Thank you to everyone who helped make our Open Gardens a success: from the visitors who braved the awful June weather to venture out and explore; the generous gardeners who shared their lovely gardens; to the bakers who made the delicious cakes; the kitchen team who served up afternoon teas; and the committee who manned the gates and cleared up afterwards. In spite of the weather, we had 120 visitors and made a profit of over £1,100 towards our £15,000 target to put on this year’s Bonfire Celebrations.

Thanks also to the team of helpers who have been working behind the scenes to cut, drill and prepare the thousands of torch sticks ready for assembly. We begin the task of making the torches on July 4th and will be at the Scout Hut from 10am to 1pm most Saturday mornings throughout July and August. Please do come along and help out if you can spare an hour or two, it’s easy but dusty work, so wear old clothes and gloves. The marvellous, nonagenarian Sylvia will be serving teas and donuts to keep the chat and work flowing equally. 

Catherine Hawley 

Bonfire@gawain.online

What a fabulous May Fair we had this year, with perfect weather and lots of visitors, hopefully this is the year Mayfield's Green Man gets his wish, and makes it into the Guinness Book of Records for the most May Pole dancers. The Boyes and Belles had great fun joining in the dancing and even more so with our hilarious human fruit machine. If you missed having a go on the fun fruit machine, we will be back at the Mayfield Primary School Summer Fair on Sunday 28th June.

You might have noticed some of the Boyes and Belles sporting our limited edition "Bonfire Calling" t-shirts, based on the infamous The Clash 1979 album cover for "London Calling", these are available to order now from our website. https://mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/merchandise/

Our first event this month is a return of the popular Bonfire Open Gardens on Sunday 7th June. This biannual event features private gardens not normally open to the public, this time in East Street and Sandy Lane, where you can spend a Sunday afternoon exploring the five gardens and enjoying teas and home made cakes. Tickets are available online and on the gate. Check out our website for the map and more details.

https://mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events/bonfire-open-gardens/

We will also be meeting for our regular monthly drinks on Thursday 18th June, come and meet your Boyes and Belles and find out more about all our events and preparations for the Bonfire Celebrations in September.

Catherine Hawley 

Bonfire@gawain.online 

We are grateful for the generous support of the Middle House who gave over their lovely Brasserie and were really accommodating in helping to put on our April Wine and Cheese Tasting. Even with the extra capacity in the Middle House, the event sold out two weeks early, and 65 people enjoyed a delicious and enlightening evening of fine wines chosen by Ian from Wellbrook Wines, matched with local cheeses and charcuterie selected by local Master of Cheese Will from Maws. We were treated to an eclectic mix, including blush Pinot the colour of onion skins and a local soft cheese rolled in marigold flowers. The crowd was a lively mix of our regular supporters joined by many new friends from Mayfield and Five Ashes; we thank them for their generous support of our fundraising and to all the local businesses who donated raffle prizes. Particular thanks goes to the organiser Shailja for her boundless energy and enthusiasm.

Last month we have been cleaning the Martyrs Memorial outside Colkins Mill Church and recycling the old stage floor from the Memorial Hall to reinforce our shed, ready to store the 5,000 torches. This month we will be recovering last year's torches and begin cutting the 10,000 pieces of board ready for assembly in July. If you can spare a few hours on a Sunday morning please get in touch, or come along and chat with us at the May Fair, or at our monthly social drinks on 21st May at the Rose and Crown.

Look out for our stall at the May Fair on 9th May. Do come along to try your luck on our "human fruit machine" and find out more about what goes on behind the scenes as we prepare for this year's Bonfire Celebrations.

If you missed our trip to the silent disco last month, you can still get your music fix at our Eurovision Party on Saturday 16th May. We are combining forces with MAYFACS and Mayfield Cricket Club to bring you an evening of all things Eurovision. Watch the spectacle on the Cricket Club's big screen, play Euro-bingo and test your knowledge in our lighthearted Euro-quiz. Enjoy the subsidised late bar and food truck serving wraps and burritos. Fancy dress is optional and there will be prizes for the best Euro-costume. Tickets £8 are available on our website and also from the MAYFACS office and cricket club. 

Another event for your diaries is our second Bonfire Open Gardens on Sunday 7th June, when you will be able to visit Mayfield gardens not normally open to the public. These generous gardeners are kindly sharing their space and opening especially for us. Come along for a lazy Sunday afternoon exploring charming gardens and enjoying home made afternoon tea. Tickets £7:50, free to under 16s, are available on our website now, and also on the gate.

https://mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events/

Catherine Hawley 

Bonfire@gawain.online

We have a treat this month with two special guests at our next fundraising and social event on Thursday 16th April, when we will be joined by Ian from Wellbrook Wines and William Cohen from Maws Fine Foods for a wine and cheese tasting at the Middle House. The Middle House are generously supporting the event and giving over their lovely Brassiere for an evening of matched wines and cheeses, with charcuterie and nibbles especially for those who, unlike Wallace, might not be such great fans of cheese. 

