By now, most local people will be aware that the town is threatened with the loss of its High Street bakery. The current planning list shows an application from the Anglia Building Society for change of use for 89 High Street - from a retail bakery (Long Bros) with living accommodation above, to an extension of the Anglia branch office next door.
About ten years ago, the then owner of Longs sold both shops to the Hastings & Thanet Building Society, who opened their office in no. 88 (older readers will remember it as Longs' tea-room). Since then the High Street has housed three building societies: North Kent in its tiny office next to Hamilton Furnishings; Eastbourne Mutual, with which the Rye Building Society merged; and Anglia, which appeared when Hastings & Thanet "went foreign". Other societies have agents in the town, but based in the offices of professional firms and not occupying shops. The High Street also houses, of course, four clearing banks and the TSB.
No. 89 has been a bakery for a very long time. In 1876 it was occupied by Federic Rubie, then by H.J. Rubie, then by Charles House - all bakers; by 1907 it had become Long Bros. (No. 88 was then still Sarah Shearman's toyshop, but Longs had both shops by 1940.) The Thomson family, father and son, took over the bakery lease soon after the sale of the premises to Hastings & Thanet. Andy Thomson and his family live over the shop, and there are also six employees, two in the bakery and four in the shop. The Thomsons have made considerable improve¬ments to the bakery's equipment, increasing its capacity as well as providing very good bread - as the regular queue out into the street in the morning will testify. They also sell a whole range of fancy cakes, and their lunch-time sandwiches are much in demand. They do not want to be turned out.
Looked at from across the road, it is clear that nos. 88 and 89 are two quite separate buildings, on different levels, with different windows and different rooflines. Both run back a long way; the bakery occupies the back of no. 89, but there is a fair amount of space visible at the back of no. 88 (and presumably room on the upper floors as well, since according to the electoral roll no-one lives there).
The manager of the Anglia office is on holiday. The Society's estates office at >Horsham, who made the application, had obviously been warned not to discuss the matter with the press. At the head office in Northampton, a spokesman said that the branch needed more room and could only expand sideways; the decision was not he assured us, taken lightly. But we think it is reasonable to point out that there is a huge Anglia branch in the middle of Hastings; and the Rye branch's front-of-the-house space, with two service points, is much the same as that of the other building societies - and, indeed, that of the Midland Bank.
If Rather allows this application, Rye will lose its High Street bakery; a young family will lose both job and home; and six other people will lose their jobs. Even if the Thomsons did wish to give up the bakery when their lease comes due for renewal in April, it would still be a grievous loss to the High Street for a service shop to disappear for good rather than be put back into the pool for another tenant, or even sold outright.
Longs opened a petition in the shop on Friday afternoon - and by lunch-time on Saturday it held some 360 signatures, which shows the extent of their trade! By the time you read this, there may be copies at other shops as well; please sign if you feel justified, since strong local support will undoubtedly be taken into account at the planning meeting. If you feel able to do more, individual letters carry even more weight - addressed to the Planning Officer, Bother District Council, Town Hall, Bexhill, quoting RR84 2006, and left (if you like) at the Council offices in Cinque Ports Street in time to reach Bexhill by 6 November if possible, though late letters can still be reported verbally to the 22 November meeting.
Mr. Alfred Philipps, of The Grove, died suddenly at his home on Sunday night. A widower, Mr. Philippe leaves a son and a grand-daughter. The funeral takes place on Monday afternoon 5 November, at 2.30 at Playden Church, followed by burial at Rye Cemetery.
Mr. Basil Laurent of Cadborough Stores would like to thank all those who sent cards and letters of sympathy and encouragement to him after the death of his wife. He is most grateful to customers for their patience and tolerance during the recent closure of the shop.
