The Hankham Great Get Together was part of the Great Get Together weekend promoted by the Jo Cox Foundation.
It was held at Peelings Manor Barn on 17th June 2017, and was blessed by the most glorious weather. Nearly 200 people attended the event, where tea and coffee, sandwiches and sausage rolls, scones and cakes were served. The Village rose to the occasion with their (mostly home made) contributions to the extent that no-one left hungry; people were urged to take home doggy bags.
In addition to the afternoon tea, there was a display of photographs of Hankham, historic and current, a Hankham Quiz to see how much you knew and how observant you were, and a raffle to raise money for the Hankham Village Society and the Jo Cox Foundation. We raised the sum of £445.10 for the Jo Cox Foundation.
We were delighted to be joined by Jane Gow (the widow of former Eastbourne MP and Hankham resident, Ian Gow); Keith Stevens, the Chair of Westham Parish Council; Councillor Pat Hearn, Mayor of Eastbourne; and Huw Merriman, MP for Battle and Bexhill, our local MP. But we were even more delighted by the number of Hankham residents who came to the event, including the oldest resident of Hankham, Marge Funnell, and many of the youngest.
This event would not have happened had it not been for the generosity of so many people, so here goes.
We give special thanks to the Blessington family, who allowed us to use Peelings Manor Barn free of charge. It was a magnificent setting for what we consider to be our opening event.
Thanks go to the following people and organisations, who donated raffle prizes: The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne; The Red Lion in Stone Cross; Marks & Spencer, Eastbourne; The Chocolate House, Eastbourne; Devonshire Park Theatre; Willingdon Golf Club; Michelham Priory; Daisychain, Eastbourne; Bloomfields Florists, Hailsham; JCJ Pottery, Hankham; Hankham Organics; and the Piper Family.
Thanks go to Waitrose, Hailsham branch, who contributed cups and, more pertinent to a cream tea, cream and jam; to Garry Winwood of Saxon Nurseries for the floral displays; to CS Roofing Contractors, Stone Cross, for sponsoring the colouring competition; to Rupert Fielder for providing the PA equipment; and to Westham Parish Council for sponsoring the loos.
Special thanks also go to Don McPhee for writing the Hankham Quiz and organising the raffle; to Sharon Lloyd for sourcing some great raffle prizes; to Paul Dalton for organising the photographic display; to Richard, Penny and Alice for acting as first aiders; to the committee, for the hours put in to bring the event together; and to all those who contributed cakes and other confections for the benefit of the village as a whole.