A reception given at Rye Memorial Hospital last week by the District Health Authority marked Dr W H Townsend's thirty years of service to the hospital. On behalf of the authority, Mrs Joan Yates presented him with a cheque - so that he could choose his own present (a wheelbarrow, we understand). Although she was representing the health authority, Mrs Yates spoke also for the town when she said how deeply Dr Townsend was respected and how much he had done for our community. Book and music tokens were presented by Mr Cracknell on behalf of the hospital's League of Friends. Dr Thomas and Dr Ferguson were there to represent the practice, and also Dr Hartley, Dr Townsend's predecessor as its senior partner; Dr Hartley had served Rye as one of its doctors for 42 years until his retirement in the early 1970s. Miss Hall, receptionist at the surgery for many years, was also among the guests.
It was after a total of 37 years' service to Rye and the villages round that Dr Townsend retired from full-time practice last month. He and Betty came to the town when he left the Navy, and their three children were born here. The family lived first on Cadborough Cliff, and then built their present home beside the Saltcote Place drive; this was, he recalls, in the days of building restrictions when you could have either skirtings or picture rails - but not both! In those days, of course, the surgery was in the High Street, where the Mariners Hotel now is; for the last quarter of the nineteenth century, it had housed a linen-drapers, Fullers, succeeded later by Goffins and then Moores. The present Postern Gate surgery at the foot of Conduit Hill was designed by Ralph Wood for the practice in the mid-Sixties.
We asked Dr Townsend how far the town had changed during his time here. A lot, he said, as far as (for instance) the shops are concerned; but the people are no different - and they do respect a doctor's right to some private life!
Although he will continue to work part-time, we suspect his private life will be fully occupied: there is plenty to do in the garden, with a new greenhouse; there is the lure of children and grandchildren on the other side of England; and of course, Betty's fascinating Folk Museum can absorb all the time either of them has to spare. Both Bill and Betty clearly intend to enjoy a family life no longer so strictly timetabled to the demands of general practice, and we all hope they will find the odd half-hour to relax in the sun and admire the roses, and gaze across the Marsh from the Cherries garden to the Channel.
The Annual Meeting of the Rye and District Branch of the NSPCC is always something of an event, often with a speaker whose tales strike a chill of horror down the spine of the audience. This year's speaker is very special. The Lady Moyra Campbell, CVO, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn and married to a naval officer, is Vice-President of the County Tyrone Branch of the NSPCC and has been a member of the Central Executive Committee for thirty years. She gives, says Anne Wood, immense help to NSPCC staff in Northern Ireland, and takes a particular interest in the playgroups which the Society runs in the Province. Lady Moyra is flying from Ireland specially for this meeting, and her visit gives Rye a rare chance to hear a speaker with personal experience of Ireland's troubles and how they affect its children.
The meeting is at the FE Centre at 2.30 on Wednesday, 7 March. Invitations have gone out to the Branch's regular supporters, but they will of course be delighted to welcome anyone who would like to come. Just turn up, says Mrs. Wood. There will, of course, be the opportunity to find out more about the work of the NSPCC, which is making a special effort this year to raise a staggering amount of money to celebrate its Centenary as well as keeping it solvent.
2.
Mrs. Vera Larkin, of The Close, died in hospital on Friday evening, 17 February, aged 69. She had been ill for some months, but her indomitable spirit had concealed the full extent of her illness from all but her closest friends. Cremation takes place on Thursday (23rd) at Hastings at noon. Mrs. Larkin came to Rye just after the war with her husband Budge, a member of the saddlery and cycle- shop family, and their son John. She became the school secretary at the Grammar School, a job which in those days meant taking care of all the non-teaching administration of the school, including looking after the accounts. It was a very different job from which she retired nearly thirty years and three headmasters later, in 1979; she continued to work part-time for farmer Philip Merricks and for Braxtons at Northiam, because she was not one to be idle. Throughout her life Mrs. Larkin enjoyed music, both as a singer - with the Hastings Philharmonic Choir and later with Ryesingers - and as a pianist; she and John sang together at charity concerts, and a letter of sympathy to her friend Miss Hilda Dann speaks of Vera's "clear soprano voice cheering up the town and villages in the days of austerity" just after the war. John, the Larkins' only son, was killed in a flying accident in the 1950s, and Budge died some years ago; but Mrs. Larkin was much loved as "Yar" (a child's attempt at "Vera") not only by her own granddaughter Sally but by Sally's cousins in her mother's family - an honorary status which gave her get pleasure.
