Mountfield

Poppinghole Farm Shop, Mountfield’s local farm shop up on the A21, is holding a Sausage Tasting Day on Friday 20th September between 10am and 4pm. There will be a large stall with cooked samples for you to try. You will also be able to meet two of the farm shop’s local suppliers, both based in Broad Oak Brede. V J Game are a well established producer who specialise in game including wild boar and venison. They will be offering tasters of their speciality sausages, with a large variety of flavours to try including Moroccan, Venison and Wild Boar with Apple. And Sussex Smokers will be offering samples from their range such as oak smoked salmon, trout and mussels. As ever, if you have an event planned, Poppinghole Farm Shop can arrange special discounts and local delivery. For more information, please call 01580 880503.

Saturday, September 21 is the date for this year’s Mountfield Charity Ride and Walk in aid of All Saints Church, Mountfield. This is an opportunity to ride or walk round about eight miles of this special piece of countryside, off both beaten track and right of way. Entry fees are riders £15 in advance (£20 on the day); under 16s, £10 in advance (£15 on the day) and walkers, £5. Dogs welcome but must be on leads. You can pick up entry forms from The Tack Room at John’s Cross, Senlac Vets in Battle, Georgie’s Laundry at Hoath Farm, or email Lucinda Fraser on [email protected]. (There is also at least one young, slim, good-looking marshall on the course. If anyone spots him they win the special prize of a free visit to Specsavers.)

Next, a couple of recent events. Ruby reports that the Lunch Club met on Monday, September 2 at Leeford Place as usual. With the holiday season mostly over, numbers were slightly up so eight sat down for a good lunch in good company. Ruby made special mention of their waitress, Charlie, who did them proud. Next lunch date October 7 — confirmation nearer the time.

And on the previous Saturday, British Gypsum held a very successful Families Day at the KGV Field for current employees and some of their long term contractors. There were a marquee, bouncy castle and other kids games, tug of war and a hog roast — and fantastic weather. (We hear that Mountfield is the only BG site to hold such an event for its employees so well done Mountfield.)

On Saturday, September 14, the Mountfield Club is hosting a Charity Darts Night, Men v Women, with proceeds going to Help for Heroes charity. It promises to be a good fun night and all non-members are welcome on the evening. There is a BBQ planned and it all starts from 7.00 onwards.

The Club is entering two teams in the forthcoming Winter Darts League which starts soon and is always looking for more players for both the men’s and women’s teams. For more information please contact Steve Sutton on 07746 640555.

The closing date for Mountfield handicap snooker tournament is soon, so if you would like to take part, please contact Steve Smith 07720 298971 or email the club at [email protected]. Entry to the tournament is only £1.50, or just go along to the club for a game of snooker. The Club has three other pre-season snooker friendlies planned against teams from Battle, Burwash and Hawkhurst, before the new winter league starts.

On Saturday, September 28, the Club is hosting a Family Quiz Night: music, TV, general knowledge, sport and much more. Tickets are £3.00 per person to include a buffet. If you are interested in joining in please contact Steve Smith on 07720 298971 to put your name down. All teams welcome.

For the third week running, we are able to welcome a new neighbour to the village. Keith Revoir has moved into Riverside Cottage on Solomon’s Lane, between Fred Stace and the A2100.

Finally, it seems that Mountfield has another claim to fame that we were unaware of. Our very own naturalist, Robin Harris, has sent us the following.

Last year, on August 18, the micro-moth named Metalampra italica (it doesn’t have an English name!) was found in Hoath Hill. This was the first time the species had been recorded in East Sussex, although one had been found in West Sussex the previous year. But now two more have been trapped in Hoath Hill, on July 21 and August 16 this year. So far as is known to the County Moth Recorder, Colin Pratt, this moth has only been found seven times in Sussex — and three of those records come from the same Mountfield garden!

With a wing about 7mm long, the handsome chestnut- and yellow-coloured insect was first seen in Great Britain in 2003, when it was discovered in Devon. To quote from Supplement One to Colin’s magnificent three-volume book, A Complete History Of The Butterflies And Moths Of Sussex, the moth was first found “after apparently expanding its range from Italy; the larvae are said to feed underneath decaying wood, usually oak”. In Supplement Two, Colin writes “The first sighting [in Sussex] was listed as a suspected continental immigrant to the county — but the later history has all the hallmarks of a colonization.” The moth is now a known resident of Surrey too.

To find out more about moths in Sussex a good starting point, for those with access to the internet, is the Sussex Moth Group’s website: www.sussexmothgroup.org.uk. To see pictures of Metalampra italica, go to that website, put 642a into the Species search box, press enter and click on 642a Metalampra italica. Here you will find photographs of this species taken in Etchingham by Caroline Moore.

Oh, and welcome back to Dave our postman who, for various reasons, has been away for a month or so.

As ever, you know where we are: [email protected] or 880614 (evenings).