Staplecross

SPRING CLEANING at ST. JAMES: Is your house always ‘Spick & Span’ ?, - Is dusting and polishing a passion of yours ? Or are you never happier as when you have a hoover in your hand ? - Or would you just like to show a little kindness, help some-one out and do a good deed ?. Well, if you can answer yes to any of these questions, then St. James the Great needs you ! Willing, working hands, - of any size, are urgently required for the annual Spring Clean of this beloved church of ours. Taking place on Saturday March 19th. from 9.30am, at the church, in Ewhurst Green, - help of any kind in carrying out this little task would be so very gratefully received. You don’t have to stay for hours, as even half an hour will make a great difference to the team, - as the old adage “Many Hands Make Light Work”, will be so very true in this case - the aim is to ‘refresh the parts that are not usually reached’, and the more hands to help do this, will make this little chore, all the more pleasant and easier for everyone. Coffee will be provided, - so please just turn up on the day. Come for a long time, or a little time, whatever time you can spare really will make a huge difference. To find out just what is involved, why not telephone Ruth on 01580~831918 for more details.

EASTER LILIES at ST. JAMES: Easter is a special time of the year for many people, for many reasons. An appeal has been made via Ana West for donations towards the Easter Lilies which will be placed under the altar of St. James the Great, at Ewhurst Green at Easter. By tradition, they are given in memory of a loved one. We will have a basket on the altar in the side chapel (St. Stephen’s) together with a small arrangement for anyone who would like to place a card with names of those they wish to be remembered. A £5:00 donation would be very welcome and so very gratefully received. Please give donations to either Jo Goodwin or Ana West, or pop it into our letterboxes, in an envelope with your name, at 3, Snaggs Hall, Ewhurst Green or Rother View, Ewhurst Green, respectively. Thank you.

STAPLECROSS MCP SCHOOL: Lots of lovely things are being organised for our super little folk at this wonderful village school of ours, especially in the ‘sports’ department. As we hurtle through this busy month of March, many sports fixtures have - and will be taking place, including many football and netball tournaments in & with Northiam, Robertsbridge, St. Leonards, and Vinehall schools. The ‘Kingfishers’ class had a fantastic time at the Chatham Dockyards on Thursday in a fun and historical trip, - more like ‘an adventure’ - exploring a range of ships and enjoying all the exhibits. The ‘Swallows & Robins’ classes, will be experiencing the delights of the Herstmonceux Science Centre with lots of exciting ‘hands on’ exhibits this week (14th) and Year 6 will be attending the ‘Safety in Action’ event when they attend the Bexhill Fire Station also this week (16th) whilst the Kestrels will be off to the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne, on 23rd.of this month to watch an exciting show about ‘the Vikings’, all part of the “Horrible Histories” series. What amazing ways to learn about any subject ?. Truthfully, school, therefore education, was never like this in my day ! - Don’t forget, parents, Friday March 18th, will be when the school have their ‘Sport Relief Event’, which is when everyone - (including the Staff ???) - for the cost of a £1:00 donation, come to school dressed as their favourite sports person - then during the afternoon, the school will be holding their own ‘Sports Marathon’ where every child in the school participates in two hours of sports activities. Each Year 6 pupil is organising one activity to lead for groups of children from other classes. Also each child will have a sponsor form, so they feel the effort they put into their ‘sporting marathon afternoon’ will be raising money for the benefit of others, through the Sport Relief charity. Another great and fun filled day when many lessons will be learnt, but not all of them academic !

