Flying high - bid to boost village hall

SIDESTRAND village hall is looking into the sky, and back to 1932, for a unique picture that will boost its fund-raising.It is a painting of a Sidestrand biplane bomber banking through clouds over the village.

SIDESTRAND village hall is looking into the sky, and back to 1932, for a unique picture that will boost its fund-raising.

It is a painting of a Sidestrand biplane bomber banking through clouds over the village.

The picture was commissioned by the trustees of the local reading room, as a record of the village's link with the aircraft.

But spin-off prints, postcards and calendars will also provide income for the hall at the hub of local life.

It will make its debut at a history and archive exhibition in the parish church over the Bank Holiday weekend, with prints due to be available during the summer fete in August.

Trustee chairman Ivan Wiseman said the hall was bought from the church several years ago, and had undergone major repairs including roofing and a new kitchen. The painting was a way of boosting fund-raising in a village of less than 70 people.

The aircraft, which has no preserved or replica versions in existence, takes it name from the country home of the then Air Minister, Sir Samuel Hoare, of Sidestrand Hall.

The local history and village archive exhibition at St Michael's and All Angels' Church, Sidestrand, is open from 1pm until 5pm from Saturday May 2 to Monday May 4.