Author: Pauline

Old School Newsletter & National Village Halls Week 25-29th January

photograph of village hallThis month, Dallington Old School publishes our annual newsletter Old School News January 2021  to coincide with National Village Halls Week .

Organised by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), Village Halls Week  is “a national celebration of the 10,000+ village halls which can be found across England, their volunteers and the difference they make to the rural communities they serve” –  this years theme is “Celebrating 100 years of village halls”.  Find out more about NVHW and the programme of events  -sadly all online this year due to Covid restrictions – at https://acre.org.uk/our-work/village-halls-week   You can also follow us on Twitter  (@DallingtonOSVH) to see how we’re joining in.

We also have our own entry in the new Village Halls Domesday Book, which is creating an online record “to demonstrate how important these buildings are, and what is needed to make sure they survive in the future”

Do take a look at our newsletter  Old School News January 2021 FINAL to find out what the Old School Management Committee have been doing behind the scenes to maintain and improve the fabric of the building while we are closed and to implement new procedures so we can re-open safely and confidently when permitted to do so.  We can’t wait to welcome you all back  as soon as possible

 

 

St Giles Services Christmas 2020 -January 2021

Christmas 2020

Due to COVID restrictions there will not be the usual service of
Nine Lessons and Carols.
  • December 24th           11.30pm    Midnight Holy Communion
  • Christmas morning  11am          Carols in the churchyard.
    (Mulled wine. Please observe social distancing)
  • Sunday December 27th       No service in St. Giles.

January 2021

  • Sunday  3rd     11am             Service of The Word
  • Sunday  10th   6.30pm       Evensong
  • Sunday  17th   11am.            Holy Communion
  • Sunday 24th   9.30am        Holy Communion
  • Sunday 31st     11am             Service of The Word

Dallington Forest Walk #1

Posted on behalf of Doug Edworthy (Tree Champion, Dallington and Brighton): We may not be able to restart group walks for a while due to COVID-19, so I’ve started putting together self-guided walks in the forest for people to use at their leisure. This is the first of (hopefully) many so I would really value your feedback on content, presentation and whether you found it helpful in guiding your walk.

Dallington Forest Walk No. 1 Ancient Forest Ghyll, Hollow Ways and the PoW Tree

Map of walkOn this walk you will experience one of Dallington Forest’s ancient woodland ghylls full of majestic veteran Beech trees, prehistoric rippled sandstone beds and the Prisoner of War tree, and also hollow ways formed by the feet of many millennia of travellers.

In Spring the ancient woodland ghyll is full of the sight and scent of stunningly beautiful bluebells and ransoms (wild garlic).  The starting and finishing point is the end of the metalled surface of Bakers Lane, Dallington. This is also the junction of three footpaths and a bridleway. Unfortunately, there is no car park here or in Dallington Forest and the nearest public parking is the lay-by on the B2096 at Wood Corner.

Download the full walk with map and descriptions:   Dallington Forest Walk 1

Length: 3.2 km (2 mi) [includes 1.5 km round-trip from/to car-parking]
Level of difficulty for people in normal health:

      • Under 50 yrs = Easy; you’ll hardly notice it
      • 50 – 60 yrs = Good exercise; it’ll raise your heart rate
      • 60 – 70 yrs = Taxing; you’ll know you’ve done it
      • Over 70 yrs = Quite challenging

Thinking of planting trees or hedgerows?

[Posted on behalf of Doug Edworthy]

Map showing Dallington Forest Project Area
Map showing Dallington Forest Project Area

Have you been thinking about planting some woodland or hedges on your land?

Our beautiful AONB in the High Weald is characterised by interlinked pockets of ancient woodland and small irregular-shaped fields and it is important to maintain and enhance this as much as possible. So, of course, it has to be ‘the right trees in the right places’.

Your Brightling and Dallington Tree Champion is seeking landowners with suitable land in Brightling and Dallington parishes that falls within the Dallington Forest Project area (see map above – larger version at end of this post) for planting-up of small woodlands or hedges. Dallington parishioner Jamie Simpson has a source of funding for the supply of native trees together with the necessary protection from rabbits and deer. The cost to landowners would be for planting labour and follow up aftercare necessary for successful establishment.

