Here we are again and expecting some further news about the lockdown today, it’s been nearly 7 weeks now.  I’m listing below the usual information for anyone who has just subscribed to the email posts alerts system and if it is possible, can you let anyone not able to access this website have the important information.

Safe sites for coronavirus information

Click on this link for safe coronavirus information from the NHS

Click on this link for dental advice during the coronavirus emergency from the NHS

Click on this link for coronavirus information from GOV.UK

Community Hubs

There is some safe and very useful information on the East Sussex Community Hubs page – click on the link below.

Click on this link for information from ESCC Community Hubs page

Shopping/Prescriptions

Click on the link below for major supermarkets details on opening/delivery details during this emergency.

Click on this link for major supermarket information

Boots, Robertsbridge – for prescriptions please contact David Todd from Robertsbridge and Salehurst Helping Hands at [email protected] or on 07726 592 739 and he will organise delivery of your prescription to you.

Local shops – best to ring first to find out their open hours and if they can deliver.

Click on this link for details of all food shops operating in Rother during this emergency

1. Bee and Bear Baker – home delivery of brownies, muffins etc.
   www.beeandbearbakery .co.uk
2. Browns Farm Shop, only delivery or collection – not open for browsing – [email protected]  or phone on 01580 880502/07532 267002
3. Busters Farm Shop – deliveries meat/veg/dairy/bread on Tuesday to Saturday 9-6 on Sundays 10-2.  Phone on 01580 882020.
4. Culverwells – local country store and delivery available for Calor Gas.  Pay over the phone and collect from gate.  [email protected].
   Phone – 01580 880567.
5. Great Park Farm Catsfield – deliveries £3.50, veg box £15.00 and all other farm shop produce.  www.greatparkfarm.co.uk or phone on 01424 772531.
6. One Stop – call about shopping you need and who will be collecting it for you.  They get it ready for your nominated person to pay for and collect.  Only contactless payments (no cash) – phone on 01580 880319.
7. Robertsbridge Village Store – Post Office open Mon-Sat 9-5, shop open for delivery/collection Mon-Sat 8.30-6pm.  Telephone to place your order on 01580 880540 or 880714.

Thank you

The people who are working to keep our lives going are too many to mention – but my sincere thanks to all of them.  I would like particularly to mention the “Dallington Volunteers,” when the lockdown started I asked the Dallington community if there were any out there who would collection prescriptions/do a bit of shopping etc., – I have called on them several times and they have always stepped up to the plate – THANK YOU.

Dallington Parish Council Business

Like all District/Town/Parish Councils, we are dealing only with essential business.  Any planning applications that come in will be dealt with on my delegated authority and no meeting will be held – all new planning applications will be posted on this website.
We hope to have an Extraordinary Council Meeting in late-June/early-July to approve and sign off the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2019-20 (AGAR).  If this is possible, the date and agenda will be posted on this website and we will maintain strict social distancing.

The Adventures of Alfie

I had no choice but to get my very amateur dog grooming kit out and have a go!  He literally couldn’t see out of his eyes.  I looked at all the videos on-line, obviously professional groomers and perfectly behaved dogs – yeah right.  He was pretty good actually, didn’t like it much, but I managed to get rid of the Denis Healy eyebrows.  The end result was pretty disastrous – a bald spot on his head, very spiky all over and I didn’t dare touch his “undercarriage, also made a terrible job of his tail, I got carried away and just kept cutting.  My eldest granddaughter saw the result and her only comment, after the face palm, was “what have you done Nana, his tail looks just like a bog brush.”  Thankfully his groomer phoned last Monday and RDC have told the licenced dog groomers they can open again if they observe strict social distancing.  I took him there on Tuesday and she was very understanding, “it will grow again.”  His beautiful powder-puff tail has gone and we will have to wait for that to come back.  I don’t know how she gets him so white – when she bathes him he looks as if she’s done it with Ariel Bio on a boil-wash, when I try to bath him, he still looks very grubby.  However, he’s still the happy, precious, little soul he always was and much perkier now he’s got rid of all that fur.

I was without broadband for nearly two weeks recently, it came back last Sunday.  A long story, but Sky were pretty good considering all of them are working from home.  Apart from an outage in East Sussex, there was a problem with my MAC address (that’s a unique number assigned to a network interface controller(?)).  They sorted it out as soon as they could and I’m up and running again.  It got me to thinking – what did I do before the Internet?  I was obviously younger, had young children (2) and was never bored.  I suppose what you don’t know, you don’t miss.  I more than missed it, it has become my main access to information – I get up in the morning (still in dressing gown), brush teeth, go downstairs, make a cup of tea, fire up the iPad and look at the papers.  Without it, I have to look at BBC News – which at the moment seems to be a lot of people singing Vera Lynn songs.

So we will have to wait until later when Boris lets us know the next steps out of lockdown – why do they insist on calling it a roadmap?  Surely it is just a plan.  I’ll keep in touch, look after yourselves.

Irene (Parish Clerk)