Viva Lewes Issue #157 October 2019

Scan to download
the Course Guide!
Email: admissions@escg.ac.uk
Visit: www.escg.ac.uk
Tel: 030 300 39699
E A S T B O U R N E | H A S T I N G S | L E W E S | N E W H A V E N

157
VIVALEWES
EDITORIAL
There’s something, of course, quite down to earth about ‘Grape and
Grain’. Literally. And that, in itself, can comfort. Something about
being close to the ground. Getting back to the basics – which,
facing the climate crisis, we may need to – of growing and providing,
(Michael Blencowe, out with his Grandad…)
These are things we may anyway return to when the modern world
gets all too much. When this daily diet of bad news and social media
and politicians and Brexit drives us totally NUTS. And what we really
need is a bowl of Quill Soup (to soothe us, while remembering to share). Or
maybe a Lentil Shepherd’s Pie at Zu Café, or an afternoon up the allotment.
In her new book, Carolyn Trant paints some similar pictures – in sharing the lives of women
artists past. And in this, our Grape and Grain issue, we also visit gin (and tonic!) distillers; John
Henty enjoys a pint of Guinness, and Eleanor Knight explodes ginger beer. We chat with
Robin Walden, the force behind the new organic food supermarket in the Cliffe, The Seasons.
And find out what’s going on in the tenth, and (hopefully) ‘best yet’ Octoberfeast – including
local wine tastings at Riverside.
We also touch on coping with anxiety. Jason Rhodes has written a book for children on this.
Alex Leith explores men and counselling. And Jason Mosseri explains why getting back to a
simpler life may also, in the end, ease our troubled minds, as well as times.
THE TEAM
.....................
EDITOR: Charlotte Gann charlotte@vivamagazines.com
SUB-EDITOR: David Jarman
PRODUCTION EDITOR: Joe Fuller joe@vivamagazines.com
ART DIRECTOR: Katie Moorman katie@vivamagazines.com
ADVERTISING: Sarah Hunnisett, Amanda Meynell advertising@vivamagazines.com
EDITORIAL / ADMIN ASSISTANT / HAND MODEL: Kelly Mechen admin@vivamagazines.com
DISTRIBUTION: David Pardue distribution@vivamagazines.com
CONTRIBUTORS: Michael Blencowe, Mark Bridge, Emma Chaplin, Hasia Curtis, Lulah Ellender, Fiona Dennis,
Mark Greco, Anita Hall, John Henty, Robin Houghton, Eleanor Knight, Dexter Lee, Alex Leith,
Lizzie Lower, Carlotta Luke, Anna Morgan, Galia Pike and Liz Temperley.
PUBLISHER: Becky Ramsden becky@vivamagazines.com
Viva Lewes is based at Lewes House, 32 High St, Lewes, BN7 2LX, all enquiries 01273 488882

PLACES
AVAILABLE
THE BRIGHTON
Waldorf School
Apply Now
CREATIVE INSPIRING EDUCATION
An International Curriculum
OPEN DAY
At The Brighton Waldorf School, our Teachers are dedicated
to creating a genuine love of learning within each pupil.
Saturday 19 th October 2019
10:00am - 2:00pm
For more information, please visit:
www.brightonwaldorfschool.org
For any enquiries please call 01273 386300
Limited Company No. 2395378
Registered Charity No. 802036

THE GRAPE & GRAIN ISSUE
CONTENTS
Bits and bobs.
8-23. Cover artist Liz Temperley on
our lovely, leafy cover; Robin Walden’s
Lewes, he of The Seasons; Photo of
the month x 3; Five minutes with Brian
Schofield; the word is spread; call out for
refugee tales; an exceptional war memoir;
the Association of Carers – can you
help?; Carlotta Luke on the allotment;
Vino Craig.
Columns.
25-29. Eleanor Knight remembers Wales;
John Henty remembers Ireland; David
Jarman remembers Anita Brookner.
On this month.
31-43. Grease hits Lewes; treats at
Octoberfeast; TOM, entertaining duo;
Lizzie Lower reads Jess Phillips; Philip
Ayckbourn’s ghost story; Susie Boyt looks
slantwise; and Dexter Lee’s film round-up.
Art.
45-53. Carolyn Trant’s voyage round
women artists; David Nash on the trees
he loves; Art and about, from Earthly
Blings to the East Sussex Guild of
Weavers to a happy birthday to
Mohamed Hamid, and others.
Listings and Free time.
55-71. Diary dates including Comedy
at the Con, Movement 4 Movement in
Calais, and Fleabag; Gig of the month
is Andy Irvine; Classical round-up
91
pick is a piano recital in aid of refugees
and asylum seekers; Free time dates,
88

