Rodmell & Southease

Coming back from seeing my mother, who is now in a nursing home in Peacehaven, I was listening to Alison Ferns on my car radio on her first trip up in the Pod. She was very excited about being on it, then you heard her say, ‘whoops, we seem to have a technical problem going down and there are men with spanners going through a little door to sort it out.’ How must that have felt to the nervous of heights on board? Strange that before I went out I wrote about any problems, then when I come back to finish writing Parish Pump a small hitch had happened.

SUMMER SHOW: People of the village are working very hard on organising the Rodmell Summer Show on Saturday August 20, 2pm to 4.30pm. This is a great event and has a lot of supporters who come on a regular basis and missed it last year as the organisers decided to give it a break. The pub always gets busy on this day as many people have a lunch there before going to the show, so be sure to book if you wish to eat there.

OUR PUB: So many walkers and bikers are doing the South Downs Way this year and the pub gets very busy, which is good for the village as we want to keep it.

CYCLISTS: I am getting a lot of comments from people about the number of cyclists using the C7 at night, who do not have lights on their bikes. This is so dangerous, especially when they ride in groups. So much traffic uses this road now and some of the drivers drive at horrendous speed. Local drivers know the hazards and drive accordingly, be it a little too slow for some people. One never knows if going around the corner you may come across a group of cyclists, a horse rider or farm traffic. So, please take care.

DELIVERIES: We are also getting some huge lorries and transporters using the C7 and delivering in the village. This village has very narrow streets, not made for lorries, coaches etc. Another problem for delivery vans etc is finding properties to deliver to. I have lived in this village well over 40 years and once upon a time knew people’s names and the names of their houses. Now we have so many new people who quite often change house names so I don’t have a clue where to direct people. Some house names one comes across, and I’m not talking about this village in particular, are strangely named, eg Orchard View - not a fruit tree in site; Ocean View – looking over the English Channel; Mount this or that – usually on a small mound, the list gets endless. Ours was Sunnyside when we bought it and still is. At least it lives up to its name being on a sunny corner.

INTEREST RATES: As interest rates go down and down I now many people who have decided to spend their money on holidays or cars or put their hard earned cash into Premier Bonds where they feel they at least have a chance of earning something on it. They tell me they look forward to the tell, tell envelopes dropping in their door mat most months. You can’t blame them.

MOBILE PHONES: I’m all for the young man who has opened the bar where people cannot get a signal for their phones. What a wonderful atmosphere he must have created, where people actually communicate by speaking face to face with each other and having genuine conversations. I’m sorely tempted to ask people not to use them whilst in my house. Many who stay here think it’s wonderful to get away from the gadgets that run their lives and can’t believe I run a business and lead a busy life without technology running my life. Of course I have a land line phone, a TV, radio and a rarely used mobile phone, which are all useful when needed, but they don’t control my life. As for selfies, games etc they are of no interest to me at all. Fortunately for me most of my friends feel the same way.

TRAFFIC: Coming back from Raystede the other afternoon I was horrified to see cars travelling at quite a speed from Ringmer, going the wrong way around the roundabout to the Laughton Road. A friend who lives at Piddinghoe, tells me drivers also do it at the roundabout where the old tip was on the C7 near Newhaven. Don’t people follow the Highway Code anymore?

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