The book at whose arrival we hinted last week was launched at a party at Rye Golf Club - very suitably, since it is a history of the Club. "Rye Golf Club, the first 90 years" is written by Denis Vidler, published by the Golf Club, illustrated by Alex Graham and now available at Martello price £12.50. It is a most handsomely-produced book - "leather" bound, gold blocked, two-colour type, lots and lots of photographs and a careful index by Peter Smith. Graham's illustrations are a joy, and Fred Bassett himself appears at least once.
As for the text - well, if this were just a book about golf the GAZETTE wouldn't be much interested. But it isn't. It is a book about the history of a club which is inextricably entwined with the history and people of our area. The Rev. John LockingtOn'Bates of Iden and his son Guy were among the founders, as was Sir Reginald-Blomfield, the architect of Point Hill (and of course much else).
The Camber tram became its normal transport, and both E F Benson and his valet Charlie Tomlin were among its regular users. (Henry James was an earlier member; but he went just for the tea.) Still happily with us, Mrs. Hedgler served the Club for 26 years as Helen Kirkpatrick before she left in 1938 to get married. There is an account of the career of Blower Pierce, that renowned golfer and ex-caddie who received the singular honour of Honorary Membership (an account of his son Roy's sail-training cruise appeared in the GAZETTE recently). The author acknowledges the help of Vic Moore over the section about the Rye Artisans Golf Club, originally based on the long-departed Camber Castle course, which has formed over the years such a satisfactory relationship with its parent. And many other local people, past and present, appear in Mr. Vidler's pages.
The book has more about Rye in wartime (WW2) than we have seen in print anywhere else, and a positively tear-jerking account of the state of the greens after the military had gone; the clubhouse was bombed, and for several years the revived Club was housed in "the Billy", the pub across the road. There is a reference to Squatters Right, the house on the edge of the course which was recently and reluctantly demolished by the Club: a night's lodging in Squatters in a high wind, says Mr. Vidler, was an experience unlikely to be forgotten. (Very true; even tea there in a high wind was precarious!)
Golfers will of course find a great deal of absorbing technical detail, and it is primarily for them that the book is written; but lovers of Rye generally will find it a fascinating mine of local history and memories.
Last week's GAZETTE reference to John Neve Masters and his mail-order empire happened to coincide with Rye Museum's acquisition of 18 pieces of the firm's patented "Dripless Cup" china. Geoffrey Bagley showed us one of these cups: instead of the usual footrim, it has eight points, and the theory is that spilt tea remains in the saucer. Masters' ad in the 1910 Deacon's Directory announces "no unsightly stains on white table-cloths or dainty dresses ... a perfect weddingcgift ... the old-fashioned cup is entirely done away with". CLOM and saucers could be bought individually, or in 21-piece sets on easy payments at prices ran¬ging from 10/3d to 24/6d according to the design; the delightful set in the Museum is called Isis, and it had been in the horde of the Ashford seller and her mother for some sixty years.
3 THE RYE GAZETTE, 31.10.1984
Eighty teddies were guests-of-honour of the Mayor and Mayoress on Saturday evening: some in best bib and tucker, some bare bears and come distinctly threadbare! Roger and Any Breeds reckon that there were also about 120 owners - indeed, they were worried at one point that they might need to put up "House Full" signs out¬side the Town Hall.
The honoured guests were invited to sit below the Mayoral dais; they soon occupied the space allocated and overflowed on to the press bench and the witness-box. Each bore a label with his or her name and age, and the costumes were delightful; we much liked Tabby Cole's pugnacious-looking Roman emperor, and Linda King's handsome gentleman in brocade smoking-jacket and matching hat. There was a very small teddy, the property of a gentleman; and a quite enormous one, the property of lady. The Mayoral bear was suitably attired, and sat in the centre of his guests as befitted his rank.
The brave judges - Councillor Bill Jones, last year's Rother Chairman, and his wife - faced a difficult task. The biggest teddy was obvious: Mrs. Ball's Mick.
