Our last issue was too early to record various seasonable pleasures which only arrived in the ten days before Christmas. For instance, it was a delight to see again the nursery population of the big window of Lion Street Galleries the lovely Victorian dolls, with a larger collection of teddies than in previous years. The staff of Barclays Bank were in fancy dress for the three days before Christmas, dispensing festive fare to customers and friends. Father Christmas was to be seen in the High Street ho-ho-hoing outside Serendipity, while inside the shop the girls were dressed as his elfin helpers (and the costumes were home-made, at that). We even heard of two of Martin Channon's young ladies who were for a brief period disguised as Romney ewes!
Rotarians erected their big Christmas tree, complete with lights and taped carols, in Mary Lestocq's yard in Market Road - with another to welcome visitors at the turn of Strand Quay. Shop windows grew increasingly splendid, and there were a number of domestic Christmas trees visible to passers-by - but none (in our view) prettier than the simple one decorated with clear lights and silver ribbons which stood at the top of the steps beside the old Gassons building in Cinque Ports Street.
On the Sunday before Christmas, Rye was involved in a cross-county hook-up on Radio Sussex. The band of the Hastings North Corps of the Salvation Army, based in Ore, was playing carols in the Town Hall courtyard, accompanying a choir singing on the steps of the Town Hall in Chichester, 70 miles away. Bandmaster Stanley Bassett, with his son Nigel in charge of the Junior Band, wore headphones so that he could keep an ear, so to speak, on the singers at the other end; the programme was relayed over a loudspeaker nearby, but when the band was playing the only way to hear the effect was with a portable radio held close to the ear. We tried, and were delighted to hear choir and band perfectly synchronised.
The nativity play put on by Sunday School and Choir children at $t. Mary's on Christmas Eve was produced by Sylvia Silver, who made full use of her unusual stage - one innkeeper, residing in the pulpit, passed on the Holy Family to his fellow-Hotel & Caterer in the Upper Room! Between the two lay the market place, and there was a really effective bustle there, with citizens in assorted sizes and a small but terrifyingly-mustachioed Roman soldier keeping an eye on things. Three charming angels appeared to the shepherds, and the play ended with cast and congregation moving over to the Crib, where Canon Maundrell gave the final blessing. The church looked positively magical, with the shadowed roof and dark windows keeping out the night, the big lit tree, a lighted candle on each window-sill, and lovely red, gold and white flower arrangements.
In the days before Christmas, Rye Lions toured the villages right out to Northiam, with a float equipped with the full works: Father Christmas, a lighted Christmas tree, and a tape-recorder providing the carols. The weekend before Christmas they were at Jempsons, who were most hospitable. The Lions collected the princely sum of £917 - most of which will go to the St. John ambulance for new equipment, since the Brigade give a service to the whole area.
On Monday we asked Inspector Peters at the Police Station how the holiday period had been from the police viewpoint (the press book showed just one crime in the town, a back seat stolen from a car in the Gun Garden). "No problems" he said; everyone had been very well behaved, and they all had a good Christmas. The cells remained empty, the breathalysers unsullied. Isn't that nice! (However, it would be interesting to know just what does happen to the traffic bollards on Banister's Corner; over the holiday, they were down more often than up, despite ESCC staff coming out to mend them several times. Would anyone like to tell tales, strictly not for publication?)
2.
Miss Christine Louisa Mills of Rye Harbour died suddenly but peacefully in hospital on 20 December. She is survived by her brother Arthur and sister Olive. The funeral took place at Rye Harbour yesterday; donations in memory of Miss Mills may be sent to Rye Harbour Church or Rye Memorial Hospital League of Friends.
