Your Bonfire Boyes and Belles are delighted to announce our next annual Carnival and Torchlit Procession will be held on Saturday 21st September. Mayfield Bonfire Society has held a carnival almost every year for nearly a century, except during times of war, typhoid and Covid. At over a mile long, with 5,000 burning torches, the Mayfield procession is believed to be the longest in Sussex, other than the Lewes Grand United Procession on 5th November. Thousands of people flock to the village each year to take part in the carnival and watch this spectacular event.

The Map shows the procession routes and approximate timings and there is more detailed information about the routes and road closures below. Look out for the new set of Bonfire banners hanging in the High Street throughout September, made by our creative team of sewing Boyes and Belles.

As always, we will be collecting for local charities on the night so please do remember to bring cash and give generously. This year we are collecting for Mayfield Youth Band and MAYFACS Shedders, as well as the Scouts, Cricket Club and Senior Citizens Christmas party. You can also donate online at the Bonfire Bar.

We need to raise around £10,000 to put on the carnival procession and would like to thank Mayfield Parish Council for their grant and continuing support for the Bonfire Society. We would also like to thank our members, patrons and friends for their generous support.

You can help us raise funds by using our Bonfire Bar, which will be in its usual place in the High Street beside the cannon, serving Harvey's beers, plus cider, wines and soft drinks. This year we will have an extra small bar outside the Scout Hut from 9pm to help quench thirsts at the end of the processions. There will also be various food stalls in the High Street and the Fun Fair on Court Meadow, together with fireworks at 9:45pm. 

Thank you to all our many kind helpers who have made the 5,000 torches in preparation for the torchlit processions, and to all those who work tirelessly over the weekend to put on the village’s largest event, and then to clear up again afterwards. An army of volunteers help put up the signs and marshal the roadblocks, set up the radio communications and liaise with the police, set up and man the all important bar, make cakes and sandwiches and serve refreshments for visiting societies, and carry collection buckets to raise funds for local charities. Most of the members and volunteers are helping behind the scenes, whilst a small group of Boyes and Belles will dress up to lead the procession.

The society are looking to recruit more members and volunteers who can help in any way. Whether you love dressing up and walking in the procession, can help the working party make torches, perhaps help out at a fundraising event, or just offer an hour or two of support on the day.

ROAD CLOSURES. AND PARKING

As usual, most roads in the village will be closed to all vehicles. Road Closures begin at 6pm and affect Tunbridge Wells Road, High Street, Fletching Street (down to Alexandra Terrace junction), East Street (to Sandy Lane junction), The Avenue, and Station Road (including the junction with Stone Cross and Love Lane). Some roads will be opened to traffic once the procession has passed, but the High Street and parts of Tunbridge Wells Road will remain closed until 11.30pm, or until it is safe to open them.

Please respect the Barrier Marshals as most of them are volunteers giving up their time for this fantastic community event. This is an official Road Closure Order and if contravened may result in prosecution by the Police.

We are asking residents and visitors to please observe the parking restrictions in order to allow unobstructed processions and to avoid damage to parked vehicles. Please do not park anywhere on the procession routes (see map). We cannot accept responsibility for any damage to vehicles or property left on the procession route.

For visitors, parking will be possible along one side of the Tunbridge Wells road, and this road will become one-way, heading away from the village, from 9pm.  

CARNIVAL TIMETABLE

COMMEMORATION 6.45pm. The evening begins with a service to remember the dead at the War Memorial, where a wreath will be laid accompanied by a short Eulogy, followed by a minute’s silence and lighting of the fiery Poppies.

PROCESSIONS:

FIRST PROCESSION 7.15pm. Forms up along Station Road (Bands form up in the top of West Street), lights up at the Horse trough, then proceeds up the High Street, down Fletching Street, and stops at the Rose & Crown.

SECOND PROCESSION 8.15pm. Leaves the Rose and Crown, up Fletching Street, down the High Street, along Station Road to beyond Old Lane, and then turns on itself and returns up Station Road to stop just before the Horse trough. Vehicles in the procession will continue to the junction with Love Lane and turn there. 

GRAND PROCESSION 9.15pm. Lights up at the Horse trough, proceeds up the High Street and around to the gates of Court Meadow where it de-torches.

FIREWORKS 9.45pm: The fireworks display will commence as soon as the end of the procession has cleared the Court Meadow gates, which we anticipate will be around 9.45pm. Please note no fireworks are permitted by members of the public at our event. 