Many of you will know Ian, former sommelier and now manager and wine buyer at Wellbrook Wines, and perhaps from his regular newsletters with "cheesy" titles. He will be joined by William, our local cheese expert, and one of only a handful of international Masters of Cheese. If you missed our sell out event last year, then you may wonder what is a Master of Cheese? Here is Michelin star chef Raymond Blanc's description: "I believe that the skills of a Maître Fromager are not too different from a Maître Chef. Both strongly believe in the critical importance of provenance first and foremost. In this case, the choice of the milk, the breed of the animal, its seasonal diets, and intricate knowledge of every step of the supply chain in order to create the best possible cheese. Then they must have a deep knowledge of the art of ageing/ ‘affinage’, which will create the magic… allowing the cheese to develop the most incredible textures and flavours over time. " 

Together Ian and William will give a fascinating talk about their choices, and sometimes surprising combinations, of wines matched with local cheeses. Tickets £25 are available online from our website: https://mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events/wine-and-cheese/

If cheesy music is more to your taste, then save the date of Saturday 16th May and join us for a Eurovision Party at Mayfield Cricket Club. Mayfield Cricket Club are generously sharing their big TV screen and bar for a fun evening of music, dancing, dressing up, and groans to scores of nil point. More information on our website and in next month's newsletter.

It's not just fun and fundraising, your Bonfire Society have also been busy preparing for the September 19th Bonfire Celebrations, booking fireworks and first aid, cutting new sticks and getting everything in place. Over the next couple of months we will be cutting 10,000 squares of board and drilling 30,000 holes to prepare the 5,000 torches for assembly. If you want to find out more or get involved, please contact me, or come along to our regular social drinks at the Rose and Crown. The April drinks is replaced by the Wine and Cheese matching and our next drinks will be on Thursday 21st May.

Catherine Hawley 

Bonfire@gawain.online 

Each year we shake buckets and collect for local charities during the processions of our Bonfire Celebrations. Every penny collected during the processions goes to charity, typically we collect around £2,000 from our generous Mayfield residents. We always collect for Mayfield Scouts, as well as to hold a Christmas party for Mayfield's senior citizens, and we also select one or more local charities to support. We are inviting local charities to apply to be included in the bucket collections for this year, please contact bonfire@gawain.online to be considered.

To put on the Bonfire Celebrations in 2026 and keep this amazing village tradition alive, we will need to raise over £13,000. We rely on the generous support of a grant from Mayfield Parish Council and donations from our patrons, and run a series of fundraising events throughout the year. We kicked off our fundraising in February with another popular quiz at Five Ashes, with thanks go to the quizzers, regulars and new, for generously supporting us and to the wonderful team of helpers who prepared the supper and ran the quiz. 

Our next fundraising event will be our very popular cheese and wine matching on Thursday 16th April. The Middle House are kindly hosting the event for us and Ian from Wellbrook wines will be choosing wines to match cheeses selected by local master of cheese Will. Tickets sold out quickly last year, so get yours from our website www.mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events.

Meanwhile, do join us for our regular social drinks at the Rose and Crown at 8pm on Thursday 19th March.  

Catherine Hawley 

Bonfire@gawain.online 

We finished off the year hosting our traditional Christmas Party for Senior Citizens with a free Christmas lunch and carol singing. It was a lovely way to share some festive joy and we are grateful to Colkins Mill Church for letting us use their venue, to Mayfield scouts for making the table decorations  and helping with the raffle presents, and for the many volunteers who helped bake the mince pies, cook and serve the food, decorate the church and entertain our guests. We would also like to say a big thank you to Nicola from Sew Inspired who always helps and supports all our events, from spreading the word and managing the guest list, to holding tickets and even sponsoring snails. Thank you!

At the party we also handed out cheques to the four charities we raised over £2,000 for this year - Mayfield Scouts, Mayfield Youth Band, Friends of Mayfield Churchyard and Friends of St Dunstan's. Thank you Mayfield for your generous donations.

It was a busy weekend of celebrating, with the party followed by our final procession of the year, walking in Uckfield for the Bonfire Christmas Carol Service. Then instead of our monthly drinks at the Rose and Crown we enjoyed a Christmas dinner at the Middle House. 

In January we will be back at the Rose and Crown on Thursday 15th for our monthly drinks 8-10 and then have a trip out on Saturday 17th Wassailing at Big Nose and Beardy. Do come along and join us for a friendly chat and to find out about bonfire activities throughout the year. 

We are already preparing for our first fundraising event of the year, our popular Spring Quiz on Saturday February 21st at Five Ashes Village Hall. Tickets and more details are available online at www.mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events.

Catherine Hawley 

Bonfire@gawain.online  

We had a great time Wassailing at Big Nose and Beardy in January as our first social outing of the year and have a fun calendar of social and fundraising events coming up this year, including quizzes, cheese and wine, a scavenger hunt and waking the apples. We have also been out braving the wintry weather cutting new torch sticks and beginning preparations for the Bonfire Celebrations on September 21st.

Our first fundraising event of 2026 is our popular quiz on Saturday February 21st at Five Ashes Village Hall. Tickets sold out last year, so if you want to come along for a lighthearted evening of friendly rivalry then be quick and get your team of up to 6 together. Tickets £15 are available online at https://mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events/bonfire-quiz/ or for cash at Sew Inspired and includes a ploughman's supper.

Do join us for our regular social drink at the Rose and Crown on Thursday 19th February from 8pm, meet at the square table beside the fire.

Catherine Hawley 

bonfire@gawain.online