THE GRAPE & GRAIN ISSUE
including half term and Halloween,
Quill Soup book review, and Jason
Rhodes imagines eating lemons.
80
Food.
73-79. Zu Café scrumptious food
review; Chilli Pickle spicy recipe;
Emma Chaplin on Flint Owl
sourdough; and Alex Leith checks
out the new Lewes FC café.
The way we work.
80-83. Visiting and photographing
local gin and tonic makers.
Photo by Torz Dallison
74
Features.
85-100. Lewes WIs’ warm welcome;
Hope Springs Chairs on the craft of
making; Riverside hosts local wine
tastings; Fiona Dennis harvests apples;
Michael Blencowe recalls picking
sloes; Alex Leith visits a counsellor;
Football via video analysis platform;
Herbert Scott has settled in Prezzo;
and Business news walkabout.
Inside left.
114. 1933 and Whitbread beer.
VIVA DEADLINES
We plan each magazine six weeks ahead, with a mid-month
advertising/copy deadline. Please send details of planned events
to admin@vivamagazines.com, and for any advertising queries:
advertising@vivamagazines.com, or call 01273 488882.
Remember to recycle your Viva.
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 Magazines.
Viva retains copyright for any artwork we create.
Love me or recycle me. Illustration by Chloë King
6

THIS MONTH’S COVER ARTIST
Liz Temperley’s studio space, in the Star Brewery,
has a similar aesthetic to her watercolour
illustrations. There is a lot of white space on the
walls and furnishings, complemented by vivid
splashes of colour in the teeming examples of
her work, which is printed on greeting cards,
gift wrap, notebooks, stationery, prints, pencil
cases and more.
In her illustrations, Liz aims to find humour in
the everyday and to show the beauty in animals
and nature, which she describes as her “joyful
style”. The inspiration for this month’s cover
came from a fortuitous visit to a friend’s exhibition
at Breaky Bottom Vineyards. Rusty tones
for the vine leaves were selected for an autumnal
feel. “I like organic forms. So I thought we’ll
go back to the literal interpretation of ‘grape
and grain’, looking at the grape before it gets
8

LIZ TEMPERLEY
made into wine.”
Her love for nature extends to how she produces
her stationery, which is all eco-friendly.
“I have a range that is printed onto tree-free,
annually renewable plant fibre paper (things
like bamboo).” She works with soy-based inks
and also makes a range of envelopes made from
upcycled coffee cups.
Liz’s arrival in Lewes, after studying textile
design at Nottingham Trent University, seems
almost providential. After graduating, she
initially moved to London to work in fashion
– but ultimately realised that it wasn’t for her.
She then juggled a Design Manager job with
freelance work, while selling illustrations in
Brick Lane on the side.
Liz wasn’t sure where to go after London, so
she let her choice of studio space inform the
location for her new home. After discovering
the Star Brewery – and the beauty of East Sussex
– she moved to the area in May 2016. The
last three years have been busy: Liz has sold her
work in Artwave and Artists Open Houses, and
she took part in Patina’s geocache event, where
children discovered various creatives in Lewes
via GPS (“hectic, but fun”). Liz was commissioned
by Octopus Publishing to illustrate two
books, and she was thrilled when I Love You
Mum was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal, in
May this year.
Her business has flourished since moving to
Lewes: in busy periods she takes on some temporary
staff to help with packing and posting.
Her work – branded as Blank Inside – is sold
worldwide, with distributors in Australia, New
Zealand, Europe and a large number in the UK.
Clients include Anthropologie, Liberty and
Oliver Bonas. Joe Fuller
The whole Blank Inside
range is available to
purchase at blankinsidedesign.co.uk
– along with a
selection of Liz’s original
watercolours – or you can
pop by the studio and buy
direct from Liz. If you would
like to discuss any illustration
commissions, email
liz@blankinsidedesign.co.uk

Advertorial
Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex,
is home to over 500 acres of diverse landscape,
featuring rare plants from around the world.
Run and managed by the Royal Botanic gardens, Kew,
Wakehurst is brimming with colourful foliage as it
enters autumn, with stunning woodlands and
hedgerows teeming with jewel-like berries.
Autumn in the garden is a delight for all the senses,
as the leaves turn to vibrant hues of red, orange and
golden yellows. Picture perfect vistas can be seen
throughout the gardens and woodlands, with a favourite
being Westwood Lake for the reflections on the water
on a still day.
Home to the Millennium Seed Bank, step inside to spy
on scientists at work as they strive to conserve seeds
from around the globe. Scramble over our daring log trail,
Tree Trunk Trek, hire an Explorer Rucksack and head to
the Children’s Heritage Garden to get cooking in our mud
kitchen (open until 3 November).
Wakehurst is open daily from 10am. Adults £13.95,
children 16 and under free. National Trust members
can enjoy free entry to Wakehurst, however car parking
charges apply.
Upcoming events
Bountiful Botanics
12 – 13 October
A fun-filled weekend celebrating nature’s
bounty, with an exciting programme of
family activities.
October Half-term fun
26 October – 3 November
Plenty of fun for all the family during
October half-term with a range of
activities and workshops.
Glow Wild
21 November – 22 December
The winter lantern trail returns, bringing
the landscape alive with lanterns,
soundscapes and torches of fire.
To find out more about Wakehurst and upcoming
events visit kew.org/wakehurst

