Hadlow Down Book Club’s August Reviews

Rebecca Stott’s “In the Days of Rain: a Daughter, a Father, a Cult”
&
Tara Westover’s ‘Educated’
***********************************************************************************
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate said the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you: 2 Corinthians 6.17.

It seems that Jackie Kaye’s book gave us a taste for literary memoir so this month we chose Rebecca Stott’s “In the Days of Rain: a Daughter, a Father, a Cult” (2017) winner of the Costa Biography Award 2017, and also, as a comparison, Tara Westover’s “Educated”. It proved to be an interesting comparison, Stott’s book is an account of growing up in and breaking away from the Exclusive Plymouth Brethren, a deeply repressive fundamentalist Sect/ Cult , and Westover’s is also about growing up and breaking away but from an abusive survivalist Mormon family.
Continue reading “Hadlow Down Book Club’s August Reviews”

St. Mark’s Church News for August

Well, by the time you all read this, July will have gone, and Christmas cards will soon be on sale!
We’re just pottering along St Marks. We have a few faithful worshippers, every Sunday, which is great, but no new faces yet. We used to have some families twice a month, but now that our Jubilate service that used to engage the children has been stopped, we just get a few families at the All-Age Worship service on the first Sunday in the month, but they are absent for the following 3 Sundays. We are fortunate to have Duncan Irvine to take those, so that relieves the Rector from having to do so many services every week.
So, all we can really report on is to tell you about our wonderful Churchyard. It started blossoming with the primroses in February and March, making a lovely splash of yellow. Continue reading “St. Mark’s Church News for August”

Table Top Sale Cancelled

The Table Top Sale, part of the ongoing fundraising efforts for the New Village Hall and scheduled to be held in the Village Hall tomorrow Sunday July 3rd. has been cancelled.

The Annual Show, Saturday 6th August 2022

The Horticultural Society are pleased to announce the schedule for this year’s Annual Show. All villagers are welcome to enter, there are lots of categories choose from. Here are all the details you will need to take part.

  1. Entry forms and fees to be handed in BEFORE Thursday 6pm 4th August 2022
  2. All fruits, flowers and vegetables, except decorative classes must have been grown in the exhibitor’s own ground.
  3. Only one exhibit per class may be entered by any one exhibitor.
  4. Exhibitors shall, on request, allow members of the Show Committee to visit the place where their exhibits were grown.
  5. All varieties of vegetables, fruit and flowers should be named if possible.
  6. Staging to be carried out between 8.30am and 10.00am on the Show Morning. Judges start Judging at 10.00am
  7. Any exhibit not according to schedule shall be disqualified.
  8. The Society does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage to any exhibit.
  9. PRIZE GIVING 3.30pm. NO EXHIBITS TO BE REMOVED BEFORE 4pm.

ALL CUPS AND TROPHIES MUST BE RETURNED TO ANY MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE BY 4 July 2022

Kathy Cracknell 830616, Penny Eliot 830006, Barbara Ball, Carol Franks, Janet Tourell, Roberta Smythe.

ENTRIES FORMS MUST BE HANDED TO A COMMITTEE MEMBER BY THURSDAY 6pm 4 August EVENING OR THEY WILL BE TREATED AS LATE ENTRIES.

 

SECTION 1 – Vegetables                                         Please see Rule 2   

  1. A garden trug of mixed vegetables (excluding herbs) to be judged on contents, quality and general presentation. Maximum length of trug 51cm.
  2. Four potatoes – one variety – White
  3. Four potatoes – one variety – coloured
  4. Three onions
  5. Three red onions
  6. Four shallots – pickling or large
  7. Three bulbs garlic
  8. Four carrots – one variety
  9. Six runner beans
  10. Six French beans
  11. Three leaves, spinach, kale or chard
  12. Two heads lettuce
  13. Six cherry type tomatoes (or small plum)
  14. Four standard tomatoes
  15. Four tomatoes of different varieties.
  16. Three beetroots
  17. Three courgettes not over 16cm
  18. Two cucumbers
  19. A misshapen vegetable
  20. Two of any vegetable not covered in schedule
  21. Five culinary herbs, named – one stem of each only – small pots provided.

