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It is that time of the month: again for those of you who like to knit and natter! The group will be meeting this afternoon, Thursday, from 2.30pm in Dudley House, next door to the Hardware Shop. Light refreshments will be provided for a suggested donation of, I think, about £2 which is very reasonable for a cup of tea and a slice of cake! More details can be had from Christina in the Shop.

The Parish Council: meeting last week came up with some dates for the diary, the first being Tuesday, 23 April when the Annual Parish Meeting is planned. This is the meeting when the Council updates the parish on what they have been doing for the past 12 months and what is planned for the next 12 months. It is also the meeting when they invite someone who is associated with the village to give a talk on what their organisation has been up to or what it is planning; if they are able to get the person they were talking about inviting, it should be very interesting – keep your eye on the website (www.slaughampc.co.uk) for more information. The second relates to the opening of the new hall at Finches Field, Pease Pottage; you may recall I had previously suggested that this would be happening last weekend which obviously didn’t happen! Hopefully, it will happen on Saturday, 27 April – again, keep an eye on the website. Finally, a date was also mentioned for the referendum on the Neighbourhood Plan! As things are moving along nicely with the Inspector and Mid Sussex District Council, it is hoped we will be able to vote on it by 25 July. As always, if and when I hear more about this, I will pass it on.

The Parish Council: will be meeting this evening, Thursday, from 7.30 pm in the Pavilion on the Recreation Ground. As always, the agenda can be found on the Council’s website or a copy should be on the notice board outside the Spar Shop. If you make a habit of looking at this notice board you will have seen something about becoming a Parish Council member. If this is of interest, and the Council does need some more members to ensure a varied and unbiased view of everything in the Parish, go to the Council’s website, www.slaughampc.co.uk and click on the link on the home page ‘Notice of Election’ where you will find further information – you have until 4pm on Wednesday, 3 April to submit your nomination forms; go to www.midsussex.gov.uk/elections for further information on how to get and submit an application form. The elections for this will take place on 2 May, the same day we have the opportunity to vote for our district councillors. For your information, we currently have 8 parish councillors when we can have up to 13. The villages of Handcross and Pease Pottage between them can have 10 councillors, they currently have 6; Slaugham and Warninglid can have 3 and currently have 2. So, if all current councillors agree to re-election, there are vacancies for a total of 5 councillors but I think there may be one or two stepping down so there might be a need for more. You don’t have to be qualified in any way to become a parish councillor, you just have to be interested in local affairs and I suppose want to give something back to your local community. If this is something of interest, why not go along to the meeting this evening to meet your current councillors and see how a meeting is run. I hope to see a few more people attending, it gets lonely being the only member of the public attending each month!

It is Knit & Natter: this afternoon, Thursday, at Dudley House (next door to the Hardware Shop) from 2.30pm. Do go along if you are looking for something to do and have some knitting on the go, or even if you don’t but fancy some company, you would be made very welcome. There is a small donation asked for to cover the cost of the refreshments on offer (£2/£2.50). If you would like more information, get in touch with Christina (400212) and she will be able to help you.

The celebration: in respect of the opening of the refurbished Parish Hall was a great success on Saturday afternoon; as always, it was a shame that more people didn’t turn up but those that did were greeted with a glass of fizz which made a very pleasant change to tea and coffee! Everyone had a good word to say about how bright, clean and most importantly to those who have used the Hall in the past, how warm it was! I think that the money that has been spent on putting in an up to date heating system with modern day, efficient radiators, has really paid off, but that is not to say the redecoration and new lights isn’t appreciated, it all is. The icing on the cake was the announcement by Tim Arnold, Chairman of the Management Committee, that he signed a new lease for the Hall on Tuesday last week which ensures we have it for the next 5 years – hooray! It has taken some time to get there but we now have it and that is all that matters, some peace of mind for the next few years.

Handcross Ladies: had an enjoyable evening learning about felting and how to make your own in the newly refurbished Parish Hall last week when they also welcomed two new members. Next month’s talk will be from Canine Partners which I am sure will be just as enjoyable and informative. If you would like to learn more about this organisation, get in touch with them by email on handxladies@gmail.com or go along to their next meeting which will be on the third Tuesday of the month being the 19th from 7.30 pm.

I have now experienced the improved Parish Hall: myself and was very impressed by how much brighter it was and certainly how much warmer it was! I was lucky enough to enjoy the lunch put on by the Outing Club in the Hall last Saturday and very good it was too! I think just about every member of the Club was there to enjoy a two course meal followed by tea and coffee that was served to us as we sat at beautifully laid tables – thank you to whoever was responsible for the flower arrangements, it was such a lovely touch. At the end of the meal after a free raffle, we were entertained with a slide show of photographs taken over the years showing the various holidays and outings members have enjoyed. We were also given a schedule of the outings planned for the coming months, the first being on Wednesday, 24 April to Brighton & Hove Dogs costing £16 with a two course meal being available at a cost of £8.45. If you didn’t put your name down but on reflection would like to go, get in touch with Brenda on 400081. The other trips planned are as follows: 12 May – Scotney Castle, £28 (if you are a member of the National Trust, it will only cost £17 for the coach); 12 June – Postal Museum, London, £31 (you will need to be able to walk short distances for this one); 14 July – Leeds Castle, £33; 18 August – Camden Canal Cruise; 22 September – Marwell Zoo, £37. It is a little early for pick up times to be advised but all I would say is if you put your name down for any of these outings but drop out at short notice without paying, the Club will still have to pay for your seat on the coach and are therefore losing money on the outing, something to bear in mind. A big thank you to the committee for all the work you do over the course of the year and for organising such an enjoyable lunch.

We are at that time of the month: when the various clubs and groups seem to hold their meetings, in the middle of the month. The first of those is the Knit & Natter group which meets today Thursday at Dudley House, next door to the Hardware Shop from 2.30pm. This is a small friendly group who meet once a month to catch up on the gossip whilst enjoying their knitting or just going along for the company. There is a small cost involved to cover the cost of the homemade refreshments offered (in the region of £2/£2.50 I think) but if you would like to know more, ask Christina and she will point you in the right direction to get all the information you need to join this group.

Parish Hall: I owe you an apology! It would appear that I jumped the gun somewhat by saying last week that the Hall would be open for business on Monday; those of you who were expecting to be in for a meeting this week will know this has not been the case and I’m sorry for any confusion my comments may have caused. It would appear that whilst it was hoped the Hall would be open this week, there were still one or two things that needed to be done and rather than take a chance, it was decided that it would be better to leave it for another week. Thanks to Julie at the Social Club for helping out at short notice this week and for the last month as well.

Last week’s Parish Council meeting: was interesting on two counts: firstly there was a gentleman attending who was talking about plans for a new free school in Mid Sussex to cope with the growing population and concern about possible catchment area changes affecting Warden Park School in Cuckfield. The plan is to open a new school in partnership with the Hugh Latimer School in London; they don’t have a site at present but are looking in the local area, Pease Pottage being mentioned as a possibility. I understand they are due to have a meeting in the not too distant future with the authorities and by the time of the next Parish Council meeting in February, they hope to have more news. If you would like to learn more in the meantime, have a look at their website, www.hughlatimerschool.org.uk, otherwise make a note of the date of the next Council meeting on Thursday, 28th when it is hoped there will be another presentation.

Handcross Ladies Association: started the New Year with a well-attended AGM last week. Once the ‘business’ element of the meeting had been completed, members were entertained with an interesting talk and slide show on Frost Fairs which was enjoyed by all. Whilst their meeting this month was held in the Social Club, next month they will be back in the newly refurbished Parish Hall for their meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, more details nearer the time.