ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS FALL DUE at the end of this month (full details wore in GAZETTE no. 122). If your copy is not ticked and you wish to receive the 3 April issue, you should send to 2 Cyprus Place either £3.00 for 12 weeks to 26 June or 0 0 0 E.2,22 for 23 weeks to 25 September.Cheques should be made out to THE RYE GAZETTE; cash should, have your own name and delivery address attached.
Rye Bonfire will be lit again in 1985. At the Bonfire Society meeting on Monday night, the Boys felt they had enough support to continue. Five members of Rye Lions were present, and although they are not allowed by their organisation to sit on the committees of other groups they are definitely keen to help - and as Jimper Sutton told us, what the Society needs is willing helpers -rather than official committee members.
It was decided that in future the Mayor (ex officio) should be invited to be President of the Society. (Since the Town Council meeting at which the Mayor was elected took place at much the same time, Roger Breeds will have found himself with two honours acquired in one evening; he was chosen to be Mayor for a second year, with Mrs. Monica Oliver as his Deputy.) Mrs. Joan Yates has agreed to act as Bonfire Secretary; Hugh Sutton takes over as Chairman, and Bob Booth is the new Treasurer. A meeting of all the Bonfire Societies in Brighton tomorrow will allocate the year's dates; Rye is hoping for something earlier this year, perhaps at the end of September or early October.
The expenses of the firework celebrations are, of course, not taken out of the money collected on the night (which mostly goes to charity) but raised beforehand, and that is the Boys' first job. There is to be an open meeting at the Queen's Head at 8 on Wednesday, 10 April, when the Boys hope that lots of people will come along full of bright ideas for getting together the cash.
Bill Webb of Ashenden went over to Hastings on Monday. He did his shopping, and caught the 2.40 train back to Rye. Well, nearly back to Rye - just short of Winchelsea the train simply stopped. And stayed stopped. The guard phoned from Winchelsea station, and soon the train from Ashford which had been waiting crossly at Rye appeared. Good, thought the passengers, it will tow us back to Rye and then depart via the spare line. Not a bit of it: that, apparently, would have sent the signalling crazy. So the second train solemnly pushed the invalid all the way back to Hastings, where its arrival caused some confusion.
Back where they started, the passengers got out and waited. Inevitably, there was no 3.40 to Rye; they finally caught the 4.4o and reached Rye at about 5.10. Fortunately there were no mothers with babies on board, or other desperate travellers; one Hastings lady was justifiably annoyed at missing her connection at Ashford, but in general the passengers took it all very mildly. Mr. Webb reports that the guard did his best to be helpful and tell them what was going on; but the fact remains that it took the Rye passengers 24 hours to make what should have been a 25-minute journey! (And what happened, we wonder, to the people waiting at Rye for the trains which should have taken them to Ashford? The Tuesday morning shift at the station didn't know, because they hadn't been on duty at the time; and we doubted if the press office at Waterloo would have known either, so we didn't bother. But presumably there were, once again, buses?) However, BR does get a bouquet for the handsome set of litter-bins which now adorn Rye station.
... To Mary Lestocq, of the Market Road Studio, who is now a Licentiate of the British Institute of Professional Photographers - a qualification gained on the strength of nine portaits and one wedding photograph, some of them later included in the "Photography at Work" exhibition in the Barbican - and all, we hope, on show in Rye in due course.
... To John Burke, first-ever Ryer (as far as we know) to appear on BBC's Master¬mind. He no longer lives here, but on Sunday night he did his ancestry proud (his mother, a Sands, was also born in Rye), winning the quarter-final with the composer Carl Neilsen as his special subject. Among the excited watchers in the town were two of his daughters, Jenny Hadfield of The Grove and Bron Burke of Bridge Place.
... To David Sowle, of Western Barn, Winchelsea Road, who has passed into the Royal Artillery as a gunner (technical). He got the good news at the end of his assessment on Friday, and by dint of considerable rushing around on Saturday and the co-operation of the Army Careers people at Hastings was able to start on Monday - which must surely be something of a record?
... And finally to Tracy Cronshaw, of the Fish Shop in The Mint, proud national winner in the 7-and-under group of a sticker competition run by a paper company and organised locally by Doodle in the High Street (GAZETTE nos. 100 and 106). Top in her class here, Tracy's entry went on to the national judging, and last week she received her prize: a box containing an apparently endless supply of stickers, including the very latest designs; an album to house her creations; and a very special T-shirt. Tracy's winning entry will appear on a poster in due course, and there is to be another competition next Christmas.
