Hailsham

CHIDDINGLY MARKET: Do not forget the change of venue for this month’s Chiddingly Market. It will be at Muddles Green School, Chiddingly, BN8 6HN from 10am to 12 noon with produce, crafts, gifts and much more. Please note that this is a temporary change in venue and the market will be back at Chiddingly village hall on the first Saturday of every month from September.

KNIT & NATTER: Come along to the Charles Hunt Centre, Vicarage Road, BN27 1BG between 10am and 2pm with your project in progress or join in theirs over a cuppa and a chat.

ETHICAL JEWELLERY: At the Pumpkin Patch, St Mary’s Walk (off Hailsham High Street) BN27 1AF, tomorrow between 10am and 1pm Sandra Tepla will be welcoming people to her workshops and parties launch. The cost to participate in this launch workshop is £20 which will include a personalised ring and refreshments. If you would like to attend the workshop email sandrateplajewellery.com.

HEALTHY LIVING CLUB: This is an opportunity for people over 50 to get together for exercise, make new friends, try new activities and have fun. The cost is £2 which includes refreshments. If you are over 50 and keen to keep healthy and in good shape, this independent group of volunteers manage the town’s Healthy Living Club to increase the availability of light exercise and social interaction for those within the local area and further afield. The Club meets every Tuesday from 10am to 12 noon at the Methodist Church in the High Street, Hailsham, opposite the Grenadier. Sessions with qualified tutors coming up in August: 7th - regular yoga class focussing on the over 65s with qualified tutor, 14th Stretch and tone, light workout, 21st Movement to music, their most popular session, and 28th Singing, yes anybody can sing. Come along and join in with tutor Laura, who is also well known in Herstmonceux. For more information visit http://www.healthylivingclubcommittee.co.uk or phone 07791 442334.

FOLK & BLUES: The Six Bells Folk & Blues Club meets this Tuesday and fortnightly for a Singers Night with host Chris Martin from 8.30pm at The Six Bells, The Street, Chiddingly BN8 6HE. If you like to sing the blues or listen to others then do go along. Visit www.6bellsfolk.co.uk for information about the club and future meetings.

HAILSHAM LION: Ever wondered what the Hailsham Lions get up to when they are not spinning candyfloss at all our town events then go along on the first Tuesday of every month to the Charles Hunt Centre, Vicarage Field, BN27 1BG from 7.30pm to meet members and find out more about all the work they do for local good causes and consider being a part of a lively, friendly organisation that raises funds through various activities all year round as well as enjoying social club events. Make new friends and do something new. All welcome. If you would like to find out more call local rate number 0845 833 9828.

HAPPY DAYS: In July members of the U3A entertained other members for a variety afternoon entitled Happy Days. Chairman, Penelope Mayfield reports: Our July meeting gave the audience another very enjoyable afternoon but I am afraid the performers must have found the high temperature a challenge. The hall was full of over a hundred very warm people. Congratulations to everyone who gave us such a varied programme of entertainment. The Choir started us off with some great songs to get the afternoon going. They included a lot of old favourites some of which we could join in. The poetry group then read some lovely pieces, again many of them known to we older people. Following this, the art presentation was a cleverly devised journey through life illustrated with beautiful paintings. Then it was time for the drama group to come on stage. Linda Bradley once again worked her magic with an amusing sketch about a birthday celebrated on the wrong day but which had an unexpected romantic ending and afterwards the creative writing group showed how many talented people we have in our midst. While we were watching and listening a lot of us were trying to find answers to the quiz, set by Jean Saunders. Thank you all, each and every one who participated but most of all our thanks go to Jenny Roots, without whom none of this would have been possible. Not only does she work tirelessly to make sure that everything goes smoothly on occasions like this but as a member of the committee and as group coordinator she plays, month by month, a vital role in our U3A. Thank you very much Jenny for all you do for us.

STAKEHOLDERS: Local businesses, community groups and other key members came together for Hailsham Forward’s latest stakeholder group meeting. The recent town centre shopfront improvements, support for Hailsham’s industrial parks, and this year’s summer and Christmas town events were just a few of the things discussed by the Hailsham Forward Town Team, which aims to bring together key local stakeholders including Hailsham Town Council to review the best ways to revitalise the town centre and surrounding urban environment. Updates were provided on the expansion of the Hailsham Loyalty Card Scheme for shoppers and businesses, the Hailsham Community Forum which has also continued to grow with new members attending and the organisation of a Hailsham Food Festival event, which will be part of the Hailsham Festival of Arts and Culture to be held in September and promote the wide range of eateries in the Hailsham area. Also discussed was the Hailsham Street Market, of which Hailsham Forward agreed to the transfer of responsibility and management to Hailsham Town Council a few months ago, enabling the Partnership to focus and build on other key town revitalisation projects. Town councillor Gavin Blake-Coggins, was elected new Chairman of the Hailsham Forward Stakeholder Group.

