Winchelsea village voice

The talk will be on ‘No snakes, No shamrock’ and a good crowd is welcomed along to find out more. There will be light refreshments available from 10 am.

Also on Saturday the Bowls Club Quiz takes place in the New Hall at 7.30 pm. If you are a table of six you will need to book by contacting 01797 224339. Entry fee is £8 each which includes 2 courses of refreshments.

On Saturday afternoon at 3 pm Dr Gill Draper will be giving a talk on ‘Early Towns in Kent & Sussex: The Place of the Cinque Ports’. This was arranged by WAS (Winchelsea Archaeological Society) and will be held in the Court Hall.

Mothering Sunday is this Sunday 18th March 10.30 am in St Thomas’s Church. The Junior Choir will be singing and the traditional posies of seasonal flowers will be given out to members of the congregation especially mums. Families and friends are welcome at the service.

Also on Sunday 18th March St Mary’s Church Rye will be holding the farewell to Bishop Wallace of Lewes service during the Evensong, beginning at 5 pm. This will replace St Thomas’s Church monthly Evening Prayer.

The Mobile Library will be in Castle Street on Wednesday 21st March from 1.40 to 2.10 pm.

Rye, Winchelsea and District Association of the National Trust has arranged a walk for

Thursday 22nd March. The walk this month starts at 10.30 am at the New Inn (Winchelsea) and is a circular 3.5 or 7 Mile walk with a stop for lunch in Rye. If you wish to take part in the walk please confirm at least 24hrs before by email: [email protected] or phone: 01797 260637.

There will be a session on ‘Planning in a Conservation Area’ with Winchelsea Conservation Society on Saturday 24th March at 10.30 am in the New Hall. Entry is free for members of the society and for guests £2.

For the Garden Society Spring Show on 31st March, members can find full details of classes for entries in the Schedule Entry forms. The forms need to reach Cynthia Feast by 7.30pm on Thursday 29th March. There will be a raffle offering only horticultural prizes this year and if you have anything you would like to donate please let Howard Norton know in good time. Everybody is welcome at the Spring Show which will start at 2 pm in the New Hall and teas, raffle and plant sales will be available.

Winchelsea’s Secret Gardens are usually open in June, and they will be this year, but in addition there’s going to be a Spring opening on the Saturday after Easter, April 14th, from 1 pm until 5.30.  Seven gardens will open in aid of National Gardens Scheme charities and there will be teas at St Thomas Church from 2 to 5 pm in aid of church funds and Demelza Hospice Care for Children.  Wesley’s Chapel will also be open to visitors from 2 to 5 pm.  We never know quite what the season will bring, but look forward to seeing plenty of primroses, hellebores, tulips and other spring bulbs and doubtless some unexpected surprises.   Admission costs £5 and visitors will be given a map at the first garden they visit to show them where everything is.

A programme of events to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is coming together and some dates for your diary are: 28th April – Concert by the Winchelsea Singers in the Church; 2nd and 3rd June – Photographic Exhibition of Winchelsea in 1952 at the Court Hall; 2nd June – Street Party in German Street (closed to traffic for the afternoon); 3rd June – Thanksgiving Service at St Thomas’s Church 10.30 am; 4th June – Art Exhibition in the Court Hall; 5th June – Lighting the Beacon and reception at the New Hall. If you would like to help in any way please contact Tina Alexander, Chair of the Diamond Jubilee Committee.

Winchelsea’s Church Market at the beginning of March raised £272.77 for church funds. Rector Howard Cocks thanks all who helped with the market and supported the event. To avoid the Easter weekend at the beginning of April the next Church Market will be on Saturday 31st March at 10.30 to noon. If you would like to make a donation of home-made produce please contact Rector Cocks.

Cindi Cogswell, 31 Highfords, Icklesham