The death of Sir Melford Stevenson on Boxing Day at the age of 85 means that Rye has lost another link with its independent past. Sir Melford had a long and extremely distinguished legal career, which has been fully covered by obituary writers in the national papers. A tiny facet of this sparkling progress, however, is barely mentioned. In 1944 (not yet Sir) Melford Stevenson was appointed as Recorder of Rye for the seven years which remained before our Sessions were absorbed by Lewes; he had taken silk the year before while serving as a major in the Army. The Recorder's job was by no means a full-time one (the office had been created here in 1837, when reform legislation removed control of the Quarter Sessions from the Mayor and Jurats), and Sir Melford's other duties were considerably more demanding. But - perhaps because he lived in Winchelsea - he always remembered his Recordership with pride; and as our last Recorder he has become a part of Rye's history.
... and if so, have you looked carefully inside your evening bag since then? A gold bracelet, picked up from the floor, was handed over to someone who said she knew the owner and would return it; but the owner hasn't yet received it. It seems extremely likely that the first lady forgot all about the bracelet, and it is still in her bag under her best hankie and party powder-compact. So, if it might be you, could you please check your bag - and if you have the bracelet, return it either to the owner or to Eric Money at the Easton Rooms, who is of course extremely concerned over the affair?
Father Christmas (four of him, in a remarkable way) helped by Rye Firemen, raised £377 for the National Firemen's Benevolent Fund by delivering 327 parcels in the Rye area on Christmas morning. The talking teddy-bear (given by Ian Godfrey, a friend of Terry Pankhurst's) was won by a lady in Winchelsea Beach - and when Michael Bourn took it round, he was delighted to discover that she was expecting a baby at any minute, so it couldn't have gone to a more suitable home. The firemen are most grateful to Francis Hadfield of Rye Model Laundry and John Whiddett of Burnhams for the loan of transport.
Rye Scouts also went to work for the Benevolent Fund. Michael Bourn had taken them for their Fireman's Badge earlier in the year, and they went carol-singing in the town and raised almost £19.
As well as raising money for the national Fund, the firemen have their own Social Club. This will have premises in the new Fire Station, and although there is no firm date for the move, the firemen are already fund-raising on their own behalf to provide sundry bits and pieces. Marc and Jane Terry at the Standard Inn decided to give them a hand with this on the Tuesday before Christmas, and a Fun Night at the pub raised £231 for Social Club funds. Dave Catt tells us that local businesses were incredibly generous over raffle prizes - some 50 in all - and thanks also go to Marc and Jane, Pam and Lucy, who made it such a splendidly successful and enjoyable evening.
When duty calls, of course, fund-raising comes second - as it did on Christmas Eve, the last day for handing in parcels to be delivered by Father Christmas. Luckily there were plenty of people around, since the Brigade was called out to two separate chimney fires! But on Sunday afternoon, 18 men had to drop whatever they were doing, tear down to the fire station, take out both appliances at full tilt down Harbour Road - only to find that the child who called Lewes with a report of a house ablaze there was raising a false alarm with malicious intent (as opposed to a genuine mistake). We fancy they would be interested to know who the young caller was; Lewes keeps a taped record of all 999 calls, so they may yet find out.
- 3 - THE RYE GAZETTE, 6 January 1988
Ken Warren has heard from Network South-East that when the new summer timetable comes into operation (16 May), there will be two small but important improvements as far as Rye is concerned.
The connection to Canterbury West and Ramsgate will be restored, so that passengers will no longer have to wait at Ashford for the best part of an hour. And the Awayday train - the 8.36 to Ashford, much used by shoppers since it is the first going that way on which one can use a day-return ticket to London - will be retimed, so that it will catch the 9.00 to Charing Cross, arriving at 10.14. At present it is timetabled to miss it, by two minutes!
In the meantime, there is still the 7.55 via Hastings, which arrives at Charing Cross at 10.07. For those seeking Canterbury, Hastings & District run a through coach on Wednesdays, leaving Rye at 10 and getting back at about 5.15; book at Baldwins.
