Viva Lewes Issue #107 August 2015

107
VIVALEWES
Editorial
One of the many remarkable things about
Lewes is the number of people here who are
wonderful at making things. In workshops,
tucked away in twittens, cellars or attic rooms,
there are many talented artists, craftspeople
and artisans. Drawing, sculpting, painting,
mending, embroidering, weaving or carving.
Making musical instruments, creating
furniture, throwing pottery, stitching leather
or soldering jewellery. There’s sometimes a
slightly condescending view of things ‘artisan’
– but our response is that there’s more than
enough stuff around that’s mass-produced. It
takes years to learn solid, well-honed skills
which produce useful and beautiful objects.
And there are also plenty of opportunities
in Lewes for people to start to learn a craft
themselves. So, in the month that marks the
start of Artwave, that celebration of local
artists and craftspeople, we’ve given this issue
a handmade theme.
Artwave
We take a look at some of the great artists
taking part in the district-wide art festival
which begins this month. From p33
Eastbourne Air Show
Ahead of the annual aerial extravaganza, we
interview Frank Millerick of the Tigers
Parachute Display Team p27
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 events@vivalewes.com, and
for any advertising queries, contact advertising@
vivalewes.com, or call 01273 434567.
Reader Offers
Two great reader offers this month, at the
Sussex Ox and the Lewes Golf Club. p67

the handmade issue
Contents
Bits and bobs.
9-23. Ian Seccombe’s Point
of View, My Lewes is Leveller
Mark Chadwick, Lewes
Worthy is ceramic chemist
Kenneth Clark, plus feline
Photo of the Month by
Ralph Kidson
On this month.
24-25. Interview. Writer and
artist Pauline Devaney
27. Day in the Life of Tigers
Parachute Display team
leader Frank Millerick
29. Proms in the Paddock
31. Classical round-up
33-41. Artwave Festival
Special, art listings, including
My Space with the Incredible
Mechanicals, focus
on Ptolemy Elrington and
Reeves’ Lightbox Trail
43-51. Diary Date listings
and Gig Guide
53-59. Free Time. Family
section – listings, Young
Photo of the Month and
days out to Brighton Pavilion
and Port Lympne zoo
Food and Drink.
61-69. We cycle to the
Roebuck Inn at Laughton,
review the Uckfield Picture
House Restaurant, try some
South Downs Cider, share
a recipe for summer fruits
jelly with Peter Bayless,
speak to Louisa Devismes
about Cheese Makers’
Choice, plus artwave food
news from the Nibbler
Features.
71-75. The Way We Work.
Steve George’s portraits of
carpenters and furniture
makers
77. Art and craft class
round-up
79. What the Battle of
Lewes embroiderers did
next…
81. Bricks and Mortar.
Illustrator Alan Baker’s
remarkable home
83. Community Transport
85. Lewes in History. The
Spitfire Fund
87. Wildlife. The fabulous
Hornet Robberfly
89. We try the new Lewes
FC 3G pitch
Columns.
91-95. John Henty, Mark
Bridge and David Jarman
Business news.
97. Trade Secrets. Alistair
Fleming
107. Business news. Lewes
District Business Awards
winners
Inside Left.
114. Inside Left. Mrs Henry
Dudeney at home
Photo by Rob Read

this month’s cover art
The work of potter Mohamed Hamid can be seen
all around Lewes. As well as his beautiful mugs,
bowls and plates, his distinctive name plaques
adorn many houses. We felt, therefore, that a Viva
Lewes name plate would make a great cover for
this handmade-themed issue. Mohamed is based
in the Star Brewery and has been since 1989. He
also teaches many classes, adults and children. We
ask him about his pottery. “I did my foundation
year at Hornsey College of Art, a degree at Farnham
Art College, then worked at Aldermaston
Pottery, before moving to Sussex. I’m an African
Muslim, although not very devout. My parents
came from Sierra Leone. My background influences
my work, although the way I paint and my
use of colour has a kind of English restraint about
it. I use a Spanish technique called Majolica. I’ve
taught a lot of children over the years, and I like
to believe working with me has helped a few get
into art college. I was once a youth worker, and
I think people can find fulfilment and happiness
doing something that makes them proud.” And
his technique for making our plaque? “The clay
was hand thrown on my wheel, I pierced holes for
screws, covered it in opacified white glaze, brushdecorated
it, then fired it to about 1280c.” It’s fantastic.
You can see more of Mo’s work in his studio
or hamid-pottery.co.uk. He will also be offering
demonstrations at the Sussex Guild craft show at
Michelham Priory, 6-9 August, 10.30-5pm.
the team
EDITOR: Emma Chaplin emma@vivalewes.com
STAFF WRITERS: Moya Crockett, moya@vivalewes.com, Steve Ramsey rambo@vivalewes.com
SUB-EDITOR: David Jarman
ART DIRECTOR: Katie Moorman katie@vivalewes.com
ADVERTISING: Sarah Hunnisett, Amanda Meynell advertising@vivalewes.com
EDITORIAL/ADMIN ASSISTANT: Isabella McCarthy Sommerville admin@vivamagazines.com
PUBLISHERS: Lizzie Lower, lizzie@vivalewes.com, Nick Williams nickwilliams@vivamagazines.com
directors: Alex Leith, Nick Williams, Lizzie Lower, Becky Ramsden
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Jacky Adams, Michael Blencowe, Mark Bridge, Mark Greco, John
Henty, Mat Homewood, Paul Austin Kelly, Lewes Peasant, Rob Read, Ian Seccombe, Marcus Taylor
Viva Lewes is based at Pipe Passage, 151b High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XU, 01273 488882
Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of our content. Viva Lewes magazine cannot be held responsible for any
omissions, errors or alterations. The views expressed by columnists do not necessarily represent the view of Viva Lewes.

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its and bobs
ian seccombe’s point of view
Pages and woodcut blocks from Lewes-based Carolyn Trant’s wonderful handmade book The Alchymical
Garden of Thomas Browne, inspired by the writings of the seventeenth-century natural philosopher,
physician and writer. The limited edition hand-bound book can be seen alongside other woodcuts and
collographs in Carolyn’s Con Club Studio during Artwave or at carolyntrantparvenu.blogspot.com
town plaques #5: needlemakers
It requires some effort today to remember that Lewes was once a
significant manufacturing town: not just the Phoenix Ironworks,
but boat-builders and makers of candles, needles and soap were
major employers in the town within living memory. Little trace
remains of some of these locations, but off West Street is the
Needlemakers, once a candle and needle factory, as shown by this
plaque on its wall. Now a warren of shops, workshops and offices,
it was built and re-built by the Broad family in the nineteenth
century. Workers hand-dipped candles in what once must have
seemed the most secure business – until electricity came along and the works diversified into making
needles for syringes. Terraced housing along the factory’s western side was cleared to make a car park in
the late 1960s. Proposals to demolish it in 1977 were opposed by local groups and conversion followed
some years later. Marcus Taylor of Friends of Lewes
9

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Photo by Alex Leith
my lewes
mark chadwick, leveller
Are you local? My dad was from Brighton, but
he was in the army so we moved all over the place
before settling in Peacehaven when I was 16.
What did you think of Lewes in those days?
It seemed exotic. I always went to Bonfire Night,
mainly to the old Cliffe firesite, which was genuinely
anarchic. Rolling down the hill, throwing
fireworks around, that sort of thing.
And when did you move here? I first moved in
1999. I found it a bit cliquey: it was in those days.
After a couple of years I said “right I’m leaving”
and people said “why?” and I said “because noone
wants to talk to me” and they said “we only
wanted to give you a bit of space”. I was a bit better
known then, and people thought that’s what
I wanted.
But you moved back again? In about 2008, when
I was proper sick of the Brighton scene. I was that
bit older and wiser and I instantly clicked with the
town: more down to my different attitude than
the place, but it had got that much busier. Now
I can’t really see any negatives. I perform all over
in this country and abroad, and I can’t think of a
better place to live.
Any downsides? I’m worried about what’s going
to happen if all the stuff in the Phoenix area – Zu
Studios and the Arthole and all the different businesses
there – go down because of the new development.
I think the vibe that those places create
makes this place special.
Has Lewes become too gentrified? You know a
lot of the people who’ve moved here recently are
people who’ve sold a place for a mint in somewhere
like Catford, so it’s not more gentrified, it’s
more London-ified. And that’s not a bad thing.
Plus, the Bonfire Societies thrive, there’s a really
strong traditional local network to the town that
other places don’t really have, which gives an extra
element to the personality of the place.
What’s your favourite boozer? The Lansdown
caters for all ages and all different types and does
the best pint of Harveys in town. After a month
on tour I’m actually hallucinating about Harveys
when I wake up.
And your top restaurant? I really like to eat in
Le Magasin: good food, brilliantly cooked and
well sourced.
Tell us about Land of Hope and Fury… Jamie
from the brilliant Union Music Store rang me up
to see if I wanted to contribute a track to an album
in reaction to Cameron winning the election. I
did. It’s out now.
Whereabouts would you live if not in Lewes?
Nowhere in this country. Alex Leith
This summer the Levellers perform at the Forgotten
Fields Festival (Eridge Park 7-9 Aug/forgottenfields.
co.uk) and the Together the People Festival (Preston
Park, Brighton 5-6 Sept/togetherthepeople.co.uk)
11

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12

its and bobs
spread the word
artwave competition
Artwave is a fantastic event – now there’s a chance to
vote for your Artwave favourites once you’ve had a
look at them. There are three categories: 1) favourite
artist, 2) favourite rural venue and 3) favourite town
venue. Complete the form on the Artwave website
in order to register your choices: artwavefestival.org
Chris Jones sent us some pictures of his wife Jannine
in Key West, Florida. In this one Jannine is reading
the May issue of Viva outside Sloppy Joe’s bar in Duval
Street, “reputedly Ernest Hemingway’s favourite
watering hole whilst he was living here in the 1930s”.
Send your pictures of reading Viva in unusual places
to photos@vivalewes.com
together the people festival competition
Win a pair of weekend tickets worth £150 for the Together the People music, cinema and arts festival, taking
place 5/6 Sept. Line-up includes Super Furry Animals and The Levellers. Email andy@oneinchbadge.com by
15 August the answer to this question: Which Brighton park does the Together the People event take place
in? togetherthepeople.co.uk (see our website for terms and conditions)
jenny kilbride
In August Jenny KilBride, recently awarded
an MBE for services to the arts and crafts,
steps down as chair of Ditchling Museum
of Art + Craft to return to the loom and her
first career as a weaver. Jenny once worked
as a silk weaver and vestment maker in her
father Valentine KilBride’s business. He was
a member of The Guild of St Joseph and St
Dominic in Ditchling, established in 1921 by
Eric Gill and others. Pictured is a collection
of woollen samples Jenny uses, dyed with
plants from the Sussex countryside.
13

What lurks beneath could cause
homebuyers and sellers a headache …
A very difficult problem for prospective house buyers and sellers
to solve is the dreaded and destructive Japanese knotweed plant.
Japanese knotweed is a tall vigorous and aggressively invasive plant,
which was introduced to the UK in the 19th century. During the
winter months the leaves of the plant die back to reveal woody stems.
In March and April the plant sends up new red/purple coloured
shoots and this may be when you first become aware of the problem.
The plant can grow up to 40mm per day and the root system can go
beyond 2m depth and 7m lateral growth from the parent plant.
It can significantly affect the structure of a building.
Suzanne Bowman, partner at law firm Adams & Remers comments: “Japanese knotweed
can be such a big problem as people may be unaware it is lurking beneath their or a
neighbouring property until the spring when the shoots start to appear. If you are a
homeowner, it may make your property unsaleable until it has been treated. This presents
further problems if it isn’t on your land. Most lenders won’t allow a mortgage or a
remortgage to be taken out on a property with this problem.”
“Having recently dealt with a property transaction where Japanese knotweed was found to
be present, it can be devastating for the homebuyer and home owner and also very costly
to remove.”
It is an offence to plant or cause Japanese Knotweed to spread in the wild under the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and all waste containing Japanese knotweed comes under
the control of Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. If you suspect Japanese
knotweed is on site you should consult The Environment Agency code of practice for the
management, destruction and disposal of Japanese knotweed.
• If you are buying a new property, ask the builder for a legal guarantee to say there is no
Japanese knotweed on the site.
• If you find Japanese knotweed in your garden, consult an expert on how the site can
be treated. They may recommend a combination of methods which may include using
herbicides, a bund method to move the knotweed to an area of the site, screening
and sieving soil, burying soil, using a root barrier membrane, on site burning of plant
materials or off site disposal.
• If the plant has escaped from a neighbour’s garden into your own, they may be guilty of
a Private Nuisance, or equally you may be liable if it has escaped from your garden into
that of your neighbour.
• You will need to keep evidence that you have informed the person on whose land it has
originated about the presence of the knotweed when you first discover it.
Suzanne Bowman continues: “There is a question about Japanese knotweed on the sellers
forms and sellers need to be careful when they are completing it as they could be liable for
misrepresentation.”
“Finally I would also urge people to use professionals such as surveyors who are fully aware of
the problem. I recently had a client whose surveyor had a suspicion that knotweed was present
and it cost the homeowner over £600 to remove what turned out to be a fennel plant!”
Suzanne Bowman, Partner, Adams & Remers,
Trinity House, School Hill, Lewes, Sussex, BN7 2NN
suzanne.bowman@adamsandremers.com
www.adamsandremers.com +44 (0)1273 403220
Legal advisors to the membership of the
Listed Property Owners Club www.lpoc.co.uk

photo of the month
paws for thought
Something caught the eye of Newick resident (and semi-pro cartoonist!) Ralph Kidson when he was
walking along to the church to do some drawing. He noticed something he’d not spotted before in
an old wall near the church - one particular brick with an unusual indentation - and thought, “That’s
a bit freaky!” A few days later, he went back to capture it with his “little Samsung digital”. Ralph
emailed this photo with the playful title of ‘Big Cat Evidence’. He tells us, “I think it’s fascinating and
rather poignant. This creature was alive such a long time ago, and you can still see its footprint in the
brick. It made me think of Fishbourne Roman Palace, because they’ve got ancient Roman tiles there
with both animal and children’s paw/footprints in them.” We phoned Fishbourne, who confirmed
that they have large tiles with prints in them in their museum. The tiles would have been laid out in
the sun to dry, and passing naughty children or animals must have scampered over them – which may
have been what happened with a cat and the brick now in the wall in Newick.
Fishbourne Roman Palace and Gardens in West Sussex is a great place to visit – and they are putting
on lots of events and workshops for kids this summer – from Have a Go at Archaeology, to Roman
Hawks and Helmets, as well as Mosaic Making. For more information, see sussexpast.co.uk
Please send your pics to photos@vivalewes.com. We’ll choose our favourite for this page, which wins the
photographer £20. Unless otherwise arranged we reserve the right to use all pictures in future issues of Viva
magazines.
15

its and bobs
vox pop sussex downs’ Meg Sullivan & Olivia Thorne
what’s the best thing anyone’s made for you?
“A mix tape for my 18th
birthday” Beth Hardy (left)
“A chocolate and raspberry
brownie that my 11-year-old
sister Lucy made me”
Talia Lipmanowicz (right)
“A ring with a silver
sixpence on it”
John Lee
“A pincushion made by my
son when he was seven”
Sally Kaye
17

