Author: Pauline

Wealden Iron industry History Talk Saturday 27th July

The Wealden Iron Research Group will be holding their Summer Meeting & AGM on Saturday 27 July 2024 from 10.30am at Dallington Old School Village Hall, The Street, Dallington, TN21 9NH, East Sussex.

Local residents are welcome to attend the Summer Meeting talk and the afternoon site visit to Ashburnham Furnace, but non-members of WIRG cannot vote at the AGM.

Agenda for the day:

  • 10-30am Coffee / tea
  • 11.00am Presentation on ‘London and the Iron Trade 1690-1830’ will be given by WIRG President,  Philip Riden.
  • 12.30pm Annual General Meeting of the Wealden Iron Research Group.(WIRG members only)
  • 1.00pm Lunch break
  • 2.30pm Visit to Ashburnham Furnace, the last Wealden furnace to close in 1813. (Postcode TN33 9PG. Parking in the paddock – please look out for parking signs on arrival).

Dallington Forest Guided Walks

(Posted on behalf of Doug Edworthy)

It hardly seems possible that 2024 is already half over, the days are getting shorter, and summer is still absent-without-leave. But regardless of the current unseasonable weather, there are three guided walks in Dallington Forest planned for the rest of the year:

  • Sun July 28th
  • Sat Sep 14th
  • Sun Nov 17th

If you’d like to come on any of these walks please contact our walks administrator, Brenda Booth (brendaboothkent@aol.com), who will email you details of our meeting location and time.

A lot has changed in the Forge Wood part of the forest following last summer’s clear-fell of non-native Western Hemlock, Spruce and European Larch. The landowner has some interesting plans for this piece of woodland.

So, don’t worry if you’ve been on our walks before, as well as seeing the ancient woodland ghylls, veteran Beeches, standing decaying wood monoliths, walking trees, sandstone ‘ripple beds’ of the early Cretaceous period 145-100 mya, and learning about the landscape and history of the forest, there is still lots to see.

The walks are usually 2-3 hours, influenced by how much talking I do! Depending on the time of year, the weather can be wet, and the tracks can be muddy and slippery with plenty of trip hazards. So, appropriate clothing and footwear are essential. Dogs are welcome on a lead and we ask that owners clear up after them and take the poo out of the forest.

We ask for a £5 cash donation per person, collected at the start of the walk, which goes towards the hosting and maintenance of the Dallington Forest website (www.dallingtonforest.uk – which I urge you to visit and learn more about the forest).

I hope to see you on one of the walks!

Doug Edworthy Tree Warden, Brightling and Dallington parishes

treewarden@dallington.org.uk

Brightling Moth Breakfast Saturday 13th July

(posted on behalf of Caroline Moore & Brightling Environment Group)

May be of interest to Dallington residents too?

Last few places for the Brightling Moth Breakfast:

Brightling Environment Group’s latest event is a Moth Breakfast.   Local moth enthusiast Caroline Moore – who’s been trapping moths and recording species and numbers for 24 years at her garden in Etchingham – will be doing a live moth-trap opening and species ID on the morning of Saturday 13 July, 8.15am for an 8.30am reveal at Brickyard Lane, Brightling.  Come along for breakfast (bacon and/or mushroom rolls, plus coffee, tea and juice) and to see how the moth count compares from three traps, set across three different local sites, each with different habitats and levels of light pollution. Numbers are limited, so email brightlingenvironmentgroup@gmail.com to book your place and receive full details of the location. (Please note, BEG will be asking for a donation of £5 to cover the costs of breakfast.) See you there!

(Web editor’s note: light pollution and how to mitigate its impact on wildlife including moths are all part of the High Weald National Landscape Dark Skies Festival (28 Oct-10 Nov), designed to celebrate and protect some of the darkest skies in the South East. More information at https://highweald.org/get-involved/dark-skies/wild-about-dark-skies-festival/.  We’ll be posting details over the next few months about how Dallington will be taking part in the Festival.)

Report of  Enchanters’ Tales Concert June 2nd 2024

Posted on behalf of Bobbie Steel

A magical afternoon for this concert, arranged by Jane Messer, followed by a wonderful tea sitting in the churchyard in the glorious sunshine. The aim of the concert was to recoup some of the cost of the repair to the church roof after burglars stole the lead and broke the tiles. Musicians Declan Hickey and Lizzie Knatt charged reduced rates, as Lizzie is the granddaughter of Pam and John Fuller, because of their long time commitment to St. Giles. As well as a financial success the afternoon was a chance for  the audience to enjoy the exhilarating music by Britten, Purcell, Steenhoven and van Eyck, played on recorders and classical guitar.  After Lizzie and Declan had received well-earned applause we moved on to enjoy a spread of delicious sandwiches and cakes prepared by keen volunteers.  A lovely afternoon with music, tea, friends and sunshine.