In the second article (GAZETTE no. 120) about the new Health Service plans for our area, we described the present Clinic building in Ferry Road as under-Q9ed. Indignant noises from the Clinic staff have now been backed up with a timetable of what does go on in the building. There is a surprising amount, though not all happening every day or even every week, or indeed occupying the whole area.
Speech Therapy takes place three mornings and one afternoon a week, with a further morning during school holidays. There is a chiropody clinic one morning a week, and six monthly footcare clinics. The Community Psychiatric Sister is in atten-dance one morning and two afternoons a week. Each month one Thursday morning sees the Hearing Tests for babies, another the Family Planning clinic, and a third the Foster Parents Group. Ante-natal bookings are taken one morning a week. Classes in relaxation and parentcraft occupy four ten-week afternoon sessions, and in the same slot on the remaining weeks the Twins Club meets. The Child Health Clinic takes place every week on Thursday afternoons.
As well as all this, the Monday Club meets two afternoons a month, the Mothers and Toddlers Group once a week in termtime, the Social Services luncheon group once a month, the Slimming Club and Weight Watchers one weekly evening each, and school medical inspections take place from time to time. Finally, there are four evening sessions a year for prospective fathers.
Apart from the last five groups, all the regular dates concern either elderly people or expectant mothers or small children. The Clinic staff are just as horrified as everyone else at the suggestion that their clients should be expected to climb the hill to a new clinic on the Hill House site.
The Clinic building also houses, under separate management, the School Dental Service. This is extremely handy for Thomas Peacocke children, who simply have to pop across the road - occasionally escorted by the Welfare Assistant. Younger children are usually brought by their mothers, sometimes with siblings in tow; so the same argument applies to this service.
It would perhaps be valuable if the staff could find out how many of their clients have the use of a car at the time when they are due to attend the Clinic? Monday Club members who need lifts have them arranged; but if it moved to the top of the hill, presumably the entire membership would want transport.
3.
Although it seems unlikely that there will again be a Youth Training Scheme based in Rye, we are glad to report that twice weekly from 2 April it will have a presence here. Eric Barrow (who will be remembered as the man in charge of the office skills course at the 1983 Rye YTS) will be in the office of the Community Centre on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4, keen to talk to anyone interested in any aspect of the Scheme.
The YTS in Hastings, which covers Rye; is sponsored by the YMCA, and their Bob Hodgson explained the various options to us. There are in effect four. Mode A, the Youth Training Association, is sponsored nationally by Grand Metropolitan, and specialises in employer-based training particularly in the hotel and catering field, and also in retailing, engineering and clerical work. Mode B has three sections: training workshops for graphics, carpentry, and painting and decorating Link Training, with a commercial emphasis and run locally by Hastings Voluntary Services; information technology centres (run by ESCC on the Ponswood Estate) for those interested in computers and electronics and suchlike; and the YMCA's own scheme in the community projects section, with a base at the Castleham Estate in St. Leonards, which also covers building trades but with an instruc¬tional rather than commercial emphasis, office procedures, and community care (working with the elderly, children and handicapped people). It is all rather complicated, and we may have misunderstood; but in effect a good many employmen options are covered by one scheme or another.
The YMCAls scheme involves both students and employers. Eligible to join are mainly 16-year-olds and some aged 17, and it is not too early for those leaving school at Easter or even in the summer to apply well in advance, since there will be fewer places than potential candidates. Mr. Barrow will be delighted to talk about all the schemes to parents and other relatives, with or without their young people - or of course to the young on their own; if he can't give detailed information about the non-YMCA projects, he will pass on the enquiries to those who can.
He would also like to meet employers who might be able to offer placements to the youngsters. The system is that the employer gets the services of the young worker free (the Scheme pays the wages) but must be willing to offer varied experi¬ence over a period of some three months so that the worker's abilities can be assessed. If the placement is a success with both parties, it can be extended, and the hope - though not the obligation - is that the employer may be able to offer a permanent job at the end of the placement. After an initial training period at Hastings, further training may be on a day-release basis or in full-Arne chunks, depending on the circumstances (transport from Rye is provided). Placements are discussed individually with the prospective employer, and the scheme is flexible; no-one is made to employ a worker with whom they are not happy, but the YMCA does hope that local firms will do their best to give local youngsters a chance.
