Archive for October, 2014

“Listen carefully to the following information. Due to a recent change in government legislation, debts over £5,000 may be . . . ” Dial 1471 to hear “You were called today at 16.36 hours. We do not have the caller’s number.”

Oh yes you do BT. You are participating in this scam by allowing your network to be used for the purpose of nuisance calls or worse. It’s time you put a stop to this. Do others feel the same way?

A member of Rye News told me that I should look at the Ofcom website which has guidance on dealing with nuisance or malicious calls or texts. Options include registering your telephone with the telephone preference service and contacting your phone company’s nuisance call team. So I went online and find – ‘eureka!’ – that I’m already registered for the service. I tick a box that invites me to register a complaint.  A recorded message asks me to confirm the usual details and then says:”Finally, enter your full telephone number with code and press the star button”.  Resignedly, I do it all again and press the star button.  That voice returns: “And finally, enter your full telephone number with code and press the star button”.  I do. Same result. I give up!

Kenneth Bird
Rye

Terry Randall (Terry Collier in Rye), who had a leading role in the wartime classic “Millions Like Us”, celebrated her 100th birthday this week. An accomplished reader at St Mary’s Rye, she read the first lesson at St John the Evangelist in St Leonards on Sunday November 2 – the first centenarian to do so

Icklesham Casuals’ teams produced a mixed bag of results last weekend and while the 2nd team pulled off their first win of the season there was no good news for the 1st eleven and the veterans as they both lost. David Mayne reports

Bonfire Night has long attracted critics, so-called ‘enemies of Bonfire’. Does this now include local media companies? BBC and Meridian have been trawling for stories about Bonfire Night in Sussex. Bonfire societies are suspicious that they are looking for sensationalist copy

If you want to increase the value of your Christmas cards – giving to charity as well as to a friend – the shop at Rye Community Centre is the place to visit. Select cards from more than 35 charities, including several local ones, and pick up gift wrap and tags, Advent calendars, small gifts and stationery at the same time

A recent article in “The Countryman” magazine took aim at the civic pretensions of Winchelsea. Residents from all sides of the community have complained about the inaccuracies that riddle the article, but these appear to have been supplied by a couple of residents in an own goal

With the weather changing, delays to the start and three boats in close contention to claim the title, it was an eventful final weekend for Rye Harbour Sailing Club’s Autumn Series. Richard Hopper reports.

Alexander Chapman-Campbell started composing at 12, but always in secret – until his debut album, “Sketches of Light”, launched him into the spotlight. On Saturday November 15 he will be performing his own music at Wittersham

The current exhibition at Rye Art Gallery, the first curated by new director Jane Venn, signals a change of direction towards an edgier gallery. Britainy Rae approves

The fact that the two big supermarkets are pulling out of the Ferry Road site is the perfect opportunity to put it back into education as both schools on the Love Lane site are short of room. It was Rye Primary when I went there, then the Thomas Peacocke when we went comprehensive and moved to the Grammar School site in Love Lane, making the New Road site into a primary school instead of the secondary school. I have been a pupil in all of them. Let us use this opportunity to make at least one of our schools big enough, they always were until we started moving them around. And school buses used to drive into the Ferry Road site to pick up the children. Mind you mums did not need to drive us to school, we walked or got the bus.

William Perfitt
Rye

What happens next in the ongoing supermarket saga? Rye’s planners and visionaries are rethinking the future. But that’s not easy when so many things hang in the air

Parking can be a problem in the town especially on Thursday’s when it’s market day, but Paul Barker has a solution

A landlord’s plans to open a restaurant and cafe near Hilder’s Cliff would have meant some businesses closing down, indeed Wood N Things moved out during the summer. But plans have changed with dress agency La Maison about to move in to Wood N Things’ vacated premises and award-winning Natalie Macgowan Spencer opening a vintage Americana stockroom in the former Bird/Nest shop. We’ll be reporting on both these projects nearer the time of their opening, but one other important change is that Edith’s House coffee shop is staying put. Tony McLaughlin shared a cappuccino with the owners

Mixed results for Icklesham Casuals as their second team lose in the cup but the veteran team remain unbeaten.