Pop Up Circus June 22nd 12-4pm

(posted on behalf of Dallington and Punnetts Town Schools PTA)

We are so excited to be hosting a Pop-up Circus for our joint school summer event this year

It will be an event not to miss. Bring your friends and family and join us for lots of fun.
Where? Punnetts Town Playground & Football Pitch
Battle Road Punnett’s Town TN21 9DH
When? Saturday June 22nd 12-4pm

Gates will open at midday and we will have two circus shows at 1pm and 2.30pm. The field will be full of inflatables, glitter festival face paint, glitter tattoos, stalls, refreshments and snacks and more so make sure you arrive in plenty of time to make the most of all these as well as the main event the circus.

The circus is a ticketed event so tickets need to be purchased in advance of the day via the QR code in the poster or this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pop-up-circus-tickets-910805883917 

There are two options for tickets 1) Single Ticket (adult or child over two years old) and 2) Family ticket of four (under 2’s are free as they can sit on laps). Please bring your confirmation email to the ticket booth on the day which will be exchanged for a entry wristband. Activity wristbands can be purchased in advance as well as on the day and will give you unlimited access to the inflatables and all things glitter (facepaint and tattoos).

Once tickets are gone they are gone so get in quick!

Make the most of local rights of way

[The following article by Stella Bellem was previously published in the Messenger magazine; due to a production error the sketch map was printed in B&W so we are reproducing it here in colour (click image for larger version). You can find additional information at https://row.eastsussex.gov.uk/standardmap.aspx  ]

We have plentiful public rights of way in Dallington – in other words, where people, horses, bicycles and any other mode of transport are allowed by law. These include:

    • footpaths, for walking, running, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
    • bridlepaths for walking, horse riding, bicycles and mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
    • byway open to all types of traffic including cars
    • restricted byway for any transport without a motor and mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs

They are marked on Ordnance Survey maps by means of symbols. More information available at https://row.eastsussex.gov.uk/standardmap.aspx

The  landowner can of course allow other users to cross their land. and we are lucky that many landowners are generous enough to allow the public to use their land to join some paths together to make circular routes.

If you notice anything amiss on your walks, such as fallen trees blocking access, or stiles or bridges which are rotten and dangerous, you can let the Rights of Way team at East Sussex County Council know via https://row.eastsussex.gov.uk/standardmap.aspx   or by phone, or by letting your Parish Council know.

And finally: would you like to help produce some map guides to short walks in and around Dallington? The focus could be on nature, local history, interesting buildings, child-friendly routes, or anything else. Please send your own suggestions for points of interest (and photographs if possible)  to Stella and Pauline at Dallington.messenger@gmail.com

Village Hall Events May 2024

Apologies for late posting. The Saturday Library Cafe & Plant Sale was advertised separately and has now taken place.  Lots of lovely plants donated by a few good gardeners which helped raise money towards the cost of hall maintenance. As the season is late this year,  many people are still waiting to get going with seed sowing and planting, so we will offer further ‘plant & seed tables’ at the next few Saturday morning sessions (first Saturday of each month, 10-12) so please keep an eye open and share what you can.

Remaining events this month:

  • Every Monday except bank holidays:
    • Art Club 10-12
    • Library Café 2-4pm
  • Tuesday 21st May Dallington Parish Council Meeting 7.30pm

Reminder! Library Cafe & Plant Sale Saturday 3rd May

A quick reminder that tomorrow’s Library Cafe will also include a Plant and Seed Bring and Buy Sale.

Saturday May 3rd 10am -12 noon at the Old School Village Hall in The Street. Free entry as usual.

Despite the recent challenging growing conditions we fortunately have a good range of plants already donated but would welcome any additional plants, seedlings or seeds that you can spare. So do come along for the usual refreshments and good company, as well as plants and a selection of gardening books to buy or borrow.

 

 

Village Hall Events March 2024

What’s happening in the hall this month?

On Saturday morning 2nd March, our monthly ‘first Saturday’ Library Cafe 10 am – 12 noon. Good company, excellent refreshments and lots of new books added to the collection for you to borrow or buy.

Friday 15th March QUIZ NIGHT 7pm for a 7.15 start

Come and join us for a sociable quiz evening and light refreshments (Please bring your own
drinks.) Tickets £5 in aid of hall repairs. To book tickets in advance or for further information contact Jane on 07766 434847

 

18th -24th March is Village Halls Week 

The annual campaign to celebrate the contribution England’s 10,000+ village halls make to rural communities. An extra reason to come along to support your local hall.

And of course we have our regular weekly activities: 

Mondays  Art Club 10-12  and Library Café 2-4pm
Thursday evenings Yoga 8-9pm
Friday mornings Chair Yoga  11am -12 noon