Danny House's part in WWI history

Danny House, Hurstpierpoint - where Lloyd George signed the Armistice agreement in 1918

By Michèle Copeland

Danny - we all hear the name or references to it, but how many of us have been to Danny House?

Danny is an impressive and stunning country home of the first Elizabethan age, nestled at the bottom of the South Downs at Wolstonbury Hill, south of Hurstpierpoint. It has stood the passage of time - some seven centuries - as the home of the Campion family, who played major parts in the area’s domestic and imperial history in their time, as well as housing leaders of our nation, at difficult times.

One of those most recent events was in 1918, when Prime Minister Lloyd George stayed there alongside his wife and his secretary Miss Stevenson - his reputedly ailing mistress. Danny House and its village was chosen not only to become a temporary office of the War Cabinet, between July and November 1918, but David Lloyd George’s country home.

“He effectively lived there with his family, the newspaper barons of the time, and war leaders for several months,” says Richard Burrows, today’s owner of Danny House.

[Taken from a full article published in August 2018's Hurst Life magazine]

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“I would really love to re-enact The 1918 Lloyd George Garden Party, to celebrate the Armistice centenary of 1918. It would really be great if people could attend this event in period costume of the 1920s, with dancers or dancing groups to lead the way,” he says.

The famous Alex Mendham 11 piece orchestra (who have played to royalty all over the world) and the Hot Rhythm Orchestra (who headline the Goodwood Revival) will be present, as well as the well-known vintage Harris funfair and WWI re-enactors. Enjoy Pimms and tea on the lawn and mingle with actors dressed like celebrities of the time, such as Lloyd George, Bonar Law, and Arthur Balfour – we can all re-enact history!

The 1918 Lloyd George Garden Party is on 2nd September 2018. It will open at 2pm and finish at 6pm. 

Ticket prices are £5 a head and £20 for a family ticket and can be bought via the Hurst Festival website. 

Albourne Village Show - 1st September 2018

By Mick Gratton

This year’s Albourne Village Show will be held at Albourne Green (BN6 9DJ) between 12noon and 4.30pm on Saturday 1st September 2018 with free local parking.

It is a traditional Summer Fete with a Flower, Produce and Craft show at its heart. Visit the website www.albournevillageshow.co.uk for information on categories and entry details.

It has grown to be a family event for all ages and this year we will have three bands including Patcham Silver Band; a dog show you can enter on the day; steam engines, vintage vehicles and a barrel organ; birds of prey; as well as a magician, children’s entertainment, games and many craft stalls.

There’s plenty to eat and drink with a Bedlam beer tent and Clive Miller barbeque, tea and cakes and apple pressing. 

If you can’t come, you can still buy tickets for the ‘Best of Albourne’ Raffle which has a £100 first prize sponsored by Ernest Doe together with many other great prizes.

The show is generously supported by local businesses including Sweeptech, Technetix, Avtrade, Hurst College and Tracmaster and raises money for the local community.

Please come and enjoy a day out and if you want to run a stall contact me (Mick) on 01273 833978.

Blue Dogs victorious in final

Hurstpierpoint Football Club success in 2018

By Alex Oecken

Hurstpierpoint Football Club has been the village team since its formation in 1886, making it one of the oldest football clubs in the country. Originally playing in the grounds of Danny House, the club moved to Fairfield Rec in the mid-1900s, a ground that they still call ‘home’ today.

In 2014 Hurst won the prestigious Sussex Intermediate Cup, beating Cowfold in the final - arguably the proudest day in the club’s long history. 

This year the club looked to go and emulate the victorious feat, but this time in the Edgar German Cup. 

The ‘Blue Dogs’ found themselves drawn in the final against a very young Jarvis Brook II side that proved more than worthy of its place, despite being in the division below.

