Hailsham

HOPS QUIZ: The Hailsham Old Pavilion Society is hosting its charity quiz on Saturday September 30 at Summerheath Hall, Summerheath Road, Hailsham at 7.15 for a 7.30pm start. Teams of up to six are invited to take part at a cost of £7.50pp which includes a buffet. Bring your own drinks. Please book on 01323 841373.

COMMUNITY GROUPS FORUM: Are you a local community group or charity and wish to benefit from sharing experiences and ideas with other local groups? The Hailsham Community Forum is always looking for community groups, associations and charities in the area to exchange ideas, learn from each other, network and collaborate. They have speakers from voluntary services organisations, grants advisors and other charities. The group continues to build communication networks and create a louder voice with other voluntary and statutory groups. The long-term benefits of joining the Forum could be cost savings through group negotiating power with printers, suppliers, donations and local businesses, sharing resources like gazebos and tables and more.

Several groups have already benefited from the forum by taking stalls at the Hailsham Street Market, collaborating to fundraise together and collectively promoting and raising awareness of their organisations. The forum meets monthly and is made up of around 30 community organisations including Hailsham Active, Hailsham Harriers, Computers for Charities, Hailsham Bonfire Society, Hailsham Lions, Hailsham Choral Society, the Now! Charity, Demelza, Allotment Society, Flower Club, Healthy Walks Group and the Hailsham Foodbank. The next forum meeting will take place at 6.30pm on Tuesday October 10 at the Hailsham Parish Church lounge. Further meetings are scheduled for Monday November 13 and Wednesday December 13. If you are interested in attending contact Hailsham Town Council on 01323 841702 or by email: [email protected].

BATTLE OF BRITAIN: Heroes were remembered in a service of remembrance held at Hailsham Parish Church last Sunday for all those who took part in the Battle of Britain during the summer and autumn of 1940. Town Mayor Councillor Nigel Coltman joined town councillors and representatives from the Royal Air Forces Association and Royal British Legion for a ceremony which marked the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and former British fighter pilots’ involvement in fighting attempts by the German Air Force to gain superiority over the RAF during World War Two. Following the service, the Mayor attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Hailsham War Memorial, alongside residents, war veterans and uniformed dignitaries.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY: The next meeting is on October 4 at the Charles Hunt Centre, (Waitrose car park) Vicarage Fields at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. All welcome. Non-members £2.50.

The topic is Bygone Hailsham Trades and Traders of the Town, from 1800, to be given by Jonathan Cruse and is not to be missed! Please note that the Museum will be closed for the Winter, from 30 September. The September meeting talk was presented by Judith Kinnison-Bourke, about the life of Gladys Aylward, a remarkable lady. Judith spoke playing the part of Gladys Aylward, telling her own story, and what an interesting talk it was. Gladys was born in North London in 1902. In her teens, she worked as a domestic. She didn’t much enjoy the work, and had a calling to become a Christian Missionary. After many ups and downs eventually she was accepted by the Chinese Inland Mission. She needed money to travel, and worked at two jobs, saving all the money she could. She spent her whole life savings on a ticket for a passage to Yangcheng Shanxi Province, China. The perilous journey took her across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. At one time, she was detained by the Russians, but, with local help, she managed to evade them, and get aboard a Japanese ship. Helped across Japan by the British Consul, she boarded another ship to China. When she reached Yangcheng, she worked with an older Missionary, called Jenny Lawson, who founded the Inn of the Eighth. Gladys Aylward became a Chinese citizen in 1936, taking in orphans, and adopting several of them herself. She also intervened in volatile prison riots, and advocated prison reform, risking her life many times to help those in need. In 1938, the region was invaded by the Japanese Forces, and she led more than 100 orphans over the mountains to safety. Despite being wounded herself, she continued to look after orphans, and devoted her entire life to doing Christian work with the people of China. She came back to Great Britain at the start of WW2 but was later denied re-entry back to China. In 1958 she settled in Taiwan, where she founded the Gladys Aylward Orphanage and worked there until her death in 1970. A truly remarkable story. For further information about the Society, please contact the Chairman of the Society, David Bourne on 01323-440359.

HAILSHAM LIONS: At last week’s meeting, Hailsham Lions’ president John Wilders presented £500 worth of vouchers to the newly formed Kids Count Project. This was one of several donations the Lions have made to worthy causes this year. The Kids Count Project was founded by Helen Deehan and Mary Laxton, and is designed to help families in and around the town by producing baby bundles for new mothers who have fled their homes due to domestic violence, among other things. Each baby bundle includes nappies, creams and clothes to help mums give their babies a better start in life. For details of joining Hailsham Lions please contact [email protected] or phone the local number 0845 833 9828.

U3A: This month, on September 26, at the Civic Hall the presentation is Why are we here? Alternative views with Geoff Gibbs. Tea at 2pm. Meeting starts 2.30pm. Visitors welcome. Coming next month on Tuesday October 24 at the Civic Hall, Across America with a Wheelchair - A talk by Ann Chance. At their August meeting the Discussion Group talked about Holidays and the Tourism Industry. It threw up a lot of debate on how we book holidays and what security we have when doing so, particularly with online bookings. All agreed in the end that there is no substitute for talking to an expert, face to face. Included in our meetings are one or two jokes which we bring along. (mainly clean). This gave rise to a suggestion that we should discuss Laughter - how good it is for us, and what makes us laugh and why. The differences between our humour and that of, say, the USA or France. This debate should be quite interesting, if not humorous, so hopefully there will be a good turnout.

CATS PROTECTION: The second fayre of the summer was a fantastic day and the weather certainly made a difference. In trying to encourage families this year they added a few games for younger friends. The coconut shy went down really well but not with children, it was the adults who were keen to join in. The arrival of kittens to the Adoption Centre certainly made everyone very excited, it was lovely to have them again but by the end of the season it was also nice to have a rest. They are truly innocent in what they do and it is lovely to see them running, climbing and generally being naughty. It is also nice to see them go to their forever home. Changes have been made to the activity of the Adoption Centre. They are now able to have our own intake from the general public, before they were only taking cats from the National Cat Adoption Centre that were fit to home. This means they are now in a better position to help all cats in our area. The change took place in and this really is a great step forward for the AC which hopes to help many cats locally. Homing has increased over the last few months, it is so nice to see the green dots on the board, each green dot against a cats or kittens name means they are reserved and going to their forever home. Photos are always welcome and a pleasure to see, they can be emailed to the AC [email protected]. Eastbourne Adoption Centre Friends of Group are hoping to raise enough money to do a neutering campaign in 2018, it is being planned at the moment so more information will follow in the next newsletter. If you know of anyone that needs their cat neutered now, please contact the Adoption Centre on 01323 441401.

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