THE BUGLE

Issue 13, May 2018

NEW THIS MONTH Note from the Editors

Happy Birthday to the Bugle. It is hard to believe that Stubbs Wood Volunteers it is a year since the first issue was sent out in May Day 2017 with news of the Ide Hill Fair. We would like to thank everyone who has provided news in the past 12 Flowers and gardens months and also thank our readers who have been so exhibition at Jessops Farm encouraging and supportive.

Ide Hill Fair and Flower The deadline for contributions for the June issue is Festival 26th May Please email: [email protected] We look forward to hearing from you. Ide Hill Windmills Anne and Barbara

Parish Council Vacancy

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

MAY

3rd Stubbs Wood Volunteers Day

9th Ide Hill Gardening Society 8 p.m. Village Hall

9th Ide Hill Society 8 p.m. Wheatsheaf Room

12th Sailing Club Open Day

15th Golf Day at Nizels in aid of Ide Hill School Fundraising

28th Ide Hill Village Fair

26th – 28th Ide Hill Flower Festival

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Stubbs Wood Volunteers Day In the period since the public presentation the Stubbs Wood Advisory Group (the sub- committee of the Parish Council) has been busy with arrangements for the work in Stubbs Wood. The Woodland Management Plan has been approved by the Parish Council thus we are now empowered to get on with some work.

The first day’s work will be on Thursday 3rd May and will concentrate on the car park at Yorks Hill specifically, the restoration of the verges and immediate surroundings to restore the view. Plans are in hand for the replacement of the benches and picnic tables.

However, there are a number of things to be considered and safety whilst we are working is paramount.

Please bring your own petrol powered strimmers or brush cutters along with useful things like bow saws, scythes, bill hooks, long handle loppers, secateurs, a pitch-fork (there will be lots of cut brambles stalks to be manged, etc etc. Can you please be sure to bring your own safety clothing which should consist at least of suitable boots, gloves, visibility jacket, eye protection and a hard hat if you have one. You may wish to consider bringing your own refreshments too.

Could you also please let me know if you have a medical condition that, for safety’s sake, we should know about.

I trust that we shall have a good turn-out and plan to split the group two, one to work on the car park area and the other to start on the shrubbery obscuring the view; the plan will be to clear the shrubbery on the first day.

We will meet in the car park at 9.30 and hope that the weather is going to be kind to us.

There is an outline schedule for future work days through the summer and into Autumn basically 4 weeks apart (which will avoid peak holiday season and bank holidays) but, rather than issue a series of dates now, I would appreciate a discussion on Thursday 3rd to see what the collective view is.

In the interim, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to email Clive Witton at [email protected]

Clive Witton

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Jessops Farm Flowers and Gardens Exhibition

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The 55th Ide Hill Village Fair! This year marks the 55th annual Ide Hill Fair. Back in the 60’s the idea of a village fair began as a fund-raising effort to raise money for the building of a new village hall, for the benefit of all residents of the village. Since then our village hall has developed into, and continues to be, an enormously well-used facility for village residents and the wider community. The Village Fair has since become a firmly established event in the village’s calendar and continues to raise funds for the maintenance and improvement of our hall, as well as contributing funds to our village associations and specific village projects. All of these groups, such as the Pre-School, School, Scout groups, Football club, Cricket club, Gardening Society, St Mary’s Church, Ide Hill Society are vital for our community to thrive. So…..55 years on…..the Village Fair of 2018 will take place on Bank Holiday Monday May 28th on the Village Green and the Glebe Field. Please invite your friends and family to come and join us on what is always a fun-filled and relaxed village event. As usual the fair will start with a short family fun run from the picnic field opposite the shop, through the woods onto the green. We will be re-instating the tug of war competition and need teams of 8 to compete so please gather a team from your group of friends or club (registration is on the day). For the children there will be fun ’Whacky Races’ on the field, an array of inflatables, trampolines, chair-o-planes, face –painting and ice cream. The financial contributions that the Fair makes to local causes are determined by the quantity and quality of donations. So PLEASE start collecting any bottles, books and unwanted new gifts you may have around the house. Door to door collections will take place before the fair or you can call Liz on 750435 or Julian on 750451 if you need to arrange collection. We look forward to seeing you at the Fair. There will of course be live music outside the pub, the tea tent, bbq and strawberries as well as lots of other stalls and attractions. Plenty of free parking is available if you have friends coming from further afield. If you can spare any time on the day of the fair we would appreciate help with setting up marquees, putting out traffic cones etc during the morning and dismantling at the end. If you can help please ring Liz on 07901 557334.