The game took place last month at Hanbury Park stadium in Haywards Heath. Hurst came into the game without a win since their semi-final victory three weeks prior but still took the lead through a Luca D’Alessio header just before half time. Luca was one of the three products in the squad who came from the club’s youth system, Hurstpierpoint Colts.

Jarvis Brook equalised with a penalty just after halftime, which made for a more tense finish.

The deciding moment came with just under half an hour to play, when Hurstpierpoint born Luke Martin arrowed an effort passed the Brook goalkeeper from 25 yards to make it 2-1 on the night.

The club has made great progress in the last two seasons, and all involved are very proud of this achievement. We are expanding and growing as a club and would welcome anyone in the village who would be keen to get involved, whether that be playing, managing/coaching or on the committee. Do get in touch (hurstpierpointfc @gmail.com).

Noel Coward play at The New Inn, Hurstpierpoint

Hurstpierpoint is delighted to be welcoming back the hugely successful and talented musical team of Sam Nixon and Alasdair Carson-Sheard. Following on from the well-received Twelfth Night, and a hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, the same directorial team bring you: I’ll See You Again - the Private Lives of Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence.

Departing from Shakespeare, combining biopic with outdoor theatre magic they are bringing a wonderful celebration of the lives and talent of that essential, erudite British gent Noel Coward and his shining, talented and funny co-star Gertrude Lawrence.

This evening of razor sharp wit, laugh out loud comedy and some of the most beautiful melodies written for the stage will be in the garden of the New Inn from Wednesday 4th to Friday 6th July, with an additional special matinee performance on Saturday 7th July.

For more details and to buy tickets visit: www.ginpalaceproductions.co.uk.

A review of village Conservation Areas in Hurstpierpoint

As part of a programme of reviewing Conservation Area Appraisals across the District, Mid Sussex District Council has prepared the Hurstpierpoint Conservation Areas Appraisal, which covers the three Conservation Areas within the village (Hurstpierpoint, Langton Lane and Hurst Wickham). This has been prepared in association with the Hurstpierpoint Society, and identifies the qualities which make the Conservation Areas special, as well as how these qualities can be preserved and enhanced.

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This map shows the conservation areas currently in Hurstpierpoint

The Appraisal has highlighted a number of instances where it is felt the boundaries of the Conservation Areas could be usefully extended to include adjoining areas which are considered to have sufficient special interest to merit designation, as well as one instance where it is considered the boundary could be altered to omit buildings which detract from the special interest of the Conservation Area concerned.

Once approved by the Council, the Appraisal will form a material consideration in the determination of planning applications and will inform planning practice and policies for the area. It will also give the local community clear advice on what should be cared for and preserved within the Conservation Areas.

The Conservation Area Appraisal is now complete in draft form. The next stage of the process is a public consultation exercise, in this case with the assistance of the Hurstpierpoint Society and the Parish Council, in which the Council is seeking the views of local residents and other interested parties on the Appraisal and the proposed boundary changes. The consultation included a public exhibition at the Hurstpierpoint Village Centre at the end of last month, but copies of the full Appraisal document are now available to view at Hurstpierpoint Library. The Appraisal is also available to view online at the Council’s website: www.midsussex.gov.uk/hurstpierpointcaa

MSDC are very keen to hear from anyone with their thoughts on the draft document. Comments can be sent to LDFconsultation @ midsussex.gov.uk 

The public consultation began on 16th April and will run until the end of May 2018. There will be a review of the feedback received and any required changes would be made to the Appraisal before it is adopted. 

New Vermouth from Albourne Estate

Alison Nightingale, Albourne Estate vineyard owner, has unveiled the first Sussex vermouth: an English take on the Italian favourite which is rapidly seeing a resurgence in popularity.

Named 40 after the number of botanicals with which it has been infused, this highly complex tasting white semi-dry vermouth has already won its first award in The Spirits Business Master 2017 blind-tasting competition.

As well as the regular vineyard and wine tasting tours Alison runs throughout the summer, this June - on the Father’s Day weekend - there will be a Sussex Wineries weekend of events when Albourne Estate will be open to the public.

