St Peter’s Church services this Sunday (November 3) are Holy Communion at 8am and Parish Communion at 10am. St Peter’s newsletters at http://www.stpeterschailey.org/.
CHAILEY FREE CHURCH service is at 10.30am this Sunday (November 3). Previous sermons at https://www.chaileyfreechurch.com/.
OPEN DOORS Chailey Free Church (BN8 4AN) every Wednesday from 11am to 3pm is a place to sit, chat, with free light refreshments, WiFi, board games and puzzles.
CHAILEY EVENING WI meet on Tuesday, November 5 at 7.30pm, at the village hall, when Sara Fay will speak on ‘Life Behind the Scenes of Showtime’. Sara is an experienced cutter, tailor and costumier. She has worked on many well-known projects including Downton Abbey, Sherlock, Napoleon and Hamilton (for a full list of Sara’s projects visit http://sarafay.co.uk/).
Sara’s talk will be interesting and informative and everyone is welcome to enjoy it; all that is asked is a voluntary contribution towards refreshments. For details more call Mandy on 07546 592739.
CRAFT ‘N CHAT is at the Free Church on Thursday, November 7, from 7pm to 9pm, and all are welcome, under 18s to be accompanied by an adult. Do go along with your craft or join in with the ‘craft of the month.
REPAIR CAFÉ is at St Peter’s Church, BN8 4DA, on Saturday, November 9 from 10am to 1pm. The Repair Café does not charge, but invite a donation towards costs. Refreshments available. Email chaileyrc@gmail.com for more detail.
Road closures The A275 will be closed for Chailey Bonfire Society Bonfire Night on Saturday, November 9 from Beggars Wood Road (North Chailey) up to Mill Lane (South Chailey) from 6pm through until 9pm (or when deemed safe to reopen the roads).
Closures will also be applied to Markstakes Lane and Cinder Hill at the A275 end. An additional closure at 6pm will be applied from Chailey Surgery up to the A275 at the end of Mill Lane to allow the procession to leave Chailey School; this should not last longer than 30 minutes.
LUNCH CLUB at St Peter’s Church is on Thursday, November 21 at 12.30pm and all welcome. Christmas Lunch is on December 12 and it is necessary to sign up for this by calling 01825 722586 or emailing Stpeterschurch12@hotmail.co.uk.
YOUTH GROUP (for school years 6-9) meets at Chailey Free Church on Thursday, November 21 from 6pm to 8pm. There will be refreshments, games, music, discussions food and a tuck shop. For information call Dave on 07705 7537676.
Christmas Craft Market takes place at St Peter’s Church on Saturday, November 30 from 10am to 2pm. There will be stalls from local crafters and businesses including Christmas gifts, Generation 11 gin, cakes, produce, jewellery, candles, cards, handmade gifts, chocolates and local artists. There will also be refreshments. Entry £1.
Annual Christmas meal for the senior members (60+) of the village hosted by the Bonfire Society is on Saturday, December 7 at the village hall. If you would like to put your name forward to attend, please email secretary@chaileybonfire.co.uk.
PARISH COUNCIL NEWS The cattle are now off Chailey Commons for the winter, however the Exmoor ponies remain at Red House Common. Please report any issues with gates, fences or missing signs to Bettina Newell, the Parish Clerk, via Clerk@chaileyparishcouncil.gov.uk, and to Andy Mitchell, Countryside Officer at ESCC, via Andy.Mitchell@eastsussex.gov.uk .
Also, a reminder that fly-tipping is dealt with by Lewes District Council along with litter, dog nuisance, car parks and bins, please contact the District Council directly to report a problem via https://www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/report-a-problem/.
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY NEWS ‘As I write this in mid-October we have just had our first frost and the winter months are now with us. The arrival of a frost will hasten the falling of leaves. These are best removed regularly from lawns but if possible leave a couple of piles in the wilder parts of the garden for wild life. On the compost heap keep the leaves well mixed with paper and cardboard.
The alternative is to make leaf mould. The easiest way to do this is to three quarters full a plastic bin bag and then the male members of the household urinate into it. Then seal the bag and make a few holes in it with a fork. Put aside for a couple of years and that’s it. The resulting leaf mould makes an excellent mulch and can be added to homemade potting compost.
Once you have cleared and cleaned the unused parts of the vegetable plot you have to decide what to do next to protect the ground over the winter. If left open the danger is that the winter rains will leach out a lot of the nutrients and wash away the fine soil leaving a stony and depleted soil. The real enthusiast will plant a covering of green manure which essentially is a mixture of bean and clover seeds that will grow and protect the soil and can be dug in in the early spring before they set seeds. They therefore also provide compost and a degree of nitrogen fixation.
Perhaps an easier alternative is to cover the soil with a layer of compost and manure and then cover it with either old cardboard or plastic sheeting. The soil is protected, the compost will help add nutrients and the covering will suppress weeds.
There are two crops that can be planted now to over winter with the onions garlic and shallots. The first is broad beans. The best is Aquadulce Claudia which is a tall variety and will withstand any amount of frost. The Sutton is a dwarf variety but not quite so hardy and does benefit from some protection during the coldest spells. Also being a dwarf variety it is more prone to slug damage but having said all that is valuable where space is limited.
Start off inside in modules if like me you are plagued by squirrels and mice. Plant out at the four leave stage. Secondly there over wintering peas. The two main varieties are Meteor and Douce Provence. Meteor is probably the most hardy but Douce Provence produces the tastier pea. Again start off inside and protect from slugs and snails.
Although dwarf varieties a degree of support will be needed.Clear and empty greenhouses and poly tunnels and sterile everything using Jeyes fluid which can also be used for cleaning pots, trays and tools.
Remember to regularly check stored potatoes and onions. Keep overwintering onions garlic and shallots weed free and check for interference from birds. Finally gather together all the catalogues that are now arriving and put them aside for a cold wet winter’s day when you can start to dream of the wonderful things you are going to grow in the coming year. Good Gardening’.
For more contact Peter Estcourt via pge44@icloud.com or 07803179708.