Category: Village Life

Parish Magazine, Calendar of Events, St Marks Church, St Marks School, Kit Wilson Trust, The New Inn, Tinkers Park, Wilderness Wood, Directory, Village Archive. Village Hall

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Bonfire Night Celebrations at The Playing Field

The Hadlow Down Playing Field Committee look forward to welcoming the villagers of Hadlow Down to the annual Bonfire and Fireworks display on November 5th.

Delicious Flapjacks, Toffee Apples, Hot Chocolate ,Tea and Coffee will be available alongside Cider , Sussex Ale, Mulled Wine ,Red and White Wine , soft drinks and traditional hot dogs and burgers .

Your safety is paramount at this event , so please dress accordingly with stout and waterproof footwear ( as the field will be very muddy ) and warm  clothing especially hats and gloves. Please do pay attention to The Marshalls at the event ,as they are there to ensure your safety.

Children under 16 years of age must be very closely supervised by a responsible adult at ALL times especially in the vicinity of the Firesite.

We do not allow Dogs or any Pets at this event ,so  please keep them safely indoors.

Parking : Please respect your neighbours , especially those neighbouring the Playing Field and where at all possible, leave your cars at home and walk down to The Playing Field.

Wilderness Wood have very kindly offered their parking at the wood for residents and guests alike.

Timings :

  • 6.00pm    Gates open to public at the playing field for refreshments *
  • 7.15pm    Torch Lit Procession starts to form up outside The New Inn
  • 7.30pm    Procession departs New Inn and proceeds along short route to Playing Field.
  • 7.45pm    The Traditional chant will be recited and torches are cast onto the Bonfire.
  • 8.45pm    The Spectacular Firework Finale will commence.(will not exceed 10 mins)
  • 11.00pm   Bar closes and site is secured for the night.

*This is different from what has been published in the official Bonfire Programme which says 7 p.m – our error – sorry . Feel free to come down to the Playing Field from 6 p.m

We look forward to seeing you all and please do give generously on the night as this is a fundraising event for the maintenance  and upkeep of The Playing Field.

Please keep safe !

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Book Club Review – November

‘I’ve always believed in inherited pain’

This month our chosen book is The island of Missing Trees by the Turkish writer Elif Shafak, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022. It is about the Cypriot civil war and how the trauma of such a war imperils future generations as well as uprooting ordinary lives. It is also a Romeo and Juliet story of the passionate love affair between Kostas, a Greek Cypriot and Defne a Turkish Cypriot and it centres on the story how their daughter Ada comes to terms with the past she has never known. Continue reading “Book Club Review – November”

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St. Mark’s Church News – November

Parish Church of St Mark the Evangelist

So, what has been happening in and around St. Mark’s?Well, we had a lovely Harvest Service on 25th September. We sang the old favourite Harvest Hymns and felt that everything was ‘safely gathered in’. The school had also had their Harvest Service, so we had all their produce displayed in the Church. Nowadays the gifts that are given tend to be the packet and tinned variety, rather than fresh produce, as it all gets taken to the Food Bank for distribution, where it is very gratefully received.
The flower ladies had done their usual excellent job of decorating the Church, so that was a lovely welcome, and we thank them for their faithfulness in doing the flowers.
There was also a beautiful exhibition of Harvest pictures by the school children displayed in the Nave of the church.
Continue reading “St. Mark’s Church News – November”

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‘An Evening With Pete the Pond – The importance of Wildlife Ponds in our Environment’

A ‘Supper Talk’ not to be missed!!!!
‘An Evening With Pete the Pond – The importance of Wildlife Ponds in our Environment’
Presented By the Hadlow Down Horticultural Society.
October 12th. in the Village Hall
‘Pete the Pond is a local legend who has worked tirelessly for many years to help sustain and restore many of our local aquatic ecosystems, especially ponds, which are critical to the health of local nature and wildlife. In the process he has built up a reference collection of aquatic plants in his back garden which is unique in its range and diversity and is now an immensely valuable asset in maintaining local biodiversity.’
With his wooden leg and often seen with a parrot on his shoulder Pete has also understandably been called ‘Pete the Pirate’
Pete will possibly be bringing some of his pondy friends with him.
There are still some tickets left for what will be a memorable evening with the usually excellent meal and an amazing speaker.
If you would like to attend the supper please contact Kathy by phone 01825 830616 or by email (kathy.cracknell48@gmail.com) to order your tickets. They are £8.00 per person and £12.00 for a non member.
Wine will be available and of course our lovely raffle, plus we might also have a small plant stall, so please bring cash with you.
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Hadlow Down Book Club Review

We had our usual summer holiday free choice of books in August and an interesting and diverse number to discuss ranging from 18th century to July 2022 and encompassing Africa, Venice and indeed the entire planet.

