Etchingham

You are invited to have a bowl of soup and crusty bread. There will be no charge but a collection will be made for charity, yet to be decided.

All are welcome to attend and a warm welcome awaits friends old and new.

UP THE GARDEN PATH: Burghwood House, Sheltered Accomodation, Hurst Green, the Residents Association have a project, which has been chosen by “ Tesco Bags of Help “ for voting during March and April. They wish to remove very steep steps in their garden and replace them with a sloping path and hand rails for all residents and visitors to be able to use and enjoy the garden, whatever their mobility. If you shop in one of the local Tesco branches please use your vote to help them complete the project. The ‘Bags of life’ scheme uses the 5p carrier bag charge to fund community projects, the project with the most votes is awarded £5.000, which would go a long way towards helping us complete our project.

Voting area covers Tesco Stores in Hawkhurst, Battle, Bexhill and Tenterden. For more details of the project take a look at the website http://www.groundwork.org.uk/Sites/tescocommunityscheme

AGM: Patient Participation Group Fairfield Surgery, Burwash AGM Tuesday March 28 7.30pm Parker Hall, Etchingham - all patients welcome. Dr M Robertson will be giving a talk ‘Exercise, the Right Prescription’

SAINSBURY VOUCHERS: If you shop at Sainsbury’s and are offered ‘Active Kids’ vouchers please make sure you collect them, if you do not have children or grandchildren of school age Etchingham School will be pleased to accept them.

CELEBRATORY TEAS: To celebrate the 30th anniversary of St Michael’s Hospice, they are inviting all supporters to free celebratory teas, which are taking place in six locations throughout Hastings and Rother. On Sunday June 11, a Celebratory Tea is taking place at Stonegate Village Hall, with a choice of two sittings at 2pm and 4.30pm.

The events are completely free, with thanks to the Big Lottery Fund. There will be afternoon tea and live music for all to enjoy. Spaces are limited, so early booking is essential to avoid disappointment. Bookings can be made at www.stmichaelshospice.com/teas

MOBILE LIBRARY: The Mobile Library now visits Etchingham once every three weeks, on Tuesday mornings 9.40am to 10.20am.at Parsonage Croft outside the School and village halls.

Here are the dates to the end of June, March 14 – April 4 & 25 – May 16 – June 6 & 27.

If these times are not convenient, or you miss the Library when it visits, it will be at Hurst Green village hall, 12.15pm to 1.00pm and Burwash, Rother View 2.10pm to 2.30pm two days after the above dates.

PARISH COUNCIL: The next Parish Council meeting is on Thursday March 16 in the Parker Hall, you are reminded that all residents are entitled to attend and observe the meetings if they wish and there is always a period of ‘Public Time’ when you are able to comment on any of the items on the agenda. If you have any matters that you want the Council to consider please contact the Parish Clerk at least ten days prior to the meeting, Paulette Barton 01580 819048 [email protected] , the agenda has to be published several days before the meeting and only items on the agenda can be discussed.

CHURCH SERVICES: The Church Services for March, all at 11am. March 5, Reverend Sally Epps. March 12, Reverend Sally Epps. March 19, Canon Patrick Sales. March 26, Mothering Sunday - Family Service, Reverend Sally Epps.

All These services are at 11am and are Holy Communion except for March 26 which is a Family Service for Mothering Sunday.

CHURCH OPENING: The Church is open every day for visitors from 11am to 4pm. If you have not already been in, visit on a nice sunny day so that you can see how bright the Church now is with nice white walls.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: The annual, very popular Etchingham Music Festival, in the Church. takes place this year Saturday July 1 to Sunday July 9, both dates inclusive, put the dates in your diary and I will give you the full details of concerts nearer the time. Save the date, Saturday September 9, village show and event, details here when available.

FUTURE EVENTS: Do you, or your group or organisation, have events planned for coming months? Send me the dates and basic details now, I do not need the full details yet, just what the event is and the date. I can then give your event a mention well in advance of the date, people can note the date and I can then put the full details in nearer the date, this lets people know in advance when your events will be and can help avoid a clash of event dates.

SENDING INFORMATION: Get information for this column to me as soon as possible. There are several ways to get your info to me, but email is preferred because there is less chance of errors during copying. I need information by 10pm on Monday to be sure it will be in time for inclusion, I can sometimes add extra items on Tuesday morning, but this cannot be guaranteed. You can deliver to 2 Park Farm Close, telephone 01580 819532 or 07484 635014 or email [email protected] you will also find a form on the village website ( http://www.etchinghamvillage.co.uk/village-voice ) to send your information from there, look for the Village Voice link near the bottom of the column of links on the left-hand side of the website page.

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