The Action Group's fund-raising Cheese and Wine Evening, at the Town Hall on Friday of this week at 7.30, is the first public event in this year's Diary - a chance to meet your friends and swop stories about how marvellous/boring/disastrous the holiday season was. Diversions will include a liqueur tasting, a tombola, a stall selling the Group's badges, stickers and notepads - and the first chance to see the draft report on the traffic count taken by Group members in August. John and Sylvia Silver have been working on this, with help from others in the Group, whenever anyone had a spare moment; the word-processor has finally disgorged the paper-work, and we can all see the results on Friday. Tickets cost £1.20 from the Wool Shop, Rope Walk Antiques, 82 Udimore Road or 32 Ferry Road.
The next Group meeting is on 19 January, followed on Saturday, 23rd, by a fundraising event of a type not seen in Rye for several years - a 50:50 Auction (the seller gets half the price, the rest goes to the good cause). Anything saleable (furniture, household goods, pictures, quality clothes, toys, handicrafts, etc.) should be brought to the Community Centre between 10.30 and 12. Viewing starts at 12, and the sale proper at 2. For viewing, lots will simply carry numbers; but all goods brought along should be labelled with the name and address of the seller, so that the clerk can keep a note of who is selling what - and can make sure the half-shares go to the right people. If you spent part of the Christmas break clearing out the attic or the cupboard under the stairs, this is the time to get rid of the things you don't really want any more - and what about those unwanted Christmas presents? (Items given outright, of course, will be extra welcome.) Tea will be available at the Centre to restore exhausted bargain- hunters, and the proceedings are expected to be all over by 4.
Only thirteen people, including just two new faces (from the Bowls Club) among the old stalwarts, turned up at the Community Centre's AGM - and some time was spent discussing the apathetic attitude of many of those who use the Centre. Peter Chillingworth, who has been on the committee since the start, felt that the time had come for him to retire - and was thanked for all his hard work, particularly for the Junior Club and the Attic Sales.
The groups using the Centre which are represented on the committee are the United Reformed Church, Landgate WI, Rye Players/Ryesingers, the Youth Club (but we understand this is now defunct), the WI Market, and the National Trust; longstanding supporters Noel and Kathy Varley represent Rotary, the Chamber of Trade and Inner Wheel, secretary Yvonne Metcalf represents Rye Festival (and her husband Maurice is also on the committee). Chairman Margaret Owen represents the WRVS, and the Mayor keeps a motherly eye on behalf of the Town Council. Janet Oliver is there on behalf of the Bingo group, which could do with more players; they meet every Wednesday and Saturday evening at 6.30 for 7, there is a very small admission fee, and newcomers are welcome (they have to join the Centre, but this only costs a one-off 50p for OAPs and £1 for under-60s).
4.
In our last issue, writing about the proposal to develop the land across the river from the Salts as a marina village, we said that the Planning Officer's report to his committee recommended the scheme. However, Rye's Councillors weren't having that! Having failed to get Policy & Resources to throw out the idea, George Shackleton brought it up again at full Council on Monday, 14 December, and all three of our Councillors made Rye's view abundantly clear to all the rest of the Rother members. In the past, our Councillors have not always spoken as one, especially in the previous Council; when they do, it carries weight. By the time the matter came before Planning on the Thursday, everyone was well aware of what was involved; Roger Breeds, our Councillor on the Planning Committee (backed by George Shackleton, who was invited to speak) set the matter out plainly - and the committee sympathised. The following recommendations go to Policy & Resources later this month, when the whole Feasibility Study is to be considered before a report goes to full Council. (Site 1 is the Jehovah's Witness field, Site 2 is the North Point gravel pits, Site 3 belongs to Montrose Properties in Harbour Road, Site 4 is the saltings behind the Sailing Club, and Site 5 is the one off New Road.)
"Both Site 1 and Site 5 are unsuitable for marina development with or without housing, which would be seriously detrimental to the landscape setting of Rye.
"Site 2 is suitable for off-river moorings (planning permission exists) and possibly some limited associated on-shore facilities.
"Site 3 has planning permission for marina development including housing. "Site 4 is suitable for off-river moorings only.
"Site 5 should not be disposed of until consideration has been given in the context of the Rye Local Plan to its use as a public amenity area."