An elderly pensioner in Beckley was robbed of hundreds of pounds on Monday by a man claiming that she owed him money for gardening work, says Sussex Police.

The 87-year-old woman was at her home in Whitebread Lane when a man knocked on her door at about 11.15am on October 20. The man told her she owed him £200 for gardening. Although she had not arranged for any work to be done she did not challenge the man and went into her home to get money for him. He followed her inside and accepted some money. Then while the pensioner’s back was turned, the man stole a purse containing several hundred pounds and left.

The man was white, in his 40s and slim. He had short hair, was 5ft 9in and clean shaven. He was wearing a dark jacket. Det Sgt Jason Tuck said: “The victim is very upset about what happened. I need to speak to anyone who was in the area and who saw someone acting suspiciously. It is very possible that the man has also targeted other vulnerable people and we urgently need to arrest him.”

The squad might have been down five, but Iden still managed to get five in the net in a handsome win against Rock a Nore last Saturday

Fast route to London by 2017? That is the aim of Amber Rudd, our MP, who wants to advance the plans for electrification of the line and the use of Javelin trains. Although it won’t make the Marsh Link a high-speed line, the proposals will reduce travelling time between Rye and London to less than an hour

The face of Rye’s High Street is changing with workmen, painters and decorators busy remodelling and redecorating premises that have lain vacant. Friday October 31 sees the opening of La Maison dress agency’s new premises on the corner site where East Street meets the High Street. Tony McLaughlin popped his head through the door

Richard Hopper of Rye Harbour Sailing Club will be presented with a Lifetime Commitment Award by the Princess Royal at a Royal Yachting Association lunch later this month – in recognition of his success in turning around the club’s fortunes as well as inspiring young club members

It’s wild boar week in Rye and the town is a-buzzing with all things porkiental.

It’s pumpkin and party time and this week’s guide gives you the lowdown on Halloween from apple-bobbing to zombies

With lights flickering in nooks and crannies and shadows lengthening along cobbled streets, the town’s interesting history of smugglers and pirates lends itself to a ghostly tale or two. Here’s a poem about grizzly goings-on in the citadel . . .

Police forces from Sussex, Kent, Surrey and Thames Valley have joined forces to make life difficult for burglars – by identifying their life-blood: secondhand shops that buy stolen goods

Diners have a night of live entertainment with their pizzas and spaghetti at the popular Rye restaurant Simply Italian this Thursday – with music courtesy of The Bling Crosbies

Siren and Pearl, at its new home on Rye’s High Street, will be donating 10% of its takings on Friday October 31 in support of the charity Breast Cancer Care. Give your support by buying new – and handing over your old – bras

A cottage in Rye’s quaint Market Street, next door to the town hall, is the property of the townspeople, says councillor Mary Smith. So why, she asks, haven’t the people been consulted about selling it off – an item on Monday night’s agenda of the local council. Turn up and have your say, she urges the public

Rye is preparing to seal its entry and exit points as the annual bonfire party on Saturday November 8th looms, with all the mayhem, magic and adventure that this implies

Tilling Green Community Friends is a group formed by volunteers from the community of Tilling Green. It is about neighbours helping neighbours, thus linking residents of Tilling Green and Badgers Gate who need a ‘helping hand’ with local volunteers willing to donate time and services.

Rye Cricket Club played their first indoor fixture in almost five years and, playing under new young captain Joe Lovell, the team won the match.

Miss Rae would like to introduce herself. She sometimes likes to scratch (miaow!), hopefully not literally. Her taste might not be one you immediately approve of, especially if you’re narrow-minded. She starts a new column with Rye News this week, a sort of blog. She sees herself as the magpie of Rye and will share her finds with you. Do you need inspiration for something to buy/ do/ eat / drink or gossip about in Rye this week? Don’t worry your unimaginative little head – her words, not ours –  Miss (Britainy) Rae is here. This week she’s talking about Grayson Perry, gay dads and a sugary cloud of satisfaction. Find out what she’s about – and write to her, too. Her column starts here.