Fairlight Focus

To all those who couldn’t make it to Fairfest, and to those who need a reminder how fantastic it was, check out this link.

Many thanks for everyone’s support, either by being there, volunteering, or sponsoring, you truly are appreciated.

The fabulous Celtish are playing at St Andrew’s Fairlight this Saturday 28th June 7.30pm.
Julie plays violin and Nigel is on a variety of Irish Whistles and percussion, they are both great vocalists and have performed internationally.
This promises to be a night to put a smile on your face and have you tapping your toes along to their Celtic offerings.
Suggested donation for Celtish on the door of £5.
Any donations for interval refreshments for St Andrew’s.
Everyone welcome.

Fairlighters celebrated the first day of Summer in style on Saturday at their Village Festival.

A true community spirit shone through as did the sun. You could feel the team atmosphere from the moment the marquee went up until the sun went down and The Kytes played their final number.

The Committee wish to thank all the many volunteers, sponsors, partners, groups and those who came to spend their money and support us and make our Village Festival such a huge success.

Jennifer Annetts

Dear Resident,

Here is a questionnaire about Local Government Reorganisation in Sussex. This may well lead to East Sussex County Council, Rother and all other District and Borough Councils being abolished and replaced by a single “Unitary” Authority. Other models are still under consideration, but are less likely. There would be an elected Mayor for the whole of Sussex.

You are encouraged to complete the survey. 

East Sussex Local Government Reorganisation survey

The clock is ticking and we are getting excitingly close to FAIRFEST 2025

We are looking forward to seeing you there – just a few reminders.

This is a FREE community event  but there will be a bucket for donations. Please support the BBQ, run by the Pett Level Independent Lifeboat and the Fairfest Bar run by our volunteers which this year is offering real ale and cider as well as the usual cans, wine and soft drinks.

HELP is still needed on the bar please from 8 – 10 pm and for car parking during the day.

If you think you could offer help for an hour or two please let us know by contacting fairlightfairfest@gmail.com

PARKING is free on the field (weather permitting), by kind permission of the Parish Council. If you have to park on the roads nearby we ask you please to take care not to block driveways.

There will be card readers available  on the bar and bbq but we are having the £1.00 bucket game and a Fairfest raffle so some CASH is always useful!!

Finally, please bring your own CHAIR or a rug.  Thank you and see you there.

Please find attached an invitation to a meeting at the Activate Y.C clubhouse on Wednesday August 6th at 7pm in order to discuss the important renovation work needed on the building. 

Please respond to this on email: youthclubactivate@gmail.com
Many Thanks

Wendy

I now have 8  people who wish to start a cess club.  But we could do with a few more. So, If you know of anybody else who would like to join  a friendly club, please ask them to contact me.  m0ssr@aol.com  or 07581305310

The invitation is open to all surrounding villages.

I have a slot to meet at Fairlight Village hall at 4pm on the 21st June. It will be just an informal meeting to see if we can get the club off the ground.

So the more people we can get to join, obviously the cheaper the cost of the hall, but the more chance of playing someone different each time we meet.

It does not matter if you can’t play, maybe you would like to learn. We all had to start somewhere. So, come along  and have a chat.

Look forward to seeing you all.

Regards.

Steve Stewart

07581 305310

m0ssr@aol.com

Please support your community Archive Resource Centre

The Archive Resource Centre (ARC) has been established to store and record the history, documents, maps, photos, memories, events, etc of Fairlight, Guestling and Pett, and, indeed, surrounding neighbourhoods.  We were established in 2022, with the website, www.thearc.uk , set up late 2022.  The ARC has its own room, files and equipment in the Pett Methodist Chapel, convenient for the three parishes, and with disabled access and facilities so easy to visit.  We try to be open on Thursday afternoons but can open on request.

We recently ordered a fireproof cabinet to house irreplaceable documents and photos, which should be delivered shortly.  This was funded by an initial generous donation from the Fairlight Residents’ Association and then further donations from the Isabel Blackman Foundation, Pett Older People’s Project and Pett Flower Show.  Huge thanks to all of them for their support. 

Last year we had great audiences for Lorna Vahey’s talk about her parents (Lorna went on to give her talk to the Pett WI and the Fairlight History Group) and for Andy McConnell from the Antique Roadshow.   This year, our celebrated local artist, Annie Soudain, spoke to another large audience about her time in Pett Level and Fairlight.  Events are free to Friends.  However, organising these events takes time away from our main raison d’être: collecting and cataloguing collections and helping with enquiries, which now we are established, have increased in volume.