Liz Denbigh

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Ide Hill Fair - Cakes and Buns – Homemade or Purchased With your past support the Tea Tent is now established as a ‘must’ for the many hundreds of visitors to the Fair adding to their enjoyment of the Fair. It also raises a substantial sum. I am more than willing to collect from you, or alternatively your donation can be delivered to Pipers Wood, Nightingale Lane, on Sunday May 27th or to the Tea Tent on Monday May 28th any time after 12.30pm but before 2pm. A further request please, that cake containers you wish to be returned, be clearly marked with your name. Thank you and kind regards. Decima Grundy

Flower Festival – “Great Events in History” The Ide Hill Flower Festival will take place in the Church on Spring Bank Holiday week-end, Saturday 26th May to Monday 28th May. Please come and support it. Carol Edmonds Flower Festival Songs of Praise - 17.30 Sunday May 27th Come and enjoy singing hymns and songs among the flower arrangements. If you have a favourite you would like to sing please let Angela Baker or Ruth Barrow know and we will try to fit it in.

Ruth Barrow

Ide Hill Gardening Society Many of us enjoyed hearing Andy Thomas enthral us with his talk on “Crop Circles” a few years ago and this time he is returning on 9th May at the Ide Hill Village Hall with the subject of “Lewes & Bonfires”. We will also be joined with our friends from the & Sundridge Gardening Society and I look forward to learning more about the history of Andy’s talk.

Pat Mackness

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Ide Hill Society

Whatever Happened to Christopher Robin? Talk in the Wheatsheaf Room at 8 p.m. on 9th May. Gilly Halcrow looks at his life and times as he grew up in and then in Hartfield on the Ashdown Forest. Was he a happy child and adult or did that teddy overshadow his life?

Paul Meredith

Ide Hill Junior Football Club

The Club is currently recruiting new players from 4 to 10 years old. Please contact Clare Dance, [email protected] or 07725 085171. Thank you. Clare Dance, Youth Secretary

Parish of St Mary’s Sundridge with Ide Hill and Music on the Hill – 2nd April

I am so pleased that our informal concert was so well attended despite it being a rather dank evening and the end of the Easter Bank Holiday. Those that came enjoyed a very inspiring concert and I am pleased to say that we were able to send £350 to the Royal Society of Musicians, for their benevolent Fund, as well as making a large contribution to the maintenance of the Church fabric.

It was so nice to see both young and old, and such a large number of villagers coming to support the restoration project. We are all so grateful. Rumour has it that we are planning another concert next year so watch this space. Dr Neil D Arnott - Churchwarden

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Try sailing in May!

Are you looking for a new way to get outdoors and active or find something you can enjoy together with the family? If the answer is yes, Bough Beech Sailing Club (BBSC) is inviting you and your family to come and try sailing or windsurfing as part of the RYA “Push the Boat Out” initiative. BBSC will be having an Open Day between 11am and 4pm on Saturday 12 May for those who want to see what the club does, learn a little more about sailing and try their hand on the water in one of our Wayfarer dinghies. And it’s free! (Please note the minimum age for children going afloat is around 8 years.)

If you have previous sailing experience you may be able to take out one of our single-handers, or you could try a windsurfer.

The club café will be offering hot food and drink throughout the day.

Sailing is a great family sport and you will be surprised how relatively inexpensive small boat sailing can be. Bough Beech offers RYA training courses both for adults and children from eight years and up. The club is particularly proud of its very active youth section which has have dedicated training each weekend.