The oldest? The labels said it all, and here the Brodrick family were years ahead; Mrs. William Brodrick had brought Edward, 75, while her daughter Denny Nichol had another family heirloom, Muff (which accounted for his unusual proportions) aged 72. Jill Brodrick's charming Winnie-the-Pooh was judged the best dressed. Another very smart outfit, copies from a Dior model in Vogue, was worn by Jane King's bear with the Most Original Name - Teddy-go-to-byebyes, so called because whenever she was stood up she fell down (we won't go into the implications of this) 2 Finally, and perhaps the star of the evening, was the bear with the Most Character, a simple hand-puppet with a famous history. This was the original television puppet, Sooty, and was given to Humphrey Lestocq by Harry Corbett in gratitude for Humphrey's help and encouragement at the start of Sooty's long television career; Humphrey's widow Mary brought him to the party.
But, as Councillor Jones said, the real winner was the Lifeboat House Appeal, which will benefit by a very handsome sum when expenses have been deducted from the evening's gross takings of over E400.
• Rye Police Station said goodbye on Monday to Mr. Bert Hutchings, of Northiam, who has been one of the station's counter clerks for the past eight years - and who was in the police force in the Heathfield area for some thirty years before that. Mr. Hutchings and his wife are emigrating to the West Country, where he lived as a child; we wish them a very happy retirement.
• Why is the new exhibition at the Easton Rooms, a mixed show of work by established artists, called Man Yanah? It is a sad tale: it ought to have been Eric Money's one-man show, but he simply didn't have the time to do enough work for it, so... manyana, next year, perhaps! Anyway, it is a very enjoyable show on its own merits, enhanced by Nic Gray's ingenious and beautifully detailed wooden toys upstairs - toys, we should perhaps add, for grownups rather than the destructive young, or perhaps for laying down as an investment?
• Vickie Piper reports that the half-term playgroup run by the Mencap branch at Hill House School last week was "fantastic". They are most grateful to Rotary for help with transport. Because they don't feel it is proper for them to use the school's toys, they would be very glad to be given some of their own for next time (which will be the spring half-term), particularly a doll's pram and cot and a couple of dolls, or anything else which doesn't take up too much storage space between sessions.
• The Cinque Ports Pottery on Conduit Hill was the victim of a till snatch last Wednesday morning just after 11. While the assistant was otherwise engaged, the thief took £30 in cash, cheques and credit slips. This was a case for the Chamber of Trade's telephone grapevine, and other shops in the town were swiftly alerted, as we discovered in the course of the Wednesday delivery round. The press book shows also a number of thefts from unattended motor vehicles in our area.
4.
The exhibition at the Community Centre on Thursday had a great deal of meat in it - more, really, than could be digested by a novice at one meal. We hope that everyone who wanted to visit it, did, since the following account can only be a skimming of what was on offer.
The Romney Marsh and Rye Rural Development Area covers a large area of Kent (14 parishes) and a smaller but more densely populated area of East Sussex (9 parishes - incidental thought: how extraordinary it is that Rye Foreign and East Guldeford are separate parishes, while Winchelsea, Winchelsea Beach and Rye Harbour are all part of Icklesham!). It has been so designated by the Development Commission - which is not as modern as it sounds but was set up by Lloyd George in 1909 - which now exists "to promote the economic and social life of rural areas in England". The Commission works with and through other commercial, local authority and voluntary groups, rather than undertaking projects entirely off its own bat. Some of the agencies through whom it operates were represented on Thursday.
The Sussex Rural Community Council (Sussex House, 212 High Street, Lewes - Lewes 473422) is primarily concerned "to stimulate community development in rural areas and to improve the social fabric of rural life". Its projects include various car-sharing and community bus schemes, the encouragement of village hall projects and village surgeries, housing for young couples, a Small Shopkeepers Associatic-' and similar desirable causes.
The Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas, generally known as COSIRA (Mike Harding, also 212 High Street, Lewes, but Lewes 471399) was once the Rural Industries Bureau and chiefly concerned with thatchers, blacksmiths, etc. It's not like that any more. It can provide, for sliz small firm, a local source of advice backed up by technical and management services, training facilities and assistance on obtaining funds; sometimes it can itself offer loans. COSIRA >staff have always been willing to call on those who seek its services, but Mr. Harding told us on Thursday that there was a possibility of setting up a regular "surgery" in Rye so that those not sure whether they were eligible for help could call and have an informal chat about the prospects (we shall report further if this comes off). COSIRA are the people to talk to about money (or so we thought, but read on!).
Working closely with COSIRA is English Estates (Pembroke, Chatham, Kent - Medway 44422). This organisation builds factories and workshops; we blenched at the pictures on their display board until their Mr. Pitchford pointed out a much smaller development which would be by no means out of place round here. They will build as small as 500 sq.ft., which is roughly a large double garage. There is also a mention of high-technology units, which would certainly be an interesting employment variation for Rye. If you are thinking of building a workplace, English Estates are the people to talk to.
Linked into this group is the Small Firms Service of the Department of Trade and Industry. They hold Small Business Advice Days from 10 to 4 on the second Monday of every month at the Hastings Job Centre, Arbuthnot House, Breeds Place; appointments are not necessary and the service is free (and so is the phone - dial 100 and ask for Freephone 2444). This is solely an advice service, for existing companies and people thinking of starting new ones, and is designed to encourage business efficiency - "there is no limit to the type of business the service will help". If they can't help with your particular problem, they will put you in touch with someone who can - always in strict confidence. They also offer fact-sheets on such matters as insurance and licensing.
Another organisation on much the same lines is Hastings Business Ventures, based on Hastings but also covering Bexhill, Battle and Rye: 24-hour Ansaphone service, Hastings 433333 (director, Victoria John). Other exhibitors included Hastings Technical College and Pyke House at Battle, and the South East England Tourist Board. The model of the new Hastings Hospital was on view; it was a pity it appeared with no advance notice, but the Town Clerk says he still hopes to have it at the Town Hall or Library later so that everyone can see it who wants to.
(continued...)
5.
We had thought that the Youth Training Scheme had rather lost interest in Rye, but apparently this is not so; although there is only one Rye student with the Hastings-based scheme at present, they hope to attract up to 20 of this year's school-leavers. If they do, it will be worth running a free minibus from here to Hastings; otherwise students have to go over by train or bus (paying the first £3 of their weekly travel costs) and are then collected from the station. The YTS offers courses in building trades, office skills, community care (working with children, old people and the handicapped), computers, retail and distribution trades, engineering, hairdressing, catering, graphics (with emphasis on printing rather than fine arts), and horticulture - and some courses lead to City & Guilds qualifications. Students are paid £26.25 a week, clear except for minimum travel costs, and the courses are open to 16-year-old school-leavers, some 17-year-olds, and disabled people up to the age of 21. Further details from the Careers Office, which opens at the FE Centre on Wednesdays only but functions during normal office hours at Hastings 425780.
Staff on the stands certainly put in a long day; the official opening was at 11, and when we went back at 7.30 to see how they were doing, we found a full hall and visitors still arriving. Over 250 people saw the exhibition, ESCC reckons. It was stressed that this was only the beginning of the scheme, which is likely to take between five and ten years to come to fruition; results will not start appearing next week, but once a flow of information has been set up it will be easier for both Them and Us to use the RDA to beet advantage. (But next day we heard a rather sad little story. A small-scale craft-worker with ambition went to see the COSIRA stand, and the conversation was reported to us as follows:
COSIRA: How much money have you got?
Worker: Not much, but...
COSIRA: There's not much we can do for you, then.
Worker: I thought you were supposed to offer advice?
COSIRA: We just did. (Collapse of conversation!)
We do hope that this is not strictly true; or, if it is, that it will not be typical.)