Paul Petley has taken over as Chair of ARC and his enthusiasm and energy is already making a difference.  We have also had some changes in our Committee; both John Case and Donna Gilbert have stepped down, but they remain Friends and thankfully will continue to help when they can.  They have both been instrumental in building our vision, reputation and public awareness.  Thank you both, we would not be where we are without you.  New ‘blood’ and ideas are always necessary to keep any organisation moving forward and we are fortunate to have Ken Hatch joining us.  He has recently joined the Committee of the Fairlight History Group and is one of the officers for the Pett Methodist Chapel, our home, so he helps to bring us all together.  

It isn’t just money that is important, but volunteer help with scanning, indexing, cataloguing.  Even a few hours a week would make a difference.  We know, as volunteers ourselves, how difficult it can be juggling between family, chores, hobbies, holidays and occasional days away.  Retirement seems to be busier than having a job and raising children; why is that?  We also know that many people already belong to other groups which keep our communities ticking over.  To those we say thank you.  It is to those who have yet to dip their toe in the volunteering pool – and would like to start small and from their home – that we are primarily after!  Using your computer and scanner, or if you love arranging talks and events to help raise our profile (and funds).  Or just folding and distributing leaflets locally.

New material is being added to our website regularly: recently PLPT nature leaflets, the building of the replacement for the Venetian Bridge in Pett Level, the history of the Rye Bay Auxiliary Coastguard (these last two from John Moon) and the forgotten art of the Sussex Posy, which is still being made annually in Spring by Fairlight resident, Bernard Cruttenden.  Please look at our website, add any comments and email us if you find any mistakes or have additional information or thoughts.  This is a community website and many of you know far more than we do: we are delighted to be corrected!  And please do not throw anything interesting out about the area before letting us see (or scan it if you would like it back), it could be an important piece of our growing jigsaw.

And last, back to the main subject heading… We hope you will think to support us going forward and with that in mind, I attach a Friend form to complete which you can post or scan and email to us   We accept cash, cheque or BACS (reference your name, but send or email us your details).  And maybe you could set up a Standing Order for April 30th/May 1st starting next year; this is easy to do if you have internet banking (e.g. I can do it) but I also attach a form to hand into your bank.  We know from our own experience that there are many requests for our hard-earned and diminishing funds, but the £15 each Friend pays to support what we are doing, keeping our history and stories safe, helps toward our annual overheads.  You, and future residents can benefit from this local resource.

Thank you so much.

If you would like to be removed from our email list, please just reply and tell us.

Fran Rogers

archiveresourcecentre@outlook.com

Located at Pett Methodist Church

www.thearc.uk

This year’s Fairlight Open Gardens will take place over two days, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of July. This year looks like being one of our biggest ever events, with no less than 19 gardens taking part. 

Tickets are now available from:

GARDEN GEMS

HAIR BASE

THE GARDEN TRADING HUT

MOPP

DISH

For further information, please contact fairlightopengardens@gmail.com

Good morning future chess club members.

As of this moment we now have  8 people who have said they would like a chess club. For us to keep cost to a minimum we need at least 10.

So those of you who have expressed a wish that they would like to see a chess club in the village please spread the word. Members from surrounding areas welcome to apply.

Please drop me an email m0ssr@aol.com or call 07581305310

Steve Stewart

Fairlight Parish Council present the John Lutman Award for Community Service in honour of the late John Lutman, a Parish Councillor for over thirty years and a past Chairman of Rother District Council. 

JOHN LUTMAN AWARD PRESENTATION – 2025

The John Lutman Community Service Award is presented annually to a resident who has contributed to village life. It is in memory of John Lutman.

There were a great deal of nominations this year for the winner, Sue Greenup. Sue can be found most Mondays helping out at the Drop in Social Hub (DISH) in the village Hall. Sue was presented with her award at the Parish Assembly in May 2025 by Councillor Andrew Mier. Sue said at her presentation “DISH is such a warm and friendly place to be. Everyone is smiling when you arrive and they are still smiling when you leave. There is plenty to do and plenty of people to talk to. It is a very social environment and lovely place to be. If  you need help or have a question to ask there is always someone there to ask. Long may it continue.” Sue is well known for her culinary skills and you can often find a plate of something that Sue has bought along for others  to enjoy.

Sue will be receiving a cheque for £150 which she will donate to DISH

Please click, or copy the link to your browser, to see the Fairlight Parish Council Agenda for May 2025 Parish Council Meeting. 

https://fairlightparishcouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Agenda-and-Supporting-Docs-Annual-Council-Meeting-27th-May-25.pdf

Thank you.

Open Meeting – updates on Natural Flood Management 

The Future Landscapes Trust will be hosting another Open Meeting on Friday 6th June at 6.30pm at the Pett Village Hall to update all residents on the progress of their Natural Flood Management project. 