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its and bobs
lewes worthy: kenneth clark
Kenneth Clark ‘was to
tiles what James Dyson is
to vacuum cleaners,’ his
Guardian obituary noted,
while the Times said he
‘became one of the most
widely respected and best
loved artist-craftsmen in
England.’
His work, like his dress
sense, was bold and
colourful. Clark worked
in collaboration with his
wife, Ann; she did the
designs, while he handled
production. “He was
basically a very brilliant
ceramic chemist; he understood
ceramic materials
completely,” his daughter
Camilla says. “He had a
very good idea of what
raw materials would go
together to make the effect
that was wanted. But mum
was the designer.”
Photo by Fergus Kennedy
“He was very inventive, always thinking of new
stuff to put on tiles, that not many other people
were doing at the time,” his grandson Dan says.
“Quite pioneering really.”
Born in 1922, Clark was originally from New
Zealand. During WW2, he served in the British
Navy, manned a Landing Ship Tank on D-Day,
and was mentioned in dispatches.
An ex-serviceman’s grant enabled him to go
to art school after the war. “The only one he
knew the name of was the Slade,” so he went
there, Ann says. Later, at the Central School of
Art and Design’s ceramics department, he rose
from student to technical assistant to teacher.
One of his four books, The Potter’s Manual, was
a standard text for many years; “a seminal work,
really,” Camilla says.
He and Ann, who he’d met at the Central
School, founded Kenneth
Clark Ceramics in the 1950s.
Around 1980, priced out
of London, they moved to
Ringmer and set up a studio in
Lewes, at Southover Grange.
Dan recalls it was “kind of
organised chaos” in there, with
endless pots of glaze, containers,
samples, etc, stacked
everywhere. “They were both
real hoarders, the kind of
wartime mentality.” “Dad was
an incredibly life-affirming
person,” Camilla says. “He was
very positive, very enthusiastic,
very interested in supporting
other artists, and just very
interested in people.” He got a
lot of joy out of life, and once
told his great-grandchildren
that his favourite colour was
‘sunshine’.
A keen gardener and vegetable
grower who was always asking
guests if they “wanna lettuce?”,
he was “big on health foods and very clean
living.” Dan says. He had a study full of books,
and “was always talking about the fascinating
articles he’d read.”
Christianity was central to his life, and probably
helped drive him. Camilla says “he had a great
belief that you have a duty to God to develop
what talents you have and make the most of
them, and also somehow to celebrate God’s
world, I suppose.”
“He was a very particular person; he had his
ways,” Dan says. But he was also “a very bright,
cheerful and enthusiastic person, very healthful
and lively, had a big laugh.” Both Dan and
Camilla use the phrase ‘quite eccentric’. Ann
remembers him simply as “a shining example,
really, of how to be; how not to be defeated by
things.” He died in 2012, aged 89. Steve Ramsey
19

lewes peasant
21

its and bobs
ghost pubs #10: The Bear, Cliffe High Street
The Bear Inn (later the Bear Hotel) had stood in Cliffe High
Street, where Argos now stands, since the 1600s. Along with
establishments such as the White Hart and the Crown, the
Bear was a popular venue for many functions and entertainments.
The ‘old established’ Annual Venison Dinner was held
there during the 1700s-1800s, and Mr Wildman, a bee charmer,
once entertained there, amazing crowds as he directed his
bees at will. In the early hours of 18th June 1918 a fire started
at the rear of the hotel. The occupiers all managed to escape
in their nightclothes, including the licensee Tom Dulake, his
wife Hannah, and their three children. The Bear was damaged
beyond repair. Tom and Hannah later ran the Crown, before
moving to Huddersfield. Their granddaughter, Patricia, is still a resident of Lewes. Mat Homewood
lewes in numbers
stan’s snow cones
We live as households, alone or with others, and this
changes through our lifetime. The 2011 Census told
us there were 7,457 households in Lewes. Of these,
1 household in 3 lives alone, and half of these oneperson
households are elderly (aged 65+). Households
with children make up a further 30% of the
total, in 1,541 couple households, 547 lone parent
and 129 other multi-adult households. The remaining
37% of households are of more than one adult,
including student-only households, couples without
children or with adult children at home, elderly couples
and other groupings of adults. Sarah Boughton
Summer weekends
mean the welcome
return of Stan’s Snow
Cones to the Pells,
helping cool poolgoers’
palates. The
Priory school pupil
entrepreneur also has
new flavours to share,
including mint and
lime, plus a new stall inspired by a recent family
trip to India. RR
jessica zoob
Jessica Zoob’s Open House at Artwave (26 De Montfort Road)
gives visitors a chance to step into her inspiring world. Increasingly
in demand for decorative design, her art chimes with contemporary
‘natural world’ sensibilities. Original miniatures from £250 and
limited edition prints from £69. If you are interested in purchasing
a painting then do book a preview, as last year all new works sold
before the festival officially began. jessicazoob.com
23

Pauline Devaney
All Gas and Gaiters writer turns artist
Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, who were married
to each other at the time, co-wrote BBC sitcom All
Gas and Gaiters, which was first aired in 1966. It
starred Derek Nimmo and was shown all over the
world. It ran for five years, getting a weekly audience
of 10.5 million, including the Queen Mother, who
insisted her diary be scheduled around it. Sadly,
without telling the writers, the BBC destroyed the
tapes as part of an ‘economy drive’, so unlike Dad’s
Army etc, which are still being scheduled and sold as
box-sets, it’s much less familiar to people these days.
Pauline and Edwin recently published the first of
what will be four books containing scripts of the lost
episodes of the show (£12.90, Durpey-Allen). Pauline
is now a painter living in Lewes, and will be taking
part in Artwave.
Where did you and Edwin first meet? We were
actors and met in a production of Hamlet. He was
arriving to play Horatio, and I was leaving in high
dudgeon because I wasn’t playing Ophelia.
Why did you both turn to scriptwriting? We
needed something to occupy us when we were out
of work, so we started adapting stage plays for the
television, and one thing led to another.
You sent the first script of All Gas and Gaiters
to the BBC under the pseudonym John Wraith,
why was that? Frank Muir, who was head of Light
Entertainment, was a friend, and we didn’t want to
embarrass him if he thought the script was awful.
Why did you write a sitcom about the clergy?
Because comedy is about trying hard not to break the
rules, but we were writing in the permissive sixties
when there were few rules left to break, apart from in
the church which has a rigid code of conduct.
Why ‘All Gas and Gaiters’? It’s a phrase from
Nicholas Nickleby, meaning pompous nonsense in
high places, and as our characters were Bishops and
Deans who were respected establishment figures but
at the same time full of human frailties, it seemed an
appropriate title.
What was it like to be the first woman situation
comedy writer? Difficult. Frank Muir was extremely
24

interview
Photo by Emma Chaplin
helpful, but he left after the first series and the
rest of the hierarchy in the BBC Light Entertainment
department were very different. I think
I bewildered them; after all scriptwriters were
unfit middle aged men with packets of fags and
a bottle of whisky by the typewriter, not pretty
young actresses. So they virtually ignored me,
turning their backs on me when I walked into the
bar after a recording. One did deign to say “Since
you are here I suppose we’d better have an affair,”
another one assumed I just typed the scripts.
It was very popular. Did that change your
life? Well, we had money for the first time, but
we found producing a script to a deadline very
stressful. In those days, situation comedy was
mostly an extended comic sketch, or a comedian
working with his stooge, but we wrote properly
plotted stories involving characters of equal value
to each other, and got the comedy out of their relationships,
which hadn’t really been done before.
Tell me about the ‘shit point’. It was a term
used by a lovely old Hollywood hack we met.
It refers to the time taken in setting up the
story which if it goes on too long, or isn’t funny
enough, the viewer loses interest, says ‘oh shit’,
and turns to another channel.
Why did the series come to an end? Because
I was hit by a car, when I was pregnant with my
son, and quite badly injured.
What are you most proud of? Well, writing,
producing and performing my award-winning
one woman play about Marie Stopes was an
extraordinary experience. I played it for many
years both here and abroad, sometimes in some
very peculiar venues.
Do you watch Episodes? Yes, and enjoy it
hugely. It’s very accurate. I also love W1A.
Do you think the Americans write better
sitcoms than the British? At their best, the
Americans do an excellent job. Always slick and
professional. Ours are more idiosyncratic.
When did you move to Lewes? Four years ago.
I love living here, it’s such a vibrant and interesting
town.
So after acting and script writing, you became
an artist in 1999. Yes, largely self-taught, although
I did courses at The Slade and St Martins.
Which have you enjoyed most? Painting
pictures is my life now and I wish it always had
been. Emma Chaplin
Pauline’s paintings can be seen at 82 Prince Edward’s
Road, open throughout Artwave, every day,
10-5pm. See more of her work and read about her
life paulinedevaney.com
25

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find us: Clapham | worthing | wEst sussEx | bn13 3xn
Lewes Mobile Communications
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SUNDAY
27 SEPT 2015
Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum
Kindly supported by:
Shoreham
52 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XE
01273 473400
01903 706354
www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/sussex100
Registered Charity Number: 256789

a day in the life
Corporal Frank Millerick
Team Leader, The Tigers Parachute Display Team
On the day of the show, first thing, we go for a
run. Then we check the landing site – although
at Eastbourne we will be landing in the sea – and
liaise with the show organisers. We set up the
stand where we later meet and greet the public.
The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment is
mainly from the southeast of England, and three
of us are from Hastings and Bexhill, including
me. We are stationed in Germany so it will be
nice seeing Eastbourne again for a few days.
Then we head off to the airfield, usually
Shoreham, and do a series of gear checks. We
talk to the pilot and air traffic control, get a
weather forecast, work out the routine, though
that can change even when we are in the plane,
and rehearse the jump on the ground. The most
dangerous routine is canopy formations where
we link parachutes, making pretty patterns in
the sky, as we’ve just seen in the press recently [a
Red Devil’s parachute failed to open but a colleague
managed to catch him as he came past]. If
anything goes wrong you have to deal with it in
a military manner and quite quickly.
There are between four and seven jumping, and
in Eastbourne I will be using a wingsuit, which
lets you fly rather than just fall, although we still
have to land by parachute. I do, anyway, what
with having two young children and another on
the way.
I am jump master inside the aircraft. I assess the
wind by dropping a wind drift indicator, a 22ft
piece of crêpe paper, to see where we should
jump from. Sometimes on the beach the hot air
comes off the land and the cold air off the sea
and it rotates, so we have to measure all that and
maybe adjust the routine. We climb to the jumping
altitude, up to 7000ft or as low as 1500ft.
Then we perform the routines, land on the
beach or the sea (in which case we have to
swim until we get recovered by the RNLI), get
changed and go meet the public.
All the parachutists you see are full-time serving
soldiers. No, I don’t parachute into battle, but
the parachute display team is all about finding
leaders and testing ourselves. My day job is leading
a section of seven infantry from a Warrior
Armoured Vehicle. I’ve been in the army since
1996, when the Princess of Wales was still our
Commander-in-Chief, although sadly I never
got to meet her. Since then I’ve served in Afghanistan,
Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Iraq.
It’s nice to promote the Regiment and our team,
and the get-up-and-go attitude and willingness
to get on with life that is the spirit of the Army.
As told to Chris Nye
Eastbourne International Airshow, 13-16 August.
visiteastbourne.com/airbourne.
thetigersfft.co.uk
27

䈀 攀 渀 琀 氀 攀 礀 椀 猀 愀 渀 愀 洀 愀 稀 椀 渀 最
攀 砀 瀀 攀 爀 椀 攀 渀 挀 攀 昀 漀 爀 琀 栀 攀 眀 栀 漀 氀 攀
昀 愀 洀 椀 氀 礀
圀 椀 氀 搀 昀 漀 眀 氀 䌀 漀 氀 氀 攀 挀 琀 椀 漀 渀 ⴀ 䴀 漀 琀 漀 爀 䴀 甀 猀 攀 甀 洀
ⴀ 䴀 椀 渀 椀 愀 琀 甀 爀 攀 刀 愀 椀 氀 眀 愀 礀 ⴀ 刀 攀 猀 琀 愀 甀 爀 愀 渀 琀 愀 渀 搀
匀 栀 漀 瀀 ⴀ 圀 漀 漀 搀 氀 愀 渀 搀 ⴀ 䠀 漀 甀 猀 攀 愀 渀 搀 䜀 愀 爀 ⴀ
搀 攀 渀 猀
伀 瀀 攀 渀 㜀 搀 愀 礀 猀 愀 眀 攀 攀 欀
䐀 漀 渀 ᤠ 琀 洀 椀 猀 猀 ⸀⸀⸀
䈀 䔀 一 吀 䰀 䔀 夀 圀 伀 伀 䐀 䘀 䄀 䤀 刀
㠀 琀 栀 ⴀ ㈀ 琀 栀 匀 䔀 倀 吀 䔀 䴀 䈀 䔀 刀 ㈀ 㔀
眀 漀 漀 搀 礀 昀 甀 渀 昀 漀 爀 愀 氀 氀 琀 栀 攀 昀 愀 洀 椀 氀 礀 椀 渀 挀 氀 甀 搀 椀 渀 最 㨀
昀 愀 挀 攀 瀀 愀 椀 渀 琀 椀 渀 最 ⴀ 眀 漀 漀 搀 挀 愀 爀 瘀 椀 渀 最 ⴀ 昀 漀 爀 攀 猀 琀 爀 礀
搀 攀 洀 漀 猀 ⴀ 琀 爀 愀 搀 椀 琀 椀 漀 渀 愀 氀 眀 漀 漀 搀 氀 愀 渀 搀 挀 爀 愀 昀 琀 猀 ⴀ

on this month: proms
Proms in the Paddock
An explosive evening
Since its inception fifteen years ago, Commercial
Square Bonfire Society’s annual Proms in
the Paddock has become an integral part of the
Lewes summer calendar. With a barbecue and
Harveys bar, and music from the Lewes, Glynde
and Beddingham Brass Band, the Sounds of
Swing Big Band and soprano Lynn Deacon, it’s an
idyllic way to spend a summer’s evening.
It wouldn’t be a bonfire society event without
a few explosions, and the evening’s grand finale
comes in the form of a magnificent fireworks display
to the sound of Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812
Overture. Over the years, CSBS’s aerial team have
developed a sophisticated system for synchronising
the fireworks with the music. “We used to
have members of the aerial team reading along
with the band’s sheet music, trying to set the fireworks
off at the right time,” says Mark Campbell,
who’s overseeing this year’s display. “But we’re
not there with a box of matches anymore. The
conductor starts the display by pressing a button,
then we take over from a computer desk in the
horse paddock.”
Guests are welcome to bring their own picnics
to the Proms, and there are sideshows, a tombola
and even a sweet shop for kids. Mark sums it up
best: “Evening sunshine, music, fireworks – and
all the proceeds make November 5th possible for
us.” You can’t say fairer than that. MC
Saturday 1. Gates open at 5pm. Advance tickets are
£8/£3 and can be bought from the Elly, Harveys
Shop, Richards Butchers, the Con Club, Lewes
Tourist Info, the Black Horse, and Bags of Books –
or via promsinthepaddock.co.uk.
Firle Place International
Horse Trials * Country Fair * Dog Festival
Sunday August 30th 2015 - Firle Place nr Lewes BN8 6LP
39th International Horse Trials
Dog Festival open to all - showing, racing, scurrys, agilty
Archery, Craft Fair, Farmers Market, Food, Bar, Shopping
Gate opens 9am - www.firleplaceevent.co.uk
29

伀 夀 匀 吀 䔀 刀 䰀 䤀 一 䜀 䔀 刀 䤀 䔀
㔀 一 漀 爀 琀 栀 䌀 漀 甀 爀 琀 Ⰰ 䰀 攀 眀 攀 猀 Ⰰ 䈀 一 㜀 ㈀ 䄀 刀
吀 攀 氀 㨀 ㈀ 㜀 アパート 㐀 㜀 㜀 㐀 伀 瀀 攀 渀 㨀 吀 甀 攀 琀 漀 匀 愀 琀 ⸀ 愀 洀 ⴀ 㔀 ⸀ 瀀 洀
䤀 琀 ᤠ 猀 琀 椀 洀 攀 昀 漀 爀 愀 戀 愀 爀 最 愀 椀 渀 ℀
䠀 伀 䰀 䤀 䐀 䄀 夀 匀 䄀 䰀 䔀 ⨀
䘀 漀 爀 琀 栀 攀 眀 栀 漀 氀 攀 洀 漀 渀 琀 栀 漀 昀 䄀 甀 最 甀 猀 琀
匀 眀 椀 洀 眀 攀 愀 爀 猀 瀀 攀 挀 椀 愀 氀 㨀 甀 瀀 琀 漀 㔀 ─ 漀 昀 昀 ☠☀ 氀 漀 琀 猀 洀 漀 爀 攀 ℀
䘀 刀 䔀 䔀 倀 刀 伀 䘀 䔀 匀 匀 䤀 伀 一 䄀 䰀 䘀 䤀 吀 吀 䤀 一 䜀
倀 攀 爀 昀 攀 挀 琀 戀 爀 愀 昀 椀 琀 Ⰰ 愀 昀 昀 漀 爀 搀 愀 戀 氀 攀 猀 琀 礀 氀 攀 ☀ 挀 漀 洀 昀 漀 爀 琀
∠ 匀 攀 氀 攀 挀 琀 椀 漀 渀 漀 昀 洀 愀 樀 漀 爀 猀 瀀 攀 挀 椀 愀 氀 椀 猀 琀 氀 椀 渀 最 攀 爀 椀 攀 戀 爀 愀 渀 搀 猀
∠ 䄀 琀 漀 䜀 挀 甀 瀀 猀 椀 稀 攀 猀
⨀ 伀 渀 猀 攀 氀 攀 挀 琀 攀 搀 椀 琀 攀 洀 猀 漀 渀 氀 礀

on this month: music
ANNA STANDISH INTERIORS
LEWES
Photo from the Gordon Jacob family archive
Classical
Paul Austin Kelly’s round-up
As many of us travel about to our various holiday
destinations, August is often a quiet month for
concerts, outdoor festivals aside. But for those of
us enjoying some quiet time at home, there are two
concerts in Lewes worth catching for their interesting
repertoire and first-rate players. Both are chamber
music events, which is good news if you didn’t
get enough of the splendid offerings in June.
T : 07971 512132 | WWW.ANNASTANDISH.COM
First, the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra and
Friends present the final concert of their summer
season, entitled Brighton Connections. It features
String Quartet (2007) by local composer Barry Mills,
the Suite for Bassoon and String Quartet by Gordon
Jacob, written in 1968, and Haydn’s String Quartet
No 59 in G minor.
Plymouth-born Mills, a postman and part-time
composer for many years, retired to compose fulltime
and now has an impressive list of credits and
commissions to his name. The soloist in the Gordon
Jacob (above) piece is Jonathan Price, principal bassoonist
with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sun 9, 5pm, Brighton Unitarian Church, £15, 01273
709709
More woodwind features in a concert by flautist
Lizzie Dandridge, oboist Poppy Hyde and pianist
David Ollosson. They offer Madeleine Dring’s
Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano, William Grant Still’s
Miniatures for Flute, Oboe and Piano and Schubert’s
Rosamunde, plus some interesting solo pieces.
Thurs 27, 1.10pm, St Anne’s Church, free with retiring
collection
ASI_ad_93x133_july.indd 1 08/06/2015 15:40
31