Has anyone found the Tullett family's tortoise? They have had him 18 years, and lost him before; but this time they think he may have hibernated in someone else's garden. If you find him, the Tulletts of Wish Street would be very glad to have him back.
The Royal National Institute for the Blind is looking for a retired man or woman with a car to be the new Box Secretary for Rye and ➢istrict (just our immediate circle of villages). Mr. Kynvyn of Peasmarsh has had to give up the job owing to ill-health. The work involves emptying the boxes in local shops, pubs, etc., and the RNIB pays 12p a mile towards car expenses plus an apologetic 60p an hour up to a total of 18 hours a week . If you would like to know more, ring Mrs. Nelson-Barrett (Rye 223408) or write to Basil Puffer, Social Centre for the Blind, Longstone Road, Eastbourne, who will be glad to come over and talk to you about it.
Rother's Planning Department has just received the detailed and amended plans for the supermarket which have been heralded for so long. As soon as they are available in the Council Offices - which is likely to be very soon - we will report further.
As well as new loos, we must all hope that some kind of bus shelter will be included; this would prevent the use of the new phone boxes for the (latter) purpose, which is very annoying for people genuinely wanting to make calls. If you are waiting to phone, on a wet day, it is apparently worth checking that the boxes are really in use:
Thursday's planning committee refused the Jempsons application for peak-time parking in the Farnborough yard; deferred the question of the two Saitcote bun¬galows for further information and amended plans; and approved the Rastrum Ltd. wharfage development in Rye Harbour Road subject to a section 52 agreement about highway improvement. It also approved the renewal until March 1993 of the Wish Street car park; an attic roof-light in Mermaid Passage; extensions to houses in Love Lane and Leasam Lane; and, on the fringe of our area, a new sign at Rumpels, and (subject to no objections within the statutory advertisement period) the conversion of the Wetlands oasts into two houses.
Rother's Planning Department has issued statistics about planning applications dealt with during the quarter ending 30 September. 317 decisions were made, well over half being domestic. At the end of the quarter there were 153 applications outstanding, of which all but 35 had only been submitted within the previous eight weeks. 29 applications which had been waiting for 13 weeks or more are listed individually, and only five =cern Rye. T►ey include the Farnborough car-park proposals and the Saltcote bungalows (see previous paragraph); two applications received in 1981 and 1982 for industrial development of land next door to Atlas Stone, both awaiting section 52 highway agreements (though we have been told that work is starting on one); and the Merton Properties marina complex on which we reported in GAZETTE nos. 78 and 79 and for which Bother is awaiting further info. mation.
Owing to a successful land sale at Battle, Bother will have more spending money for the current year than it had expected; among projects back on the active list in consequence are the £10,000 resurfacing of the Town Wall car park, and the Z8,000 demolition of the old Ferry Road offices.
The Harbour report presented to the SWA's Harbour of Rye Advisory Committee at a meeting last month, covering the period 1 April to 31 August, showed an increase in commercial usage of the port over the same period last year: 108 vessels with a gross tonnage of 45,451 as against 90 vessels with a gross tonnage of 37,707. There are 425 locally-owned and -based pleasure craft, with 34 on the waiting list for moorings, and a further 1,068 visitors used the port during the summer. 36 local fishing vessels used the port, plus four visiting fishing-boats.
Planned maintenance work will include dredging of Strand Quay in 1985/6, and capital improvement work will include better catwalks at the Fishmarket and safety railings at the Harbour, as well as the SWA office in the new lifeboat station.
Harbour charges are likely to be increased by 6% next year; details will be published in the Sussex Express and posted at the Harbour. The total runnin costs of the Harbour for 1983/4 were X101,494, net against an income from harbour dues, fees and rents of £72,406. The estimated equivalent figures for 1984/5 are £105,880 and E80,900; of this latter figure, E20,900 is expected to come from pleasure craft, £1,600 from fishing vessels and £31,700 from commercial vessels, E24,400 from rents, and the remaining £2,300 from miscellaneous sources.