Everyone is invited. We would really value and appreciate if anyone who owns land in the Marsham Valley to come as well to discuss how they can be involved to help reduce the risk of flooding.

We will update on our research and reporting, what actions we have already taken and what we plan to do over the next 2 years.

Thank you,

Ollie

Ollie Hunter
07554564962

Future Landscapes Trust (Registered Charity Number 1208426) 

We are coming up to the first week of the new month so this is a reminder that the next local NHS hearing aid maintenance sessions will be held at:

Fairlight Village Hall between 10am and 12 noon on Friday 2nd May

Pett Village Hall between 10am and 11.30am on Wednesday 7th May

Remember that for peak performance hearing aids should be re-tubed every 4 to 6 months

Please can I remind you that the FRA annual membership subscription for 2025-26  is now due. The subscription remains at  £8 for the year.  

This gets you 4 quarterly magazines, membership to the email scheme and enables the FRA to provide donations to village causes.

You can pay either via online banking (preferable) or by cash or cheque. 

Online banking

Account:       Fairlight Residents Association

Sort Code:    60-10-15

Account No: 60707666

Ref :             ‘Your address‘ ( house name / number & road name, not post code)

It is important to add an address as best you can to the reference  otherwise it can be difficult to match the payment to your membership details.

Cash or Cheque

Cheque payable to: Fairlight Residents Association. 

Post or deliver to Membership Secretary, Harlo, Hill Road, TN35 4AE.  

Or you can drop it off at the:

• Village Hall, during DISH (Mondays), 
• Village Hall during MOPP|S (Fridays) 
• Royd, Broadway (3 house after the village hall)
• Badgers, Brair Close

Please provide name and address details, with the cash/cheque.

Kind regards

Alison Thomas

Fairfest this year will be held on Saturday June 21st 

The afternoon events will include stalls, a miniature steam train, have a go archery and tennis, arena displays, the dog show, and bouncy castle.  The evening will be live music.

Entry will be free

There will be a BBQ and bar throughout the event.

Stalls in the afternoon will cost £15 but are free to village groups and charities.

If you would like a stall  please contact  isobel.horsley@gmail.com or return the attached form

Do you have any photos of family and friends celebrating VE Day 1945? 

Ahead of the VE Day 80th anniversary celebration at the Village Hall on 8th May, Fairlight History Group are putting together a display of photos and memories. Any photos will be copied and returned to you.

If you have anything please contact Karen Draper on 01424 814154 or email kd_wavertree@hotmail.com

Thank you

The Fairlight Astronomers are due to meet this Thursday evening at 7.00pm in the village hall. 

Whether you’re a beginner or expert, everyone is welcome. It’s just the excuse you were looking for to get out of the house and try a new hobby. Come and learn what you can see in these lovely clear dark skies of Fairlight!

The Fairlight Players’ spring production, Gail Force 9, is now less than four weeks away, and many have already booked their “passages” for this wild and unpredictable crossing.

We hailed this production as a World Premiere, which it is, but maybe a Maiden Voyage would have been a more apt description.

The cast are certainly having a great time bringing Kate O’Hearn’s eccentric characters to life, and next weekend will see the set being built, always a significant step forward in the production process.

If you haven’t yet secured your seat, I would urge you to do so as soon as possible. At present there are seats available for all performances, although sales have been strong across the board.

Our past two productions have completely sold out, and this one deserves to do the same. Please don’t miss this opportunity to be among the first to see this amazing play, which could soon be appearing on stages across the UK and beyond.

The easiest way to book is online at Box office – Fairlight Players where you can choose your preferred seats.

If you are not comfortable with online systems, please phone Sue on 07988 540757, and she will be delighted to help you.

Tickets are available through DISH on Mondays between 11am and 1pm.

We hope to see you soon.

With very best wishes

Keith

Keith Miller (Chair)

The Fairlight Players

Pett Methodist Church 

Coffee Morning and Auction
You are all welcome to come along to the coffee morning on Saturday April 12th, 11am at the chapel when you can pick up a bargain and a cake and even bid for one of our amazing lots in our auction. Check them out on our website or click on the link below. Bid online or at the event. 

Auction

See you there!Wendy Hatch

Hey,

I just signed the petition “Save the Observatory Science Centre Herstmonceux” and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name.

Our goal is to reach 15,000 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://chng.it/tdMc9DMPXK

Thanks!

Lilian

It seems like yesterday when we see ’70s and 80s’, but we are talking 50 years ago – yikes! 

But ages doesn’t stop us enjoying the music of our youth.  Remember discos, when it was dark and loud and no one could see you or hear you. 

It’s no different now so come along and join us and relive those days.