The Chronicle - Hoathly Hub...The Chronicle is published six times a year by St. Margaret's Church, West Hoathly for the benefit of the communities of West Hoathly, Sharpthorne, and

The Chronicle

is published six times a year by St. Margaret's Church, West Hoathly for the benefit of the

communities of West Hoathly, Sharpthorne, and Highbrook.

The publication is edited, printed and distributed entirely within the parish by a dedicated team of

volunteers. We welcome reports of regular and one-off events and meetings, notices of

forthcoming activities, reminiscences, poems, line drawings, short stories, individual viewpoints,

letters, information and news of other matters. Items for inclusion should be sent by e-mail to

all five editors; typed or short handwritten items can also be delivered to any of the editors.

We reserve the right to edit any articles submitted.

THE EDITORIAL TEAM:

Peter Hartley, Old Timbers, North Lane, West Hoathly, RH19 4QF

Tel: 01342 811238 e-mail: [email protected]

Anne Thorne, Chiddinglye Farmhouse, West Hoathly RH19 4QS


Kathy Brown, Ashurst, Bulldogs Bank, Sharpthorne, RH19 4PH


Marion Jones, 6 Glenham Place, Top Road, Sharpthorne, RH19 4HU


Kate Wiseman, Dalingridge Place, Chilling Street, Sharpthorne, RH19 4JB

Tel: 01342 810411 email: kate @katewiseman.com

From the Editorial Team . . .

We hope you all had a lovely summer and some good weather during your holidays.

With the Jubilee celebrations, flower festival, Olympics and Paralympics it’s been quite a

year!

Over 50 people help with The Chronicle in one way or another, so it’s a great village and

community effort; many hands do indeed make light work. We often feel quite pleased with

the result – but do let us know how The Chronicle can be even better!

After a very dry start to the growing season followed by a cold snap and then a wet spell my

poor veggies have been quite confused and have not done as well as usual, I hope others have

fared better! The British Legion Vegetable and Flower show was a great success with some

gorgeous produce on display.

Enjoy the usual bonfire celebrations and remember to keep pets safe during this period. If

you have any funny stories to relate or poetic thoughts on any subject, do not hesitate to let

us know and we will try to include them in our magazine—the more variety the better! Also

we would like to hear from some new artists to do a picture for our front cover, don’t be

shy!! Enjoy the Autumn!

From Peter, Anne, Kathy , Marion and Kate..

PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION

Goo Coomber at 01342 810298 leads the production

team, collating all copies in the church on the Thursday

afternoon before publication.

Rosemary Watson at 01342 810800 heads the team of

distributors, and she can arrange for the Chronicle to be

delivered to your home, or posted to you. Some copies

are also put out in the local churches and shops for

purchase at 70p a copy. Annual subscription - £3.

ADVERTISING & SMALL ADS

Sue Billings at 01342 810049 handles boxed business

advertisements, which can be included for £30 annually,

and also the Small Ads, which cost £1 per issue for two

lines of copy.

Inclusion of an advertisement does not imply any form of

approval of the quality of the services offered.

The Chronicle for October—November 2012 - Page 2

APOLOGY PAGE 27 “MORE FRONT PAGE ENTRIES” IN LAST ISSUE:

Please accept the Editor’s apology for the mis-spelling of Alistair and for missing out Will’s name in the

August-September issue of The Chronicle.


The prophet Jeremiah frankly reflects on the end of a season in Israel’s wanderings and captivity with these words: “ The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved”. God’s people had hoped for peace but no good had come, for a time of healing but there was only trouble. With the passage of the season, their hope seems to have gone. While Jeremiah’s heart grows faint with grief, he turns to God, the comforter in sorrow. His cry is full of questions. “ Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” Life is seasonal. As we transition from one season to the next we need to voice our questions and absorb some of those disappointed hopes. The author of Ecclesiastes recognises that the arc that spans all our seasons is the eternity that God has placed in the human heart, even though we can’t always fathom what he has done from beginning to end. (3:11) I arrived back home to four funerals! I can sympathise with the Prophet; these things are not easy to fathom. Yet within our limitations, we are not left clueless. For the one who holds our times in his hands gives generously. “ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who wait upon the Lord with renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31). Thank God that there is within the ebb and flow of times and seasons an empowering renewal at work; my prayer is that the families of Kathleen McGuinness, Janet Johnson, Mick Mays and David Knight, will know this empowering love and comfort of the Holy Spirit. With my sincere prayers and love, Ven. Lionel Whatley. Vicar of All Saints Highbrook and St. Margaret’s West Hoathly.

Dear Friends, A few years ago, a very good friend, Dr. Michael Cassidy, wrote a book which he entitled, “The Passing Summer”. As the summer comes to an end and a new season starts, we hopefully look back on memorable moments and refreshing times. We had the privilege of travelling to South Africa for the 50th Anniversary of African Enterprise ( the organization that our daughter, Megan is working for in Pietermaritzburg.) We were also able to see Sue’s parents, Megan and her church family and friends, and participate in a citywide mission to Pietermaritzburg. This was exciting and exhausting but we would not have missed it for the world. It was good to see Megan again and to help with the Photo Exhibition, which she organized as part of the AE festivities. I do hope that you were able to get away for some of the summer and that you have come back home refreshed and renewed.

I suppose that we are also aware that not all we’d hoped for has been realised. This summer the economy hasn’t picked up speed; the GCSE English grading crisis has not been resolved; the Teacher’s Unions are threatening another strike; and the relentless rains have damaged our crops and spoiled my turnips, tomatoes and much in our garden at the Vicarage. For the season that we entered with such hope may not have ended with the change we’d longed for.

Lionel, Sue & Megan Whatley with Emmanuel Kopwe in South Africa

HIGHLIGHTS OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

AT ST. MARGARET’S, WEST HOATHLY

& ALL SAINTS’, HIGHBROOK

QUIET DAY

THURSDAY 11TH

OCTOBER

10.15 am—4 pm

This year I’m offering to lead a Quiet Day at Worth

Abbey on:-

Space

Stillness

Silence

I hope that this will provide an opportunity for a

small group of us to discover how silence can bring

a sense of peace to our lives, in our noisy, frag-

mented, and busy world.

Please let me know if you’re interested. Ring

01342 811238.

Peter Hartley

The Chronicle for October and November 2012 - Page 4

Coming Events:

Highbrook Harvest Supper:

Highbrook are holding their Harvest Supper in

Highbrook Village Hall on Saturday 6th October

from 6.30 pm. All welcome.

All Saints Day:

Thursday 1st November is All Saints Day and there

will be a Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance

at St. Margaret’s at 7.45pm.

Patronal Festival:

All Saints are holding their Patronal Festival at 6 pm

on Sunday 4th November.

Remembrance Sunday:

There will be a British Legion Remembrance Service

at St. Margaret’s on Sunday 11th November at

10.45am. All are welcome.

Traidcraft Stall:

After the 10 am service at St Margaret’s on Sunday

18th November, there will be a Tradicraft Stall, a

good chance to start buying your Christmas presents

early.

Una Voce:

Una Voce will be performing Haydn’s “Creation” on

Sunday 18th November in St Margaret’s at 7.30pm.

From our records

Weddings:

Carly Homewood and Alex Miller:

Carly and Alex were married by Peter Hartley at Sun

House Cottage in Hammingden Lane on Saturday

18th August.

Nicholas Phipps and Amanda Heneghan:

Nicholas and Amanda were married at St Margaret’s

on Saturday 15th September. We have enjoyed

having them and Daisy at our Family Services.

Funeral Services:

Ray Parks

Ray’s funeral took place at St Margaret’s on 27th

July (See In Memoriam)

Kathleen Elsie McGuinness:

Family and friends gathered at St Margaret’s on 31st

August to say farewell to Kathleen. She was a much

loved patient at Horncastle Nursing Home, where

she died after a long illness. Her daughter Maureen

Botting and son Tom McGuinness said that she was

confirmed at the age of 60. She wrote many poems

which were gathered in a book compiled and

illustrated by her grandson . Tom paid tribute to the

staff of Horncastle for their love and care.