May a steady stream of visitors at Mr. Barrow's Community Centre "surgery" prove that both young people and employers in Rye and the villages are interested in this scheme for their future!
Perplexed by a recent report from a Town Council meeting that nothing had been done to Rye's cobbles for twenty years, we contacted Ralph Olesen, ESCC's man at Bexhill. Plenty of us remember seeing ESCC's cobbles experts working in Mermaid Street and elsewhere a lot less than 20 years ago, and in fact he tells us that there is a regular programme of maintenance for the cobbled areas; his assistant recently walked over them and noted what now needs doing, and this work will be carried out as usual.
He adds that a team of ten, working in pairs, are now checking every road in the county (except in the big towns which have their own arrangements) to see what repairs are needed after the recent Weather, and will be reporting to the Highways Committee of ESCC in May. No-one is much looking forward to their findings.
4.
Saturday morning saw the opening of new shows in both the Rye Art Gallery and the Easton Rooms. The Retigraphic Society, exhibiting in the latter, was formed by a group of print-makers, and the gallery has copies of its prints catalogue; but the work on view is all one-off, in various media, very skilful technically and impressive to look at (and not cheap).
A stroll through to the Ockman'a Lane gallery produced a very pleasant surprise en route; suddenly the upper layer of garden between the two has been transformed, and from a neglected corner it now has the makings of a charming terrace. This is the start of the sculpture garden in memory of Derek Bridgwater, one of Rye Art Gallery's most faithful supporters, and his daughter Joanna LeFevre tells us that it has associations which he would have valued. His partner, Professor Sir Peter Shepheard, is both an architect and a landscape architect by profession, and he took the matter - quite literally - in hand. Selecting interesting, unusual and favourite plants from his own garden in Hampstead, from the Bridgwater garden at 44 Church Square, and from that of Dick and Phoebe Merricks in Icklesham, Sir Peter set to work one day early this month with his own hands to plant up the beds, with Lady Shepheard and Eric and Joanna LeFevre acting as gardener's boys. Joanna told us it was an education to watch him at work; and there can be few gardens in Rye which have been set out with such distinction! The terrace has been been newly paved, and there is to be a wooden seat in front of the curved bed (and a plan of the different plants, for those interested). It is hoped that in the course of time pieces of sculpture will find their way into this setting, with its lovely view across the marsh.
Leaving the garden, we went to see the windmills. Margaret Casson has assembled at the main gallery a remarkable collection of paintings, mostly lent by the Hastings Art Gallery, of Sussex mills of various types. Many pictures are the work of Arthur Foord Hughes, the son of the well-known Pre-Raphaelite painter; he was working in the early 1900s. But there are also later pictures, and one from 1881 by Charles Graves of the Rye Post Mill; this is not the same as the predecessor of our present mill, which was a smock mill and figures several times in the exhibition. There are also pictures of the mills at Udimore, Winchelsea, Icklesham and Northiam - one with a looker bottle-feeding a Iamb in the foreground. Sally Todd of Rye Goldsmiths has lent six of the paintings, offered when she read about the show; and the most recent of the lot is an exquisite photograph of the present Rye mill by Andrew Law, lent by Freight Express-Seacon. The exhibition continues until 28 April, and the gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday and on Sunday afternoons.
In 1978 John Collard of Watchbell Street published a definitive account of one aspect of Rye's past - "A Maritime History of Rye". It covered very comprehensively an area not hitherto dealt with in detail and was of interest for many reasons; and it sold out some years ago. Now Mr. Collard has published a new and revised edition. Better quality paper improves the clarity of the 25 illustrations, and there are a further 16 diagrams and maps. The book contains some additional information, and has an attractive laminated board binding. It is on sale at local bookshops, price £9, or can be ordered by post direct from 16 Watchbell Street, Rye, for £9.60 including postage. It is a real pleasure to record the reissue of this scholarly yet entertaining book.
The local RAF Association branch are very glad to say that their street collectors have been offered the hospitality of two private forecourts in the High Street for what they had hoped would be their Wings Week flag-day on 14 September. Mrs. Turner is lending them the porch of Holloway House, and Tony Conti the front of Casa Conti. The Association could still do with a couple more strategic private sites somewhere in the centre of the town.
5.
