Bobservation No. 111: Christmas Tombola Communication

Bottles in speech bubble

 

Social communication advantages
It occurred to me how fortunate we are in the Downland Villages to have so many social communication advantages: BN5 magazine comes to mind immediately, so ably edited by Emma Cole with her wonderful team who provide a monthly guide to what has happened and will happen in Henfield and the surrounding area of BN5. As well as this the advertisements in BN5 provide a very handy way of finding a local tradesman. Next the great contact mobile phone texts, What’s App, such as Community Skills Swap and Quotations. These are such useful sites to offer, ask for, complain, suggest, and indeed all manner of places to facilitate life in the countryside. If you don’t already receive them on your mobile phone I am sure one of your neighbours can help you do this. Last but certainly not least Pigeon Post so well put together by our very own Jen Green.

Fulking Christmas party tombola prizes
Rosemary and Nick, who have very successfully taken on the mantle of Tombola organisers, are looking for bottles for the Christmas party which is on Friday 8 December. These can be left in their porch at 31 Clappers Lane or at Roger and Carolyns at Woodlands. I am sure lots of you have those unwanted bottles of wine or beer or cider or soft drinks (or even bubbly!) and could free up the cupboard/wine rack space by donating to the Tombola prizes. Don’t forget to bring plenty of £s to buy Tombola tickets. The income goes to the Fulking Social Committee principally for Village Hall maintenance.

Christmas
I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Newtimber Place Gardens

Newtimber Place NGS
The gardens at Newtimber Place will be open as part of the NGS (National Gardens Scheme) on Sunday 14th April between 2:00pm and 5:30pm. The gardens are lovely at this time of year with stunning daffodils and beautiful fritillaries. Beautiful Grade I listed C16/C17 moated house (not open). Gardens and woods full of bulbs and wild flowers in spring. Herbaceous border and lawns. Moat flanked by water plants. Mature trees. Wild garden, ducks, chickens and fish. Tea and home-made cakes in aid of the church. There are ducks, chickens and guinea fowl wandering around so dogs need to be kept on a lead. Admission £5.00, children free.

Newtimber Place Gardens

Newtimber Place NGS
The gardens at Newtimber Place will be open as part of the NGS (National Gardens Scheme) on Sunday 15th April between 2:00pm and 5:30pm. The gardens are lovely at this time of year with stunning daffodils and beautiful fritillaries. Beautiful Grade I listed C16/C17 moated house (not open). Gardens and woods full of bulbs and wild flowers in spring. Herbaceous border and lawns. Moat flanked by water plants. Mature trees. Wild garden, ducks, chickens and fish. Tea and home made cakes in aid of the church. There are ducks, chickens and guinea fowl wandering around so dogs need to be kept on a lead. Admission £5.00, children free.

Bobservation 38: Christmas

As Christmas approaches, our thoughts could be on those unfortunates who lack a roof over their heads, it is disturbing that at least three properties in the village are permanently unoccupied as well as one other that is used as a holiday home. The villagers concerned will know which houses I am referring to and I plead with them, in the spirit of Christmas, to rent or put their properties up for sale on the open market as soon as possible. If all the empty properties in Britain were occupied the housing crisis would be largely solved.

By now you will have received an invitation to the annual Fulking Village Christmas Party which is being held in the village hall on Friday 8th December from 6 till 8pm. The Social Committee puts a lot of work into this event believing it to be for the benefit of the village as a whole, giving newcomers the chance to meet longer established villagers and the latter to meet up with old friends and acquaintances. Entrance is free, as are the mulled wine, beers, soft drinks and a variety of other wines. All that you are asked to do is arrive with a plate, small or large, of savoury nibbles. Children are very welcome. Bring plenty of cash for the raffle!

Looking in BN5 magazine, I see a 2 page spread of a calendar of activities at the Shepherd & Dog during December which is, as I would expect, very exciting. In particular there is a kids’ party on 23 December from 4 till 6pm and activities for the young ones on several other dates. What a good way for parents to get a bit of peace! Look on the pub’s web-site.

Many thanks to Chris, Jen and Pam for resurrecting Pigeon Post on a quarterly (?) basis.  They follow in the tradition of Nick and Jill, Richard, Aidan, John and Miles; the previous editors. My own opinion is that it is essential to have a medium including a hard copy by which the village can be kept informed of relevant local news.

Lastly I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and many thanks to my good friends on the Social Committee who generously give up their time to make this a really special village to live in. Fulking Fair will be on Sunday 29th July 2018. Please put it in your diary.

Christmas Open House at Broadreeds


Pauline Findlay writes:

It would be lovely if you can join me and a few fellow artists for a glass of mulled wine at our Christmas Open House at Broadreeds, The Street, Fulking BN5 9LU.

We will be open on Friday 1st December from 5:00pm until 8:00pm and on Saturday 2nd December from 11:00am until 3:00pm, with refreshments in support of Macmillan (cakes, mulled wine, tea and coffee).

Gift vouchers available.

Bobservation 37: Migration, Dogs & Maps

Banner with estate agents logosMigration
At the risk of being corrected over omissions I think that over the last seven years, the number of properties sold, for sale or for letting in Fulking has been interesting. A little research shows that the properties involved in migration of any sort were:

Arcadia, Badger Brook, Badgerwood House, Barn Cottage, The Cabbage Patch, 15,21,29 & 41 Clappers Lane, Customary Cottage, Downside, Four Acres, Furzefield, Hillbrook, Hillside, Kent Cottage, Little Down, The Old Bakehouse, Oldwood, The Paddock, Perching Barn, Perching Manor, Pippins, 2 Septima Cottages, 1 & 2 Southview Cottages, 3 Teapot Row, Thatchly,  Timbers, West Dean, West Orchard, Yew Tree Cottage.

That is 32 out of 137 or 23% of properties either sold, let or offered for sale! I find this interesting because in a parish like Fulking there is an old world feeling of permanence of residence which obviously is incorrect. As for Furzefield I think the impossibility of finding a suitable property in Henfield  to move to may scupper any hopes you may have of stopping future Bobservations!
Most recent emigrants are Clive and Kate both of whom  we shall miss. Kate was a very good Chair of the Parish Council at a difficult time. Parking will be easier in the Street!

Fun Dog Show
It has been agreed to hold a fun dog show in the North Town Field as part of the fair on Sunday July 29th 2018. Is there someone who would like to take on the organisation of this lighthearted event with full support from the Social Committee? If you would like to discuss it give me call on 857271 or email bob.pamrowland@btinternet.com

House Map
If you have not already looked at the magnificent Fulking Village web-site I suggest you  take the trouble to look at  ‘About our village’ and scroll down to ‘House Map’. Every residence in the parish has been marked on the map and indeed so have properties adjacent to Fulking. What a lot of amazing information has been put at everyone’s disposal.  Many thanks to Gerald, John and Miles for putting all this together.