Karon Webb:

Karon’s funeral took place at St Margaret’s on 16th

August (See In Memoriam)

George Michael Mays:

Mick, as he was known, had his funeral service at St

Margaret’s on 10 September followed by cremation

at Worth. (See In Memoriam).

Janet Johnson:

Janet sadly passed away on 2nd September

surrounded by her family. A private funeral service

was held on 11th September at St Margaret’s. A

Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Friday 28th

September at 2.30 pm at St Margaret’s and a full

obituary will appear in the next issue of The

Chronicle.

David Knight:

David sadly passed away on 6th September and his

funeral was held at St Margaret’s on 17th September.

T h e C h r o n i c l e f o r O c t o b e r a n d N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 2 – P a g e 5

In Memoriam

Ray Parks. 1931-2012

Ray was born in Sharpthorne and attended the village school, and after leaving senior school in East

Grinstead he served an apprenticeship with Rice Bros as a sheet metal worker and worked for BAA for

23 years prior to his health deteriorating.

Ray loved sport and played football for West Hoathly, and for many years he played bowls.

Country life was important to Ray and he was never more happy than when he and Ann walked their

dog on the forest every day. Roy was a lovely kind man and will be missed by all his family, especially

Ann who cared for him day and night for the last few years of his life as his Parkinsons disease wors-

ened. The funeral was held at St Margaret’s on 27th July, and he was laid to rest in the churchyard.

Sheila Hoad (sister)

Karon Webb

Karon sadly died from a stroke at her home in East Grinstead on 5th August aged 51. Formerly of Hill-

top Road, West Hoathly, her funeral service took place at St Margaret's and she was laid to rest in the

churchyard at the request of her two sons, Marcus and Josh, to whom she was a devoted mum. Karon

was born in Maidstone, Kent, where she grew up in the family home with her three brothers and sister

whom she fought to keep together when, sadly, both their parents died at a young age.

During her working life, and having married, she worked in the diamond industry; diamonds are

very rare and valuable and Karon was like a diamond. Her mischievous smile sparkled to light up the

room and her huge sense of humour was infectious. Karon went on to motherhood and, having Marcus,

moved to Sussex and Hilltop Road to be nearer to Gatwick for her husband's job. Soon Josh was born.

A few years later Karon was diagnosed with MS and Hughes Syndrome but she showed great fortitude

in the face of significant hardship and had the ability to remain positive when all seemed so negative.

She readily joined in social functions when it might have been easier to stay at home. She was valuable

and valued others, especially 'her boys', family and friends, she thanked people and appreciated all that

was done for her, in many ways an example to us all.

We may have lost our much loved 'diamond' but we won't forget her sparkle.

Bev Mager

George Michael (Mick) Mays - 1928 - 2012

Mick, as he was known to everybody, was born in Lingfield on 7 November 1928 and went to school

there. However, he spent most of his early life in Felbridge. He joined the Royal Navy in 1946 and

spent the next 3 years in the Mediterranean. He married Mary in 1951 and had two children, Sandra and

Michael and, in 1986, they moved to Sharpthorne from South Godstone.

After leaving the navy in 1957 he joined Foxboro Yoxall in the Machine Shop where he made

many friends. In 1958 he had a serious motor cycle accident which resulted in his losing a leg. Upon

his return to work his workmates helped him to modify another motor cycle which enabled him to ride

again.

Apart from football his great love was growing begonias, for which he won many prizes including

a first prize at the West Hoathly Flower Show. He was a member of the National Begonia Society and

his favourite variety was always Masquerade.

He passed away peacefully at home on 23 August and his funeral service was held in St Marga-

ret's on 10 September followed by cremation at Worth. He will be sadly missed by Mary, his children

and grandchildren and all his family and friends.

Mary would like to thank everybody for their help and support during this sad time and also for

the many cards she has received.

Marion Jones

“Representing Highbrook, Selsfield, Sharpthorne, Tyes Cross and West Hoathly”

Community Shop Consultation Survey – please participate As you may be aware a group of West Hoathly village residents have been pursuing the goal of re-establishing a shop to replace Hilltop Stores. They are now running a survey to ascer-

tain the support and viability of the project. Your Parish Council is also very interested in the results of the survey so that a decision can be reached on whether to allow the proposed shop/cafe to be built on part of the Parish-owned North Lane Recreation ground. The Council

would like to encourage residents from all parts of the Parish to express their views in the survey. It is being hand delivered and will also available through the Hoathly Hub to com-

plete online which is the preferred method if possible.

Heavy Goods Vehicles through traffic (HGVs) – What you can do to help

During October your Council’s Highways and Transport Committee wish to conduct a road survey of the number of HGVs using the Selsfield to Sharpthorne road as a through route.

The data is needed as part of an initiative to address what is widely believed to be an in-creasingly major concern, disturbance and potential danger on a road just not built for sig-nificant numbers of these vehicles. Can you volunteer a couple of hours to be part of this research? If so please contact the Parish Clerk as below.

“Housing Needs” Survey – June 2012

Thank you to the 241 households who completed the “Housing Needs Survey”. The results are now back and provide another important set of evidence for the Neighbourhood Plan

project. The response rate was about average for a Parish such as ours. The key points it shows are the continued need for and widespread support for more “affordable” homes in the Parish for people and families with local connections and a modest demand for smaller

open market homes. Of older residents (50yrs+), 1 in 11 identified their need to move to smaller, more manageable homes locally.

NeighbOURhood Plan – Next Steps – Public meeting During the coming autumn and winter the Parish Neighbourhood Plan which will map out

how our Parish should develop over the next 10-20 years will be in a phase where we take all the evidence gathered so far and define the local Policies which would become part of the

Mid-Sussex District Council planning system. On 18th October at 8pm in Sharpthorne Church Hall there will be a public meeting summarising where we are up to with the plan project and how the policy definition work will be carried out. Whilst your Parish Council is

taking the lead on this it should be stressed that this is a Community-owned plan and really needs your participation to make sure it is robustly representing what we as a community want. It would be helpful if you could let the Parish Clerk know if you plan to come.

Hello....Is there anybody out there?

This regular page in the Chronicle tries to answer the criticism seen in the 2009 Parish Fu-tures Study regarding a lack of Parish Council communications. Is it useful, informative, in-teresting or would you like to see something different here? I would welcome your candid

feedback (John Downe, [email protected] or 01444-892065). Better still come along to the Neighbourhood Plan meeting in October and/or help with the HGV survey above

and we’ll know there is somebody out there!

WEST HOATHLY PARISH COUNCIL

Parish Clerk: Helen Schofield - The Parish Office, North Lane, West Hoathly, RH19 4QG

T: 01342 811301 E: [email protected] Website: www.westhoathly.gov.uk

The office is open on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday between 9am and noon. Messages can be left at all other times on the answer phone or by email.


West Hoathly

School

The School has made an

exciting start to the new

academic year with many

changes. Firstly we would

like to welcome all the new

children and their parents who are starting in our

reception class. For some children this is the

next step after attending a nursery, for others

starting school is an entirely new challenge. Ei-

ther way this marks the beginning of what we

hope will be a fantastic time of learning and fun.

We also welcome several new pupils into other

years of the school. We look forward to working

with all of these children as they discover and

expand their potential.

Secondly the school sees some staffing

changes that we are sure will continue to develop

the achievements of previous years. Mrs Smith,

one of our longest serving teachers, is taking a

part-time role in Pegasus class alongside Mrs

Mannion. The addition of newly qualified

teacher Miss Emily Styles in Phoenix class will

create a powerful environment of learning and

teaching for our children at Key Stage Two. Key

Stage One sees some changes too with Mrs

Swaffer taking on not only the role of class

leader within Unicorn class but also that of Early

Years and Key Stage One Leader overseeing

provision at this level. Mrs Claire Holmes, a

newly qualified teacher who joined us during the

last academic year, will be carrying on her excel-

lent work with Dragon class. The promotion of

Mrs Tina Allen to School Business Manager will

enable her to continue her dedicated work of co-

ordinating school administration and finances.

