Vicar: The Rev’d John Sweatman 01304 812296

The Vicarage, Queen’s Road, Ash TheVicar@s8nicholas.org.uk

Churchwardens

Bill Vennart  01304 812628

Rosemary Bainbridge  01304 813363

Church Services

Every Sunday 8.00am Holy Communion

First Sunday of Month 10.00am Family Communion

Other Sundays 10.00am Parish Communion

Wednesdays 10.00am Holy Communion

The Junior Church for children aged 4-12 meets in Ash Village Hall at 10.00am except 1^st Sunday of the month.

Items for inclusion in the next magazine should be received by Wednesday 7^th June please.

‘We suffer from drought and landslides as well as emergencies from everyday poverty.’ So says Maritza Sevilla, a young mother who, through Christian Aid partner Community Movement of Matagalpa (MCM), has taken on a vital role in her community in Nicaragua. Maritza lives in Nuevo Amanecer, an hour’s drive from Matagalpa. Her community is in a mountainous region, with a river winding through it. The single hillside road wends its way through a harsh landscape. Deforestation and drought have devastated what was once lush, dense forest. When the river breaks its banks, as it often does, the community here at Nuevo Amanecer can find themselves stranded for weeks, as happened during Hurricane Mitch in 1998. In response to this vulnerability MCM, with help from the local people, built a community centre where people could meet and learn how to protect themselves better from the vagaries of unpredictable weather. In the absence of emergency services it’s vital that local communities take action themselves. And so the community elected Maritza, along with Lilian Mercado and Lucila Castro to the Emergency Committee, who have been responsible for devising and implementing the community contingency plan. The women drew up maps of Nuevo Amanecer illustrating the danger zones. These carefully hand-painted maps, with evacuation routes clearly marked, hang in the busy community centre. ‘…we feel safe’ says Lilian, whose house was almost washed away in last year’s flood. ‘Before we weren’t prepared but now we’re ready for rains.’

MCM works hard to make sure communities have the best chance of protecting themselves and rebuilding after floods, landslides, droughts and hurricanes.

Fr John

This was a happy and enjoyable Children’s Day for Eastbridge Deanery that was held at the new Cartwright and Kelsey school at Ash. It brought together 50 children from Wingham, Barham, Bridge and Ash benefices.

After a noisy start with Ted Hurst and his parachute games the children enjoyed Art, Drama, Music and Interactive Prayer workshops led by volunteers from the Deanery. These activities were interspersed with break, lunch and free play. The day ended in an act of worship with the parents, when the children presented the products of their activities. The adults enjoyed the day as much as the children, and appreciated meeting and working together with groups from other churches.

Many thanks go to the committee of four from Ash and Wingham, and to all those who helped from Ash, Wingham, Bridge, Barham and Aylesham benefices, and not least to the parents and children who supported the event and helped it to run so successfully.

Ann Foat

ASH PARISH COUNCIL will meet in Ash Library at 7.30pm on Monday 5^th June.

THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION will meet at The Chequer Inn at 8pm on Monday 5^th June.

GOOD COMPANIONS will meet at 2pm on June 13^th and 27^th in Ash Village Hall.

BLACK BOX collection will be on Wednesdays June 14^th & 28^th and Green Waste collection will be on Wednesdays 7^th and 21^st.

THE ASH SOCIETY On Thursday 8^th June there will be an outing to Stodmarsh Nature Reserve with David Feast a warden from English Nature taking the society on a tour of the Reserve. Cars will leave Ash Village Hall at 1.30pm. The tour will start at 2pm.

ASH WITH WESTMARSH WI will meet in the Village Hall at 7.15pm on Thursday 8^th June.

MUSICAL INTERLUDES There will be a concert in St Nicholas’ Church on Sunday 11 June at 3pm. A selection of music for soprano, clarinet and piano will be performed, and the programme will include works by Mozart, Weber, Pergolesi, Rossini and Schubert. Tickets are available from Ash Post Office or telephone 01304 813842. Adults £5, children £2.