Beautiful art,
affordable prices
Champagne Topaz Necklace
by Kat Zahran
Chalk Gallery
4 North Street
Lewes, BN7 2PA
t: 01273 474477
w: chalkgallerylewes.co.uk
伀 一 䔀 吀 伀 伀 一 䔀
䠀 䄀 䤀 刀 䐀 刀 䔀 匀 匀 䤀 一 䜀
䄀 䘀 䘀 伀 刀 䐀 䄀 䈀 䰀 䔀 ⴀ
䘀 刀 䤀 䔀 一 䐀 䰀 夀 ⴀ 刀 䔀 䰀 䤀 䄀 䈀 䰀 䔀
䠀 䄀 䤀 刀 䐀 刀 䔀 匀 匀 䤀 一 䜀 匀 䔀 刀 嘀 䤀 䌀 䔀 匀
䤀 一 夀 伀 唀 刀 䠀 伀 䴀 䔀
䌀 漀 渀 琀 愀 挀 琀 㨀 匀 栀 愀 甀 渀 嘀 愀 氀 愀 渀 琀 椀 渀 攀
㈀ 栀 愀 椀 爀 搀 爀 攀 猀 猀 椀 渀 最 䀀 最 洀 愀 椀 氀 ⸀ 挀 漀 洀
㜀 㤀 㠀 㘀 㤀 㔀 㠀 㐀
㈀ 㜀 アパート 㠀 㐀 㜀 ㈀ 㜀

on this month: artwave
FOCUS ON: ‘Eagle’ by Ptolemy Elrington
(2.35m high, £6000)
How would you describe your work? I specialise in working with recycled materials and mostly make
sculptures of natural life forms. I use car hubcaps, car bumpers, shopping trolleys and scrap metal. I work
with metal and plastic. I started with plastic and then accepted a commission involving metal and had to
teach myself how to weld in double quick time. I enjoyed the process so much I kept on doing it.
What equipment do you use? I like to work with basic hand tools when I’m using the hubcaps. Various
types of hacksaws and pliers, wire cutters and clamps. I also use a battery hand drill. With the metal I use
angle grinders, a mig welder, and have to wear protective clothing - a welder’s helmet, goggles, overalls,
thick gloves and steel toe-capped boots. It gets hot in all that gear in the summer.
Tell me about a few other pieces you’ll be featuring in your Artwave show. I’m bringing an enormous
lady Samurai made from stainless steel, a selection of hubcap sculptures, a couple of giant raven
skeletons and a baboon skeleton made out of old shopping trolleys. I’m currently working on a new piece
which I hope to have finished in time for the show - that’s a surprise.
Describe your studio... I share with two other guys and my area looks a bit like WALL-E’s container (if
you’ve seen the Pixar movie) It looks chaotic but I know more or less where everything is.
What inspires you artistically? Other recycled sculptors. My current favourites are Igor Vernly, Helen
Denerley and Edouard Martinet. I’m also stimulated by a few artists including Caravaggio, Goya, Gaudi
and Moebius.
What’s your favourite gallery? I like the National Portrait Gallery in London. As told to Emma Chaplin
Ptolemy is part of the More Fresh Paint exhibition with the Sussex Watercolour Society, including
Nick Orsborn, at the Foundry Gallery, 32 North Street. From 22-30, 11-5pm. Sat 29 will be
an events day, featuring demonstrations.
33

22 August to 6 September
OPEN STUDIOS • EXHIBITIONS
ARTISTS’ OPEN HOUSES • EVENTS
Art trails across Lewes, Seaford,
Newhaven and the rural areas
www.artwavefestival.org

on this month: artwave
Stories Seen Through a Glass Plate
The lightboxes are coming back
If you missed Stories Seen
Through a Glass Plate in
October 2014, or enjoyed
it and want to see it again,
now you can. Back by
popular demand, from 22
August to 13 September,
the same exhibition trail of
light boxes returns to the
windows of 57 locations
along Station Street and up
and down the High Street.
The trail exhibits images
from the archive of Edward
Reeves Photography,
159 High Street, Lewes.
The studio set up in 1858,
and now in the hands of the
fourth generation of the
same family, is thought to
be the world’s oldest continuously
operated photographic
studio.
In 2014 Stories Seen Through
a Glass Plate proved incredibly
popular, and, for some,
very moving. Curator Brigitte Lardinois is working
with the Reeves family on conserving the archive,
which is of national and international importance.
She said, “I have done exhibitions all over the
world and the sense of joy that this exhibition gave
is quite special. I had expected it to be interesting,
but I never thought it would work so well.”
Seeing the images in the places in which they
were taken up to 150 years ago invited viewers to
look around at their environment to experience
the changes. At times Brigitte saw little groups of
people gathering in front of an image discussing
what was in it, some with a family connection to
the place.
For Brigitte, “the collection
makes you aware of change
and belonging. The Reeves
archive is like the family
album of the town and it
underlines the feeling of being
at home and belonging,
whether or not you were
born here.”
Being pram and mobility
scooter-friendly means that
people who might not visit
a gallery can enjoy the display,
and the trail stays open
all hours. As it gets dark “the
light boxes begin to glow
like little magic lanterns”.
It took organisers around
six months to assemble the
collection of photographs
and their shopkeeper hosts.
They viewed images that
the Reeves family had
scanned and located where
the shops were. Glass plate
negatives from the archive were photographed on
a light bed, and the positive images were printed
digitally and fixed to light boxes. The images were
captioned with information from the studio’s ledger
describing the subjects.
The light boxes can be reused and a display of
Lewes WW1 memories is planned for next year.
Information updates will be on the archive website
reevesarchive.co.uk during the exhibition.
For the trail route pick up a leaflet in shops where
you see a lightbox in the window, from the Tourist
Information Centre or from Edward Reeves studio
in the High Street. Emma Clothier
35

on this month: artwave
art & about
Artwave festival is here
again, with over 100 venues
across the district. The
festival runs 22 Aug - 6
Sept, with opening times
varying for each venue.
Be sure to get your hands
on a brochure which will
be distributed throughout
the town, or visit
artwavefestival.org. With
so many talented artists,
it’s impossible to mention
everyone, but here are
some highlights, as well as
some information on a few
non-Artwave exhibitions.
Janine Shute
Shirley Trivena
Greg Williams
Artwave in Lewes
You will find a great array of work
at Pelham House from emerging
and experienced artists this
month. Daria Arta, Peter Bushell,
Pat Savage, Chris Wells and Greg
Williams are exhibiting a mix of
striking observations of local town,
sea and landscapes, and the people
who inhabit them.
Make sure you catch More Fresh
Paint at the Foundry in North
Street, the annual exhibition from
The Sussex Watercolour Society.
Watercolours, acrylics, oils, prints,
drawings and multimedia work.
Over at Chalk Gallery this month
they will not be having their usual
featured artist, but will instead be
changing their window several
times to reflect the varied talents
of its member artists.
Artwave beyond
Firle Village has a lot worth
visiting this month (check the
Artwave brochure for dates). The
Firle Artists’ Collective are
exhibiting their work amongst
pop-up tea rooms and galleries
in houses, the village hall and the
Ram Inn. Featured artists include
Vanessa Mooncie, Jerry Shearing,
Jana Nicole, Paul Stevens and
Nula Shearing.
Elsewhere, Victor’s House in
Newhaven will be crammed
with treasures, including invited
artist Jonathan Alden’s brilliant
art boxes. The Eight Bells in
Jevington boasts work from two
local artists; Jennifer Binnie and
landscape from Lis Lawrence.
Rural countryside photography
by Peter Maton is being exhibited
at Middle Farm.
two more in-town must sees:
Original drawings by Janine Shute, on display daily at Keizer Frames and an exhibition at the Riverside Café of
paintings by Joy and Tony Harper, for one evening only on Fri 28 from 7pm.
37

䄀 爀 琀 眀 愀 瘀 攀 䔀 砀 栀 椀 戀 椀 琀 椀 漀 渀 ⴀ 䨀 愀 渀 椀 渀 攀 匀 栀 甀 琀 攀
㈀㈀ 渀 搀 䄀 甀 最 甀 猀 琀 ⴀ 㘀 琀 栀 匀 攀 瀀 琀 攀 洀 戀 攀 爀
伀 瀀 攀 渀 攀 瘀 攀 爀 礀 搀 愀 礀 Ⰰ ⸀アパート 愀 洀 ⴀ 㔀 ⸀ 瀀 洀
Pauline Devaney
Exhibiting Throughout Artwave
22 August - 6 September
82, Prince Edward’s Road, Lewes
www.paulinedevaney.com
Farley Farm House & gallery
Home of the Surrealists
Experience the extraordinary atmosphere of the Sussex home of the
Surrealists Lee Miller and Roland Penrose whose friends and guests
included Picasso, Max Ernst, Man Ray and Miró. We open to visitors on
Sundays offering 50 minute guided tours, inspiring exhibitions in our
gallery and a sculpture garden to explore.
www.farleyfarmhouse.co.uk
Farley Farm House
Muddles Green, Chiddingly
East Sussex, BN8 6HW
Tel: 01825 872 856
Open to visitors every Sunday from April - October 2015 from 10. 00 am - 3.30 pm

Art & About
on this month: art
Elemental will light up the Crypt Gallery in Seaford
from Sat 1-Thu 6. It’s an exhibition of work
inspired by the local environment and beyond,
from painters Kathleen Dawson and Jane Wateridge
and photographer Chris Dawson. Expect
majestic Swiss mountains, forest fires, the chalky
landscape of Seaford Head, burning buildings and
more work that depicts the power of the elements.
Between Sat
8-Sun 23 you can
catch Texture,
Light and Colour
at the Little
Chelsea Gallery
in Eastbourne.
Local artists
Louise Chatfield
(pictured) and Susan Lynch will be displaying
their striking work each day from 11am-4pm
(closed Mondays).
If you fancy heading west, there is a new exhibition
running until October at The Sussex Prairie
Gardens, near Henfield. Prairie Spirits is a mixed
media environmental installation by Tom Barker
that studies human frailty and the cycle of life, using
found objects and photography to explore and
challenge perceptions of life from the perspective
of a child, dreaming of his home being taken over
by the Prairies as he sleeps. The show also features
photography by his mother Jill Staples and sister
Alice Barker.
39

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feature
my space: ivan morgan
Incredible Mechanicals
I’ve got 45 different mechanical models and will
have most of them on display during August Bank
Holiday weekend. Years ago I used to sell some but I
don’t now. For our Open House exhibition we have
them in the conservatory and the dining room - and
then you come into the garden for tea and cake.
I’ve always been practical and made wooden toys
for my children. In 1997 I went to Covent Garden
and saw the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. It isn’t
there now but the people are still around [they
have a touring show at Herstmonceux Observatory
Science Centre this month] and that inspired me to
make mechanical models.
When I retired from the County Council, I had
a passion to sit and whittle in a shop window somewhere.
But my dream fell apart when I realised how
much that would cost. So I set up in the back of my
garage with a scroll saw, a pillar drill and a sander.
I have since built a lovely workshop in the garden,
with a panoramic view.
My most useful tool is my bandsaw. When I
make cogs, I spray-mount the outline onto a piece
of wood and cut all those little teeth out with
the blade. It’s brilliant but you have to keep your
fingers out of the way.
I’ve got a great stock of old bits of wood; it’s all
recycled, donated or off-cuts. I just have to buy a
bit of 6mm dowel occasionally.
I very rarely draw plans before I start. I just
sketch things out in my book. Sometimes I have a
better idea when I’m making something and then
change the design to get it working differently.
You can’t really appreciate the models unless
they’re moving. I let adults and children operate
them as long as they’re careful. If anything gets
broken it can always be mended. People love
studying the models to see how they work. And
that’s what encourages me to carry on.
As told to Mark Bridge
21 Gundreda Road, Sat 29 to Mon 31, 2-5pm.
positivelycreative.co.uk
Photos by Mark Bridge
41

auglistings
Sat 1
Wed 5
Farmers’ Market.
Cliffe Precinct, 9am-
1pm.
Craft Market.
Ceramics, jewellery,
textiles and more.
Market Tower,
10am-4pm.
Fundraiser. Celebrating 150 years. Demonstrations,
meet the staff, games, tombola,
homemade cakes. Cliffe Vets, 1-5pm, free entry,
any proceeds go to Hounds for Heroes, Cats
Protection, and WRAS. enquiries@cliffevets.
co.uk
Sun 2
Open Garden. Proceeds go to the wonderful
Lewes Saturday Circles club, a self-funding
club that supports adults with varying degrees
of learning disabilities. Tea and cake available.
1 Rose Cottage, Chalvington Road, Golden
Cross, 11am-5pm, £3, children under 16 free.
Guided Tour. Quirky, historic tour around
interesting parts of the town, including some
graveyards. Led by Kevin Gordon. Meet at the
railway station, 2pm, £5, tickets available from
Tourist Info.
Tue 4
Market. Bric-a-brac, books, jewellery, clothes,
toys, fresh produce and much more. Town Hall,
9am-2pm.
Photo Rob Read
Talk. Pressures on the Police in Modern Society.
Led by Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner
Katy Bourne. Christ Church, 7.30pm, free.
j.d.smith@sussex.ac.uk
Thu 6 & Fri 7
Musical theatre. Oliver! St Mary’s Social Centre,
7.30pm, eventbrite.co.uk
Fri 7
Food Market. Healthy, seasonal food from local
suppliers. Market Tower, 9am-1.30pm. Also on
Fri 14, 21 & 28.
Fri 7-Sun 9
Beer Festival. Live music and BBQ. The Sussex
Ox, Milton Street. 01323 870840
Sat 8
Dr Bike. Bike
repair workshop.
A brilliant
service, which
recently helped
Viva’s editor
get her bicycle
safely back on
the road. Trade
prices charged
for parts; customers are free to make a donation
for labour. Nutty Wizard, South Street, 9.30am-
12.30pm, free. Also on Sat 22.
Coffee Morning. Organised by South Street
Bonfire Society. Coffee, tea, homemade cakes and
South Street Bonfire merchandise. St Thomas
Church Hall, 10am-12pm, free entry. southstreetbonfiresociety.co.uk
Paws and Claws Book Fair. Thousands of
secondhand, rare, readable and collectable books.
Town Hall, 10am-4pm, 50p.
43

auglistings (cont)
Thu 20
Theatre. The Last Match. The story of the
final performance of one of Yorkshire and England’s
greatest cricketing heroes, Hedley Verity,
playing in the very last day’s cricket before
WW2. Newhaven Fort, 4pm and 7pm, £7/£4.
info@newhavenfort.org.uk or 01273 517622
Fourth annual South Street Bonfire Society
Sports Day and Dog Show. Legendary drag
race, egg and spoon relay, welly shot-put [we
called that ‘welly-wanging’ in my youth. Ed]
and hula-hooping. Best Dressed Dog, Dog
Owner Doubles, Agility, Waggiest Tail and
Cleverest Trick competitions. Fun carries on
into the night with the Alternative Miss Snowdrop
competition. The Snowdrop, 2pm, £2 per
person for sports day, £2 per dog for dog show.
j.hillage@btinternet.com
Summer Show. Dog show,
stalls, games, sideshows, falconry,
children’s races, food
and refreshments. Framfield
recreation ground and
memorial hall, 12.30pm
(dog show 11.30am), £1/20p.
fabhortsoc.org.uk
Fri 21
Walk and Talk. A brewery walk in Lewes. Led
by Miles Jenner of Harveys Brewery, in the
Cliffe/South Street area. Meet in the garden
of the Dorset Arms, 7pm, £5. Tickets available
from Anne of Cleves House or annacrabtree1@
hotmail.com
The Group. Lewes-based club for single men
and women aged 45+. This month it is a disco
in Hove. info@thegroup.org.uk
Sat 8 & Sun 9
Vintage Fair.
Antique and vintage
homeware, jazz bands,
fairground rides,
vintage design clothes
and more. Firle Park,
10am-5pm, £5, children
under 10 free.
Tickets on the door
or from TIC. firleandcountry.co.uk
44

Lewes Town & Country
Residential Sales & Lettings
Land & New Homes
T 01273 487444
E lewes@oakleyproperty.com
Property of the Month Laughton - £750,000
Substantial detached 5 bedroom character house situated in the sought after area of Laughton.
Originally built circa 1790 this property has recently been renovated, beautifully combining
period features and contemporary design & architecture.
Lewes £1,150,000
A truly unique opportunity to purchase a stunning detached
1850’s Victorian home with potential for a development plot
within the grounds STPP. 6 double bedrooms, 3 reception rooms
and kitchen breakfast room.
Southerham £999,950
A large detached property with a number of potential income and
development possibilities in a semi rural location. The Granary
currently sits as a beautifully presented, 6 bedroom house
(including a 2 bedroom barn conversion).
NEW
INSTRUCTION
NEW
INSTRUCTION
Lewes £520,000
A charming town house ideally located in central Lewes just
moments from the train station. With 3 double bedrooms the
property offers open living space, family bathroom & en-suite,
fitted kitchen and a separate W/C.
oakleyproperty.com
Lewes £234,950
One bedroom end of terraced house situated in quiet cul-de-sac
on the outskirts of Lewes town centre. Great living space,
contemporary kitchen, dining room and separate lounge opening
on to decked patio garden.

