Viva Lewes Issue #112 January 2016

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Chestnut’s 11-19 November 2017 TREK Make every step count Chartered Surveyors & Property Consultants • Residential and Commercial • Building Surveys • Defect Analysis • Project Management • Party Wall • Dilapidations • Compliance Consultancy • Historic Building Specialists Offices now in Lewes, Eastbourne & London Contact us for friendly professional advice 01273 840 608 | www.gradientconsultants.com Enquire today LIMITED PLACES! Tel: 01903 706354 www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/cambodia Registered Charity Number: 256789 CambodiaTrek17 66x94 Ad AW.indd 1 08/12/2015 10:55 Because every life is unique …we are here to help you make your farewell as personal and individual as possible, and to support you in every way we can. Inc. Cooper & Son 42 High Street, Lewes 01273 475 557 Also at: Uckfield • Seaford • Cross in Hand www.cpjfield.co.uk
icks and mortar Chailey Heritage The Commandant’s caring creation There’s a story about Grace Kimmins’s benevolent scheming. It was told by her granddaughter, so it’s probably true. Kimmins was trying to buy an extra bit of land for her school, but the owner wouldn’t sell. So she waited for this big event, when the Bishop of London came down, and she got up in front of everyone and thanked the owner for donating the bit of land. And it worked. Kimmins was born in Lewes in 1870. She’s characterised as a savvy fundraiser and publicist, a determined and charismatic figure who knew what she wanted and had no doubt she could make it happen. She earned the affectionate nickname ‘Commandant’. Living in London as a missionary, working with poor people, she “realised that there were people who had disabilities who could work, but weren’t being given the training, so they were being marginalised,” says Chailey Heritage Foundation’s chief exec, Helen Hewitt. “That’s why she created the Heritage. She came from London with seven young men who were disabled. She decided they should be taught a trade.” This was in 1903. The school was founded in a decrepit former workhouse, with a leaky roof and a rat problem and no gas or electricity. The boys were taught carpentry, and then Kimmins used her connections to get them apprenticeships. Admitting girls from 1908, Chailey Heritage grew until, at one point, it had four sites in the village and an outpost at Tidemills. The curriculum shifted away from carpentry and bootmaking and needlework. As more of a focus on medical care developed, operating theatres were built, and children were cared for on nurse-run wards. The original building, the former workhouse, is still there. Part of it houses the charity’s offices, and does feel a bit ancient, with its low beams and narrow corridors. But the rest of the building is a modern-looking and immensely well equipped ‘Life Skills Centre’, for disabled adults. The school itself is in the latter style; it even has a wireless ‘wheelchair-guidance system’ in the corridors, with anti-crash technology. Nowadays the school deals with much more complex disabilities than in Kimmins’ time. Of the 78 current students, more than half need medically-assisted eating; the vast majority are ‘non verbal’. And yet, the founder’s basic idea – to prepare students for as independent a life as possible – is still the school’s ethos. “We’re committed to their lives being as fulfilling as they can possibly be, to help them fulfil every bit of their potential,” Hewitt says. “For some, maybe it’s the blink of an eye that says they understand, and they want this rather than that - for them that’s an achievement, because they’ve been able to make a choice. “If you imagine someone with cerebral palsy, who doesn’t have very much physical control, but actually has a lot of ability; if the school can provide the mechanism, whether it’s through Eye Gaze [eye-tracking computer software], or a communication book, or even making them comfortable enough so that they can concentrate on learning, then that’s absolutely massive.” Steve Ramsey 89
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LEWES Wednesday 27th January 16:00
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VALUATION DAY Jewellery and Watches
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the ‘apple a day’ issue 64 King
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THE WORLD PREMIERE OF A NEW YOUTH O
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TOUR THE WINE ESTATE EAT OR STAY AT
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photo of the month saNta claws We t
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its and bobs vox pop Frankie Watts
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its and BObs A lewes worthy’s sad
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Float in our luxury cabin with uniq
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Lewes Theatre Youth Group is proud
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column Chloë King The shame game I
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column Photo by Mark Bridge East of
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IN town this month The lowdown on..
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in town this month Holocaust Memori
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FOR A FITTER, HEALTHIER YOU MAX MEM
Page 38 and 39: GET INSPIRED at the OLD FORGE Quali
Page 40 and 41: Beautiful art, affordable prices Fr
Page 43 and 44: music Classical Round-up Britten, B
Page 45 and 46: cinema without a ball, thus escapin
Page 47 and 48: JANlistings sat 2 Farmers’ Market
Page 49 and 50: JANlistings (cont) Mon 11 Talk. Lew
Page 51: JANlistings (cont) Fri 22 Film. Dif
Page 54 and 55: gig guide (cont) Sat 23 Just Floyd.
Page 56 and 57: With its excellent and imaginative
Page 58 and 59: Explore... and experience our way o
Page 61: under 16 êêêê young photo of th
Page 64 and 65: 64 Photo by Rebecca Cunningham
Page 66 and 67: The Pelham arms HigH St • LeweS B
Page 68 and 69: drink Water Kefir Full of yeast and
Page 70 and 71: Hut Therapy Bed and (wholefood) bre
Page 73 and 74: the way we work This month we asked
Page 75 and 76: the way we work Katie Henry, Lewes
Page 77 and 78: the way we work Hakan Bystrom, St A
Page 79 and 80: my space Photos by Katie Moorman pa
Page 81: column Lewes Out Loud Plenty more H
Page 85 and 86: feature: wild MEDICINE Nicholas Cul
Page 87: trade secrets St Anne’s Pharmacy
Page 91 and 92: DIRECTORY Please note that though w
Page 93 and 94: home PVC Windows Timber Windows Alu
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Page 97 and 98: home Handyman Services for your Hou
Page 99 and 100: gardens health & wellbeing Stella J
Page 102 and 103: health & wellbeing Iyengar Yoga SUB
Page 104 and 105: other services Seeking Cartoonist h
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Viva Lewes Issue #112 January 2016

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