As ever Mr Adam Earle will be bringing all

these aspects together to ensure our village

school continues to deliver the high standard of

education we currently enjoy.

Many of you may well have noticed work-

men on site during the holidays, and we are glad

to report that they have been hard at work in-

stalling a more modern and efficient heating sys-

tem to replace the old one. I’m reluctant to say

we’re looking forward to the cold of winter but

when it arrives it will be good to know that we

are able to keep the school warm in both a fuel

and cost efficient way.

The school has a busy and productive

2012/2013 year ahead. During the next term the

Juniors will be studying World War II and look-

ing at the impact that this had on children and

daily life in general. The Infants have the imagi-

natively named Turrets and Tiaras as their topic

during which they will be looking at all aspects

of castles. For the reception children a busy term

of settling in and exploring the foundations of

learning lie ahead. The children use and develop

their core skills such as reading, writing and

mathematics throughout these topics and I’m

sure they will have a lot of fun learning new

things as their abilities progress. Sarah George, Chair of Governors

West Hoathly

Pre-school

We have started a new term

by welcoming a number of

new children and their fami-

lies to Pre-school. We hope

they and the children returning from last term all

enjoy their time with us.

We also welcome Caroline Scott who has

joined us as Co-Supervisor. Caroline has many

years experience in Child Care and we are de-

lighted that she has joined us. We are looking

forward to a Term full of fun!

We will be busy fundraising over the com-

ing months and by popular demand our

‘Halloween Party’ will be back! More details to

follow on the Hoathly Hub/Posters around the

village.

We currently have spaces available We have a fantastic Pre-school with a ‘Good’

Ofsted report. We are also now able to offer

places to 2 year olds. For more details, a Prospectus or to arrange a visit,

please call: Natalie Emms (Admin Manager) – 07854

410841

Rachel Rush, Co-Chair

Tootsie Time

Tootsie Time, West Hoathly Village

Hall, Fridays 9:30 - 11am during

term time.

Mums, dads, grandparents,

carers all welcome with their little ones. Come

for a play, lots of toys, activity table, sing song

and not to forget a chat and cuppa with cake! £2

per family. Lorraine Jones 07971 799 501


West Hoathly WI

On 1 August members of West Hoathly W.I.

and their invited guests from neighbouring

Institutes gathered in the Village Hall for our

annual Summer lunch. Fifty ladies sat down for

a two course lunch prepared by the Committee,

with Ros’s delicious game pies taking pride of

place. A silent auction and a raffle were very

popular and raised a considerable sum of money

which will be used to provide an educational trip

for members during our anniversary year, 2013.

Early on the morning of 4 September a

group of members from West Hoathly and

Sharpthorne W.I.’s and friends boarded a coach

for a visit to the Prince of Wales’ gardens at

Highgrove. Despite the long journey to

Gloucestershire the gardens proved to be inspira-

tional, and our guided tour was informative and

enjoyable. At the end of our two hour tour we

treated ourselves to delicious cream scones and

cakes and a much needed cup of tea, followed by

retail therapy in the Highgrove shop. It was an

added bonus that Gilly Pain, our former Presi-

dent, was able to join us for the tour. The group

arrived back in the villages during the evening,

tired but with some great gardening ideas for the

future. Many thanks to Ros for organising the

trip.

The speaker at our September meeting

was Tony Turner, a first class speaker who has

visited us before. On this occasion Tony talked

to us about ‘Edukid’, a charity set up by a young

man from Mannings Heath, which supports chil-

dren in Cambodia by providing them with every-

thing they need in order to attend school and also

to provide supplementary education on topics

such as basic health and hygiene. The charity is

also working in northern Uganda to help children

who have been taken away from their homes and

separated from their families as a result of the

recent civil war in that area. As Tony stressed

‘education is the best way to give children a way

out of poverty’. The meeting closed with the

results of our usual flower of the month competi-

tion, which was won by Viona with Janet 2nd and

Jill 3rd.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 3 Oc-

tober when we will be welcoming Dallas Barnes

-Hughes to give us her talk ‘On the road with

Vogue’. She is a very good speaker and we

would warmly welcome anyone who would like

to come to the Village Hall at 2.00 p.m. to join

us for an entertaining afternoon. Margaret Rodgers

Sharpthorne WI

August was a quiet month for us at the

WI with no meeting, as we had already

made our visit to Gravetye Gardens in July, but a

group of our more energetic members enjoyed a

walk to Horsted Keynes. Most of us started from

Sharpthorne, and walked across the footpath to

Highbrook, where we were joined by the rest of

the group. After walking on to Horsted Keynes

we were in good appetite for a very pleasant

lunch in the garden of the Green Man. We took

a different route back, and all agree that WI

walks are a hugely enjoyable way to enjoy the

countryside, keep fit, and catch up on the gossip.

I hope we will be able to make walks like this a

regular event.

At our September

meeting Barbara Bartlett

talked about 'Chinese fresh-

water pearls from shell to

neck'. When she moved to

Hong Kong in 2001, Barbara

went to a class on pearl stringing which began a

lifelong interest in this craft. The title summa-

rised her talk very well as she explained how the

Chinese had followed the Japanese technique of

seawater pearl culture to Chinese lakes and riv-

ers, explaining how the pearls are cultured,

sorted, graded and drilled. She showed us some

oyster shells which still had pearls attached, and

samples of different colours and shapes of pearl.

We learned how to spot an imitation pearl and

how to care for the real thing. We then faced

temptation at her sale table, full of wonderful

examples of her own work.

At our meeting on 8th October Sheila

Nash will talk about 'Chernobyl's Children'

which is a local charity, and then on 13 October

we hold 'An Evening with the Greenheaps', a

chance to hear and to dance to this popular local

group, and enjoy a hot supper. This will start at 7

pm in the Village Hall. Elizabeth Tamburrini

Snippet

Never attribute to malice that which can be ade-

quately explained by stupidity.

Adage

…..or, in other words, a cock-up is more likely

than a conspiracy.


The Flower Festival

If you didn’t manage to visit the flower festival

you really missed something special. There were

41 displays created by organisations, residents

and the children from West Hoathly School Gar-

dening Club, all giving their interpretation of the

‘Celebration of the Olympics in Flowers’, and St

Margaret’s was transformed for three days.

As you walked through the lych gate

which was decorated so beautifully, you got

some idea of what to expect. Along the right side

of the path was a row of old shoes colourfully

planted with flowers and bedding plants. These

were judged, and the first prize went to Ellie

(who was visiting her grandmother in the vil-

lage), the second to Kathy Brown and to my sur-

prise I got the third prize. The visitors were able

to participate by adding to the Olympic torch,

which had been created by Derek and helpers,

before they entered the church. Before leaving, a

very welcome cup of tea or coffee and home

made cakes were provided and enjoyed by many

visitors, who I am sure picked up the community

spirit which I felt. Shirley Shier.

Daisies are our Silver, Buttercups our Gold.....

.......and Bronze, together in a myriad of colour

within the walls of St Margaret's, set the scene

for our Celebration Of The Olympics Flower

Festival in July. Arrangements, props, medals,

rings and sports of all descriptions hit the unsus-

pecting public as they entered a blaze of sporting

celebration. The weather was glorious over the

four days as were the delicious cakes being

served outside throughout the festival; lovingly

made by local residents.

Kicking off events on the Friday was the

preview evening. Wine and canapes were served

as guests had first peek at the flowers. This was

followed by "Music for a Summer’s Evening",

directed by Janet Slater; the audience was treated

to songs, instrumentalists and poetry—all with a

Summer theme. It was like St Margaret's own

Olympic Opening Ceremony!

The three days that followed were a haze

of happy people (some very busy people!),

laughter and praise for the sheer originality of

the flower arrangements. Music wafted from the

church—piano, organ, song, flute, harp and the

wonderful church bells; out of sight but always

there to ring out the praise and glory of the day.

Carefully planted boots, shoes and footwear

lined the church path, leading to the Olympic

Torch which gradually 'lit up' over the four days

as it was constructed by all who visited, each

adding a branch or flower. By Monday, the

flame was well and truly 'alight' and looking

every inch as impressive.

