01273 302170 www.staubynsschoolbrighton.co.uk - Viva Lewes

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Photo by Fraser Crosbie 

Lewes is built on hills and surrounded 

by a curvaceous landscape, so glimpses 

of the sky are often caught, accidentally, 

from high windows or when you 

reach the top of a twitten. But there 

are often dramatic, pink-streaked sunrises, 

gloriously bold sunsets, and lovely 

cloud formations over the Downs. 

Some of us walk around Lewes noticing 

only things from ground to eye 

level, or looking at our mobile phones. 

There’s a tremendous amount to be 

gained from looking up. The extraordinary 

early morning mood of the tilting 

ground with sunlight creeping up behind 

the buildings, for example. Then 

VIVALEWES 

issue 66. march 2012 

EDITORIAL 

there are the wider skies to see past 

the War Memorial and up over Mount 

Caburn. One of the delights of Twitter 

is the immediacy of the stunning photographs 

of the Lewes skyline posted 

by early morning runners up on Blackcap 

and dog walkers along the Ouse 

or strolling on the Railway Land. Of 

course, there are also the glories of the 

night sky to be explored, with or without 

fireworks adding extra splashes of 

colour. So this month we’re celebrating 

the welcome onset of spring with a 

theme of skies. Look up, every now and 

then, and enjoy what’s going on above 

your head. 

VIVA DEADLINES 

We plan the contents of each magazine six weeks ahead of any given month, with a mid-month 

advertising/copy deadline. Please send details of planned events to emma@vivalewes.com, 

and any advertising queries to steve@vivalewes.com, or call 434567.

VIVALEWES contents 

Bits and bobs. 

7-19. Ian Seccombe’s Point of View, 

another Lewes Moment, Diary Dates and 

more 

Regulars. 

21. My Lewes: Edwina Livesey 

23. Photo of the Month by Russell Tuppen 

24. Interview with Jack ‘Wycliffe’ Shepherd 

26. Lewes in History. Polish Spitfire aces at 

Chailey Airfield 

Events. 

29. Patience Agbabi 

31. Comedy Round-up 

33. Lewes Skeptics. Chris Lintott on how 

to discover planets from your sofa 

35/37. Cinema. Satyajit Ray’s Company 

Limited and round-up 

39/41. Art and About, with our spotlight on 

Dawn Stacey 

43. Lewes Operatic Society celebrate 100 

years, with Pirates of Penzance 

45. Classical Round-up 

47. Cuarteto Guaranchando at the Lamb 

49. Gig Guide 

Food. 

53-61. We review the King’s Head, take tea 

in The Shelleys, make gnocchi in Famiglia 

and drink gin with the Nibbler 

The Way We Work. 

62-65. Simon Crummay’s portraits of 

florists 

Features. 

67. My Space. Astronomer Richie Jarvis 

69. Bricks and Mortar. The wind turbine at 

Glyndebourne 

71. Wildlife. Michael Blencowe tells us 

about rooks 

73. History of Lewes in 100 objects: the 

Southover shark 

Photo by Katie Moorman 

Photo by Russell Tupper

The Team. 

EDITOR: Emma Chaplin emma@vivalewes.com 

DEPUTY EDITOR: Beth Miller beth@vivalewes.com 

SUB-EDITOR: David Jarman 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Alex Leith alex@vivalewes.com 

STAFF WRITER: Steve Ramsey 

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Caitlin Hayward-Tapp 

DESIGNER: Katie Moorman katie@vivalewes.com 

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Steve Watts steve@vivalewes.com 

PUBLISHER: Nick Williams nick@vivalewes.com. 

Viva Lewes is based at Pipe Passage, 151b High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XU 

Issue 66. March 2012. 

74. Neighbours. Hastings and St Leonards 

77. Slow Sussex. Tim Locke on Hardham’s 

wall paintings 

79. Outdoor space. Baxter’s Field 

81. Where to go on Mother’s Day 

83. We try cardio-tennis 

85. Football. Interview with Simon 

Wormull 

86. Odd socs. The South Downs Society 

87. Shopping. Things in the sky 

Columns 

89-97. The usual suspects. John Henty, 

Beth Miller, David Jarman and Norman 

Baker 

Trade Secrets. 

99. The Lewes Chocolate Company 

Business news. 

101. What’s coming and going in Lewes 

Inside Left. 

122. A bird’s-eye view of Lewes in 1957 

...the head-in-the-clouds issue 

Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of our content. The Viva Lewes Handbook cannot be held responsible for any 

omissions, errors or alterations.

THIS MONTH’S COVER 

WHERE DID yOu gET THAT HAT? 

Retired English 

literature lecturer John 

Hopley wears a leather 

hat with a braided band 

around the crown. The 

hat was bought from 

“the shop just outside 

Rye Station, specializing 

in hats,” about five 

years ago. Since then, 

John has subjected it to 

his personal breakingin 

technique of wearing 

it in the rain and 

regularly stamping on it to remove any sign of 

newness. Picture and words by Joe Knight. 

biTs and bobs 

Lewes artist Tom Benjamin approached us about doing 

a cover to coincide with his exhibition at St Anne’s 

Galleries, The Service of Clouds. We’re familiar with 

Tom’s wonderful landscapes, which he paints, as David 

Hockney does, on the spot, carting his canvases with 

him on his bicycle. Recently, he’s been crouching on 

the ground and concentrating on the sky, so we felt it 

would be great to use part of one of the paintings that 

will be in the show, Towards Mount Harry, to create 

a dreamy, cloud image for our cover. Although Tom 

painted this on a clear, late afternoon in November, 

we feel it evokes an optimistic sense of sunny spring 

skies returning in March. He painted it, he tells us, 

when based near the old racecourse buildings, looking 

north-west towards Mount Harry and the Weald. We 

like the broad brushstrokes and the variations of thickness 

in paint which give the clouds texture and a sense 

of movement - any image of the sky, is, after all, only 

there until the cloud patterns change again. 

Tom Benjamin, The Service of Clouds, St Anne’s Galleries 

weekends 10-5pm, until 4th Mar or by appointment 

until 10th Mar. 111 High Street stannesgalleries.com 

LEWES IN quOTES 

BALLOON ASCENT 

FROM THE GAS WORKS, LEWES 

MONDAY, SEPT. 22, 1828 

Mr Green respectfully announces to the Nobility, 

Gentry, and Inhabitants of the Town of LEWES 

and its Vicinity, that he intends on making an AS- 

CENT with his MAGNIFICENT BALLOON on 

MONDAY, the 22nd of September, 1828 at Three 

o’clock precisely, (being Lewes Great Sheep Fair Day) 

from a commodious Situation near the GASWORKS. 

A Band of Music will be in attendance. 

Tickets of admission at One Shilling and Two 

Shillings each, may be had at Lee’s, Lower’s and 

Baxter’s Libraries, at Laporte’s, and of Mr GREEN 

at Mr Jones’s, Linen Draper, bottom of School Hill, 

Lewes. Full particulars in the Hand Bills. 

7

OVER 1,000 REASONS TO 

BRING YOUR PRESCRIPTION 

TO SPECSAVERS 

Plus £20 o� glasses 

Lewes 

218 High Street 

Tel 01273 407 690 

Glasses from £69 range or above. Cannot be exchanged for cash or used with other o� ers. External non-Specsavers prescriptions only. Prescription must be 

presented at time of purchase. ©2012 Specsavers. All rights reserved.

IAN SECCOMbE’S pOINT Of VIEW 

biTs and bobs 

Two magnificent oak trees stand at the top of Cinder Hill, North Chailey, dwarfing the spaniel and its owner while 

the dusting of snow accentuates the shape and size of the boughs. 

HOSTINg INTERNATIONAL STuDENTS 

I grew up in Newbury, a town quite similar to Lewes, which 

also had a popular college of further education. As with Sussex 

Downs, many international students came to study in 

the town, and our family ‘hosted’ a number of them. It was 

a brilliant thing to do. It gave my parents some income of 

course, but Newbury had been a pretty monocultural place 

up until then, and I knew very little of the world outside my 

school and family. Having a delightful series of young men 

and women live with us; Bassem from the Lebanon, Hassan 

from Pakistan, Ayu from Indonesia, opened my eyes to other 

cultures in a way that studying books at school never could. I tried new foods, listened to different music, and 

gained an understanding of ‘other’ ways of doing things. EC 

If you think your family might be interested in hosting an international student, contact Camila Supervielle 402231 or 

visit the Sussex Downs website sussexdowns.ac.uk/International 

9

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Tel: 01273 473498

TOMb WITH A VIEW #13 

biTs and bobs 

In September 1930, Alice Dudeney, 

then aged 64, went with Mr Bridgman, 

a Lewes stonemason, to Ringmer 

Church. ‘We saw a charming 

old stone tomb – 1727 – in Sussex 

sandstone. If it isn’t too much 

money he will copy it for Ernest’s 

grave.’ Two years later, feeling 

‘so tired’, she turned in to Lewes 

Cemetery; ‘I sat, actually and for 

the first time, on Ernest’s grave. Oh my dear, how strange it seems that you are dead, that that is your grave. 

And some day it will be mine.’ Ernest and Alice Dudeney sustained their marriage for nearly fifty years; he was 

a mathematical genius who compiled crosswords for newspapers and magazines, she was a prolific novelist. 

Their partnership survived his depression and bad temper and her three-year absence with a married man. In 

late 1915 they reconciled to ‘re-start’ their life at 138 High St with separate sitting rooms and bedrooms. Shared 

meals were tempestuous; when Henry called her a liar and a fool Alice would take herself upstairs and confide 

in her diaries – ‘What a wonderful marriage we might have had!’ After Ernest’s death in 1930 Alice resumed her 

affair with the artist David Hardy, although by 1934 she admitted that she was ‘bored by him’, preferring, in 

the mellowness of age, an independent life with her dalmatian Spangles, and the luxury of her ‘delicious’ house 

and well-stocked garden. Following a stroke in January 1945, Alice Dudeney lived, incapacitated, until 21st 

November; her ashes were placed in her husband’s grave. ‘I so hate Death and dread it,’ she had written after a 

church service in 1934. ‘Comforted myself by thinking I wasn’t dead yet and that there was roast chicken and 

ice cream for dinner.’ Words and photo by Lindsey Tydeman 

LEWES MOMENTS #3 

Why we good people of Lewes have to 

be subjected to a parking regime so out 

of kilter with everything else about the 

town, I shall never know. In any case, I’m 

told that writing in the grip of emotion is 

never a good thing, so I’ve waited a sensible 

amount of time before putting pen 

to paper on this one. It was the Monday 

after New Year’s Day – a Bank Holiday, 

no less – and Lewes was still basking 

in the glow and leniency of Christmas. 

But I should have known: for a certain 

section of the workforce it was business 

very much as usual. And so our overnight 

visitors, having parked well within the bounds of both decency and the white lines, were the recipients of a 

parking ticket at precisely 8.58 am that morning. Most of us here in Lewes, in most areas of our lives, have got 

the law-abiding thing sussed. But somehow, when it comes to how and where and when to park, however well 

intentioned we are, we can’t quite get it right. A Lewes moment through and through. Juliette Mitchell 

11

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STREET NAMES Of LEWES #44 

Despite having existed for many years, Southover Road only 

gained a formal name in 1857 with the building of the railway 

station. Previously it had been known locally as ‘the Mabbotts’ 

after the family living in Southover Grange. The family kept 

some rather strange company, most notably a man known only 

as ‘Spring Heel Jack’. Jack gave the area a bad name after attaching 

springs to his shoes, enabling him to terrorise locals by leaping out from behind bushes and trees. Lined with 

elms, walnut trees and ash trees at the time, Southover Road would have been majestic but shadowy, providing 

him with many suitable hiding places and resulting in local residents boycotting the area after dark. It appears no 

harm was meant by his bizarre behaviour, he just enjoyed giving people a fright. We still have our fair share of 

unusual characters, of course, but thankfully Jack’s odd tradition is one Lewes has willingly parted with. Thanks 

to Kim Clark’s revision of LS Davey’s Street Names of Lewes. Caitlin Hayward-Tapp 

SpEED-THE-pLOW 

In David Mamet’s 

Speed-the-Plow, 

Hollywood exec 

David Gould bets 

his friend $500 

he can seduce his 

new secretary. At 

the same time, his 

secretary is trying to seduce him into filming a philosophical 

novel rather than the cheesy ‘buddies’ movie 

he was planning. It’s a classic story of commercial 

appeal vs high art, and Mamet is clear which side he’s 

on: “The aim of drama is to put tushies in the seats”. 

Lyndsey Meer directs Lewes Theatre Club’s production 

from Sat 24th-Sat 31st, 7.45pm every day except 

Sunday, 2.45pm matinee on 31st, £8-10, 474826. 

SpOIL MuM ROTTEN 

CANCAN 

The usual jewellery purchase for Mother’s Day seemed a little old hat 21 years down 

the line, so I made my way to family-run gift shop Spoilt Rotten to see if they could 

help me out with their eco-friendly bath treats. The detail in each product was intricate, 

ranging from tiny flowers on a ‘butter based bath melt’ to love birds perched 

on a heart as part of a ‘bath blaster’. As I delayed decision-making by smelling all the 

candles, my eye was caught by a ‘love bomb’ grenade, embedded with flowers. And I 

knew I’d found the one - quirky, badass and definitely different, all while promising 

‘fragrant waves of loveliness’...resisting the urge to buy it for myself as a treat for 

International Women’s Day, I left the shop with a weight off my mind and a pink 

grenade in my handbag, ready to spoil my mother ‘rotten’. CHT 

Think you can’t 

cancan? Michelle 

Porter is here to teach 

you how - for a good 

cause. With a Frou 

Frou swap, to exchange 

‘frivolous garments and 

trinkets’ and a cancan 

workshop all for just £10 per person, the Oxfam Can- 

Can sounds like an event people will be queuing up to 

attend, perhaps practising those high kicks and ‘yips’ 

while they wait. Lack of a suitable outfit is no excuse, 

as use of petticoats is included in the cost, as is the 

coffee and cake required to replenish energy after all 

that petticoat ruffling. Open to people of all abilities. 

Thurs 8th, All Saints Centre, £10, 12-2pm. CHT 

13

iTs and bobs 

SEASONAL TIppLE: MuM’S THE WORD 

Our March cocktail of the month is dedicated to mothers. Sam Pryor, 

cocktail wizard at Pelham House, has concocted a pretty, delicate 

drink which reminds him of his grandmother, and reminds me of 

Paddington Bear. You start with Parfait Amours, the delightfully lilachued 

liqueur which smells of Parma Violets. You mix this with equal 

quantities of lemon juice, gin (he uses Tanqueray 10, which is “very 

refined”, but not in a Hyacinth Bouquet sense) and - the bit that reminds 

me of the duffel coated bear - marmalade syrup. Sam created 

the syrup by combining marmalade, dry Vermouth and orange bitters. 

To make the cocktail, all of the ingredients are poured into a shaker, 

ice is added and the mixture stirred, not shaken, because, he explains, 

“shaking turns the violet liqueur grey”. The resulting drink, which 

he’s named ‘Mum’s the Word’, is then strained into a glass, with a curl 

of lemon rind to decorate. We sip the aromatic blue liquid without a 

straw to get the full flavour of violet, with a hint of bitter orange and 

a delightful aftertaste. I’m not sure if Paddington would like it, but 

we certainly do. Pelham House will be offering Mum’s the Word as a 

cocktail special on Mother’s Day, 18th March. EC 

bENN bERkELEy 

On Thursday 15th, Lewes-based adventurer 

Benn Berkeley, 25, will be 

taking part in the first ever Siberian 

Black Ice Race, covering 379 miles in 

14 days over the frozen Lake Baikal. 

The lake, which Benn calls ‘one 

of the world’s most beautiful and 

treacherous wildernesses’, experiences 

temperatures as low as -40 degrees 

C. and winds of up to 90mph. Benn 

is still looking for sponsors; contact 

bennberkeley@hotmail.com for details. 

CLARIfICATIONS 

CRuSE bEREAVEMENT 

It has been brought to our attention that the meditation group mentioned in the January issue is concerned about a 

mix-up. The Meditation Society, as we erroneously referred to them, is actually a well-known international society, 

not to be confused with the Lewes group. Known as the ‘Walking in Peace Sangha’, our local group are part of 

the ‘Community of Interbeing’, which hopefully practices forgiveness as part of its philosophy. They follow the 

teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. And, after our February handbook hit the doormats, we received two further suggestions 

for the large building pictured in the 1948 photograph on the Inside Left page. We thought it might be a 

grain store or coking plant, but Tony Muddle was certain it was the gasworks. And Bob Elliston was sure it was an 

electricity generating station. Anyone else know different? 


The period after losing someone dear to 

you can be a terribly lonely time. Talking 

to people who understand can help 

a great deal. Cruse Bereavement Service 

have set up a drop-in session open to anyone 

who’s been bereaved. This takes place 

every Friday and is based at the House of 

Friendship on School Hill. All ages are 

welcome. New people should come along 

at 10am; people who’ve been before from 

11am. Contact Jennifer on 555258 for 

more information.

SHAkESpEARE MARATHON 

biTs and bobs 

Sussex Downs College has recently been ringing with ‘Sounds, and 

sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not’, as the second year students 

tackle Shakespeare for their final assessments. Taking to the stage of 

the Brighton Pavilion Theatre with The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, A 

Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Winter’s Tale, the students will be 

performing this four-day marathon of some of Shakespeare’s best-loved 

plays as a mixture of stylized and traditional theatre. Hopefully the 

students will pass with flying colours, leaving the audience to declare: 

‘O, brave new world, that has such people in’t!’. 23rd/25th/26th/27th, 7pm, £6/£5 conc, 709709 brightondome.org 

bOOk REVIEW: THE SERVICE Of CLOuDS 

The Service of Clouds is a book celebrating Tom Benjamin’s 

paintings, published by St Anne’s Galleries, where he exhibits. 