Photo by Charlotte Gann
MY LEWES: ROBIN WALDEN
What brought you to Lewes and when? We
arrived seven years ago. I grew up in Forest
Row, a few doors down from The Seasons, and
we moved here, with our two young daughters
(they’re now seven and ten), from Haywards
Heath. I’ve always liked the town, and we found
a house we wanted to live in. Malling’s brilliant.
Quiet and safe. I love the green out front. There
are loads of kids, and they’re outdoors playing.
My girls are at South Malling and it’s a great
little school.
So your father John bought The Seasons in
Forest Row, after working there a long time,
in 2012. A couple of years later you came in
as director? Yes, it wasn’t something I’d ever
planned to do, but I was already working in
the field – as café manager and chef at Trading
Boundaries in Sheffield Park. The Seasons
started out as a charitable trust. This didn’t work
out and my father rescued it. And once it became
a family business… I’ve overseen a major
refurbishment in Forest Row: combined two
sites into one. And then moved on immediately
to this renovation in Lewes!
The Seasons Lewes will have just opened
when this mag hits the streets: why here?
Why now? It will – though of course the place is
a building site today [when we did our interview,
mid-August]. I’ve been thinking of opening a
shop here for a couple of years. The town seems
so right. When the (old) Bunces site came up,
in Cliffe High Street, I mulled for a bit. Then
went for it. We’ve just finished all the work in
Forest Row a couple of months ago, so I’ve
gone straight from that to this. (My wife Liza,
who’s also our bookkeeper, is very grounded and
patient.)
The Seasons ethos is to offer ‘an
extraordinary range’ of organic foods? Yes.
It’s basically a mini supermarket – for organic,
vegetarian foods. We sell everything: can be your
one-stop grocery shop. Plus, have events every
Friday. These are taster days, where we showcase
a range of products, or particular brands. Of
course, organic food has become much more
mainstream; we’ve been committed to it for
years, but now we’ve completely reinvigorated
our shops, and breathed new life into the brand.
Sales are up 80 per cent over the last five years.
We always aim to offer competitive pricing and
excellent service: our shops and staff are warm
and inviting. I’m recruiting a whole new team to
work in Lewes…
And what do you, personally, do to relax
in all that spare time you must have when
you’re NOT working? I like an evening out
at the Snowdrop, or eating at Bun + Bean in
Mount Pleasant or Erawan Thai on Lansdown
Place. We’re big time, long-term season ticket
holders to the Pells. At home, I do most of
the cooking. And then I disappear into my
recording studio of an evening – at the bottom
of the garden – where I record drum and bass
electronic music… Interview by Charlotte Gann
11

Service whilst still under warranty?
At Precision Porsche Specialists we service and maintain all Porsche models, using
genuine Porsche parts to protect your manufacturer’s warranty. Along with our
Porsche trained technicians and the latest diagnostic equipment, your Porsche is in
safe hands.
We’ve got you covered...
• Modern Workshop
• Servicing, Repairs & MOTs
• Collection & Delivery Service
• Insurance Approved Bodywork Repairs
• Tyres & Wheel Alignment
• Vehicle Detailing
Address: Unit B1, Bluebell Business Estate, Sheffield Park, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3HQ
Phone: +44 (0) 1825 721 205 | Fax: +44 (0) 1825 723 807
Email: info@precisionporsche.co.uk | Web: www.precisionporsche.co.uk
Precision Porsche Ltd | Registered in England no. 09301465 | VAT No. 983 5181 90

PHOTOS OF THE MONTH
WIND MILL
Ben Hayes, from St Albans, was visiting friends in Lewes when – after enjoying a summer’s walk in
August – they turned for home… ‘Dom and Dale took us on a walk from their home near Anne of Cleves
House out onto the Downs’, Ben wrote. ‘We headed along Juggs Road in good weather and were soon
enjoying fantastic views near Ashcombe Mill. Later, as we headed back into Lewes, the weather to the
south had got even better, and we could see the beach at Seaford bathed in sun. Meanwhile, the weather
to the north-east had got much worse, and we could see heavy rain. Directly to our north the sky seemed
to reflect the clash of these two contrasting weather fronts… The top photo, especially, captures this.’
Please send your pictures, taken in and around Lewes, to photos@vivamagazines.com, or tweet @VivaLewes.
We’ll choose one, which wins the photographer £20, to be picked up from our office after publication. Unless
previously arranged, we reserve the right to use all pictures in future issues of Viva magazines or online.
13