Mr. Peter Cooke, of Ferry Road, died in hospital on Saturday, 18 February, after a long illness; he was 70. Born in Brede, he was a pupil at Rye Grammar School and went on to Hastings College where he won several prizes for art; later he turned to architecture, though he never took full professional qualifications. During the war he served in India as a captain in the Royal Engineers and stayed on in the Far East for some time before returning to London. Later, in Rye, he worked for the Borough Surveyor's department under Bob Connolly and then for Rother Council at Battle. In the mid-1960s he was commissioned to redesign the inside of the Ship Inn, then kept by John and Kath Elworthy; and later, when Mrs. Elworthy was widowed, they worked together on two neglected and fire-damaged oasthouses just outside Rye to build and run what is now Playden Oasts. When it became all too clear that Kath was suffering from multiple sclerosis, the doctors advised her to give up the cooking for which she was famous, and she and Peter took over the Queen Adelaide in Ferry Road; here, too, Peter made many improvements to the pub. Finally, they decided to retire to a house in Ferry Road, which Peter adapted to meet Kath's needs; and it was from here that he embarked on a very energetic and successful fund-raising campaign for the Multiple Sclerosis Society until her efforts were cut short by a major stroke last July. He will long be remembered for this work by local MS sufferers; but he also leaves his monument around him (as was said more elegantly in Latin of Sir Christopher Wren) in many buildings in the town. The funeral takes place at St. Mary's Church tomorrow (23rd) at 1.0, followed by cremation at Hastings; family flowers only, but donations in Peter's memory may be sent to the Multiple Sclerosis Society c/o Mrs. Elworthy at 22 Ferry Road, Rye, or Mrs. Goldsworthy at Houghton Green House, Playden.
Miss Ruth Shearer, of New Winchelsea Road, died in St. Helen's Hospital on 13 February; she was 97, and was among Rye's very oldest inhabitants. The funeral will take place privately.
Mrs. Phyllis Small, of Rope Walk, died in Rye Hospital on 19 February. She leaves a widower, children and grandchildren. Cremation takes place at Hastings on Friday (24th) at 11.
At Rye Magistrates Court last week, four people, two of them juveniles, were each fined £50 and ordered to pay £81.30 compensation towards damage totalling £325 done to building work at Paygate Cottage in Udimore Road just before Christmas.
- 3 - THE RYE GAZETTE, 22.2.1984
One of Rye's most startlingly successful coffee mornings for a long time was arranged at short notice, with not much publicity except by word of mouth, and with no "attractions" other than those normally offered at such an event. Mrs Anne Swaine, who runs the FE Centre, is quite overwhelmed by the fact that £390 was taken at the Centre on Saturday morning - she even went back to count it again, in case! For two hours the canteen was packed; they sold 176 cups of coffee, and rather wished afterwards they had thought to count heads at the door. The raffle and the cake-stall each took over £100. Admittedly it was a lovely morning with no rival attraction; but the result is a clear demonstration of the great anxiety about, and support for, the Centre, both in Rye and the villages. Mrs. Swaine and her management committee are much heartened.
Their next event is on Friday, 9 March, at the FEC at 7.30. Tickets will cost £1 for an evening's entertainment, with refreshments, entitled "Round and About Rye" given by members of the Movie Society. There will be a raffle, so supporters of the FEC unable to attend in person could perhaps ask a friend to buy them some tickets? Although the deficit is very much reduced by Saturday's takings, there is still some distance to cover before the financial year ends, when the Centre has to break even.
(Regular FEC users will be sorry to hear that Ian Nash, the caretaker, is leaving. He is about to become assistant caretaker at The Grove School in St. Leonards - much more convenient for his home in Hastings, but we shall all miss his cheerful presence about the place.)
Tickets will be on sale shortly for the Thomas Peacocke School production of "Guys and Dolls" (Upper School, 29 to 31 March). The enthusiastic audiences who enjoyed "The King and I" and returned for "Oklahoma" two years ago will undoubtedly want to make sure of their seats for this year's production. As usual, the producer is David Gaunt, using a cast rather younger than some. The script is based on stories by Damon Runyon and would, says Mr. Gaunt, stand on its own without music, but it has the bonus of a marvellous score by Frank Loesser. This classic of the theatre was first produced in 1950 and has been revived recently at the National Theatre and also in Hastings where some members of the school cast were able to see it. The school orchestra will be assisted by ex-pupils and friends of the school, and instrumental teachers from the area. The costume department has managed to get Salvation Army uniforms from the Hastings production but is now busy finding suitable outfits for a chorus of crapshooters (American slang, adds Mr. Gaunt hastily, for dice players!).