The title is from a statement by John Ruskin, which 

is used as an epigram for this handsome 52-plate publication: 

“if a general and characteristic name were needed for 

modern landscape art, none better could be invented than 

‘the service of clouds’.” That Ruskin was writing in a book 

called Modern Painters, in 1843, is fairly telling: Benjamin’s 

work is gloriously, unashamedly old-fashioned, seemingly 

uninfluenced by any artist or movement since Claude Monet. And all the more wonderful for that: here we 

have familiar scenes (Brighton seafront, Cuckmere Haven, the fields around Rodmell) in lavish multicoloured 

brushstrokes, offering the reader, to quote Julian Bell in the book’s foreword, “blasts of virtual fresh air.” Most of 

us can’t afford a real, live Tom Benjamin on our living room wall: here’s some consolation. 

£15 from St Anne’s Galleries, Skylark and Tourist Information. 

COMpETITION 

This month we’re offering two Viva readers the opportunity to win a pair of 

tickets to watch the exhilarating dancers of the Ballet Rambert in their Seven 

for a Secret tour. Part of the programme is based on the tempestuous Tennessee 

Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire. You can see it at The Theatre Royal, 

Brighton, 28th – 31st March. Tickets £11-£25. 0844 871 7650 (bkg fee) atgtickets.com/brighton 

For your chance to win a pair of tickets, valid for performances 

on Wed 28th March at 7.30pm or Sat 31st March 2.30pm ONLY, answer 

the following question: Who played Blanche DuBois opposite Marlon Brando 

in the 1951 film of A Streetcar Named Desire? Usual competition rules apply. 

Send your answer with a phone number to emma@vivalewes.com or to Viva Lewes competition, 151b High Street, 

Lewes, BN7 1XU. Closing date, Thurs 15th March. The two winners will be contacted by Mon 19th March. 

READER OffER 

Put your best foot forward with an lovely pedicure offer from The Beauty Rooms. See page 93 for more details. 

15

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MARCH 2012 

diaRy daTes 

Fri 2nd, International Guitar Night. With Lulo Reinhardt (Django’s great nephew), Adrian Legg and 

Brian Gore. Lewes Town Hall, 7.30pm, £15/£12 from Union Music Store and Tourist Info. 

Sat 3rd, Salsa night. Dance class by Patricia de Souza with a show dance from salsa troupe The Mandrels, 

followed by salsa orchestra Bacalao. All Saints Centre, 7pm, £10/£15 from Union Music Store. 

Sun 4th, Brass for Brunch. Latin, swing and blues from Sussex Ensemble Brass Fusion. All in aid of 

Pells Pool and the Oyster Project. All Saints Centre, doors 10.30am for 11am start, £5/3 from Lewes 

Town Hall, Lewes Travel or 471469. 

Mon 5th-10th, Aladdin. The Lewes Arms Dramatic Society’s 35th Annual Adult Panto, declared 

‘totally unsuitable for children, or those of a nervous disposition’. Lewes Arms, 8pm, Mon-Thurs £7 

Fri-Sat £8. 

Wed 7th, Dementia Café Launch. New community initiative to support anyone affected by dementia, 

with “visiting speakers, tea, cake, music, friendship and laughter”. Claydon House, 2.30pm, Free 

(donations appreciated). 

Wed 7th, Lewes Astronomers Talk. Dr Marisa March from Sussex University will be speaking on 

Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe. Town Hall, 7.30pm, members free/£3 non-members. 

Thurs 8th, Burma Campaign UK Talk. Tun Khin from Western Burma will be speaking about the 

current political situation. Westgate Chapel, 7.30pm, free. 

Thurs 8th, Historic Lewes Talk. Emma O’Connor sheds new light on the history of Lewes. Lewes 

Town Hall, 7.45pm, free for members/£2 non-members. 

Fri 9th, Freedom from Torture Talk. Perico Rodriguez will be talking about his role at the charity 

Freedom from Torture. Westgate Chapel, 7.30pm, free. 

www.commoncause.org.uk 

Saturday 3rd March 

Cliffe Precinct 

9.am - 1pm 

17

diaRy daTes 

MARCH 2012 (cont) 

Fri 9th, Long Revolution. Prof. Marie Harder will be speaking at the Headstrong Club on sustainability 

and the underlying values of the individual. Elephant and Castle, 8pm, £3 non-members, headstrongclub. 

co.uk/ 

Wed 14th, Public Lecture. Lewes University of the Third Age host a talk on Fool figures in Shakespeare’s 

plays by Terry Hodgson. Lewes Town Hall Council Chamber, 2.30pm, free. 

Thurs 15th, Lewes Poetry. An evening of poetry with MC Ollie Wilson, with a prize limerick contest in 

the interval. Lewes Arms, doors at 8pm, £4. 

Sat 17th, St Patrick’s Night Gig. All Saints Centre, 7.30pm, £8.50/£7 conc from Union Music Store. 

Sat 17th, Paws & Claws Bookfair. A huge range of secondhand and rare books from 40 book dealers. 

Town Hall, 10am-4pm, 50p, 477555. 

Wed 21st-Sun 25th, Charleston Gardening Festival. Talks, demonstrations and workshops. 01323 

811626. 

Sat 24th, Book Sale. Nutty Wizard Café, 10am-1pm, £1 per family. 

Sun 25th, The Lewes Mile. Run a mile for Sport Relief. Lewes Leisure Centre, event opens at 10am, £6 

adult/£3 child/£15 family. 

Tue 27th, Public Lecture. Lewes University of the Third Age host a presentation on Convenient Marriages 

and Inconvenient Deaths. Lewes Town Hall Lecture Room,10am, free. 

Fri 30th, Suspiciously Elvis. The well-known Elvis tribute act returns to Lewes. Lewes Rugby Club, 8pm, 

£12, 476616 

Sat 31st, Starfish Event. Junior gig in the early afternoon followed by a senior gig with The Officials headlining. 

All Saints Centre, 3-5pm/7pm, £3 under-18s/£5 adults. 

Sat 31st, The People’s Passion Workshops. BBC Radio 4’s new music project involving singers across the 

country performing an Easter Anthem - singing and drama workshops through the day culminating in a performance. 

St Pancras Church, 10am-4pm, £5, 475438, towardslewes2015@gmail.com

RELAX 

Enjoy a relaxing and luxurious stay. 

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast 

from only £105 per person* 

Dine in our award winning restaurant and 

then stay in one of our beautiful bedrooms. 

*Expiry Date to be 31st March 2012. 

Quote ‘Viva Lewes’ for complimentary upgrade (subject to availability). 

NEWICK PARK, NEWICK, EAST SUSSEX BN8 4SB 

t. +44 (0)1825 723633 e. bookings@newickpark.co.uk 

www.newickpark.co.uk


mylewes 

Profession: I’m one of the education officers at Lewes 

Castle. My main job at the moment is running a 

project aiming to raise awareness in the community 

about the Battle of Lewes, in the run-up to its 750th 

anniversary in 2014. We’re encouraging people to 

come up with ideas for projects, and helping to turn 

those projects into reality. There’s one group, for 

example, fashioning a tapestry depicting the battle. 

And a group of researchers working on identifying 

where the 1264 war graves are, and commemorating 

those sites. 

We hear you’re going to set the castle on fire… On 

the 14th April there’s an interactive event in which 

specialist projection experts are going to recreate the 

Battle of Lewes on the flintwork of Barbican Gate 

using state-of-the-art lighting techniques, as part of a 

4d extravaganza, involving actors dressed in medieval 

gear, silent disco headphones, and Harveys beer. A 

once-in-a-lifetime experience: tickets will be on sale 

soon. On the same day there’s a conference involving 

some of the biggest names in medieval history 

research. 

So the 2014 celebrations are likely to be a big deal? 

An enormous deal. The Battle of Lewes wasn’t just 

any old battle, it was an extremely important event in 

English history, as it led to the first-ever representative 

Parliament, and helped shape our democracy. In 

2014 the eyes of the whole country will be on Lewes: 

we have to decide what they will see. 

Battle re-enactments, that sort of thing? We’re 

hoping so. But we also want to reflect the effect the 

EDWINA LIVESEy 

battle had on the townspeople of Lewes. It must have 

been an extremely traumatic event for the townspeople: 

the monks recorded 2,700 deaths that day, as 

many as lived in the town. 

Are you local? I’m originally from Yorkshire, which 

is evident whenever I say ‘castle’, which is a lot, in the 

circumstances. I came here ten years ago for a visit, 

and never left. 

What’s your favourite Lewes landmark? Harveys 

Brewery. I love it when steam comes out the chimney, 

which drives home the point that it’s not just a beautiful 

building: there’s real industry going on in there. 

What’s your local? The Lewes Arms. I don’t eat out 

much in Lewes, but I do like drinking hot chocolate 

with cream, on the sofas in the Riverside, with the 

wonderful views. 

Anything you don’t like about Lewes? Being a 

lovely hill town, with a medieval street pattern, parking 

my van is difficult and it has been vandalised three 

times recently. 

Do you think Lewes could sustain a permanent 

cinema? At first I didn’t like the idea of the Town 

Council taking over the cinema at the All Saints. 

State-run cinema? It sounded like something in the 

Soviet era. But if the money can be churned back into 

the building to make improvements to the seating, and 

other facilities, maybe it is a good idea. I’d like to see 

a permanent cinema. The Maltings will soon become 

vacant, when the record office is moved to Falmer. 

That would be a perfect venue. I bet someone could 

find some funding for that… Interveiw by Alex Leith 

21

WATCH THE bIRDIE 

PhoTo oF The MonTh 

Every week readers’ pictures taken in and around Lewes are published on our web magazine at vivalewes.com, 

and also on our facebook page, and from these we choose the image to grace this monthly slot. This month’s 

picture – bang on our ‘sky’ theme’, is of a wheatear, resting on a fencepost near Rise Farm (during its long 

journey from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Arctic), taken by Russell Tuppen. 

Russell spends much of his spare time in the countryside, and takes his Olympus DSLR E510 wherever he 

goes, snapping wildlife, landscapes and flora close-ups. “I took this shot using the telephoto lens, on an aperture 

setting,” he says, “which gives it that shallow depth of field. I know fairly well how wildlife behaves, and I 

knew that this bird wasn’t bothered about me being fifteen or so yards away, so I took my time about it. As soon 

as I pressed the shutter, I knew that I had a nice image.” 

“Lewes is a countryside town,” he says, “and it’s great how quickly you can get away from the urban area and 

see all sorts of wildlife, like yellowhammers, fieldfares, various owls, larks, waders, dippers and differing birds 

of prey.” We’re looking forward to seeing some more of his shots in our web magazine. Meanwhile, you can 

check them out at rmtphotography.co.uk. 

Send your pictures to alex@vivalewes.com. Our favourite wins the photographer £20. Unless otherwise arranged 

we reserve the right to use all pictures received in future Viva Magazines Ltd publications. 

23 

23

Jack Shepherd 

Lewes is ‘a really healthy collection of radicals and cranks’ 

I meet veteran actor, director 

and playwright Jack 

(Wycliffe) Shepherd and 

we speak about moving to 

Lewes and his new play, 

soon to be performed in the 

town, Valley of the Shadow. 

What drew you to live in 

Lewes? I gave a talk at The 

Headstrong Club about 

a play I’d written, which 

featured Tom Paine, called 

In Lambeth [winner of two 

Time Out Awards for Best 

Directing and Best Writing 

when it was performed at 

the Donmar Warehouse in 

1989]. And gauging from 

the response, and speaking 

to people afterwards, I 

thought ‘This is quite good. 

I could live here. There are 

people I can get on with. 

Working class, professional 

class and middle class 

dissidents. People I like.’ 

There’s a really healthy 

collection of radicals and 

cranks, and individuals with 

cussed opinions. I worked 

in Chichester, and sensed 

the politics were certainly 

not on the left. Lewes is different. 

They blow up parking 

meters. The actor and 

anarchist David Markham, 

imprisoned by the KGB in 

1970, talked to me about the 

power of saying ’no’. Lewes 

understands that. 

You’re well known for 

your TV roles. How 

would you characterise 

television work? It’s selfserving. 

You’re an expert, 

you turn up and do the job 

to the best of your ability. 

The programme is broadcast, 

sold and you become 

part of the commercial 

system. You can get paid 

well for it. But the Reithian 

values about television being 

‘to educate, inform and 

entertain’ are long gone. 

TV in Britain has become 

part of the market system, 

like it is in America. 

Do you watch much telly? 

I like the recent Danish 

programmes like Borgen. It’s 

very good. Birgitte Nyborg 

starts off with the belief 

she can be Prime Minister 

and not be compromised by 

sex and power. It reminds 

me of Bill Brand, a 1970s 

TV series I was in, written 

by Trevor Griffiths. It was 

about an old Labour that 

has more or less disappeared, 

and it involved 

political principles getting 

destroyed by the nature of 

power. 

You’re involved with 

the (relatively) recently 

formed The Players’ 

Collective in Lewes? Yes. 

I believe that theatre is 

strongest when it relates 

to the community around 

it. The collective has an 

egalitarian structure, in 

which everyone involved 

gets a similar share in 

profits, whatever their role 

(acting or backstage). We 

draw in professionals, semiprofessionals 

and amateurs. 

Acting is a difficult profession 

these days, especially if 

you’ve got family commitments. 

But lots of people are 

very good, and an organisation 

like this can help. We 

call on the resources of 

anyone who lives in the area 

who has something to offer. 

I like it because I don’t just 

want to do safe, comfortable 

plays. I prefer cutting-edge 

work, things to get my teeth 

into. 

The Players’ Collective is 

putting on your new play, 

Valley of the Shadow. Yes, 

it’s the first in a trilogy in 

which the central characters 

are artists. Clever audience

members will know who I’ve 

based them on. 

The action begins in 1914, 

the same era as Downton 

Abbey. Are you a fan? I’ve 

not watched it, but I know 

Julian Fellowes. He’s a very 

good historian and a nice 

chap. A patrician. 

What’s the play about? 

There are all kinds of 

threads. The unforgettable 

trauma of the First World 

War. The shift in art from 

Victorian naturalism to 

Brutalism and Modernism. 

The crumbling ‘old’ sense of 

class. And the death of a village. 

My parents were from 

a tiny village outside Ripon 

called Sharow, and like so 

many in England, its infrastructure 

was destroyed by 

mechanisation. The action 

drifts along in the first part, 

beguiling the audience. One 

character is a composer who 

collects folk songs from all 

over the country, using their 

music to further his own art 

without any sense he’s stealing 

from them. The second 

part takes place in 1917, and 

it’s much more disquieting. 

Everyone still alive is badly 

injured or traumatised. One 

character had begun by call- 

Photo by: alex Leith 

ing himself a ‘Futurist’ who 

believes in arms, riots and 

destruction. In the second 

part, he’s so damaged, he 

can’t get out of a wheelchair. 

Where does the art theme 

come from? I went to art 

school in Newcastle. I still 

paint for pleasure. And writing 

plays can be like creating 

a picture, of a sort. You start 

off fuzzy, with outlines, 

and bit by bit, you build the 

solidity and create a ‘world’. 

What’s next for you? I 

hope to be able to put on the 

second play in the trilogy, 

which I actually wrote first, 

called Half Moon, set in 1982. 

It’s about the artists when 

they’re old and decrepit, 

gathered for the funeral of 

one of their number. It looks 

at their appalling behaviour 

during the Second World 

War. Interview by Emma 

Chaplin 

Valley of the Shadow, 2nd- 

12th April, theplayerscollective.com 

inTeRview 

25

chailey’S WW2 heritage 

Polish pilots’ vital role in the D-day Landings 

On the afternoon of 18th May 1944, Flying 

Officer Mieczyslaw ‘Miki’ Adamek, 26, found 

himself in real trouble, two miles off Seaford 

Head, returning from a mission in his Spitfire, 

attacking a German gun emplacement in 

Dreux, Normandy. 

His plane had been hit by enemy anti-aircraft 

fire, it was losing power, and it didn’t look as if 

he would make it back to the nearby ALG (Advanced 

Landing Ground) between Plumpton 

and Chailey, where he was based. His Squadron 

Leader, Wlodzimierz Mikska, ordered him via 

radio to bail out, which he did, exiting the cockpit 

and releasing his parachute as his aircraft 

plummeted towards the sea. 

Adamek, tall, dark, handsome and heavily 

decorated, a butcher in civilian life, was one 

of around 150 Polish pilots based in England, 

many of whom were veterans of the Battle of 

Britain, in which they had played a vital part. 

Like most of these pilots, he had taken part 

in the defence of his country after the Nazi 

invasion in early September 1939. The Polish 

air force had been swiftly defeated by the far 

superior Luftwaffe, and Adamek, like so many 

others, had managed to avoid capture by escaping 

across the border to neutral Romania, and 

eventually onto England, to continue the fight 

against Hitler’s forces. 

Chailey Airfield had been built in the winter 

of 1943/44 as part of Operation Overlord, the 

forthcoming invasion of Normandy, to house 

three squadrons of Spitfires (all manned by 

Polish pilots) and the Controlling Wing Headquarters. 

Their eventual mission was to provide 

air support for the Allied troops as they landed 

in Normandy; in the meantime they were 

utilised to attack enemy installations in France, 

provide escorts to bomber formations, help with 

air-sea rescue missions, and to carry out air 

reconnaissance. 

The Poles had been in Chailey since April 26th, 

largely living under canvas and, weather permitting, 

accomplishing several missions a day. In 

their free time they participated in football 

matches (one against the schoolboys from Ardingly 

College), watched propaganda films in the 

makeshift cinema at the airfield, and frequented 

the pubs in the area, including the nearby 

Plough, then housed in a wooden hut (the 

original having been demolished in the making 

of the airfield). Dances were held in their 

honour at Wivelsfield Green and Chailey village 

halls. Food was strictly rationed, but supplements 

were available. In one instance a pig was 

acquired from nearby Warningore Farm, by 

Miki Adamek, and the squadron enjoyed superb 

sausages for a week or more. 