BULK WASTE will be collected from the car park behind the Village Hall on Saturday 17^th June between 9.30am and 10.30am.

ASH HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY A Rose Evening and Open Garden Quiz will be held at Drovers End, Pudding Lane on Thursday June 29^th.

I don’t know if this little ditty is correct – I have vague memories of coming across it somewhere, but if anyone thinks it goes differently, do write to the editor and explain how it should go.

Reading last month’s column, the author wrote about the birds starting their morning chorus at 5.00am – I can tell him definitively that the cuckoo this month has been starting at 3.00am! But it’s a lovely sound, so evocative of spring that he is easily forgiven! I’ve also noticed how the last two month’s columns have started off with comments about the weather, so many apologies for doing the same. Very British of us all though!

However, we have had some wonderful weather lately – and then a good rain, for which we all need to be extremely grateful. The gardens really were awfully dry and with a hosepipe ban and the frightening pictures of our nearly empty "source" reservoir at Bewl Water, the need for rain was urgent. I was horrified to hear of one local resident washing three cars one weekend, while there’s a hosepipe ban in force – what an inconsiderate waste! (I know they don’t have the Parish Magazine, so they won’t feel "got at" – even if they deserve it!) Incidentally, can you guess what ELL stands for? It’s the Water Board’s acronym meaning Economic Levels of Leakage – can any level of leakage be economic! Certainly not from the point of view of the consumers suffering a hosepipe ban! However, in a world where there are many without proper water supplies, I personally am grateful for what we have.

Our world seems full of acronyms these days, but I’m certain that the capital letters CMS – gracing the wooden surround of a Water Board hole in Pudding Lane, do not stand for Church Missionary Society! But quite often it is not easy to translate what an acronym does stand for. WWF isn’t Weight Watchers Failing, and DEFRA isn’t Decidedly Enemies of Farming and Rural Affairs, though many farmers might well agree with this meaning!

It was wonderful to see what a hive of activity the church contained during the weekend of the art exhibition. Not only was the building full of friends, but strangers to the village too, all the time where was the ongoing supply of excellent food to enhance the pleasure of looking at the pictures. An immense amount of hard work goes into the preparation of this exhibition – all the advertising, all the catering and above all the importation of screens, and works or art to hang on them. Many congratulations to all the committee.

Sadly the same number of people was not present to hear the wonderful saxophone recital given by Georgette Fenn and organised by Kate Robinson. It was a real treat and quite an eye-opener into the variety of music that can be performed on this instrument.

For a few minutes rain threatened the wedding of Sarah Ryan and Paul Martin but luckily the sun returned to shine on them – we send them every good wish for their future.

News has been received of last years Parish Holiday visitors. At least 3 of our visitors enjoyed the whole concept so much that they have booked to go to other parishes this year! Let’s hope we have the courage and the strength to do it again ourselves next year.

This has just entered my head (as I gazed at the lawn strewn with tulip petals).

"Whether the weather be good,

Or whether the weather be poor,

Whatever the weather, we’ll weather the weather,

We’ve surely had it before!"

The Good Companions Club was formed in 1951 for the benefit of the men and women over 60 in the Parish of Ash. A committee of seven was formed and the annual subscription was 1 shilling. Club meetings were held in the Village Hall twice a month. Board games, Lotto and Whist were played and it was a pleasant, social afternoon. Tea and cake was served and cost 4 pence. Tea and biscuits now cost 20p (4/-in old money)! During the year outings were arranged to places of interest and much enjoyed. The Club has carried on unbroken, membership going up and down.

In 1989 the Club benefited by a legacy of £15,000 under the will of Miss Doris Martin; the yearly interest to be used for the benefit and pleasure of members, the capital sum to remain intact for the Club for over 60’s in future. It was decided to put the interest to taking the members out for a free Christmas lunch.