The "Mapp and Lucia" filming was due to start on Tuesday in the Watchbell Street area. If the weather plays fair (and it was certainly better on Tuesday than the forecast) they hope to be finished there by Friday and to move after the weekend out to Camber, where Point Farm is standing in for Lucia's house in Military Road (not nowadays very convenient for the event that took place there). LWT location manager Peter Hall has called on as many residents of Watchbell Street as he could find at home, asking for their forbearance over parking cars there during the filming, and he tells us he much appreciates their friendly co-operation. Other people who might normally be taking their cars up there in the course of the next few days are warned that they may find it a little congested - by all means come and watch, the message is, but please on foot!
Incidentally, it is no use complaining to the traffic wardens or the police about parking in the newly restricted areas in the town (the cobbled streets at the top, and Conduit Hill); the necessary orders cannot come into effect until all the work on the package is complete, and Ralph Olesen says that they are still waiting for Seeboard to connect up the illuminated signs. As soon as this is done - and he expects it very shortly - the whole thing becomes legal. (Removal of two signs in Church Square this week is purely temporary and done for the benefit of LWT!)
4.
A hazard in Ferry Road caused one accident on Friday afternoon, and at least one other was only narrowly averted. The Magdala Terrace houses are being retiled, and the builders - contractors for Rother Council - had removed their skip from the road in front of the terrace, leaving the old tiles stacked in the road: an obstacle protruding several feet from the curb, but only curb-high and much the same colour as the road surface. During the afternoon a car coming out of Rye collided with the stack and veered across the road - luckily empty at the time and back again, damaging both nearside wheels and eventually needing to be towed away. Fortunately, the occupants were, we hear, no more than badly shaken, and were looked after by staff at the Clinic, who reported the matter to the police. They in turn reported it to Rother, who contacted the builders, and by the end of the afternoon a pick-up truck arrived to load the tiles. However, there were by now a considerable quantity of broken ones, and these were left at the side of the road, unlit. As it grew dark, a motorcyclist had a narrow squeak when he failed to notice the heap until nearly too late and swerved to avoid it almost into the path of a car coming into the town. The matter was again reported to the police, and a warning lantern appeared beside the rubble, which was finally removed on Saturday morning.
It seems that the truck which should have collected the tiles was delayed owing to a breakdown and should have arrived early in the afternoon; but it is not clear why the tiles were stacked in the road in the first place, nor why the rubble was not removed with the rest. The police tell us that anyone needing to obstruct either the roadway or the pavement has first to get a licence from the County Council highways department, who impose very strict conditions relating to safety; in view of the width of the pavement at that point, one wonders why permission was given to put the tiles in the road at all?
The Birmingham Spring Fair is a trade exhibition covering an enormous range of retail goods - a huge affair, and a good opportunity for businesses seeking export outlets as well as those in the home market. All sorts of firms have their wares on show for a week - including (says Steve Denny who was there as a buyer) the Victoria and Albert Museum, showing some quite enchanting if expensive reproductions of Victorian valentines. Dennis Townsend, supported by his sons Jim and David, was there with the Iden Pottery range for, Maureen tells us, a very useful week. Rye Pottery were there too, with their tableware range and two new Canterbury Tales figures; it was as a result of Birmingham last year that they gained a very big French order (GAZETTE no. 36).
The David Sharp Pottery has its sights fixed on the Ideal Home Exhibition this year. They have exhibited there before, and this year planned to take a stand which would make a particular feature of their house name plaques; they have 2,000 number-only plaques ready to go on sale then and there, and of course will be taking special orders for delivery later. David will himself be in action painting, and there will be a video showing the rest of the pottery at work (Stand no. 614).
So the Sharps were particularly pleased when the Redhill builders of one of the show houses, the Glendower, approached them: would they make a rather special name plaque for this house? The firm have also ordered half-a-dozen of David's assorted cats for display indoors, so Rye will catch the eye of both the waiting queue and those who finally go inside.
Mrs. Peek's birthday guests will like to know that the beautiful dish which David Sharp made as her family's present to her - suitably inscribed around a design showing oast- houses and a hop-laden waggon - is now safely glazed and ready for delivery, to take pride of place in Fishmarket Road.