BITS AND BOBS
FIVE MINUTES WITH...
Brian Schofield
grew up in
Warwickshire,
and has lived in
Southover for 11
years. He lives
with his wife,
Harriet, and two
sons, TJ, 10, and
Tommy, 8. Brian
plays football for
Lewes Vets, coaches for Lewes Juniors and
is a member of Southover Bonfire Society
and the Lewes Liberal Democrats. He is also
Head of Politics at Hurstpierpoint College.
WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?
Surfing. And my family and friends. But
mostly surfing.
WHAT IS YOUR TOP FILM/BOOK?
I’m currently recommending American Carnage
by Tim Alberta to all my students, and
Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff to
anyone who’ll listen
Film: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW /
RADIO SHOW / PODCAST?
TV: Rick and Morty
Radio: that’s easy – John Finnemore’s Souvenir
Programme
Podcast: the brilliant Pod Save America
TOP PLACES TO EAT IN LEWES?
God bless the Chaula’s lunch buffet! And... DJ
nights at the Royal Oak
Volunteer
with us
Get back a whole lot more than you give
E-mail
ILCRVolRecruitment@redcross.org.uk
to fi nd out about the roles in your area and
help people in your community who need
a little extra support to live well.
redcross.org.uk/independent-living-volunteer
The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter
1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949),
Scotland (SC037738) and Isle of Man (0752).
Photo © Simon Rawles/BRC.
Pottery Classes
for Beginners
Learn hand-building
techniques and decorating
skills in small groups at the
Blue Door Studio behind the
Union Music Store in Lewes
SATURDAYS:
10am - 12.30 Starts Oct 26th - 4 weeks
TUESDAYS:
10am - 12.30 Starts Oct 29th - 4 weeks
THURSDAYS:
6pm - 8.30pm Starts Oct 31st - 4 weeks
COST £45 PER CLASS (INCLUDES MATERIALS & FIRING)
CHILDREN’S HALF TERM WORKSHOP (10yrs+)
MON 21st Oct and THURS 24th Oct 2pm - 5pm
Making animals and people out of clay
COST £45 PER CLASS (INCLUDES MATERIALS & FIRING)
WHO ARE YOUR HEROES?
Bill Clinton, William Gladstone, Tony Adams
14

TRIPS AND BOBS
SPREAD THE WORD
‘Here l am with my
Viva outside my
favourite restaurant
in Jerez: Arturo,’
Kate Turvey wrote
to us. ‘It’s a familyrun
place that only
serves fresh fish and
tomatoes in oil and
garlic from nearby
Conil. I love it.’
Meanwhile, Erin
Holder wrote: ‘I’ve
just finished the
first year of my
History degree at
the University of
Birmingham and am
currently on a one
month International
Museums and Collections Placement at the
University of Melbourne…’ Sounds awesome!
And Lucy Albone sent in our third pic: ‘here are
my parents Chris and Chriss Albone, in the sunny
sunflower fields in La Creuse, France!’
Keep taking us with you and spreading the word.
Send your photos and a few words about you and
your trip to hello@vivamagazines.com.
chrismas
ogden
solicitors
Commercial Property
Are you a Tenant or Landlord who needs assistance with a Lease
for your business premises?
Are you looking to purchase a freehold premise for your Company?
Call us to discuss how we can help...
Chrismas Ogden Solicitors Limited, Howard Cottage, Broomans Lane, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2LT.
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
W: www.chrismasogden.co.uk T: 01273 474159 E: enquiries@chrismasogden.co.uk
15