On the Friday, there will be a pop-up cinema in its 400 year old barn, screening Sideways, with tickets including a glass of wine. And on 16th and 17th June the vineyard will be open all day for drop-in tastings, a self-guided treasure hunt trail and the chance to picnic anywhere on the vineyard with hampers full of local produce, which need to be ordered on Albourne Estate’s website prior to the event.

On the Saturday there will be a vermouth master class with Alison’s wine consultant Salvatore Leone, who helped Alison develop her recently launched vermouth.

Visit www.albourneestate.co.uk to find out more.

Time for changes to The Village Centre in Hurstpierpoint?

By Michèle Copeland

Hurstpierpoint's Village Centre

The Village Centre is considering a major redevelopment of its facilities to bring the building up to date with current regulations, carry out various repairs, enhance the facilities for its predicted use over the coming years and to improve the appearance of the centre, in terms of decor.

Michel Olszewski, chair of the Trustees of The Village Centre committee, explains: “The needs of the community are outgrowing the accommodation The Village Centre currently has and we are considering upgrading the main hall, the meeting room, the kitchen and the Club Room. The library is the responsibility of Mid Sussex District Council. The Village Centre was first extended in 1998. There was a further update, which took two years from 2004 to 2006 - nearly 15 years ago now, when the Parish Room was re-housed.” 

“As The Village Centre is very much a community building,” Michel continues, “we would like to involve the Hurst community in this important project. Our current considerations may include several changes, which could impact on the different groups and members of the public who use the centre, such as alterations to the steps and ramp to the hall, general layout and an extension.”

The team thought that the best way to interact with the residents of Hurst would be through a questionnaire and so they would be grateful for anyone who could email with responses to the following questions: 
1. In addition to current accommodation, are there any additional facilities you would like to see?
2. Would you find a changing room/cloakroom accommodation useful?
3. What aspects of the Centre would you most want or need to be retained?
4. Are they any additions to the facilities that would enable you to use the Centre more often?
5. What are the best parts of the Centre which encourage you to use the facility?

Any feedback should be sent to the current HVCA Secretary, Andrew Hair, via email to: andrewhinhurst @ gmail.com

New Hurstpierpoint gallery hosts 13 artists

Gallery 92 opened in March

There’s another new shop on the High Street. Gallery 92 opened last month when Hurst residents Clare and Joff Harms ‘took the plunge’ to start their own High Street business.

The pair only got the keys to the property ten days before they opened. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” Clare explained, “but we are really excited to have done it!”

The gallery stocks art, photography, prints and giftwares.

Hurst's Spring Show 2018

Hurstpierpoint Horticultural Society Spring Show

By Kathy Green

Early March brought the ‘Beast from the East’ blasting the spring flowers into abject submission and turning the garden to stone. With the Hurstpierpoint Horticultural Spring Show less than a fortnight away all looked very bleak indeed. But, as the thaw began, the Committee sent out a plea to all members of the Society to do their very, very best to enter something into the Show. And we hoped for the best.

Show day arrived and, would you believe it?! The Beast was back. Snow swirled around the village and a bitter east wind cut across the car park. But gardening types are a hardy lot. They arrived at the Village Hall muffled in big coats, scarves and gloves carefully protecting their precious daffodils, camellias, hellebores, orchids and, yes, even a few pulmonarias and primroses. And then there were cakes, sausage rolls, pots of marmalade and chutney, floral art and photographs and the Hurstpierpoint Preschool artwork. Yes, we had a Show!

There was close competition in all sections of the Show. Stan Cartwright beat Pat Kean by just one point to win the Stapleton Cup for Daffodils/Narcissi. The Spring Cup for the best camellia was won by Alison Chivers and the Junior Spring Cup was won by Aimee Murtagh who made a beautiful vase of paper flowers. The other Section winners were June Kentsley for Floral Art, Pat Kean for Cookery, Kathy Green for Photography, Denis Hills for the novice daffodil section and a tie for Other Flowers between Jill Mance and Denis Hills. 

