A very sinister notice reached us on Good Friday. It was a press release from the Department of Transport, confirming what readers all know already – that the public consultation on the bypass will be on 21 to 23 May, with an exhibition at the Community Centre and brochures distributed to residents beforehand.
What is so sinister is the exact wording. Nowhere at all is the word "bypass" used. The first two sentences read "Local residents are to be consulted on the Department of Transport's plans to improve the A259 trunk road at Rye in East Sussex. A brochure explaining the proposed improvement will be delivered to homes in the area shortly."
Note "proposed improvement" as opposed to "suggested alternative routes", which is what Rye would have expected. It makes Ken Warren's assurances that Rye will have a choice look a bit over-optimistic; and if there is only one route, it will inevitably go through the middle of the town - which is, of course, why the Department has carefully avoided the word "bypass"...
NB Please will the Post Office make sure that the brochures go out promptly, this time? In 1983, believe it or not, some residents hadn't had theirs by the time the public consultation at Winchelsea took place:
The High Street on Saturday morning was a nightmare for everyone except the Chamber of Trade, whose members must have been ecstatic. The Boots queue came right out into the road, and Presto had to close its doors for a time because it was full to beyond the point of safety. But at least the Gas Board is finally out of The Mint, with all the holes filled in; they also filled in West Street temporarily and stacked the surplus pipes tidily out of the way.
British Rail couldn't get even a two-hourly service right on Good Friday - something went wrong with the mid-afternoon train to Hastings - and they ran at odd times all through the weekend. Vehicle-owners who had innocently parked down Station Approach (where construction work has removed the bus-queue markers) found BR stickers on their cars and virtuously appeared at the ticket-office as requested. What for? They never discovered; the ticket-office was closed! The police told us that the parking problems generally had been appalling - but many of the sinners were foreigners, with whom it is difficult if not pointless to be cross. (But we obviously need the Gas Works car park back again now.).
By Monday afternoon the long weekend was in effect over, and we risked sticking our head into the Tourist Information/accommodation office to ask how things had been. Elvie Bylake told us that Rye had been completely full on Saturday and Sunday nights; the staff had resorted to all their emergency landladies, who in turn had resorted to their own neighbours to find beds for visitors who would otherwise have had nowhere at all to lay their heads. Rye people were marvellous, said Elvie gratefully.
But, as many people are asking this week, what will it be like in August?
Rye Harbour lifeboat had an Easter launch on Monday when it was called to the aid of one of Duncan Grant's fishing boats, "Harvester". Her engines had broken down just offshore of Dogs Hill at Winchelsea Beach, and she was bumping her bottom in a moderate swell. The lifeboat crew passed a towline to pull her off the sand, and brought her back into Rye Harbour; there was no great damage, and she left again in the evening, presumably so that her skipper Mr. Broomhead could retrieve a trawl abandoned earlier. This was the first call-out for the lifeboat for some time, and a good efficient start to the summer season - played to a big gallery of onlookers at the Harbour, says Mary Lestocq!2.
Mr. Colin Green, Head of Rural Studies at Thomas Peacocke School, died very suddenly at his Appledore home on Thursday, aged 60. He is survived by his wife Ann, two sons and two daughters. The funeral will be for the family only. Colin, a local man, will be very much missed at the school, where he had taught for some 20 years - originally as Warden of Leasam House in the days when it was a boarding establishment for farming students. Later, when the system was altered, he developed the remaining land into a conservation area for birds and other wildlife, which gave much pleasure to his pupils and himself. He had the ability to fire children with enthusiasm not just for farming but for conservation and ecology in the widest sense - enthusiasm which would remain with them in later life. For a time the family lived next door to Playden School, and gave invaluable help with the training pool there during the summer holidays; then they moved to a family farm in Appledore. Colin had been involved from the start with the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve - helping with the work, lending equipment, and serving on the management sub-committee. His loss will be deeply felt in Nature Reserve circles. (Would it be unduly frivolous to quote the line about "the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing"? They might well; he was their friend.) Colin had been an asthmatic for much of his life, but he never let it bother him, to the admiration of those who knew what a handicap it inevitably was; his health had not been at its best recently, but his death comes a cruel shock. He was a straightforward honest countryman, with no guile in him, and he will be remembered with great affection by all those who ever worked with him, as a teacher, conservationist or simply a friend.