Sunday culminated in a glorious Festival

Evensong sung by Una Voce. This occasion also

marked the Institution and Induction of Lionel as

Vicar of Highbrook and West Hoathly - a won-

derful and very moving service.

An event like this doesn't materialise on

it's own and there are too many people to name

individually, but a special word of thanks must

go to Derek and Freda, without whom the festi-

val would not have happened.

The flowers have all gone now, the medals

and rings stored away, but the memories of this

unique Olympic Celebration will be with us all

for years to come. We too are like the flowers,

we will go and our memories will stay behind

with others; But God is immortal and his love

will flower forever, as the words of that beautiful

hymn remind us:

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;

In all life thou livest, the true life of all;

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,

and wither and perish: but naught changeth

thee.

I think everyone who came to see the Church

and flowers would all agree that St Margaret's

won Gold for the Celebration of The Olympics! Margaret Watson

T h e C h r o n i c l e f o r O c t o b e r a n d N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 2 – P a g e 1 0


Music happening in our area

Jazz

Second Monday in every month at the

‘Haywaggon’, Hartfield

Fourth Sunday in every month at 7.30 pm at

Rowfant House

Sharpthorne Organic Cafe

Live music on Saturdays 12.00-14.00

Gerard Kenny Live in Concert

Friday October 19, 8pm West Hoathly Village

Hall Tickets £15 -available at Costcutter Sharpthorne or by

phoning 01342 810075/810815. All proceeds to the

Loiyangalani Trust (see p.16).

West Hoathly Local History

Group

17 Oct Contrasting Sussex Communities.

Geoffrey Mead

21 Nov The Legacy of Charles Kempe, stained

glass artist. Brian Tester All meetings are in Sharpthorne Church Hall, Station

Rd and start at 7.45 pm. Entrance £3.50 per meeting

including coffee, or £15.00 for the year.

Village walks

28 Oct Rita des Forges

25 Nov Andy Campbell Walks start at 10.00 am from Finche Field

Emmaus Club Programme

28th Sept Camp fire (& swimming )at Vaex End

5th October Balloon Games

12th October Film Night

19th October Night Walk -meet Sharp

thorne Hall

26th October Half term -no meeting

2nd November Half term -no meeting

9th November Guy making

16th November Oriental food night -

Sharpthorne Hall

23rd November Obstacle races

30th November Face Painting

Una Voce

Una Voce will perform Haydn's Creation on

Sunday 18 November in St. Margaret’s Church

at 7.30 pm, accompanied by ‘Camerata of Lon-

don’ with invited soloists, Catherine Nye

(Soprano), Paul Smy (Tenor) and Jozik Kotz

(Bass). The conductor will be Andrew Slater.

Tickets (£14.50) will be available in Octo-

ber, either by telephoning 01342 810734 or

emailing your request to [email protected]

Forest Row Film Society

5 Oct The Hedgehog

7 Oct Hugo

12 Oct A Separation

19 Oct Life Cycles

26 Oct Balzac & The little Chinese Seamstress

2 Nov T he Cranes are Flying

4 Nov Five Children & It

9 Nov Pandora’s Box

23 Nov Day of Wrath

30 Nov Harmony Films in Freshfield Hall, Forest Row. Doors open

19.30 for 20.00 start. For more information see http://

www.forestrowfilmsociety.org/

Fair trade Café

Mondays 2-4pm, Sharpthorne Hall

Join us for a fair trade ‘cuppa’ with

cake and friendly conversation. Traidcraft goods

for sale. Contact Cathy Merry on 810771 for more

details.

Bluebell Railway

1-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26 Oct Autumn tint specials

5 Oct Murder Mystery evning

5,6,12,13,19,26,27 Oct Afternoon tea on board

3,10,17,24 Nov Afternoon tea on board

9 Nov Murder Mystery evening For more information see http://www.bluebell-

railway.co.uk/bluebell/events/index.html

Mansion market- Forest

Row

Saturdays 13 October and 10 November

at Michael Hall School, 11 am-4 pm

Over 70 stalls, children’s entertainment & café.

NOTICE BOARD


Loiyangalani Trust Concert

The Loiyangalani Trust, a local charity commit-

ted to supporting the education of very poor chil-

dren in the remote north Kenyan village of Loi-

yangalani, have arranged a fund raising concert

for October 19—see notice on p.15—with inter-

national singer/songwriter/pianist Gerard Kenny

performing 'Live in Concert'! Do come and enjoy

an evening of songs and music selected from an

amazing career that has included hits written for

Shirley Bassey, Barry Manilow (I made it

through the rain),Dennis Waterman (I could be

so good for you), James Last, Sacha Distel,

Johnny Mathis. And Gerard’s very own ‘New

York, New York’. Supporting act, Celtic Roots,

from the Carey School of Irish Dancing. Tickets £15, available from Costcutter Sharpthorne or

by phoning 01342 810075/810815.

Book early to save disappointment!

Ride and Stride 2012

An enthusiastic team of walkers set off from St

Margaret’s on Sept 8th to enjoy a 7 mile walk

from Lewes to Plumpton, visiting churches of

interest along the way and raising money for the

Sussex Historic Churches Trust. The sun shone

and all looked promising as we enjoyed a warm

welcome at St John’s sub Castro in Lewes and

then strolled along the River Ouse to the delight-

ful church at Offham with its beautiful windows

and wonderful barn-style church hall. The next

stage was more challenging as we headed up the

Downs to be rewarded eventually with a mag-

nificent view of Plumpton and the Sussex coun-

tryside spread out below us. Teamwork, problem

-solving, fellowship and prayer all came in use-

ful for the remaining sections as we were faced

with a blocked path due to major electrical

works, some further path re-routing and the clo-

sure of two churches which had promised to be

open. The missed train at the far end meant that a

visit to the pub at Plumpton was necessary for

some of the party as they awaited a car shuttle

back to Lewes! All in all, it was a happy and in-

teresting day out and, while there were many

heroes and heroines of the day, special mention

must be made of Rosa and David who walked

the full 7 miles, overcoming all the difficulties

along the way.

We would like to thank everyone who has

kindly sponsored the team. The sponsor money

will be sent to the Sussex Historic Churches

Trust who then return

half of the donation to

St. Margaret’s. Cathy and Bill Merry

GOOD CAUSES

West Hoathly Bonfire

This years bonfire will be held on Saturday 10th.

November on North Lane Recreation ground as in

previous years. Volunteers needed on the day to set

up tents, barriers, BBQ etc. If you can spare an hour

or two at 10.00 hrs we would appreciate your

help.Many thanks Derek Bartlett

811018

Highbrook Harvest Supper

This takes place in the village hall on Saturday

6th October, 18.30 onwards. All welcome. Menu is Irish stew/vegetable lasagne, medley of

fresh vegetables/green salad, selection of hot and cold

desserts, cheese board, tea/coffee.

RSVP to Jacci Reynolds on 01444 891041 or Jo

Franks 01444 892295 along with any kind dona-

tions

of food.

Highbrook

Christmas

Market

This will be on Friday/

Saturday 23/24 November

in the church, village hall and

smokery. Local food and

drink producers will be offer-

ing their fare to you ahead of

the Christmas rush. The Highbrook Café offers the

opportunity to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and

Highbrook-made cake or soup whilst pondering

which “Made in Highbrook” products to take away

with you. Younger visitors can visit Father Christ-

mas in his grotto. Admission free.

MORE NOTICES


West Hoathly Picture House

Three dates for your diaries for the 2012/13 films

to be screened in West Hoathly Village Hall on

Fridays at 8 pm:-

16th November, 25th January, 8th March

Please watch out on the Hoathly Hub and notice-

boards for the film titles to be shown. The Cat

Inn will again be serving themed, early evening

supper before the film shows.

West Hoathly Bowls

Club

Despite the weather this year the

Bowls Club has flourished, with

many locals taking up the offer of free coaching

and now wondering why they never started play-

ing earlier . By the end of the season in late Sep-

tember we shall have played near on 100

matches at home and around the county. The

club has again performed well in the Mid Sussex

Leagues finishing second and third in Division

one of both leagues.