(The Rye Local Plan is something Rother's planning staff are working on at the moment; it was put into their programme in May when the proposed A259 route was announced, but there is certainly nothing firm yet, the Planning Officer tells us.)
The Montrose Properties application, an alternative to its original approved one, has been referred to full Council, with a recommendation that it be allowed subject to the signing of a Section 52 Agreement and to various other conditions.
It would involve 97 dwellings, linked lakes, and an industrial area. Further along Harbour Road, the owners of Frenchman's Beach will get one staff caravan, but not two. In Leasam Lane, change of use (with conditions) has been granted for a building at Leasam Farm to be converted into a dwelling, but an application to build in the garden of the Old Coach House was refused.
McCarthy & Stone learnt that Rye is not any old South Coast resort when their application to erect six advertising boards and six flagpoles (GAZETTE no. 248) was cut down to just one board! They also applied to put a hoarding round the site, which has been allowed - but only on condition that they paint it black instead of the present virulent green.
Permission was granted for the building of a house and garage next door to Lorelei in Military Road, subject to several conditions; one (shades of Mapp and Lucia!) is that "provision shall be made for means of escape via the roof space should the river wall be breached or overtopped under severe tidal conditions".
The Bromleys at Little Orchard have permission for extensive work based on the Tower in the garden - presumably due to begin shortly, since the application stated that "unless work can commence within the next couple of months the important contribution that this feature should make to Rye's roofscape may be lost forever, and we will be faced with considering demolition on safety grounds".
Permission was refused for a conservatory on the flat roof at the back of "The Centre" in Market Road; it was granted for a roof window at 2 West Street, and also for a new toilet and shower room at Cap Gris Nez, and for the conversion of Chequer in East Street into two maisonettes.
(continued...)
5.
(continued)
The internal changes at the Monastery were approved (GAZETTE no. 249), and Mr. Elliott also has DoE permission, so we may look forward to seeing a new-style pottery-cum-tourist-attraction there in the early summer if all goes well.
Dr. Akhtar's application for a house in Fishmarket Road at the foot of the surgery garden has been deferred for discussions.
Peter Chantry's application for housing on the site of the Tollgate Garage was also deferred, for elevational plans; there have been amendments to the application since the plans originally submitted. However, just before Christmas the demolition men moved in on the site. All that was left standing last Thursday was the row of single garages, and the big plate-glass windows listing the various things which used to be on sale inside - a sad reminder for the neighbours! Mr. Chantry has, of course, got outline planning permission for redevelopment already - so we may expect to see a sixth major building operation on the perimeter of the town before long.
Across the road from the Tollgate, there has been a big tidy-up at the scrapyard surrounding the Martello Tower; only one shed remained last week. Here, too, planning permission has played a part: the board advertising "three building sites" has "Sold" writ large across it, and there is also permission to convert the Tower itself into living accommodation.
There have been various attempts in recent years to produce a school magazine at Thomas Peacocke. The latest one - produced by the pupils for the pupils - is a lot of fun. Unless the collating was very much awry, it has no front cover and the spelling is sometimes dubious; but it has managed to attract big-name advertising. We really enjoyed Keith Williams's diary of the hurricane as seen from Northiam ("Monday, 26th October: half term, went to nan's at Crawley to have a bath"). Keep it up, School Haul; we look forward very much to your next issue.
Rye Art Gallery has a small body of Subscribers, who pay a guinea a year for the right to elect a Trustee. On 12 December they elected Tim Bishop, the chairman of the Friends, as the Subscribers' Trustee - a position which he has held unofficially since Kenneth Herbertson retired in June. Reporting to the meeting, the chairman of the Trustees, Canon Maundrell, referred to the changes in the administration of the two galleries and to other events during the past year (which we covered in the GAZETTE at the time). The full accounts were available, and a shorter summary shows a very satisfactory position for loot', galleries. The Trust itself, which finances the Stormont Studio, had an income (almost entirely from Mrs. Stormont's endowment) of £15,318 and expenditure of £12,223; the Easton Rooms (financed largely from commission on sales) had an income of £18,529 and expenditure of £17,070. The overall profit for the two galleries was £4,554.