In the air, the Poles were revelling in the fact 

that, in a complete reversal of the situation 

in 1939, they had superior planes in superior 

numbers to the Luftwaffe, and up until that day 

they had suffered no casualties on their missions 

from Chailey. 

Flight Lieutenant Adamek, within sight of the 

Seven Sisters, became the first. His parachute 

got caught up with the tail-plane of his Spitfire, 

he was unable to undo the harness, and he was 

dragged into the sea as the aircraft sank to the 

bottom. Later his body was located by the Newhaven 

lifeboat. That night, at the airfield, there 

was a party and a dance held for the airmen, 

attended by ATS and Land Girls, but spirits 

would have been low. 

Spirits would have sunk still further three days 

later: six Spitfires set off on an early-morning

mission to attack trains north of the Seine, and 

only four made it back after being caught up in 

flak. Flight Lieutenant Josef Jeka was hit and 

wounded, and forced to crash land in France, 

managing to get out of his damaged plane in 

one piece. Flight Lieutenant Jan Kurowski 

wasn’t so fortunate; his Spitfire was hit twice 

and exploded in mid-air, instantly killing the 

pilot. 

The D-Day landings took place just over two 

weeks later, and Chailey-based Spitfires played 

an important part, providing air cover for the 

crucial American landings at Utah and Omaha 

beaches. The next few days were practically 

without respite for the pilots, flying up to four 

cross-channel missions a day. But remarkably, 

until the Polish squadrons moved out of Chailey 

by July 1st (they were transferred to ALG 

Apuldram, SW of Chichester) they suffered no 

more casualties. 

Only a skeleton RAF presence remained at the 

airbase, but Chailey was to witness one more 

dramatic episode before it was closed down. A 

Flying Fortress, nicknamed ‘The Devil’s Brat’, 

having managed to limp across the Channel 

Lewes in hisToRy 

with two of its four engines out of action, still 

laden with its bombs, emergency-landed after 

the pilot had spotted the small strip. The plane 

was far too big for the runway, and on landing 

a damaged propeller ripped through the petrol 

tank, causing a fire in the plane. The crew 

all managed to exit the aircraft and get a safe 

distance away from it before it exploded with a 

noise that could probably be heard in Lewes. 

There’s little evidence of the existence of such 

an important historical site nowadays, though 

in the car park of The Plough, a couple of miles 

down the road, there’s a memorial to the Polish 

pilots, which was erected in 2000 (an Airshow 

was held in 2004 to mark the sixtieth anniversary 

of the pilots’ arrival in Sussex). It pays 

its respect to the two men who died while stationed 

in Chailey. In total, 2,000 Polish airmen 

lost their lives during the war. Alex Leith 

The main research resource for this article was 

the book ‘Spit & Polish’ by Richard Whittle, 

which you can buy at The Plough. Thanks to the 

artist Barry Weekley and Richard for the use of 

the painting Wings over Chailey, which we’ve used 

to illustrate these pages. 

27

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patience agbabi 

A ‘post-watershed poet’ 

For the first time, Patience Agbabi will be alighting 

in Lewes long enough to perform her poetry at the 

Lewes Monday Literary Club. 

You’ve called yourself a ‘post-watershed poet’. 

Should we prepare to be shocked? It depends 

whether you read the Guardian or the Daily Mail! 

I’m currently completing a contemporary version 

of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, so it’s a good idea not 

to bring the children. I mostly write for adults and 

some of my work’s influenced by film noir so there’s 

sometimes sex, violence and/or strong language. I’d 

be uncomfortable if there were children present but 

I have been known to offend adults. If you come 

prepared to be shocked, you won’t be shocked. 

So you’ve been influenced by long-dead white 

men. Anyone in particular apart from Chaucer? 

Other long-dead white men include Wordsworth 

for attempting to write in the simple, direct 

language really spoken by men, and Coleridge for 

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Christabel. And 

there’s still a place in my heart for the Romantics. 

But there are loads of more recently dead writers 

I’m inspired by, like Robert Frost and Michael 

Donaghy. And loads of women poets still alive and 

kicking: Carol Ann Duffy and Sharon Olds, Jackie 

Kay and Kate Clanchy, Leontia Flynn and Catherine 

Smith. The list goes on… 

As an alive-and-kicking poet yourself, is it all 

about being on the stage rather than the page? 

It’s both. I’ve spent the last fifteen years trying to 

close the chasm between the two. There was a time 

when you were either a ‘page’ poet or a ‘performance’ 

poet, as if you couldn’t be both. As if poetry 

itself couldn’t be both. I generally rhyme and my 

work is accessible, so it lends itself well to performance. 

Some poems are born for performance; others 

have performance thrust upon them. If I had to 

choose between the two, I’d go for the page. It all 

starts with the writing. Without the page, there’d 

be no stage. 

www.vivaLewes.CoM 

Photo by: Lyndon douglas 

LiTeRaTuRe 

You did a Creative Writing MA at Sussex. Was 

that a formative experience? It was one of the 

best years of my life. I’d already published my first 

two books but it gave me permission to write full 

time rather than fit it in around other activities. I 

wrote a corona (a sonnet sequence where the last 

line of one becomes the first line of the next, and 

the very last line is the same as the first). I lived, ate 

and slept sonnets. I began my love affair with film 

noir which has become a strong influence on my 

work. So, yes, it was a creative feast. 

Were you a frequent visitor to Lewes during 

that year? I used to change at Lewes to go to 

Falmer, but there was never time to hang about. 

But I have a soft spot for Sussex because I lived in 

Goddards Green as a child and went to Twineham 

School. Part of me is still in Sussex. 

Juliette Mitchell 

Patience Agbabi will be at Pelham House on 26th 

March, 8pm. For more information, contact chris. 

mondaylit@gmail.com. 

29

The 

Con 

Club 

Treason Productions & Boundary Events Ltd Presents 

THE TREAS N SHOW 

Every 2nd 

Thurs of the 

month 

Lewes Constitutional Club 

139 High Street, Lewes. 

Thursday 15th March @ 8.30pm 

Tickets £9.00 & £7.00 

Reservations 0845 396 4762 

or e-mail: tickets@treasonshow.co.uk 

Look 

out 

Lewes! 

“Savegely Funny-Fantastically Silly” THE GUARDIAN

comedy round-up 

CoMedy 

Typical. You wait ages for one comedy club and then 

three come along at once. Prime Cuts is a new cabaretstyle 

club at the Phoenix Theatre on the industrial 

estate. The promoter is comedian and compère Eden 

Rivers who’s been running events at the Three and Ten 

pub and Marlborough Theatre in Brighton for years. 

He aims to promote less established names alongside 

well-known comics, and there will be three gigs this 

month, with even more planned for April. 

Next up is The Treason Show, a Brighton fixture for 

more than ten years. From March to May there will be 

a monthly Lewes outing for this ‘slick and irreverent satirical 

sketch show’, performed by a cast of five players. 

Finally, of course, there’s the reliably hilarious Comedy 

at the Con, which this month stars Ben Norris (pictured). 

Ben describes his stand-up style as ‘conversational, 

albeit with me asking most of the questions’. 

Don’t let this put you off sitting in the front row, 

though: “If I end up chatting to anyone, I promise it’ll 

be fun and not remotely awkward,” he says. 

Comedy at the Con, Con Club, Thursday 1st, Ben Norris, 

Stu Goldsmith and Angela Barnes, 7.30 for 8.30pm, 

tickets £9/7 on door or in advance from Union Music or 

07582 408418. Treason show, Con Club, Thursday 15th, 

8.30pm, tickets tbc, 473076. 

Prime Cuts Comedy, Phoenix Theatre, all 8pm, Thursday 

15th Paul McCaffrey £5, Saturday 17th St Patrick’s 

Day Comedy Special with eight comedians, £7, 23rd Stay 

At Home Dad £5. primecutscomedy.com, 07563 340277 

31

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sKePTiCs 

In 1781, William Herschel spotted Uranus, the first 

planet to be discovered in 1,600 years. Herschel 

was an obsessive amateur astronomer who designed 

and built his own huge telescopes, and spent years 

cataloguing the night sky. 

In January 2012, Chris Holmes and Lee Threapleton 

independently discovered a new planet 

hundreds of light years away. Holmes, a 48-year-old 

systems analyst from Peterborough, is not an obsessive 

amateur astronomer. He told the press: “I’ve 

never even had a telescope. I’ve had a passing interest 

in where things are in the sky, but never had any 

more knowledge about it than that.” 

The pair discovered the planet by looking at data 

on planethunters.org. Holmes said: “I was checking 

some emails and thought I would give it a go.” The 

website asks users to look at a series of charts, and 

point out any sudden dips. Each chart shows the 

brightness of a particular star over time. A sudden 

dip suggests something, maybe a planet, has moved 

in front of the star and blocked some of its light. 

Computers have been analysing the data, but the 

website’s scientists believe “in the ability of humans 

to beat machines just occasionally,” and hope people 

will spot planets the computers have missed. 

One of the project’s leaders is Oxford astrophysicist 

and Sky at Night presenter Chris Lintott. He will be 

telling Lewes Skeptics ‘How to Discover a Planet 

from your Sofa’, on Wed 7th at 8pm at the Elephant 

and Castle. (£3, lewes.skepticsinthepub.org) SR 

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The inimitable Satyajit Ray 

In April 1943, Satyajit Ray, a 21-year-old 

economics graduate, took a job at a Britishowned 

advertising agency in Calcutta. 

He worked on ad campaigns for tea and 

biscuits, among other things. 

Ray was obsessed with western classical 

music and films, and “around 1946 he 

started writing film scripts as a hobby”, 

biographer Andrew Robinson says. The 

following year, Ray co-founded a film 

society in Calcutta, one of only two in 

India at the time. “While I sat at my office 

desk,” he said, “my mind buzzed with the 

thought of the films I had been seeing.” 

However, he had risen quickly to a senior 

position at the ad agency, and “the thought 

had not once occurred to me of changing 

my profession”. 

Then, in 1950, Ray’s employers sent him to 

England for six months training: “Doubtless 

the management hoped that I would 

come back a fully-fledged advertising man, 

wholly dedicated to the pursuit of selling 

tea and biscuits.” 

Within three days of arriving in London, 

Ray saw Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves. 

“It was in a double bill at the Curzon with 

A Night at the Opera…it just gored me.” 

Ray had always wondered whether he could 

make a film cheaply by using a mostly 

amateur cast and shooting almost entirely 

on location. Bicycle Thieves showed him it 

was possible, and “I came out of the theatre 

with my mind fully made up,” Ray later 

said: “I would become a film-maker. The 

prospect of giving up a safe job didn’t daunt 

me any more.” 

He didn’t actually quit his day job until 


1956, the year after he released his first 

film, Pather Panchali. He had made Pather 

in his spare time, putting his salary 

towards production costs. It was a great 

success, and allowed him to make a drastic 

career change, aged 35. 

Ray was rather glad to escape the corporate 

world, if his 1971 film Company Limited is 

anything to go by. It’s about a well-meaning 

office worker who is corrupted by what 

Ray called the ‘bureaucratic and commercial 

machine’. 

Shyamalendu Chatterjee has risen quickly 

to a senior position in a British-owned fan 

company, and his only ambition is further 

promotion. He discovers that a large batch 

of fans, due for export in seven days, is 

faulty. He will take the blame if the company 

defaults on its contract. Can he solve 

the problem in time? 

The use of such a mundane plot may itself 

be a joke about how boring corporate life 

is. Fortunately, Ray keeps it interesting 

with some romantic tension: Shyamalendu’s 

sister-in-law visits, and he wonders if 

he ‘married the wrong sister’. There’s also 

some satire, as Ray shows the Indian upper 

class as having become quite British; they 

watch horse racing, go to clubs which were 

formerly ‘British-only’, and casually use 

English words and phrases. At one point, 

a minor character is handed a whisky, and 

says in English: “Thank you, old boy.” Ray 

said of the film: “In a sense, the British 

have not really left.” Steve Ramsey 

March 6th, 8pm, All Saints. 

CineMa 

35

cinema 

round-up 

Horses for courses 

There are two groups which show films at The All 

Saints Centre - Lewes Cinema and Lewes Film Club. 

For ten years, Lewes Cinema, a commercial operation 

(registered in Chichester) has been showing 

second-run films, every other weekend. The same 

team also runs a separate company, screening films 

in other locations throughout Sussex. In January, the 

Town Council decided to organise their own secondrun 

screenings (after June 24th), instead of using 

Lewes Cinema’s services, hoping to churn profits 

back into the community. Lewes Cinema have subsequently 

expressed great concern that this decision 

was made without any consultation with them. 

The two movies we know that LC are showing 

in March are fairly typical of the sort of fare they 

usually put out. War Horse (w/e 9-11th, times tbc) 

is the latest Spielberg film, an expensively made 

crowd-pleaser, which had a mixed response from 

critics (loved by The Mail, for example, panned by 

The Guardian). 

They’re also showing the BAFTA-garnered The 

Artist (w/e 23rd-24th, times tba), the French silent 

comedy-drama, which was almost universally acclaimed 

by critics, and also proved a popular success, 

so far making over $50 million worldwide on its 

general release. 

Lewes Film Club, whose future is not under threat, 

and whose members are scheduled to offer their 

services in the new council-run operation, are an 

independent, not-for-profit organisation, run by 

volunteers, who for 25 years have shown arthouse, 

classic and foreign films, in their annual season 

between September and May. Again, this month’s 

output is fairly typical of what you can expect to see 

in their programme. 


CineMa 

There’s an Indian double header, for example, with a 

screening of Deepa Mahta’s critically acclaimed, and 

beautifully composed 2005 affair Water (2nd, 8pm), a 

curious mix of hyper-realism and melodrama, which 

explores the plight of Hindu widows in the 1930s. 

Mahta has clearly been influenced by the master of 

Indian arthouse, the late Satyajit Ray, and to underline 

this point the LFC are screening one of Ray’s 

lesser known works, Company Limited (6th, 8pm, see 

page 35). 

The LFC are also showing an American-based 

thriller starring an A-list celebrity, Julia (16th, 8pm), 

though the celebrity in question is the revered Tilda 

Swinton, and the film is a gritty, independently produced 

affair, with a French director (Eric Zonka). 

The LFC is also keen to screen films from nations 

less well known for their cinema industry; they end 

the month with Kurdish-Iranian director Bahman 

Ghobadi’s 2005 drama Turtles Can Fly (30th, 8pm), 

set on the Turkish-Iraqi border on the eve of the 

Anglo-American invasion of the latter country. The 

film highlights the ordeal of refugee children forced 

to defuse and sell landmines to earn a crust. 

The Film Club also has an award-winning Junior 

branch, which combines themed activities with fulllength 

feature films, in order to introduce youngsters 

to film history and world cinema. March’s offering is 

Mike Newell’s Into the West (18th, 10am). 

Horses for courses, then: between the two organisations 

they’ve done a pretty good job of offering a 

wide range of movies to cater for every taste. Let’s 

hope any changes made by the council (and they’re 

talking about better seating in the ground-floor auditorium) 

ends making the movie-going experience for 

the Lewes public better, not worse. Dexter Lee 

37

art& 

about 

The Chalk Gallery’s recently 

had a bit of a refurb job, and 

is well worth popping into. 

Featured in March are oil 

landscapes by Paul Allen and 

the minimalist townscapes 

(pictured) of Will Dickerson. 

Down at the Print Room, you 

can see pieces by hyper-yoof 

Australian Alex LeHours, 

designer of posters, t-shirts, 

skateboards, you-name-it. And 

at Laporte’s, Carol Seatory 

helps you enjoy your tea and 

cakes by adorning the walls 

with images of… er… tea and 

cakes, fashioned from recycled 

materials. Yum. 


Sheila & peter 

marlborough 

Two long-established, locally 

based artists, married, are 

exhibiting together at the Hop. 

Sheila and Peter Marlborough 

‘go out and about together and 

have similar likes and influences, 

but the end results are very different’, 

reads their press release. 

Her work oscillates between 

realism and abstraction, while 

his, more representational, seeks 

out mood and atmosphere. The 

pair met at the St Ives School of 

painting in 1980, and have been 

together ever since. If you’ve 

been paying attention, you’ll 

have seen their work at the Hop 

(née Star) before, and at the 

Chalk Gallery, too. This show is 

entitled Variations. 

Hop Gallery, 17th-29th, closed 

Monday 

portrait 

exhibition 

A charity event with a difference. 

An eclectic collection of portraits 

on show at St Anne’s Galleries to 

help raise money and awareness 

for Sussex Community Foundation, 

an organisation which helps 

fund local initiatives. There’ll be 

a real mixed bag on show, lent by 

supporters of the event, from a 

Glasgow School of Art student’s 

painting of local teacher Aggie 

Jonas, via a Hockney, to works 

by the usual SAG stable, such as 

Nick Bodimeade, Julian Bell and 

Michael Cooper. This is not a 

buying exhibition: an invite-only 

private fund-raiser will be followed 

by a weekend in which the 

portrait exhibition will be open, 

for free, to the public. 

St Anne’s Galleries, Sat 24th, 

Sun 25th 

DIARY: Our cover artist Tom Benjamin at St Anne’s till 4th (and beyond, by appointment); Kitty 

Finnegan’s sexily colourful prints at the King’s Head all month; printmaker Luella Martin and last 

Easter’s ‘artist in residence’ Fiona Robinson are in Pelham House from 29th. 

A r t 

(From left to right) William Dickerson, Sheila Marlborough, 

portrait from exhibition 

39

focuS on: 

pink morning light by dawn Stacey 120cm x 190cm 

How did the idea for the painting come about? When I was taking my dogs for a walk one early 

morning last summer, I saw a coral pink glow on the cliffs above Cuilfail which was also reflected in the 

water. I like how the realism of the falcon contrasts with the dreamlike, textured abstract of the foliage 

on the Railway Land. 