Following our Centenary season last year

this one has not been so frenetic, but we still

have players involved in outside competitions

and appearing in Finals yet to be played at the

time of writing this report.

Anyone interested in playing Bowls lo-

cally would be best directed to our extensive

website www.westhoathlybowls.org.uk which

will give you a flavour and history of all that

goes on and information about the game and the

spirit in which it is played. There is of course

more to the club than just bowls, with a fine

clubhouse allowing us to run social functions

throughout the year, with the well stocked and

competitive bar always an attraction!

We are as usual indebted this season to

Dai Howick our President and Head Green

keeper for his continuous good work for the club

along with Lou Mace and his team of volunteers

who work tirelessly to create one of the best

greens in the county.

If you are itching to have ago at bowls

then, come the Spring, during April look out for

our free coaching offer and come along – we can

supply everything to get you started so there’s no

excuse!

Look out for our social events on the Events Cal-

endar below, as these are open to non members. Nick Goodman

Calendar of events LINE DANCING – 11 am every Thursday

morning, starting October 4th. Tea & coffee

available. Just turn up—£1.50.

GAMES NIGHT—Friday October 5th – Tradi-

tional Bar Games – Darts, Toad in the Hole, Pool

etc. Competitive Bar prices and a light supper!

£3.00

QUIZ NIGHT—Friday November 3rd, 7.30 pm

Teams of 6 or we will sort out a team for you.

Competitive Bar prices & includes a light sup-

per! £3.00

Look out for further social events during Au-

tumn/ Winter—Race Night, Quiz nights, etc. Hook Lane, RH19 4PT, 01342 810827

West Hoathly Lawn Tennis

Club

After a slow start this year due to

the weather, things have now

picked up and hopefully we will

get more tennis late into the year.

The courts are

all-weather and with our topsy-turvy weather

conditions sometimes the winter games are better

than during the summer months.

We have a burgeoning ladies’ section who

play on Mondays and Saturdays. If you are of

medium club standard and would be interested

please contact the Membership Secretary, Terry

Cooper, on 01444 892649.

Unfortunately we have been experiencing

frequent vandalism on the top court and as a re-

sult are having to have both the netting and club

house repaired. Please keep your eyes open and

if you notice anything either contact Stuart

Clough our Police Community Support Officer

or a member of the Committee. Molly Cooper

Not World War 3!!

Flashes and bangs over Gravetye about 9 pm on

1 November will signify nothing more ominous

than a firework display as part of a wedding

celebration there.


Weather Watch

Only short bursts of summer!

I reported in the last Chronicle that 8th July was

an exceedingly wet Sunday. The month contin-

ued in much the same vein, for in this parish

there were only three wetter months of July in

the last 30 years. August gave us only about half

of July's rainfall, but bursts of sunny weather

throughout the summer were all short-lived.

Looking back in my records of these two sum-

mer months of 2012, I can find only two spells

of three consecutive days or more when I listed

the weather as sunny, though recently we had

five sunny days on the trot in early September!

Statistics for July and August 2012

Basil Cridland

Garden notes

As I write September begins, schools resume, the

Paralympics draw to a close and summer comes

for a week with temperatures in the mid 20's, so

our gardens have a welcome autumn boost.

Runner and French bean plants have been laden

with "fruit" (they are technically a product of

fertilization), courgettes have grown faster than

the rest of the year, sweetcorn are ready for har-

vesting and autumn raspberries ripening as rap-

idly as one can pick. They say things often come

good, and that certainly has been true in our gar-

den. Our sedums are smothered in honey bees

(we have hives) as is the borage, Rudbekias and

Calamintha nepeta, a dainty pretty pale blue

flowered small shrub that the bees adore. Also

providing autumn colour are Japanese anem-

ones, Buddliea weyeriana, Clerodendrum

(bungei and trichotomum), the late Aconitum

carmichaelii, Tricyrtis species, asters of numer-

ous heights and colours, and Schizostylis (Kaffir

lily), with nerines soon to follow. November

will see all these lose their leaves, but if strong

winds hold off some trees will still be showing

autumn colour like Liquidambers and Oaks.

Bulbs are now available so get planting

where you have gaps and fancy some additional

spring or summer colour. Pansies and polyan-

thus can also be put in where tubs or pots are

looking tired and summer bedding is past its

best. Bring in any fuchsias, pelargoniums and

dahlias you hope to over-winter before the frosts

come (there was a slight one in some places on

the night before the "blue" moon – second full

moon of the month – August 30th).

October and November are hedge-cutting

months if you haven’t already tackled them –

yew, holly, beech, privet, hawthorn, leylandii

and mixed ones – since the birds have stopped

nesting and there will be minimal re-growth so

hedges will stay neat and tidy over the winter.

As the grass (and weeds in lawns) is still grow-

ing, in fact hasn't stopped all summer, keep up

with the mowing when the weather allows. This

is not so easy as cooler nights cause heavy dew

which hangs around as the sun strength weakens,

but cutting the grass removes the fallen leaves

and makes a good mulch in the process.

Apple and pear crops should give good

quality fruit, with no bitter pit (caused by very

hot temperatures and inadequate water and there-

fore calcium). Keep a regular check on stored

fruit for rotten and damaged ones, likewise with

potatoes and squashes. Cabbage white butter-

flies have reproduced prolifically and eggs

they've laid are still hatching out. Soft soap kills

the caterpillar stage quite effectively. Whitefly

only reared its head with us in the greenhouses in

late August, the biological control, a parasitic

wasp "Encarsia formosa" working hard to de-

molish the ever growing whitefly population.

Who will win by the end of the season is still

unknown. Timing is the key with biological

control: introduce too late when there’s a large

population of white fly, red spider or whatever

the pest is and the predator has a hard time eating

all it's prey by the time the temperatures drop

and they all get killed off, or you have to intro-

duce lots more than normal, which is not a cheap

business. Enjoy whatever gorgeous "Indian

summer" weather we have working in the garden

or relaxing after your horticultural labours. Lindsay Shurvell

July August

Sunny or bright days 16 25

Days with measurable rain 18 14

Month's rainfall, mm 111 53

Month's average rain, mm 51 61

Wettest day (8th) 50mm (25th) 12mm

Hottest day (26th) 26C (18th) 28C

Coldest mornings (12th, 30th)

7C

(31st) 3C

Mean temps, day & night 14.7C 16.1C

Last year's ditto 15.0C 14.7C


British Legion Flower Show

A Big Thank You to everyone involved in the

Flower Show this year. It was again a great

success. The entries were only slightly down

and that after what has been a difficult year for

gardeners. So well done. The baking and craft

sections were well supported, so well done

again.

Also Thank You to everyone who visited

the show during the afternoon. We were so

happy to see so many of you. The Show

depends on all of you, and this year you were

great.

Please let us know your thoughts and any

ideas for next year’s show. We would love to

hear from you.

Thank You All From West Hoathly Royal

British Legion. Gary Coxall

British Legion Day Out: On Sunday 9th September we organised our

annual trip for members who do not have the

ability to get out of the village easily. This year

we visited Dover castle. Peter Jones very kindly

drove the mini-bus, as always, and a very good

day was had by all. We are hoping to arrange a

trip in the spring as well as the autumn trip next

year.

Upcoming Events:

There will be a games afternoon for members

being held in the Sharpthorne Club Hall on

Saturday 20th October from 2 to 5 pm. All

members are welcome to come and join in the

fun.

West Hoathly

Parish Youth

Forum

There is a new venture in the local Parish. It’s a

Youth Forum, a group of people in the

community who look at issues affecting young

people living in West Hoathly, Sharpthorne and

Highbrook. Set up by West Hoathly Parish

Council, there is now a group of five young

people who meet up regularly. However, we are

looking for more people to come along and join

us. In the last few meetings, we have discussed

various topics, for example; the limited number

of buses serving this area, the lack of

employment opportunities for teenagers, and the

facilities in our recreation grounds.