Mr. Bill Starks, who died in hospital recently after some months of illness, came to live in Peasmarsh after retiring twice - once from the Grenadier Guards, early on health grounds, and then from a job as a psychiatric nurse. When he and his wife moved to Tilling Green he became a founder helper at the Day Centre, much valued by the rest of the staff and regarded as a dear friend by the elderly members. He was also a popular visitor at Badger Gate. Barbara Wild tells us sadly that Mr. Starks was "a most kind and helpful man, who really used his professional skills in his retirement and will be very much missed by old people locally". The funeral has taken place.
Mr. Basil Brenchley of Military Road would like to thank all those who sent messages and flowers after the sudden death of his wife Daphne last month. The members of both families have been much touched by the sympathy shown, both locally and by her colleagues at Dungeness A and B. Mr. Brenchley hopes to acknowledge all letters eventually, but in the meantime asks friends to accept his gratitude for so much help and kindness at a very sad time.
As well as the new work on show downstairs in the High Street gallery, there is an opportunity for the next six weeks to see (and buy) an interesting selection of early watercolours by the late William Warden. The upper gallery also has some of the small colourful oils which date from his discovery of the Provencal light, but it is the watercolours which will be a revelation to those who only know his later work. They date mainly from the years just after the war, when Bill was still under the influence of his teacher George Graham, and many are of local scenes; "Full tide at Rye Harbour" is particularly nostalgic to those who remember how it looked in the 1950s, and we would like to think it will remain in Rye.
Downstairs there is the gallery's usual delightful choice of paintings and craft work with which we are tempted each spring. Among those exhibiting are Lower School's recent artist-in-residence, Jill Hartman (GAZETTE no. 219), showing in Rye for the first time; also new to Rye are Margaret Traherne and Patricia Jadesic, wife of a Hastings consultant. But it is certainly not an all-woman show, and many of the gallery's regular "stable" are showing new and attractive work. All told, a most enjoyable exhibition, and likely to do well.
We hope to write about the McKnight Kauffer posters at the Stormont Studio next week; they are there until 14 June.
3 THE RYE GAZETTE, 22 April 1987
Twice within a year Mrs. Beeching of Lea Avenue has arranged a daughter's wedding - and both times she picked beautiful weather. Saturday's bride was Karen, who was married at St. Mary's in brilliant sunshine to Chris Potter of Hastings, attended by her sisters Bridget and Susan and two small nieces of the bridegroom. Karen wore a cream crinoline dress with a short train; her dark hair lay on her shoulders, covered by a tulle veil held in place by a sparkling coronet. The big bow at the back was echoed in the bridesmaids' dresses of apricot satin, gleaming in the sunlight as they waited by the south door. Bride and attendants carried sprays of mixed flowers. Mrs. Beeching looked very elegant in grey flowered chiffon with a jade-green straw hat. The reception was at the Queen's Hotel in Hastings; the couple will be living in Hastings, as a convenient base between Karen's job at Rye Hospital and Chris's in Brighton.
The previous Saturday, the bride was Carol Anne Oliver of North Salts, who was marrying Philip Marks. They were much less lucky with the weather, and there was some anxious searching for a rug to keep her warm in her pretty white crinoline while the couple were driven to the reception in Peasmarsh - in a 1911 open-sides Rover, followed by the bridesmaid in a 1927 Austin Chummy.
Graham Williams, now living in Gloucestershire, played in a band called Trunk in Rye in the mid-1970s, and he tells us that in 1974/5 BBC tv did a programme from here on (he thinks) BBC2, called "Home Town". The band was featured twice in the programme, singing "Dock of the Bay" above the opening titles, and later during a session at the Sailing Club.