5.
The Rye and District Branches of Round Table, Rotary and Lions have joined their financial forces to help a Rye resident. Mrs. Eileen Court, of Love Lane, needs access to a supply of oxygen 24 hours a day, and supplying the gas in cylinders from Hastings had sometimes given rise to worrying moments. On Thursday, Mrs. Court was presented by Francis Hadfield, Round Table president, with a £1,200 oxygen generating machine. This does the job of endless cylinders, and when Mrs. Court eventually finds herself able to manage without it, it will be available under the control of local doctors for other patients in the Rye area in need of such help.
There have been rumours in the town for some time about the future of the Easton Rooms, the Rye Art Gallery's commercial subsidiary which enlivens the High Street with its cheerful window and its monthly exhibitions of paintings, prints and crafts. It is a major outlet for the professional artist and craftsman in our area, though many of its exhibitors come long distances to show their work at the gallery.
At the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Rye Art Gallery, members will hear a report on the position of the Easton Rooms, followed by an opportunity for discussion. The meeting takes place at the main gallery in Ockman's Lane (not the Town Hall) on Tuesday, 6 March, at 8 pm.
Rye Museum Association members and friends much enjoyed Friday evening's talk by Stella Pigrome (yes, she is the daughter of the Grammar School maths master) with this intriguing title. It turned out to be a quotation from Shakespeare, and the worms received fairly short shrift. The epitaphs ranged from formal mourning parlance to earthy country humour, and Miss Pigrome had assembled an entertaining selection from many different churchyards. She followed this with a series of slides designed to show the different styles of funereal portraiture, from mediaeval brasses to elaborate full-sized and three-dimensional statues of the deceased, often with his spouse lying at his side and an intimidating brood of children praying round the edge of the tomb. These splendid memorials can be found in remote village churches as well as in Westminster Abbey, and Miss Pigrome spoke with some feeling about the difficulty of photography often in a bad light through Victorian iron railings!
The Association's next event is on Friday, 16 March, at the FEC at 7.30, when Laurie Band will be showing another selection of slides from his vast collection - this time he is concentrating on "Maritime pictures - the Port of Rye". A month later there is another scoop: Alma Fabes has prepared a talk on Winchelsea as a companion piece for her two Rye shows, and the Association has persuaded her to give it at the FE Centre on Friday, 13 April, at 7.30. As always, non-members are most welcome to come to both evenings.
This year marks the 30th birthday of the Museum, and this is to be celebrated at the Association's AGM on 4 May, when the Curator, Geoffrey Bagley, will be showing slides and talking about the first thirty years. There will be more details in the Association's next newsletter, but in the meantime, members might like to note the date in their diaries.
The press book this week lists a series of small burglaries, etc. Property worth £140 was taken from a house in Leasam Lane on 10 February; £200-worth of damage was done, but nothing stolen, from Russell's Garage in Rye Harbour Road next day. A plate-glass window at Sea Cruisers was broken on the 12th, and between the 10th and 13th a small amount of cash was taken from Solvent Services. (In Fairlight, some £17 left out for milk and newspapers vanished from doorsteps.)
6.
Rye Town Council Bequest Committee's party for residents over 70 and their spouses took place at the Community Centre on Saturday, when 138 guests were welcomed by the Committee's chairman Mrs Monica Oliver. Working like mad behind the scenes were members of the Town Council, Toc H helpers, and others who regularly assist with this annual event (held this year well clear of the overcrowded Christmas period). We were told not to mention names, but we cannot resist referring to Mr. Dick Oliver whose professional touch and unflagging help was much appreciated. Two previous Mayors no longer Council members were present, Mrs. Philpott and Mrs. Yates, and our present Mayoress had come over from Tunbridge Wells. The guests - more of them than ever before - sat down to ham and turkey salad and new potatoes, with fresh rolls made by Alan Webb, followed by fruit jelly and trifle (the jelly was made in the Community Centre the day before, to avoid difficulties over transport), cake and tea.
The tables cleared; it was time for the Rye Movie Society to provide the entertainment. Using two projectors, Jeffery Waters, Joan Camier and Bob de Ste Croix gave a most enjoyable show mixing old and new and bringing back memories to every-one. A record of the 1969 Bonfire Night was followed by film of the Queen Mother's visit to open Devonport House in 1982; two comedies from the 1960s ("Chicken and Chips" and "By Appointment") were much appreciated, as were two newer films, one taken in the gardens of Church Square and one largely in St. Mary's.