The Club holds a raffle and trading table at each meeting. These, together with the annual subscriptions, fund the Club’s general expenses; mainly the hall rental. Money raised by our Christmas Bazaar helps to fund our summer outings. New members are always welcome.

A cup was purchased in memory of Miss Doris Martin and is awarded each year in a competition for The Best Craft Item of any kind made by a member.

The Club also has three other cups, presented to the Club over the years and other competitions are held.

The cups are:

The Ivy Curling Memorial Trophy

Mrs Clifford – White Trophy 1977

The Ethel Beer Cup

Barbara Williams-Jones

It is the beginning of May and I’ve just seen the swifts return to Ash and heard the cuckoo calling from the fields and suddenly the garden is green again. We’ve had some welcome rain, just in time, for I’d just scarified and weed and feed treated my lawns with only a short shower to water in the granules. The only trouble with a good downpour is it helps the weeds as well as the seeds to burst forth! Keep busy therefore with the hoe through borders and vegetable patch. After a good rain is the ideal time to transplant and thin out annual flower seedlings to fill any gaps left by spring bulbs.

Don’t forget to feed pots and baskets, compost only has enough sustainable nutrients to last 4-6 weeks and a dose of miracle grow, watered in, will work wonders.

Azaleas and Rhododendrons are coming to an end now but remember to treat them 2-3 times a year with sequestrine if you have them in ordinary soil. Camellias and Skimmia will also benefit. If you have time it is always a good idea to deadhead these shrubs and also lilacs, just snapping off the spent flower heads. Cut back aubretia after flowering to encourage new shoots and a tidy "cushion" of leaves. Also keep dead-heading all other flowers to prolong the flowering season.

Look out for cabbage white caterpillars, a netting cage - fine gauge pea netting stretched over hoops made from plastic water pipe is an effective barrier. Plant lettuce and radishes to replace earlier harvested sowings. Don’t neglect to water runner beans, as they need a lot of water to sweeten the beans or they become tough and stringy.

Our last meeting was very well attended for our enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker Teresa Rider. She had really interesting plants on sale with hints for growing them to advantage. A topical tips and a question and answer section, which proved popular, followed her talk and we will try to include this in forthcoming meetings.

This month my garden at Drovers End will host the Rose Evening. Leo Wessells will judge the entries so please take part if you can. The evening will have a garden quiz and refreshments, open to members only please, on June 29^th (if wet in the Village Hall).

June is a month to relax and enjoy the garden after the busy spring planting time is over, hopefully in some welcome sunshine.

Christine Brown

On 19^th April a party of 16 visited the dairy in Ripple where Solley’s Ice Creams are made.

We were given a very interesting and informative talk by the owner Stephen Solley who runs the ice-cream enterprise which is now a quite separate venture from the farm itself. The history of the farm dates back 50 years to when they had their first small Guernsey herd. Gradually the herd increased and so some 25 years later they were able to start a milk round which was finally sold in 1998 so that they could concentrate entirely on making ice cream. This has been so successful that they could not produce enough milk themselves (they only had enough land for 120 cows) so now their milk comes from Jersey cows reared on a neighbouring farm. The business has grown so much that they are now able to supply a number of theatres and supermarkets in Kent, and Solley’s Ice Cream is available at The County and other shows around Kent .

We were given a generous free sample of our choice and with 16 varieties to choose from we had to make some difficult decisions but one thing we all agreed on and that was that they were all quite delicious and a lot of ice cream was bought to take home. Their latest venture is ‘Alexander’s non-dairy-fat vanilla ice cream’ produced specially for schools, they also have a seasonal Christmas Pudding variety.

The fame of Solley’s Ice Cream is spreading as Stephen Solley was asked to appear on the ‘Terry and Gabby’ Show on Channel 5. The Queen Mother was a devotee and the ‘By Appointment’ plaque is proudly displayed in the dairy together with old equipment which all adds to the interest.

It was a very worthwhile visit that I can heartily recommend.

