St Peter’s CHURCH service this Sunday (May 4) is Family Worship at 10am. See St Peter’s newsletters at http://www.stpeterschailey.org/ for more information.
CHAILEY FREE CHURCH service is at 10.30am this Sunday (May 4). Previous sermons are available at https://www.chaileyfreechurch.com/.
OPEN DOORS Chailey Free Church (BN8 4AN) is open every Wednesday from 11am to 3pm and is a place to sit, chat, with free light refreshments. There is free WiFi, board games and puzzles.
CHAILEY EVENING WI meet on Tuesday May 6, at 7.30pm, at the village hall when the WI Resolution ‘Bystanders Can be Lifesavers’ will be discussed. Also, a representative from Bluebird Community Transport, based in Wivelsfield, will explain the service they offer. It is a free door-to-door community bus service which provides accessible transport for many who live in a rural area for hospital, dentist, doctors, hairdressers, shopping and essential trips. This promises to be a most informative evening as does the meeting on Tuesday June 3 when Jenny Smerdon will give a talk entitled ‘Anyone for Tennis’. Jenny is an experienced tennis player and chair of Newick Tennis Club. She won the LTA Tennis Sussex Lifetime Achievement Award (Robert Cushing Award) in 2023. Prospective members and guests are most welcome and can be sure of an enjoyable evening, with refreshments, for £3. For more information call Mandy on 07546 592739.
Chailey REPAIR CAFÉ is at St Peter’s Church, BN8 4DA, on Saturday May 10 from 10am to 1pm. There is no charge, but you are invited to make a donation towards costs. Refreshments available. Email chaileyrc@gmail.com for more details.
MESSY CHURCH is at the Free Church, South Chailey, on Monday May 12 from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. Messy Church is for families and is a combination of activities, games, teaching and singing followed by a meal together. It is suitable for pre-school, primary school and teenage children as well as the grown-ups of the family. Just turn up, all that is asked for is a donation of £1 from each family to help cover costs. For more details visit https://www.chaileyfreechurch.com/.
YOUTH GROUP (for school years 6-9) meets at Chailey Free Church on Thursday May 15 from 6pm to 8pm. There will be refreshments, games, music, discussions food and a tuck shop. For information call Dave on 07770 537676.
JUMBLE SALE at St Peter’s Church (BN8 4DA) raising funds for the church takes place on Saturday May 17 at 9.30am. Refreshments will be available.
PLANT SALE organised by the Horticultural Society, where all manner of plants will be on sale as well as some locally made trugs, takes place at the village hall car park on Saturday May 17 from 10am to midday.
Village Hall Charity Commission status is being reviewed and updated and the Parish Council would like to hear from original representative groups to verify their continued interest. They would like to hear from the following Chailey Groups - British Legion, Conservative Association, Mothers Union, Play School and the Cub Pack (Scouts). They need to hear by the end of May, therefore if you are able to help please email the Clerk, Bettina Newell, at Clerk@chaileyparishcouncil.gov.uk or if you prefer write to the Clerk at Chailey Parish Council Offices, The Reading Room, Chailey Green, East Sussex, BN8 4DA.
CRAFT ‘N CHAT takes place at the Free Church on Thursday June 5, from 7pm to 9pm, and all are welcome to go along. Take the craft you are working on or join in with the ‘craft of the month. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. For more information contact Jan on 07913 652920.
CITIZEN’S ADVICE BUREAU Lewes District Citizens Advice, a local, independent charity, is offering free, confidential and impartial advice at St Peter’s Church, Chailey, on Friday June 6 from 10am to 1pm. Help will be given with benefits, housing issues, cost of living, debt, energy and much more. Do call in for a chat.
GOOD NEIGHBOURS SCHEME provides transport from Newick and Chailey for appointments to doctors and hospital etc. It is a registered charity and all activities are risk assessed. New drivers are always needed, especially for Chailey. There is no specified commitment, the system allows you to accept or refuse a journey depending on your availability. If you would like to know more please contact Bea Annis on 07837859750 or email jonathan.a.d.annis@btinternet.com.
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY NEWS ‘2025 is turning out to be a rather difficult year in the garden. We have had the driest spring on record which will probably lead to a slow germination of crops planted outside and having to spend an April evening watering is somewhat irksome! Get greenhouse tomatoes planted as soon as possible. Dig a deep hole and fill with water. When this has drained away place the plant in the hole so that the lowest true leaves are just above ground level. Firm down and water again at the base. The point of all this is firstly to ensure that the roots will track downwards and hence be less susceptible to drying out. Also the stem of the tomato plant is capable of producing roots hence helping to secure the plant and add to vigour. Secondly you want the first truss to be as lowdown as possible as it is possible to get six trusses if height allows. One of the problems with greenhouse tomatoes is getting the first truss to set. Traditionally gardeners have used a fine spray at night or a gentle agitating of the truss and fingering the flowers to aid setting. All this is now so old fashioned. The modern gardener uses an electric toothbrush to agitate the truss thus mimicking the action of pollinating insects! Remember to always water in the evening to help reduce humidity and always water at the base to avoid wetting the leaves. Start using a liquid feed when the first truss has set. I tend to use one based on seaweed since tomatoes originate from costal Chile and Peru and seaweed helps with flavour. Make sure you have good ventilation on hot days as overheating can inhibit setting. Support either with bamboo canes or a strong twine. Remove side shoots and remove the growing tip when six trusses have set. Also in the greenhouse have your chillies, sweet peppers and aubergine in pots. Sweet peppers and chillies are largely self fertile but aubergine flowers need help either with the finger or electric toothbrush! Modern greenhouse cucumbers are mostly all female varieties though controlling and directing growth can be a challenge. Outside rhubarb will now be in full production. To harvest tease out the stalk with a gentle twist at the base. If the dry weather continues this may cause the crown to bolt producing a flower spike. Remove this immediately and give the crown a good soaking and a liquid feed. Meanwhile continue to earth up early potatoes partly for frost protection but also to ensure that none of the crop is exposed. Prepare the bed and supports for the runner bean crop to be planted out in early June. Make sure the ground contains plenty of well rotted manure to help retain moisture for the growing plant. Although it can be unsightly let the foliage of daffodils and tulips die down naturally to ensure that next year’s bulb has maximum nutrients. Our next event is the plant sale on 17th May in the village hall car park from 10am to midday. Good Gardening’. For details about the Horticultural Society contact Peter Estcourt on 07803179708 or via pge44@icloud.com.