Do you have any suggestions about how

things can be improved for teenagers in this

area? We had a meeting on 24 September. If

you are aged 12 to 18 look out for the next

Youth Forum meeting.

After all, didn’t John F. Kennedy say

something along the lines of “Ask not what your

local community can do for you, but what you

can do for your local community”?

Helen Schofield, Parish Clerk

Alaric’s September news

Greetings from a hot Sapporo! The nights have

been hotter than usual so most of us are feeling

the effects somewhat; occasionally we have

storms but the humidity isn’t reduced.

Three things to praise God for: two of the

fmZERO students whom you have been praying

for over the last few years have given their lives

to their Saviour. One, Weng, a Chinese chap,

was someone I met over a cultural exchange

lunch held at the International Students’ Centre

at Hokkaido University. He then started to attend

the fmZERO events and joined a church when he

went back to China, where he was baptised last

month. Mutsumi is a girl who attended the

Wednesday night Bible study and went to

Portland (Sapporo’s sister city) for a year and

went to church while there.

Good health: I had a medical recently and

all was 100% OK (apart from the obvious mental

problems…). Pray that my health might remain

good.

Holiday coming up from 13th to 28th

September. This is something I have been

looking forward to for a long time. With no

terms here, keeping a school up and running

constantly becomes quite draining. Wera, my

colleague, is taking a break now and I next week.

Many many thanks for all your prayers

and support. Whilst I am still stuck in an office, I

am coming to terms with the job God has called

me to and that is a comfort. Through your

prayers that process is made simpler so thank

you very much!

Alaric


From West Hoathly Local History Archive

Between 1962 and 1963 Ursula Ridley wrote a series

of articles about old West Hoathly village characters

for the parish magazine then called The Window. One

about Jack Pickard was published in the June/July

2012 issue of the Chronicle and here is another.

William Miles, ploughman

He was born at Ardingly in 1862. He started work at

the age of ten as tea boy to the builders of Cookhams.

When he first married he lived at Strudgate, working

on the farm. Later he was at Gravetye. In 1897 he

started work at Stonelands and went on there for 29

years. He had charge of four beautiful carthorses; two

bays and two roans. He saw to it that their coats and

their rows of horse brasses always shone brightly as

they plodded across the hayfields or along the dusty

lanes. When they went to fairs (and very often a fair

would have a horse show) he plaited bright ribbons

into their manes and tails. Often, as William led them

back, the horses were decorated with rosettes pro-

claiming the prizes they had won. The rosettes hung

on the wall of their stable for years. William Miles

lived for his horses. Although his home was in the

cottage in the village street which is now the Roman

Catholic Chapel, he felt he was always on duty. If one

of his horses was ill, he would get up in the middle of

the night and walk across the fields to Stonelands, a

mile by the footpath, to see how his friend Boxer or

Diamond was getting on. Not till he was satisfied

would he trudge back to the village swinging his lan-

tern.

William always moved slowly and in his ploughing

his artistry was deliberate and slow. He would stand

sizing up a field for a while; then pensively pace

along fixing newspapers in the hedge as markers.

That done, with the gulls circling above him, he

would grip his swing-plough, call to the great horses

by name and away they would go, ploughing the

straightest furrow you ever saw, across a ten-acre

field. On many occasions my father made me stop

and watch him. "You’ll never see a better ploughman

than that", my father would say, proud that they were

his horses but, above all, proud that Miles was his

ploughman.

William Miles was in his glory at ploughing matches.

He would set out from Stonelands very early in the

morning. One horse was harnessed to a bright blue

cart with two big scarlet wheels. In the cart was Wil-

liam’s clean bright plough. The second horse fol-

lowed behind the cart. William, in his best corduroys,

sat sideways on the leading horse. You couldn’t sit

astride those great animals. Slowly down the road

they went to Cuckfield or Lewes or wherever the

match might be. William used to call to the other

horse which turn to take; he hardly ever used the

reins. William, with his drowsy dark eyes, was imper-

turbable; so were the horses when they met the rat-

tling, popping motor cars which very occasionally

passed by in a cloud of dust.

In snowy weather William Miles would go out with

the snow plough drawn by two horses specially shod

for snow. They would walk westwards till they met

the Paddockhurst snow plough and then eastwards till

they met the one from Plawhatch. After that came a

tour of the village and then back to Stonelands with

the snow swishing and scrunching, the horses’ brasses

tinkling and William now and then calling to the

horses as he bent over the handles of the swaying

snow plough with its weights of lumps of yellow

stone. Miles gave up ploughing in 1926 and there

were no more carthorses at Stonelands. Many of us

still remember him sitting, on sunny days, in his open

doorway beside the street. His face was sallow and

weatherbeaten; his black beard had some grey in it

now. His dark, thoughtful eyes looked carefully at all

the folk passing up and down the street; men he had

worked with, their children, their grandchildren. He

said a greeting to us all.

John Ralph

New Book

OLD WEST HOATHLY

by John Ralph

The Place & the People

675 old photographs

46,000 words in captions

11 maps

Fully indexed

High quality reproductions

£29.50

Available from Upper Pendent, North Lane,

West Hoathly. Tel: 01342 810458


The Olympics

London 2012

We asked for accounts or impressions of the Olympics for this issue.,

and here is what we got. The under-14’s have been more forthcoming

than their elders. Eds.

My Day at the Olympic Road Race by Katie Veitch, age 13

My family’s lack of Olympic tickets in no way stopped us being

part of the Olympic experience on Saturday 28th of July as we,

along with thousands of other spectators, lined the streets on and

around Box Hill, Surrey, to watch the highly anticipated Men’s

Olympic Road Race. After a steep climb on foot, we found a

spot at the top of Box Hill and sat for two hours on the pave-

ment, Union Jack flags in hand, waiting for the cyclists to pass.

Time passed quickly, helped by conversations with fellow sup-

porters and the truly British tea and cake provided by the ladies

of the village! The crowds were amazing, with people writing

messages of support in chalk on the road, or waving flags from

different countries competing. During the wait, more and more

police motorbikes and team cars passed, building up the excite-

ment of the crowd. Eventually, a cheer came from down the

road and there they were: the leading cyclists, or breakaways, passing us in a blur of colour and spinning

wheels. We barely had time to wave our flags before they were out of sight and the road was empty once

more. Six minutes later, the main group of racers, or the peloton, passed us and I just about spotted

Team GB leading the pack only centimetres away from me! Amongst the team were Bradley Wiggins,

winner of the Tour de France only days earlier, and Mark Cavendish, world-famous sprinter and gold

medal hopeful for Britain. Afterwards came lone cyclists struggling to catch the main groups. The men

did the Box Hill circuit nine times, which gave us hours of amazing viewing. Each time they passed, the

gap between the breakaway group and the peloton narrowed until it was at less than a minute, with

Team GB still at the front of the peloton.

After the ninth lap, we hurried onto our own bikes and cycled (at what had once seemed like a fast pace

and now seemed extremely slow, compared to what we had had just seen) to the local pub, where al-

ready masses of like-minded people were crowded around the television, watching in silence as the cy-

clists raced through the streets of London. They crossed the river, started down the Mall and Team GB’s

medal hopes vanished with the leading pack of cyclists. In the end, a rider from Kazakhstan took the

gold medal, a Columbian took silver and Norway took bronze. A disappointing result for Team GB, but

an incredible day all the same! The picture is of Lizzie Armitstead in the Time Trial, courtesy Sophie Veitch


Tom, Adam and Louis Stinson were lucky enough to have a day each in the Olympic Stadium thanks to

their grandfather, a life President of the International Amateur Athletics Federation.

The Extra-ordinary Event

The 5th of August, the day that history would be made, the day that

millions of people watched around the world, the day that, since four

years before, had been in the thoughts of everyone in the world. The

day that the fastest athletes in the world would compete to gain that

all-important title as the fastest man in the world, the day that Usain

Bolt ran.

The Men’s 100 metre final is perhaps the best known event on earth,

but only a mere 80,000 saw it live, and I was one of the lucky few

who was there.