How long did it take to paint? Two weeks. I work on one piece at a time usually, which can be quite a 

struggle, but I like to push through with an idea. 

What materials did you use? Acrylic on canvas, plus printed doilies, lace, monoprint, collage, corrugated 

card. I trained in textiles originally, so I’m interested in layers of textures and colour. 

Tell me about your approach to perspective. I’ve always loved painting a landscape as though I’m 

looking down onto it, so I can include all the elements in one whole piece. I will often take photographs 

and sketch while I walk along to gather information that I need. Town maps can give the kind of aerial 

view that I’m trying to portray, incorporating all the features of a place at once. 

How much is it going for? £1,200. 

What do you wear to paint? A ski suit! My studio used to look out over the garden and it was freezing. 

What are the titles of some of your other paintings? Swans Flying Over the Railway Land, Early 

Morning Mist, Golden Light. 

What’s your favourite gallery? I love Pallant House in Chichester, in particular, the recent Robin and 

Lucienne Day exhibition. The bookshop has some fantastic art books. 

If you had to hang one painting from your desert island palm tree, what would it be? A John Piper 

painting of Newhaven. His work inspired me to use collage in my own work. 

Dawn Stacey, A Sense of Place, Hop, Castle Ditch Lane, Sat 3rd-Thurs 15th March. hopgallery.com 


Art 

41

I often get titles muddled. This can lead to confusion 

when, for example, I’m animatedly discussing 

the film Drowning in Vietnam and it’s really called 

Swimming to Cambodia. I say this, because my presence 

at a Lewes Operatic Society (LOS) rehearsal 

came about because I’d mentioned in our editorial 

meeting that I’d once sung, as a member of the 

chorus, in Pirates of Penzance. This transpires not 

to be true. I’d sung in a Gilbert and Sullivan comic 

opera, and it did have a nautical theme, but it was 

actually HMS Pinafore. But they’re a lovely lot, the 

Lewes Operatics people, and very understanding, 

so even though I don’t sing a note, I spend a most 

enjoyable evening with them. 

Lewes Operatic Society began 100 years ago, and 

their first show was the Pirates of Penzance, hence 

the choice of this show to celebrate their anniversary. 

A key part of the plot involves Frederic (Andrew 

Simpson) being a ‘leapling’, ie born on 29th February, 

it’s the perfect choice to put on in a leap year. 

As with many previous shows, plans are afoot to 

also perform it in one of Lewes’ twin towns, in this 

instance, Blois. 

Rehearsals are taking place in the ramshackle, 

draughty but charming rooms in the Market Tower, 

under Old Gabriel, the town bell. I climb the 

steps to find business manager, Nick Hazle, who I 

rec- 


pirateS of 

penzance 

Lewes Operatics celebrates 100 years 

oPeReTTa 

ognise from Viva’s dwyle flunking match against 

the Lewes Arms. His mum, Val, who sadly died last 

year, was a LOS stalwart herself, and a mighty fine 

pirate on many occasions. 

I see many familiar faces around me, including 

Tim Freeman, from the Big Iolanthe, who plays the 

Pirate King in this. I’m impressed to see a bar in 

the rehearsal room. It all seems much more jolly 

than the production I took part in. 

Singing begins, but since it’s more about pirates 

than petticoats, I can’t really join in, so I nip out to 

the staircase to talk to director Libby Hannelle and 

choreographer Collette Goodwin. I begin by asking 

what they like about this opera. “It’s hilarious, 

jolly rude and very funny,” says Libby. “Just like 

Libby,” says Collette. Libby has set the production 

in the 1950s, with Teddy Boy pirates. With much 

laughter, they demonstrate some of the planned 

choreography using burlesque feathered fans. 

Nick then takes me to the costume cupboard to 

meet delightful wardrobe mistress (a virologist in 

her day job), Sue Taylor, who shows me some leopard-print 

fabric she’s got for a “very low cut top” 

for one of the characters. We rummage through 

her amazing treasure trove of costumes, with boxes 

of beards, wigs, bags of frilly bloomers from HMS 

Pinafore (and yes, I did wear them), a pair of chaps, 

several kilts. “People are very kind, donating items 

of clothing. I get some amazing things from eBay, 

which is where I’ve sourced suspender belts for this 

production.” 

It sounds like the 100th anniversary show is going 

to be a lot of fun and I’ve really enjoyed having 

a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how it’s put together. 

I slip away from the rehearsal, into the cold 

evening air, listening to the voices gradually fade 

as I head down Market Lane. Emma Chaplin 

26th to 31st March, 7.30pm. Lewes Town Hall, Tickets 

£10/9/8. lewesoperatic.co.uk 

43

claSSical 

round-up 

Sir John Tomlinson et al 

An opportunity to hear Sir John 

Tomlinson in recital doesn’t 

come along every day. Some 

Southover residents are treated 

at Christmastime to a recording 

of his voice booming out 

Good King Wenceslas outside 

their homes, but this month 

the Nicholas Yonge Society 

presents him for real at Sussex 

Downs College. And they don’t 

suffer just any old singer. Sir 

John’s programme consists of 

works relating to Michelangelo. 

He begins with Britten’s Seven 

Sonnets of Michelangelo, followed 

by Hugo Wolf’s Drei Gedichte 

von Michelangelo and ending 

with Shostakovich’s Suite on 

Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti, 

opus 145. 

Britten’s Seven Sonnets was composed 

in 1940 for the tenor (and 

his partner) Peter Pears. It was 

the first of several such song cycles 

Britten would write for him, 

and the recording of it was also 

the first of many that Britten 

and Pears would make together. 

Modelled on the great melodic 

arcs of Italian art songs, they are 

nonetheless distinctly English 

in nature, perhaps even echoing 

the works of Hubert Parry. 

Wolf’s three Michelangelo 

Lieder were actually written for 

the bass voice and were the last 

songs to be completed by the 


composer just six months before 

his mental breakdown and 

terminal illness due to syphilis. 

One of the greatest writers of 

German Lied, Wolf was terribly 

depressed to be considered just 

a lowly songwriter. In 1974, 

Shostakovich too was in the 

last year of his life when he 

wrote the Michelangelo Suite, 

originally scored for bass and 

piano. In one of his final letters, 

Shostakovich wrote, ‘By 

the essence of these sonnets, I 

had in mind: Wisdom, Love, 

Creativity, Death, Immortality.’ 

Sir Tomlinson’s pianist will be 

David Owen Norris. 

23rd, 7.45pm, Sussex Downs 

College. Single tickets £14 from 

Lewes Travel, localboxoffice.com 

or on the door. 

For more 20th century masterworks 

but of the French choral 

church variety, one would do 

well to navigate over to nearby 

Ringmer to hear the Esterhazy 

Chamber Choir perform 

Duruflé’s Requiem along with 

that composer’s Quatre Motets. 

The concert will also feature 

the Langlais Messe Solennelle, 

Messiaen’s motet O Sacrum 

Convivium! and Villette’s bestknown 

work, the Hymn à la Vierge. 

The Esterhazy’s conductor 

is Sandy Chenery. 

24th, 7.30pm, Church of St Mary 

CLassiCaL MusiC 

the Virgin, Church Hill, Ringmer. 

£10 via esterhazy.org.uk or 

on the door (under 16s free). 

Back in Lewes, the Corelli Ensemble 

will perform the Stabat 

Mater of Pergolesi. Written in 

1736 for male soprano, male 

alto, string orchestra and basso 

continuo, it is Pergolesi’s bestknown 

sacred composition. This 

meditation on the Virgin Mary 

was commissioned to replace 

Alessandro Scarlatti’s Stabat 

Mater. After only nine years 

of service, Scarlatti’s Baroque 

work was already viewed as 

old-fashioned, while Pergolesi’s 

looked ahead to the more modern 

Classical style of composition. 

Also on the bill for this 

evening will be two of Corelli’s 

Concerti grossi, numbers 1 and 8 

and Vivaldi’s ever-famous Four 

Seasons featuring violin soloist 

Nathaniel Anderson-Frank. 

11th, 4pm St Pancras Church. 

Tickets £12, children free. 

Reserve tickets at reduced cost of 

£10 for adults by emailing corelliensemble@hotmail.com. 

Paul Austin Kelly 

45

46 

Restore, Revive, Remake 

Tickets include - 

Participation in a choice of creative workshops where 

you’ll make something beautiful using vintage or 

recycled materials 

An optional consultation with a seamstress/designer 

for advice on how to restore or revive your own 

wardrobe 

Exclusive access to our range of high quality 

upcycled clothing and accessories 

Drink and canapes on arrival, and a light supper 

Join us for an 

evening of 

‘sustainable style’ 

22nd March 2012 

7.00 - 11.00pm 

The Needlemakers 


Tickets cost £45 pp and must be purchased 

in advance. They are available online at 

www.cascadestyle.co.uk or from Josie at 

Made in Lewes, the Needlemakers. 

Find out more about this event and our other 

planned activities in Lewes by calling Caireen 

on 07799 071919 or at www.cascadestyle.co.uk

MusiC 

cuarteto guarachando 

Our Lamb in Havana 

There are some cracking music pubs in Lewes 

right now. Our monthly guide regularly lists 

something in the region of sixty gigs, ranging 

from one chap and his guitar to full-on 

bands-with-brass-sections, from groups who’ve 

been influenced by the Malling sound to others 

whose musical heritage is more cosmopolitan. In 

the latter category are Cuarteto Guarachando, 

playing this month at the Lamb; they are widely 

regarded as being one of the top exponents of 

Cuban salsa, ‘son’ and Latin music in the UK 

today. They are fronted by vocalist Adriana Lord 

from Cuba who has been a leading force on the 

Havana scene since the early 90s, before moving 

to Britain in 2010. The list of top musicians she’s 

sung with appears endless and includes members 

of the Buena Vista Social Club, NG la Banda 

and Vocal Luna. Guitarist Luke Rattenbury has 

a wealth of experience in many musical styles 

from Latin and Jazz to Afrobeat. He has played 

throughout Cuba and his father’s native Ghana, 

where he studied the roots of African music. Eddie 

Meyer has played bass throughout the world, 

maintaining close links with Cuba and Brazil, 

while drummer Juan Carlos Paez learnt his 

trade in his native Columbia, before travelling 

to Europe. Whether playing festivals, concerts 

or The Lamb, Cuarteto Guarachando’s wealth 

of experience, charismatic stage performance 

and exciting repertoire of music never fails to 

enthral audiences. Should be an amazing night. 

Beth Miller 

Cuarteto Guarachando, 3rd, The Lamb, 9pm, free 

47

MARCH MuSIC LISTINgS 

(From left to right) Contraband, Papa george and ska Toons 

THU 1ST 

Fiddle & Squeeze. Upbeat folk. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

So Last Century String Band. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Dunia Duo. Flamenco. Pelham Arms, 8.30pm, free. 

Chris Bartram, Neil Brookes & Tony Weatherall. 

Folk. Royal Oak, 8 pm, £7 

FRI 2ND 

The Riffz. Covers. Volunteer, 9pm, free 

The Thin White Duke. Bowie tribute. Con Club, 

8pm, £4 (members free) 

SAT 3RD 

Stone Junction. Alt rock. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Cuarteto Guarachando. Latin. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

The Informers. Covers. John Harvey, 8pm, free 

Phantom Limb. Country. Union Music, 3pm, free 

Fay Hield Trio. Folk. Elephant and Castle, 8pm, £9 

Kent Duchaine. Blues guitarist. Lansdown, 8pm, free 

SUN 4TH 

Union Roots night. Lansdown, 8pm, free 

Fruitful Sunday. DJ Set. Snowdrop, 8pm, free 

Kitchen Party. Country duo. Con Club, 3pm, free 

Karaoke. Volunteer, 7pm, free 

MON 5TH 

Imogen Ryall. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8.30pm, free 

TUES 6TH 

Ceilidh Crew Session. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

Folk. John Harvey Tavern, 8pm, free 

WED 7TH 

Tab & Ben’s Acoustic Session. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Jazz. John Harvey Tavern, 8pm, free 

THUR 8TH 

TBC. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

Naomi Bedford & Paul Simmonds. Folk. Royal Oak, 


gig guide 

8pm, £7 

Shauna Parker & the Saloon Bar Band. Americana. 

Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Ultraswing Trio. Gypsy Swing. Pelham Arms, 

8.30pm, free 

FRI 9TH 

The Kondoms. Covers. Con Club, 8pm, £4/free 

SAT 10TH 

The Contenders. Blues/R&B. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

Small Town Jones. Americana. Union Music Store, 

3pm, free 

Band of 2. Celtic. John Harvey Tavern, 8pm, free 

Susie Moate. Gypsy jazz. Con Club, 8pm, £3 (members 

free) 

Shakedown. Blues/rock. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Twagger Band. Folk. Elephant and Castle, 8pm, £6 

Chris Callow. Dance hits. Lansdown, 8pm, free 

SUN 11TH 

Fruitful Sunday. DJ set. Snowdrop, 8pm, free 

MON 12TH 

Terry Seabrook trio. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8.30pm, free 

TUES 13TH 


WED 14TH 

Open Mic. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 



THUR 15TH 

Hatful of Rain. Americana. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

Newick Folk. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Judy Cook. Folk. Royal Oak, 8pm, £7 

George Kypreos Trio. Greek music. Pelham Arms, 

8.30pm, free 

49

gig guide 

MARCH MuSIC LISTINgS (cont) 

FRI 16TH 

Zed’s Dead. Rock covers. Volunteer, 8pm, free. 

Dub’n Tuff All Stars. Roots reggae. Con Club, 8pm, 

£4 (members free) 

SAT 17TH 

TBA. Lamb, 8.30pm, free. 

The Bushy Whistles Band. St Patrick’s themed. John 

Harvey Tavern, 8pm, free 

Rosco Levee. Country Blues. Union Music Store, 

3pm, free 

Moonshine. Covers. Snowdrop, 9pm, free. 

Come-all-ye. Participatory folk. Elephant and Castle, 

8pm, £3 

Jump around. St Pat’s special. Lansdown. 8pm, free 

St Patrick’s Night Gig. Contraband, Zoe Brownrigg 

etc. All Saints, 7.30pm, £8.50/£7 

SUN 18TH 

Fruitful Sunday. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Papa George. Blues. Volunteer, 5pm, free 

Ray Owen. Juicy Lucy singer. Con Club, 3pm, free 

MON 19TH 

Pete Burden. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8.30pm, free 

TUES 20TH 

Ceilidh Crew Session. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 


WED 21ST 



THUR 22ND 

Lonesome Hankers. Hank Williams covers. Lamb, 

8.30pm, free 

Peter Jagger. Singer/songwriter. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

Tune & Song Session. Royal Oak, 8pm, free 

Harry’s Tricks. Swing. Pelham Arms, 8.30pm, free 

FRI 23RD 

Who Slapped John. Rockabilly. Con Club, 8pm, £4 

(members free) 

Full House. Rock covers. Volunteer, 9pm, free 

SAT 24TH 

The Slytones. Psychadelic. Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

Cam Penner. Folk/Americana. Union Music Store, 

3pm, free 

Cam Penner. Royal Oak, 7.30pm, £8 adv from Union 

Lights Out! R‘n’B covers. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

The Askew Sisters. Folk. Elly, 8pm, £7 

Kovak. Electro pop/indie. Lansdown, 8pm, free 

SUN 25TH 

Zora Duo. Gypsy punk. Volunteer, 5pm, free 

Fruitful Sunday. DJ set. Snowdrop, 8pm, free 

Keep The Faith. Covers. Con Club, 3pm, free 

MON 26TH 

Jason Henson. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8.30pm, free. 

TUE 27TH 


WED 28TH 



THUR 29TH 

Dr Bluegrass and the Illbilly 8. Bluegrass. Lamb, 

8.30pm, free 

Shauna Parker Trio. Americana. Pelham Arms, 

8.30pm, free 

Peta Webb, Ken Hall & Simon Hindley. Royal Oak, 

8 pm, £7 

Pocket Size. Acoustic. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

FRI 30TH 

Mark Wright is Elvis on my mind. Tribute. Volunteer, 

9pm, free 

Ska Toons. Ska. Con Club, 8pm, £4 

SAT 31ST 

Chicken Shed Zeppelin. Bluegrass/country/psychobilly. 

Lamb, 8.30pm, free 

Jack Harris. Folk. Union Music Store, 3pm, free 

Wakin’ Snakes. Cajun. Snowdrop, 9pm, free 

The Surfin’ Lungs. Vocal harmonies. Con Club, 

8.30pm, £5 (members free) 

John Heslop. Folk. Elephant and Castle, 8pm, £5 

Thanks to Francesco Andreoli, whose Lewes gig 

videos can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/ 

LewesMusic

MAR 

2 

9 THE KONDOMS 

PUNK & ROCK COVERS 

16 

23 

30 

MAR 

4 

11 

18 

25 

FRI & SAT 

@ The Con Club 

THIN WHITE DUKE 

BOWIE TRIBUTE 

DUB’N TUFF ALL STARS 

ROOTS ROCK REGGAE 

WHO SLAPPED JOHN 

ROCKABILLY 

SKA TOONS 

SKA JAZZ ROCKSTEADY 

SURFIN’ LUNGS 

31 NEW WAVE SURF 

Acoustic Sundays 

@ The Con Club 

KITCHEN PARTY 

COUNTRY WITH A HINT OF JAZZ & FOLK 

SUSIE MOATE 

GUITAR/VIOLIN GYPSY JAZZ 

RAY OWEN 

SESSION WITH JUICY LUCY FRONTMAN 

KEEP THE FAITH 

ROCK COVERS FROM IAN & DAN 

4,469 

unique visitors to our 

website in January 

Just think how many people would see your 

property if you were on the market with us! 