Graham is still in touch with the other five members of the band, but none of them has a video recording of the programme. Does anyone, he asks? The BBC gave him a tape of the two songs, but the quality was not particularly good and anyway they would like to see the programme again. He realises that video recorders were a good deal less common then than they are now - but there were, he says, some about. If anyone has a video of the Rye "Home Town" - or can put Graham in touch with anyone who may have - please write to him at Canon Park.
Last week's East Sussex News published a letter from Norman Bennett and Ron Dellar, commending the two Town Councillors who voted in favour of a marina village on the New Road site. (The letter didn't name them, but they were in fact John Ciccone and James Menhinick; Ed Wiseman abstained, and the other 11 Councillors at the meeting on 30 March voted against the proposal.) The letter continues "... The marina is being built, at no cost to the town, by private sponsorship. It will fill a nice pocket of land between the town and the houses along New Road and be an added attraction to the town. The benefit of it being so close to the town is enormous. It must be unrivalled..." (and so on).
People who noticed the letter have been rather puzzled by its use of the present tense. The marina is not "being built"; nothing has even come before Planning. (And as for filling "a nice pocket of land" - well, The Salts is a nice pocket of land too, even closer to the town; what about that instead?)
Both writers have guest-houses on the edge of the town. Since Mr. Dellar is the new chairman of the Hotel & Caterers Association, it seemed sensible to ask him whether the view expressed was that of the Association as a whole, and he said that it was; at a recent meeting, all the members present except one voted in favour of such a development. (But when we asked how many of the 60 or so mem- bers were actually at the meeting, he told us to mind our own business and refrain from "poking around and stirring things up".) However, the Association's press officer, Mrs. Agnes Bennett, tells us that the letter was written before the meeting, and she assures us that it only expresses the personal opinions of her husband and Mr. Dellar. (Mrs. Bennett and Mr. Dellar are both standing for the Town Council, on behalf of the Hotel & Caterers Association.)
4.
ROGER BREEDS is a local man and has been a Town Councillor since 1976; his wife Amy is also local, and their daughter is a sixth-former at Thomas Peacocke. He is standing for Rother as a Conservative. He is the RNLI Branch chairman, vice-chairman of the Harbour of Rye Advisory Committee, a founder member of the Sports Hall Steering Committee, and also belongs to the two sailing groups and the Ratepayers Association and Conservation Society. His job means that he can arrange his working hours to suit Council commitments. If elected to Rother, he will keep uppermost in his mind the prosperity of the town, both of its residents and of its businesses, but will still seek to retain its character which is so attractive to visitors from all over the world.
FRANK DOWDESWELL came to England from the Channel Islands at the age of five, and spent the next 13 years in 28 different foster-homes. At 18 he joined the Gloucestershire Regiment, and after 15 years' service transferred to the Merchant Navy for a further seven. He has been self-employed since then; he and his wife and family came to Rye two years ago to take over the Wool Shop in Cinque Ports Street, and he is currently working as a decorator sub-contracting to Ellis Bros. Mr. Dowdeswell, who revived the Scout troop soon after he arrived, is particularly interested in the provision of housing for young couples, and also in the problem of providing enough parking in the town. He is standing an Alliance candidate.
GERRY FORTSCH was born in Robertsbridge, and has lived in Rye (in The Link) for 11 years; his wife has a job at Rye Hospital. Mr. Fortsch works at Dungeness, so we asked him the obvious question; what about getting time off work for Council meetings? He would not expect this to be a problem - the CEGB are very reasonable employers, and he would be able to rearrange his rest-days to suit the needs of Rother. In his spare time, Mr. Fortsch runs the "Hippo" band; he is a member of Rye Labour Party (and stands as a Labour candidate), and also belongs to the Transport & General Workers Union. He is concerned with the housing problems of young people in the area, and is standing for both Councils as a householder as well as a politician.