WEALDEN FOOD
& WINE FESTIVAL
22 & 23 AUG 2015
22 & 23 AUG 2015 – 11am to 7.30pm
BENTLEY WILDFOWL & MOTOR MUSEUM
HALLAND, EAST SUSSEX BN8 5AF
ENTRY
it’s
food
it’swine
it’s
local
A FREE 2 DAY FESTIVAL
OFFERING THE VERY BEST
OF SUSSEX FOOD & WINE
PRODUCE, ARTISAN GOODS,
LOCAL CRAFTS AND LIVE MUSIC
Cooking demos • Live music
Wine talks • Street entertainment
Storytelling • Local beers • Craft Stalls
Guided Walks
Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum,
home to a unique collection of cars,
motorcycles and cycles, spanning over
100 years. The wildfowl reserve is home to
around 2500 birds and 130 species from
around the world. And if you wanted to
make a weekend of it and love glamping,
why not stay at the new independently run
Embers camp site, with its great facilities,
all set within the estate.
wealdenfestivals.co.uk/bentley
AUG
FRI & SAT
@ The Con Club
1 OUSE VALLEY COLLECTIVE
5 PIECE COUNTRY AND FOLK BAND
7 FAT BELLY JONES
TOONS YOU CANT HELP JUMPIMG TO...
14 THIN WHITE DUKE
AUTHENTIC DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE
21SNAKEBYTE
HIGH ENERGY ROCK COVERS
28 PIRANHAS
A WELCOME RETURN FOR 80’s SKA PUNK
THE BLOX
29 IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS TRIBUTE
SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS & ENTRY
GUIDE ASSISTANCE ONLY

auglistings (cont)
Sat 22 & Sun 23
Wealden Food and Wine Festival. Cooking
demos, live music, wine talks, street entertainment,
storytelling, local beers, craft stalls and
guided talks. Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum,
free entry. wealdenfestivals.co.uk/bentley
Sun 23
Mad Hatters’ Tea Party. Guests
are encouraged to dress up.
Pelham House, 2.30-5.30pm,
£24.95/£12.50. pelhamhouse.
com or 01273 488600
Sunday Spice Club. Supper club organised by
Dinesty Corp. The Bar, Fisher Street, 7.30pm,
£25 incl food and a drink. Tickets from The Bar
Tue 25
Theatre. Much Ado About Nothing. Newhaven
Fort, 7.30pm. info@newhavenfort.org.uk or
01273 517622
Sat 29
Garden Party. Spanish acoustic guitar, table
football tournament, barbecue, cocktails and
garden games. The Swan, 2pm, free entry.
Costume Sale. An opportunity to purchase
some pieces from the theatre. Lewes Little
Theatre, 10.30am.
Beer and Cider Festival.
Part 2: The Big One.
Food and drink served all
day, with live music from
Cajun Dawg and The
Reform Club featuring
Norman Baker. Trevor
Arms, Glynde, 4pm-late, free entry.
Sat 29-Mon 31
Bank Holiday Festival. Children’s activities,
classic cars, charity stalls, fun fair, dog show,
village fête and more. Alfriston Tye, free. Times
vary, see alfriston-village.co.uk
Sun 30
International
Horse Trials and
Country Fair.
Archery, crafts,
dog festival,
farmers’ market,
food, bar and
more. Firle Place,
9am-5pm, £15 a car including all occupants.
firleplaceevent.co.uk
Mon 31
Tea Dance. Newhaven Fort, 1-4pm. info@
newhavenfort.org.uk or 01273 517622
Thu 27
Story Cabaret. Under the Table: Glories and
Horrors of Booze. The Bar, Fisher St, 7.30pm.
Tickets from The Bar & eventbrite.co.uk
Have a local event you’d like us to mention?
Complete the submissions form on our website
vivalewes.com. Due to space limitations we rarely
list workshops, and we plan issues six weeks ahead
of any given month. events@vivalewes.com
47

gig of the month
The John Butler Trio formed in 1998. Since
then, the one constant in the band’s line-up has
been guitarist and vocalist John Butler, who
started out as a busker in Fremantle, Western
Australia. The Trio’s blend of folk, rock, blues
and country influences have led them to phenomenal
success: all of their albums have been
certified gold or platinum, and Butler – a formerly
dreadlocked environmentalist and activist
– is known affectionately in the Australian press
as ‘the million-dollar hippy’. Support comes from
soulful folk balladeer JP Cooper.
Sat 15, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, 7pm, £20
august listings
sat 1
Ouse Valley Collective. Five-piece Country and
Folk. Con Club, 8pm, free
Come All Ye. Open folk music session. Elephant
& Castle, 8pm, £3
The Versatiles. Funk, disco and Motown. Lamb,
8.30pm, free
SUN 2
English dance tunes session. Traditional English
folk – bring instruments. Lamb, 12pm, free
Charlie Tipler. Acoustic. Con Club, 3pm, free
Open mic. Elephant & Castle, 7pm, free
Gypsy Ska Orquesta. Latin gypsy ska. Lamb,
8.30pm, free
MON 3
Mark Bassey, Alex Eberhard and Terry Seabrook.
Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
TUE 4
English dance tunes session. Traditional
English folk – bring instruments. John Harvey,
8pm, free
Ceilidh Crew session. Folk. Lamb, 8.30pm, free
THU 6
Harry’s Tricks. Vintage hot swing. Pelham
Arms, 8.30pm, free
FRI 7
Fat Belly Jones. Ska and soul, jumping toons.
Con Club, 8pm, free
SAT 8
Come All Ye. Open folk music session. Elephant
& Castle, 8pm, £3
SUN 9
We R Bob. Acoustic. Con Club, 3pm, free
Jazz in the Garden. Jazz from the 20s to the 50s,
with the Andy Woon Nils Solberg Alliance. Garden
and bar open from 5.30pm – bring a picnic.
Anne of Cleves House, 6pm, £10
MON 10
Frank Griffiths. Jazz from the US arranger,
tenor and clarinettist. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
TUE 11
Goodtimes Music open mic. All welcome.
Lamb, 8.30pm, free
49

THE DORSET END OF SUMMER
Music Weekender!
11th – 13th September
FREE
ENTRY
Friday 11th
Saturday 12th
8.30pm-11pm Bad Billy Band
This five-piece band knock out an original folk/rock
mixture with a lively sound. Not to be missed!
www.badbillyband.bandcamp.com
2pm-4pm The Memphis Flyers
The moonshine boys kick off day 2 with their brand of
country, blues and rockabilly. Covering Buddy Holly, Elvis,
Johnny Cash and many many more.
https://myspace.com/thememphisflyers
4.30pm-5.30pm The Emilie Pearl Band
The winner of last years open mic contest, Emilie and her
band return to play a full set of delicious covers. A star in
the making.
6pm-8pm The Dead Reds
A bluesy rock band that wouldn’t have been out of place
supporting The Rolling Stones circa 1969, this Sussex 4
piece are a total eargasm. www.thedeadreds.com
8.30pm-10.30pm Kings Mews
A Brighton based 9 piece with a soulful, infectious feel
good energy and thumping horn-led grooves you can’t
help but move to. https://kingsmews.bandpage.com
Sunday 13th
12.30pm-3pm The Jazz Caverners
An infectious blend of traditional and Dixie land jazz in the
style of the New Orleans parade bands.
3pm-4.30pm Sarah Tonin
The lead singer of last years headline act Derriere introduces
us to her new project. Fireball front woman Sarah Tonin takes
it down a notch and releases a blend of bluesy, soulful jazz
that will arouse feelings of well being and happiness.
5pm-7pm John Crampton
Closing out our weekend in style with a crescendo of foot
stomping blues and bluegrass. Expect to be whipped into
a frenzy by the sound of his astonishing voice, slide guitar
and harmonica. www.johncrampton.co.uk
The Dorset, 22 Malling Street, Lewes BN7 2RD
www.thedorsetlewes.co.uk

gig guide (cont)
THU 13
Underscore Orkestra. Balkan, klezmer and
gypsy jazz. Lamb, 8pm, free
FRI 14
Thin White Duke. David Bowie tribute. Con
Club, 8pm, £5
The Diablos. Country rock. Lamb, 8.30pm, free
SAT 15
Come All Ye. Open folk music session. Elephant
& Castle, 8pm, £3
The Long Haul. Country and western swing.
Lamb, 8.30pm, free
MON 17
Jo Rotunna and Terry Seabrook. Jazz. Snowdrop,
8pm, free
TUE 18
Ceilidh Crew session. High energy folk. Lamb,
8.30pm, free
THU 20
Jabul Gorba. Gypsy ska squeezebox punk.
Lamb, 8.30pm, free
FRI 21
Snakebyte. Rock covers. Con Club, 8pm, free
SAT 22
Maestro Academy Players and l’Harmonie
la Chappelle Concert Band. Jazz and swing.
Newhaven Fort, 6pm, free with ticket (available
from Maestro Music, Newhaven)
Come All Ye. Open folk music session. Elephant
& Castle, 8pm, £3
Silas Giron. Samba. Lamb, 8.30pm, free
MON 24
Jack Kendon, Terry Seabrook and Peter Hill.
Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
TUE 25
Goodtimes Music open mic. All welcome. Lamb,
5pm, free
THU 27-MON 31
Rye International Jazz & Blues Festival. Jazz,
blues, R&B, soul, funk, gospel and world music,
from acts including Herbie Flowers, The Blues
Band and Avery Sunshine, at various venues
across Rye. Events priced individually. www.
ryejazz.com
FRI 28
Piranhas. 80s Ska punk. Con Club, 8pm, £TBC
Blacken Blues Band. Rocking blues. Lamb,
8.30pm, free
SAT 29
The Blox. Ian Dury & The Blockheads tribute.
Con Club, 8pm, free
Come All Ye. Open folk music session. Elephant
& Castle, 8pm, £3
Nineties Disco. With tunes from DJ Maverick.
Lansdown, 8pm, free
SUN 30
Swing Time. Up-tempo swing and dancing.
Lamb, 5pm, free
MON 31
Afternoon Tea Dance. Strict tempo ballroom
music, dancing and cake. Newhaven Fort, 1pm,
£7.50/£6.40 (ticket price includes one drink),
01273 517622
Paul Richards, Alex Eberhard and Terry Seabrook.
Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
51

a day out
Photos by Rob Read
Port Lympne Animal Reserve
Out on a Lympne
It’s just over 55 miles as the crow drives across
the Weald from Lewes to Port Lympne – but
since that’s across some of the most glorious East
Sussex/West Kent countryside it’s like an adventure
all in itself. Preferably done in open-top car,
not that we had access to one when we headed
east to explore the park.
Port Lympne (pronounced limb) is beautifully set
in 600 acres looking over the Romney Marsh. At
its heart is an historic mansion and landscaped
gardens designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker
for Sir Philip Sassoon during World War One.
Mrs Dudeney – whose Lewes diaries excoriate
the bourgeoisie and working classes, while gazing
admiringly at the hyper-rich – was a regular guest
of Sir Philip in the 1920s and 30s.
For the last forty years, the grounds have been
home to a range of wild animals, in association
with its sister animal park in Kent, Howletts, as
part of the Aspinall Foundation – an animal conservation
charity which protects rare and endangered
species by breeding and then reintroducing
them into their natural environments.
When we first visited 10 years ago our son was
very small and much of the fun was to be had just
gazing at the tigers and wolves (now sadly gone)
– enthused by the BBC Roar programme filmed
at the Foundation. Now we can wander the larger
expanses and take in the gorillas, endless types of
monkeys and lemurs, wild cats and more which
spread down the hillside and on for seemingly
quite a long way.
As a working space with its emphasis on animal
support and protection it often means you need
to gaze at the large enclosures for a long time
to see the creatures. Feeding sessions such as
those with the giant silverback gorillas are of
course a must. But otherwise it rewards a slow
and lingering tour. So take your time and some
refreshments.
We also discover that over the last 10 years Port
Lympne has significantly upped its tourism game.
The house is now a sumptuous hotel and it also
boasts a wide range of other accommodation,
from simple canvas cabins to wooden glamping
huts, allowing you to stay in the park overnight
and experience the animals in their environment
late and early. The newest is a tree top hotel – offering
every comfort you could imagine, although
with prices to match.
The highlight continues to be the safari tour
which lives up to its billing as the closest you can
get to a safari without actually being in Africa – as
covered trucks take you through large grasslands
of rhino, giraffe and more. The experienced and
knowledgeable staff provide commentary and
seemingly can answer any question from young
or old.
As we head back, tired but happy, we could imagine
the herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically
across the marsh. Rob Read
aspinallfoundation.org
Online ticket prices: Adults: £18.85 day ticket;
£30.95 all year access; child £15.25/£26.95
53

Summer Events
at Anne of Cleves & Lewes Castle
Secrets of the Skeletons
Sun 26th July - Lewes Castle 1pm-4pm
Experience a forensic exploration of medieval skeletons
linked to our summer exhibition.
For all ages. Included in admission.
Marvellous Materials Season
Tues & Thurs 28th July - 27th Aug
Explore different materials, with hands-on activities
for all ages. Included in admission.
Tues - Anne of Cleves House, 1pm-4pm.
Thurs - Lewes Castle, 1pm-4pm.
Knights and Dragons
Thurs 30th July, Thurs 6th & Thur 13th Aug
Lewes Castle - 10.30am-12pm
Stories, things to make, handle and try on. Age 4-8.
Tickets £5 per child in advance. Adult to stay.
Explore our website for more details
www.sussexpast.co.uk
㈀ 㐀 琀 栀 匀 攀 瀀 琀 攀 洀 戀 攀 爀 ⴀ 㐀 琀 栀 伀 挀 琀 漀 戀 攀 爀
㈀ 㔀
吀 栀 椀 猀 礀 攀 愀 爀 栀 愀 猀 愀 琀 爀 甀 氀 礀 昀 愀 渀 琀 愀 猀 猀 挀 氀 椀 渀 攀 ⴀ 甀 瀀 㨀
䌀 漀 洀 攀 搀 礀 昀 爀 漀 洀 䨀 漀 䈀 爀 愀 渀 搀 Ⰰ 瀀 氀 甀 猀
一 漀 椀 猀 攀 一 攀 砀 琀 䐀 漀 漀 爀 愀 渀 搀 䨀 漀 䌀 愀 甀 氀 ǻ 攀 氀 搀
䘀 漀 氀 欀 䴀 甀 猀 椀 挀 眀 椀 琀 栀 夀 漀 甀 渀 最 ᤠ 唀 渀 猀 Ⰰ
䨀 愀 稀 稀 䌀 愀 戀 愀 爀 攀 琀 眀 椀 琀 栀 䈀 愀 爀 戀 䨀 甀 渀 最 爀
䌀 氀 愀 猀 猀 椀 挀 愀 氀 䴀 甀 猀 椀 挀 昀 爀 漀 洀 琀 栀 攀
䈀 攀 渀 礀 漀 甀 渀 攀 猀 儀 甀 愀 爀 琀 攀 琀
䈀 攀 攀 爀 䘀 攀 猀 猀 瘀 愀 氀 Ⰰ 䄀 爀 琀 愀 渀 搀 䌀 爀 愀 愀 䔀 砀 栀 椀 戀 椀 椀 漀 渀 Ⰰ
䐀 爀 甀 洀 洀 椀 渀 最 Ⰰ 䌀 愀 爀 琀 漀 漀 渀 Ⰰ 䨀 甀 最 最 氀 椀 渀 最 愀 渀 搀
匀 挀 爀 愀 琀 挀 栀 䌀 栀 漀 椀 爀 圀 漀 爀 欀 猀 栀 漀 瀀 猀 Ⰰ 䌀 栀 椀 氀 搀 爀 攀 渀 ᤠ 猀
吀 栀 攀 愀 琀 爀 攀 愀 渀 搀 洀 漀 爀 攀
眀 眀 眀 ⸀ 挀 栀 椀 搀 搀 椀 渀 最 氀 礀 昀 攀 猀 猀 瘀 愀 氀 ⸀ 挀 漀 ⸀ 甀 欀
䈀 漀 砀 伀 ϻ 挀 攀 㨀 㠀 ㈀ 㔀 㠀 㜀 ㈀ 㐀
眀 眀 眀 ⸀ 氀 攀 眀 攀 猀 攀 挀 ⸀ 挀 漀 ⸀ 甀 欀

under 16
FreeTIME
What’s on
wed 5
Poetry and storytelling: Myths and
Monsters. Who helped Theseus defeat the
Minotaur? Why should you steer clear of
Ginny Green Teeth? Find out in this show
with a cast of colourful characters, followed
by a Q&A about writing poetry. Ideal for
ages 9-12. Bags of Books, South St, 11am,
£3. Tickets from shop or 01273 479320.
wed 5,12,19 & 26
Summer Activities. Games, sport, food
making, arts, crafts and much more. For
8-18 year olds (under 8s welcome with an
accompanying adult). Free evening party
at Pells Pool for participants. Malling Rec,
11am-1pm, free.
Mon 17-Thu 20
Big Oak Forest School. Creative and fun
forest school for 8-12 year olds, in privately
owned ancient woodland. Uckfield, 11am-
3.30pm, 1 day £35, 2 or more days £28 per
day. More info and lots more dates at bigoakforestschool.co.uk
or call 07866 587844
Thu 27
Tea Party. Fun storytelling and scrumptious
cake with author Julian Warrender. Suitable
for ages 4-8. The garden at Laporte’s, 3.30-
5pm, £4 including cake and drink. 01273
478817
Spread the Word
Cressida Murray sent us this fun photo - taken
on the Canal De Midi near Carcassonne in
Southern France. “We went for a week-long
trip with my parents and another family and
had a few rare moments to relax between the
many locks.”
Thu 6 & Thu 13
Activity Morning: Knights
and Dragons. Stories,
things to make, handle
and try on. Ideal for
ages 4-8. Lewes Castle,
10.30am-12pm, £5 in advance, adult
to stay. sussexpast.co.uk
wed 12
Creative Workshop: Create with acetate.
Use cut-outs to magically transform the page
and then create your own. With Ann Scott
from creative publishers Patrick George.
Ideal for ages 4-8. Bags of Books, 11am, £3.
Tickets from the shop or 01273 479320.
55