BITS AND BOBS
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY: LOOKING FOR LOCAL STORIES
Lewes Holocaust Memorial
Group first formed in 2014,
after its founding members
got chatting at a party. Supported
by both the Town and
District Councils, today it’s
going strong. “Lewes has become
known as quite vibrant
in its commemorations”, Gaby Weiner tells me.
“More and more people come along in solidarity.”
Those commemorations happen at the end of
January – Holocaust Memorial Day marks the
liberation of Auschwitz on 27th January 1945.
That first January, 2015, was also of course the
70th anniversary. “We had a performance in the
Town Hall, which was an overwhelmingly beautiful
evening,” says Gaby. “It lives on in memory.”
In 2020 they plan a concert for 25th January in St
John sub Castro; and possibly a candlelit walk as
well. The group is calling for
stories from people about any
refugees with a connection to
the town. These may be those
who fled Nazi Germany, or
anyone before or since fleeing
persecution on religious,
political or other grounds.
“We want to hear from anyone with a story”, says
Christine Cohen Park.
So far, having put a call out in Lewes News, they’ve
heard about families in Ringmer, Malling and the
Nevill, who housed or helped Jewish children
fleeing the Nazis, and an ex-Mayor’s wife, who
also originally arrived via Kindertransport.
Charlotte Gann
If you have any information, however fragmentary,
please email gaby.weiner@btinternet.com, or call
01273 472328
BOOK REVIEW: WE HAPPY FEW
In 1940, Richard Wicker, a young
RAF sergeant, was shot down over
Germany. He survived but was
captured, spending the next five years
as a prisoner-of-war. He weighed just
seven and a half stone by the time he
was liberated. Richard never talked
about his wartime experiences, and his
story might have been lost were it not
for a diary and his tenacious grandson,
David.
In later life Richard wrote daily in a diary that
was stored away after his death. When David
was given this last year he was intrigued, but
wary of uncovering difficult truths about the
grandfather he never knew.
Overcoming his reticence, David discovered
a gripping, beautifully written account of
Richard’s early years in Sussex, his time flying in
clapped-out planes with substandard
equipment on terrifying
missions, and a poignant account
of his journey home. David has
collected the diary passages into
this fascinating book, using other
sources to fill in the spaces that
Richard was too traumatised to
write about. His time as a prisoner
is described at a remove through
letters and logbook entries.
The result is a compelling, unsentimental, moving
story of how a quiet life was ruptured by
war. Creating a vivid picture of friendship, love,
fear and resilience, it’s a story that also resonates
in our world of polarised politics and conflict.
Lulah Ellender
We Happy Few by Richard Wicker (edited by
David Bradford), is available in Skylark.

LEWES DISTRICT
Lewes Town & Country
Residential Sales & Lettings T 01273 487444
Land & New Homes
E lewes@oakleyproperty.com
BRITISH
PROPERTY
2019
GOLD WINNER
ESTATE AGENT IN
LEWES
Property of the Month The Avenue, Lewes - £1,150,000
A substantial Edwardian five bedroom house located in a most popular location in the Wallands area of Lewes. The
property retains many character features with good sized rooms including a drawing room, separate dining room,
kitchen/breakfast room, five bedrooms and a family bathroom. Impressive rear garden offers a good degree of
privacy and fantastic views can be enjoyed to the front of the property across The Paddock and beyond. EPC-61
Firle Road, Seaford £1,075,000
Substantial & impressive detached house ideally located in Seaford.
Spanning more than 3,000sqft this versatile & expansive home
offers reception rooms, contemporary kitchen breakfast room & five
bedrooms. The property enjoys stunning gardens and gated
entrance with parking for several cars and double garage. EPC-75
Hill Road, Lewes £925,000
Impressive detached home located in a sought after elevated
position. The accommodation has been extended and improved
and offers a fantastic open plan kitchen and living space
opening onto the garden. Outside is ample parking and a
detached garage as well as gardens to the front and rear. EPC-67
Mount Pleasant, Lewes £715,000
A Grade II listed, three double bedroom town house in a central
position, with the unusual benefit of a roof terrace and private,
flint walled garden backing onto the historic Brack Mount. Good
sized family accommodation, tastefully restored and very well
presented retaining many original features throughout. EPC-N/A
South Street, Lewes £499,000
A well presented three bedroom mid terrace house located in a
very popular location off Cliffe High Street, with many benefits
including a through lounge/dining room opening onto the garden,
kitchen, modern bathroom, secluded rear garden backing onto
the Cliffs, garage & parking space. Views to the Castle. EPC-77
oakleyproperty.com
LEWES BUSINESS
OF THE YEAR 2018
BUSINESS
AWARDS
2018
WINNER

BITS AND BOX
CHARITY BOX: ASSOCIATION OF CARERS
How was the charity formed? The Association
of Carers was established in Hastings just over
30 years ago by a group of carers who recognised
the need for people in a similar situation
to be able to take a regular break from their caring
role. Since then, the charity has grown and
now provides services throughout East Sussex.
What’s the aim of your group? We support
unpaid adult carers by providing free volunteer
services. An unpaid carer is someone who
spends a significant proportion of their time
supporting a family member or friend who
could not cope without their help. Our support
helps carers maintain their independence and
reduces the sense of isolation many experience.
Why are you needed? It is estimated there
are about 65,000 unpaid carers in East Sussex.
On average, each of these saves the economy
£19,336 every year. However, they often neglect
their own well-being, feel embarrassed to ask
for help or simply need more support than
Adult Social Care can provide. We supply
volunteers who offer free support, which helps
prevent them from ‘burning out’.
What help do you offer? Our main service
is respite support. This is where a trained
volunteer visits a home and spends time with
the person needing care, allowing the carer to
have a break – this may mean going out for a
coffee, sitting in the garden or even having a
nap! Other services include computer support,
telephone support and driving. You can find a
full list of volunteer roles on our website.
How are you funded? We get core funding
from East Sussex County Council and the NHS
Clinical Commissioning Groups but we have to
do a lot of our own fundraising. We hold events
like quizzes, fun runs, bingo, raffles and more,
throughout the county. And we regularly have
a presence at supermarkets and community
information days to raise awareness of our work
and the needs of unpaid carers.
How can people access your services? Carers
are referred via many agencies throughout East
Sussex. They can also refer themselves or be
referred by friends or family. However, there is
a waiting list, where carers are matched with a
volunteer on the basis of how critical their need
is. We currently have over 250 carers on our
waiting list for various services.
How can people get involved to help? We’re
looking for friendly and empathic people who
can spare a small amount of time each week. No
personal care is required in any of our volunteer
roles. Our main service is respite, which ideally
requires a commitment of three hours weekly.
However, we’re flexible and understand volunteers
have commitments, so can work around
these. If you’re interested in helping, you can
phone us or fill in an application form on our
website. Right now we especially need volunteers
near Eastbourne, Seaford and Newhaven.
Mark Bridge interviewed Jane Caley
associationofcarers.org.uk
01424 722309
19