Many congratulations to all the prize winners. But, on the day, everybody who contributed to the success of the Show was a winner. We collectively confronted the ‘Beast from the East’ and we won. 

James Taylor takes on London Marathon

Hurst resident James Taylor has found himself training for his second marathon, having never imagined he would take it on again after completing the Brighton Marathon back in 2014.

However, he made the decision to challenge himself after his daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer last year. Amelia Taylor was about to start the final year at university in Bournemouth when she was told she had Synovial Sarcoma – which is often associated with young adults. Fortunately her cancer was low-grade and she’s now coming through all the treatment – which meant going up to London’s Royal Marsden hospital every day for five weeks.

“It is ‘off the scale’ scary to hear news that your child has cancer,” James commented, “but she’s received the best support and we’re obviously thrilled she’s now coming out the other side.”

James is running the London Marathon later this month for Sarcoma UK and has already raised more than £2,000. James has also received a generous donation from Paul Wilkinson’s Christmas Tree collection in the village.

His training regime started back in November and he’s making good progress. “Having done one before,” he said, “I do feel better prepared as I know what’s coming.” 

If you wish to support James and Sarcoma UK you can do so online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/James-Taylor165

What's on in Hurstpierpoint - April 2018

April 2018 - around and about Hurstpierpoint

10th-14th April
Dead Guilty – 7.30pm
Players Theatre, Hurstpierpoint – Hurst Players performance of the play (Tickets £10/£11 www.hurstplayers.org.uk)

11th April
Mothers’ Union meeting – 2.30pm
Long Melford, Albourne Road. Discussion on changes in women’s lives over the past 100 years. Everyone welcome. Non-members £2.

13th April
Equestrian Tack Sale – 6.30pm
Brendon Stud Farm, Pyecombe

14th April
Coffee Morning – 10am
Guide HQ, Trinity Road Car Park – Coffee morning and mini market to raise funds for St Christopher’s Home (50p entry)

15th April
Mid Sussex Ramblers – 2pm
Ditchling Village Hall car park - Three Churches Walk, 5 mile – moderate (01273 842628)

18th April
Mothers’ Union meeting – 8pm
Holy Trinity Church - Talk by Gail Millar on new charity ‘Befriended’ Everyone welcome (£2)

21st April
Coffee Morning – 10am
Holy Trinity Church - Talk at 10.30am on the work of Christian Aid by Tim Moulds. Stalls to browse.

21st April
Hurst Hedgehog Haven – 2.30pm
Guide Hut, Trinity Road Car Park - Trevor Weeks MBE, the founder of WRAS speaking (01273 833133)

21st April
The Arts Society – TBC Outing to Margate Turner Gallery (01273 833046)

22nd April
A United Kingdom (PG) – 2.30pm
Players Theatre – Hurst Village Cinema film show (Tickets £4 www.hurstfilms.com)

22nd April
Author Talk – 7pm
Newtimber Church – Author Alison Murdoch

25th April
Bowls Taster Session – 6pm
Hurstpierpoint Bowling Club, South Avenue Rec

26th April
Still Walking (U) – 7.30pm
Players Theatre – Hurst Village Cinema showing

27th April
Historical Society – 8pm
Guide Hall, Trinity Road Car Park – Roger Packham speaking on ‘Tales from old Sussex newspapers’ (Non-members welcome, £2 entrance)

28th April
Bowls Taster Session – 11am
Hurstpierpoint Bowling Club, South Avenue Rec

29th April
Sunday Morning Jazz – 11am
The Hassocks Hotel - featuring the musical talents of Julie Roberts and Michael Hinton

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April 2018 - events taking place at Hurstpierpoint Village Centre, Trinity Road BN6 9QT 

