Telscombe

WI: Telscombe Cliffs Women’s Institute meet on the second Wednesday of every month from 2pm to 4pm in the Civic Centre. There are over 50 members who enjoy speakers, demonstrations, Christmas get-together, August garden party plus outings to theatres, local events etc

RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION: Telscombe Residents’ Association meet on the first Thursday of each month from 7.15pm to 9.15pm at the Civic Centre. Email the secretary at christinebowman3213@ btinternet.com for a copy of the meeting agenda.

SUPPORT GROUP: Breast Cancer Support Group meet on the first Wednesday of each month from 1pm to 3.30pm in the Civic Centre. Contact email: [email protected]

YOGA: With Natalie Heath every Tuesday from 6pm to 7pm in the Civic Centre. This class is back after the summer break on Tuesday September 4. Contact Natalie Heath email: [email protected] phone: 07738538094.

LIVING LIGHT PILATES: Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning in the Civic Centre. £6.50 per class or class pass for £44 (eight classes plus one free session). Contact Nicola Murray-Smith email: [email protected] phone: 07776 457752.

FITNESS PILATES: Every Monday morning and Thursday evening in the Civic Centre. Get fit, tone up, prevent back pain, improve flexibility and posture. Equipment provided, just bring some water. Only £6 per class or £40 for eight weeks. Contact Jennie Palmer email: [email protected] phone: 07825 702775.

YOGA: Every Monday from 7.15pm to 8.15pm in the Civic Centre. Contact Jane email: [email protected] phone: 07703 167895.

DANCE CLASS: Little Stars Pre-School Dance Class for pre-school children aged 2 to 4 years, every Tuesday 9am to 9.30am at the Civic Centre. £3.50 per session. Contact Anneli Smith 07930 490058.

COFFEE MORNING: Bereavement Support Group Coffee Morning on the second Wednesday of each month from 10am to noon at the Civic Centre. Bereavement can be a lonely journey so come and meet other people who are in the same situation as you in a friendly and informal setting. Contact Janet Quintavalle email: [email protected] phone: 01273 585818.

FIREWORKS: Free fireworks display Saturday September 8, 8.30pm on Telscombe Tye.

MERCHANT NAVY DAY: Fly the Red Ensign for Merchant Navy Day. Join us on Monday at 11am at the Civic Centre as we raise the flag to mark Merchant Navy Day, and stay for tea and biscuits afterwards. Since 2000, Merchant Navy Day on September 3 has honoured the brave men and women who kept our ‘island nation’ afloat during both World Wars, and celebrated our dependence on modern day merchant seafarers who are responsible for 95 percent of the UK’s imports, including half the food we eat, plenty of the fuel we burn and virtually all the products and goods we take for granted.

COUNCIL MEETINGS: The Grants sub-committee meet on Monday at 6.45pm and the Police and Resources Committee meet at 7.30pm. If there is insufficient business, meetings may be cancelled. Please therefore telephone the Civic Centre on 01273 589777 to ensure that a meeting is being held (an Agenda will be placed on the website). Meetings are open to members of the public who are able to ask questions for a 15 minute period at the start of each meeting. Meetings are held in Telscombe Civic Centre, unless otherwise stated.

FOOTNOTES: Into Brighton this week for a meeting, which went on a bit, meaning I had to walk back to the car along darkened streets with closed shops and offices. What was perhaps especially poignant was the amount of people huddled into blankets and coats in nearly every doorway, occasionally with a dog lying beside them. When I was a young man staying in a monastery in Bhutan. (I was on the hippie trail), an elderly monk had told me I would face a terrible ordeal, but I would recover. Over forty two years ago this month that prophesy had come true. I too was homeless and destitute. Living on handouts from passers by from the bench in the South London park I had ended up in. I still remember the misery and desperation of those years. As I climbed into the car and started the engine, I mentally thanked again the people who had rescued me from that particular hell, and slowly had helped me to return to sanity. Like those poor souls in their doorways, I had never set out to be a vagrant, but nevertheless had become one. Next time you walk past them, remember they are someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister. I arrived home and although it was dark it was still warm and I joined Chaplin sitting outside the summerhouse, where we revelled in the peace and quietness and the scent of the Japonica plant that filled the night air. A different world to the one I had just left and had mercifully turned my back on all those years ago. Have a good week, and go safely where ever your life takes you.