(statistics from Google Analytics) 

Lewes £264,950 

• Semi Detached Family Home • Favoured Winterbourne Location 

• 2 Double Bedrooms & Bathroom • Dual Aspect Living/Dining Room 

• Southerly Aspect Rear Garden • Offered with No Upward Chain 


• A Charming Period Flint Cottage• Within the Heart of the Town 

• Arranged over 3 Floors + Cellar • Living Room and Kitchen 

• 2 Double Bedrooms & Bathroom • Westerly Aspect Rear Garden 


• Semi Detached Family Residence • Within the Popular Nevill Area 

• 3 Beds, Bathroom & Sep. WC • Lounge, Dining Room & Kitchen 

• Off Road Parking & Rear Garden • Ideal for Further Extension (STNC) 

Lewes Town & Country Office T 01273 487444 

14a High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2LN

Saturday Legal 

Advice Clinic 

A busy working life can make it hard to get the advice you 

need. So to help you we are running a series of Saturday 

Advice Clinics covering family matters, divorce, probate, trusts 

and wills. 

All discussions will be in the strictest confidence and by 

appointment only. 

The advice clinics will take place on the following dates: 

Brighton Office: Saturday 10th March, 9am-1pm 

Eastbourne Office: Saturday 17th March, 9am-1pm 

Lewes Office: Saturday 31st March, 9am-1pm 

Call 01323 745660 

to book an appointment or email 

jbarnwell@mayowynnebaxter.co.uk 

for further information. 

Brighton • Eastbourne • East Grinstead • Lewes • Seaford 

52 

www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk

Photos by emma Chaplin 

It is a bitterly cold day when I go to review 

the King’s Head with Sussex Wildlife officer, 

Michael Blencowe, and I’m looking forward to a 

warm pub, good food and interesting company. 

I remember the last time we met in town he was 

carrying a tin of furry caterpillars to release in 

the Railway Land. 

Given his penchant for carrying extraneous 

creatures about his person, Michael surprises 

me when he admits to being unadventurous in 

his food tastes. The plan for today, he tells me, 

is to try things he’s never eaten before. He spots 

a starter on the menu that includes eel. And, 

when we’re told the fish of the day is grey mullet, 

that catches his attention too. “I see them all 

the time in the Ouse but I’ve never eaten one,” 

he says. I decide on the two-course set menu for 

£12, choosing a salad with bacon and Jerusalem 

artichoke, followed by mussels. 

Immediately after the recent renovation, I 

remember someone saying it had been ‘Farrow & 

Balled’. Today it still has a nice open, elegant feel, 

but it somehow feels more cosy. The addition of 

art and photography on the walls helps. 

They source their food and drink very carefully 

and are quite rightly proud to be the only place in 

Lewes to get into the 2012 Good Food Guide. 

We bypass the wine list with some regret, since 

it’s the middle of a working day. I enjoyed their 

Argentinian Malbec on a preview visit. 

We take our drinks up to the purple wallpapered 

area near the kitchen. 


the king’S head 

A culinary adventure in Southover 

Food 

Our starters arrive swiftly. Michael’s salad 

comprises smoked eel, crisp bacon, pieces of 

Jerusalem artichoke, slithers of fennel as well as 

rocket and capers (£6.50). Mine is similar but 

with more bacon and no eel. Both are beautifully 

dressed, zingy and delicious. 

After the main courses are brought to the table, 

Michael remarks on how good the service is, and 

he’s right. It’s attentive without being obtrusive, 

friendly and efficient. My bowl of plump 

mussels in cream and wine is vast and steaming, 

scattered with chopped shallots. We also have 

some superb chunks of seeded Flint Owl bread to 

share. Michael’s attractive-looking, crisp-skinned 

fillet of grey mullet comes in a large white bowl 

surrounded by clams, cockles and winter greens 

(£12.50). By the end of the meal, we’ve built up 

quite a pile of discarded shells between us. 

A glance at the pudding options makes me very 

tempted to try the steamed apple pudding with 

caramelised pears and homemade vanilla ice 

cream, and the Barkham blue cheese looks good 

too, but we decide, with some regret, that we’re 

full up. 

So has Michael enjoyed his culinary adventure 

today? “I have, very much. It means, when I’m 

next giving a talk about the Ouse and I mention 

the grey mullet, I’ve got something interesting to 

say about them. They taste delicious.” 

Emma Chaplin 

The King’s Head, 9 Southover High St, 474628, 

thekingsheadlewes.co.uk 

53

I haven’t been to The Shelleys for a while; not 

since it changed owners in fact. However, as my 

brief was to choose somewhere nice to take one’s 

mother it seemed an obvious choice, particularly 

if one has a refined mother. Then it occurred to 

me that I am a mother, and terribly refined to 

boot, so I informed the kids they were taking me 

for afternoon tea. We all wiped our noses on our 

sleeves and set off, collecting Grange Girl and 

Library Boy en route. The hotel wasn’t too busy 

and we had a choice of rooms: the comfy lounge 

or the more clubby bar. The children flung themselves 

onto a sofa in the lounge, scattering coats, 

shoes and comics everywhere, yet the waiting 

staff still smiled benignly at them. I was relieved 

to see that the fragile tall vases my children used 

to toddle precariously towards had been removed. 

Or broken. 

I’d been thinking fondly of finger sandwiches – 

they used to do lovely egg ones – but alas the full 

afternoon tea menu now consisted of a choice of 

one large sandwich alongside scones and cake 

(£12.95 including tea or coffee). They might 

think it odd if I whipped out a bread knife and 

started hacking up my sarnie so I opted instead 


afternoon tea 

at the ShelleyS 

“I’ll be Mother” 

Food 

for scones and Darjeeling (£6.25 for tea and two 

scones – vanilla or fruit - with jam and cream). 

Grangey and Library Boy also chose scones and 

the kids ordered chocolate cake (£1.50), which 

was so good we ordered an extra piece and 

squabbled over it. And the homemade biscuits 

(£2.95 for two with tea) were delicious. In fact 

there was no trace of food left when it came to 

taking a photograph, hence the sparse arrangement 

of crockery pictured below. Library Boy 

was impressed that his decaffeinated tea came 

with a hand-written label tied to the pot. And 

I was impressed by the waiting staff, who were 

friendly, polite and helpful. One of the children 

– no names, no pack-drill – knocked over their 

glass of milk, and within seconds the waiter was 

mopping the floor. Unasked, he then brought us 

a replacement glass which we weren’t charged for. 

Later, when I inquired about the cupboard in the 

lounge, having been alerted by Viva’s editor that 

it housed something interesting, the young man 

sprang up to show us. All the children who’d lived 

in the house over the years – and adults too – had 

had their heights measured against the back of the 

door. The waiter pointed out some of the oldest 

ones from the 1850s, a piece of living history that 

fascinated my children; they stood against the 

door to match themselves against their long-ago 

counterparts. We stayed lolling on the sofas after 

the last crumb had disappeared, feeling under no 

pressure to clear out. It was good to find that the 

slightly dreamy hanging-about vibe at The Shelleys 

was still there. Indeed, it seemed little had 

changed, apart from, dare I say, that the staff 

seemed less surprised to be running a hotel 

than previously. Beth Miller 

The Shelleys, afternoon tea 3-6pm every day. 

Morning coffee, lunch and dinner also available 

to non-residents. Tel. 472361. the-shelleys.co.uk 

Photo by Chris Winterflood 

55

Photo: Xavi buendia 

gnocchi in braiSed oxtail ragù 

Having had several reports of how succulent the gnocchi in oxtail ragù is at Famiglia 

Lazzati, we asked new head chef Tom Griffiths to let us into his secret. Turns out to be 

fairly simple, if you’ve got a bit of time… 

This is an Italian dish, and like many, it’s fairly 

simple. The trick is to use good ingredients, and 

to cook it for a long, long time, to bring the best 

out of those ingredients. Homemade gnocchi 

take a while to prepare, but it’s well worth it: 

they taste loads better than the vacuum-packed 

supermarket variety. 

Start with the sauce, because it’ll take at least 

three-to-four hours, for a four-portion batch. 

Put half a kilo of oxtail into a casserole dish, 

chopped into inch-thick hunks, then lob some 

rough-chopped vegetables on top - a couple of 

stalks of celery, a couple of banana shallots, a 

couple of carrots, an onion, a garlic, a couple of 

bay leaves, and a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary, 

too. I get my rosemary from the garden, 

because they charge silly prices at supermarkets. 

Just plant some in any sort of earth, and it 

grows like a weed. I’m a great believer in using 

seasonal food, where possible, and supporting 

our local farmers. 

I digress. Pour half a bottle of red wine into the 

dish, and enough water to cover the ingredients. 

Seal the container in silver foil, carefully wrapping 

it round the edges and piercing it with the 

tip of a kitchen knife with holes small enough 

to let steam out, but not flavour. Then put it in 

medium hot oven, and relax. 

But leave at least half an hour to make the gnocchi, 

which are, basically, small balls of potato, 

egg yolk and flour, seasoned with a little salt. 

Peel three medium-sized potatoes, and chop 

them into the same sort of size as roast potatoes, 

then boil them, until they’re soft enough to 

mash. Don’t try and save time by cutting too 

small, or they’ll end up too watery. I then put 


mine through a potato ricer; though a masher 

will do. Don’t use a blender as this would activate 

the starchiness of the potato. 

When it’s riced, leave it to cool until fairly tepid. 

Knead and fold in some plain flour and a pinch 

of table salt, then make a well, and put in the 

yolk of an organic free-range egg. Here’s a bit 

of advice: never skimp on your eggs, because, as 

well as ethical considerations, battery-farmed 

ones are far inferior in taste. Then carry on 

kneading and folding in flour (approx one part 

flour to two parts potato) until the mixture, 

while still firm, has a certain elasticity to it. Roll 

it into a sausage, and chop into small segments. 

Keeping your hands well floured, roll into marble-sized 

balls between the palms of your hands, 

and place in a container, making sure they don’t 

touch one another, covering each layer with 

greaseproof paper, and laying more on top. 

Remove the ragù from the oven, and take out 

the meat and shallots. Blitz the remainder of the 

sauce in a blender, take the meat off the bone, 

and fold it, with the shallots, into the sauce 

again. 

Put the gnocchi into a pan of boiling water 

and remove when they rise to the surface. You 

can fry them in a little butter, if you want, but 

just boiled will do. Gently scatter the gnocchi 

around the edge of the plate, and ladle the 

ragù into the centre, crowned with fresh rocket 

or chard, and plenty of fresh Parmesan. Serve 

with a red wine: I suggest a Montepulciano 

D’Abruzzo, like La Regia Specula. Enjoy! 

If you like the sound of this dish, but can’t be 

bothered making it yourself, it’s often on the menu at 

Famiglia Lazzati on Market St, 479539 

Food 

57

Lola’s Rose Cakes 

Lola is really excited about this recipe, here’s why: “I made the cakes a few times before I 

worked out how to get the jam in the middle. When you make them for your mum she will be 

surprised when she bites them and finds jam inside. If you don’t have rose water you can add 

vanilla, but I think the cakes taste better with a rose flavour”. 

Makes: 24 

200g unsalted butter, 200g golden caster sugar, 1 teaspoon rose water, 4 free range eggs , 

200g self raising flour, about 12 teaspoon raspberry jam 

for the butter icing: 

50g unsalted butter, 200g icing sugar, 1/2 teaspoon rose water, 1/2 1 teaspoon raspberry jam 

depending on how pink you want the icing! 24 wafer daisies or sweets, for the top of the cakes 

Turn the oven on to 180C/160 fan. Put 24 paper cases into fairy cake tins. Weigh all of the ingredients.Put 

the butter, sugar and rose water together in a bowl and mix really hard with a wooden spoon 

until your arm aches (or electric hand whisk) until pale in colour and creamy. Crack an egg and add 

to the butter mixture, beat well to mix everything together. Add the other eggs one at a time, the 

last egg, add a spoonful of the flour. Then sieve the rest of the flour on top and fold together. Spoon 

the mixture into the paper cases - I find it easier to use 2 teaspoons to do this - scraping the mixture 

off the spoons as I move along the cases. Dollop about half a teaspoon of jam on the top of the cake 

mixture in each paper case. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until the cakes are cooked and the mixture has 

risen up. Carefully press a cake with a finger. It should spring back slightly. Leave the cakes to cool 

and then put onto a cooling rack - don’t eat the cakes when they are still warm as the jam will be really 

HOT! Make the icing - put the butter, icing sugar, rose water and jam into a bowl and beat with a 

spoon until creamy. I love this bit - now you can either fill a piping bag or spoon the icing onto the 

cakes by hand. You can add more jam if you want your icing to be more pink. Decorate the cakes with 

sugar flowers or sweets. 

By Lola Mansell and Amanda Grant. Photos: Susan Bell 


Kids’ Food 

59

Complete the details below and 

present this advert to one of the 

team when you arrive for your meal: 

Mr/Mrs/Ms 

Name: 

Surname: 

Email: 

*Valid until 31st March 2012, excludes 18th March. The voucher can only be redeemed 

against a meal at Famiglia and has no cash value. Subject to availability. Only one voucher 

can be used per table and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Photo by emma Chaplin 

mother’S ruin 

The nibbLeR 

It’s Mother’s Day on 18th March, so it seems fitting 

for the Nibbler to suggest a few places to buy the tipple 

beloved by the Queen Mother, and indeed one’s 

own dear mama; gin. For a noon pick-me-up, the QM 

drank two parts Dubonnet to one part gin. At ‘the 

magic hour’ of 6pm she was served a martini (gin and 

vermouth). 

Even Republican citizens of Lewes must share a 

fondness for Mother’s Ruin because both Hartley’s 

and Harveys keep a good selection of gin. Other 

than Gordon’s, they sell the delicious Tanqueray, 

elegant, smooth Bombay Sapphire and flavoursome 

Hendrick’s, for example. Harveys also sell Genever, 

the aromatic Dutch gin in a ceramic bottle. All good 

gin deserves a really decent quality tonic. Shun ‘low 

calorie’, given that aspartame truly is the work of the 

devil. 

As for other beverages that mothers enjoy, the Nibbler’s 

grandmother, a fine woman, believed stout to 

be a good fortifier of the blood for all ages, which 

made childhood visits fun. 

Superb quality sherry, a million miles from Hinge & 

Bracket’s Emva cream, is enjoying a revival, and so 

it should. A chilled fino, for example, makes a delicious 

aperitif, and the intensely sweet and rich Pedro 

Ximénez seems a popular choice amongst Lewesian 

women: “a cuddle in a glass” say sources close at 

hand. Symposium now stock it. 

Ending with some good cheer, well done to Dark 

Star Brewery for winning the Best Drink Supplier 

category at the recent Sussex Food and Drink 

Awards, and to the High Weald Dairy for being 

named Best Food Producer. 

Food or drink news? Email thenibbler@vivalewes.com

the way we work 

Photographs by Simon Crummay 

This month we’ve returned to our usual photographic format, and 

have chosen florists, who will be much in demand in the run-up to 

Mother’s Day on the 18th, as our subject, asking them the rather 

impertinent question: ‘What’s your favourite smell?’ Photographer 

Simon Crummay, whose excellently named website you can find at 

somebodyshootme.co.uk, is the man behind the lens. 

Jenny slater, of Miss bloomsbury 

what’s your favourite smell? hyacinths.

The way we woRK 

Clare wilson, of Riverside 

what’s your favourite smell? Lily-of-the-valley. or vanilla.

64 


ana o’Kill, of Lewesiana 

what’s your favourite smell? Money. honestly.


nicola Jackson, of Fleur de Thé 

what’s your favourite smell? Coffee in the morning.

’


my space: richie JarviS’ obServatory 

In the back garden of his house in South Chailey, 

amateur astronomer Richie Jarvis has his own 

observatory, where he takes photos of stars, planets 

and galaxies. 

It was my ex-wife’s fault I got into astronomy. 

She was doing an Open University course in science, 

part of it was in astronomy and I was interested from 

a kid, but I’d never even looked through a telescope. 

We went out and bought a telescope, one of the 

cheap little two-inch ones from one of those nature 

shops. Its tripod was so badly made I couldn’t steadily 

see a planet, it would just wobble. But I looked at 

Saturn, and that was it. ‘I’ve got to get a bigger one’. 

As a divorce present, I bought an 8-inch telescope 

that I had absolutely no idea how to use. 

It would follow the sky, on an equatorial mount, 

which tracks the direction of the earth’s rotation, 

and counteracts for it, so as the earth rotates the 

telescope stays still relative to the sky. 

My current telescope is connected to the computer. 

You fire up the Planetarium software, and just 

say ‘point to that star’. It knows exactly where that 

is, what time it is, and it knows the exact position of 

that telescope right now. Knowing that, and some 

compensation co-ordinates, I can tell it to look at 

anything. 

The moon is the biggest source of light pollution 

in the night sky. You can’t do deep-sky photography 

My wiLdLiFe sPaCe 

when the moon is full, because you’d need to leave 

the shutter open for 10-15 minutes, and the moon 

will just wash the picture out. 

When you see stars twinkling, that’s because 

the atmosphere is moving around, and diffracting 

all the light around, showing you rainbow colours. 

That’s a real problem because it just blurs the image. 

You’re looking for a night when the atmosphere is 

very steady, and that’s when you take pictures of the 

Moon, and Jupiter and Saturn. 

When you’re using a camera, you’ll typically put 

the SLR directly on the telescope, which acts 

like a lens. My main imaging camera is monochrome, 

and I use filters to build up a colour image. 

Hydrogen is the most common element in the 

universe, and it glows red, so pictures end up too red 

otherwise. 

We’re very, very, very tiny. To map out the solar 

system with the Earth as a ping-pong ball, the sun 

would have to be about 4.5m in diameter. At the 

scale of a ping pong ball as the sun, it’s 129 metres 

to Neptune! Jupiter is the size of a peppercorn, and 

Saturn is about the size of a small ball bearing. You 

cannot represent the rest of the planets in the Solar 

System, at that scale, because they’re too small. 