Two reports to the committee referred to work on the river bank. One is on the possibility of a turning bay in the river opposite Alsfords Wharf. At a previous meeting, the committee had asked about a reduced turning length, but the report states that even with a 250'-long boat some excavation will be necessary into the saltings across the river. An approach has been made to the Golf Club, owners of the ground.
The second report concerns the condition of the Western Arm of the harbour. This was built in 1935 and is now nearing the end of its life, and it is proposed that it should be replaced and/or refurbished, the work to begin in 1988/9. The sheet steel piled wall has failed in one place - a 60m length was replaced in 1961 following a similar failure - and a survey is needed to establish the condition of the tie rods, anchor piles and steel sheet. A site investigation is to be carried out at an estimated cost of £10,000.
• The Victorian Eveniag, in aid of Cancer Relief, on Saturday is a joint venture by Rye Players, whose previous excursions into this genre have always been very well received, and Madrigalia, whose first performance in Rye this is. To conform with the spirit of the evening, Lesley Brownbill tells us, Madrigalia are singing some of the lighter pieces from their repertoire, and all their music would have been known to Victorian drawing-room audiences. The Rye Players' contribution, on the other hand., is better adapted to Victorian pub audiences, to judge by their main offering, a melodrama assembled and produced by Joan Parkes and entitled "The Tram Track Tragedy, or Little Nellie's Bloomers': Tickets, which include refreshments, are obtainable from the North Kent Building Society or from Mrs. Ellis at 26 Cadborough Cliff, price £1.50; patrons who care to appear in near-period costume will be extra welcome.
• Restoration work on Thomas Peacocke School's Wurlitzer organ goes on slowly - more slowly than its devotees would like, because funds are more or less at rock-bottom at the moment. They hope to strengthen their financial position as a result of Sunday's "The Mighty Wurlitzer" concert - on the historic organ, of course, in the Upper School Hall - given by Janet Dowsett, who is a demonstrator for the Wurlitzer's second cousin twice removed, Yamaha. We are promised popular music, and tickets (at the door) are V, £1.50 for pensioners. (Those aterested in the history of the school organ might like to refer to GAZETTE no. 30, with its account of the April concert, and even to no. 16.)
• Touched by news reports of the Ethiopian famine, Martyn and Fiona Gasson are arranging a concert to raise money for the Save the Children Fund's appeal. The music will be of the kind enjoyed by "Mainly Acoustic" fans, and four bands of musicians (we are not quite sure of the technical term but are told it is no longer "group") - among them Louis Turpin - will be taking part. The date is Thursday, 8 November; the time, 7.30; the place, the ballroom at the George Hotel, for which the hotel is very handsomely making no charge; and tickets will cost £1.50. They will be obtainable from the George; and also from the Old Vicarage in Church Square where Fiona's parents Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Thompson will be glad to receive prizes for the raffle, and also donations (cheques to "Save the Children Fund/Ethiopia") from those who are unable to come to the concert but wish to support the appeal.
• As well as the Poppy Day street collection, Saturday 10 November sees two coffee mornings. The RNLI have had theirs booked in at the FE Centre for a long time (it appeared in our mid-September Diary list); they will have all the usual stalls including cakes, and a raffle, and hope to see all their friends and supporters in the course of their Saturday morning shopping. The SDP became aware of the clash too late to alter their own event, so they have a coffee morning on Saturday too, at the Forecastle in Huckstepa Row by kind permission of Mrs. Barbara Fearon; they very much hope that people will be able to absorb two cups of coffee that morning.
In In April Bill Simpson, then the Mayor, took part in the ceremonies when the Cinque Ports "adopted" 11145 Illustrious. Now Freight Express Season have, their Lion Street window, a most attractive display of some thirty photographs relating to the ship and to the Sea Kings and Sea Harriers which fly from her. There are also pictures of the Rye Sea Cadets on board Illustrious, and Lt.Cdr. Whiteman with her Commanding Officer.