Then it was the Mayor's turn to thank the Movie Society and all concerned, and time for the guests to be taken home by coach, minibus or private car. The whole occasion was clearly very much enjoyed. We might mention that between them the helpers spent the best part of two days on the immediate preparations, let alone the organising work which went on for weeks beforehand.
Rye Women's Institute coffee morning on Thursday at Devonport House made a useful profit of £31.50. This was not for WI funds in general, but to finance a local contribution in kind to a gigantic exhibition called "WI Life and Leisure" which takes place at Olympia at the end of June. Rye WI is being asked to give 20 craft articles for exhibition and sale, and the coffee morning proceeds will help to pay for materials for this.
The WI at national level is using 1984 as a promotion year - the intention being to increase membership, particularly among younger women. Rye Branch is having its own Promotion Day at the Town Hall on 2 June, when there will also be hand-made goods for sale. As a taster for the standards demanded, we can thoroughly recommend a visit to the Rye Group's annual craft show at the FEC on 31 March, or just to the weekly Friday WI Market which reopens on 16 March.
Rye WI meets at the FE Centre on the second Wednesday of each month, with a speaker or other entertainment as well as a friendly social gathering. Future talks include one from Mrs. Kirkham on "The lighter side of being a Mayor", a talk on English cheeses and one called "Acting is Fun". They have a speaker on the Sue Ryder Foundation, and someone talking about tapestries. The year's programme mentions an exhibition of members' photographs, a fashion show, a painting and collage exhibition - and an intriguing talk in June called "Sparkling Promotion Ideas".
As well as taking part in the Rye Group craft and home economics shows, each Institute has its own and in this connection the Rye programme gives a delicious-sounding recipe for ginger cake:
But we all know that the WI is not simply a "How to..." organisation. At national level it has immense punch, and that punch is made up from pressure from individual branches all over the country. Each Institute gives help in its own way to its own community, but probably one of its most useful functions is the chance for women to get together, to welcome newcomers and encourage the diffident to make the most of their talents in whatever direction these may lie. All our local Institutes extend a hearty welcome to new members; let the men have their clubs and pubs, this is something for the girls.
7.
• At Winchelsea New Hall on Monday, 27 February, at 7.30 Michael Renton is speaking to National Trust members on "Samuel Palmer - The Timeless Moment".
• Two jumble sales are coming up at Playden WI Hall in the next few weeks. One is on Tuesday, 28 February, at 2 in aid of Playden Church funds (and it is not in Fixtures, so please make a note in your diary). The other is for Playden WI funds on 17 March. That particular Saturday is now very congested, with jumbles at Playden and Peasmarsh (Lions) and Rye (the Bonfire Boys, in the morning); there is a National Trust lecture in the afternoon, and also the Thomas Peacocke PTA 50:50 Auction down in The Grove. For Secretaries still choosing dates, this is perhaps one to avoid?
• Barbara Fearon tells us that the Social Democratic Party is at last showing its face in Rye. Two events are planned to launch it, and the organisers hope for support from some of the 394 people who supported Ann Hamilton as SDP candidate in the Rother election last May.
On Friday, 2 March, there will be a forum entitled "The Third World: who cares?" at the FE Centre at 7.45. The discussion will be led by Jake Jacobs, of Beckley, who has spent most of his working life in developing countries and is a consultant to a number of international agencies. He has just completed an assignment in Fiji, returning home via China and Hong Kong; he is the Secretary of the SDP Third World Development Group. Members of the general public are cordially invited to attend and join in the discussion, says Mrs. Fearon, on this subject of grave concern to governments and the electorate alike.
On Wednesday, 14 March, there will be a coffee morning and bring-and-buy, also at the FEC, from 10.15 - when there will doubtless be an opportunity for enquirers to hear more about local plans for the party.
• The Community Centre is very pleased with the response from local catering establishments to its Pancake Race on Shrove Tuesday (6 March). Sponsor forms have been distributed to those expected to take part, and we understand that the races are almost fully booked up. Generous sponsorship for the team representing your favourite hostelry is invited, and of course spectators are welcome, both to watch the races at 3.30 and for refreshments (including pancakes) at the Community Centre afterwards.
