Winchelsea

Time of worship: The weekend’s services at St Thomas’ Church begin tomorrow morning with Morning Prayer at 9.15am. On Sunday May 3rd the first service is Holy Communion at 8am which will be followed by an ‘All age Sung Eucharist’ led by the Rector Robin Whitehead and all are most welcome to attend.

Cellar Tours FOAM: Over this May Bank Holiday weekend the Friends of the Ancient Monuments & Museum have organised a Cellar Tour for Sunday May 3rd. In addition there will be a Cellar Tour on Tuesday May 5th which will run alongside the Open Gardens event. If you would like to book please contact 01797 222629. Both tours start at 11am by the Town’s Well in Castle Street and cost £5 p.p. with proceeds in aid of FOAM.

Cellar Tours WAS: On Monday May 4th Winchelsea Archaeological Society is having a guided Cellar Tour from 2 till 3.45pm meeting in Castle Street. The cost is £5 each and includes a guidebook to the cellars and proceeds go to WAS to pay for new archaeology. To book and find out more the contact number is: 01797 224446. Most of the cellars are vaulted and were built around 1300 and you will be able to find out why and how they were built.

Open Gardens: Winchelsea is hosting an Open Gardens day on Tuesday May 5th from 10.30am to 4pm. The cost is £5 p.p and under 14’s go free. You are invited to visit eleven secret gardens in the town and also enjoy home-baked refreshments served during the tour. This is one of the many Open Gardens days which the town provides for charitable organisations and this forthcoming event is in aid of St Michael’s Hospice.

Election Day: The General Election day is this Thursday May 7th and the Polling Station for Winchelsea is the New Hall. This is your opportunity to vote for the political party which will use our taxes responsibly to pay for: an excellent national security system which includes maintaining the ultimate deterrent – Trident; establish: a properly-run economy for its citizens, first-class NHS and education system; and promote Christian values and freedoms. Is this asking too much? I hope not.

Conservation AGM: The Annual General Meeting for the Conservation Society is next Saturday May 9th at 10am in the Court Hall. If there is any member of the Society who would like to stand for election as an officer you will need to give notice in writing by tomorrow (Saturday) to the Honorary Secretary at 1 Barrack Square. This also applies if any member wishes to have an item placed on the AGM Agenda.

Beth Chatto: The Garden Society visited the Beth Chatto Gardens in Colchester, Essex in 2013 and rated it a great success and so they are going again. Wednesday May 20th is the planned date of this next visit and it will be as usual, leaving the Town Sign at 9am and returning by 6pm. The gardens are wonderful and can be viewed and admired on the website. They include Water Gardens, Scree Beds and both a Woodland and a Gravel Garden. There is also a first class nursery and an excellent café and restaurant. Tickets cost £22 from Winchelsea Farm Kitchen and as Howard Norton needs to know numbers by Election Day please don’t leave it till the last minute to get your ticket!

Something good to say: It was difficult to find anything good to say about King John at the illustrated talk given by Professor Stephen Church in the church last Saturday morning. It would seem that our teachers in bygone days were right when they defined him as criminal. Even in these present times where an attitude of almost inflexible tolerance is promoted and the oxymoron favoured it is still impossible to have any sympathy for King John. This is no surprise since he raised taxes to expand his military forces and retrieve lands in France which he regarded as his private ownership. His selfish claims brought him into conflict with the royal barons who forced him to sign the Magna Carta. This document established that everybody including the king was under the law and gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of the Magna Carta’s core principles on human rights are echoed in many constitutional documents around the world. So it would appear that there is something good to say about King John. If it had not been for him we might not have had the Magna Carta. This year marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta (1215-2015) and its significance is worthy of reflection in this election year. Stephen’s talk aroused many interesting questions and the proceeds went towards the Winchelsea Archaeological Society.

Leaves of the Tree: The Methodist women with the men held an Easter Offering service at the Wesley Chapel last Saturday morning. The guest speaker was unfortunately ill and unable to attend and so the women’s committee was pleased to share the ministry together with the congregation. It was also delightful to have the Calvert Methodist musicians accompanying on the flute and piano. Each year the Easter Offering service brings together the many stories of work enabled by the World Mission Fund. This year the service drew inspiration from the prophetic visions in the Old and New Testaments of the Tree of Life producing leaves for healing and reconciliation, and how the cross is the Tree of Life. The reading from Ezekiel 47 is a prophetic vision of the millennium wherein Ezekiel sees the trees for meat and the river which gives life and healing, flowing from the temple in Jerusalem. At this point the Lord God confirms the extent of the land of Israel given as an inheritance to the twelve tribes of Israel to be a beacon of light to the nations. Then as the service concluded prayers were said for the work of the church in its global ministries of grace, healing and forgiveness. A collection was also taken in aid of the World Mission Fund to help the poor, sick and disadvantaged throughout the world.

Winchelsea Beach

Buy and sell: Don’t forget there is a Table Sale tomorrow (Saturday) at 11am in the Community Hall. You may book a table by contacting 224820 or just come along and get some bargains. There will also be a good tombola and entrance cost is 40p which includes light refreshments.

Church Service: The monthly Evening Prayer service will be held in St Richard’s Church this Sunday May 3rd at 3.30pm. As always all are welcome to come along to the service which will be followed by light refreshments.

A chance to win: Everybody is invited to have a go at Cash Bingo this Wednesday May 6th at 7.15pm in the Community Hall. You don’t have to be a skilled player to win and the fun is in the game. Also there will be refreshments and a raffle available and players must be over 16.

Election Day: The General Election day is this Thursday May 7th and the Polling Station for Winchelsea Beach is the Community Hall. This is your opportunity to vote for the political party which will use your taxes responsibly to pay for: an excellent national security system that includes the ultimate deterrent – Trident; establish: a properly-run economy for its citizens, first-class NHS and education system; and promote Christian values and freedoms. Is this asking too much? I should hope not.