9th April
Woodland, Flora & Fauna Group – 7.30pm
An Illustrated Talk by Amanda Millar (Free)

10th April
Horticultural Society – 7.45pm Talk by Roger Butler ‘Hydrangeas’

11th April
PPG AGM – 7pm
Patient Participation Group AGM with speaker Dr Terry Lynch

14th April
Spring Craft Fair – 10am-2pm
Heber Opera’s Spring Craft Fair (jenny.letton at btinternet.com)

14th April
Hurstpierpoint Society AGM – 2pm

17th April
Wolstonbury WI – 7.45pm
‘Gardening for the young-at-heart’ by Lesley Chamberlain. Visitors welcomed. (01273 834421)

What's On in Hurstpierpoint - March 2018

March 2018

3rd March - Best of Ballroom Class – 7.45pm
Village Centre - Every first Saturday of the month (£6)

4th March - Mothers’ Union AGM – 11.15am
Holy Trinity Church

6th March - AGM Millennium Garden Trust – 7pm
Village Centre - Afterwards a talk by Tony Whitbread (enquiries to secretary 01273 832756)

6th March - NHS Retirement Fellowship – 10.15am
Franklands Village Hall, Haywards Heath - Monthly Branch Meeting with visiting speaker

8th March - Mid Sussex Association of National Trust – 2.30pm
Clair Hall (RH16 3DN) – A talk on Georgian London by Ian Bevan, open to Non-National Trust members

10th March - Mothers' Union Ladies breakfast – 8.30am
Hurstpierpoint Methodist Church in Cuckfield Rd - Speaker Rev Jane Willis (Tickets £6 from Judy Leech 01273 833954)

13th March - Hurst Horticultural Society - 7.45pm
Village Centre - ‘Out on a Limb: My Life as a Tree Surgeon’ - Lesley Baker, a lady tree surgeon, with some interesting anecdotes from her work

17th March - Spring Show – 2.15pm
Village Centre - Hurstpierpoint Horticultural Society’s Spring Show - Home-made cake and tea all afternoon. Raffle and auction at end of show.

17th March - St Patrick’s Day Event – 7pm
Albourne Village Hall - Two course buffet supper and Ceilidh. Licenced bar and dancing to the wonderful Kate’s Kitchen Band. Tickets, £20, available from Sayers Common Community Shop

19th March - Hurst, Hassocks and Ditchling U3A – 2pm
Village Centre - Rudyard Kipling, with Geoff Hutchinson

20th March - Wolstonbury WI – 7.45pm
Village Centre - A Sussex Farm during the 1950s by Ian Everest (01273 834421)

23rd March - History Talk – 8pm
Guide Hall, Trinity Road Car Park – The Hurst Historical & Geographical Society host this talk. ‘Charles II and his escape through Sussex in 1651’ by Helen Poole - Curator at Crawley Museum

24th March - Gym Competition – 9am-12.30pm
Village Centre - Gymnastics Club Arts Festival Competition

24th March - Hurst, Hassocks & Ditchling U3A – 10am
Adastra Hall, Hassocks - Open Morning and Activities Fayre. Free entry with refreshments available. Come and join us! We have over 40 interest groups with a wide variety of activities, ranging from sewing, history & singing to badminton and walks (hhdu3a@gmail.com or www.u3asites.org.uk/hhd)

24th March - Coffee Morning – 10am
Holy Trinity Church - Popular organ music played by Ray Carpenter. Usual variety of stalls. Free Admission

24th March - Hurst Singers Spring Concert – 7.30pm
United Reformed Church, Hassocks - A celebration of Gilbert & Sullivan

April 2018

7th April - RNLI Quiz Night – 7pm
Village Centre - Annual Quiz Night for teams of 6 people (Philip Eastell on 07749 278992)

Behind the Counter in Hurstpierpoint

Nicki Newson, Sussex Osteopath and Complementary Health Clinic

In 2007 Nicki Newson decided to take control of her own destiny. At the time she was a nurse working for the NHS, but things were tough. This is the story of how an osteopathy and complementary health clinic landed on the High Street, right where they used to sell combine harvesters!