"Moonshine!" cried the fairies when instructed to wear modern dress for the Thomas Peacocke School play last week - and Titania (Sarah Scambler), Oberon (Mark Curry) and their subjects were garbed with appropriate fantasy. Tina Donlon's eager darting young Puck - Robin to Oberon's Batman - was convincing, Oberon bore himself with authority and Titania was entirely delightful. The Athens Chamber of Trade Drama Group as usual got well-deserved laughs, Jo Simpkins superb as the confident and bossy Bottom, with Jeannine Whalley, Michelle Robus, Andrew Colegrave, Sarah Whiddett and Jo Breeds as her colleagues. Their performance before the duke's bad-mannered wedding guests was a gem.
The upper-crust humans always have the worst of this play; their magicked pairings seem so much less interesting than the rest of the goings-on. But after a slightly stiff Athenian start to their adventures, Laurence Winkworth and Vicky Hunt, and Matthew Briggs and Leila Jamieson, gave a lively account of themselves, with nicely contrasting characterisations. Theseus (Simon Briggs) and his Sloane-Ranger Hippolyta (Hannah Courtney-Bennett) can only ever. be cardboard figures, pegs on which to hang a plot; but Andrew Starling was fussily outraged as Hermia's father, and it was interesting to see Philostrate portrayed by Julia Smith as an elegant secretary/PA is becoming a tradition for TPS productions to have superb sets, and this was ao exception. Both the Art Department and the stage crew had really gone to town, first with the balcony overlooking a sunlit Acropolis, then the midnight wood with all the action, Quince's front room, and finally the palace again (bu we hope the swinging pillar was stabilised after the first night!). The costumes, modern or otherwise, meant a lot of work for Pat Bean and her helpers. Paul Martin coped with the lighting, Margaret Marshall with choreography, Frances Paintin prompted. The music was composed (sometimes arranged?) and played by Zoe Bouras, Marion Saunders and James Cruttenden, with other members of the school orchestra and Lois Benton at the piano.
The play was directed by Chris Rose, who has every reason to be pleased with himself and his actors. But the production does raise the question of how schools regard Shakespeare nowadays. To those of us for whom the plays were the permanent backbone of English lessons from an early age, it seems odd that obviously capable and talented school actors nowadays have no experience of speaking verse, with its rhythms and cadences. The words happen to be the dialogue provided by the author, and that is all. It seems a pity; but there are compensations. One member of the audience was much amused to realise that the row of young things immediately behind her clearly did not know the plot, and were following its twists and turns with avid interest! (Fancy being able to wonder how "Hamlet" would end...)
Social Services were encouraged by the response to their recent exploratory meeting for single parents, and there is to be another session over coffee next Wednesday, 27 March, at 10 in the room behind the Patch Office in Cinque Ports Street. This group is intended for all those who are bringing up children on their own; there are no hard-and-fast arrangements about time and place of meetings. What they would like to know at this stage is how many people are interesting in joining such a group, so do come on the 27th if you are eligible.
Stella Pigrome, whose "Worms and Epitaphs" illustrated talk was so much enjoyed by Rye Museum Association members last year, is speaking to the Association again on Friday, 29 March - non-members are welcome too, at the FE Centre at 7.30. Miss Pigrome's talk is called "Life in the Middle Ages", but those who think this sounds rather formidable needn't worry. She has lots of slides, mostly taken from mediaeval mss with their fascinating detail and lovely colours, to illustrate her commentary on all aspects of Middle Ages life - clothes, houses, amusements, farming, the rich and the poor. Were the good old days really that good? Come and find out.
In GAZETTE no. 117 we wrote about the change of ownership at Rye Goldsmiths. We referred to the Stocking Parlour, once of the came address, but rashly ventured to doubt whether anyone would now remember William Sharpey who had a gas-fitter's business there in 1876. We really should have knowen better!
A Cadborough Cliff resident, who would prefer us not to mention his name, is the grandson of William Sharpey, and kindly phoned the GAZETTE to tell us more about the business. He has a photograph of William and his wife with their family, including his own mother as a small girl; he also has a picture of the shop as it was before the alterations made for Mrs. Mildred Ellis when she opened the Stocking Parlour, which included removing the large workshop built out at the back. (He tells us, too, that in the early days of the Stocking Parlour part of the shop was divided off and home-made sweets were sold from. it.)