HAILSHAM MUSEUM: Don’t forget to visit the Hailsham Museum at Blackmans Yard. Come and see the many artefacts of the past, the Town has to offer. This year there are two special displays. One being the centenary of the end of the first World War, and the other being 50 years since the closing of the Cuckoo Line – from Hailsham to Polegate. In regard of the 1st World War, the Museum also has a collection tin for donations to the British Legion. The Museum is open on Friday and Saturday mornings (until the end of September) from 10am to 12.30pm. Admission is free, but a donation is well appreciated. For further information about the Museum, please contact Maxine Kitcher on 01323-843206. For more information about Hailsham Historical & Natural History Society, please contact the Chairman of the Society, David Bourne on 01323-440359.

FLOWER CLUB: On 15 August Hailsham Flower Club are holding an Interclub Competition - Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend at 7.30pm in the Civic Community Hall, Vicarage Lane, Hailsham BN27 2AX. Visitors and new members are always welcome. Visitors £5 on the door.

OPEN CHURCH: During August on most Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12 noon until 2pm, visit the local Parish church in Hailsham (St Mary’s) and take time to reflect and look round this beautiful, historic building. Learn more about its history as well as some interesting lesser known facts - find out about the 1875 shipwreck victim, see the only stained glass window to survive World War 2 bombing, and hear about the gravestone under the piano. Colouring sheets and an activity trail for the children. Bite In Café is open on Fridays in the Church Lounge from 09.30 until 12 noon where you will find a good selection of homemade cakes and refreshments at great prices. If you have questions about the Christian faith, there is a Christianity Explored course for those wanting to know more about what it means to be a Christian with literature available. Why not come along to a service on a Sunday at 10.30am and 6.30pm. A very warm welcome awaits you. For more information visit www.hailshamchurch.org.uk. Please note, there are certain dates in August when the church will not be open due to other events taking place.

PILGRIMAGE: Members of the Hailsham and District Branch of The Royal British Legion are to join thousands on a pilgrimage of Remembrance to World War One battlefield that culminates in a parade and ceremony in Ypres as part of the end of the First World War centenary commemorations this August. The Royal British Legion event, known as Great Pilgrimage 90 (GP90), takes place between the 5 and 9 August and will be one of the largest in the charity’s history. GP90 will mark 90 years since the original Royal British Legion Pilgrimage in 1928, which saw 11,000 World War One veterans and war widows visit the battlefields of the Somme in France and Ypres in Belgium, a decade after the conflict ended. That Pilgrimage culminated in a march through Ypres to the Commonwealth War Grave Commission’s Menin Gate Memorial for a ceremony to commemorate the launch of The Hundred Days Offensive and in remembrance of those who never returned. Local Legion members, Tracey Parker and Sue Cooper will represent the Hailsham and District Branch and the local community at the event, as Standard Bearer and Wreath layer respectively. Tracy and Sue will tour some of the same battlefields and cemeteries visited by those on the 1928 Pilgrimage, before marching along the original route through Ypres, to the Menin Gate on 8 August, bearing our branch standard and wreath. They will join more than 2,200 other Legion representatives and dignitaries, including Civic and military guests from the UK, Commonwealth and Northern Europe who are taking part. Once at the Menin Gate, Sue will lay a wreath on behalf of the Hailsham and District community. Mike Weller, Branch Chairman of the Hailsham and District Branch of The Royal British Legion, comments: “Great Pilgrimage 90 is a unique opportunity for the Legion community to come together and bear our Standards along the same route in Ypres taken 90 years earlier by the veterans and widows of the First World War. The Hailsham and District Branch looks forward to proudly representing Hailsham and District at the event.” As local champions of Remembrance, the Hailsham and District Branch of The Royal British Legion is looking to work in partnership with their community to bring their unique Remembrance message to the Menin Gate. This message will be composed by the children of Hellingly Community Primary School and placed within the wreath where it will be displayed in a wreath installation for viewing by the general public until the end of August. The parade will start at midday and we encourage the public to make the trip across to Ypres for 8 August and fill the Market Square to watch the parade, Hundred Days Offensive ceremony and then enjoy an afternoon of musical entertainment including The Central Band of the Royal British Legion. If you want to find out more about GP90 or your local Royal British Legion branch, then please visit http://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/hailsham or contact Stephen Leonard.