Sunday 30th August 2026 - A Couple More, Getting Shorter, Cricket and Beer

I have two more village events in September to add to those I mentioned in my earlier blogs.  At the Overstrand Club and Bar (aka the Conservative Club), located at the top of The Londs, there will be a Happy Handbag Disco on 5^th September.  This starts at 8 p.m., entry is free and open to non-members.  On the 12^th September at 7 p.m. Poppyland Singers will be presenting a Choral Concert, in St Martins Church.  Entrance is free, with a retiring collection which will be donated to the Church Tower Restoration Fund and the N.A.R.S. charity.  Refreshments will be available.

We’ve had some hefty showers and the garden has certainly benefitted from them.  The lawns are a mix of brown and green but not far off fully reviving, following the lack of rain this summer.  Flowering plants are now opening those buds, which remained tightly closed during the drought.  These are providing some additional appreciated colour in the borders. 

When the yield from the climbing French Beans dropped and looked to be finishing producing beans, Peter, removed a number of the old leaves.  This has shocked the plants into producing fresh leaves, flowers and then beans.  Peter has now applied the same de-leafing to the runner beans; we wait to see if they too provide us with additional beans. 

It’s noticeable, the days are getting shorter.  No more waking up between three thirty and four to see the sky starting to light up as the sun rises; now it’s not first light until around five thirty.  At the other end of the day, come eight, daylight is fast fading; a taste of the darker evenings which I don’t think anyone looks forward to.

We planned to sample a couple of beers at the Beer Festival on the Sports Field, yesterday evening but the rain put us off.  I wonder if we were the only ones dissuaded by the damp conditions?  However, we did go along this afternoon (Peter had a beer and I sampled a cider) while they were playing cricket in the sunshine.  There were still quite a few beers and ciders available, which were free.  I took a couple of photos, which I’ve included below.