Early Years
and Reception
spaces for September 2015
Independent Primary School
& Kindergarten for 3 – 11 years
Visit us 01825 841410
Annan School | Easons Green | Uckfield | TN22 5RE | www.annanschool.co.uk
Lewes advert 2.qxp_Layout 1 06/07/2015 15:34 Page 1
Lewes
BIG OAK FOREST SCHOOL
Creative & fun outdoor learning for Ages 8 - 12!
August 2015 dates: Mon 17, Tues 18, Weds 19, Thurs 20,
Mon 24, Tues 25, Weds 26, Thurs 27, Sat 29, Sun 30
Cost: 1 day - £35 / 2 or more days - £28 per day
A range of inspiring and educational activities, 11am - 3.30pm
Book now at bigoakforestschool.co.uk
email bigoakforestschool@gmail.com Call Martin 07866 587844
Follow @bigoakfs on Twitter
Page 1
Saturday Classes
11.15 -12.45 4-6 years
2pm - 5pm 7 years +
At Ringmer Community
College, BN8 5RB
Ask about
our 2 Week
Trial and Open
Evening!
01273 504380
lewes@stagecoach.co.uk
www.stagecoach.co.uk/lewes

under 16 êêêê
young Photo of the month
This lovely photo was sent in by
13 year old Becky Clark, a year 8
Priory student. “I took it when I
was walking my dog, Douglas, up
Chapel Hill towards the Lewes golf
course one evening.” Becky wins a
£10 book token, kindly donated by
Bags of Books bookshop.
Send your entries for Young Photo of
the Month to photos@vivalewes.com
with your name, age, school and some
details about the picture.
big park project
We visit the Big Park in Peacehaven with
my son, George (8) and his cousin Louie (7),
to try out the ‘new’ playground. The sun is
shining and the air fresh, as swallows and
skylarks swoop above the giant ‘acorn’ tower
and out across to the Downs. There are two
sections, one for toddlers, one for children
up to 11 or so. There’s also a skatepark. The play area is built from rustic chestnut post and rail fencing,
which fits in beautifully with the countryside surrounding it. The playground is full of kids climbing,
playing with sand and generally having a great time. My two particularly love the acorn tower, and it
serves as an excellent imaginary base camp. Overall, it’s more challenging than most playgrounds, as
there is lots of climbing to be done. George also loves the giant swing. He’s generally outgrown playgrounds,
but this one keeps his attention. After a couple of hours, with a trip to the café for snacks, we
have to drag them away - they would like to stay all day. The overall impression is that “it’s just as much
fun as the Xbox” and they will definitely want to come back to their acorn ‘base’ soon. Michelle Porter
The Big Park can be accessed via Hoyle Road, Piddinghoe Avenue and Cornwall Avenue and from a network
of footpaths and bridleways. Take the train to Newhaven Town and continue by bus. 12 and 12A buses go
about every 10 mins. Coming from Newhaven, alight at the Slindon Avenue bus stop and walk up Piddinghoe
Avenue. By car, turn off South Coast Road into Piddinghoe Avenue (sign posted Piddinghoe Sports Park).
Limited parking available onsite. Alternative parking available at the free public carpark at the bottom of
Piddinghoe Avenue, a short walk away. bigparksproject.org.uk
57

shoes on now êêêê
Brighton Pavilion
‘Are we going to see
the Queen?’ my toddler
asks as we gaze
up in wonder at the
spiked minarets and
onion domes that
comprise the exterior
of Brighton’s very own
palace, the Brighton
Pavilion. All five of us
stand transfixed at the
idea that such a building
exists in the centre of
Brighton. Architect
John Nash was commissioned
by the Prince
Regent to create this
ode to extravagance,
and the exotic exterior
is redolent of the Indian
subcontinent.
We are eager to explore the interior, so patiently
queue up for our tickets and a child guidebook
(worth purchasing) before heading off inside.
There’s also a £2 audio commentary available
which provides more information and ensures
that everyone progresses through the Pavilion at
a similar pace.
Once inside, I show off to the boys by telling
them that the palace is decorated in Chinoiserie,
a style that pays homage to China. The overall
effect is one of opulence and high drama. Our
favourite room is the Banqueting Room, a formal
dining room well used by George IV, whose dining
parties were legendary. Guests would be indulged
with up to 60 courses. The boys look suitably
impressed. Above the dining table, suspended
from a dragon’s talon, hangs a 30-foot chandelier
which weighs just over one ton. There’s a bit of a
dragon theme to the palace and we all have much
fun playing, ‘Spot the
Dragon’.
The toddler meanwhile
constantly wants to
touch everything and
yearns to duck under
the ropes, which act as
a barrier between him
and the many sofas
on which he wishes
to climb. Venturing
upstairs to distract
him, we restore our energy
in the quaint Tea
Rooms before moving
on to explore Queen
Victoria’s apartments,
where the aforementioned
toddler had to
be distracted from his
desire to bounce on the
bed, which has six mattresses on it.
Afterwards we browse in a well-stocked gift shop
and eat a picnic lunch in the grounds before tootling
off to catch the train home (Brighton station
is a 10 minute walk away; more if carrying a heavy
toddler – but the 28 and 29 buses to Lewes stop
very nearby on the Steine).
If you’re looking for an easy day out which will
keep the children entertained for an hour or two
plus teach them a little bit about Regency history,
the Royal Pavilion hits the spot and as a bonus, it’s
right on our doorstep. Tips: it can get very busy
at weekends and during school holidays so do be
prepared. Also, there’s a ‘no photography’ rule
inside. Jacky Adams
Summer opening times 9.30am–5.45pm (last tickets
5pm). Adult £11.50, child (5-15) £6.20, family
tickets, £29.20 or £17.70. 10% cheaper online.
brightonmuseums.org.uk/royalpavilion
Photos courtesy of Brighton Pavilion
59

Directly opposite the cinema
Open from 10am daily
Coffee & Cake Lunch & Dinner Daily Specials Outside Seating
Special themed events
Private hire and catering
Book now for Christmas
Tuesday and Wednesday 2-4-1 on our homemade pizzas
August is ‘A Taste of Sussex’, specials inspired by local
produce, part of The Wealden Food & Wine Festival
High Street, Uckfield, TN22 1AS 01825 764909
www.picturehouseuckfield.com
THE
THURS - SAT
6.30 - LATE
3 FISHER ST
www.facebook.com/LewesCoffeeHouse ASK
open
A LIVING WAGE EMPLOYER
LEWES HIGH STREET
6.30 - 12.00
BN7 2DG
POP - UP
TAPAS
THURS FRI SAT

food
Photos by Moya Crockett
The Roebuck
Laughton’s local reopens
My friend and I are due to have lunch at the
Roebuck in Laughton, newly renovated and
reopened by the Snowdrop’s Tony Leonard and
Dominic McCartan. On a sunny July morning,
the prospect of cycling via the new Lewes-
Ringmer cycle path seems downright idyllic, but
the reality is rather less romantic. How do people
make cycling up Malling Hill look easy? It’s like
pedalling up Everest. By the time we arrive in
Laughton, I am sweaty, starving and nursing a
moderate sense of humiliation after being regularly
overtaken by passing bluebottles. Seeing the
Roebuck appear in the distance feels like spotting
an oasis in the desert – although, as the building
has been painted a bright buttercup yellow, you
could hardly miss it.
Many moons ago, my friend had a Saturday job
washing up in the Roebuck’s kitchen, so we’re interested
to see how things have changed. Inside,
it has the sawdust-and-varnish smell of a place
still under construction, but it’s difficult not to
have your spirits lifted by a pub with a shiny
brass bar, sparkly wallpaper in the bathrooms and
micro-pigs oinking around in the back garden.
There’s an impressively extensive selection of
local and international beers and ciders on draft.
The Dominion Cherry Blossom lager, brewed in
Delaware, is bright and refreshing, with a delicate
cherry tang. As at the Snowdrop, the Roebuck’s
menu features the usual pub grub amongst more
exotic fare. I order the ‘Asian fish and chips’ (£11),
which turns out to be flaky white cod rolled in
nori – the dark sheets of seaweed that sushi is
wrapped in – before being fried in batter. If it
sounds a little gimmicky, it works surprisingly
well. The plate looks lovely, with cool blobs of
wasabi pea purée, a rich soya sauce tartare, and
three fat chips, which are delicious, but it’s a
shame that there are only three of them. In contrast,
my friend’s chilli beef burrito with rice and
nachos is a bundle of carbs the size of her head
(£12.50). By the time I’ve finished my third chip,
she’s hardly made a dent in it. “It’s really tasty,”
she says, through a mouthful of rice, “but I think
it could probably serve two.”
The dessert list, all reasonably priced at £5.50,
contains a similar mix of the traditional and
whimsical. My friend’s gluten-free syrup sponge
is exactly what you’d expect from a pub sticky
pudding, but my dessert, a giant macaroon with
Eton mess ice cream, is downright startling. It’s a
wedge of chewy macaroon, squidgy meringue ice
cream and juicy strawberries, and it is, inexplicably,
blue. I’m not sure this is necessary – the dish
is interesting enough without being dyed the colour
of Listerine – but it’s delicious, nonetheless.
We finish off with espressos before hopping back
onto our bikes, significantly heavier than when
we arrived. The Roebuck deserves to do well, and
I look forward to coming back once the renovations
are complete. I’ll probably drive next time,
though. Moya Crockett
61

food
䬀 椀 搀 猀 攀 愀 琀 昀 爀 攀 攀
琀 栀 爀 漀 甀 最 栀 漀 甀 琀 䄀 甀 最 甀 猀 琀
䘀 爀 漀 洀 㐀 瀀 洀 攀 瘀 攀 爀 礀
䴀 漀 渀 搀 愀 礀 琀 漀 匀 愀 琀 甀 爀 搀 愀 礀
䘀 爀 漀 洀 ⸀アパート 愀 洀 琀 漀 ㈀⸀アパート 瀀 洀
漀 渀 匀 甀 渀 搀 愀 礀
椀 渀 挀 氀 甀 搀 攀 猀 欀 椀 搀 猀 ⴀ 猀 椀 稀 攀 搀 匀 甀 渀 搀 愀 礀 爀 漀 愀 猀 琀
䔀 愀 挀 栀 挀 栀 椀 氀 搀 攀 愀 琀 椀 渀 最 昀 爀 攀 攀 琀 漀 戀 攀
愀 挀 挀 漀 洀 瀀 愀 渀 椀 攀 搀 戀 礀 愀 渀 愀 搀 甀 氀 琀 攀 愀 琀 椀 渀 最
愀 洀 愀 椀 渀 挀 漀 甀 爀 猀 攀 ⸀
㠀 䌀 氀 椀 昀 昀 攀 䠀 椀 最 栀 匀 琀 爀 攀 攀 琀 Ⰰ 䰀 攀 眀 攀 猀 䈀 一 㜀 ㈀ 䄀 䠀
吀 㨀 ㈀ 㜀 アパート 㐀 ㈀ 㘀 㔀
䔀 㨀 氀 攀 眀 攀 猀 䀀 爀 攀 愀 氀 ⴀ 攀 愀 琀 椀 渀 最 ⸀ 挀 漀 ⸀ 甀 欀
眀 眀 眀 ⸀ 爀 攀 愀 氀 ⴀ 攀 愀 琀 椀 渀 最 ⸀ 挀 漀 ⸀ 甀 欀
Uckfield Picture
House Restaurant
I’ve long been an admirer of the Uckfield
Picture House, so I was intrigued to see they’d
taken over what had been a pizza restaurant
opposite the cinema on the High Street. You can
now book films and a table at the Picturehouse
Restaurant at the same time.
The restaurant is open all day for coffee and
cake; there are lunchtime and evening menus,
plus daily specials cooked in the wood oven. I
go along one weekday lunchtime to see what it’s
like. I like the interior -especially the old film
posters. Van Morrison had just been performing
at Love Supreme, so I’m amused to hear his
recorded voice over the speakers.
Kevin Markwick is the cinema’s owner and manager.
With his wife Tansy now working in the
restaurant, it’s a family affair. When the cappuccino
I order arrives, I’m told the delicious little
biscuit that accompanies it was made by her.
There’s a gentle film theme going on with the
menu, but it’s not laid on with a trowel. Tuesdays
and Wednesdays, they offer 2-for-1 on pizza
I notice. I decide to try the Kevin Bacon ‘six
degrees of deliciousness’ burger: a brioche bun,
with melted Monterey Jack cheese, deep-fried
onion rings, salad and barbecue sauce (£10.50).
This comes with twice-cooked chips in a small
metal ‘bucket’, a large gherkin and a small pot
of red cabbage coleslaw. The chips are fat and
crisp, the burger extremely juicy and tasty. I’d
recommend it. Emma Chaplin
Open every day from 10am.
picturehouseuckfield.com/restaurant
63

64
Photo by Peter Bayless

food
Summer fruits in a rosé wine jelly served
with strawberry jus and clotted cream
Peter Bayless’s culinary career was kick-started when he won MasterChef 2006. Now based in Heathfield,
he works as an independent chef in France and the UK and is a regular contributor to food
magazines, TV and radio. He also teaches at food fairs and culinary schools throughout the southeast.
On 22 and 23 August, he’ll be taking part in cookery demonstrations at the Wealden Food and
Wine Festival at Bentley Wildfowl Trust.
This jelly terrine is Peter’s own invention. “Nothing heralds summer like the arrival of summer berries,”
he tells us. “This dish really makes the most of their freshness, colour, flavours and beauty. It
takes a few hours to prepare, but it’s well worth the effort.”
For the jelly (makes 12-14 portions):
Large punnet strawberries (400g)
150g raspberries
150g blueberries
150g blackberries
100g redcurrants
1 bottle rosé wine
12 leaves of gelatine
1 ½ tbsp caster sugar
For the jus:
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp caster sugar
Clotted cream to serve
Wash the fruits under running water and drain
thoroughly. Cut the tops off the strawberries and
halve from top to bottom. Strip the redcurrants
from their stems using the tines of a fork. Set
250g strawberries aside and gently mix the remainder
with the other washed fruits. Place the
gelatine leaves in a bowl and cover with cold water.
Place the sugar into a saucepan with a splash of
the rosé. Heat until the sugar has dissolved, then
add the rest of the wine and warm through. Remove
the saucepan from the heat. Squeeze out
the now-soft gelatine and add to the wine, stirring
to dissolve completely. If there are some
stubborn sticky bits of gelatine, carefully re-heat
the pan while stirring, but don’t allow the mixture
to boil − the jelly won’t set if it does. Put the
saucepan to one side until the jelly has cooled.
Lightly oil a 12-inch terrine dish and scatter a little
of the fruit into the base. Cover with liquid
jelly and refrigerate until set. Repeat this process
four times. Once the final layer is set, add another
layer of liquid jelly to completely cover the fruits
and put back in the fridge. Not only will the jelly
preserve the fruits, but the solid layer of jelly will
prevent the terrine from collapsing when cut.
While the jelly is setting, make the strawberry jus.
Put the sugar and lemon juice into a metal bowl
with the 250g saved trimmed strawberries. Cover
the bowl with cling film, place over a saucepan
of gently simmering water, and leave for three
hours. While still hot, remove the cling film from
the top of the bowl and pour the contents through
a colander into another bowl. Don’t squeeze the
pulp − this will make your jus go cloudy. Discard
the pulp and decant the jus into a container or
squeezy bottle. The jus will keep in the fridge for
over a week.
Once the jelly is fully set, turn it out onto cling
film, wrap up completely, and put in the fridge.
It should spend as little time as possible out of
the fridge before serving. Once it’s time to serve,
remove the cling film from the jelly and cut into
slices with a serrated knife. Serve on a plate with
a couple of circles of jus, topped with a spoon of
clotted cream. As told to Moya Crockett
wealdenfestivals.co.uk
65