STAPLECROSS BONFIRE BOYS: A fantastic invitation is extended to one and all to come along and join in the fun in what is now a firm favourite event on the local Bonfire Society calendar. “Come A’ Waissailing” with your local Bonfire Society on Saturday March 12th from 6.30pm when we begin the traditional Orchard Celebrations at Quarry Farm, Bodiam. - Entrance through the Business Park, near Bodiam railway station -SatNav TN32 5RA- -NOT Junction Road entrance, as used last year ! There will be a licensed bar, mulled cider, hot drinks, food-a-plenty, in the form of chilli, hot dogs, burgers and soup. There will also be lots of music to aid the celebrations and help make the evening go ‘with a bang’, - as drumming and banging will be a major part of the historical celebrations. To help this along, there’ll also be lots of singing from sea shanties and other folk music. This promises to be a fabulous night out for ALL the family, with free entry to everyone, - so make sure you all come along and join in with all the folky fun. Full details can be found at www.esbs.org.uk

ROTHER RAMBLERS: Another delightful stroll around our ‘neck of the woods’ is planned for Sunday March 13th when members of this friendly and outdoor walking group will meet up for an eight (8) mile circular stroll of Northiam to Beckley.The meeting point will be the central car park in Northiam OS EXP124. TQ829245. (SatNav TN18 4HZ) at 10.00am. As usual, a picnic lunch is suggested and as part of this walk, you will be checking out part of the Sussex Border Path. Lovely scenery along the way makes this an interesting meander. Your ‘walk leaders’ for this trip will be Rita & Lionel and you may contact them on 01424~752452 for further details. Walk no: 2 is of slightly less mileage being only 6 miles and is described as ‘Eastbourne Town & Downs’ which is beautiful at any time of the year. Arranged to take place on Wednesday March 16th, the meeting point for this trip will be the car park ( which is free - 4 hours) at the entrance to Gildredge Park- ( off The Goffs, A259) OS EXP123. TV604993. (SatNavBN22 1EY) at 10.15am. There will be a short refreshment stop only, and John will be your ‘walk leader’ for today, so please contact him on 01424~773998 for all further information

STAPLECROSS LUNCHEON CLUB: Back on track, following a brief hiccup, due to the ‘poorliness’ amongst the helpers & the diners alike, - this week we shall all be looking forward to another delicious meal as provided by ‘resident’ cook, Sally and her merry band of helpers. The diners will be making their way to the Village Hall, Northiam Road, Staplecross on Wednesday March 16th beginning at 12.30pm , where they will sit down to enjoy a delicious repast consisting of: Turkey and Ham Pie, with fresh vegetables followed by a really yummy cheesecake, finishing with tea or coffee. Having had to cancel last month’s meeting, due to illness, this goes to show how important this group is to a great number of people within our community and as a result a little reminder of the appeal made recently, on behalf of this little dining group is repeated here. I have often told you of the delicious 2 course meals that are provided every month at the Village Hall in Staplecross and where for a very small cost of £6:00 per person, a small group of happy and very friendly diners meet up to enjoy the simple, delectable and home cooked meal, eaten amongst congenial company, in comfortable surroundings. Well, sadly for any number of reasons, the numbers of those attending these lunches, are declining and the hard working organisers now find themselves in a bit of a quandary and are now looking into the economic and validity of continuing to provide these lunches. The Luncheon Club has a superb group of people ‘In Charge’ -so to speak - who do all the hard and messy work involved in this, including;- selecting the menu’s, preparing the food, who cook & serve, clear & clean up, who lay out the hall & tables and tidy it all away after we’ve gone home. These lovely people really enjoy doing it, - but there does come a time when the costs going out outweigh the diners coming in!. Hence this ONGOING APPEAL !. This super little dining group is looking for -’MORE BUMS ON SEATS’ - Yes, WE NEED YOU !. Additional members are urgently needed and would be so very welcome. The meals, as I’ve said many times before, are always delicious, freshly cooked with the provisions often locally sourced, and of great variety. Rules are few and far between and you don’t even have to live within the parish boundary as several of our diners travel from outside, (-which just shows you how great the meals are! ) Please come along and join this lovely club group and help prevent another local social club from being lost to the community. We meet every 3rd Wednesday of each month at 12.30pm in Staplecross Village Hall. Our next date for the meeting of the Luncheon Club will be Wednesday March 16th so please contact Sally on 01580~830000 or Dennis on 01580~830816 for all further information. We really do look forward to welcoming you to our table.