OSMA JONES was disappointed when there was no election to Rye Town Council in 1983; she had hoped to stand, and be elected, specifically as a Labour candidate. Nonetheless, Mrs. Jones has served as a Town Councillor for four years, and is standing for re-election to the Town Hall; but she is extending her scope to Rother as well. (She has seen something of local government elsewhere as Rye's representative on the local Association of Parish and Town Councils.) Mrs. Jones lives in North Salts. She was a school-teacher before she retired and then worked for several years in a Rye building society. She supports the Ratepayers Association, the Art Gallery and Rye Festival - and, unexpectedly, was once a WRNS radio mechanic!
GEORGE SHACKLETON is the dispenser at Boots, and came to Rye in 1951; he was first elected to Rother in 1979. During his first term he achieved a reduction in the Rye parish rate; in his second term, persistent pressure led to the provision of the Sports Centre; if he gets in again, he will try for a swimming pool nearby, and also for a permanent home for Rye Playgroup. He is also anxious about the lack of low-cost housing for young couples, and would dearly like to see something done about this. Mr. Shackleton is also a candidate for Rye Town Council, on which he has served continuously since 1975; he is the chairman of the Ratepayers Association - but keeps his politics firmly to himself, as he feels they are not necessary to conduct local Council business.
MARTIN SMITH (whose wife is a Hastings marriage-guidance counsellor) lives in Military Road, and has three sons at Thomas Peacocke; the family came here from London five years ago. He is a member of Rye Labour Party (and is standing as a Labour candidate), Rye CND, and a Friend of Rye Art Gallery. Ever since he left school at 15 he has had a passion for film-making and now produces tv documentaries (eg. "The Struggles for Poland", Ch.4 in June), sometimes working abroad. He loves Rye, but believes that much more can be done to make life pleasanter, especially for the poorer sections of the community; if elected, he can organise his working timetable to fit in with Rother commitments and make himself available to his constituents.
5.
Readers will wish us to express the town's gratitude for services rendered, to the four Town Councillors who have decided not to stand for re-election.
Hilda Nelson-Barrett took over the seat left vacant by the death of her husband in the mid-1970s, and will be retiring after 14 years' service to the town. She has been associated: with many local groups and good causes, and is certainly not giving up her work as chairman of the local branch of the RNIB, though she stepped down last year from chairman to vice-chairman of the Ratepayers Association. Bill Simpson also joined the Council in the mid-1970s; he was Mayor from 1982/4, and moved recently to live in Bexhill. James Menhinick and Joan Parkes have only served on the Council since 1983; but Joan has now decided to give up her spare time to the Hospice, where she is working for one day a week. James feels that "it is time the youngsters came in" and now that he is over 70 he should not embark on a further four years of office; he has made his mark on the Council as the chairman of the Planning Committee, and expects to continue as the town's Radio Sussex "village correspondent".
On 25 March we wrote about the disastrous implications for many Rye travellers which we found in the new BR timetable starting on 11 May; as we reported a couple of weeks ago, John Smith wrote direct to BR to protest. He has now had an answer from the Deputy Customer Services Manager at Waterloo, who says, in effect, "Tough...!" From a comfortable Waterloo office, the writer points out that it is difficult to satisfy everyone: "Passengers wanting convenient connections at Ashford and Hastings do not always have their requirements met. Additionally there are also the demands from those who travel intermediately ... who want to arrive at specific times for attendance at school, college and work. Faced with the fact that to satisfy all these requirements is an impossibility my train planning colleagues endeavour to provide a service which will best serve the needs of the majority of passengers, while at the same time recognising that in doing so we worsen the journeys of others."
People who work in Bexhill or beyond, and are likely to find themselves spending an hour or more every day hanging about Hastings Station waiting for a connection, are unlikely to be enthralled by this smug reasoning. "The current connectional margins into and out of the Victoria/Eastbourne trains are particularly tight" goes on the writer, "and therefore from May these have eased." But is there not a middle way between "eased" and "slackened off entirely so that they lie in a hideous tangle"? Apparently not, for BR.