No one knew who would win that day, although the favourite for

many people was Usain Bolt. No-one was sure he would win it.

According to facts the man who had the best chance was Asafa Pow-

ell, the current World Record holder and the favourite of many peo-

ple. As the sprinters were told to take their marks the crowd fell si-

lent, you could hear a pin drop. “Get set, Bang” I was hit with such a

colossal wall of noise that I cold feel my skull vibrating inside my

head. Everyone was cheering them on, shouting their throats out

willing them on. Just less than ten seconds later the sprinters fin-

ished, but the crowd didn’t, if anything they were louder than before,

seeing who it was that had won.

Most eyes would have been on the stadium, but, if you zoomed out a

little you would have seen the glorious Olympic Park, a true marvel

if you think that it is placed near the centre of one of the busiest cit-

ies in the world, London. The park had everything that you could want in a garden, beautifully arranged

flowerbeds, lovely open spaces, canals running through, magnificent buildings that would hold the

greatest athletes of that sport at some point, but, most importantly, the wonderful volunteers, without

whom, the atmosphere would not have been the same. The sheer size of the park was fantastic, consid-

ering that it would take you 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other.

Tom Stinson (age 13)

The atmosphere of walking into the Olympic park was amazing. There were shops of all sorts, people

walking in team GB clothes, volunteers wearing purple and white tracksuits and the massive Olympic

venues. There was a feeling of excitement in the air and buzz of happiness. I saw some very unattrac-

tive women throwing shot puts and grunting very loudly. I saw a team GB Athlete come forth in the

men 400 meters hurdles final and I saw the women’s pole-vault final which, again, was much more im-

pressive than the women’s shot-put. Not only were the events I saw impressive, but the stadium, park

and other venues were a feat of pure excellence.

Adam Stinson (age 11)

Athletics

First there was the Men’s high-jump final that was won by a Russian but team GB got a bronze. The

Russian was two inches off the world record but unluckily failed to beat it.

The Men’s discus final saw the gold go to a German. His celebration was one of a kind, jumping over

the hurdles on the track. Unfortunately the British athlete came last after a bad throw which lost him

several places on the leaderboard.

The women’s 200-metre semi-final was a very good race, all three of them were close, only the lucky

few made through to the final.

That was my day at the Olympics.

Louis Stinson (age 8) The photos of Usain Bolt and the stadium are from Tom Stinson


My Favourite Things at the Olympics

Oscar and Phoebe Wiseman (age 9 and 7)7

We went to see the Athletics at the Olympics on the 9th of August in the evening. It had been a very hot

day and we ate ice cream and drank lots of Coca Cola. We went to the top of the Orbit which was so

high that the people below looked like ants and we could see the trains coming and going. We saw

Usain Bolt beat his friend The Beast in the 200 metres and we did a Mexican wave when he came past

us. David Rudisha from Kenya broke the World Record for the 800 metres and he was much less of a

show off. The race was so fast that the man who came last would have won a gold medal at Beijing.

When we arrived in the Arena, there was a muddle over our seats, so we were moved next to

some of the athletes' families. The people who were sitting next to us came from the Bahamas and they

had a son in the Triple Jump, who had won a bronze medal at Beijing. He was called Leevan Sands, but

his family called him "Superman". On his third jump, he hurt his knee and was taken away on a

stretcher and when he passed his parents they looked very sad and left.

The field events happened inside the running track and they did not seem to get as much attention

as the running races. We liked the javelin best, because they used remote controlled little red, white and

blue Minis to return the javelins—I expect that they will be sold for lots of money on eBay!

When we left, thousands of other people were leaving too. We went back to our grandmother's

house on the tube and although it was quite late and we were a bit squashed, everyone seemed to be in a

good mood after a great day at the London Olympics!

Olympic time

Roses are red, violets are blue,

I’ve had a good time, and so will you.

So said one of the volunteer stewards to Ann and me. This was said to encourage us as we made

the long walk from West Ham Station to the Olympic Park. Another volunteer gave me a high five to

spur us on.—yet another offered to take a picture of both of us together against the Park background.

This was the sort of warm welcome which continued throughout the day. Volunteers of all ages, shapes,

sizes and races radiated good humour, smiles and helpfulness. It made me proud to be British.

When we entered the Park, because I was using a stick, we were tactfully offered a ride on a

buggy round to the hockey stadium. We gratefully took the offer because the size of the Park was im-

mense.

At the stadium we saw women’s hockey—Japan v China. Not of much patriotic interest you may

think. But then we learned that if China won, because of previous results, the GB women’s team would

be eliminated. Immediately we all became as partisan as Seagulls’ supporters at a Saturday home game.

Clap-clap-clap Japan Clap-clap-clap Japan…….swept round the stadium. Thankfully Japan did win

and their beautiful smiling team made a lap of honour.

At the last Olympics I saw, in 1948, the bitterness was such that Japan was not even allowed to

compete. Some things get better.

Brian Lavery

6th Saturday

6.30pm Harvest Supper, All Saints

7th

18th

Sunday after Trinity

8am Holy Communion, St. Margaret’s

10am Family Service with Communion,

St. Margaret’s

6pm Evensong, All Saints

9th Tuesday

12.30pm ‘Food for Thought’, Sharpthorne Hall

14th

19th


9am Holy Communion, All Saints

10am Parish Communion, St. Margaret’s

6pm Evensong, St. Margaret’s

21st

20th



10am Family Service, St. Margaret’s


28th

21st


CLOCKS GO BACK



4.30pm Gather Round, Sharpthorne Hall

31st Wednesday 8pm ‘Heart & Soul’, St. Margaret’s

November

1st Thursday

ALL SAINTS DAY

7.45pm “All Souls” Service of Thanksgiving

And Remembrance, St Margaret’s

2nd Friday

3pm ‘Saints and Angels’, St. Margaret’s

4th

4th

Sunday before Advent


10am Family Service with Communion,

St. Margaret’s

6pm Holy Communion, All Saints

PATRONAL FESTIVAL

11th

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

10.45am Royal British Legion Service,

St Margaret’s

6pm Holy Communion, St. Margaret’s

13th Tuesday 12.30pm ‘Food for Thought’, Sharpthorne Hall

18th

2nd

Sunday before Advent


10am Family Service, St. Margaret’s

(Traidcraft Stall after Service)


7.30pm Una Voce—Haydn’s “Creation”

St Margaret’s

25th

CHRIST THE KING



4.30pm ‘Gather Round,’ Sharpthorne Hall

28th Wednesday

8pm ‘Heart & Soul’, St. Margaret’s

30th Friday

3pm ‘Saints and Angels,’ St. Margaret’s

CHURCH SERVICES AT

ST. MARGARET’S, WEST HOATHLY AND

ALL SAINTS, HIGHBROOK

NOTE – Sunday Club for children up to

the age of 10 will take place during the

10am Service at St. Margaret’s with the

exception of 11 November, Remembrance

Service

A Celtic Prayer for our Days Give us peace in our days, O God. Let us live in harmony with one another. Let us care for the earth and for its creatures. Let us be true as nations. Let us guard one another’s dignity. And let us protect and encourage the peace that belongs to all creation.”