For more information contact Richard Meakin at [email protected] or Nick Marden at [email protected] or visit http://www.boughbeechsc.org.uk/

Club address: Bough Beech Sailing Club, Winkhurst Green Road, Bough Beech, Edenbridge TN8 7AN

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Ide Hill Primary School Fundraising Activities Golf Day 2018 Would you like to join us at Nizels Golf Club for the annual Ide Hill School fundraising golf day which this year is on Tuesday 15th May? Last year was a great success and the school hopes to have an even better success this year. I am arranging a number of teams of Ide Hill villagers and you would be most welcome to join one. The cost for the day is £65.00 which includes: breakfast bap and coffee, 18 holes of golf with various prizes, half way house refreshments and a two course lunch. In the first instance, please could you let me know whether you are interested in playing and an application form can be completed later. My email address is [email protected] and my telephone number is 01732 750494. For those who played before/attended various auction dinners, you will know that the school’s fundraising logo is "Raise the Roof". This year we have indeed raised a roof, amalgamated and extended two previous rooms and created a new large classroom. This was only possible thanks to a loan, a grant and good support for our fundraising for which we are very grateful. As a consequence, Year 1 have been enjoying a wonderful new classroom since the middle of last term. We have one more major project that we need to do so as we have an old mobile classroom which is deteriorating and reaching the end of its life. We are hoping to replace it with a double classroom which will ensure flexibility of classes for the school for years to come. We have applied for a grant but, even if we get it, it will probably not cover all the costs and so we are continuing to fundraise in 2018. The school is not expanding its numbers, but is trying to ensure that its facilities match the standard requirements for a primary school for the future. Richard French (School Governor)

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Ide Hill’s Windmills Three interesting and historical paintings of Ide Hill were hung in the Wheatsheaf Room at the Village Hall the other day by our tireless Hall Hon. Secretary, Derry Wiltshire: the largest of the three is an attractive painting of the Cock pub by K. Watkins, dated 1996; the second painting, by Doreen Medhurst, is of the petrol pumps at Mr. Nye’s Garage on the Green. These pumps were still in use at the Garage until at least the early 1990s and give their name to one of the two houses which now stand on the site. The third picture is the oldest, and the smallest. It is a copy of a little watercolour painted by Mrs. Woodhouse, wife of the Rev. Alfred Woodhouse, Vicar of Ide Hill between the years 1863-1880. On 11th August 1864, Mrs.Woodhouse set out for Hanging Bank with her paintbox and easel to paint a little watercolour image of her own house, ‘The Parsonage’ right opposite (now known as the Old Vicarage), and also, more strikingly, of Ide Hill’s second windmill, which then stood in what is now National Trust woodland, above today’s Village Hall, quite close to the semi-derelict concrete structure of the WW II Beam Deflecting Station. Two other buildings show clearly in her picture: the white- painted Ide Cottage, still on the Green today, and a long, slate-roofed barn or cow byre, long since disappeared, which would have stood behind 1, The Green. Ide Hill Church does not show at all, which is interesting because it must then have been under construction as it was consecrated only fifteen months later, on the 30th November 1865, St. Andrew’s Day. It replaced a small chapel. Describing Ide Hill’s second windmill made me want to find out more about the first one and, for that, I am indebted to Mr. Rob Cumming who has given me valuable advice and who has written a most interesting book: The Windmills of NW Kent & Kentish London, from which I quote below. Mr. Cumming enabled me to track down quite a rare 1821 map of Kent which actually shows the location of Ide Hill’s first windmill (as accurately as an 1821 map can). The mill stood in the Glebe Field, more or less adjacent to the garden boundary of Glebe House on its NW corner. In fact the track leading from the Green into that field may well have been the original mill entrance. This mill is also shown as an addition on the 1819 Ordnance Survey map and is therefore believed to have been newly-built at about that time. Not much is known about the activities of this earlier mill but, on the night of 10th September 1836, there was a great drama here (reported in the Brighton Patriot three days later) as follows: “Intelligence was received here on Saturday, that a windmill at Hide-hill, near Sundridge, belonging to Mr.Wells, grocer of this town, was that morning entirely consumed by fire, with a considerable quantity of wheat that had been sent there to be ground. We have not been able to ascertain the extent of the damage, nor if the premises etc. were insured.”