William Sharpey was the son of a looker from Midley down on the Marsh, and in 1847, when he was 12, he was apprenticed to the then owner of 102 High Street, who earried on a sheet-metal-working business there. In due course William took over the business, and while continuing with the metal-work side he sat up as a gas-fitter - at a time when it was the latest thing, perhaps the equivalent of a TV and video shop now. William was still listed in an 1882 almanac as the proprietor; by 1886 he had been succeeded by his son Edward (our correspondent': uncle) who described himself in the 1907 almanac as a gas engineer and painter. Edward was joined in the business by his younger brother Charles, and eventually their nephew was taken on as an apprentice.
Although the main shop was at 102 High Street, the Sharpeys also rented (from Mrs. Stormont of Ockman's Lane, the Rye Art Gallery's benefactress) no. 105a as a warehouse. This is now the North Kent Building Society, but we are told that at one time the horse and cart lived on the ground floor, the goods were hoisted up to the first floor, and later Edward Sharpey added the mansard roof to allow the construction of a flat for his own use at the top. His nephew later lived here, and tells us that it has a marvellous view, though the whole roof was lifted by the blast from a WW2 bomb on the Salts - and popped neatly back again on slightly bulging walls!
Edward Sharpey followed his father in both metalwork and gas-fitting. The altar cross and large candlesticks in Winchelsea Church are his work. The third-ngeneration member of the business trained as an electrician, and when it passe, to him he transferred that side to 105a, where he ran it for more than 20 yearn from 1936 to his retirement in 1957.
By chance in the course of these recollections, our correspondent mentioned thatmat one time 105a had housed the YMCA rooms. These were the object of a fund-raising event held in 1902, and our account of it (GAZETTE no. 118) has aroused the interest of Mr. W.J. Saunders, general secretary of the Wimbledon YMCA, who sees the paper from time to time. He had no idea that-there had ever been a branch in Rye. Our information came from an almanac of the period, which gives slightly more information than appeared in the article - for instance, the rooms contained a piano which could be booked for practising - but we wonder if any of our readers might be able to fill out the story. We now know whore the rooms were; but when did they close? What happened in them, apart from the piano?
The 1902 Rye subscription was just 1d a week - about 22p a year. But this, points out Mr. Saunders, was more than it sounds! The 1904 Wimbledon subscription was "not less than 5/- per annum" (25p) while in 1985 it is £26 pa. They paid their 1904 caretaker (part-time) 10/6d a week; on the basis of the same percentage increase, he says, this would amount to £55 a week - about right, we would ima.gtine, for a similar job nowadays in Wimbledon.
We will be delighted to pass on to Mr. Saunders (and through him to the archives of the National Council of YMCAs) any information readers may like to let us have. It will, of course, also appear in the GAZETTE.
7.
The identity of the new owners of the main Weslakes site in Harbour Road is revealed officially in last week's planning list: Stamco Ltd., the timber merchants of Havenhurst Mill, St. Leonardo. The application is for the erection of a warehouse on the Hatleys side of the site - a building 45.7m along the boundary side, nearly 21m on the side facing the road, and with a gross area of 96.2 sq.m. Roofing and walls will be dark brown sheeting with fawn trim.
The agent, Peter Bodman of Matfield, tells us that the warehouse is for Stamco's own use in connection with their business, which is that of specialist joinery - surfaced boards, special mouldings, etc.; there will be no retail rolling from the Rye depot. Of the present Weslake buildings, the brick one facing the road will be retained, and the remainder demolished, with the hard standing used for car and lorry parking. (We were intrigued by the application's use of the word "hovels" here, but Mr. Bodman assures us that this is merely design short-hand for substandard buildings, which those at the back have now become.) The plans show tree planting around three sides of the site, with the fourth (Harbour) side left as it is for the present.
The list also shows an application for stabling with an area for riding instruction (plus parking) in Playden, this time at Houghton Green - from Mr. and Mrs. Mathews of Leasam Lane. The earlier applicant, for a riding school at the reace and Plenty dornere was also local - Mrs. Bryant of Camber.
The owners of 31 High Street and Cannon House have appealed against Rother's enforcement notices requiring them to remove the new aluminium-framed windows which have replaced wooden sashes (GAZETTE no. 106).
What are unfortunate car-owners to do to protect their vehicles? A Renault 5 parked in the Bedford car park, all properly locked up, on 28 February was minus a rear offside wheel when its owner returned after the weekend. Two other owners have lost their vehicles: one a red Daimler saloon (PAD 502R) which was found run into the bank and burnt-out in Dumbwoman's Lane (the damage estimated at just £50 less than the value of the car); the other an off-white Austin Mini estate with disc brakes and Mini GT-type wheels (RCD 201+H), stolen from the Pipemakers Arms between teatime on 13 March and lunch-time on the 13th.