We look forward to seeing you at another spectacular torchlit carnival.

Do join us on Saturday 20th July at Five Ashes Village Hall for a 50th anniversary showing of the cult movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and help raise funds for the Carnival. Doors open at 7:30pm for the bar and you can simply enjoy this great rock and roll movie, maybe join in with the audience participation, sing along to your favorite tunes, dance the Time Warp, or even dress up with the chance to win a prize for best costume. Tickets £10 are available online and in Burnetts and Sew Inspired.

https://mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events/rocky-horror/

Our Open Gardens fundraising for June was a tremendous success, with 200 visitors enjoying a stroll around the six beautiful gardens, plus the lovely sunshine and homemade cakes. We would like to thank our generous garden hosts, who worked tirelessly in the dreadful spring weather to get their gardens looking amazing. And to thank the army of kind helpers who baked the cakes, served the teas, stewarded the gates, moved the furniture and cleared up afterwards. We raised £2,000, almost enough to pay for the fireworks, though not quite enough to cover the cost of the insurance for the Carnival.  

This month we will begin making the 5,000 torches needed for the Carnival torchlit procession. The sticks are chopped, the board cut and the 30,000 holes drilled all ready for assembly. We will be meeting at the Scout Hut on most Saturday mornings throughout July and August from 10am till 1pm. If the rain stops, we will be outside having a chat and cuppa whilst we work. If you can spare an hour or so, please do come along to help. It's easy but dusty work, so wear old clothes and gloves.

Catherine Hawley 

bonfire@gawain.online 

We have a busy month of activities for the whole family so do come along and meet us in June. More details of these events are available on our website www.mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/events. 

On the afternoon of Sunday 2nd June it's our first Open Gardens. Our generous gardeners are kindly opening their private gardens for an exclusive opportunity to explore six gardens and enjoy home made teas in The Warren and East Street. Bring the family for an afternoon stroll, tickets £6 available online and on the gate, free for under 16s, and dogs are welcome on leads.

We would also like to thank the Warren residents, and in particular Val and Rene, for raffling a giant 3kg chocolate bunny to help raise funds for the Carnival. 

Next, we are taking part in the 80th anniversary D-Day commemorations on the evening of Thursday 6th June with 1940s-themed music and entertainment on Court Meadow, starting with church bells from 6:30pm and culminating in lighting a beacon to celebrate the ‘light of peace’ that emerged out of the darkness of war. Come and enjoy a summers evening in Court Meadow with a licensed bar, songs and music of the era, a display of military vehicles, and the commemorative beacon lit at 9.15pm to coincide with the national act of remembrance. Free to attend. Dress up in period or come as you are. Bring a chair to relax, or get up and dance to the music. Hopefully it will be a lovely summer evening, but the Scout Hall is available if the weather is inclement.

Do join us on Thursday 20th June for our regular social drink and catch up at the Rose and Crown from 8-10pm.

Finally, on 29th June we will be at the Mayfield Primary School Fair, where you can have fun making our new design of children's torches. These will be replica torches, lit by fairy lights, which can be individually decorated.  Grown ups and teens can also have a go making one of the 5,000 torches we will burn in the Carnival procession.

And all month we will be drilling the 30,000 holes in torch sticks and board to prepare the materials for torch making in July and August.

Catherine Hawley 

bonfire@gawain.online 

Thank you to all our kind supporters who came along to our November Quiz to help raise funds for Carnival 2024. On December 2nd we will be hosting our last event of the year, our annual senior citizens Christmas party at Colkins Mill. As well as enjoying a festive afternoon tea and carols, we will be handing out donation cheques to our three charities:The Scouts, Mayfield Band and Mayfield Pre-school. We wish all our helpers, supporters and patrons a peaceful festive season and joyous new year.

In October we had some great nights out in support of our local bonfire societies at Rotherfield, Heathfield and Isfield, then in November will be walking at Lewes, East Hoathley, Barcombe and Chiddingly.

There are three other dates for your diaries. As well as our usual monthly social drinks at the Rose and Crown 8-10pm on Thursday 16th November, we will be returning to Five Ashes Village Hall on Friday 17th November for another of our popular Quiz Nights. Doors open at 7:00pm for the bar, with the quiz running from 7:30 to 10pm, and we will be serving Martin’s delicious pizzas at the interval. Tickets are available from Burnetts and Sew Inspired, as well as online on our website at www.mayfieldbonfire.co.uk.