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In December of that year Mr. William Ashby, renowned miller, but more so mill-builder, was invited to Ide Hill to “look over old iron” – presumably parts of the burnt-out first mill. In March 1837 Mr. Ashby returned to Ide Hill to find a suitable site for a replacement post mill. The site he found was the site painted by Mrs.Woodhouse. It seems all was not plain-sailing financially, but by March 1838 his daybook does relate “Mill at Ide Hill begun to raise”. More financial problems occurred but the mill did become operational eventually at some time during the 1840s. To quote again from Mr.Cumming’s book: “John Russell … recalled that it was a post mill, near a chapel, which his grandfather used to attend on Sundays in the 1840s. It used to apparently break the Sunday taboo by working and the folk complained at the noise. The miller agreed not to run the jumper during the times of the service”. (A jumper is a noisy grain-cleaning device.) Mr. Ashby had many tenant millers (names of Rose, Homewood, Burton, Sage, Kingsland & Bassett appear) but in 1860 he tried to sell the mill off. It did sell, and in 1862 there is a reference to the new owner advertising for an assistant there. In 1868 serious damage was caused to the mill by a gale. It was repaired and there are references to it still being in operation in 1871; but the business, and the building, seem to have died a slow death after that: put out of business by bigger, steam-driven mills, the building was left to decay. Some of us can still find the spot where it stood, but the site degrades more every year. Liz Gandon

Ide Hill Community Shop/Post Office and Coffee Shop

Shop Post Office Monday to Friday 8.30 am – 5.30 pm 8.30 am – 4.30 pm Saturday 8.30 am – 4.30 pm 8.30 am – 2.30 pm Sunday 8.30 am – 4.30 pm 8.30 am – 12.30 pm

Thank you to everyone who puts their small change in our collection boxes. We received a lovely letter from the Samaritans thanking us for raising £39.40 and another from the armed forces where we raised £25.00. The bird brooches raised almost £30.00.

Now the Spring and warmer weather has finally arrived we will be seeing the welcome return of local Asparagus to the shop from 3rd May and deliveries will arrive in the shop every Thursday.

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The hot weather of last weekend resulted in our busiest weekend of the year (so far!) and thankfully our new supplier was able to meet our demands. If anyone has any suggestions that they would like us to stock for the summer, please let us know.

There was a bit of a commotion outside the shop last week when a car started rolling from its parking space into the road. Lots of our customers helped to try and move the vehicle to a safe place whilst we waited for police to arrive. Unfortunately, they couldn't contact the owner and when she arrived back at the shop from her visit, needless to say she was worried and anxious about her car which had by then been taken to a car pound in Surrey. Our volunteers did a great job keeping her calm and passing on the information left from the police and today we received a ‘Thank You’ card addressed to the community and shop staff together with a generous donation of £10.00 from her which we will put towards our donations.

Our new sausage suppliers in Riverhead have also been a great success and we can also take orders for burgers ready for the BBQ season. These will be frozen but ready to cook.

We will be having our own stall at the Ide Hill Summer Fete this year, with some samples of our best sellers and gifts for sale or to order. We will also be raffling a bespoke Hamper containing locally produced goods and Kent gifts.

Ann Turner

Sundridge with Ide Hill Parish Council Parish Council Meetings There is a full Parish Council meeting on Monday 14th May at Sundridge Village Hall when the new Chairperson will be selected for 2018/9. On Monday 21st May there is the AGM when the P C hosts a review of the year at Ide Hill Village Hall with wine and bites to eat.

Ide Hill Village Hall Bookings

Bookings for the village hall can be made by contacting Kathryn McKerlie on 01732 850598 or 07778 669348.

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VACANCY FOR A PARISH COUNCILLOR IN THE IDE HILL WARD

Formal notification has been received from District Council that as no election has been called within the statutory period the Parish Council can now co-opt a new Councillor to fill the vacancy in the Ide Hill ward. Are you willing to devote some of your time and effort into making YOUR community a better place to live.

Can you commit to attending monthly meetings, are you willing to work as part of a team, liaise with other Parish Councils, Government departments and other organisations representing the people of Sundridge and Ide Hill Parishes. If you are interested in becoming a parish councillor and would like to know more about the role: Please contact the Clerk.