We haven't yet managed to see the exhibition, in the Stormont Studio, of paintings by local primary school children. But it isn't on for long, so don't wait for us to review it before you go and have a look.
Petty Officer Keith Pennington, out in the Gulf with HMS Brazen last autumn, was glancing through an August copy of "Gulf Weekly" - when, to his astonishment, two faces he had known since boyhood looked back at him: Alan and Janet Webb! When he returned to England, posted as an instructor in communications to HMS Raleigh at Plymouth, he brought the magazine with him to show the Webbs.
Janet traces back the story to an agency photographer whose eye was caught earlier in the year by the hedgehog loaves whixt Alan bakes at the Olde Tuck1Shoppe. There is a short article, a half-page colour photo of Alan taking a tray of "hedgehogs" out of the oven, and an inset of Janet in the shop. Conservationists can relax; inside the prickly brown crust, of course, there is just - broad.
• No-one is better qualified to write about amateur drama in Rye than Mrs. Jeffery Waters who, as Jeffery Foord, made her first appearance with Rye Players in the chorus of "The Mikado" in 1935. She and Kenneth Clark have put together a delightful little book,"The Rye Players" (available from Rye bookshops at £2.99), which consists mainly of very well-printed (by Adams) photographs of Players' productions. All have been carefully labelled with the names of those taking part, from "Iolanthe" in 1928 onwards; we see, for instance, Noel Prentice as the Lord Chancellor in that operetta, together with Bert Hinds and Stanley Braine as attendant Earls. There is a charming portrait of Mrs. Waters as Honour in "Tom Jones", taken by Guy Allen in 1938. In all, there are 23 pages of photo- graphs, interleaved with only five pages of text; in a second edition, might not these more conveniently appear as a straight run?
Mr. Clark has fully researched the early history, but even he is unable to give a date for the foundation of what was, by 1895, a clearly thriving Rye Dramatic Society. Four years later it became, impressively, the Rye Dramatic and Operatic Society - and indeed, for much of its history, comic operas were its speciality. The name Rye Players came in 1928. The society went into hibernation during the war, and then turned to comedies to keep its audience happy - "Blithe Spirit" in 1977 was a particularly memorable production. But the number of willing and competent actors and actresses dwindled as the 1980s advanced, and the last three-acter put on by the Players was "The Goose is Getting Fat" in 1982. Since then, the groups activities have been limited to smaller-scale music-hall performances. It is a sad thing that the town can nowadays offer no opportunities to budding producers; perhaps, after reading about such a long and successful tradition, someone may feel inspired...?
• Jo Kirkham's project with the TPS Wednesday-afternoon local history group has now produced its third book, "Leisure Activities, part II". (With the same yellow cover as part I, it is obtainable from D & P Street, Anthony Neville and Salon 54, price £1.99.) This volume covers theatres and cinemas, various aspects of music in the town, sundry clubs including the WI, and sporting events. Sports Day, the Marathon, the Regatta, the Cycling Club, the Athletic and Gymnastic Club and football are featured in some detail.
Again, there are photographs. (The same picture, of the cast of "HMS Pinafore" in 1929, appears in "The Rye Players" as well, where the advantages of shiny paper become obvious, even at a higher price.) But the main interest of the TPS book is in the text, and this text is full of good stories and vivid reminiscences. Older GAZETTE readers who (we are aware) skim over our pages searching for names they remember will really enjoy the TPS book - it is full of names! For instance, there are programmes of the Boys' Council School entertainments at the Bijou in 1916 and 1921; Alf Igglesden has lent a number of Rye Town Band pictures; and the sports coverage is bound to bring back memories. This is not only a book to give pleasure now, but a valuable record for the future. No true Ryer will want to be without it.
