Please note that Blackwell Hollow will be closed between 9.30am and 3.00pm on Monday 11th May to allow urgent treeworks to be carried out. Diversions will be put in place
WITH just two weekends to win it, the East Grinstead in Bloom Committee has appealed to the town’s gardeners to do their bit for the annual South and South East in Bloom competition which will be judged on 17 July.
So remember – it’s all hands on deck and failure is not an option!
CHILDREN’S author Geraldine Durrant, who handles the Town Council’s PR, will be putting on her Pirate hat for a reading at the West Street library at 11am on 13 July.
Her third book, Pirate Gran and the Monsters, is one of the stories which has been chosen to feature in this year’s UK-wide Summer Reading Scheme which encourages children to keep up their reading during the long school holiday.
Using the umbrella title Creepy House, this summer’s stories have all been chosen for being a bit scary – but not so frightening they can’t be read before bedtime, laughed Geraldine.
“One than a million children take part in the reading scheme each year, so I am delighted to be part of it. Encouraging children to enjoy books is one of the most important things parents can do, and I am looking forward to meeting some of East Grinstead’s little readers at the library’s launch event.”
Pirate Gran and the Monsters is also being adapted for the stage, with the first two books in the Pirate Gran series, as part of an Arts Council project which will tour the UK next year.
“Scamp Theatre specialise in adapting children’s literature for the stage, so I am thrilled they have chosen Pirate Gran for their next production,” said Geraldine, whose next book, Two Bad Grans, will be published in September.
TONY Neale has been appointed as the new Head of Finance at East Court.
Tony, who replaces Barry Male, is a Fellow with CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and has previously worked in Finance and HR around the world.
Having recently completed a contract with Caversham SA in Geneva, he is available to start working on a handover period immediately.
THE Parish HallsTrust has exchanged contracts for the sale of the Parish Halls to Whitehall Homes LLP.
Whitehall Homes are looking to submit plans for a small residential development of six town houses on the site.
The plans are due to be submitted to the District Council within the next 3 months and overall completion of sale is dependent on the permission being approved.
The Trust (of which East Grinstead Town Council is the trustee) decided to sell the Halls after declining use due to competition, and escalating repair and refurbishment costs. The Trustees will be able to see the plans prior to them being submitted for permission to build.
Chairman of the Charities Committee Nick Hodges said: ”It has been a long road to get to this point, and we hope that the planning application will go smoothly to allow the money to be put to good use. We are pleased with the concept of Whitehall Homes’ plan for town houses which will complement the streetscape and very much look forward to seeing the detail of the plans”
A spokesman for Whitehall homes LLP said: “Although we are sad to see the end of a once-thriving public amenity, we look forward to redeveloping this property into an attractive residential property which will prove an aesthetic and noteworthy improvement to the area.”
EAST Grinstead MP Nicholas Soames and Town Mayor Margaret Belsey lead tributes to the UK’s Armed Forces with a Service of Thanksgiving and wreath-laying ceremony at the East Court War Memorial on 27 June, followed by a celebration in the Meridian Hall.
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Jenny Watson, who heads a team of volunteer gardeners working on the award-winning East Court estate, tells us how things are going after a particularly cold, wet Spring
“WHILE working around the gardens there is plenty of opportunity to see and hear wildlife of all sorts. So far I’ve found two young lizards, which were ‘rescued’ and moved to the edge of the Woodland Walk, and while weeding, a Purple Emperor butterfly landed next to me which was unusual, as they normally fly around treetops in woodland. In June I also saw a large dragonfly, probably a Broad-Bodied Chaser.
“We are followed all year round by robins, which feed around our feet, wasting a lot of our time as we just have to sit and watch them. It’s lovely in the late spring to watch the robins with insects lined up in their beaks ready to feed their chicks.
“I’ve also seen Green Woodpeckers feeding on ants in the grass and heard Great Spotted Woodpeckers hammering away on tree trunks. I even managed to watch a Treecreeper on the trunk of one of the large conifers.
“There are plenty of bats living around the estate too, mainly Pipistrelles in Ashplatts Wood but also Daubenton’s bats feeding on insects over the ponds.
“And there are things we can all do to encourage wildlife, including ensuring that we give them the longest possible flowering season in our own gardens, starting in Spring with snowdrops and several types of daffodils. Pulmonaria and Hellebore also flower early and this gives the insects a chance to feed after winter, and before breeding.
“During summer trees, shrubs and perennials provide blossom and here we look particularly for single-flowered plants. Doubles are rarely used as they have little in the way of pollen or nectar, having been bred to give colour and large blooms for us.
Finally many annuals and hardy annuals will flower until the first frost and are very easy to grow.”
The New Memorial Beds
“DURING a particularly cold day in early Spring work started on clearing one of the War Memorial beds of old shrubs. Despite becoming something of a blizzard by lunchtime, everything was completed so that replanting could begin as soon as the ground had warmed up.
“It was decided that the bed would become an insect-friendly area, with the main planting being fruit trees. These are Memorial Trees chosen from a specific list of suggestions from the estate gardener, and will have both blossom for insects and hopefully plenty of foodstuff for the birds to feed their young.
“By late summer the fruit will also be a good food supply before the onset of winter. Much of the under-planting is also for insects and bees especially, including herbs such as sage, rosemary, chives and oregano. Next year more plants and annuals will be added including fennel, cirinthe, teasel and verbascum.
“While not being specifically wild flowers from Britain, we will include as many as is feasible and practical.”
MEMBERS of the East Grinstead in Bloom committee are having a final push to ensure the town is looking at its best before the arrival of the South and South East in Bloom judges on 17 July. Members of the public would like to lend a hand can contact the team on 01342 328534. Or check out the latest news on East Grinstead in Bloom’s facebook page.
MAKE a diary date for Tuesday 30 July, Tuesday 13 August and Tuesday 27 August – details of activities to be announced.
Friday 5 July to Wednesday 10 July 2013
SACKVILLE School Summer Exhibition. Admission free.