Other misdeeds: someone stole the Union Flag from outside the Flushing Inn on the night of 10/11 March; and at least one forged £10 note was detected in the town recently.
Welcome to the new member of the Rye lander of Ferry Cottage; on 1 April Irene Palmer on the long summer slog going, with Laurie Suker helping out week that there were pre-season Model visitors from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and today 17 German travel editors will be seeing the show and then entertained to afternoon tea at The Old Vicarage in Church Square.
The "March Madness" team want us to thank Roy Fletcher, who with Malcolm Harris helped out with the sound when Ringo Chapman (now better, thanks) got flu.
Rye WI's March meeting enjoyed a lively illustrated talk by Mrs. E. Tubb on "Ghosts of Drury Lane". Mrs. Barbara Wild spoke about the work of the Day Centre, and it was announced that Mrs. Phyllis Smith's next classes will be on Japanese ribbon flowers. Her pupils in Somerset patchwork are showing good results, reports WI correspondent Betty Spencer - doubtless some will be on show at the FE Centre on Saturday afternoon?
Thrift Shop, Red Cross Centre, 10.30 to 4 (and Friday, Saturday)
Local History Group, Library, 7.30
TPS Parents Evening (3rd year), Upper School
Friday, 22nd RNLI wine and cheese evening, with film, CC, 7.30 (GAZETTE no.122)
Museum Association AGM, TH, 7.30 (GAZETTE no. 122)
Natural History Society AGM, FEC, 7.30
Saturday, 23rd WI Group Craft Show, ITC, 2.30 (see below)
National Trust, "Water-colour painting in England" (Mrs. G.W. Julius), CC, 2.30
Barn Dance with the Catsfield Steamers, Upper School (The Grove), 8 (GAZETTE no. 121)
Monday, 25th WRVS Luncheon Club, CC, 12.30
Wednesday, 27th Social Services single parents group, CP St., 10 (see page 5) NSPCC AGM, FEC, 3 (see below)
• Congratulations to Beverley (nee Dunk) and Chris Moth on the birth of their daughter on Mothering Sunday, 17 March.
• The Community Centre's Silver Dollar Country-and-Western Club has its next session on Saturday week, 30 March, from 8 to 11.45. Music will be by Redwing, from Maidstone, and tickets cost £2; there will be a bar, and food available. Ringo tells us that the Club is now established through to December, anyway.
• The RAF Association hopes to take a coach to the RAF Museum at Hendon on Saturday, 20 April, leaving Rope Walk at 8.30 and getting back about 7.30. Cost, a very reasonable £2.75 if there are enough takers to fill the coach; so if you would like to go, ring Brede 882589 as soon as possible.
• The speaker at the NSPCC AGM is Patrick Lawrence, the Society's Regional Organ¬iser and incidentally the husband of our local Area Organiser.
• Recent results: The coffee morning for the FE Centre on Saturday raised £308; the Women's British Legion jumble sale, £76; the ARC coffee morning last Wednesday, £1.0; and the RNLI benefited by £13 from a raffle among the staff of the George Hotel.
• Rye Sea Cadets were much honoured on 8 March by a visit from the Captain of HMS Illustrious, and the officer in charge of liaison. He inspected the Unit, and spent a couple of hours looking round the HQ and talking with the boys, presenting the Unit with a shield to be awarded annually for progress. Cade' and parents alike found it a memorable occasion.
• The Fire Brigade, Michael Bourn tells us, has had sundry alarms lately but no horror stories - chimney fires in Icklesham (twice) and Iden, and on Sunday afternoon a malicious call from a phone box in Station Approach summoning them to an entirely fictitious fire at a startled Flushing Inn.
• Graham Cole has had the RNLI box at the Strand Cafe stolen; he would like it back, please, plus at least which was known to be in it.
• We are very glad to report that Durrant House has now reopened after a rather fraught period; major trouble from burst pipes in several rooms meant equally major redecorating, but all is now well again.
• We need hardly remind readers of the splendours of the annual WI Group Craft Show on Saturday. The standard is always impressively high, and anyone with an interest in handmade goods will find a visit well worth while.
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 are available from Squirrels, 9-13 Cinque Ports Street, cad back numbers from Cyprus Place. (Copyright Mary Owen 1985)