H D Book Club Review – Anything is Possible

Anything is possible. No one understands how far you can push your body to the limit and I like to play with that’ (Walt Disney)

About three years ago we read My name is Lucy Barton  by Elizabeth Strout (2016), a novel about a now successful writer beginning to come to terms with her deprived and abusive childhood through conversations with her mother as Lucy lies severely ill in hospital. This month’s book Anything is Possible (2017) follows that novel, but is in the form of a series of interconnected stories about characters from Lucy’s rural hometown of Amgash Illinois.
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HS Spring Supper Talk

The Spring Supper Talk
is next Wednesday 13th. April 6.30 pm for 7.00pm
‘From City Courtyard to Seaside Sanctuary’
Speaker: Geoff Stonebanks
Tickets are limited to 40 but there are still some left. Please contact Kathy Cracknell by email or phone 01825 830616 ASAP if you wish to enjoy this village evening of an excellent meal, glass of wine and an extremely interesting illustrated talk on a very special Sussex garden.
£8 each members only.

Hadlow Down Book Club Review – April

A lot of women are really strong, even though they are slaves.’
Celestial Bodies iby Jonka Alharti

Some months ago we read Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger, a detailed factual account of his travels and relationships with the Bedouin tribesmen across the desert and is entirely about the men. Our February book was one that redressed the balance being about three generations of Omani women in a period of transition from patriarchy to living in an oil-rich Gulf state. Celestial Bodies is by Jonka Alharti, published in 2010 and winner of the Man Booker International prize in 2019, the first Omani writer to be translated into English.

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Members Turn Out for Horticultural Society AGM

There was a good turnout of members for this year’s Horticultural Society AGM held in the Village Hall this morning (29/3/22)
The chair was taken by Kathy Cracknell in the absence of Heather Mines due to illness.  Thanks were proposed to retiring members of the committee, Peter Noble, who has done an excellent job over the past few years as treasurer and Penny Eliot who has managed the Annual Show for many years.  Kathy has taken on the task of managing this year’s show. as well as continuing in her role as Membership Secretary.
An interesting programme  has been drawn up for this year including the traditional two supper talks, the first being on Wednesday13th. April.  The illustrated talk will be ‘From City Courtyard to Seaside Sanctuary’ by Geoff Stonebanks to whose wonderfully interesting garden ‘Driftwood’ a group car visit has been arranged for members on Thursday 16th. June.  The Autumn Supper talk will be ‘The Importance of Wildlife Ponds in Our Environment’ by ‘Pete the Pond’.
As well as the group car visit to ‘Driftwood’ there will be another to Merriments Garden in July.
This years annual Show will take place on Saturday 6th. August.
Full details of the show Categories, Rules and Entry Forms will be available to see and download here, on the Hort.Soc’s  village web page shortly.
Future activity programmes will be compiled by the collective committee.
More contact details can be found on the HS Village web page:
http://www.hadlowdown.com/category/village-life/clubs-and-societies/horticultural-society/
or Contact Kathy for membership details etc on 01825 830616
kathy.cracknell48 @gmail.com

Horticultural Society AGM

Due to differing lifestyle reasons social activity within communities is constantly changing. The internet and social media have had significant influence on pastimes and use of leisure time over the last twenty years with shared ideas, discussion, debate and activity taking place from a home environment rather than a hub of collective interest in an exterior venue at regular daily, weekly, monthly or other intervals. These social habit changes can affect smaller rural communities more than others and collective interests are more likely to be of subjects that are inherently part of daily life.
One common entity in most homes in a village like Hadlow Down is a garden.
Our village gardens vary enormously, some being spread over several acres others just the size of an average living room. They are used in many ways including aesthetic, functional, and recreational reasons.   Whatever the preferred usage of the garden somewhere in it will almost certainly be some flowers and perhaps shrubs and trees the beauty of which give great pleasure, also sometimes the reward of home grown vegetables. There is often a passion to share the attraction and experience of what is created in one’s own garden with others.
Hadlow Down Horticultural Society is a lively group that has been flourishing for almost thirty years. There are around 60 members who enjoy sharing knowledge and seeing other gardens.  Two evenings a year they have a supper followed by a talk from a visiting lecturer. they often have car outings to interesting gardens in easy reach of Hadlow Down.   In Spring there is usually a ‘Bring and Buy’ plant sale and the highlight of the year is the annual Flower Show in August.
Membership entitles discounts at several local nurseries.
The Horticultural Society Annual General Meeting
will take place on:

TUESDAY 29th MARCH 2022
IN HADLOW DOWN VILLAGE HALL
10 a.m. for   10.30
(Coffee will be available)

All villagers are welcome – come along, have a coffee, perhaps make new friends and find out more about the gardens of Hadlow Down.
More information can be found on the village web page:
http://www.hadlowdown.com/category/village-life/clubs-and-societies/horticultural-society/
or you may like to be part of the Hadlow Down Gardening Facebook Club::
https://www.facebook.com/groups/258004872958565