Mr. and Mrs. Conner announce that the Fish Shop in The Mint will be closed on 1, 2 and 3 November; they will reopen on the 4th, and from then on will be closed on Mondays, for the winter.
• The Easton Rooms have a new exhibition opening on Saturday, with work by Elizabeth Cramp, Mary Dinsdale and Arthur Neal. The Rye Art Gallery will be holding a centenary exhibition of the work of Eric Gill, including many works not previously shown in public, which comes to Rye from the Pallant House Gallery at Chichester; this important exhibition opens on 6 November for two months.
• Advance notice of four coming events planned by Thomas Peacocke School: on Thursday, 18 November, there will be an evening of drama at the school, including two of the plays from the recent inter-House competition, and on Friday, 19th, members of the staff will join in an entertainment of songs, readings and recitations from the period of the Great War and the twenties. Thursday, 25th, offers an evening of music and dance at St. Mary's, and the following day the school has a Jazz Evening, a spin-off from the successful Jazz Workshop held during Rye Festival Week.
• The East Sussex Fund for the Blind has a keen local committee, who invite support for a coffee morning at the FE Centre on Saturday 6 November. As well as stalls selling bric-a-brac, plants, cakes and produce, there will be a raffle and a bring-and-buy table, and also an opportunity to buy the handiwork of local blind people. Donations and gifts for the stalls will be welcomed by Mrs. Hilda Nelson-Barrett, 5 North Salts, and Mrs. Stella Chappel, St. Anthony's Winchelsea.
• Bishop Peter, Bishop of Lewes, was the preacher at St. Mary's on 24 October.
• Not a Rye event, but the National Trust have a talk in the New Hall, Winchelsea, at 2.30 next Wednesday (3 November) on "Trinity House".
• Bargain of all time: we cannot resist pointing out that Rye Tiles in Wish Ward sell whole boxes of clear-out tiles at 50p a box!
THE RYE GAZETTE is published by Mrs. Mary Owen, 94 Udimore Road, Rye (Rye 2303) assisted by Mrs. Joan Parkes, Bridge Place, Rye. We are always glad to receive news items for inclusion in this weekly publication - normal deadline is Monday afternoon, though minor alterations can be made by phoning Rye 2303 between 8.0 and 9.0 on Tuesday morning.
Photocopied by Sussex Secretarial Services, 11 Claremont, Hastings (942 2633).