Amen

The Chronicle for October and November 2012 - Page 20

October

November

Friday, 2nd

Quiz Night—WH Bowls Club

Monday, 5th

12 pm WHPC Planning Meeting

8 pm WHPC Rural Management Budget Meeting

SCHOOL STARTS

Wednesday, 7th

2 pm West Hoathly WI—Village Hall

Friday, 9th

Bluebell Railway Murder Mystery Evening

Saturday, 10th

11 am—4 pm Mansion Market Michael Hall

School

WEST HOATHLY BONFIRE NIGHT

Monday, 12th

8 pm Sharpthorne WI, WH Village Hall

DEADLINE CHRONICLE

Tuesday, 13th

12.30 pm Food for Thought Lunch

Sharpthorne Hall

Friday, 16th

8 pm West Hoathly Picture House Village Hall

Sunday, 18th

7.30 pm Una Voce—Haydn’s Creation

St Margarets

Monday, 19th

8 pm WHPC Highways & Transport

Budget Meeting

Tuesday, 20th

10 am School Association Christmas Market

East Court

Wednesday, 21st

7.45 pm WH Local History Group Meeting

Sharpthorne Hall

Friday, 23rd

CHRONICLE AVAILABLE

Friday 23rd & Saturday 24th

Highbrook Christmas Market

Sunday, 25th

10 am—Village Walk, Meet Finche Field

Monday, 26th

8 pm WHPC Meeting, WH Village Hall

October

Monday, 1st

2—4 pm Fair Trade Café, Sharpthorne Hall

(Held Every Monday)

12 pm WHPC Planning Meeting Village Hall

Tuesday, 2nd

2 pm SE Water Metering Programme Session

Forest Row Community Centre

Wednesday, 3rd

2 pm WH WI, Village Hall

Thursday, 4th

11 am Line Dancing

at WH Bowls Club

Friday, 5th

Games Night at WH Bowls Club

Bluebell Railway Murder Mystery Evening

Saturday, 6th

6.30 pm Harvest Supper at Highbrook

Village Hall

Tuesday, 9th

12.30 pm Food For Thought Lunch

Sharpthorne Hall

Saturday, 13th

11 am—4 pm Mansion Market Forest Row

Monday, 15th

8 pm WHPC Hall, Finance & Admin

Meeting, Village Hall

Wednesday, 17th

7.45 pm WH Local History Group Meeting

Sharpthorne Hall

Friday, 19th

8 pm Gerard Kenny Live in Concert at

West Hoathly Village Hall

In aid of the Loiyangalani Trust

Saturday, 20th

2—5 pm British Legion Games

Afternoon Sharpthorne Club

Friday, 26th

START OF SCHOOL HALF TERM

Sunday, 28th

CLOCKS GO BACK

10 am—Village Walk, Meet Finche Field

Monday, 29th

8 pm WHPC Meeting

THE COMMUNITY CALENDAR OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Post your events on The Hoathly Hub so

you can ensure that your events are

automatically included in the Chronicle

Calendar.

For more i nformat ion contact

[email protected].


Clubs and Organisations in the Villages

Allotments .................................Helen Schofield ............................ 811301

Beavers ......................................Bev Duncanson............................. 810709 Bellringers .................................Rachel Edwards ............................ 810210

Book Club .................................Rachel Whitlam ............................ 810117

Bowling Club ............................Trevor Swainson .......................... 810546

British Legion ...........................Laurie Gausden............................. 810751 Brownies ...................................Christine Perkins .......................... 870276

Cricket Club -West Hoathly ...Peter Johnson ................................ 810660

-Highbrook ........Patrick McGahan .............. 01444 892243

Cercle français ..........................Bob Darvill ................................... 810443 Cubs .............. ...........................Pandy Dart .................................... 810005

Explorers ....... ...........................Colby Mager ......................01293 885530

Football Club ...........................Kirk Howick ................................. 316448

Friends of the Priest House ......Rosemary Watson ........................ 810800 Friends of WH Churchyard ......Brian Couchy ................................ 810561

Garages - Sharpthorne .............Andy Johnson ............................... 810234

- West Hoathly ..........Jim Denne ..................................... 810402

Good Companions ....................Liz Bennett ....................... 01444 892731 Gravetye Manor ........................Andrew Thomason ....................... 810567

Hands Together .........................Ingrid Sethi ................................... 810085

Hot Note Stage Academy .........Sarah Wilson ................................ 841919

Karate Group ...........................Dorian Fretwell............................. 811044 Kindergarten – Hoathly Hill .....Jean Kingsley-Monks ................... 810093

Local History Group .................Tony Hunt ..................................... 810534

Local History Archives .............John Ralph .................................... 810458 Neighbourhood Watch ..............Sophie Hill .................................... 810282

Organic Café ...........................Mario............................................. 811321

.......................................................... Mobile 07581 321604

Parish Council Clerk .................Helen Schofield ............................ 811301 Parish Council Chairman ..........John Downe ..................... 01444 892065

PCC Treasurer...........................Trevor Swainson .......................... 810546

Pericles .......... ...........................Paulamaria Blaxland-de-Lange.... 810133

Pre-school (Village Hall) ..........Rachael Rush ................................ 811046 Priest House Curator .................Antony Smith ............................... 810479

Pubs - The Cat Inn ....................Andrew Russell ............................ 810369

- The Vinols Cross ...........Dave Woods ................................. 810644

- The White Hart ..............Neil Cox ........................................ 715217 Rainbows ....... ...........................Brenda Farley ............................... 811020

School ............ ...........................Christine Lyford ........................... 810302

Scouts ............ ...........................Phil Glynn .................................... 810559

Shop - Sharpthorne ...................Carol Johnson ............................... 810234 Sing & Play ...............................Liz Shannon .................................. 811400

Stoneland Players......................Julia Piqué ........................ 01435 868245

Tennis Club ...............................Terry Cooper .................... 01444 892649

Theatre Goers Group ................Marion Jones ................................ 810143 Tootsie Time .............................Nikki Brennan .............................. 811669

Una Voce...................................Andrew Slater ............................... 810734

Village Hall Bookings:-

- West Hoathly ............Helen Schofield ............................ 811301 - Sharpthorne ..............Alastair Duncanson ...................... 810709

- Highbrook.................Liz Bennett ....................... 01444 892731

Maureen Muddell ............. 01444 892791

W.I. - Sharpthorne ..............Mary Mays.................................... 810542 - West Hoathly ............Frieda Boyd .................................. 811980

Writers Group ...........................Rachel Whitlam ............................ 810117

Youth Groups - Emmaus ..........Lindsay Shurvell .......................... 810780

Please notify any changes to Marion Jones

St. Margaret’s Community

Transport

If you would like a lift to a local hospital or doctor/dentist, please contact:- Monday: Margaret Mason 811320

Tuesday: Valerie Fyans 810848 Wednesday: Kathy Brown 811866

Thursday Catherine Goodridge 810937 Friday: John Trueman 810612 Any Day: Bill Merry 810771

Barbara Polhill 810877 Valerie Fyans 810848 Robin Ingham 810160

Carol Houston 810075 Christine Graystone 810603

Please remember that these kind volunteers are only available on the day stated

The Churches and Services

St. Margaret's, West Hoathly, and

All Saints, Highbrook www.westhoathly.org.uk

www.highbrook.info

Vicar

Venerable Lionel Whatley, The Vicarage, North Lane, West

Hoathly, RH19 4QF Tel: 01342 810757 Email: [email protected]

(His house is just up the track opposite the school)

Church Officers at St. Margaret’s Churchwardens: Carol Houston, Tel: 01342 810075

Derek Shurvell, Tel: 01342 810780

Church Officers at All Saints Churchwardens: Tony Osborn, Tel: 01444 892191

Hugh Bennett Tel: 01444 892731

Main Services at both of these churches are listed on

the inner back pages.

Roman Catholic Chapel of St. Dunstan’s www.worthabbeyparish.co.uk

Parish Priest:

Father James Cutts, Tel: 01342 710313

Sunday Mass is normally at 11.30 am at

St Dunstans

Next Issue

The next issue of the Chronicle will cover the months of

December 2012 and January 2013. Latest date for the

submission of articles is Monday 12th November 2012.

Printed copies will be available on Friday 23rd November

2012.

The Cover

Many thanks to Margaret Watson for the cover of

this issue of the Chronicle.

Please keep those creative ideas and

artwork coming!

Please send cover designs to Kathy Brown.

Post Office opening times at Costcutters Monday 9am - 2pm

Wednesday 9am - 1pm

Friday 9am—1 pm

The Back Page Directory

Police Community Support Officer Stuart Clough T: 0778 9168791

Email: [email protected]

SCHOOL PLAYGROUND HIRE FOR PARKING

(Subject to Availability)

Contact WH School on 01342 810302

Documents

The Chronicle - Hoathly Hub...The Chronicle is published six times a year by St. Margaret's Church, West Hoathly for the benefit of the communities of West Hoathly, Sharpthorne, and