Bonfire Celebrations Sadly Cancelled


Following on from an inspection of the Playing Field this morning  – Guy , David and I  ( and the wider HDPFA committee) have taken the sad and hard decision to cancel this year’s Bonfire Night.

The reasons behind this decision are :

  • Saturated ground conditions and standing water
  • The forecast  Wind speed on Saturday night is too high
  • The Bonfire would propose a risk with the forecast wind speed

We would like to thank all of the volunteers involved who have been involved in the build up to the event for all of their hard work and our generous sponsors too who we will be in touch with directly.

Please make a date for your diary of November 4th 2023 for next year’s Bonfire.

With thanks

Fi and the HDPFA team.

 

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 !

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.

A date for your diary !

The Village Fayre Committee are pleased to be hosting

The Together We Can
Big Village Picnic
Sunday 11th September, 12-6 at 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.

For all the details please head over to the Village Fayre pages here

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/

A Taste of Sport

A Taste of Sport
Thanks to a grant (kindly provided by The Sussex Community Foundation), Wings to Fly are hosting an exciting multi-sport event on Friday 17th June at the Hadlow Down playing field and we would love it if you could join us.

During the afternoon, the children of St Mark’s will be taking part in a range of exciting sports. This will include Rugby, Taekwon-do, Stoolball and Cricket.
Gates will open to the Hadlow Down community at 3pm and the sports will run until 4pm. ‘The Friends of St Marks’ will be running a refreshments stall and a BBQ from 3pm.
For safeguarding reasons, please note that there will be NO parking at the playing field and limited parking around the school.
We look forward to seeing you there!

A Taste of Sport

Come and join the children of St Mark’s as they take part in ‘A Taste of Sport’ on Friday, 17th June (3.00 pm) on the Hadlow Down Playing Field. More info to follow in June.

Dog Faeces in the Playing Field

If you are a dog owner are you worthy to be called a member of the Hadlow Down community!
Parents are advised to be vigilant when supervising their children in the play area of the Village Playing Field.  There have recently been a number of reports of dog fouling in the village amenity where a dog owner/s is committing an offence by not immediately picking up and taking away their dog’s faeces .
On Sunday the 17th. April a 4  year old child came into contact with a considerable amount of mess left in the play area.  The parents say that they would like to thank the people in the New Inn for helping to clean the child up and console him.
It is an offence under the the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 not to pick up dog faeces. and anyone witnessing the offence can report it to Wealden District Council.
If you see a dog owner allowing their dog to foul and not picking it up please note down as many details as you can that might help us to identify them.  The following information is needed to commence an investigation:

  • date and time of incident
  • location of incident
  • description of person in charge of the dog
  • description of the dog
  • name and/or address of person in charge of the dog

The current fixed penalty fine is £80. If a person refuses to pay they can be taken to the local Magistrates Court for the dog fouling offence and fined up to £1,000.