A career out of the ordinary
Wine Degrees & Short Courses
As the UK’s centre of excellence for wine education, training and research, Plumpton College
offers a broad range of degrees and short courses in the production and business of wine.
With the English wine industry going from strength to strength, there has never been such a high
demand for skilled people, enabling our graduates to become:
• Vineyard managers and winemakers
• Wine buyers, importers, brand managers and sales account managers
• Viticulture and Oenology consultants and research scientists
• Wine tourism operators, journalists and educators
Visit our website for more information
www.plumpton.ac.uk

CARLOTTA LUKE
FOCUS ON: KELLY HALL
This is my friend, the artist and designer Kelly
Hall. Kelly has an allotment in Firle where
she paints what she grows, and grows what
she paints. Fittingly for this month’s theme,
she had a small crop of durum wheat (the kind
used for making pasta) so I followed its process
from harvest to kitchen, by way of a 1970s-era
wooden mill from Germany. Pasta al pomodoro
was soon to follow (the pomodoros grown
by Kelly as well, of course). An illustrated
cookbook is in the pipeline. I cannot wait!
kellyhalldesigns.com / carlottaluke.com
21

CARTOON
23

COLUMN
Eleanor Knight
Keyboard worrier
Stand back, folks, I am about to mention nationalism.
At the time of writing, ‘things’ have taken
an alarming turn and I find myself reflecting that
this is not the country I was born in.
Causes are manifold, but for the purposes of this
column I will keep it simple. I wasn’t born here.
I was born in Scotland.
Perhaps for this reason, and that my two brothers
were born in England and Wales respectively,
and that our Northern Irish granny started life,
in 1909, just Irish, I’ve always felt it’s how, not
where we live that makes us who we are.
I grew up in a family of hobbyists. We played
music, messed about with car engines and,
according to one puzzling early school report
‘knew an awful lot about leprosy.’ My parents,
like many in the 1970s, were enthusiastic home
brewers, and it is those early years that are for
me, ever tinged with the comforting amber hue
of have-a-go ale.
Having turned down a job in Belfast, civilian
deaths from The Troubles being at an all time
high (and having been told in no uncertain
terms he would be a target) Dad had picked up
an alternative and moved us all from Essex to
just north of Cardiff – a small, quiet village with
a working blacksmith, a shop that sold powder
for foot rot and where the only time we had red
paint thrown over our garden for being ‘English’
was quickly surpassed by the time we looked out
to see a herd of cows grazing on it.
So it was a surprise to be woken one night by a
terrific explosion. A very loud bang, the sound of
broken glass, and a lot of frantic activity down in
the kitchen. Petrified, I lay with my arms pinned
to my sides, imagining the worst. Then I heard
my parents giggling.
Because it wasn’t an attack. No. It was the
spontaneous detonation of Mum’s ginger beer.
A bottle had gone off like Krakatoa, showering
shards of glass and sticky liquid all over the
walls, ceiling and floor. Thankfully there were
no human casualties. But Mum had made a
dozen bottles, which left eleven, unexploded, in
the crate.
Dad went immediately into bomb-disposal
mode. He banished the rest of us behind the
kitchen door cordon, hastily half-filled a large
black plastic dustbin with water, gingerly
(sorry…) lifted the crate of threatening bottles,
immersed it, with caution, and clamped the lid
shut.
Over the next two days we counted the explosions,
cheering every time one of the muffled
depth charges went off and squealing with
glee when, once or twice, the blast was sufficient
to dent the plastic from the inside.
I count myself extremely
fortunate to have
had my childhood
peace
shattered only by
a few over-primed
pop bottles. Ginger
beer can make
a terrible mess of
your kitchen, but
there are far worse
things out there
ready to go off,
and they take
a lot more
clearing
up.
Illustration by Hasia Curtis
25