Don Bentley tells us that he wrote when the link was first announced at the begin¬ning of this year, asking if photographs might be available; nothing happened for ages, and then the firm had two visits from ship's officers, the first to carry out a reconnaissance and the second to hand over, as a gift, the very fine collection of pictures. There is also a copy of the document in which the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, at a special Court of Brotherhood and Guestling, formally affiliated with "Her Most Gracious Majesty's Ship Illustrious". The firm is most grateful to Margaret Casson, curator of the Rye Art Gallery, who arranged the pictures in the window with professional expertise.
Saturday, 3rd
Sunday, 4th
Monday, 5th Tuesday, 6th
Local history group meeting, Library, 7.30 (GAZETTE no. 101)
Vidler & Co's monthly auction sale, 10
Licensing of Rev. Stephen Ingham as the new Rye team vicar by Bishop Peter, St. Mary's, 7.30
Playden Church Christmas Fair, FEC, morning
Rye Players and Madrigalia, Victorian Evening (for Cancer Relief), CC, 7.45 (see page 7)
"The Mighty Wurlitzer" - an organ concert at Thomas Peacocke Upper School, The Grove, 2.30 (see page 7)
Monday Club, Clinic, 2
Hearing Circle coffee morning, Red Cross, 10.30
FRAG talk, "Oast Houses and Hop Growing" (Gwen Jones), TH, 8
• Congratulations to Tony and Alison Conti, of Casa Conti, on the birth on 20 October of their son Luke, a brother for Anthony and Guy; also, belatedly, to Andy and Corinne Thomson of Longs on the birth three weeks ago of their son Michael. It must be a long time since there have been three new babies in the High Street within a month (Jessica Hamilton arrived on 3 October).
• Congratulations, too, to Mr. George Cummings of Market Road, who achieved a time of just over 3 hours 40 minutes for the Bedford Marathon on Sunday. Sponsorship is expected to bring in around £100 for the Rye branch of Mencap, on whose behalf he was running.
• Rye Station now has supplies of the leaflet about BR's November £2 travel concessions for holders of Senior Citizens railcards.
• The Peasmarsh Branch of the Royal British Legion holds a "Nostalgia Dance" at the Peasmarsh Memorial Hall on Saturday (10th) from 8 to 11.45, with dancing to Ted Crouch and his band. Tickets £2 from Camiers; if this is anything like as successful as the D-Day dance organised by Rye Women's Section in June, it will be very much enjoyed.
• Rye Old Scholars Association holds its annual London Evening on Monday (5th) at the Albert pub in Victoria Street from 7.30.
• WI members spent a most entertaining and instructive afternoon when their Autumn Mystery Drive took them to the Royal British Legion Village near Maidstone earlier this month. The October meeting much enjoyed a talk on tapestries.
• The RAF Association jumble sale raised £130, and they are most grateful both to those who gave goods for sale and to all helpers, including the anonymous ones who turned up just in time. They still have a folding pram (carrycot-type) in excellent condition and from a good home, for £5 - ring Gordon Stanbridge, Brede 882589; five boxes full of good quality clothing went to a Polish relief organisation.
• Coast-to-Coast viewers recently were much interested to see a Jempsons' tilt (trailer) in the background of a recent story about aid to Poland. Mr. Brignall at Slade's Yard tells us that the group organising the relief supplies provided a qualified driver, another firm supplied the driving unit, and Jempsons provided the trailer; the journey was expected to take a fortnight.• Cadborough Post Office Stores is now open again for the full range of Post Office and shop business.
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper with the Post Office, and published by Mrs. Mary Owen, 2 Cyprus Place, 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; some spare copies of the current issue are available at Squirrels, 9-13 Cinque Ports Street, and back numbers can be obtained from Cyprus Place. (Copyright Mary Owen 1984)