Then on Saturday 2nd December we will be hosting our annual Christmas Party, which is free to all  senior citizens from Mayfield and Five Ashes. With the closure of the Memorial Hall, we will be holding the party in Colkins Mill Church this year and serving a Christmas-themed afternoon tea, accompanied by festive music and carol singing. Doors open at 1pm and we can arrange transport for anyone needing assistance. Places are offered on a first come basis, if you would like to come, please let Nicola from Sew Inspired know, she is kindly keeping the list of attendees.

Have you heard about our new fundraising initiative the 59 Club? One week a very lucky winner received a nice surprise of a triple rollover win of £64! The club is based on the National Lottery bonus ball and we still have numbers available if you would like to join and help support our fundraising for the Carnival in 2024. You can sign up for the 59 Club online on our website, or in person at the Quiz and Christmas Party

Wow, what a fabulous carnival! Your Bonfire Boyes and Belles were joined by 29 visiting societies and 5 bands, creating a spectacular procession of fire though the village stretching about a mile long. The crowds in the High street and along the procession routes were clearly having such fun and enjoying the spectacle. A group of outsiders looking for trouble were quickly dealt with by the police and the show went on to be another wonderful evening of processions and fireworks for our village.

The evening began with the Memorial Service and fiery poppy banners and this year the wreaths were laid by Mel Izzard, in memory of our late member Darren Izzard, and by Freya Huxtable representing our Ukrainian guests. Vines Cross Bonfire Society also carried a banner in memory of Darren Izzard.

It takes a village to raise a carnival, with a huge effort going on behind the scenes throughout the year to put on the event. We would like to thank the dozens of helpers who worked throughout the year to make it such a success. Including fundraising the £10,000 to run the event, cutting and assembling the 5,000 torches and constructing the banners; arranging the fireworks and building the bonfire; running the bar and catering; as well as the many behind the scenes roles of organising road closures and putting out the hundreds of cones and signs; manning the barriers; and then clearing up afterwards so the village looks like nothing had happened.

We would also like to thank those who shook collection buckets on the night, and you for the generosity of our lovely village, who donated £1,900 to local causes the Mayfield 1st Scouts, Mayfield Pre-school and Mayfield Band, as well as the senior citizens’ Christmas party. Thank you Mayfield!

The Boyes and Belles are delighted to announce our next annual Carnival Procession will be held on Saturday 16th September. We will continue with the the same route and timings as last year, with the first procession along the High Street leaving the Horse Trough at 7:15pm. The Map shows the routes and approximate timings and there is more detailed information about the route and road closures below. Look out for the new Bonfire banners in the High Street during September, made by our team of sewing Boyes and Belles.

As always, we will be collecting for local charities so please do remember to bring cash and give generously. This year we are collecting for Mayfield Pre-School and Mayfield Band, as well as the Scouts and Senior Citizens Christmas party. You can also donate online at the Bonfire Bar.

With the rising cost of living, we need to raise around £10,000 to put on the carnival procession and would like to thank our members, patrons and friends for their support. We would also like to thank Mayfield Parish Council for their grant and continuing support for the Bonfire Society. 

You can help us raise funds by using our Bonfire Bar, which will be in its usual place, in the High Street beside the cannon, serving Harvey's beers, plus cider, wines and soft drinks. There will also be various food stalls in the High Street and the Fun Fair on Court Meadow, together with fireworks at 9:45pm. There will not be a bonfire this year.

Thank you to all our many kind helpers who have made 5,000 torches in preparation for the torchlit processions, and to all those who work tirelessly over the weekend to put on the village’s largest event and then to clear up again afterwards.

ROAD CLOSURES

As usual, most roads in the village will be closed to all vehicles. Road Closures begin at 6pm and affect Tunbridge Wells Road, High Street, Fletching Street (down to Alexandra Terrace junction), East Street (to Sandy Lane junction), The Avenue, and Station Road (including the junction with Stone Cross and Love Lane). Some roads will be opened to traffic once the procession has passed, but the High Street and parts of Tunbridge Wells Road will remain closed until 11.30pm, or until it is safe to open them.

Please respect the Barrier Marshals as most of them are volunteers giving up their time for this fantastic community event, and they have direct communication to the Police control centre covering the event. This is an official Road Closure Order and if contravened may result in prosecution by the Police.