drink
South Downs Cider
Scrump-tious
The rise in popularity of cider and perry (not ‘pear cider’,
as all good cider pedants know) has been vertiginous.
The Nibbler has been drinking what Americans call
‘hard cider’ since her first pub-going days, which, despite
her youthful appearance, was a while ago. But many of
us dislike the ‘over ice’ trend and a lot of the popular
stuff is very bland. So it was good news that Wilmington
neighbours Jeremy Christey (background: psychotherapist)
and Greg Meyer (background: vet, earthmover and
construction worker) are producing South Downs Cider.
They started renovating apple orchards in 2014, including the Merrydown orchard at Horam, then
began pressing the apples. After trying “40 or so variations of juice and yeast” they figured out what
worked best: “a combination of cider and eater varieties, with a splash of Bramley for a bit of backbone.”
I taste some of each of both the dry and medium ciders. Both are delicious, although I prefer
the dry. There’s a clean flavour, with a nicely balanced acidity. “Our fermenting process means that we
retain a lot of the juiciness of the apple,” Jeremy tells me. It has a distinctly fresher apple flavour than
mass-produced brands, without the rough aftertaste of some scrumpys.
South Downs have also produced a punchy perry. Honey cider is on the way they tell me.
For sale at the Elly, Brewers, Snowdrop, Roebuck at Laughton, Middle Farm, Rose Cottage at Alciston,
the Sussex Ox and the Giant’s Rest at Wilmington. EC southdownscider.co.uk
66

food: the nibbler
Edible updates
Cake and art
The amazing annual Artwave Visual Arts Festival
takes place around Lewes District between
22 Aug and 6 Sept, and what’s better than combining
nosing inside people’s houses with great
art and cake? Artwave has been arranged in the
form of different ‘trails’ this year. Here are some
interesting places to check out (see brochure for
full list): Pond House Studio, Isfield is a new
venue, a beautiful glass-walled, timber-framed
barn where you can see textiles, pottery and jewellery,
as well as enjoying tea, cake and savouries,
10-5.30pm, 22/23rd. Or try painting, collage and
tea in the garden at Shepherd’s Corner, Gote
Lane, Ringmer, 11-4pm, 22/23, 29/30. Bradness
Gallery, Spithurst Road near Barcombe
is exhibiting landscape paintings by Michael
Cruickshank, abstract works by Emma Burnett
plus tea and cake in the garden, 11-5.30pm. 22/23,
28-31, 4-6 Sept. In Iford Village Hall, you can
get a glimpse of the newly completed Iford and
Swanborough communal embroidery, 11-5pm,
29-31. In Lewes, Silke Savran at 33 Sun Street
is exhibiting her oil, watercolour and mixed
media pieces. Go along to try the homemade
Floral Foods vegan and gluten-free cakes (pictured)
made by her daughter Maya. Noon-5pm,
22/23, 29-31, 5/6. Or, for tea and tutus, go and
see Hanri’s superb dance photography and
costumes, 2 De Montfort Road, 10-4pm, 27-31,
3-6 Sept. Plus, all pubs in Lewes will feature
screen prints of themselves by Ed Allen. Finally,
congrats to Chiddingly Community Shop and
Café for being shortlisted in the Rural Community
Co-op Awards. Happy art and cake month!

www.hastingsfestivals.com
From 11am - 6pm music until 7pm
Stade Open Space, Hastings Old Town
A feast of food, drink and music
with special guest celebrity chef,
Jean Christophe Novelli
Saturday 19 & Sunday 20
September 2015
Tickets also available for Friday’s Super Ska
Night & The Liane Carroll Jazz Breakfast
on Sunday from the Tourist Information Centre
Admission by
wristband:
£1 in advance,
£2 on the day
except
assist
dogs

food
Louisa Devismes
Entrepreneur of the Year
Congratulations on being named LEAP
(Local Entrepreneur Action Programme) Entrepreneur
of the Year at the Lewes District
Business Awards in July. How are you feeling
about that? I’m really chuffed – and quite
surprised. Entering it meant producing a really
good business plan. As winner, I have been given
£3,000, as well as other business support. All of
that has been invaluable.
You’re known as Queen Cheese? That’s what
my friends call me! I spent ten years working at
Plumpton College; for the last couple of years, I
was managing the commercial dairy there, overseeing
the cheese-making and running courses.
How did you come to set up The Cheese
Makers’ Choice? It followed from my work at
Plumpton. I realised that there is a fascination
around cheese, and people might enjoy being
able to make it at home without industrial equipment.
So I put together these two cheese-making
kits, Goats’ Cheese and an Italian Trio, which
makes ricotta, mozzarella and mascarpone. Both
cost £24.99, and are for sale in various outlets. In
Lewes they can be found in Cheese Please.
Where are you based? I’m in Peacehaven.
What do they contain, and what’s the process?
The kits contain the specialist equipment
and ingredients to make the cheeses, along with a
cheese-making guide. You need to provide whole
milk (pasteurised or raw), and basic kitchen
equipment such as a saucepan, measuring jug and
slotted spoon. Eight pints of milk will make up
to 2lb of cheese. The process varies slightly depending
upon what you’re making. Very simply,
cheese-making is the process of heating the milk,
separating the curds and whey and draining off
the whey. It’s how you separate the curds and
whey, and what you do with the curds that makes
the difference to the cheese you end up with.
What are the advantages of making your own
cheese? You know what’s in it. It’s very fresh. It
tastes better. You can flavour it with all sorts of
things, herbs, nuts, seeds, spices or even fruit.
What do you do with the cheese you make?
Lots of things. Soft fresh cheeses are really
versatile. One recipe I like is vanilla ricotta and
mascarpone summer berry parfait. I also enjoy
making bruschetta, topped with ricotta, garlicroasted
cherry tomatoes and olive oil.
What do you love about cheese? The fact that
the end product is dependent on so many external
factors. That’s why we have such a number of
regional varieties.
There seems to have been a resurgence in
good cheese making in the UK. Yes, in the
last 10-15 years. It’s been fascinating. During the
Second World War, we lost a lot of artisan cheese
makers. Milk was rationed and turned into
powder or hard cheese that lasted a long time.
But, now, we have more artisan cheese makers
than France!
What’s your favourite cheese? A nice fresh
goats’ cheese. Emma Chaplin
thecheesemakerschoice.co.uk
69

⨀ 一 攀 眀 挀 甀 琀 漀 洀 攀 爀 猀 漀 渀 氀 礀 ⸀ 倀 氀 攀 愀 猀 攀 焀 甀 漀 琀 攀 ᠠ 嘀 䤀 嘀 ᤠ
NEW
Enjoy the authentic
taste of Italy at
Mamma Italia’s
Riverside deli!
Cliffe Bridge, Lewes BN7 2RE
www.riverside-lewes.co.uk

the way we work
We asked photographer, historian and all-round good chap Steve George
to take portraits of local carpenters and furniture makers. He asked them
all the question, “What’s your favourite tool?”
thebeached.com
Andy Capparucci (right) from Rise Joinery with Tom and Alex
“My favourite tool is a paring chisel”
risejoinery.co.uk
71

the way we work
Joanne Yates from Parsons Joinery
“My computer”
parsonsjoinery.com
72

the way we work
Myles Axtell, carpenter and joiner
“My favourite tool is a hand plane”
07941173510
73

Advertising feature
Quality Country Furniture
for your home and garden
Large showroom
Open 7 days a week
www.theold-forge.co.uk
Old Forge
Lewes Road
Ringmer
BN8 5NB
01273 814317
Custom-made service
make it yours . . . . . . .
We’re an independent family-owned furniture retailer trading from the same
location since 1991. We stock a wide variety of quality, country furniture and home
accessories made from pine, cedar and oak. We love browsers!
We offer a ‘Custom made - Make it yours’ service. Most of our furniture can be
adapted - whether it’s a provisions cupboard or a butcher’s block, a farmhouse
table or a wardrobe – you can visit our showroom to see examples and then adapt
the piece to your own specification, such as extra drawers, thick tops or a specific
height or width. We can colour-match to contemporary paint finishes. We work
with carpenters to create a bespoke piece of furniture for any room in your home.
Wherever possible we source our furniture from FSC certified suppliers, recognised
as the ‘hallmark of responsible forest management’. All of our suppliers and
carpenters are in the UK, and wherever possible, Sussex-based.
Supplying furniture from one generation to another, our reputation is everything,
so you can expect excellent customer service from pre-purchase, right up to delivery
of your furniture into your home. Getting it right first time is our aim, and we
listen and act quickly if needed to ensure that you’re happy with your purchase.

the way we work
Jonathan Steeden from the Old Forge, Ringmer
“My favourite tool is a tape measure”
theold-forge.co.uk
75

ound up
Arts and craft workshops
Where to hone your skills
Artbox in Swanborough (near
Kingston) will be hosting free
basic printmaking workshops
every Saturday during Artwave,
from 2-5pm. Print on recycled
books and albums from the
Artbox bookbinding studio, or
on frames, coasters, tea towels
and placemats for a small
charge. Visitors will be invited
to contribute printed work to a
community collage. Frogs End,
Swanborough, BN7 3PE. artboxdesign.co.uk,
01273 477070
Intensive one-day workshops at Charleston (pictured)
are held in Quentin Bell’s pottery, and include
materials, a tour of the house, and lunch. In
August, the focus is on drawing. Introduction to
Drawing (Tue 4 August, £100) is, as you might expect,
for beginners, while Experimental Drawing
allows visitors to explore different mediums and
methods (Monday 10 August, £100). Future masterclasses
include tapestry and gilding. charleston.
org.uk, 01323 811626
Artists aged 8-14 can try oil painting, felt-making,
or make animal sculptures or batik wall hangings at
Dairy Studio Art Courses this August (dates vary;
prices start at £15). On Monday 24 August, adults
can try a life painting workshop (£24). Susie Monnington
will also be leading two-day landscape
painting courses in August and September (£35).
Weekly courses start in September. Old Malling
Farm. dairystudio-artcourses.co.uk, 01273 483311
Anyone is welcome to drop into the Fireworks
studio and paint something from their huge range
of bisque pottery. There’s a one-off studio fee of
£4 per person, then simply pay for whatever you
paint. 31 Western Road. 01273 483007
Paddock Art Studios are running outdoor ‘life’
drawing sessions (fully clothed!) in the Grange on
Saturday 22 and Saturday 29 August, from 4-6pm.
The untutored sessions are
open to all, so grab your
sketchbook and get down
there. At midday on Saturday
29, Rowena Williams
will be demonstrating how
to fire pottery using the
raku firing technique at
Paddock Studios. Visitors
can fire their own tea bowls
for £5. The autumn term
for weekly classes starts
on 22 September. Paddock
Lane.
paddockartstudios.co.uk, 01273 483000
Children’s art classes run on Saturdays and
Wednesday and Thursday afternoons at Pastorale
Art Studios (£15 per session, materials included).
Classes for adults include mixed media, printmaking
and life drawing (times vary, from £12.50 per
session). Pastorale Antiques Complex, 15 Malling
Street. artclasseslewes.co.uk, 07775662540
St Andrew’s Place Art School offers a range of
weekly arts classes, including Painting in Oils,
Garden Design, and Sculpting in Clay. Prices start
from £20 for a 3-hour session. Pop into the school
during Artwave to talk to tutors and sign up for
classes. On Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 August,
Camilla Cannon leads an intensive two-day
Landscape Painting in Oils course out in the Sussex
countryside (£150, travel and studio easels provided).
1 St Andrew’s Place. lewesartclasses.co.uk,
01273 486155
You don’t have to be a sixth-former to sign up for
one of Sussex Downs College’s part-time arts
and crafts courses, which include Creative Printmaking,
Pottery, and Silver Jewellery Making. The
autumn term starts towards the end of September.
Use the ‘Advanced Search’ tool at eprospectus.sussex.downs.ac.uk
to find courses. info@sussexdowns.
ac.uk, 08452601608 Moya Crockett
77

The Silvery
natural silver jewellery
Now at 29 Cliffe High Street
Weds–Sat, 10am–4pm

handmade
Photos by Michelle Porter
Tactile embroidery and more
What came next for the Battle of Lewes tapestry group?
It took sixty talented, dedicated embroiderers to
create the Battle of Lewes tapestry, and the Grange
Road and Castle Craft Group were key to the success
of the project. After a much-needed break,
they are keen to embark on further textile adventures
and have taken on three new projects to keep
them busy.
I can’t sew a button on, but I’m intrigued to meet
them. This I do one afternoon in a front room
on Grange Road. Theirs really is traditional craft
from the hearth, skills passed between friends and
neighbours. The group’s co-ordinator is Sally
Blake, a retired teacher of creative textiles and
second-in-command of the tapestry project. When
I arrive she is admiring a section of the tapestry.
Sally is proud of their work and with good reason.
She is passionate about its educational value and
that “the group gives individuals the chance to be
artistic in their own right.”
The work I really want to see is a way of illustrating
traditional stories with handmade tactile objects,
a sort of 3D tapestry. Specifically aimed at a
planned project to support visually-impaired children
locally, they can be enjoyed by all. Sally unwraps
each perfectly sewn object and hands me one
at a time as she tells me the story they are based on.
An embroidered dragon, an exquisitely beaded
flask with a removable stopper and an axe tell the
story of The Knucker, a local legend of the slaying
of a dragon. I close my eyes and trace the scales of
the dragon with my fingers, the smooth satin of
the ship’s billowing sails, the silky ribbons hanging
from the axe that represent the dragon’s blood.
Holding the objects brings me closer to the story
and it takes on another dimension by engaging another
sense.
She also shows me hand-sewn miniature quilts
and an elaborately decorated Tudor prince and
princess, which tell the story of The Princess and the
Horse Hair (similar to The Princess and the Pea).
For the second project, they are once again working
with artist Tom Walker, who designed the Battle
of Lewes tapestry. The individual pieces will
highlight episodes and characters from Lewes’
democratic history from 1264, and it will be exhibited
in the Town Hall in 2018. The design will encompass
the Lewes Martyrs, Tom Paine, a portrait
of Virginia Woolf, patchwork-quilted fireworks,
and even reference the more recent ‘Hands Off
Our Twittens Big Boys’ and Harveys/Lewes Arms
protests.
Meanwhile, I still can’t sew a button on, but I do
wonder how long it would take me to learn how to
make some of those miniature quilts.
Michelle Porter
The group are taking a fabric print of the Battle of
Lewes tapestry to Evesham for the 750th anniversary
celebrations, 8/9 Aug, battleofevesham.co.uk
79

Bricks and mortar
Photos by Julie Singleton
St Michael’s
Home of award-winning children’s illustrator Alan Baker
Driving along the track towards St Michael’s,
home of illustrator Alan Baker, it’s easy to see why
he has chosen to live here for the past thirty years.
His fantasy-style house is situated just outside Telscombe
village, high up on the Downs, its towers
peeking through the thousands of trees that he
has planted. “It was pretty bleak and windy when
I first came here,” he says as I arrive. “The trees
provide a windbreak, although it does mean we
see a bit less of the sea.”
The view, though, is idyllic, with the Channel
to the South and the High Weald to the North.
Painted white and punctuated by four soaring
towers, the house stands like a fairy tale castle in
total isolation and it is a perfect reflection of the
fantastical and highly detailed illustration style
which has won Alan numerous prizes including a
Whitbread Award and a Benson & Hedges Illustration
Awards Gold.
Despite his extensive work for clients as diverse as
Harrods and the World Wildlife Fund, Alan has
still found time to make significant alterations and
extensions to the 1920s house, which was relatively
modest when he bought it back in the 1980s.
The house is a joint project with his wife Charlotte,
who helped choose the bold colours of the
interior. There are arched painted doorways and
wooden rabbits frolicking along skirting boards,
so that you feel as if you have stepped into the
pages of a children’s novel. In the dining room,
shelves are crammed with collections of toy buses
and Oxo tins, an obsession which took root in
childhood following the death of Alan’s father: “I
can still remember cutting out adverts for tins of
food which we had in our cupboard. I don’t know
to this day why I did it, but it gave me an inordinate
amount of pleasure,” he says.
Most important of all the developments has been
the addition of four towers; one with a thirty-five
foot high ceiling which he built and decorated
with hundreds of small plaster cast patterns: “It
took several months to complete and it was amazing,
because you got a real sense of the view from
here.” His workshop is at the top of one of the
towers, along with the music studio where he
plays guitar and listens to Nick Drake and Nirvana
to relax. A full size effigy of Alan stands in
one corner, created by his friend, the illustrator
Raymond Briggs. There is a garden full of rabbits
below and sometimes, on a clear day, a view across
the sea to the Isle of Wight.
It’s a far cry from the gritty Croydon council estate
where Alan spent his childhood, but one can
be certain that he won’t be sitting back now. He is
constantly making changes inside the house and
then there’s the several acres of land which he
plans to develop for wildlife.
Julie Singleton
81