• The Rye area also features in a new Radio Sussex book, "Hidden Sussex Day by Day", written as usual by Warden Swinfen and David Arscott, and with illustrations by Peter Berrisford £3.95. It takes the form of a journal (with space for the owner to add birthdays, etc.), and covers the whole county, giving at least one happening or anniversary for each day of the year - including 16 October 1987! For people who don't want to read it straight through (and it is admirable for casual browsing, of course) there are three indexes, of personal names, place-names and subjects. Rye pops up throughout the year; our 19 entries range from the French raid of 29 June 1377 to the lifeboat disaster of 15 November 1928, and include the unpremeditated visit of George I on 3 January 1726, the Grebell murder on 17 March 1742, and Queen Elizabeth I's visit on 12 August 1573, among other fascinating if less crucial events. The only Rye omission we regretted was the earlier Great Storm,'of 4 February 1487, which altered the course of the Rother so dramatically; but the authors were looking for variety in their choice of events, and still have a card-index stuffed with unused dates - so perhaps it will appear in a second volume.
7.
• The gales which raged at the weekend - accompanied by gloomy reports on the radio - seem in the main to have spared Rye (we write on Monday). There was no further damage to The Link, the Agricultural Hall roof is still intact (though the end doors blew down), and the Salts and the land behind the Sports Centre appeared to be draining away well. Burnhams told us they had to go up and secure a few tarpaulins still shielding the October storm damage, but nothing worse.
• Three years ago, Mrs. Mavis Banister of Peasmarsh was so ill that she was being prayed for in church and there was very little hope that she would recover. Last weekend we encountered Mrs. Banister and her husband in Cinque Ports Street; and as they have many friends in the town, we thought a progress report would give pleasure, and perhaps hope to other invalids. Although there was a wheel-chair in the back of the car, Mrs. Banister is now so much better that she can get around indoors with no more than thumb-sticks to support her. In the summer she went to the Atkinson Morley Hospital for a three-month physiotherapy course, which greatly improved her powers of movement; although one arm is still not working properly, her overall recovery is not simply remarkable - miraculous seems a better word for it.
• On Saturday week (16th) Osma Jones is organising a wine-and-cheese party in the Town Hall in aid of St. Michael's Hospice - an event postponed from October. It begins at 7.30, and tickets cost £1.20 at the door. There will be a raffle, and a stall selling Hospice goods (but not bric-a-brac). Raffle prizes will be gratefully received at 38 North Salts - or ring Mrs. Jones if you need something collected. Although the Hospice is now open, this does not mean that it no longer needs funds, and Mrs. Jones as the local representative hopes to have a very enjoyable social evening - weather permitting, this time!
• People who used up their emergency supply of paraffin during the October power cut may get a shock when they try to refill their can; paraffin is no longer obtainable "loose" in the town, as far as we can discover. Banister's and Dennis's gave up selling it some years ago, the Quayside Garage doesn't keep it; and the Tollgate Garage, which did, is now a heap of rubble (see page 5). Skinners has come to the rescue with pre-pack plastic containers holding 4 litres (nearly a gallon) - but they don't pour very well, and anyway it is a long way to carry the stuff back to the Estate or New Winchelsea Road. If there is a stockist on this side of the town, we will be delighted to say so.
• The Editor would like to thank all those who sent her such interesting Christmas cards. It was particularly pleasant to see the two used by Le Fevre Wood & Royle's Rye and Hastings offices, which have gone into the GAZETTE archive: Rye ad a magnificent photograph of the restored St. Mary's clock, and Hastings a lovely shot of the newly-gilded wind-vane - both taken, we feel sure, by Ralph Wood. Brian Cook Batsford is the unmistakeable artist of a National Trust card showing a row of cottages at Chiddingstone in Kent. Finally, an RNLI card: it shows the launch of the Yarmouth lifeboat, taken from an 1876 painting by Thomas Rose Miles, but it gives a more dramatic idea than any words can, of what must have happened at Rye Harbour on that fatal November night more than half a century later.
