On Thursday May 28, the task was accomplished of retrieving the flag over St Mary's. Using a ladder hauled up outside the building to the parapet, an intrepid roofer scaled the heights. Holding hard onto the golden orb, he managed to disentangle the material from the decorative wrought ironwork at the base of the weather vane.
Though damaged, the ensign is not considered beyond repair, said John Gurney, St Mary's church surveyor. Meanwhile a new Union Flag has been requisitioned and should be available for the next commemorative occasion for which it will be required.
Whilst up on the parapet, Geoff Goldfinch and his men replaced some of the slates loosened in the high winds, as previously reported in Rye News. The lowering of the flag-pole to enable the replacement of the halyards will be undertaken shortly.