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community group
Community Transport
Making the district accessible
In the recent Lewes District Business Awards,
Community Transport for the Lewes Area (CTLA)
were named as finalists in the Access All Areas category,
in recognition of their contribution to improving
accessibility for people with disabilities.
They’re a charity based in Newhaven who have
been operating since 1995.
CTLA have a fleet of 19 accessible minibuses with
tail lifts or ramps, suitable for wheelchair users.
They are the largest provider of accessible transport
in the Lewes District, and expect to undertake
80,000 passenger journeys over the next year.
“Isolation, loneliness and lack of transport options
are issues we try to overcome every day,” Managing
Director Derek Barnett tells us. “We enable our
service users to access essential daily living, medical
services, local business centres, other amenities
and recreational and social activities.”
CTLA provide Dial-a-Ride (door to door) transport,
adult social care and school transport, weekend
and rural scheduled bus services, travel clubs
and group transport for other charities and social
groups such as the Scouts or Seniors Forums.
Dial-a-Ride is available for anyone for whom public
transport is unsuitable. It takes people to social
events, shops, lunch clubs or day centres, doctors,
hospital appointments, and other destinations, five
days a week, from 9am-2:30pm. You have to register
to use the service; fees are payable, but are very
reasonable.
“I and the people I travel with have no alternative
way of getting about,” says one CTLA user.
“CTLA gives us a life where we can socialise and
share meals with companions. It gives widows
and widowers a chance to mingle. It gives them
life.” Another says, “My husband has many health
problems including dementia and cancer. I am his
sole carer and the Community Transport driver is
marvellous – he helps him on and off the bus and
watches him carefully during his trip to a social
club, twice a week. I don’t have any worries about
him during this time and it enables me to reclaim
some time for myself which I use to volunteer at
my church, at a local hospice and mix with other
people.”
The CTLA Travel Club runs days out to many local
attractions including National Trust properties,
and the group also offers cost-effective bus hire to
community groups.
They run a number of bus services around the District
– and have recently extended these, for example
connecting residents and visitors with Firle and
Ditchling Beacon, after securing funding last year
from the South Downs National Park Authority.
They’re also currently exploring the possibility of
introducing a Shopmobility scheme to enable visitors
to Lewes to hire a mobility scooter.
CTLA are always looking for volunteers, particularly
drivers, and donations are gratefully received at localgiving.com/commtrans.
To volunteer or for more
information about any of their services, call 01273
517332 or email info@ctla.org.uk ctla.org.uk
83

wave
Live life
Let’s get
DRAMATIC
There’s a summer full of theatre and music to look
forward to at Newhaven Fort
Thursday 20th August – ‘The Last Match’ - 4.00pm and 7.00pm
Saturday 22nd August – Summer Concert by the Maestro Academy
Players and l’Harmonie la Chappelle Concert Band - 6.00pm
Tuesday 25th August – ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ - 7.30pm
Monday 31st August – Afternoon Tea Dance – 1.00 - 4.00pm
For more information call 01273 517622 or email info@newhavenfort.org.uk
Fort Road, Newhaven, BN9 9DS
www.newhavenfort.org.uk
Newhaven Fort advert for Viva Lewes.indd 1 13/07/2015 10:52

Lewes in history
Lewes Spitfire Fund
Fighting the ‘Nazi menace’
This year is the
75th anniversary
of the Battle of
Britain, much
of which was
fought in Sussex
skies. Lewes, like
many local towns,
played a part in
the narrative of
the battle and
was bombed, with
several aeroplanes
also crashing in
the area that summer.
Amongst them was a Spitfire flown by Trevor
Wade who, in August 1940, used the longest, flattest
stretch of land nearby – the racecourse – to
bring down his damaged aircraft. Sadly, he was
killed in 1951 in another local crash, this time flying
an experimental jet near Ringmer.
Back in 1940 though, and a few days after Wade’s
crash, the Sussex Agricultural Express ran an editorial
to bring attention to Lord Beaverbrook’s
‘Spitfire Funds’ and appealing to every district and
resident in East Sussex to take part. These funds
were created to raise money to build new aircraft
to help fight the ‘Nazi menace’. The urgent need
is apparent in the tone of the article: ‘we appeal to
town, village and hamlet alike to participate…to
each and every one of their inhabitants to give as
freely as their purses will allow. And the necessary
steps should be taken straightaway.’
Lewes wasted no time, with Mayor CD Crisp putting
in the first £50 of the several thousand needed.
The next 24 hours saw £456 10s raised, rapidly
rising to nearly £700 within another day (about
£35,000 today), which is undeniably impressive.
After a fortnight the fund had more than doubled
again, including
$1000 coming
from a lady living
in Ohio, one
of several donations
to the Lewes
Spitfire fund
from Americans.
Plans were also
made with the
Ministry of Information
to show
a Messerschmitt
fighter on the
pitch at the Dripping Pan to raise more money.
Reading newspapers from this time, the burden
on Lewes people and their generous response is
clear. Further appeals are for clothing for evacuees
and those whose homes have been destroyed,
and grainy photographs show those ‘serving their
country from Lewes and the Villages’. There are
also updates on other Spitfire Fund campaigns in
the area, and considerable anger over the state of
air raid shelters in the town’s schools and Councillors
who ‘wrangle over a few pounds as against the
lives of the children…’
By early October a cheque for an impressive
£3,611 12s was sent to Lord Beaverbrook. Not
far off being the amount needed to buy a Spitfire
outright (£5,000) and incredible for a town the
size of Lewes to have raised in just six weeks. Beaverbrook
wrote of his gratitude, saying the people
of Lewes had given “proof to the world of their
devotion to the cause”.
Meanwhile Trevor Wade, one of Churchill’s heroic
‘Few’, carried on flying Spitfires. Within a
month he had shot down a Dornier bomber over
Lewes and would later win a DFC and AFC.
Steve George
85

TREKKING
TRAIL RUNNING
SKIING
CAMPING
SKIING
WALKING
HIKING

feature: wildlife
Hornet Robberfly
The Good, The Bad and The Hairy
Once upon a time in the West Country. Dartmoor.
August. High noon. A young boy wanders
away from a family picnic. The sun beats down,
buzzards circle overhead. He is startled by a short,
snappy rattle like bullets spinning in a revolver.
Suddenly he is face to face with an amazing creature.
A fly. But a fly like no other. The boy reaches
for his camera - but he’s too slow. With a rattle the
fly launches itself into the air and is gone.
That first encounter with the hornet robberfly is
one of my earliest and most vivid wildlife memories
and had a huge impact on me. I searched
through all my ‘I-Spy’ and ‘Spotter’s Guide’ books
but couldn’t find anything that looked remotely
like it. For years I believed I had encountered
some weird, mythical beast and I vowed to hunt
one down and photograph it to prove its existence.
And they don’t come much weirder than the
hornet robberfly. There are 28 species of robberfly
in Britain and the hornet robberfly is the leader of
this wild bunch. At up to 28mm long it’s Britain’s
biggest fly with a dusty yellow abdomen giving it
a hornet-like resemblance. It has huge oval black
eyes and a big ginger beard, the overall appearance
is somewhere between an alien and Yosemite Sam.
The rootin’, tootin’ robberfly is a ferocious critter
although they never bother humans. But grasshopper’s
knees start knocking at the mere mention of
its name.
Like all good western bandits they’ll wait on a
high point in their long grass landscape until an
unfortunate grasshopper wanders into their valley.
Then, with their rattling war-cry, they’ll swoop
down and snatch up their victim in their hairy
legs. Hornet robberflies dispatch their prey with
a lethal weapon - a sharp beak which pierces a
grasshopper’s tough armour and drains the very
life from them.
They lay their eggs on cowpats and their young
bury into the soil where they hunt underground
for three years before emerging as adults in late
summer. Hornet robberflies are extremely rare
and getting rarer; a vanishing memory of a bygone
age when our countryside was truly wild and not
sterilised by insecticides.
I had to wait decades to see another hornet robberfly.
I was drifting through the high plains of
Southerham when I heard a rattle from behind me
and I was instantly transported back to that little
boy on Dartmoor. But this time I was ready. My
hand tightened around my camera as I turned to
face an old friend.
We’ll be organising a posse and heading out into
them-thar Lewes hills for a wildlife walk on Friday
7 (10-2.00pm, meet on Cliffe Bridge, free event,
bring lunch).
Michael Blencowe, Sussex Wildlife Trust
Illustration, Mark Greco
87

圀 圀 圀 ⸀ 䈀 刀 䤀 䜀 䠀 吀 伀 一 䐀 伀 䴀 䔀 匀 吀 䤀 䌀 䄀 倀 倀 䰀 䤀 䄀 一 䌀 䔀 匀 ⸀ 䌀 伀 ⸀ 唀 䬀

football
Photo by B arry Collins
Lewes FC v Viva Lewes
A historic (mis)match on a state-of-the-art surface
“They look a bit handy,” says my team-mate Simon,
looking across at the Lewes FC XI lined up
in their pre-kick off formation on the club’s brand
new 3G pitch. ‘Brand new’, is exactly right. This
is the first ever match on the surface: final work
on the pitch has been completed earlier in the day.
We are nominally a Viva Lewes XI, mostly culled
from another team called ‘Priory Ruins’: there are
more over-forties in the group than under-thirties.
The Lewes team includes no first-team or
youth-team players, thankfully: it is mainly made
up of back-room staffers. On the subs bench are
a number of people who have been attending the
club’s football therapy sessions. On the left wing
is LFC Director Charlie Dobres, the mastermind
behind the whole project.
The pitch boasts an absolutely state-of-the-art
surface, laid by SIS UK Ltd, who have also laid artificial
‘3G’ pitches for Liverpool, Fulham, West
Ham and Arsenal. It has cost the club £850,000,
most of which was raised in grants and private
investment, and as well as acting as Lewes FC’s
training ground it will be rented out to the public.
Remarkably, as I write, it is the most state-of-theart
3G pitch in the country.
We kick off, and there’s the usual period of sizing
up the opposition as the ball does its to-ing
and fro-ing between the boxes. It is immediately
apparent that it runs smoothly over the surface,
there is no extra bounce, and there is plenty of
give. My first meaningful contribution is to
stretch out and slide along my backside in order
to pass the ball to our goalkeeper, the sort of
movement I wouldn’t have attempted on a normal
Astroturf pitch for fear of ripping skin off.
In this case I remain unscathed. The pitch is also
designed to play rugby on, and thus to absorb the
impact of crashing bodies.
The best thing I can say about the surface is that,
as the game progresses, I forget about it, involved
as I am in the job of trying to make sure the opposition
don’t score: tracking runs, putting in tackles,
and keeping our back-three in a line. It soon
becomes apparent that the Lewes team doesn’t
have as organised a defence: by half-time we are
5-0 up. In the second half, as Lewes work hard to
accommodate their various substitutes, the game
turns into something of a rout. Did I mention
their goalkeeper is 14 years old? He does brilliantly,
in the circumstances.
Let’s not dwell on the final score. As a defender,
I’m just happy with the ‘nil’ at our end. And proud
to have been involved in such a historic occasion.
This pitch is a big new asset for the town.
Alex Leith
Check lewesfc.co.uk for pitch-hire details.
Priory Ruins kick around on Convent Field,
10.30am every Sunday, all welcome.
89

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column
Henty’s 20
Taxidermy and patchwork
With large furniture
apparently falling
out of favour, young
people showing less
interest in collecting
as a hobby, and
raised rents raising
eyebrows at some
antiques centres, it
was reassuring to read
in Gorringes’ most
recent newsletter that
sales at Garden Street
‘continue to improve’.
I’m not at all surprised
because while
the North Street
salesroom specialises in regular fine arts auctions,
when it comes to weekly sales, Julian Dawson and
his dedicated team in Garden Street have literally
got the process down to a very fine art indeed.
To see how they achieve their success, I spent some
time in the auction room during a warm week in
July. When I arrived on Tuesday morning, sales
room manager, Neil Lewis, was already in conversation
with an English guy living in France who
regularly brings over taxidermic items.
On this day, they included a ram’s head (which
eventually sold for £170) and some other rather
spooky objects which were not so popular. The
women in the busy office, Barb, Christine, Vera
and Helen, weren’t very keen either – as Helen
pointed out “The eyes follow you everywhere”.
Neil has been at Garden Street for over 30 years
and remembers when live animals, rather than
stuffed ones, were up for sale on the site. “At
Christmas, I used to feel quite sorry for the
turkeys,” he told me.
Tuesdays can be manic because items from the
previous day’s business are still being collected
and paid for. Vehicles
of all shapes and sizes
buzz up and down the
slope and I even noticed
a horsebox which was
being used by a couple
to bring in miscellaneous
household items for
possible sale.
Helping Neil to assess
and value the incoming
lots, I then spoke to
Annie Hartnett who has
worked for Gorringes as
a valuer and porter for
ten years. She told me
that, in those ten years,
the gold and silver trade has grown ‘big time’ and
the recent addition of four large screens in the
showroom has been welcomed by everyone and
her fellow porters.
The next day I found Annie working with photographer,
Summer Lansberry, whose job is to quickly
provide the multiple images that appear in full
colour on those screens and ultimately on-line.
With our Viva interest in handmade objects this
month, I noted an attractive patchwork quilt
which achieved a modest £25, and another lot
featuring four samplers in good condition which
made £65. With viewing all day Friday and Saturday
morning, the Monday sale dealt with 700
lots including Lot 20 – Henty’s Twenty – which
saw dealer Mike spend £50 on some nostalgic fun
items of mine! The sale was completed by early
afternoon.
Monday auctions in Garden Street, 3, 10, 17, 24.
General items 10.30am. Tuesday markets, Town
Hall, 4, 11, 18, 25, 9-2pm. Lewes Book Fair, Town
Hall, Sat 8, 10-4pm. Wallis & Wallis, arms and
militaria, 25 August, 10am.
91

column
East of Earwig
Mark Bridge needs more than a hand
My wife is a
remarkably patient
woman. I can go
for days without
expressing an opinion,
infuriating her
with phrases like
“I’ll have whatever
you’re having”, only
to react with zero
tolerance to the
smallest piece of advertising
hyperbole.
Today she finds me standing on a metaphorical
soapbox, channelling the spirit of Tom Paine. “It’s
the theme for Viva Lewes. They’ve chosen ‘handmade’.
I can’t write a column about that. I think
I’m hyperventilating.” Mrs B raises an eyebrow.
“Breathe into this,” she says, and passes me the
paper bag she keeps handy for these occasions.
“Anyway, what’s bothering you?”
Well, as far as I’m concerned, ‘handmade’ is an
empty word that’s usually hyperspecific or uselessly
vague. I’d argue it’s as counter-intuitive
as ‘homemade’, which is commonly used by restaurants
to indicate that the relevant component
of your meal was cooked in their own kitchen.
In that sense, ‘homemade’ is actually meant to
reassure us that our food wasn’t made in anyone’s
home.
Similarly, I reckon ‘handmade’ has little to offer
but confusion. To start with, it tells us the
product isn’t natural. In this sense it’s the same as
‘man-made’ - which is reminiscent of 1970s shirts
that generated enough of a static charge for the
wearer to shoot electricity from their fingertips
like a superhero. ‘Handmade’ means the item
wasn’t formed independently by our planet, unlike
spring water, kittens and bananas. It’s artificial.
Yet ‘handmade’
also warns us that
the end product
isn’t much good.
It’s not laser-cut to
within a fraction
of a millimetre.
It’s not precisionengineered
on a
lathe. It’s not been
assembled by robots
on a computercontrolled
production
line. Chances are, it’s a bit rough around
the edges. Artificial and imperfect. It’s hardly a
recommendation, is it?
Of course, there are exceptions. I’d like my art
to be handmade, thank you. (Unless the artist
chooses to employ another part of their anatomy.)
But I’m not worried if the baker uses a mechanical
mixer when making my bread.
I can tell my ranting isn’t going down well at
home, so I pop out for a walk round the block.
On my travels I discover the recently opened and
appropriately named Café Ringmer (note the
accent), where I order a cappuccino. The woman
behind the counter creates my drink with the help
of a serious-looking espresso machine. I wonder
whether there ought to be a new phrase for
‘handmade with the help of technology’. Maybe
something sci-fi like ‘cyborg-crafted’ or ‘mechaenhanced
employee’ would be a better description.
As I sip my coffee, I realise that I don’t care about
‘handmade’. What I care about is care itself. And
if we’re using ‘handmade’ as a synonym for ‘made
with care’, I’m perfectly happy with that. Because
care is something that only comes from people.
Much like opinions, I suppose. I’m sure Mrs B will
be delighted that I’ve finally found one.
93

