Bees get a ride in the front seat of a car after swarm lands in Weald Village
BE(E) FRIENDLY. What is believed to be the first bee swarm of the season in Weald Village was reported by Roberta Briant. The bees landed in a tree in her front garden after which they moved to a hedge close by.
The ‘Bee Lady’, Sarah Rapley, Roberta and her two girls, Verity and Lily as well as Guy Chatten and his girls, Holly and Isabelle (kitted out of course with hats and netting) watched mesmerised at the Bee Lady captured the bees and took them away – on the front seat of her car! (see photo right)
THE 435 BUS SERVICE. Weald villagers are being asked for their opinions in an effort to secure the 435 early morning and late evening bus service to and from Sevenoaks Station.
Go Coach has confirmed that despite a 10 Trip Ticket deal which can save commuters hundreds of pounds a year, this service is still not being used very much. The 10 journey ticket costs £12 and the first bus to the station departs Weald at 06.57 and the last bus home departs the station at 18.30.
Villagers are being asked if there are changes which could be made that would encourage residents to leave their cars at home. They have been asked to answer a series of questions by emailing wealdvillagebus@gmail.com by 15 June.
The questions are:
Would you use the 435 for commuting if the last bus back to Weald left the station later?
From which station do you make your evening departure?
What would be the best time for the evening bus to depart the station for you?
Please provide any other comments/suggestions that would encourage you to use the 435 to travel to the station.
SCHOOL REFURBISHMENT. The refurbisment and building works at Weald Community Primary School in Long Barn Road are now complete and David Pyle, the Headteacher and staff of the school have issued an invitation for people to visit on Thursday 7 June from 6pm to see the improvements. Refreshments will be provided.
BRIDGE TO SUCCESS: Eight of Kent’s primary and secondary schools recently too part in a Junior Bridge Tournament which was held for the second year running in Weald village (see photo left). Helen Erichsen, one of Kent’s top players, was on hand to present trophies to the winners and runners-up, and medals were given out to all participants. Schools taking part included St James, Weald Community Primary, Mersham Primary, Sevenoaks, Walthamstow, Sackville, Tonbridge Grammar School and Weald of Kent.
WEALD MEMORIAL HALL AGM: The prominent role the Memorial Hall plays in the village was revealed at the recent annual general meeting when a report on the booking system showed that 192 individual bookings had been made during the year from regular weekly events such as a variety of exercise classes and art groups, to monthly meetings by the Women of Weald, the U3A Science Group, The Parish Council and others as well as quarterly Horticultural Society shows and ad hoc children’s and adult parties, concerts and other events.
Developments at the Hall have been held up for some time as the owner of the land, Knole Estate, the Parish Council and the Hall Trustees attempt to resolve the terms of a new lease. However, while waiting for this outcome, the committee took the decision to change the chairs as the old ones were well past their best and were costing an increasing amount to keep clean. The new chairs were used at the AGM. A number of the old, padded seats are available to anyone who would like to take one or two (or all of them) away. Please ring Richard Gidman (01732 454222) to organise a time to collect.
As part of her annual report, Hilary Allen, the Chair of the Memorial Hall Committee outlined some of the initiatives and activities during the year in which the the Hall had played its part, including hosting the ‘Big Breakfast’, the new Community Shop and cafe for its first month of trading before the ‘cabin’ arrived, a Burn’s Night Supper as well as a regular, monthly, ‘Soup and Scrabble’ lunch.
A new boiler has been installed which should help to keep down the costs of heating, although it was noted that aluminium framed windows with single-pane glass make heating the building in the winter very costly.
At the AGM the Chair, Hilary Allen, and the Secretary, Caroline Moss both stood down as Trustees; a vote of thanks was given to them for their work and commitment over the years. The remaining trustee members, (Richard Gidman (Treasurer), Sarah William and Hamilton Wood agreed to stand again and were re-elected.
An urgent meeting is to be organised between the Parish Council (which has ultimate responsibility for the Hall) and the remaining members of the trustees to work out a plan for keeping the Hall open for business. There should be a team of seven trustees including a Chairman/person, a Secretary, a Treasurer and four other members. Richard Gidman agreed to act as temporary Chairman while a plan is worked out.
AN ACT OF REMEMBRANCE: November 2018 sees the 100th anniversary of the ending of the Great War. Several ‘stitchers’ in the village have been discussing the possibility of making a commemorative quilted wall-hanging in memory of those from the village that went to war and, particularly, those that didn’t come back.
If you can thread a needle and are interested in helping, please contact Jean Conacher on 01732 463635. A preliminary meeting will be held at 2 Old Post Office Cottages, Windmill Road on Wednesday 30 May at 10am.
Richard Gidman is pictured handing over £700 to Ian Walker (right) at the Weald Community Shop on behalf of the organisers of the the recent Indian Buffet lunch and sitar concert. Although the money had been raised for turf to be laid in front of the shop the recent good weather has given the grass seeded area a big boost, and turf may not be needed. The funds will still go towards helping to improve the village store. Villagers are being encouraged to use the store to make sure it survives, plus volunteers are being asked to come forward to serve for a couple of hours.