A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland Samuel Johnson (1775), a weighty account of his eighty day journey through the Highlands and Islands, full of witty insights and powerful moral judgements. He is more interested in the social conditions with Enclosures just beginning but shows an 18th century lack of interest in the scenery.

Donna Leon’s novels set in Venice featuring the likeable Commissario Brunetti. If you haven’t read these novels you are in for a treat with well-rounded interesting characters, good plots and of course descriptions of wonderful food against the Venetian backdrop. If you want to read them in order start with Death at La Fenice (1992) but the novels get better as the characters develop. Continue reading “Hadlow Down Book Club Review”

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The Big Village Picnic has been cancelled

The Big Village Picnic has now been cancelled as a mark of respect given the recent sad announcement of the Queen’s death.

The Village Fayre Committee are pleased to be hosting
The Together We Can
Big Village Picnic
at 12 noon on Sunday 11th September, Hadlow Down Playing Field

 

A free community event for Hadlow Down Residents. Bring your own picnic and seating or book a fancy picnic table, in the comfort of our beautifully decorated canvas marquee. Gates will open at 12pm. Many of our Village Associations will be there offering refreshments and entertainment. We hope you will join us and meet with neighbours old and new for an afternoon of fun. Karaoke and open mic spots will run from the Pavilion stage later in the afternoon. Families can either bring their own picnics and enjoy the event and music or alternatively, simply turn up as food and drink will be available to purchase at the event.

Our aim is to bring everyone together again post pandemic. Perhaps you would like to find out more about what goes on in the village! Are you a newcomer? Hadlow Down is a wonderfully vibrant community with lots of lovely outdoor spaces, clubs and societies. This is your chance to see what we are all up to and join in if you’d like to. A fun afternoon celebrating what a great village we are, introducing newcomers to all that we have to offer and hopefully generating interest for more people to get involved

Big Village Picnic FAQ’s

Do I need a ticket?

No, this is a free community event funded as part of the *Together We Can initiative for local residents to enjoy.

*The Parish Council is funding The Big Village Picnic through a grant secured from the National Lottery

Is there parking at this event?

There is limited free parking at the Playing Field. Please walk to the event if possible.

What time does the Event start?

12 noon

What time does the event finish?

6 pm

How much is a Fancy Picnic Table?

Bookings are £15 per table, each table seats up to 6.
Each booking includes a dressed table and 6 chairs in the marquee. Tables will be allocated on a first come first served basis. All proceeds will be donated to the New Village Hall.
For table bookings and enquiries please contact Mandy mandy.chapman45@googlemail.com

Can I perform my own song as part of the open mic?

Please contact Pete to discuss your backing track and any other requests for the open mic session
strevens68@gmail.com

What else will be at the event?

Tea and cake – run by EnGage TN22 Clubs
Botanical Pimms Stall – run by the Horticutural Society
“Walk on the Wild Side” launch – by the Playing Field Committee
St. Mark’s School and Wings to Fly – Craft Activities
Harveys Stall and Prosecco Bar – run by the New Village Hall Committee
Kit Wilson Trust
Together we Can, Time Pledging  – run by Village Fayre Committee
Karaoke and Open Mic from 3pm – contact Pete for more details
Street Food and lots more!

Connecting people to the Village we live in is key to the survival of our community life. We hope to inspire some of you to become a “Village Maker”. Our initiative is a simple one, can you spare a few hours to support our Village? You don’t need to join a committee or commit to regular times. We hope you might pledge some time to support our various initiatives and societies.  We know that many of you would love to be more connected to the Village. We believe this model suits people from different backgrounds who want to offer different commitment levels to volunteering, rather than feeling overwhelmed by regular lengthy meetings with a lot of people you don’t know!

Simply pledge some time at the Big Village Picnic and let us know what you are interested in. We will match village projects and activities with your skills, interests and time commitment. This makes so much sense as having larger numbers of volunteers and supporters, who give smaller amounts of volunteering time can add up to considerable support for our wonderful village. So many of you stepped up during the pandemic we know that there is a real willingness to get involved and help out if you can.

We hope you will come along and say “hello!” the days of saying hello to strangers in the street, on a bus, or at the park have sadly pretty much become a thing of the past. Most of us have spent too much time on our own over the past two years or so and now is the moment to get back out there; make connections with people young and old. We are so looking forward to seeing you.