Opinions

Following the Rye News report on the difficulties facing the Cricket Club in opening their pavilion, Club secretary, Martin Blincow has written to us with the Cricket Club's view of the current position

"Some of us have seen the ghosts in our car headlights –/ the coffins and the bodies, the pirates and their victims./ You might even have heard a screaming at midday/ or in the night". The narrow lanes and alleys of Rye can be scary at times.........

Yet again Rother District Council demonstrate that they appear to regard Rye as a milch cow from whom money can be extracted but to whom only the minimal of service need be given. The cricket club are the latest to suffer, this time due to the inefficiencies of the Building Control Department

Road closures on the Peasmarsh Road caused traffic chaos in Rye itself as signs appeared in town before the railway bridge, diverting traffic across the marsh - or so it seemed. John Stedman raised the issue with East Sussex County Council and reports back on what he learnt, none of which is good news for the motorist as the long hours of daylight and occasional sun, seem to be resulting in a flood of roadworks

The last time Rye's Town Council set out to co-opt a councillor, it was because of a row over whether the flag (in the photo above) should fly at half mast after former Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher died. Former town councillor Mary Smith comments on how the co-option process should be as public as possible, and on what else the council can and must do. Local government is an expensive mess and poor old Rye, with its decaying infrastructure, bumps along at the bottom of this mess, she says. Major change may not come soon, but there are things the council can do now.

Rye lost its Tourist Information Centre in Lion Street earlier this year and tourists still come into nearby St Mary's church asking where it is... and are re-directed to the Heritage Centre on the Strand. Visitors need information, and Rye needs its visitors. But does Rother Council care? Paul King from Rye Bay Marketing questions how Rother have handled the changeover

Derrick Coffee, a seasoned transport campaigner, spoke at Rother Environmental Group to reveal some of the shocking facts behind the decision to build the Bexhill Link Road. His latest campaign concerns a new train stop at Glyne Gap. Christopher Strangeways reports.

A month ago one of our readers shared with us his deplorable experience of an A&E hospital department. Now Nicky Frith of Fairlight Cove asks hospitals to rethink their policy on what drinks and nibbles they stock in snack bars. She also highlights the problems that beset Type 2 diabetes patients who must queue for hours to see a doctor

For too long now I have watched some of...

Local groups, including the Quakers, may have nowhere to meet for a long time, once the redevelopment of Tilling Green Community Centre gets under way

The very capable Amber Rudd has been returned as MP for Hastings and Rye and while our columnist John Howlett praises Rudd's work for all her constituents, he wonders whether the success of her party at national level is a judgment on society's willingness to care? Here are his personal reflections . . .

What would you say to Amber Rudd if you met her in the constituency now that she is Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change? Here are some thoughts you might like to raise with her writes Christopher Strangeways