RICHARD GREEN FUNERAL SERVICE
The only truly independent, family owned and run
Funeral Directors & Memorial Masons in Lewes & Uckfield
We understand that funerals can be a prickly subject but
are happy to help with any questions you may have
170 High Street
Lewes
BN7 1YE
01273 488121 (24hrs)
lewes@rgreenfs.co.uk
125 High Street
Uckfield
TN22 1RN
01825 760601 (24hrs)
uckfield@rgreenfs.co.uk
GREAT
PRICES
FLO TYRES
& ACCESSORIES
CALL
TODAY
O N E S T O P S H O P F O R P R E M I U M , M I D R A N G E A N D B U D G E T T Y R E S
TYRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS
PUNCTURE REPAIRS
WHEEL ALIGNMENT
WHEEL BALANCING
TYRES FROM STOCK OR TO ORDER SAME DAY:
ROADSTONE, HANKOOK, MICHELIN, DUNLOP, AVON
CONTINENTAL, PIRELLI, BRIDGESTONE, GOODYEAR
PRICES INCLUSIVE OF BALANCING AND FITTING.
TYRE CHECKS AND ADVICE FROM FRIENDLY STAFF.
Flo Tyres And Accessories
Unit 1 Malling Industrial Estate, Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY
Tel: 01273 481000 | Web: flotyres.com | info@flomargarage.com

COLUMN
Lewes Out Loud
Plenty more Henty
My goodness, my appreciation of Guinness (to
misquote a famous slogan for the smooth Irish
stout) all stems from an October honeymoon
which started in Dublin.
Up until that time, I had been a ginger beer and
bitter shandy man but on an evening visit to
one of the splendid pubs close by our city centre
hotel, I decided upon a pint of draught Guinness.
To this day, I maintain there’s something special
about the velvet brew when it’s actually made and
consumed in Ireland. The shamrock created by
the barmaid in the creamy head also impressed
me that night, and for the rest of our touring
holiday I was hooked.
In Killarney we were joined by a coachload of
American women who were given small glasses
of the stout – most of which they left. In another
pub, on the Ring of Kerry, while I ordered my
pint, Sylvia asked to use the facilities and was
surprised to be taken through a rear dining room,
up some stairs and directed to a commode. Only
in Ireland!
One man who also enjoyed the famous brew
was the son of artist Mabel Lucie Attwell,
whose biography I wrote a few years back. Peter
Earnshaw ended his days here in Lewes and was
known in several local pubs for his piano playing
and Guinness consumption.
One of his favourite gigs was to entertain Sussex
police at Christmas where, I’m told, bottles of
the stuff were lined up along the top of Peter’s
piano. Transport was provided to get him home
fortunately.
I encountered Peter in the Kings Head when we
first moved to Lewes 32 years ago. Then there
was a piano in the bar and pub food and furnishings
were very basic.
How things have changed. I certainly welcome
the new owners and their modern approach. One
match day Saturday recently, I noted a young
wedding party enjoying tapas, and another large
family seated along two sizeable tables. They
had chosen a wide selection of meals and I asked
manager, Felix, how many chefs were preparing
the food? One, he told me smiling, but he’s
special. Bravo Joseph!
Improvements noted at the Dripping Pan this
season as well, and the new bar area seems to
be working. I commented on this to club man,
David Arnold, an ever present at the Pan, along
with wife, Barbara.
David has compiled an excellent book that, as he
puts it, recounts the sad yet stirring story behind
the Priory School Lewes memorial chapel. The
Fifty Five – A Story Set in Stone is published by
Crown Publishing Limited.
On a personal note, I have just produced a follow
up to my Cheshire – The Cheese Loving Bear
story in verse. It’s on a colourful CD featuring
the remarkable Captain Sensible, lead guitarist
with The Damned. Do look out for it locally
please. All proceeds go to Chestnut Tree House –
providing specialist palliative care to children in
Sussex and South East Hampshire. John Henty
27

