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FLETCHING BONFIRE SOCIETY

Fairly Boring Stuff:
It was a quiet month in June, just a simple summer bingo and lots of planning for September.
Year membership is closed, but may be reopened again as we approach our big night. However there are still many ways in which you can support us for the rest of the year!

Fabulously Busy Schedule:

July 5th – Village Fete @ Fletching Recreation Ground
August 30th - Rum and Reggae @ Fletching Recreation Ground
September 13th – FLETCHING BONFIRE NIGHT!

For more information about upcoming events, please see the members’ newsletter, the FBS Facebook page, the FBS website, or just ask us! If you are a member and are not yet receiving the newsletter, please email fletchingcommunications@gmail.com and I will look into it for you.

Further Briefing Section:

The Fete will be held on July 5th on Fletching Recreation Ground. There will be a dog show, displays, stalls, food, games, a grand raffle (tickets are available to purchase on the day, and from Denniker Farm Shop and Bay & Bellflower to purchase before); all the expected hits for a village fete!

For Benevolent Supporters:
1. Donations of tombola or raffle prizes, or damaged/unwanted crockery are always gratefully received. Please email Will at fletchingchairman@gmail.com to arrange collection/delivery,
2. Come along to our events! If you would like to go the extra mile and help run a stall or event, we can always find you something to do.
3. Get involved! I’d love to hear ideas for things you’d like to see FBS do. Drop me a message at fletchingcommunications@gmail.com and let’s chat!
4. Join the 100 Club! There are still numbers open – your lucky number could be one of them!

Final Brief Sentiment:
See you at the fete!

Tor o/b FBS

Bernard Trew

When I meet Bernard at church and ask him how he is, his usual reply is a chuckling: 'Still here'. Seeing him, it is hard to believe that he was born 99 years ago. Even the time he spent as postmaster and keeper of the village shop in Fletching was long ago and yet that is how he was introduced to me when I moved here. His kindness, good humour and active interest in all things Fletching put him at the centre. Bernard tells me that a church going farmer once visited the village shop after having moved away. During that visit he told Bernard: 'When I lived in Fletching I always thought that the church was the heart of the village. Now I realise that it is actually your shop.'

Shop keeping was not new to Bernard's family. His mother ran a shop selling knit wear in Clapham, where he was born in 1926. In 1934 the family moved to Stoneleigh, Ewell, Epson where they stayed until 2 bombs obliterated their house. Fortunately, Bernard, his mum and sister were visiting an uncle on his farm in Yorkshire at the time. His dad and grandad were in the coal bunker, which served as an air raid shelter. They had to be dug out but were unharmed. While staying on the farm Bernard enjoyed learning about farming, including milking the cows, ploughing and horsemanship. He learned to ride too, although his uncle had forbidden him to ride the horse back to the stable at the end of the day, because 'the horse had been working all day and deserved a rest.' Bernard was enrolled in a local grammar school where they had lessons in the morning and then another school that had been evacuated used the school facilities in the afternoon.

When the family found a flat above a dry cleaner shop and returned to Epson, Bernard should have gone back to school, but he told his father that he was done with all that and would rather go out to work and so he started a 5 year apprenticeship as an electrical Engineer at Harrods.

Two years in, at the age of 17, Bernard wanted to join the war effort as a pilot, but was told that there was a waiting list. He did not want to wait and volunteered with the Navy instead. He ended up with the Fleet Air Arm, training as an electrical Engineer. During this time he was sent to Columbo, Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon), where he was servicing visiting aircraft. One vivid memory of this time is seeing a young woman with her children, who had nothing and slept under a different tree every night. The sadness of their existence and his own helplessness in the face of such poverty still lives on in him.

His three years of military service saw him promoted at Preston and being in charge of new recruits in South Wales, before he returned to Harrods to finish his apprenticeship, passing out as an Electrical Engineer. When he worked in one of the workshops of the roof, mending and servicing all things electric in Harrods he got to know Margaret, who was grooming the pampered pooches of Knightsbridge, and became his wife and mother of his three children.

Margaret wanted a small village shop to run in the countryside, where she could maybe continue with her dog grooming. Fletching shop was available and Margaret fell in love with it and they moved to Fletching in 1961. Everything seemed just right for them: a large garden, village school round the corner, church across the road and two pubs, one right beside them. Bernard decided that it would be too much work for Margaret with three young kids to run the post office and shop and so he gave up his well-paid job at the Daily Mirror and became the postmaster and shop keeper. It was a gamble, but one that the family never regretted. Bernard says: 'We were less wealthy than with my job, but very happy.' He soon got involved with every committee in the village and beyond. As chair of the Friends of Uckfield Hospital he helped raise over a million pounds for the new hospital.

In 1983 Margaret and Bernard retired from the post office and store and moved to Uckfield. He remained involved with various committees well into his 80s. To this day he is president of the League of Friends of Uckfield Hospital and remains a member of the committee of the Leches & Smith charity, attending faithfully the meetings in Fletching.

From an interview by Monika Knight

Open Day
July 12th 2025 – 10am to 3pm

 We’re opening the Plants4Presents nursery for the first time since 2017 and we’re looking forward to hosting visitors from near and far.