• Freda Gardham School holds its Spring Fair on Saturday, 10 March, from 9 to 12 at New Road, to coincide with the annual football and netball tournament for the primary schools in the area (if bad weather should force the cancellation of the tournament, the Fair goes ahead regardless). Proceeds are earmarked for the purchase of a reading scheme for use throughout the school at a total eventual cost of about £1,000.
Before the Fair, however, there is a real treat for 63 third- and fourth-year juniors who will be bound on an expedition to the Big City from 5 to 7 March under the London Explorers scheme. Staying at a hotel, the party will split into two groups during the day, each with two staff members and a London Explorers guide, and they intend to cram a good deal of sight-seeing into their trip. Parents are paying the full cost of the visit.
Speaking of trips, Thomas Peacocke has once again sent skiers to Austria and footballers to Skegness over half-term, and we hope to carry reports from both groups when they return.
And finally, by way of very long notice, the Blackheath Opera production at the Community Centre on Sunday, 1 July, will be Johann Strauss's "The Gipsy Baron" - just the job for an entertaining Sunday afternoon. Put it in your diary now!
It will not clash this year with the Hill House fete, taking place on 15 July.
8.
Thursday, 23rd Rye and District Bible Society AGM (speaker Tim Pain), Methodist Hall, 7.45
Friday, 24th Rye WI Market AGM, CC, 2
Natural History Society, "Mountains and Wild Flowers" (Frank Palmer), FEC, 7.30
Saturday, 25th Cinque Ports Majorettes jumble sale, CC, 2
St. John Ambulance jumble sale, St. John HQ, 2
Monday, 27th British Legion Women's Section meeting, Red Cross, 7.30
Wednesday, 29th Over-Sixties Club coffee morning, Red Cross, 10 to 12
"Cheerful Giver" meeting about church finance, St. Mary's, 7.30 Tall Ships Race video ("You could be doing this"), TP Upper School, 8 – see GAZETTE no. 69
• Congratulations to the Rev. Stuart Davison and his wife Gill on the arrival on Wednesday of their daughter Eleanor Ruth (5 lbs 14 ozs), who may well be back in Udimore Road by the time this note appears.
•Congratulations, too, to John Anthony Clamp of Springfield Court, Playden, and Gillian Elizabeth Sargeant of London, who were married at Wittersham on 16 February.
• Friends of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Nettle will be delighted to know that they have at long last moved from Saltcote to Tilling Green, where Mr. Nettle will continue to run his business as a painter and decorator; the phone number remains the same.
• Recent planning applications include a porch in Marley Road, and a joint request by the owners of two adjoining houses in Tower Street for tile cladding at first floor level. Looking again at the plans submitted by Woolworths (GAZETTE no.71) we note that the proposed new fascia differs from the present one; the plan shows a geranium red background with the word Woolworth in white "illuminate" letters - we hope that "illuminate" means just shiny, not actually lit up!
• Rye Lions wonder if anyone has a garage or small store which they could use for a couple of months in the late summer to keep goods for their annual Charity Shop? They would be most grateful for the loan of somewhere suitable; if you can help them, phone Trevor Humphreys, Rye 223285. They are also seeking jumble for a sale at Peasmarah Village Hall on 17 March - collection can be arranged (Mr. Humphreys again).
• Invalids: Mrs. Newman of Udimore Road is not after all being allowed to move from RESH to Rye this week - both the orthopaedic and the eye people want her within their grasp for a little longer; she is, however, taking it all cheerfully. We hear of steady progress by Mrs. Rosalind Webb in St. Helen's and Mrs. Ethel Bourn at Rye; also at Rye, Mrs. Mavis Bannister is continuing to improve. Mr. Beevers is now back home in Westfield recovering from his recent operation.
• Our senior local WI is apparently Playden, ten years older than Rye and celebrating its 66th birthday with a cake at the February meeting. There were 40 entries in the craft show, judged by Mrs. Bugden from Etchingham who commented on the overall high standard; in her talk she gave advice on craft work generally and on working for shows in particular.
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office, and published by Mrs Mary Owen, 94 Udimore Road, Rye (Rye 222303). News items for inclusion are always welcome - deadline Monday afternoon, Tuesday 9 am for emergencies. The GAZETTE costs 25p weekly, and is delivered to subscribers and pick-up points on Wednesday; extra copies and back numbers can he ordered from 94 Udimore Road, while a few spares are available at Squirrels, 9-13 Cinque Ports Street, Rye. (Copyright Mary Owen 1984)