We would dearly like to know on what basis the Transport Sub-Committee of Rother's Policy & Resources Committee chose to pass the following remarkable resolution after considering the new timetable: "...That the contents of the document be noted and Network Southeast be complimented on the proposed improvement to the service"! Did anyone actually look at the timetable... or did they, as we suspect, just take BR's word for the "improvement"?
Rother's new Dog Warden started work on 1 April; her little red van was observed in Rye next day. Rother maintains that her job is primarily health education, with enforcement only when necessary, and it will be interesting to see what the money is actually being spent on after the first couple of months. Those who feel strongly about enforcement and who know of a dog which regularly messes in a public place, or of a place where any dog regularly messes, should contact Rother Council at once - the Warden is based at the Battle office (Battle 3371) but non-urgent messages left at the Rye office, or indeed at Bexhill, will reach her.
When we heard that the Dog Warden was a woman - Miss Carolyn Miller, from Hastings - we realised that Archers fans would have to make a real effort to curb their tongues; she probably won't like being referred to as "the dog-woman"!
6.
Rother's Chief Officers and senior Councillors were here in force on Easter Monday to see their Chairman, Leslie Wells, open the Rye Sports Centre. Councillor Wells was introduced•by the chairman of the Recreation & Tourism Committee, Ivor Brampton; Chief Executive David Powell and Parks & Recreation Manager Colin Hudson were happy to welcome their guests, as the representatives of Rye and the villages arrived for a small reception in the upstairs lounge bar before the actual ceremony. Ray Fooks and Stan Jones, with members of the PE staff, were there from the school; doubtless there was also someone from Lewes, though we don't know who - but Councillors Joan Yates and Robert Bromley provided an ESCC presence anyway. Our three Rother Councillors were, of course, present, and delighted that their term of office had been marked by the splendid addition to Rye's community life; Mrs. Tomich (chairman of the Management Committee) and Mr. Cawdron are not standing at the election, but Mr. Shackleton is and he looked thoughtfully at the flooded area below the window and talked about the possibility of a swimming pool next...
Thanks were expressed to the Councillors and officers, to ESCC for its contribution, to the Friends support group (which is, we hear unofficially, to provide an electronic score-board), to the Development Commission, and to the Town Council - many of whom, led by the Mayor, were present. Nor was the school forgotten: "It has not been easy for them" said Councillor Brampton, "but now they will reap the benefit." Rother's Treasurer, Mr. Willis, is the person responsible for finding the money; he looked well satisfied at the way it had been spent, and the managing director of the contractors, William Ellis (Etchingham), said they had found it an interesting and worthwhile project. By the time Councillor Wells finally pulled aside the curtain covering the commemorative brass plaque, everyone had been thanked, and those who hadn't seen inside the building before had a good opportunity to admire it.
The rest of this week has an interesting special programme, arranged at short notice. This morning from 11 to 1 county bowls players will demonstrate short mat bowling, and at 8 Rye plays Hastings Seniors at basketball. Tomorrow evening is given over to indoor cricket, with teams from Rye and the villages demonstrating at 7 and 8.15 (to 9.30). Friday evening (7 to 9) sees a demonstration of five-a-side football by Rye United; and Saturday evening sounds particularly lively, with roller disco from 6 to 8 and a roller hockey match from 8 to 9.30. (The champion trampoliner, unfortunately, performed on Tuesday, so we can only regret that he didn't come later in the week.)