By David Tingley

Nicki has always loved working with people. Her career started when she qualified as a nurse and has worked at various hospitals in Sussex, including Southlands in Shoreham. She has worked in some particularly challenging departments but none more so than Intensive Care. “The High Dependency Unit,” Nicki recalled, “was a place where things change so fast. Clearly some tragic events took place there, but also some amazing breakthrough moments too.”

“We don’t just treat the symptom, we look at the person as a whole.”

— Nicki Newson

The frustrations of the National Health Service were taking their toll on Nicki however, and she began to look for a way out. Nicki explained: “I’d always had an interest in complementary health, and I’d seen an osteopath myself over many years, so I took the decision to retrain.”

After deciding to retrain, Nicki moved to working in the Private sector, mainly in the High Dependency Unit at the Sussex Nuffield. It took four years full-time for her to gain a BSc degree in Osteopathy, during which time she continued to work as a nurse in HDU and latterly in Casualty in Ashford, Kent. “The course was a tough one, with evenings and holidays taken up in the student clinic from year two onwards. I graduated in 2003.” It was a very difficult course, both physically and academically, but when she graduated she was awarded Best Clinician of the year.

In the early 2000s, 135-137 High Street was a retail unit for agricultural machinery supplier Harper and Eede Limited. “It may seem unbelievable to some, but there was a yard at the back (now built on) with all sorts of massive farm equipment in! The High Street was very different, even only 11 years ago,” Nicki comments. Despite a lot of interest in the site in 2007, she managed to secure it for what she was planning.

The location was perfect, as she was living in Brighton at the time but was used to working around Lewes and Haywards Heath – so Nicki had plenty of contacts.

“It was always going to be a team business,” she explains. “One of the key enjoyable aspects of my nursing career was being part of a team, so I was keen to work with and alongside like-minded practitioners who could all work together.”

Bob Saunders, from Hampers: Village People interview

By Michèle Copeland

Bob Saunders, from Hampers, is a well known figure in the village. When I go to meet him, he stands behind his counter which is laden with cheese, Italian salamis and olives.

“There’s nothing more challenging and enjoyable to me than to find an unknown cheese for one of my customers,” he says with a bright smile. 

Bob prides himself on buying and stocking as many locally sourced products as possible. “However, the produce must be good quality. I won’t buy it just because it is local.”

He caught the cooking bug at a young age from his mother and from one of his uncles, who became one of his mentors.

He worked as Head Chef at The Carlton in London and at The Royal Bath, among other places. “I was definitely inspired by my mum too, who did a lot of home cooking, so I come from a long line of chefs,” he continues.

How did it all start?

Bob was born in Yeovil. His dad worked for the Great Western Railway, on steam trains, but was posted to Brighton following closure of the Yeovil branch. Bob was still a lad when the family moved.

Bob, who went to Portslade Boys School before training at Brighton Technical College, worked at Vandenburgh’s in Burgess Hill for about ten years, moving up from third chef to second chef and then head chef in the late 1990s. He was then approached by his accountant to ask if he could help out Michèle Bole from time to time in her restaurant in Hurstpierpoint – which he agreed to do.

Shortly afterwards the delicatessen next door to Michèle’s restaurant came up for sale, and Bob decided to go into partnership with Michèle, running both the restaurant and delicatessen side by side.

[Full story on page 10 of March 2018 Hurst Life magazine]

St Lawrence School youngsters compete with Lego

By George Harry-Berry, Year 6

On Friday 11th January a group of Year 6 pupils from St Lawrence Primary School took part in an FLL Lego Competition held at Sofitel Hotel, Gatwick Airport. FLL stands for First Lego League, and this year’s theme was hydrodynamics. 