You’re not talking pinhead, you’re talking the sharp 

end of the pin. As told to Steve Ramsey 

You can see Richie’s photos on his website, nebul.ae 

67 

Photo montage by Katie Moorman

68 

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Photo by Flo Flowers 

Glyndebourne’s wind turbine has generated reams of 

newspaper coverage, and had hacks scrambling for 

opera jokes. The Telegraph said: “It may add a surreal 

edge to performances of Don Quixote,” while The 

Mail referred to “disharmony in the wind section”. 

And when the turbine got the final go-ahead, a 

Guardian hack used this classic one-liner: “A battle 

was won at Glyndebourne yesterday, and not one 

involving Tatiana’s tortured emotions as she rejects 

Eugene Onegin in Tchaikovsky’s 1879 opera, which 

was performed there last night.” 

Even before Glyndebourne submitted its plans for 

a 70-metre wind turbine on Jan 18th, 2007, public 

opinion was ‘strongly polarised’ along the following 

lines: it’ll be big and noisy, but useful; it’ll spoil 

a nice area, but no-one lives there anyway; it might 

not produce much energy, but that’s Glyndebourne’s 

problem. Even the British Gliding Association got 

involved in the row, saying the “turbine will create a 

significant hazard to gliders in the area.” The council 

dismissed this concern: “Gliders that are low should 

be able to use the ‘see and avoid’ principle…” 

Many other groups objected to the original application, 

and Council planning officers recommended 

refusal, saying the benefits “fail to sufficiently 

outweigh the disbenefits”. However, in July 2007 the 

planning committee voted for the application, 6-4. 

The following March saw a public inquiry, held at 

the White Hart Hotel, after which Hazel Blears gave 

final permission, with a few conditions. Glyndebourne 

had to take additional measures to cut its 


Wind 

turbine 

glyndebourne in a spin 

bRiCKs and MoRTaR 

carbon footprint, like encouraging coach travel from 

Lewes and banning guests from arriving by helicopter. 

They also had to set up a weather mast on the 

site to gather 12 months of data on wind speed. 

The data suggested the turbine would produce a 

third less power than expected. Protestors argued 

that “common sense should now prevail – the 

turbine should not be built.” By that point, though, 

Lewes District Council was powerless to stop it. 

The public inquiry report had specifically said that, 

however disappointing wind levels turned out to be, 

the council was not allowed to withdraw permission 

on efficiency grounds. 

On 11 October 2011, a five-vehicle convoy brought 

the £1.5m turbine, in pieces, to the site on Mill 

Plain, where it was built over the next three days. 

It was switched on at the start of December, and 

a fairly redundant ‘launch’ ceremony was held on 

Jan 20th. There were cheers, boos, and some comic 

relief as David Attenborough, facing strong winds, 

battled with a pair of gigantic scissors, taking twelve 

snips to cut a huge piece of green ribbon. 

Attenborough called the turbine ‘beautiful’. That 

may be a little strong, but it does have a certain 

elegance, and doesn’t seem too noisy. When I visited, 

on a cold and reasonably windy afternoon, it was 

clearly audible from 100 metres or so, but, as the 

Guardian might put it, nowhere near as loud as 

Tosca’s scream as she throws herself from the battlements 

of Castel Sant’Angelo. 

Steve Ramsey 

69

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illustration by Mark greco 

The first sound that a newborn rook hears is other 

rooks. Lots of them. It’s a sound that will surround it 

every day for the rest of its life. Rooks are one of our 

most sociable birds. They’ll live, love, feed and fight 

together - team players from the rookery to the grave. 

During March, take a trip down to the bridge over 

Lewes railway station and look up at the community 

of messy twig nests above - your local rookery. 

There’s a definite pleasure to be had from watching a 

rookery - the sort of pleasure you get from pulling up 

a deckchair and watching a neighbour hard at work. 

High in the trees the rooks are busy: carrying twigs 

back to their nests, building their nests, stealing twigs 

from their neighbour’s nest when he’s not looking, 

getting into a fight with the neighbour when they’re 

caught. It’s a tree-top soap opera. 

It can be easy to dismiss them as unattractive, plain 

black birds with a croaky call that sounds like Tom 

Waits coughing up a hairball. But look closer and 

you’ll see the rook’s plumage contains a hidden 

beauty - an iridescent sheen which gives the bird a 

flash of exotic purple and green. Loose feathers hang 

low to their knees like a pair of baggy shorts, the sort 

favoured by teen skateboarders or men who listen to 

Foo Fighters. 

Sure, that raucous ‘KAAH’ may not rival the nightingale’s 

song but the communal cacophony gives 

constant reassurance to every individual rook that it 

belongs within the team. That call also helps rooks 


rookS 

The greatest team in the land (and sky) 

wiLdLiFe 

communicate the best local areas for feeding; the 

discovery of a worm-filled field is noisily shared to 

ensure that all can join in the feast. 

This teamwork is one way to tell them apart from 

their similar-looking but anti-social relative the carrion 

crow. Any rook on its own is a crow. If you see a 

group of crows they’re rooks. 

Outside the nesting season and away from the rookeries 

the birds gather each evening to roost. Rooks from 

all across the Lewes area travel over the landscape and 

converge to form a super-flock of hundreds or even 

thousands of birds. Jackdaws, their smaller relatives, 

join in the party and this black cloud whirls across the 

sky, a crazy, cackling, cawing celebration of all things 

crow. As winter draws to an end this nightly ritual 

dissipates and rooks return to the Lewes rookery, start 

collecting (and stealing) twigs and prepare themselves 

for the arrival of another generation of comrades in 

baggy shorts. 

And while you’re watching the Lewes rookery, look 

down from the railway bridge to platform two and 

you’ll see the crowd of commuters awaiting the London 

train. People all living similar lives but without 

any interaction whatsoever between them. Sometimes 

you’ll catch them looking up at the wonderful chaos 

of the rookery above and no doubt wondering what 

it’s like to never feel alone. 

Michael Blencowe, Sussex Wildlife Trust. 

leweswildlife.org.uk 

71

High Street, Barcombe, Near Lewes, BN8 5DH. Telephone 01273 401526 

WE ARE 

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bsy_Viva_128mm x 90mm.qxd 19/12/07 16:35 Page 1 

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the Southover Shark 

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the altar 

Once upon a time (in the ninth century AD), 

Pope Nicholas I is said to have issued a decree: 

Every church in Christendom must attach the image 

of a cockerel to its steeple. Why? To remind 

churchgoers how easy it is to sin. 

After all, even Peter, Christ’s doughtiest disciple, 

had been known to transgress. Three times in one 

night he was asked if he was a follower of Jesus. 

Three times he said no. But as dawn broke, and 

the cockerel crowed, Peter realised his betrayal… 

A cockerel was a graphic symbol of the weakness 

of the flesh and many churches, even now, have 

one as their weather vane. But not all. In 1813 the 

rector of St John the Baptist, Southover, broke 

with the rooster trend and commissioned an 

almighty fish for the top of his church tower. Not, 

as Gideon Mantell’s biographer Sydney Spokes 

believed, a salmon (see last month’s Viva), but a 

six-foot-six hollow copper basking shark. 

But why did the Southover rector choose this 

plankton-munching giant of the seas as the model 

for his weather vane? Granted, a fish is a common 

Christian symbol. Fish/ fishermen/ fishers of men 

are regularly mentioned in the Bible. But basking 

sharks themselves tend not to get much of a mention. 

The truth is that the choice wasn’t Biblically 

inspired. Instead it was prompted by an event that 

occurred in Brighton a few months earlier. 

On December 5th 1812 a Brighton fisherman 

called Collins made the catch of his life. He 

landed a gargantuan basking shark, measuring 

over 30 feet long – more than nine metres - 

from snout to tail. Stood on end it would have 

been higher than a two-storey house. 

The sight of it caused quite a stir as it was 

dragged up Brighton beach. Artists came to draw 

it, journalists to report it, and one entrepreneur 

bought the body for £600 (a small fortune) and 

whisked it off to be exhibited in London. 


Lewes in 100 obJeCTs 

The eight-ton carcase was transported to Grosvenor 

Square on a carriage pulled by 12 horses. 

In London handbills were put up, exhorting the 

Great British Public to come and see ‘This Astonishing 

Sea Monster!!!’. The price of admission was 

a shilling. Given the amount paid for the shark 

(not to mention the transportation and exhibition 

costs) the organiser must have expected to attract 

viewings from well over 12,000 people. 

And why not? This basking shark had fired people’s 

imaginations. It had certainly inspired the 

Southover rector. His new weather vane would 

commemorate the huge fish. The creature of the 

depths would ascend to the skies. 

But not everyone was impressed. 174 years later, 

in 1987, the Great Storm blew the weather vane 

off its perch and down to the ground. When the 

then-Rector, Peter Markby, went to inspect it, 

he discovered that someone - at some point - had 

taken the odd pot shot at the shark. There were 

pellet holes in its flanks. The 

Victorian weather vane had 

become the holey basking 

shark of Southover. 

Katie Masters 

73 

Photo by Katie Masters

haStingS 

Oranges and Lemons

Photo by alex Leith 

The 9.44am Hastings train 

pulls out of the station and 

thus begins one of the nicest 

50-minute journeys you can 

make by rail from Lewes. And 

one which is almost guaranteed 

to be quicker than by car, as the 

A27 hits the Bexhill buffers. 

My journey is to a much 

mythologised and much 

misunderstood town, too far 

from London to be a commuter 

town. But close enough to have 

a familiar London overspill, for 

good and ill. 

Down the glen-like valley 

from Lewes, into and back 

out of Eastbourne, and as you 

hit the coast, there comes the 

hypnotic litany of stations made 

real: Hampden Park, Pevensey 

& Westham, Pevensey Bay, 

Normans Bay, Cooden Beach, 

Collington, Bexhill, St Leonards 

Warrior Square and Hastings. 

The many times I’ve been 

through by rail, I’ve never 

actually got off at St Leonards 

Warrior Square. But chatting to 

Juliet Harris, born and bred St 

Leonards resident, I discover it 

deserves far more than being an 

overlooked adjunct to Hastings. 

“It’s like a teeny London 

borough, more diverse than 

Hastings proper”, and though 

not the new Notting Hill-on- 

Sea touted by some, it does 

indeed have a thriving arts 

community and a welter of 

second-hand shops. Plus, she 

tells me, a Russian, an Armenian 

and an upcoming Transylvanian 

bar. And there are the kind of 

old-fashioned greengrocers, 

haberdashers and other stores 

that have been gently nudged 

out of Lewes. “Though every 

other person I meet does seem 

to be an aspiring artist.” 

To get a flavour, Juliet 

recommends a meander up from 

the faded 1930s grandeur of 

Marine Court (fondly known 

as the Marina), the Arts Forum 

and Bar Blah, and around the 

Norman Road, Kings Road, 

London Road nexus. 

There are some truly fine 

eateries, worth the journey 

time alone – the St Clement’s 

restaurant at the top of Norman 

Road, an excessively good 

French restaurant, more than 

matches anything Lewes can 

currently offer. 

St Leonards also does things 

differently in a way Lewesians 

would applaud – such as the 

creation of the “Wonky WI”, 

which brings down speakers 

about Stitch and Bitch sessions, 

rarely makes jam, and certainly 

never sings Jerusalem. 

If I had got off, she also would 

have recommended a shufti at 

the Council-preserved Banksy 

scribed on the sea front in 2009, 

and a lunch at the Love Cafe, 

similarly endowed with a massive 

local Ben Eine-pixellated graffiti 

image of Prince Charles, that is 

now a local landmark. 

But I stay on the train, planning 

to return for St Leonards next 

time, and head down to Hastings 

Old Town via the modernity of 

the Priory Meadows shopping 

centre. Occupying what used 

to be the cricket ground in the 

heart of Hastings – with views 

up to the Castle that must 

have made for a fine place to 

while away a Sunday - now 

commemorated with a copper 

cricketer, lofting a shot towards 

neighbouRs 

(yes, gaze jealously once more 

Lewes) M&S and Waterstones. 

The oldest parts of Hastings 

lie over to the east. Around the 

Rock-A-Nore there are of course 

the classic fish & chip shops, a 

fiercely fought contest between 

local fishmongers, and the 

largest beach-launched fishing 

fleets left in the country. 

And it’s here that new 

developments may draw more 

future Lewes footfall. The most 

contentious battle for years has 

been over the construction of 

the new Jerwood Gallery on the 

Stade. A proposal that aroused 

strong passions – with local 

people firmly for or against – 

and a heady brew of council 

politics, local business clashes, 

parking concerns and multimillion 

investments. 

But that is now behind them and 

with the opening scheduled for 

mid-March, the broad consensus 

is for it to succeed. Will it lead 

to the hoped for renaissance for 

the town? 

If people do make their first 

visit, drawn by the Jerwood, 

they will find some fine pubs 

in the Old Town – the Swan, 

the Jenny Lind and the First 

in Last Out – and a sauntering 

mix of second-hand bookshops 

and cafés along George Street. 

Plus the eccentric and glorious 

Electric Palace Cinema, which 

Lewesians can only look at with 

lust. As I wander back by the 

twittenesque pathways over West 

Hill and Hastings Castle, and 

gaze out over the sea and the 

glory of the mix of fun-fairs, fish 

& chips and history, I can’t help 

thinking: Viva Hastings. Viva St 

Leonards. Rob Read 

75

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sLow susseX 

the hardham Wall paintingS 

While researching my book Slow Sussex, one of many 

surprises was the number of churches with medieval 

wall paintings intact. That these anonymous works 

of art have survived is often due to zealous covering 

over in subsequent centuries, which meant once they 

were again revealed they reappeared remarkably fresh. 

Southwest of Pulborough and well hidden on a loop of 

road away from the A29, Hardham’s modest-looking 

church is not the sort of place you’d chance across. 

Supposedly built from recycled Roman brick and 

tiles from a nearby military site, this Saxon building 

has the earliest near-complete set of medieval wall 

paintings of any English church. Dating from around 

1100 but covered up some time after until rediscovery 

in 1866, the depictions include the Torments of Hell 

on the west wall, the Nativity on the south wall and 

the Flight into Egypt on the north wall. Clearest of 

all are the strangely Picasso-esque Adam and Eve on 

the west wall of the chancel. If the fresco-seeking bug 

bites you, Clayton church has an impressive set, dating 

from the 11th century, and there’s more at the tiny, 

remote Norman church at Coombes, in a wonderful, 

sloping churchyard above Church Farm near Lancing. 

More Sussex pleasures in Tim Locke’s Slow Sussex, 

Guide Book of the Year Finalist in British Press 

Awards (£14.99 from Skylark, Lewes Tourist Information 

Centre and Barbican House). Visit facebook.com/ 

slowsussex for details of walks he’s doing. 

77 

Photo: Tim Locke

axter’S 

field 

green heart of Lewes 

If a town has to have industry at 

its heart, then a brewery and a 

printing firm is not a bad combination. 

And between 1802 and 

1997 Lewes was lucky enough to 

have both. But while Harvey’s is 

still going strong, W.E. Baxter 

Ltd didn’t quite make it into the 

new century, and in 1997 it was 

bought out by Fulmar, a Croydon 

company, supposedly for 

investment but in practice as an 

asset to be stripped right down. 

Soon there was nothing left but 

a metaphorical goldmine in the 

centre of town (the development 

which bears the Baxter’s name) 

and a field: the triangle of land 

forming the western end of the 

green valley still standing its 

ground in the middle of Lewes. 

This was W.E. Baxter’s sports 

field, a piece of land bought by 

the company in 1923 along with 

a small area of copse leased in 

1928 from St Anne’s Church. It 

was for the use of the company’s 

employees, and there were 

tennis courts, a bowling green, 

a cricket square, and pitches for 

soccer and rugby. And there 

was even a bit of infrastructure 

– a pavilion and two air-raid 


Photo by simon goodman of phocuspocus.co.uk 

shelters – and a determined 

and eagle-eyed groundsman on 

hand to keep people out. But 

whenever the field was covered 

in snow, the big wooden gates in 

Paddock Lane were flung open 

to allow children to sledge. 

The printing firm’s new owners 

would, I imagine, have been 

delighted to see the field sold 

for development along with the 

printworks, but a farsighted Mr 

H.J. Powell, in selling it to W.E. 

Baxter, had imposed a covenant: 

the field had to be kept as an 

open space (the covenant is 

set in stone – literally – in the 

vestry of St Anne’s), so this asset 

wasn’t quite what it might have 

been, and Fulmar abandoned 

the field to its own devices. 

A few murky years followed: 

the field was locked up, and 

nature took over. And, sadly, the 

pavilion was set on fire and, due 

to the exploding asbestos tiles, 

had to be entirely demolished. 

Order was only restored in 

2003 when two nearby residents 

decided enough was enough and 

took control. Volunteers then 

ouTdooRs 

undertook the mammoth task 

of clearing the field of brambles, 

rubbish, and the evidence of 

whatever shady activities had 

taken place there in the preceding 

few years. 

When Fulmar did put the field 

on the market, it seemed just 

a question of formalising the 

arrangement, and Lewesians 

got together to buy the field for 

the asking price of £78,000 and 

take over the lease of the copse. 

They had only six weeks to find 

the money but, in yet another 

case of Lewes ‘not being druv’, 

they raised it all. 

And since then Baxter’s Field 

has been for the use of everyone 

– and not only when it snows. 

The wide expanse of grass is 

still pretty much the perfect 

place to kick a football around, 

and last year three apple trees 

were planted to create the 

beginnings of a community 

orchard. But when the snow 

does arrive… Now that’s when 

Baxter’s Field – still – comes 

into its own. 

Juliette Mitchell 

79

tea With 

mother 

Cake hotspots 

Where are some nice places to go on Mother’s 

Day (Sun 18th)? It depends on the weather, obviously, 

and the age of your kids, or your mother. 

But an outing to a cosy tearoom, for excessive 

amounts of delicious cake, works whatever the 

weather. 