STORMONT CHALLENGE TROPHY CLASS 1
ROWLAND GORRINGE CUP FOR HIGHEST POINTS IN CLASSES 2 – 21

SECTION 2 – Fruit                                                   Please see Rule 2

  1. Ten blueberries
  2. Ten soft fruit
  3. Any other fruit (one)

EWART CHALLENGE CUP FOR HIGHEST TOTAL POINTS CLASSES 30-32

SECTION 3 – Flowers                                              Please see Rule 2

(Vases provided in classes 40 -49)

  1. Single rose – one specimen bloom
  2. Cluster-flowered rose – one stem
  3. Flowering shrub – three stems, one variety excluding hydrangeas
  4. Five sweet peas – one or more varieties
  5. Three stems dahlias – one or more varieties
  6. Vase of herbaceous perennials one or more varieties, four stems only
  7. Vase of annuals – one or more varieties, four stems only
  8. Lilies- one stem
  9. One Spike e.g. delphinium, gladioli, hollyhock etc
  10. Fuchsias – two stems, one variety
  11. Three heads hydrangeas – lace cap type. Please bring your own container
  12. Three heads hydrangeas – mop head type. Please bring your own container
  13. Three heads hydrangeas – Paniculata. Please bring your own container
  14. INDOOR flowering pot plant; pot not more than 21cm. See rule 2.

ROPNER ROSE BOWL FOR BEST ROSE CLASSES 40-41
HARRISON CHALLENGE CUP HIGHEST TOTAL POINTS CLASSES 40-52

SECTION 4 – Domestic Classes

PLEASE PLACE ON YOUR OWN PLATE, WE WILL SUPPLY A COVER.

  1. 59. Four fresh eggs in any container
  2. A loaf of bread.
  3. My favourite chocolate cake.
  4. A Vegetable flan
  5. 5 Savoury biscuits
  6. An Individual pudding
  7. Jar of marmalade
  8. Jar of relish
  9. Jar of jam
  10. Small jar of jelly – fruit or herb
  11. A small bottle of spiced Rum
  12. 3 Fairy Cakes Men only

SLEE MEMORIAL CUP FOR HIGHEST TOTAL POINTS IN CLASSES 60-69
BARBARA BALL CUP FOR THE BEST ENTRY IN CLASS 70

Advanced Warning. In 2023 a small bottle of Sloe Gin

SECTION 5 – Flower arranging.

  1. “BONFIRE” up to 30cm
  2. An Arrangement in a Tea Cup.

POLLOCK MEMORIAL CUP FOR BEST EXHIBIT CLASSES 80-81

SECTION 6 – Craft

  1. A bag made with Ties
  2. A homemade gift made for no more than £2.50. (Please give costings.)
  3. A homemade key fob
  4. A small animal made from felting technique. Up to 15cm
  5. “I made this during Lockdown”
  6. Article in wood, ceramic or metal

HADLOW DOWN FOR CUP THE BEST EXHIBIT IN CLASSES 90-95

SECTION 7 – Art, Photography and Poetry

(Items not previously exhibited at this show)

  1. A portrait in any medium. (Art)
  2. A landscape in any medium (Art)
  3. A still life in any medium (Art)
  4. Photograph – “Village Wild Life”
  5. Photograph – “Picnic”
  6. Photograph – “I spy something beginning with O”

All photographs to be unmounted, unframed and no larger than 13×18 cm

  1. “When We Were Young” (A4 paper, name on back)
  2. An Adult Nursery Rhyme. (A4 paper, name on back)

VICE-PRESIDENT’S TROPHY FOR THE BEST EXHIBIT IN 100-102
ANNIVERSARY CUP FOR BEST EXHIBIT 103-105
STOCKLAND CUP FOR POETRY CLASS 107-108

HINTS FOR  EXHIBITORS

Potatoes:                Tubers should be washed with a sponge.

Onions & Shallots:  Do not over-skin. Tops should be tied and roots trimmed.

Beet & Carrots:      Tops cut off leaving approx 3”of leaf stalks, which should be neatly tied.

Cabbage:                3” of stalk remaining.

Beans:                    Cut from vine with scissors with some stalk attached.

Courgette:              Do not cut main fruit to conform to size requirement.

Lettuce:                  Roots should be washed and wrapped in moist tissue, inserted into a plastic bag and neatly tied.

Tomatoes:              Aim for uniform set of fruits with small eye and firm fresh calyx.

Cucumbers:           Should be well matched, with a well developed stalk end.

Garlic:                    Leave 1” of dried stem.  Stage bulbs as complete specimens.

Soft Fruit:              Should be exhibited with stalks

Preserves:              Fully-dated label on lower half of jar. Jars to be full, with screw tops.

The Mayfield Trust

The Mayfield Trust exists specifically to give grants of money to individuals or families, resident in Mayfield, Five Ashes or Hadlow Down, who find themselves facing financial difficulty.  Although we do not make detailed enquires into financial circumstances, we do try to ensure that we direct our grants to those on a very limited budget and in most need. If you think you might qualify for a grant, or if you know of someone else in the village in this situation, do please contact me (Penny) on 830006.