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1
Mountfield Road, Lewes, BN7 2XG
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column
David Jarman
Sickert in Dieppe
On the first page of the
visitors’ book to Sickert
in Dieppe, a splendid new
exhibition at Pallant House
Gallery in Chichester,
someone has written:
‘Heureuse d’avoir traversé
la Manche pour cette exposition’.
I couldn’t quite
decipher the name, but
whoever it is appears to be
the présidente of some cultural
institution in Dieppe.
She signs off: ‘Bienvenue à
Dieppe bientôt’. I’ve always
been fond of the town, and,
therefore, likely to respond
enthusiastically to such a charming invitation.
And yet, even although I passed through Dieppe
a couple of years ago, en route to Rouen, I haven’t
actually stayed there since 2008. Then, the warm
bienvenue even extended to the hotel receptionist’s
commending my daughter’s spoken French.
In the 1980s, it was a different story. My wife and
I visited fairly often, either to stay or travelling
onto Paris, even, perhaps, beyond. The Newhaven
ferry docked in the Avant Port, directly alongside
the Gare Maritime, where the connecting
Paris train would be ready and waiting. A shop,
clearly visible as one disembarked, wedged between
two restaurants – La Belle Epoque and La
Musardière – announced its raison d’être in bold,
block capitals, ‘VINS’. Oh les beaux jours! And
now? A much reduced ferry service, insensitive
to the needs of foot passengers. You’re dumped
a 25 minute brisk walk or dismal connecting bus
journey away from the town centre. The Gare
Maritime no longer exists. Trains from the town
station to Rouen are efficient but not particularly
frequent. There are no direct trains to the capital.
The roll-call of artists who lived or worked in
and around Dieppe, when
transport links were
better, is quite phenomenal
– Turner, Cotman,
Bonington, Corot, Boudin,
Delacroix, Courbet,
Monet, Pissarro, Conder,
Whistler, Braque - to
name just a dozen. Degas
was a regular visitor, as
was Renoir, who used to
stay with his friend and
patron, Paul Bérard, at the
Château de Wargemont,
just east of the town. On
the first of many visits,
Renoir painted a small
self-portrait that he gave to Bérard’s valet. Now in
the Musée d’Orsay, it formed part of a wonderful
exhibition called The Dieppe Connection at the
Brighton Art Gallery as part of the 1992 Brighton
Festival. My friend Barry O’Connell drew my
attention to the really striking resemblance that
Renoir bore to our mutual GP, Dr Ernest Crean.
But the two artists most associated with Dieppe
were Sickert and his friend Jacques-Emile
Blanche. It was Blanche’s great gift for friendship
that attracted so many artists to the Chalet
du Bas Fort Blanc, his family home in Dieppe.
A fashionable French portrait-painter, Blanche’s
portrayal of Sickert is on loan to Chichester
from the National Portrait Gallery. He famously
called Sickert ‘The Canaletto of Dieppe’ and his
1927 book, simply entitled Dieppe, was dedicated
to Sickert. Sickert in Dieppe is a wonderful
exhibition, even by Pallant House’s usual high
standards. It is beautifully hung, the intelligent
lighting richly benefitting Sickert’s canvases that
can so often appear rather murky. The excellent
curator is Katy Norris.
Until 4 October
Walter Sickert, Obelisk, 1914, oil on canvas, Courtesy Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal
95

Traditional Sussex Ales
delivered direct from the Brewery
Great beers, fine wines & souvenir gifts
from the brewery shop
Award winning Sussex ales
available in containers from
4-72 pints
DIRECT FROM THE BREWERY AT BREWERY PRICES
Open Monday - Saturday 9.30 - 5.30pm
Choice 8 year old
Scotch Whisky
exclusively blended
and bottled
for Harveys.
The ‘County Town’
branding was first
used over a
century ago.
Available from
the Brewery Shop
in Lewes or via
our website.
01273 480217
www.harveys.org.uk • shop@harveys.org.uk

trade secrets
Alistair Fleming
Fine English Cabinetry
When I started out, over 30 years ago, it was
just me, a couple of old machines and a few hand
tools in a pig shed in Hadlow Down. We moved to
our current premises in Plumpton in 2000 which we
converted from an old cow byre to a fully equipped
furniture-making workshop. Jon, who joined me 28
years ago, manages this side of the operation.
Each kitchen we build is bespoke, with every
piece constructed and finished in-house. We start
from raw, FSC certified timber and this is where the
alchemy begins. Detailed drawings are handed over
to one of our cabinet makers who will be responsible
for every joint, hinge and handle, in the creation of
each kitchen.
There are so many individual processes and
every one needs to be done properly so as not to
undermine the finish. By keeping it all in-house,
we can ensure everything is carried out to our
satisfaction. I still love to see the individual cabinets
emerging, piece by piece, in the workshop.
Due to the bespoke nature of what we do, most
of our clients will be local. This ensures that
we can provide on-going support and care to our
customers which has, over the years, helped us build
an established reputation. My connection to Lewes
is very strong, with an extensive network of personal
and business relationships. Our sustainability is also
important to us - all of our off-cuts help to keep the
workshop warm in winter!
Each kitchen is a collaboration with the client,
requiring time and patience. It’s important to
establish a rapport and a trust so that we can translate
an inspired concept into reality. Each finalised design
is usually the result of many lively and detailed
conversations.
Given a brief, I can usually walk into a space and
quickly visualise the options. What takes time is
weaving together the finer details that lift a design
from the mundane to the beautiful. Every space is
different but, for me, it’s of primary importance that
a kitchen functions practically and efficiently. Having
designed and built many hundreds of kitchens
over the last 30 years, we have a wealth of experience
to call on.
We’ve recently changed our name from Woodworks
back to Alistair Fleming – our original
business name. A lot has changed in Lewes in the
20 years we’ve had the showroom here; we have
evolved and our identity refined at the same time. I
realise if I was starting out now, it’d be a very different
prospect in the current economic climate. Even
back then I relied on the generosity of helpful landlords.
Lewes attracts a lot of creative talent and it’s
important we somehow provide affordable start-up
premises, otherwise we will lose the eclectic mix in
the town along with some of its unique character.
As told to Lizzie Lower
Alistair Fleming is offering a free survey and design
service for Viva readers throughout August.
01273 471269, alistairflemingdesign.co.uk
97

Moving home?
Call us on 0800 84 94 101
Offices across Sussex
www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk

usiness news
Photos by Julia Claxton
The winners of the 2015 Lewes District Business
Awards were announced at a glittering ceremony at
Pelham House last month. It was great to see local
businesses getting the recognition they deserve,
not least Lewes’ very own Richard Soan Roofing
Services (right) named Business of the Year.
Other local award winners were The Runaway
café at Lewes Station, recognised as Business in the
Community; Furniture Now! received the award
for Social Enterprise; Chalk Gallery won Small
Business of the Year, continuing their 10th birthday
celebrations; and Union Music Store (left) clinched
Best Independent Retailer. Further afield, Design
Specific won the award for Business Innovation.
They’re engineering incredible solutions to enable
disabled people to access health services. The award
for Green Business went to grounds maintenance
company G Burley and Sons; The Charleston
Trust collected the Best Visitor Attraction for the
second year running; Fundraising Auctions won
Start Up of the Year; LEAP Entrepreneur of the
Year went to Louisa Devismes, of The Cheese
Makers Choice (see p69); Southern Railway took
the award for Access All Areas; and finally Gerri
Ori of Brooklyn Hyundai in Seaford was named as
the District’s Businessperson of the Year. Congratulations
to them all. All well-deserved and chosen
from a field of 30 great finalists. This year’s sponsors
included Basepoint Business Centres, Cheesmur
Building Contractors, Harvey & Son Ltd, Knill
James, LEAP, Lewes District Council, Pelham
House, Santon North Street, The Aldridge Foundation,
Veolia, The Argus and yours truly, and as much
fun was had by them as it was by the entrants. If
you’d like to get involved in next year’s awards –
either as an entrant or a sponsor – contact business@
lewes.gov.uk
Elsewhere, the Old Fire Station in Cliffe High
Street, formerly belonging to the late and muchmissed
silversmith Simon Beer, is now home to The
Silvery. Jules Ash, who makes original jewellery
by coating all manner of unusual things in silver, is
joined by Sharon Reid of Lewesian Leathers, creating
beautiful hand-stitched bags and accessories.
Amanda Barton sets up shop as an independent
education consultant offering pre-university guidance,
advice and counselling services to prospective
UK university students, their parents, schools and
colleges and local boy, Ben Mobbs, has returned
to his home town and set up a digital design studio
creating signs, T-shirts and digital media. Check out
his website bjum.uk
The Charleston Trust have launched a crowdfunding
campaign in association with The Art Fund
and broadcaster Jon Snow, aiming to raise £25,000
this summer to help restore key painted surfaces.
Donors will receive rewards from a personalised
set of iconic postcards to mounted fragments of the
library wallpaper. To donate visit artfund.org/getinvolved/art-happens/charleston-the-worlds-onlybloomsbury-interior
Lizzie Lower
99

Hundreds of local families
have put their trust in us.
We haven’t let them down.
42 High Street, Lewes BN7 2DD
Please call 01273 475 557 or visit our website
www.cooperandsonfs.co.uk for more details
Also at: Cross in Hand • Seaford • Uckfield
Local family
funeral directors
Directory Spotlight: Colin Poulter Plastering
When did you start working as a
plasterer? I’ve been doing it since
1987. My sister’s boyfriend was a
plasterer and his dad owned the
business, so I used to help them at
weekends and in school holidays.
They gave me a job when I left
school. I’ve always been self-employed
but set up my own company
eleven years ago.
What kind of work do you
specialise in? I stick to the domestic
side of things, such as home
extensions, loft conversions, outside
rendering and new houses. There’s a team of people I
can call on for bigger jobs but it’s usually just me.
What mistakes do other people make when
they’re plastering? It’s all about knowing when to
‘trowel up’ the plaster, when to touch it and when to
leave it alone. If you do it when
it’s too wet then you just push the
plaster around and don’t actually
smooth the surface. It comes
down to experience. Once you’ve
got the knack then you never
forget it, like riding a bike.
What makes a good plasterer?
Patience… and having an eye
for detail. You need to notice the
finer points of things. And being
able to put up with the dust.
Has the technology of plastering
changed much? I think the
only thing that’s made any difference is using electric
drills to mix it. All the other tools and techniques are
the same as they were 100 years ago.
Mark Bridge
cdpoulter@btinternet.com, 07974 752491

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 Viva Lewes please call 01273 434567 or email advertising@vivalewes.com
LEWES
101

home
PVC Windows
Timber Windows
Aluminum Windows
Doors and Conservatories
coloured glass splashbacks
Give your kitchen a touch
of colour this summer!
Call for a free, no obligation quote!
(01273) 475123 www.lewesglass.com
102

home
103

home
CP Viva Lewes Ad (Qtr Pg)_62 x 94mm 18/02/2011 17:
Colin Poulter
Plastering
Professional Plasterer
Over 25 years experience
All types of plastering work
and finishes undertaken
FREE estimates
Telephone 01273 472 836
Mobile 07974 752 491
Email cdpoulter@btinternet.com

home

106
home

Home
gardens
Ideas for Alcoves
ollieclarkfurniture.co.uk
lewes 01273 479909 - 07876 069681
ge 1
Jack Plane Carpenter
Nice work, fair price,
totally reliable.
www.jackplanecarpentry.co.uk
01273 483339 / 07887 993396
Global
Gardens
Design,
Restoration &
Landscaping
Mobile 07941 057337
Phone 01273 488261
12 Priory Street, Lewes, BN7 1HH
info@ globalgardens.co.uk
www.globalgardens.co.uk

gardens
alitura
landscape and garden design
01273 401581/ 07900 416679
design@alitura.co.uk
www.alitura.co.uk
Services include
- Garden Design & Project Monitoring
- Redesign of Existing Beds & Borders
- Plant Sourcing
Call us for a free consultation
come & see us at
the farmers’
market
to lewes and
surrounding areas
info@fromthewood.com www.fromthewood.com
HEALTH AND WELL BEING
neck or back pain?
Lin Peters & Beth Hazelwood
VALENCE ROAD OSTEOPATHS
for the treatment of:
neck or low back pain • sports injuries • rheumatic
arthritic symptoms • pulled muscles • joint pain
stiffness • sciatica - trapped nerves • slipped discs
tension • frozen shoulders • cranial osteopathy
pre and post natal
www.lewesosteopath.co.uk
20 Valence Road Lewes 01273 476371

health and Well being
OSteOpathy & CRanial OSteOpathy
Michaela Kullack, Simon Murray & Ruth Wharton
Experienced, Registered Osteopaths
River Clinic
COMpleMentaRy theRapieS
Acupuncture, Alexander Technique, Bowen Technique,
Children’s Clinic, Counselling, Psychotherapy & CBT,
Family Therapy, Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy,
Hypnotherapy, Massage, NLP, Nutritional Therapy,
Physiotherapy, Pilates, Reflexology, Rolfing ® , Shiatsu
THeRAPy RooMS AvAiLABLe To ReNT
your
healthcare
team in the
heart of
lewes
open Monday to Saturday
For appointments call
01273 475735
Wellers yard, Malling Street,
Lewes BN7 2RH
email: info@lewesosteopathy.com
www.lewesriverclinic.co.uk
109

Health & Well being
lessons and courses
We asked a few of our students what they like about the
Counselling and Psychotherapy training at The Link Centre...
“the training... it’s interactive, thought-provoking
and challenging as well as supportive and fun!”
“a fabulous learning environment - the tutors are inspiring
and the people I have met come from all walks of life,
which adds to the richness of the learning experience.”
Counselling and Psychotherapy Training
Part-Time courses in Newick, East Sussex
leading to national and international accreditation
This counselling and psychotherapy course provides you with
theoretical understanding, practical skills and personal insight to
enable you to practise as a professional with a range of client groups.
Each year runs for 10 weekends between October and July
at our training rooms in lovely surroundings in Newick, East Sussex,
which is in easy driving distance from Lewes.
Apply now for courses starting in October 2015.
Visit our website or contact us for further information.
01892 652 487
www.thelinkcentre.co.uk
email: leilani@thelinkcentre.co.uk
Counselling and Psychotherapy Training
111

cars
OTHER SERVICES
www.andrewwells.co.uk
We can work it out
• BUSINESS ACCOUNTS AND TAX
• MEDIA AND THE ARTS
• CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS
• FRIENDLY AND FLEXIBLE
T: 01273 961334
E: aw@andrewwells.co.uk
FREE
initial
consultation
Andrew M Wells Accountancy
99 Western Road Lewes BN7 1RS
Andrew Wells_Viva Lewes_AW.indd 1 25/06/2012 09:05

other services
Websites and Computer help
We can create a website for you or your business
to industry standard, viewable on all devices.
We can fix your PC or laptop, including PC installation
and virus removal.
Contact us at info@keith-smith.eu and
also visit our website to see local, happy
customers www.keith-smith.eu
We have 5 years industry experience and are all
trained at university level.
Opening a business
in Lewes or Brighton?
SHOP SIGNS FROM £49 | SHIRTS £10 pp
w: bjum.uk | e: ben@bjum.uk | t: 07737 645322
113

inside left
mrs dudeney
This Reeves photo is of Mrs
Dudeney, sewing by the fireplace
in the Brack Mount home she
shared with her husband Henry.
Even though few have heard
of her today, Alice Dudeney
(1866-1945) was a very successful
novelist during her lifetime. And
her remarkable chronicling of
life in the town can be read in A
Lewes Diary, 1916-1944, (editor,
Diana Crook. Dale House Press,
1998, Barbican Bookshop, £9.99).
This photo was taken in April
1928 by Edward Reeves. There
are several references to Reeves
the photographers in the diaries,
not always polite (but then again,
she’s rude about most people).
Her entry on 8 May 1940: ‘…went to Reeves the photographer, whose son (a consequential young fool)
is an ARP warden and said they must warn the cottagers on Castle Banks not to show lights’. She left her
diaries to the Sussex Archaeological Society, on the understanding that they not be published for at least
twenty five years. When you read some of the entries, it becomes clear why. It’s not just that her views
are wholly un-PC and occasionally very offensive. It’s that she’s scathing about everybody - her husband
(an eminent mathematician and famous puzzle-maker), her servants, many of her neighbours, even a few
celebrities. She was very good friends with the rich and glamourous Sir Philip Sassoon (one of whose
houses was Port Lympne, now the zoo), who often entertained famous people. On 15 September 1928,
Alice’s diary entry is: ‘Noël Coward to lunch. He brought with him “a woman” and she was a specimen.
Orange coloured lips and an evil face. Poisonous creature, so Mrs Gubby said; but probably the only kind
of woman who will be seen with Noël Coward.’ Alice Dudeney was a true blue Tory – just before Baldwin
was elected in 1924, her 29 October entry was ‘Went and voted, of course. Bought Conservative colours
for me and Nelson [her dalmatian]. Nice man in the shop – Morrish’s – buying 6 yards “for a cat”…’
Other entries are just entertainingly gossipy, for example, on 16 May 1940: ‘Mrs Holman said that 12
young women at Barcombe were in the family way by soldiers. The battalion was assembled – and all the
girls pointed to one man! What a valiant!’
Many thanks to Edward Reeves for permission to use this image.
114

eeze up
to the Downs
77
kids go
FREE!
See leaflets
for details
You can now breeze up to Devil’s Dyke
on an open top bus.
Go to Stanmer Park and Devil’s Dyke by bus seven days a week,
and up to Ditchling Beacon at weekends.
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/breezebuses
for times, fares, leaflets and walk ideas
or call 01273 292480
Or visit www.traveline.info/se
to plan all your journeys.
5564