Many places where you can go for a lovely walk 

also have access to hot drinks and fine baked 

goods. If it’s seaside air you’re after, mooch 

along the dramatic monochrome of the beach 

and rockpools at Birling Gap followed by a trip 

to the National Trust café on the cliff, with its 

amazing sea views (and, currently, pictures by 

our soon-to-be cover artist, Keith Pettit). 

East Dean is a charming village with a lovely 

green in the middle. The Hiker’s Rest café 

runs along one side, and the Tiger Inn, which 

serves delicious food, runs along another. And if 

you go for a family walk along the meandering 

Cuckmere Haven, you can pop into the tearoom 

tucked away in the Seven Sisters Visitor Centre 

afterwards. Or, after a stroll around Stanmer 

Park, you can head to the village tearoom for a 

mug of tea and a toastie. 

Newhaven Fort is a place that always makes me 

thoughtful about mothers, in particular how 

stressful a time war must have been for them, 

with husbands and sons away, coping with air 

raids, and their children being sent away as 

evacuees. The Fort is a terrific, thoughtfully created 

war museum, and it reopens on 1st March. 

In keeping with this column’s tastebud-oriented 

theme, it also hosts the NAAFI-like Searchlight 


MoTheR’s day 

Café, with great slabs of cake. 

For those who like taking tea in a more formal 

setting, with waitresses in white pinnies, a proper 

brew that requires a strainer and homemade 

cakes on doilies, there is the wonderful Hove 

Museum. They have a new exhibition opening 

this month called My Favourite Toy (10th March 

to 6th November, free entry). 

Garden lovers might enjoy the early-spring 

flowers in a formal garden. The National Trust’s 

Sheffield Park Gardens are always a pleasure to 

stroll around, looking at dramatic reflections 

of the yet-to-leaf trees in the lakes. And mums 

on Mother’s Day who book afternoon tea in the 

refurbished Coach House Tearoom (£8.95pp, 

01825 790231) get into the gardens free. Other 

glorious gardens with cafés include Wakehurst 

Place, Nyman’s and Borde Hill Gardens near 

Haywards Heath, home to Café Elvira, next to 

the delightful Jeremy’s restaurant. 

Finally, if you’d rather stay local, here are some 

thoughts. You might want to visit Spring Barn 

Farm, and partake of the special Mother’s Day 

menu in the restaurant (book on 488450), mums 

then get half-price entry to the Farm Park. 

In Lewes itself, you could try Mount Pleasant 

Stores, whose lemon polenta cake is second to 

none. Or, on the Saturday, you could buy a superb 

Bakewell tart to eat at home on Mothering 

Sunday from Laporte’s, or the most delicate and 

pretty pastel coloured macaroons from Lewes 

Patisserie (both closed Sundays). 

Emma Chaplin 


81

cardio tenniS 

Anyone for bubbles? 

Until gout got the better of my knees around 

a year ago, I’d been playing a bit of tennis. 

However, after a gentle knock up ended up 

with a trip to A&E last February, I thought my 

tennis days were over. A year on however, my 

gout is under control and I’m back on the fitness 

trail. So far it’s only been the gym, but I’m still 

tempted by tennis, and I think I’ve found a 

solution. Down at the Southdown Club, they’ve 

covered a couple of courts with a giant acrylic 

airdome - known universally as ‘the bubble’. 

From the outside, it looms menacingly over the 

clubhouse, but inside it’s a well-lit, element-free 

workspace, and today, four of us, including Viva 

ad man Steve Watts, are going to try a cross between 

tennis and a gym session - cardio tennis. 

It’s billed as ‘fun, fast and, a full-body workout’. 

Sounds good, and I’m happy to be heading back 

on court. 

Our instructor is Josh, one of the tennis coaches 

working at the Southdown, and it’s conducted, 

rather surreally, to high-energy 90s dance 

music. We start with a running warm-up, laps 

of the court, interspersed with side strides, leg 

kicks, and a combination of twists and turns. 

The last part of the warm-up involves jogging 

around in a circle, whilst throwing the ball in 

the opposite direction around the circle - a good 

test of co-ordination - and a challenge to Steve’s 

throwing skills. Happy we’re warmed up, Josh 

tells us to grab our rackets and we start on the 

tennis drills. The first one involves hitting two 

balls the length of the court, and then sprinting 

to collect them, before returning them to 

the basket and re-joining the back of the line. 

Because there are only four of us (a normal 


FiTness 

session is 10-12 people), we’re constantly on the 

move, as the drills switch to a series of crosscourt 

shots, and then volleys at the net. After 

each set, we run to the back of the court, collect 

the balls and return to the back of the line. Our 

final drill of the day, involves Josh hitting the 

ball on the far side of the court, and one of us 

running around to hit it back to another player, 

and then to play out the point. As soon as the 

point is won, the loser goes to the back of the 

line and another player comes on. It’s a fun twist 

on a normal rally and becomes quite competitive. 

The session then finishes with a cool down, 

which involves throwing and then volleying 

the ball across the net, aiming to keep everyone 

moving right to the end. Time flies by and we 

all say we’ll back for the full session, which 

currently takes place at 7pm on Friday evenings. 

I may even dig out a couple of long forgotten 

house music cds to take with me... Nick Williams 

Cardio Tennis with WM Tennis costs £11 per one 

hour session (£7 for members) - book via 01273 

480630 or contact brett@wmtennis.co.uk 

83

GET GET SET SET FOR FOR 2012 

2012 

BE ACTIVE, BE HEALTHY 

Just pay as you go or look at one of our fantastic membership packages. 

Contact your local centre now for further details 

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36721 January 2012 Campaign Adverts L.indd 1 06/12/2011 17:35

Photo: James boyes 

Simon Wormull was appointed as caretaker manager 

of Lewes FC in January, following the departure of 

Steve King. Simon’s previously played for Lewes, 

and coached them too. Viva met him down the Pan 

on a bright, chilly day. 

Is this your first senior management role? A few 

years ago I was caretaker manager for Crawley for 

six weeks, which was great experience. I hope to be 

here for the foreseeable future, and I’ll do everything 

I can to take our plans forward. 

Are you juggling your new role with managing 

the under 18s? No, my commitment now is to the 

first team. I’m still overseeing the under 18s, but 

Nick Brown has taken over the management. 

Are you committed to bringing younger players 

through? Absolutely. We’ve got some cracking 15 

and 16 year olds this year. We’ve excited about our 

plans for an Academy which we’re hoping will start 

in September, offering school-leavers the chance to 

experience what it’s like to be a full-time footballer. 

It’ll be a great way to bring more players through. 

Do you consider yourself a player-manager? 

Yes, I do still think of myself as a player. I’m not 

planning to put myself on regularly but I can if 

necessary. When I went on recently [against Canvey 

Island] I killed myself! I hadn’t really played for six 

months. It was a hard decision – you have to balance 

giving people the opportunity against choosing 

someone with the right experience. And I enjoyed 

it – it gave me a buzz. 

What’s it like to manage a club that has 750 


FooTbaLL 

Simon Wormull 

Once more unto the breach 

owners? Amazing! I absolutely love the club, the 

way the community’s grabbed it. I haven’t used the 

Spend & Save Scheme yet - I live in Crawley, so I’m 

not here much outside of the football. 

What do you think of the current success of the 

ladies team? Fantastic; Jacquie’s done an amazing 

job. She’s shown everyone the quality of players we 

can attract. I saw the game where they won 8-1, a bit 

easy for them. Women’s football is clearly on the up, 

they deserve to get good crowds. 

What are your ambitions for the remainder of 

the season? To win the league, or get promotion.. 

There are lots of good changes going on. We’re implementing 

a better training schedule. We’ve been 

through an unsettling time but I’m confident we’re 

coming out of it now. 

What was your greatest ever Lewes FC moment? 

Obviously, winning the league in 2008. Even though 

I wasn’t playing – I was out injured. And beating 

Crawley in the FA Cup (2007). No-one expected us 

to win, so it was extremely satisfying [laughs]. 

What would you say to convince non-attending 

owners to come to games? Oh, it’s the whole aura 

of the place. We’ve got such fantastic fans, good 

football, and honest, creative players working very 

hard. We’re a community club – the more people we 

get coming along the more we can do. 

Interview by Beth Miller 

March Home Fixtures: 10th v Carshalton Athletic, 

17th v Lowestoft, 31st v Hendon, all 3pm KO 

lewesfc.com 

85

odd soCs 

the South doWnS Society 

What is the South Downs Society? We’re an 

environmental charity that helps to protect the 

beauty of the South Downs. We started in 1923 as 

a walking group which also campaigned against 

threats to the Downs. We still hold around 250 

walks a year though. 

Can you tell us a bit about the walks? Every 

walk is led by a volunteer, so they’re always different. 

We get a great mix of people to each walk, and 

as the South Downs run for over 100 miles there 

are always new faces. There’s a taster programme 

of walks that are shorter and more accessible for 

non-members. 

Are there other projects the Society runs? We 

run The Folk Songs Project, which has been sponsored 

by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the tune 

of £50,000, to resurrect some of the ancient South 

Downs folk songs. We also support the Mosaic 

Project, where we work to help black and minority 

ethnic communities utilise the national parks. 

Do you do any campaigning? We fight potential 

threats to the beauty of the Downs. We also supported 

the South Downs National Park campaign 

- the inclusion of a big town [Lewes]was groundbreaking, 

and it means that we can help preserve 

the beauty and history of the town. 

How much does it cost to join? Annually, membership 

is £21 per person, £28 for joint membership/family. 

How can people find out more? Go to our website, 

southdownssociety.org or call 01798875073. 

Caitlin Hayward-Tapp 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

Photo by dick Peach C 

MUMABABY_1-4PAGE_VIVALEWESAD00.pdf 1 09/0 

In aid of The Pells Pool and The Oyster Project 

The Mayor of Lewes and 

Brass Fusion present 

BRASS FOR 

BRUNCH 

MUSIC TO MAKE SUNDAY 

GO WITH A SWING 

Latin, Swing and Blues from 

Sussex ensemble Brass Fusion 

free hot drink on arrival 

Brunch for sale 

Sunday papers 

Sunday 4 th March 

All Saints Centre, Lewes 

Doors open 10.30 Music 11-1 

Tickets £5/3 on the door 

Lewes Town Hall, Lewes Travel 

or 01273 471469 

www.lewes-tc.gov.uk www.brassfusion.co.uk

uy in the Sky 

shoPPing 

“Up, up and away,” I sang, channelling the old 

Nimble advert, “in my beautiful balloon.” My 

shopping mission, which had put the song in 

my head, was to find ‘things that go in the sky’ 

(they’re a vague lot at Viva). I was spoilt for choice 

at Bright Ideas: gliders, a paper plane set with 

sixty planes, a bubble rocket and pocket kites, 

many at pocket-money prices. 

The Gift & Card Co. is the go-to place for balloons, 

starting with a basic helium one for £1.25. 

Pretty personalised foil ones are just £4.50. Or see 

if you can get airborne with their deal - twenty 

balloons for twenty quid – like the old guy in the 

movie Up, which should have had the Nimble ad 

as its theme tune. 

Skylark suggested “seeds to grow beans up to 

the sky” but I felt they were playing fast and 

loose with my theme. However they have, or can 

quickly get, some wonderful sky-related books 

such as the Cloudspotter’s Guide and the incredible 

Chasing the Sun: A History of the Star that Gives Us 

Life. For younger sky-watchers Bags of Books 

offer many options including, The Pop-up, Pull-out 

Space Book, and the beautiful picture-book, Louis 

Dream Plane. 

Pine Chest have a covetable hot-air balloon paper 

lamp-shade for just £6.99. And Intersport have 

a whole ‘air’ section: space hoppers, archery sets, 

rockets you stomp on which shoot up huge distances, 

and blow pipes which, alarmingly, purport 

to be ‘or outdoor and indoor use.’ BM 

Photo: alex Leith 

87

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henty’S 20 

postcards from Angela Carter 

People often ask me why I collect things and 

what I would recommend them to look out for. 

There’s one Lewes suggestion below, but, for the 

sake of simplicity, I usually offer this answer: ‘An 

elephant never tires of carrying his own trunk’. 

Actually, this came from a pack of prawn curry 

which I purchased recently in Cook on Cliffe but 

it sums things up nicely for me. 

Footballer Eric Cantona would have approved - 

bearing in mind his seminal statement in 1995; 

“When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because 

they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.” 

Nice one Eric. 

These surreal thoughts would also have appealed 

to an author colleague of mine, Angela Carter, 

who was in her literary prime when she died 20 

years ago from lung cancer, at the age of 51. I read 

that her friend and literary executor, Susannah 

Clapp, has just written an intimate, insightful 

memoir of this remarkable woman, inspired by a 

series of postcards she received from Angela during 

the 1980s. You may have heard extracts from 

the book on Radio 4’s Book of the Week during the 

early part of February. 

Angela and I were reporters on the Croydon 

Advertiser group of newspapers in 1960 and in my 

autobiography I recalled that she was way ahead of 

her time. “She wore wild, ethnic gear... liberally 

used four-letter words to pep up her enthusiastic 

conversation and she had what I can only describe 

as a wicked witch’s cackle of a laugh. She smoked 

‘roll yer own fags’ and ate lots of yoghurt.” 

We were all fond of ‘anarchic’ Angela in the 

reporter’s room and when she left the paper to 

study at Bristol University, we did our best to keep 

in touch with her and her first husband Paul. No 

emails, of course, but even then, zany postcards 

were her preferred means of communication and 

you will see at the top of this page one such card 

which she sent to invite me and friends, Joe and 

Peter, to visit in November 1961. 


anTiques 

Typically, she wrote: “Bring your hat, camera, 

dark glasses and copy of the Baltimore Sun”. That 

was our Angie and just imagine if I had decided, 

all those years ago, to bin the card rather than put 

it away carefully in an album of similar one-offs. 

It’s called ‘collecting’ and thanks to a surprise 

Christmas present from my splendid granddaughter, 

Nina, I am now embarked on a new collection. 

Apparently, she was insistent that Grandpa should 

be given a presentation pack of eight Harveys 

beers ranging from Armada to Bloomsbury 

Brown. Until this point I had always opted for 

Best Bitter when in a pub but now I may have to 

be weaned off the bottled stuff so to speak. I love 

the variety, flavours and textures and the bonus is 

that the empty bottles make an excellent display 

in the collector room. 

In fact, the Viva Score (£20) this month is going 

to purchase a further two packs, as I get 5p back 

for every empty bottle and a 5% Rooks membership 

discount too. I told you collecting was fun. 

Ardingly Fair 6th, 7th. Town Hall Tuesday Market 

6th, 13th. Gorringes, North Street 21st, 22nd. 

A Card From Angela Carter by Susannah Clapp 

is published by Bloomsbury, £10, available from 

Skylark. 

89

New Life 

at Middle Farm Photograph 

Real farm animals... 

and chocolate ones too! 

Middle Farm, Firle, Lewes, East Sussex BN8 6LJ 

01323 811411 info@middlefarm.com www.middlefarm.com 

by Vicky Wise

eth miller 

If I ruled the world, every day would be the first day of spring 

I have broken Rule 243 of parenting. (For a copy of the complete rulebook send £14.99 to the 

usual address.) 

“For the last time, I don’t care what they say, March 1st is NOT the First Day of Spring!” 

“But Mummy! The teacher SAID!” 

Rule 243 states: ‘Thou Shalt Not Disagree with Things Primary Teachers Have Told Your 

Child.’ There’s a clause which lists exceptional circumstances around creationism and sexism and 

whatnot but we rarely need to invoke this in Lewes. 

Thing One’s nearly in tears, for I have brought Doubt and Confusion to her small teeming mind. 

I force a smile and mutter, “We’ll have to agree to disagree won’t we,” (which I completely don’t 

agree with), before I break rank and shout, “But everyone knows it’s the 21st March.” 

Once Crèche Manager has arbitrated, rather poorly in my opinion, by telling me to grow up 

and by letting Thing One watch four episodes back-to-back of Chop Socky Chooks, I sneak off to 

confirm that I am correct. But Google is a horrible let-down. Apparently the 1st/21st argument 

isn’t new; as far back as 2006 Nicholas Winterton, Tory MP for Macclesfield, was taking up the 

cudgels in this debate. To my chagrin I realise I am on the same side as Winterton, and that it is 

the Met Office who have designated 1st March as Officially Spring. I frantically search for evidence 

that Winterton might know more about these matters than the Met. Is he perhaps a secret 

climatologist? But in amongst all his jolly activities such as supporting Section 28 and capital 

punishment, there is no mention that he likes to send up weather balloons, or even that he hangs 

seaweed from his window. 

As penance I offer to take Thing One on a walk so she can be knowledgeable about the Signs 

of Spring and impress her teacher in a way that my playground ranting might have failed to do. 

There are many signs: the ducks are back on the Winterbourne Stream, there are purple crocuses 

most everywhere, and some trees have sprouted brave blossoms. Someone walks past with a 

plastic daffodil on their lapel and I try and engage them in Welsh 

but they hasten quickly away. Thing One rolls her eyes 

at me, a Sign of Teenhood I wasn’t expecting to see 

for a few years. 

We go through the Grange: catkins, green leaves, 

mating frogs, (“Come ON, Thing One!” “But 

Mummy this is interesting.”). Then into town: 

Priory schoolgirls with bare legs, the road being 

dug up, Easter eggs in Waitrose. 

“There,” I say magnanimously. “You and your 

teacher are right. It is Spring after all.” 

But Thing One scrunches up her brow, clearly 

struggling to comprehend the bewildering nature of 

evidence versus anecdotal report. “Mum, if it’s spring 

why is it still freezing?” 

“Well sweetie,” I say, failing to hide my glee, “That’s something 

you’re going to have to ask your teacher.” 


CoLuMn 

91

92 

We get grubby now. 

You get bubbly all summer. 

It’s miserable in the garden at this time of year. Soggy. Muddy. Grey. Dreary. 