Ken Mine’s ‘Garden Jobs’ – July to September

JULY
Flowers
Autumn-flowering bulbs, such as autumn crocuses, ColchicumSternbergiaAmaryllis and Nerine, can be planted now.
Divide spring-flowering plants such as Irises now or during the next two months.Take cuttings of patio and container plants ready for next year. Last chance to sow biennials for next year – Sweet William, Wallflowers and Foxgloves.
Pinks and carnations that have become leggy can be propagated by layering or by cuttings. Propagation can improve the appearance of untidy clumps.
Prop up tall perennials such as lupins, delphiniums and gladioli if staking was neglected earlier in the season.
Liquid feed containerised plants and keep well-watered in dry spells.
Some late-flowering border perennials may benefit from a quick-acting feed before they come into bloom, especially if the soil is not very fertile.
Agapanthus thrive in sunny spots and free-draining soil where they won’t be overshadowed by taller plants.
Start collecting seed from plants you want to grow next year, especially annuals such as Calendula, poppies and love-in-a-mist.
Inspect lilies for the scarlet lily beetle whose larvae can strip plants in days. Pick off any you spot by hand.
In dry weather a silvery white coating may appear on the leaves of plants such as clematis, roses and Lonicera, caused by the fungus powdery mildew. Although it’s unsightly, it’s not usually harmful to plants.
Continue reading “Ken Mine’s ‘Garden Jobs’ – July to September”

Hadlow Down Book Club Review for July 2022

What makes us who we are’

It is rare that everyone really loves a chosen book, but this month we were unanimous in our enjoyment of the Scottish Poet Laureate, Jackie Kaye’s memoir Red Dust Road (2010). Jackie’s birth father was Nigerian, and her mother came from the Highlands of Scotland, but she was the adoptive daughter of Helen and John Kaye, leading figures of the Scottish Communist Party. They gave her a warm loving upbringing but when Jackie herself became pregnant the found the need to find her birth parents became overwhelming. Continue reading “Hadlow Down Book Club Review for July 2022”

ST MARK’S CHURCH NEWS – July 2022

Summer in the churchyard is now well underway. Some of the trees need cutting but unfortunately birds are nesting so nothing can be done yet. The recent rain has meant that the grasses and foliage are growing fast but so too are the early purple orchids – there seem to be more than ever this year. However, I overheard someone recently commenting on how ‘scruffy’ it was all looking. This churchyard is an important area for wildflowers and wildlife. Once all the wildflowers finish flowering and go to seed, they will be cut down and left for the seeds to return to the earth. Then all the grass will be raked up because wildflowers need to flower on a poor soil not one that has been mulched by the fallen grass. As ever when we rake, we will need help, please contact me if you feel so inclined. Continue reading “ST MARK’S CHURCH NEWS – July 2022”

Pop up suppers are back!

 

The Playing Field Committee are delighted to announce the return of the pop up supper clubs.

The Hadlow Down Pop up suppers are back  after a long awaited / enforced break. Now thanks to Boris we can all have a ‘party/business meeting’ .

So why not join some good company in the pavilion on the playing field for a wonderful 3 course meal. To celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee the theme for the first one on July 8th is ‘the very best of British’.

Book early to avoid disappointment as the places are restricted.

Please contact Glenys on 01825 830 857

The Rude Mechanicals – Gods and Dogs

Gods and Dogs, Hadlow Down Cricket Field, Thursday 16th June at 7.30pm

This new comic dystopian allegory is set in 2084 on the fictitious island of Abatina in a world where people are either glamorous celebrities or slobbering dog-like followers of them gripped to their telepafones – with the exception of the Nevnops (Not Very Nice People) as the President, Big Al, calls them. The story follows Tina who enters ‘Marriage Maker’, a ‘telepavision’ gameshow. The idea of the game is if you win you get to marry the super-glamorous footballer, Harry Best, on the Saturday, have a weekend of love, then divorce him on the Monday. ‘All the fun & no ties!’ as the compere, Rich Nobb, puts it. Unfortunately, Tina makes the mistake of falling in love when she wins & doesn’t want to divorce. Doreen, her best friend, has her own opinion, but then she might be a Nevnop & the Mind Police might get to her first & send her to the wolves on the ‘Other Side’ – a dangerous world over ‘the mountain’ where the inhabitants of Abatina, according to Big Al, must not go, with dangerous free-thinkers & wolves that might get them.
Booking details etc.
https://www.therudemechanicaltheatre.co.uk/book-tickets/