Amanda Barlow Clerk Sundridge with Ide Hill Parish Council

Telephone: 07495 962372

Email: [email protected]

http://www.sundridgewithidehill-pc.gov.uk/

The deadline for applications is Tuesday 8 May 2018

Sundridge with Ide Hill Parish Council c/o 11 Clover Way, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6BQ

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Skylark Vets

Skylark Vets is a new mobile veterinary practice operating in North West Kent. We visit towns including Sevenoaks and the surrounding villages, including Ide Hill. We bring the practice to you in our fully equipped van so that medical procedures for pets can be carried out in their own surroundings – we have found this greatly reduces stress levels for anxious pets and their owners! Our services include: routine visits and vaccinations, surgery including neutering, diagnostic procedures such as x-rays and ultrasound scans, pet passports and exports, and dentistry work. We have a keen interest in exotic animals and routinely visit birds and reptiles in addition to dogs, cats and small mammals. For more information, please visit www.skylarkvets.co.uk or find us on Facebook @skylarkvets. Alternatively, call Charlotte and Heather for a chat on 07443 929 395 or e-mail us using [email protected]. Dr. Charlotte Hussey BSc. (Hons) BVM&S MRCVS Skylark Vets Limited, Director

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Forest Kindergarten

Word from the woods….

Over at the Toys Hill woods and Hosey Common, children of all ages played in deep mud up to their knees this Easter, at our holiday forest sessions! They found woodlice, centipedes and built mini homes for them, made bows and arrows, dream catchers and whittled their own wood carvings. They swung on the wood swings and made new friends. Most of all, they enjoyed climbing the slopes and sliding down an ever slippier mud slide!

"Callum very much enjoyed his couple of days at Forest Kindergarten holiday club. Thanks to you and your team for giving him such a great experience”. Siobhan

"He absolutely loved the sessions and was really looking forward to the sessions this week." Laura, mum of Finley

“Thank you for the forest holiday club. My two boys (James - 8yr and Greg - 6yr) had an amazing time on both days that they attended”

“Just wanted to say Evan has an amazing time yesterday”. Tom (one of the Forest Leaders) seems lovely and Evan came out more dirty then I've seen him for ages (and that’s saying something!)”

“He was full of stories about his day and can’t wait for Thursday - thank you so much for running these, so Evan can keep these adventures in his life”.

“The boys had a fantastic time! Thank you for such a great entertainment!”

“Thanks so much for another great week at forest school - Emmeline loved it. She was absolutely shattered after the week!”

Forest holiday sessions are run by the team at Forest Kindergarten and also run at May half term and summer holidays. Booking can be done here http://www.forest-kindergarten.co.uk/book.php

Sophie Woods-Scawen

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Ide Hill Nordic Walking 'Learn to Nordic Walk' 4 week courses The course costs £45 and each session is 1 hour long. This award winning course will help you to not only learn Nordic walking technique but will help you to use it in order to achieve your personal health and fitness goals. Each session adds another 'gear' and helps you to understand how to gain propulsion, gradually increase the workload and learn how to Nordic walk for fitness, weight loss or fun! Four one hour sessions in a relaxed group suitable for all levels

Once you`ve completed the Learn to Nordic Walk course you will be able to join any of the regular classes, confident in the knowledge that you`re in control of the intensity and able to get the most from the sessions. We do recognise that it is sometimes difficult to make every session of a 4-week course. Don`t worry about this - just let us know and we`ll arrange things to ensure you get the benefit of the complete course. Please sign up on the below links. Thursday evenings 1915pm starting 3rd May (10th, 17th, 24th May) https://exercise-anywhere.com/event/72223- Learn%20to%20Nordic%20Walk%20# Tuesday mornings 0845am starting 5th June (12th, 19th, 26th June) https://exercise-anywhere.com/event/74931- Learn%20to%20Nordic%20Walk%20#

Liz Easterbrook

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Skills Directory Do you have a skill or expertise that others in Ide Hill may want to know about? Are you a bookkeeper, plumber, decorator , keep fit instructor or cake maker for example? We would like to help us all to “keep it local “ by using our neighbours instead of finding someone we don’t know about and having to take a chance on their quality of work. We could include a directory in the Bugle of the trades, professions and home workers with names and phone numbers. If you would like to be included please send your details to the Bugle and we can let all our readers know about you. Anne and Barbara

And finally, save the date……………..

JUNE 5th Ide Hill Society visit to Wakehurst Gardens and Millennium Seed Bank 10th Open Farm Day at Bore place 12.00 – 5.00 pm

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