This is a unique opportunity to come behind the scenes and to browse and buy from our wide range of garden plants, citrus trees and unusual edible and flowering plants. A lot has changed at the site in the last few years, but now in our 21st year of trading, we send over 20,000 plant gifts each year from those scruffy looking greenhouses on Fletching Common Lane.

Visitors will have the chance to buy plants at discounted price and our knowledgeable team will be on hand to help with any plant queries.

We’re encouraging local visitors to walk or cycle if possible, as we only have limited parking on site and to wear sensible shoes as it’s a working nursery and the ground can be uneven underfoot.

Suggested donation on entry £5 to local charities (children free), unfortunately we can’t welcome dogs as we have farm cats on site.

Let us know you’re coming by email plants@4presents.co.uk or just turn up on the day.
More details can be found online at:-

https://plants4presents.co.uk/news/plants4presents-open-day-2025

Fletching Cricket Club

FCC vs Robertsbridge(A)
The day started in classic FCC fashion with all 11 players meeting at The George Inn pub for a pint and a quick briefing before the game Out went B. McIntosh for the toss, which was duly won, and we elected to bat.

B. McIntosh and B. Pullan opened up on what looked like a decent track with some nice pace on offer. The two of them set a strong tone early, providing stable foundations with some positive strokes and smart running. Their partnership ensured that the innings got off to a bright start and that the rest of the line-up had a good platform to build on.

Pullan’s knock came to an end when he got an absolute seed from the oppo’s youthful Sussex leggy, sending him back to the shed with a wry smile. In came J. Cooper at 3, and he kept the momentum going with a classy 64 off 47, making sure we capitalised on the early work. B. McIntosh eventually had to go after finally offering up a catch that Robertsbridge managed to cling on to at their fourth attempt, finishing on a brisk 50.

Four pints deep and on his 36th cigarette of the morning, in strode J. Bebb. What followed was nothing short of a Ben Stokes-esque innings – Josh cruised to 100, giving the oppo absolutely no chance of seeing the back of him. It was a marvellous innings and truly wonderful to watch. The rest of the innings was rounded out nicely, with the FCC posting a huge total of 327 inside their 40 overs.

After a few words of wisdom from co-captains BMAC and Josh, it was clear FCC were in no mood to take prisoners. M. Rothery took the new ball from the train-track end, steaming in and knocking the middle stump out the ground first ball – sending their wicketkeeper back to where he came. The motive was set.

George Jones applied pressure from the other end, and Rothery picked up his second wicket shortly after, thanks to J. Cooper’s magnet-like hands in the field. The squeeze was on, and it was only a matter of time. At 49-3 inside the powerplay, Robertsbridge had little to no hope.

There were a few other noticeable mentions in the field: Cooper with 3 outstanding catches, R. Skinner with a catch-of-the-season contender A. Stack for his safe pair of hands,
H. Hannay too, chipping in with a grab. Other notable bowling efforts went to O. McIntosh, who picked up 3 wickets and managed to take down their resident giant.

A massive win for this new era of the FCC – one for the history books. Fletching will look to carry on this form and stay unbeaten this season. Next week sees FCC take on Willingdon away.

FCC vs Battle
Gameday was met with much speculation over what, if any, kind of game would take place, with significant rain overnight and early morning. FCC won the toss and put Battle into bat with conditions favouring that of the bowler.

Battle held a stubborn resistance to these conditions until George Jones, left arm magic, knocked over their opening bat. Following some close calls with the umpire, G. Jones was pumped and put in a great spell of 7 overs on the bounce, finishing with figures of 2-22.

However, the key pressure that limited Battle was the bowling performance of Louis Bebb, who pinned and pressured the batsman, taking 5-11 from his 7 consecutive overs. A real indication of FCC’s new winter season training regimes.

Honourable mentions in the field to Will Zlattinger and Arthur Pickard, the latter taking 2/3 of his opportunities behind the stumps. FCC bowled Battle out for 67 from 26 overs, leaving us in a strong chasing position. Ben Pullan, a fine Fletching vintage, and Arthur Pickard opened the batting, again looking to combat the bowling conditions. Ben Pullan unfortunately fell first nut of the innings – credit can only be given to the Battle opening bowler, here. With Will Zlattinger falling soon after, FCC were 4-2 and under pressure. Pickard continued his keeping performance with the bat, staying off the Battle pressure and forming a good partnership with Josh Bebb.

Arthur aptly took the offensive to Battle, scoring a flurry of boundaries, before falling to a sticky-wicket delivery. Josh Bebb was joined at the crease by Louis Bebb – both scored quickly, picking apart some poor bowling and shifted the pressure back onto Battle. The pair took FCC over the line, leaving us with a total of 73-3 off 11.1 overs, completing a strong and positive performance. Fletching CC win by 7 wickets.

Next game is away at Robertsbridge CC – we welcome your support.

Cream Teas

for Family Support Work
26 & 27th JULY
2 - 5 p.m.

Please come along for a cream tea at
4 Corner Cottages, Fletching in aid of Family Support Work (FSW).
Other cakes and drinks will be served and there will be children’s activities.
We will be open on Saturday 26th July and Sunday 27th July from 2pm to 5pm

Support our village cafe!

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