Suitable planting projects would be:

    • Creating new woodlands (with the proviso that important grassland or heathland habitat is not damaged or destroyed)
    • Creating new woodland to link existing pockets of ancient woodland
    • Filling gaps in neglected or poor condition hedges to restore them
    • Replacing some of the enormous number of hedges that were removed in the 20th century’s drive for bigger agricultural fields

Planted trees/hedges must be able to be appreciated by the public, so must be within sight of a road, right of way or on public land. Grants need to be applied-for during the summer so that the funding is available for an autumn/winter planting project.

If you are interested in this project please contact me as soon as possible.

Doug Edworthy, Tree Champion, Brightling & Dallington Parish Councils  treewarden@dallington.org.uk 07711 090925

Map showing Dallington Forest P
Map showing Dallington Forest Project Area

 

VJ Day Bell Ringing

[posted on behalf of Diana Day]

Yes a bell rang out over Dallington on Saturday to mark VJ Day, duly rung by David Wilson. We wish we could have rung all 6 bells but that is for the future, hopefully not too far off.  Diana Day

Ringers Return

(Posted on behalf of Diana Day)

Ringers Return
Photo of Dallington Church TowerNo, the Swan Inn has not changed its name, the Bellringers have taken up ringing again at St Giles Church, Dallington. With churches now open and Services occurring, we are chiming the bells on Sundays. We are only allowed to ring for 15 minutes, social distancing restricts us to alternate bells only to sound out. There will be no practice on Mondays for the foreseeable future, no visiting bands, but it’s a start. Diana Day

Messenger Magazine free copies & subscription offer

Screenshot of articleMany of you will have received a free copy of the April issue of the Messenger magazine, which had a strong Dallington theme this month.

In case you missed it, here is a screenshot of one of the articles,  about the Dallington School Vegetable Garden.

Dallington is the only village served by both the Parish Magazine and the Messenger, and many people subscribe to both publications as they are very good value while offering quite different content.

Here is a message from the Editor:

We gave you a complimentary copy of The Messenger magazine as the April issue had a Dallington theme. We hope you enjoyed it and many thanks to everyone who helped me put it together. We are also going to deliver the May issue to you to try and entice you to subscribe!

We produce 12 issues a year – delivered to your door or collected from Dallington Post Office – for an annual subscription of £10. If you would like to continue to receive The Messenger please contact me, the Editor, m.willisfleming@gmail.com 01424 838764 or Pauline Ridley 01435 830152

Because of the current social distancing we will not be collecting subscriptions, either by cash or cheque, for the time being. The magazine will continue to be produced, and delivered by posting through your door, unless circumstances change further. We will be asking for your annual subscription later in the year when it is safe to do so.

Melanie Willis Fleming
Editor
The Messenger

Old School Village Hall (update 24.3.10)

(Posted on behalf of Dallington Old School Village Hall Committee):

During the current epidemic we are following advice from the government, the NHS and Action in Rural Sussex. The Hall  & Billiards Room will remain CLOSED for most activities until further notice. We will of course re-open the Old School as soon as it is safe to do so. 

The only exception may be for some essential staff training for careworkers (a key worker category); if so they will be following strict guidelines on social distancing and handwashing to reduce the spread of infection. If you see lights on in the hall, please do not assume it will be open for any other purposes.

For everyone else, please continue to look after yourselves and follow the advice on social distancing and self isolation.  Irene Marchant, Dallington Parish Clerk, is posting regular updates and links to reliable sources on this website. Irene is also coordinating offers and requests for help with shopping, collecting medicines or anything else, so please do get in touch if you need anything or know of anyone who may need some additional support. Follow the link in the top menu for Corona Virus Information and Advice.

 

Postponed: Local History Group Talk 24th March 2020

LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

The final advertised talk in this year’s series, which was to be Pauline Ridley on “Dallington’s Reading Room 100 years ago: what were they reading and why?” on 24th March, has been POSTPONED in accordance with current NHS guidance to  reduce the risk of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection by avoiding large group meetings.

We hope to reschedule this talk later this year or in spring 2021