• On Christmas Day the owner of Needles Passage asserted his rights over it in the traditional manner: boards nailed up across both ends prevented access. Both the shops were of course shut; the people in the house just had to duck!
• At this time of year, bearing in mind likely weather and the usual flu epidemic, we remind readers that the GAZETTE is a one-woman enterprise and could fail to appear at all one week - in which case subscribers would get change in the form of postage stamps before the end of the quarter. If delivery is simply delayed, the Ferry Road/Udimore Road/Strand Quay round gets left until last, since it has only one pick-up point. If you don't get your paper at all on a Wednesday, even in the afternoon, consult your nearest pick-up point; we would try to notify all six if there was any serious difficulty. We've been lucky so far; but it can't last indefinitely!
Friday, 8th Civil Service Retirement Fellowship, talk on Malaysia by E. Spiers, FEC, 11
A259 Action Group wine-and-cheese party, Town Hall, 7.30 - all are welcome, see page 3
Nat.His.Soc., talk on birds by John Gooders, FEC, 7.30
Monday, 11th Town Council committees (see TH notice-board for times)
Camera Club, Cinque Ports Trophy competition, "Skies", FEC, 7.30
Tuesday, 12th Town Council meeting, with ESCC and Rother officials, to discuss A259 strategy - see TH notice-board for time, probably 8
• Congratulations to Gary and Sandra (nee Hook) Streatfield, of Faversham in Kent, on the birth of their daughter Jade Liane on 12 December. Sandra is the daughter of proud grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Derek Hook of Pottingfield Road.
• Mrs. Jean Worth would like it to be known that the East Street shop has been refurbished (and very nice it looks, too - Ed.); she is certainly not retiring. The business is owned by her, and is exactly the same as always.
• As a result of the Winchelsea & District Floral Group's Christmas Fair, a donation of £100 went to the Samaritans; a further £50 has been given to Cancer Research via the group from Woolworths who sang at the Christmas part,
• Congratulations to Constance Owen of Playden, now a full-fledged member of the Community Health Council on to which she was co-opted some time ago. Mrs. Owen represents (wait for it) - the South East Regional Health Authority, no less!
• The Keep Britain Tidy Group has given Rother two Clean Beach Awards for 1987 - for Camber, and the Pett-Winchelsea beach. The certificates are on display in the window of the Council Offices.
• The Conservative Association coffee morning at the George on 17 December raised £111.
• The Town Clerk has had an enquiry from someone interested in Eugene Carless, a research chemist (as opposed to a pharmacist) who lived at 17 Slade Terrace during the second half of the last century. His daughter was a Mrs. Bonavia Hunt, who lived elsewhere. If this rings any sort of bell with you, please contact Mrs. Scammell at the Town Hall; but it was a very long time ago.
• Lack of space this week means we can't go into details about the Town Council's A259 report from Transport Planning Associates, which we summarised on 16 December. Next week, we hope; in the meantime, interested parties should try to attend the Council meeting on Tuesday (see diary, above).
• Landgate WI very much enjoyed their Christmas party, when six members of the committee performed a short comedy. Mrs. Pearson and Mrs. Lampon provided the buffet, and everyone was greeted with sherry or fruit-juice. Landgate WI meets at the Community Centre at 10.30 every third Wednesday, and was founded recently for those who can't get to afternoon meetings (Playden WI) or evening ones (Rye WI). New members are always welcome - just turn up.
• The two red "thumb-prints" which enlivened our pre-Christmas issue were in fact the impressions of a seal which read, in Chinese, "THE RYE GAZETTE" (or the nearest phonetic equivalent) - so we were told by the son who brought it back as a present from the Far East. Chinese-speaking readers will doubtless forgive us if we printed it the wrong way up!
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, Monday second post for Wednesday's delivery. Subscriptions are calculated on the basis of 40p a copy; spares are obtainable from Young Ideas, 7 Cinque Ports Street, and cost 45p. (Copyright Mary Owen 1988)