Stuart Lees has not yet arranged fixed-time sessions for particular sports, though a notice on the wall offers classes in a variety of them (call in to look at the list). However, the Saturday-night family sessions are already proving very popular - mum, dad and the kids from 7 to 10.30 for one all-in payment of £2.50, with a bit of help thrown in for those new to things. Now finished for the present (but with a repeat promised for half-term) are last week's sessions for school-children: 9 to 12 every morning, even including Good Friday, and costing just Cl a time - and, we are told by grateful mothers, an enormous success. (Think of the joy of having someone else exhaust your 13-year-old for E5 a week!) Neither Stuart Lees nor his assistant Tim Bolton can have had much time to themselves since the Centre opened its doors (the third member of the team has not yet been appointed), but their efforts are certainly very much appreciated, and last week the Centre took £1,100 - some of it, naturally, in the bar, where Mrs. Barbara Williams is in charge assisted by Lesley Gasson. (You can't get a cup of tea - but on Monday that was provided, with some delicious buns, by the canteen staff in one of the House rooms.)
Stuart has promised to let us know in good time about special events at the Centre, and also about regular sessions for specific activities. We are sure that anyone who goes once will want to go again; but it is members only, and for anything except one-day membership you need a photograph as well as your £5 (family £12, junior £2) fee - and that lasts for a year, until 31 March 1988.
7.
• Rye WI celebrated their 58th birthday with, we are told, a rave-up at the April meeting; Brookland WI's concert party provided the entertainment, after a deli cious meal served by the committee, with wine flowing freely. Landgate WI's April meeting was rather more sedate; Jeanne Caister demonstrated paper flower making, and Vivian Challens talked about her grandfather's local manufacture of Tonbridge ware, while members' holidaying children showed off their artwork.
• Rye Town Councillors and their spouses held a private dinner at the George recently, to make the end of the present Council's term of office; guests of honour were Mr. and Mrs. John Aisford. The Mayor had flu and was unable to be present, but on her behalf the Deputy Mayor, Frank Palmer, had much pleasure in presenting Mr. Alsford with a framed testimonial bearing the Town Seal, as a recognition of his kindness is providing a home for the Model - and there was a bouquet for Mrs. Alsford.
• Mr. Walter Small's many friends in the town will be sorry to hear that last week he gave up his home in Rope Walk to go and live with his daughter in Hertfordshire. Mr. Small, whose wife Phyllis died in 1984, has three brothers stillliving in the town. He leaves behind him a reputation as one of Rye's longest- established allotment-holders, having worked for many years the piece of land which had been his father's allotment before him.
• Last week Rother's Policy & Resources Committee decided to spend up to £1,000 as the Council's share of the cost of a feasibility study on the conversion of the old Hinds warehouse to a Heritage Centre (GAZETTE no. 219). It would, says a report from the Planning Officer, provide a permanent display site for the Rye Town Model, a retail area for the sale of literature and souvenirs, and an exhibition area for artefacts from the Camber Castle excavations (an interesting idea which hasn't been mentioned before). The Development Commission is likely to pay 50% of the professional fees incurred in the project.
• On 13 April the 1st Rye Guides (Lady Maud Warrender's Own) held an open evening for parents and friends; guests included the Divisional Commissioner and the Divisional Camp Adviser. Entertainment meant a quiz on the history of guiding in Rye (and a display of its documentation), a fashion parade with Guides wearing the seven different styles of uniform, and a talk by Kenneth Clark outlining the story of the Company. Michael Bourn presented 12 girls with Fireman's Badges, and there were two separate enrolment ceremonies: one (for Charlotte Carey and Emma Hodgson) in the formal old style, and one new-style with candles (for Melanie Thomas and Natasha Asker). Buffet refreshments preceded the traditional Taps.
• Ever since she started in business as a photographer, Mary Lestocq has been hoping for a Kodak Award - and who has now got her one? Humphrey! Not, of course, her late husband; but a bearded collie of the same name, whose owner Mrs. Hateley of Winchelsea sent in Mary's portrait of her dog for the Kodak "pet of the year" competition. The picture now goes on to the quarterly, and perhaps half-yearly, and maybe with luck annual selection; but in the meantime Mary will have the award presented by a celebrity ("Paul McCartney?" she suggested hopefully to Kodak) plus some useful publicity from the company.