Even if you bother to venture out – you’ll soon be hot, itchy and snorting hard 

because you’re wearing half a wardrobe and can’t find the secateurs. 

But we love this time of year. It’s when we do some of our best work. 

NOW is the ideal time to get us in to do any landscaping - when you 

DON’T want to be out there. That way, the garden gets a new look for 

summer when you can enjoy it properly – ideally with a glass of chilled bubbly! 

And if you’re planning to sell your home or upgrade the garden as an 

investment, NOW is the time to make any smart changes - before the real 

selling season begins. 

Lewes Landscapers are honest, friendly, green-fingered experts who don’t 

put huge mark-ups on materials and laugh heartily at hefty tasks. Whether it’s 

creating a new sunken patio with steps or cutting back a giant tree or two. We 

stick to deadlines and budgets and we don’t skip merrily off to other jobs half 

way through your project. 

Quotes are free plus we’ll match any written quote you have this year 

and give you 10% back - whatever size the job is. 

Call Arran on 07956 020710. 

LEWES LANDSCAPERS 

HARD AND SOFT LANDSCAPING

OFFHAM 

FARM SHOP 

Less food miles = 

more food smiles... 

OFFHAM FARM 

Offham, near Lewes 

East Sussex BN7 3QE 

on the A275 

Tel: 01273 478265 

Enjoy zero food miles 

knowing the animal 

welfare is second to none. 

Home-made and home- 

produced quality food. 

Additive free beef, 

lamb and pork. 

Eggs, jams, honey, cakes, 

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OPEN 

9.00–5.30 

Wed to Fri, 

9.00–4.00 

Saturday 

11.00–4.00 

Sunday 

362_OFS_VL_QP_Sept11*.indd 1 17/08/2011 20:26

THE 

HIVE 

LEWES 

The Hive is a professional community of 

freelancers, small businesses, charities 

and social enterprise based 

in the heart of Lewes 

We offer flexible & affordable 

Office Rental • Hot Desk • Desk Space 

Meeting Room • Therapy Room • Event Space 

Upcoming Events 

Twitter for Business • Biz Bites 

For more info 

E: info@thehivelewes.co.uk 

W: www.thehivelewes.co.uk 

The Hive 

66 High Street 


BN7 1XG 

Tel: 07846 554316

david Jarman 

Dickens and Lewes 

If you google ‘Dickens and Lewes’, you will draw a 

complete blank. But although I am loath to undermine 

anyone’s touching faith in the omniscience of 

search engines, there are a couple of connections, 

albeit fairly tenuous ones. 

Charles Dickens married Catherine Hogarth on 

2nd April, 1836 at St Luke’s in Chelsea. His initial 

choice of best man was John Macrone, the publisher 

of Sketches by Boz. But wiser counsels prevailed and 

Dickens was obliged to write to Macrone,‘The 

unanimous voice of the ladies, confirms the authority 

of Mrs Macrone. They say, with her, that I must 

be attended to the place of execution, by a single 

man: I have therefore engaged a substitute.’ 

The ‘substitute’ was Thomas Beard. He and Macrone 

were the only wedding guests not related to 

the happy couple in what, as Beard later recalled, was 

‘altogether a very quiet piece of business’. 

Thomas Beard (1807-91) came of an old Sussex 

family, who for some generations had been brewers. 

His father, Nathaniel (1776-1855) was born at Rottingdean, 

where he inherited considerable property. 

In 1806 he married Catherine Charlotte, daughter 

of Sir Thomas Carr, of Cobb Place, Beddingham, 

sometime High Sheriff of Sussex. When Nathaniel 

moved his family, circa 1832, to London, Thomas 

became a journalist on the Morning Herald. It was 

while he was there that he first met Dickens. They 

subsequently worked together on the Morning 

Chronicle. 

Beard became a lifelong friend. The letters of 

Dickens are full of dinner invitations to Beard and 

entreaties to join him on long walks in the 

Gadshill area. Always a welcome house guest, Beard 

joined the Dickens family, in villeggiatura, in Broadstairs, 

Bonchurch, Boulogne and elsewhere. 

While not following his father into brewing, it 

would seem that Thomas was something of a bon 

vivant. Dickens often entices him to dinner with 

the prospect of a tasty haunch of venison or an assurance 

that the ‘best wine on the premises is to be 


CoLuMn 

broached on the occasion’. 

There’s a long-standing joke in the letters referring 

to Beard’s fondness for ‘curaçao and biscuits’. 

Only one of the four Beard brothers, William (1812- 

1905), went into the family business at the Star Lane 

Brewery, later becoming a partner in Windus, Beard 

and Co, wine and spirit merchants trading from 

Steward’s Inn Lane. I take him to be the W. Beard 

listed as resident of 16, High Street, Southover until 

the 1906 Kelly’s Directory. 

Another of the brothers, Francis Carr Beard (1814- 

93), became a doctor. In a letter dated 14th February, 

1859, Dickens writes to appoint him as his personal 

physician. Thereafter letters to Thomas are progressively 

outnumbered by those to Francis on medical 

matters. 

Alas, I can find no evidence that Dickens ever came 

to Lewes himself. The best I can offer is a letter 

from Dickens to Thomas Beard in July, 1843 that 

was forwarded to Lewes where Thomas was staying. 

And on 14th October, 1867 he writes to his doctor, 

‘My dear Frank Beard, I have your letter from 

Lewes...’ 

None of this, I readily concede, warrants an immediate, 

revised edition of Colin Brent’s exemplary 

guidebook to Lewes. (to be continued) 

95

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To live without my music would be impossible 

to do, but in this world of trouble my music 

pulls me through. Words from a John Miles 

single from 1976. OK, they are bit over the top 

and the single doesn’t date well, but actually I 

know what he meant, because music has been 

important to me all my life, and perhaps sometimes 

pulled me through as well. It may have 

been submerged beneath my politics, but it’s 

always been close to the surface. 

In particular, I have derived such tremendous 

pleasure over the years from the Beatles. I tried 

to tell Paul McCartney this once when we met, 

but I suppose many people do, for he barely registered 

it and was keener instead to talk about 

animal welfare. 

After I left university, I had no real idea what I 

wanted to do, so I got a job in a record shop on 

Tottenham Court Road. The company, Our 

Price, was expanding fast, and within about 

three years, I was regional director, managing 

26 shops and over 100 staff, but I think my 

happiest time there was managing the branch 

in Leicester Square. It was a wonderfully 

vibrant place, and counted amongst its staff Ian 

Johnston, the son of Brian, the BBC cricket 

commentator, Will Parnell, the son of band 

leader Jack, and Peter Vaughan Clarke, known 

affectionately as PVC, who was a star of the 

children’s TV series The Tomorrow People. 

That period also saw my first public appearance 

on stage singing with a band, when I guested 

one night with an outfit called The Stripes at a 

pub in St Albans. I drank a few pints for Dutch 

courage before bravely launching into Twist and 

Shout and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. I don’t recall much 

else, except that the barmaid asked me for my 

phone number. 

In the mid 1980s, I also recorded a couple of 

Twists and shouts 

numbers with a band called The Entire Population 

of China. I dug them out and listened to 

them the other day for the first time in ages and 

if I say so myself, they’re not too bad. In fact, 

I’ve been inspired to hook up again with one 

of the guys to write some new songs, a process 

now under way. 

There was a period when some of us thought 

it might be fun to play regularly, so we set up 

The Reform Club, and between about 1992 

and 1998 played clubs, pubs like the Six Bells at 

Chiddingly, and private functions. It was great 

fun, and unlike politics where it is common 

to play safe in the middle, on stage you either 

cut it or you don’t. The audience can be hugely 

enthusiastic or walk out. I’ve had both! 

When I was elected to Parliament in 1997, it 

became difficult to keep the band going. People 

wouldn’t accept that this was just a hobby, and 

kept trying to ascribe ulterior motives to what 

was just a bit of fun, so since then my stage 

appearances have been somewhat random, the 

most recent being just before 

Christmas when I was asked if I 

would sing a number on stage 

with Noddy Holder. Would 

I? You bet! 

Now, my music is generally 

limited to presenting my 

regular Sunday morning 

radio show Anything Goes – 

10am to noon on Seahaven 

FM 96.3 – and being a 

semi-regular customer at 

Lewes’s excellent outlets, 

Octave and Si’s Sounds. 

I have a feeling that long after 

the politics has gone, the 

music will still be there. 

CoLuMn 

97

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trade secrets CHOCOLATIER, SANDy LEWSEy 

You recently set up Lewes Chocolate Company 

on Station Street. Yes, with Ginny Skeet. I make the 

chocolate, she takes care of the business side. And eats 

the chocolate. We both do that. 

What’s the story behind Lewes Chocolate Company? 

Chocolate has been a lifelong passion for me. 

My father worked for Rowntree all his working life 

and used to bring new products home. We would try 

them, then fill out a form saying what we thought. I 

remember loving Yorkie bars. Later, I trained as a pastry 

chef and I’ve worked in Spain, Holland and London. 

Then I came to Lewes, and, when my children 

were young, I met Ginny through playgroup where we 

later worked together. We’ve been friends ever since. 

Where do your supplies come from? Belgium and, 

increasingly, Italy. Interesting things are coming from 

Italy. Tiramisu and Pannacotta creams. 

What is the chocolatier’s enemy? Damp and heat. 

British weather, basically. And staff members who eat 

the profits. 

What are the more unusual chocolates you make? 

Lots of them relate to our family members in some 

way. Auntie May’s Sherry Trifle (which contains an 

entire trifle in a truffle). White chocolate and lavender 

honey fudge in dark chocolate. And Clifford’s Salty 

Seadog caramels. They’re like the crack cocaine of 

the chocolate world. There’s no having just one, then 

walking away. 

Any special plans for Mother’s Day? I’m going to 


be making a hydrangea cake. Triple chocolate inside, 

covered in white chocolate flowers. 

What is the best time of year for you? Christmas. 

Do you like your work? We love it. Selling chocolate 

is a happy job. The nice thing is that most people that 

come in here are in a jolly mood. They’re either buying 

something for themselves as a treat or looking for 

a present for someone. 

Do Lewesians have a particular taste in chocolate? 

Lots of dark chocolate seems to sell well here. 

What’s your favourite? Bombay Sapphire dark 

chocolate truffles. 

What alcoholic beverage will stand up to being 

drunk with chocolate? Pink champagne with pink 

champagne truffles. 

What makes you stand out from other chocolate 

shops? We’re the only shop in Lewes where we 

make our own chocolates. We have a hot chocolate 

machine. We make specialist chocolate cakes in the 

shape people want. A tower of chocolate flowers, for 

example. We also offer chocolate parties for children 

or adults. 

Should chocolate be shared? Well, we share. But 

then we’ve been through thick and thin. 

Is there anything you always get asked in the 

shop? “Do you get sick of chocolate?” To which we 

reply: “No! Never. It’s good for you.” 

Share a ‘top tip’. Don’t store chocolate in the fridge. 

It’s too damp. It needs a cool, dark place. EC 

99 

99

Staying in the black 

President of Lewes Chamber of Commerce, 

David Quinn 

More than 50 people attended the first of the 

Chamber’s new business networking events last 

month. Online trading proved a popular subject, 

but if there’s one thing more appealing than 

e-commerce it’s a healthy balance sheet. This is 

where our next event comes in. 

On 21st March the Chamber’s networking 

breakfast is themed around the eternally important 

subject of financial management. 

The first speaker will be Chris Ketley of 

accountants Knill James. He’ll talk about 

managing accounts to protect cash flow and enable 

commercial success. 

A crucial part of controlling income and 

expenditure is getting invoices paid on time. When 

a client proves immune to the very best account 

management techniques, debt recovery comes 

into play. Lucy Tarrant of solicitors Mayo Wynne 

Baxter will explain the legal options. 

Both Lucy and Chris will take questions and 

there will be time for networking over coffee and 

croissants. 

Staying in the Black is at Knill James’ office, 1 

Bell Lane, Lewes from 8.15am till 10am on 21st 

March. Book your free place at stayingintheblack. 

eventbrite.co.uk. 

Shape the Chamber’s future 

This month we’re also holding an open meeting 

on the Chamber’s future direction. We want to 

hear about issues affecting local businesses and 

discuss what support would be most useful. We 

welcome everyone involved in doing business 

in Lewes to come along and help us shape the 

Chamber’s 2012 programme. 

Representatives of two local businesses will explain 

what they get out of Chamber membership and 

Executive Committee members will outline some 

of their plans. 

52 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1XE 


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uSINESS NEWS 

gaRdens 

New to town this month is Mimi who have opened their 

sparkly new ladies’ clothes and accessories shop in the space 

recently vacated by the wedding shop. There are also stirrings 

at the Needlemakers, where both Rehab and the Patchwork 

Dog & Basket are expanding. The Patchwork expansion is 

the creation of a new company called Made in Lewes. They 

took over the space most recently used as the Christmas 

card shop, and which they describe as a ‘creative workshop 

workspace’. It will be run by Jill’s daughter Josie. The Rehab 

Dress Agency, meanwhile, has more than doubled the size 

of its shop, by taking over the unit next to it. Owner Marilyn French, tells us that she is delighted to now be 

able to offer a much wider range of stock for her valued existing and new customers alike. 

On the children’s front, we’ve recently heard that much loved Barcombe institution - the Eliza Brown 

shoe shop - are shortly going to be moving their operation into Lewes. We’re also pleased to welcome the 

MumaBaby Sanctuary to town. Describing itself as a ‘Beautiful Haven’ it will shortly be offering a range of 

workshops, classes, complementary treatments and support groups. If you like the sound of this, and want to 

learn more about how it will be ‘supporting a conscious approach to family well-being’ then visit to its new 

base at 32 Cliffe High Street. Meanwhile at 33a, Billie has opened Leadbetter & Good, a gardening shop 

she describes as ‘an homage to The Good Life’ in what was Gardener & Cook. Nick Williams 

101

DIRECTORY 

Please note that though we aim to only take advertising from reputable businesses, we cannot guarantee 

the quality of any work undertaken, and accept no responsibility or liability for any issues arising. 

To advertise in VivaLewes please call Steve on 01273 434567 or email steve@vivalewes.com 

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CP Viva Lewes Ad (Qtr Pg)_62 x 94mm 18/02/2011 17: 

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108 

Suppliers of high quality, custom-built bifolding doors 

Call: 01273 473 775 

Unit 5, The Mallings, 

112 Mallings Street, Lewes, 

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JONATHAN BASSETT PHOTOGRAPHY 

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info@jonathanbassett.com 

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heaLTh and weLLbeing

Lewes High Street Dental Practice offers a personalised 

approach to modern dentistry using the latest equipment 

in a relaxed environment. 

Whether you are looking for a simple check-up 

or to improve your smile through cosmetic 

dentistry & tooth whitening, we are here to help. 

The whole team is dedicated to the provision of high quality 

dentistry in a caring and gentle way using the very latest dental 

techniques including dental implants. 

Please quote “viva lewes” when you speak to us. 

Steven Kell 

BDS (U.Lond) MFGDP RCS (UK) DPDS (U.Brist) 

Current chairman of British Dental Association local branch 

Lewes High Street Dental Practice, 60 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1XG 

Tel: 01273 478240 Email: info@lewesdental.co.uk Web: www.lewesdental.co.uk 

heaLTh and weLLbeing 

Evening & Saturday appointments available 

115

heaLTh & weLLbeing 

Early EvEning yoga 

Drop-in on Tuesdays from 5.45 - 6.45 

Subud Centre, 26a Station Street, Lewes 

For information on other classes 

& physiotherapy home visits 

call me on 07903 877 988 

or go to: 

www.TabithaYoga.co.uk 

Tabitha Tarran 

Chartered Physiotherapist - Member of the Health Professions Council - Vajrasati trained yoga Teacher 

AYURVEDIC 

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heaLTh & weLLbeing 

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Chiropractic relieves back pain, and can also 

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If you are unsure whether Chiropractic is for you. 

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New website: www.back-in-motion.com 

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117

heaLTh and weLLbeing 

Learn how to practice the movements of this medical 

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20 Valence Road Lewes 01273 476371 

Viva Lewes 45highx62wide.indd 1 16/11/2010 20:45

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Lessons and CouRses 

120 

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inside LeFT 

AERIAL pERSpECTIVE 

We were sent this aerial shot of Lewes, taken in 1957, by Kingsley Roger-Jones, who has worked at Clifford 

Dann for over forty years. He assumes the company must have acquired the picture, taken by an RAF reconnaissance 

plane, to research a planning development they were involved in. Comparing the photograph with 

the 1957 Kelly’s Directory, it’s interesting to see what’s there, and what’s not, though we’d advise anyone 

keen to look closely to use a magnifying glass. Pre-Phoenix Causeway, you can see how Cliffe is joined to the 

rest of Lewes only via Cliffe Bridge; also how the old Tunbridge Wells railway line passes over what is now 

Cliffe Precinct before crossing the river south of what is now Malling Field. The eagle-eyed will also be able 

to spot the following: the cattle market, Brack Mount, the Pells Pool, the South Street gasworks. Companies 

trading when the photograph was taken, apart from Clifford Dann (listed, interestingly as Dann Clifford in 

Kelly’s) are WE Clark (jeweller’s), Wyborns (chemist’s), Reeves (photography) and Richard’s (butcher’s). 

But the similarities are outweighed by the differences: there were no fewer than three brewers in Lewes at the 

time, as well as 11 butchers, 7 fishmongers, 16 greengrocers and 32 public houses. RIP The Bell, The Blacksmith’s, 

The Castle, The Dolphin, The Fountain, The Fruiterer’s, The Jolly Friars, The King’s Arms, The 

New Station Inn, The Prince of Wales, The Railway, The Red, White and Blue, The Rifleman, The Thatched 

House, The Wheatsheaf and The Windmill. Anyone remember them? 

122

01273 302170 www.staubynsschoolbrighton.co.uk - Viva Lewes

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