Pat Wilkinson

Georgette Fenn and Gillian Greenacre gave us a delightful concert. I am no musician and cannot lay claim to any degree of musical knowledge, but I know what I like – and I liked this very much. The first item was a Sonata by Bach; even I know that Bach never had the Saxophone in mind when he composed this but surely he would have enjoyed this translation from Flute and Harpsichord.

Much of the remaining music was new to me, including 2 sections by female composers, who don’t always seem to figure greatly on concert programmes.

The only disappointing aspect to the event was the small audience, was it the choice of instruments or perhaps unfamiliar names? You couldn’t have been gardening as it was raining by then. Why not give it a try at the next concert, scheduled for the 11^th June – I’m sure it is going to be well worth an hour of your time.

Nina Vallack

As we approach the end of the first year in our new school building we have planned a dedication service on the 9^th June to be attended by the Bishop of Dover, The Rt. Rev. Stephen Venner. Even with our magnificent new hall we cannot fit in all the children and their parents too, so the dedication will take place outside and we will hope the Bishop brings fine weather with him.

With the promise of better weather, work has continued on the grounds surrounding the school. The areas outside the Nursery and Reception class have been transformed using money kindly raised by friends, parents and Governors of the school. There is a large play area consisting of a covered sandpit, gravelled feature, and a grass and soft play area completed by a charming playhouse with window boxes and herb garden. Steps lead up to a wooded area where bird tables and nesting boxes have been placed. The existing nature/wildlife area around the pond is being further developed by Mr. Stone to encourage more wildlife to visit. These areas provide an excellent first hand learning opportunity to pupils throughout the school.

Ash Cartwright and Kelsey school has over the years successfully provided pupils with many openings to develop their music skills. Many pupils enjoy the workshops and take up the challenge of learning new instruments including the violin, trumpet, guitar, keyboard and recorder. This term is no exception with three musical events currently planned.

• Firstly a Calypso Workshop for years 1 and 2 presented by Alexander D’Great from Music for Change will be visiting.
• Secondly the Summer Soiree will be held on 29^th June at 7pm in the school hall where our musical talent will provide an evening of entertainment. All are most welcome. Refreshments will be available during the interval.
• Finally we look forward to seeing you at the Year 6 production on Tuesday 18^th July at 10.30am.

The school is keen to continue providing pupils with a wide variety of experiences to complement their academic studies. This term these included a visit by a Bird of Prey Falconry team for a chance to see these magnificent birds up close and to watch a falconry flying display.

Our Year 6 children have been using their creative skills to design and make scarecrows, which were on display at the Kent Garden Show at Detling from 27-29^th May.

Year 6 has also expressed an interest to continue sponsorship and support for Gill Elias who visited the school earlier in the year. Gill works with the Masaai women and school children in Africa raising money by selling beautiful beadwork including jewellery and baskets. Gill has already e-mailed the children to say what a lovely time she had at the school and sent them information about her work and the way of life in Africa.

The P.T.F.A. wish to thank all the people who have helped and supported their recent fundraising events. The Easter Bazaar at the village hall was well attended and raised £500.

The next big fund raiser will be the Summer Fair on the 17^th June from 12noon until 2pm in the school grounds. There will be a large variety of stalls including tombolas, cakes, crafts and much more.

Nicky Fidock

The fourth Art Exhibition and Sale held over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend in St. Nicholas Church, Ash, saw nearly 600 works of art, our highest number of entries to date from local artists, both professional and amateur. Parts of the Church became a gallery for the weekend as visitors from near and far purchased almost £6,200 of artwork. Both village schools were involved in an Art Competition with prizes given for the best in the age ranges under 5’s, 5-7’s and 7-11’s. Local artist Clare Limbrey had a difficult job judging the splendid display.

Delicious home-made soup, quiches and salad, along with tea, coffee and mouth watering cakes provided sustenance to those who came to buy or just browse. Four village gardens were open on Sunday 30^th April to add extra interest and fortunately the weather was kind, although a little chilly.