Viva Lewes Issue #153 June 2019
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
BITS AND BOBS<br />
LEWES OPEN DOOR: NIGHT SHELTER<br />
The worst of the winter is well behind us, but<br />
<strong>Lewes</strong>’s own homeless charity, <strong>Lewes</strong> Open<br />
Door, is already making plans to offer a muchneeded<br />
night shelter service to support homeless<br />
people through next winter. We didn’t have one<br />
in place this last winter, though we really hoped<br />
to, and are determined to do so for the coming<br />
one. Local churches have been quick to offer<br />
the physical accommodation on a rotating basis:<br />
now, LOD is seeking volunteers to run the night<br />
shelter that will provide warmth, security and<br />
hot food when it’s most needed.<br />
The team running the night shelter project<br />
have identified the need for two very different<br />
kinds of volunteer. First, there’s the night shift<br />
trio – sleeping in shifts; at least two awake at any<br />
time – who’ll actually deliver the service, from<br />
the welcome hot drink on arrival, to breakfast<br />
the following morning. Then it’s the turn of the<br />
pack-up crew to take over, shifting camp beds<br />
and all other equipment to the next church on<br />
the night shelter circuit.<br />
Each team needs a leader – someone who’s good<br />
at working with people, both other volunteers<br />
and the guests, and has good admin skills. We’ll<br />
offer full training, and will help night shift volunteers<br />
obtain a DBS cert, which is a must.<br />
LOD’s volunteers have already discovered the<br />
work can be rewarding. One said: “Before I<br />
started helping here I was scared of the homeless<br />
people I saw in the streets, but now I’ve got<br />
to know them I can see they’re just ordinary<br />
people like me.”<br />
To find out more, please join us at the Night<br />
Shelter Mid-Summer Event, at Harvey’s rear<br />
yard off Cliffe High Street. Join us for drinks,<br />
food and live music from local indie folk duo<br />
Edenwood. The night shelter team will be on<br />
hand to answer all your questions. Come and<br />
sign up to be a volunteer!<br />
As told by David Griffiths to Charlotte Gann<br />
Mid-Summer Event, 27th <strong>June</strong>, 6.30pm, Harvey’s<br />
Yard. Or call David on 07806 777106, or email<br />
lewesopendoor@gmail.com<br />
lewesopendoor.wordpress.com<br />
facebook.com/<strong>Lewes</strong>OpenDoor<br />
Photo by Catherine Benson<br />
LEWES IN NUMBERS<br />
<strong>Lewes</strong>’s very own sport is the pub game of Toad in the Hole. The game is believed to have been played<br />
in Sussex for over 200 years, and is similar to Pitch Penny elsewhere in the UK, or Jeu de la Grenouille<br />
in France. It is played with 4 brass ‘toads’ or coins, thrown onto a lead-topped table with a hole in the<br />
middle. With a team of 4 people, each match consists of 7 games – 4 single, 2 double and 1 team game.<br />
Each game is worth 1 point to the winner, and all games are best of 3 legs.<br />
<strong>Lewes</strong> has a local league, involving 18 teams in 2 divisions. About ½ the teams are from <strong>Lewes</strong> pubs,<br />
and the remainder from nearby. And the town also hosts the World Toad in the Hole Championships<br />
each April. This year’s – the 22nd world championship – attracted 48 teams and the winners were<br />
Rodmell Toad Club. Sarah Boughton<br />
17
Change language