For visitors, parking will be possible along one side of the Tunbridge Wells road, and this road will become one-way, heading away from the village, from 9pm.  

COMMEMORATION 6.45pm. There will be a service to remember the dead at the War Memorial, where a wreath will be laid accompanied by a short Eulogy, followed by a minute’s silence and lighting of the fiery Poppies. This year we will include a memorial to commemorate Ukraine's fallen.

PROCESSIONS and PARKING:

FIRST PROCESSION 7.15pm. Forms up along Station Road (Bands form up in the top of West Street), lights up at the Horse trough, then proceeds up the High Street, down Fletching Street, and stops at the Rose & Crown.

SECOND PROCESSION 8.15pm. Leaves the Rose and Crown, up Fletching Street, down the High Street, along Station Road to beyond Old Lane, and then turns on itself and returns up Station Road to stop just before the Horse trough. For this reason the full width of Station Road will be required to allow the procession to pass itself. Vehicles in the procession will continue to the junction with Love Lane and turn there. 

GRAND PROCESSION 9.15pm. Lights up at the Horse trough, proceeds up the High Street and around to the gates of Court Meadow where it de-torches.

We are asking residents and visitors to please observe the parking restrictions in order to allow an unobstructed procession and avoid damage to parked vehicles. Please do not park anywhere on the procession routes (see map). We cannot accept responsibility for any damage to vehicles or property left on the procession route.

FIREWORKS 9.45pm: The fireworks display will commence as soon as the end of the procession has cleared the Court Meadow gates, which we anticipate will be around 9.45pm. Please note no fireworks are permitted by members of the public at our event. 

We look forward to seeing you at another spectacular torchlit carnival.

Catherine Hawley

bonfire@gawain.online

It's only a few more weeks till we put on Mayfield's largest event with our torchlit Carnival Procession on Saturday 16th September. Preparations are well underway and torch assembly starts on 1st July at the Scout Hut. Can you spare an hour or so to help assemble the 5,000 torches we burn on the night? Come along and join us for a chat and a cuppa on most Saturday mornings throughout July and August from 10-1 at the Scout Hut. It's simple work, but a bit dusty, so wear old clothes and gloves. We will be at the barn in Five Ashes on Saturday 15th July and 5th August when the Scout Hut is not available.

Would you like the chance of winning up to £30 a week and supporting your Bonfire Society at the same time? With rising costs we will need to raise £10,000 to run the Carnival Procession this year and so have introduced a new initiative, called the 59 Club.  The concept of the 59 Club is that Members, Friends and Patrons of the Society “buy” a particular number(s) between 1 and 59, corresponding to the numbers on the weekly Saturday National Lottery draw.  Each Saturday the National Lottery draws a Bonus Ball – and if this is the same number as your own, you win!!!  It’s as simple at that.

Entry costs £1 per number per week.  Particular numbers can be allocated on request, on a first come first served basis. Winnings will be half the value of the total weekly pot so, for example, if all numbers are bought the prize will be £30.  If only half the numbers are sold, the prize will be £15, and so on.

You can find out more and apply from our website www.mayfieldbonfire.co.uk/59club/

Catherine Hawley bonfire@gawain.online

We have a busy month this May with preparations for the Carnival underway as well as a couple of events where you can come and meet us and find out more about your Bonfire Society. 

The planning and organising for the Carnival Procession on Saturday 21st September is going well, we have booked the various locations, fireworks, food stalls and first aid and recently had our road closure application approved. We are hoping the wet weather is over as we are unfortunately behind schedule on cutting and preparing the 5,000 torches we will need to assemble this summer for the procession. A small team of volunteers and members are working most Saturday and Sunday mornings to cut and drill the sticks, if you can spare a few hours to help please do get in touch. 

On Saturday 11th May we will have a stall at the May Fare where you can meet other members and find out more about everything that goes on behind the scenes to put on the spectacular Carnival Procession. You can also join the 59 Club, see our new range of merchandise and get tickets for our events coming up in June - the Open Gardens on Sunday 2nd and the Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday 22nd June.

On Thursday 16th May we will be holding our Annual Meeting in the Rose and Crown at 7:30pm, before our regular monthly social get together at 8pm. The annual meeting will be brief, members are invited to join us to elect our directors and approve the accounts, then we will revert to the bar for drinks and a catch up with friends and members on everything happening in the society. 

Do come along and get involved with your friendly bonfire society.

Catherine Hawley