• Condolences to Roger Jarrold, 17, of King's Avenue, who was taken to RESH with only slight injuries when he came off a motorbike on which he was a pillion passenger, in Wish Ward recently. Condolences, too, to the owner of "Prelude", moored off Harbour Road, who lost £750-worth of tools, radio, flares and ropes to a thief between 1 and 10 April; and to Mr. and Mrs. David Sharp at The Kaff, two of whose tile signs were stolen on 11/12 April. Some idiot tried to drive away a double-decker bus from Station Approach on the evening of 9 April, damaging two other vehicles in the process; to the reader who recently reproached us for assuming that all villains are male, we point out that "some idiot" can be of either sex!
• Finally, we apologise to those whose reports were left out of this week's paper; with luck, a quiet week will mean that we can at last catch up on a backlog of non-urgent material...
(see page 6 for Sports Centre "specials")
Women's British Legion sell roses for St. George's Day (and refreshments), Town Hall, 10 to 1
Duke of Gloucester visits Rye Boys Club, 9.50 to 10.10 (helicopter at Lower School, c. 9.30)
Rye Ambul• ance Social Club jumble sale, Ambulance Station, 2
St. George's Day parade service, St. Mary's, 10.30 (assemble outside Adams, 10.15)
Louis Turpin Blues Band, Ypres Castle, 8
WRVS Lunch Club, CC, 12.30
Local History Group (business meeting), Library, 7.30 - sorry we gave the wrong date, meetings will in future be on the fourth Tuesday in each month.
Museum Association AGM, followed by an illustrated talk, "Follies and other oddities" (Alma Fabes), TH, 7.30
• Congratulations to Jane Bowler of Fair Meadow, now studying music at Lewes, who has been awarded a distinction in her Grade VIII cello exam. Jane's next hurdle is to gain a place at a London music college, and auditions ca_ be very chancy things; we all wish her the very best of luck.
• The Action for Epilepsy Group raised £65 at their recent coffee morning, and Glenis Bentley is most grateful to those who gave time or prizes.
• Planning applications: the felling of one macracarpa tree, to be replaced with a yew, at Norman House in West Street; an externally illuminated lamp sign for the Crown Inn; alterations and extension (including new toilets) at the Bedford Arms; and a new hide at the Nature Reserve, with disabled access.
• Kenneth Clark will be the tutor for a one-day course to be held on Saturday, 16 May, on the history and architecture of Rye and Tenterden. The day starts with two illustrated lectures at the FE Centre, followed by a conducted walk round Rye; then lunch at Tenterden and another walk there, returning to Rye at 5. The fee (excluding lunch) is £7, and minibus transport will be available for those without cars; contact Anne Swaine on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday afternoon.
• We now have more details of the visit by The Travellers theatre group. "Dearly Beloved", a mainly lighthearted look at love and marriage in words and music, can be enjoyed at the FE Centre on Saturday, 2 May, at 7.30. Tickets are available from the Centre office (see previous item for times), and the price of 01.50 includes refreshments. The FE Centre will benefit from the profits of the evening - and an opportunity to see live theatre in Rye is really not to be missed.
• The Catholic Church jumble sale on 4 April at the Community Centre raised £173.
• Conservationists will be glad to hear that Playden Church is once more able to take in bundles of newspaper - their buyers did finally call and empty the shed - but, says Ruth Ingham, just newspaper please, not colour supplements
or other magazines. Local antique shops are likely to be grateful for large-size newspaper (Times, etc.) which is very useful for packing - but best check before you dump a year's accumulation on someone's doorstep!
• Those sponsoring George Cumming to run for MSS in the London Marathon get a free draw ticket again this year (sponsor sheets at Barry Rivers in Cinque Ports Street) with a dozen useful prizes given jointly by Barry and the local Branch; draw at St. John HQ at 10 on 23 May.
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 by Cinque Ports Stationers of Rye. Deadline is Monday afternoon for each Wednesday's delivery; the paper costs subscribers 30p, and spare copies may be available from Cyprus Place. (Copyright Mary Owen 1987)