Mountfield

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY: It’s that time of year again. This year’s party will take place on Saturday December 10th in the Village Hall from 4.00 till 6.00 and will be run by DNA Kids who are THE kids party specialists. Oh, and there will be a special visitor at the end of the party… The event is open to all Mountfield children of primary school age or under. As ever, the grandchildren of anyone living in the parish are welcome in return for a small contribution. Please can they email [email protected] or ring 01580 882147 to book places for an event that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

SW CONSTRUCTION: The culvert that temporarily stopped work last week was finally identified and dealt with after responses from ESCC and a number of local sources such as Celia, Colin, Jim and the parish tithe map. However, it has pushed work in Church Road a week late so Highways have extended the closure permit by one week to Friday November 4th. MGjv hope they will not need all of this extension as it will mean that work in Hoath Hill will start later as a result and they have no extension for that phase of the works. The work in the field behind the houses in Hoath Hill is going well and all the other arrangements seem to be holding up.

DIPPING SPRING: One particular detail caught our fancy We knew that there had been a pond of sorts in the garden of Selton, on the corner of Church Road and Hoath Hill (where the liquidamber tree is now) but we enjoyed hearing that it was actually originally the dipping spring which provided the water supply for Mountfield Villas opposite. Celia remembers that, when the various wells in the front gardens further along Hoath Hill dried up in drought, she would be sent to collect water from that spring and, like a couple of other young-timers, remembers that the water always used to contain tiny shrimps.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH: Here is the PCC report from John Snuggs: Every five years a survey of the church is carried out and in February 2014 we were advised that urgent repairs and restoration of the roof slopes to the south side of the nave and chancel were required. The tiles were deteriorating and the roofs were becoming nail sick due to the degradation of the nails. The Parochial Church Council decided that the repairs had to be carried out and estimates were sought and an estimate for almost £33,000 was finally accepted. We were very fortunate to receive a grant from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund for £25,000, with the balance coming from VAT refund and church funds. The roofs have now been retiled and we hope that the bats will enjoy their refurbished accommodation!

A2100 CROSSING: The Parish Council fought a hard battle in the summer to try to mitigate the potential dangers from the badly damaged road surface immediately south of the crossing and, despite everyone’s best endeavours — going right up to Karl Taylor, Assistant Director at ESCC, the best we had to settle for was a date in early December handed down from on high by Network Rail. Then other roadworks on the London Road turned up on the schedules and we thought little of it until, next morning, we discovered that the crossing road had been completely renewed from the tip all the way up to and including the crossing. We can now all uncross fingers and toes which seem to have spared death or injury for the last few months.

SPOONANGEL: Our Mountfield-based bunting magnate, Lindsey, from Banks Cottages, re-ran the Spoonangel end of season sale last Saturday and it was an even bigger success than the first with such a strong turn out and sales that they will be having one last sale before the end of the year so, if you missed out, watch this space. It is so good to see a Mountfield business flourishing.

MOUNTFIELD FAMILY BONFIRE: No need to remind you about this evening’s Family Bonfire bash. The forecast looks great (though you can check the website live at mountfieldvillagehall.org.uk, finally updated at 2.00 pm on the day) so we wish everyone a fun evening. (We will be holding the paw of a very gun-, bang- and thunder-shy dog — poor Holly whom we rehomed in January. With her family round her, she’ll be as brave as a lion.)

REMINDERS: Just the one reminder: Mountfield Horticultural Society’s AGM will be held on Saturday November 5th at 3.00 in Mountfield Village Hall with tea and cake for all.

IN A RUT: Myrtle called to remind us about the rut particularly, as she says, since we have so many new dog walkers in the village. Typically the fallow deer rutting season reaches its peak, centrally, in the first week in November — though it varies from year to year. We’ve been hearing the bucks roaring for the last week now so suspect that will be about the right timing. Dogs — and innocent walkers, come to that — should be kept well away from rutting areas. If you hear the bucks nearby, get your dogs close and think about a different route. A few years back, we had a Battle taxi driver who’d met a very hormonal buck on Netherfield Hill and wasn’t sure whether it wanted to see his taxi off or mate with it.

CONTACT: If you have anything for the Village Voice, we can be contacted on 880614 or via [email protected]. We always welcome contributions and feedback.

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