Members of Lego Club, Bruno Benjamin, Archie Smith, Joshua Berman, George Harry-Berry, Hugo Stillwell, Oscar Harman, Leo Harris and Bea West, took part in a variety of missions where they programmed their robot to move in different directions and take part in a variety of missions.

The robot took weeks to build, and during the competition the pupils learnt more about programming and team work, and had a fascinating insight into the world of engineerring.

Hurstpierpoint crowdfunding for trishaw bikes

ITV Local News clip

A Hurstpierpoint initiative has recently been featured on ITV's Meridian local news. 

Cycling without Age is scheme which has come over the water from Denmark, and is now spreading worldwide. 

Hurst resident and campaigner Bridget Hamilton is trying to raise the £7,000 necessary to buy a bike for the local area. 

The crowdfunding campaign page can be see here. 

An exciting year at the Bowling Club

By Bob Mitchell

If you regularly visit the recreation ground in South Avenue, you will not have failed to notice the building work taking place on the eastern side of the clubhouse, if only because of the huge scaffold ‘tent’ erected to avoid work being delayed because of bad weather! As a consequence work is ahead of schedule and, by the time you read this, the scaffolding should be down and the external building work close to completion.

The Club has very much appreciated the forbearance of its neighbours in South Avenue and other Hurst residents using the footpath across the recreation ground. The good news is that by early spring, the Club, and its building contractor Closewall Ltd, aim to have things back to normal.

High Street gets new retro shop - RetroSpective

Hurstpierpoint High Street will be the home to a new retail outlet later this month when RetroSpective opens at number 89 – in the former Jam Pot shop.

The business is the brainchild of Lindsay Thompson and Tony Walsh who have had a stall in My Vintage, Hassocks for the last four years. Now the pair are going it alone, and are inviting like-minded potential stallholders to get in touch. “If you know someone who has a penchant for antiques and vintage items, or local high quality arts and crafts, then we’d love to talk to them,” Lindsay commented.

The shop will stock various types of products including upcycled furniture and accessories for every room in the house. But there will also be other items such as organic lavender products and pre-loved clothing for sale too.

Lindsay, who grew up in nearby Hassocks, says that Hurst is the perfect place to set up in business. “Hurstpierpoint is a lovely, historic and growing village (and one I very much enjoyed in my misspent youth!). We believe that the residents are keen to support their local high street, and we are keen to be part of that community and ensuring that it continues to thrive.”

At the time of going to print, the shop is currently undergoing a refit and it looks likely that RetroSpective will open its doors during February. Its hours will be 9.30am-5.30pm Monday to Saturday and Sunday’s 10am-4pm.

For more information call Lindsay on 07789 397284.

Hurst's Santa's Fun Sunday - photo round up

In early December Hurstpierpoint’s High Street was packed with residents, traders and stallholders alike as we all came together to celebrate Santa’s Fun Sunday. 

Photographers Louise and Richard Sullivan were out in force too, capturing the best bits of the action, including David Gold and Lesley Jill Manning switching on the lights (above).

See page page 27 for more information and all the many thanks to those who made this event happen.

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Christmas Tree recycling for charity in Hurst

Hurst resident Paul Wilkinson is once again on the roads of the village collecting up Christmas trees when they are finished with.

Paul has carried out this service for the last two years, and, in doing so, has raised over £7,000 for charity. He is hoping to beat the 2016 total of £4,050 this year, as he collects trees in exchange for any donation. The charities Paul will be supporting this year are both Hurstpierpoint-based – Cancervive and Hope.

“This village has served me very well over the years,” Paul explains, “both in work and life in general. So being able to give something back is  very important to me.”

Once your tree has served its useful purpose you can either text or call Paul on 07879 897241 and arrange the collection. There is no fixed amount for your donation and 100% of it will go directly to the two chosen charities. Paul adds: “Even if people don’t have a real Christmas tree I will happily collect any donations that people would like to give.”