COLUMN
David Jarman
My back pages
To Depot to see The Souvenir, Joanna Hogg’s
much garlanded new film. The story is closely
based on a troubling time in her life. Julie
is a young film school student. She meets
Anthony, early thirties, suave in a very
charm-by-numbers sort of way. He claims
to work for the Foreign Office, as evidenced
by announcements such as “I’m going to
be away in Paris for a few days.” Even when
he starts borrowing money from Julie, says
cringemaking things like: “How would
you like to go to Venice?” buys her ooh-la-la
lingerie (from gay paree, you understand) which
she is as unable to carry off as is Anthony his
preposterously coloured bow ties, alarm bells fail
to ring. For Anthony has a dark secret. “Quelle
surprise”, as they probably don’t say in Paris. Oh
well, you know how this is going to end. It’s a film
you’ve seen a hundred times before.
The film’s title is taken from a Fragonard
painting in The Wallace Collection that
depicts a girl carving the letter ‘S’ on a tree
trunk. Anthony, who claims to have studied at
The Courtauld, takes Julie to see the painting.
She thinks the girl looks ‘sad’. He thinks she
looks ‘determined’. Like so much in the film,
none of this has a lot of meaning.
The choice of The Wallace Collection
reminded me of other, literary, references to
the museum. In Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, The
Sea the narrator pops in, and discovers that
pretty well all the female characters that we
have been introduced to in the book enjoy
astonishing resemblances to portraits in
The Wallace Collection. Apart that is from
Hartley, the narrator’s long lost love, recently
rediscovered living just up the road with her
husband.
Anita Brookner, who taught at The Courtauld,
mentions visits to The Wallace Collection in A
Family Romance, one of her fine, invigoratingly
depressing novels. The ‘great Bouchers’
on the central staircase are singled out for
praise. I liked a passage in Brookner’s Times
obituary: ‘She loved her parents “painfully”,
she often said, but thought they should never
have had children. She told a friend that she
remembered feeling relief at the news of the
outbreak of the Second World War. It was the
first event that distressed her parents that she
knew was not her fault.’ And then there’s a
passage in her first novel, A Start in Life: ‘“Sea
air will do her a power of good. You won’t
know her when she comes back.” Ruth wished
to believe it. She would indeed have welcomed
back parents whom she did not know.’
But the most famous literary reference to
The Wallace Collection is surely
Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the
Music of Time, a title borrowed
from Poussin’s painting in the
Long Gallery. And I like to
think that Powell also took
the name of the Italian
Soho restaurateur,
Foppa, who appears
in volume three of his
roman fleuve, from that of
the artist whose charming
painting of the young Cicero
reading is also in The Wallace
Collection.
Illustration by Charlotte Gann
29

ON THIS MONTH: MUSICAL
Grease
Sandy’s underlying feist
Few musicals evoke as much joy, in so many,
as Grease. Jacqui Freeman, Director of LOS
Musical Theatre’s upcoming production is one
such fan. “I was maybe eight when it came out,
and I went to see it eight times. I think it was the
only time I went to the cinema and didn’t eat
my orange-flavoured Matchmakers. I got to the
end and I hadn’t touched them because I was so
enraptured. I mean, John Travolta, come on! And
Olivia! There was so much going on.”
Jacqui was originally approached to direct a Bugsy
Malone production, after an LOS committee
member was impressed with the nativity plays
she had directed at a local school. An LOS production
of Les Mis then followed, and some of
the young cast that Jacqui directed then are now
performing in Grease. “They are very supportive
of each other as a cast. They’re young, they’ve
got lots of energy. They all love the songs.
“My big thing with any stage production is that
everybody understands who they are. I’ve been
to see lots of polished productions – amateur and
professional – where the singing, acting, lighting,
everything is great, but you don’t connect with
the characters on stage. So we talk about the
motivation a lot. Why is your character saying
that, what are they feeling?”
This production is an amalgamation of the original
musical and film versions of Grease. “Two
of the five songs from the original are fantastic,
so you’ll hear them: Mooning and Those Magic
Changes.” Mooning as in bum mooning? “The
character that sings it is known as the mooning
king of Rydell High. But he sings the song to
Jan, who he quite likes. So he’s singing about
mooning but really it becomes a fledgling love
song, because he’s mooning over her.”
Jacqui explains that Sandy’s character is more
rounded in the musical than in the film. “There’s
one scene for example where she punches one
of the other characters... she’s got this underlying
feist I think”. Jacqui suggests that Sandy’s
decision to change into “Tell me about it, Stud”
mode can then be interpreted as part of her own
coming of age story, rather than as a gambit to
win Danny over.
I briefly chat to Choreographer Jo Thomas too,
who started at LOS when she was around 11
years old, (performing as Annie no less!) Jo tells
me that Jacqui was impressed with her choreography
on previous LOS productions Oliver! and
Chess, admiring how it “helped tell a story rather
than just ticking a box as a dance”.
The dance numbers are longer than in the film,
so Jo is working hard to keep the momentum up
with vigorous routines. This focus on dynamism
chimes with Jacqui’s mantra for her actors: “If
in doubt, move about.” After seeing LOS’ “energetic,
upbeat and nostalgic show”, she thinks
that the audience too will leave with a bit of a
spring in their step.
Joe Fuller
Lewes Town Hall, 1st to 5th Oct,
losmusicaltheatre.org.uk, 01273 480127
31

ON THIS MONTH: FESTIVAL
Lewes Octoberfeast
Featuring the ‘Greedy Italian’
As Lewes Octoberfeast celebrates its tenth
anniversary, its new organisers are hoping the
month-long foodie festival will be the best yet.
One of those organisers is Elisa Furci, the
founder of Caccia & Tails. And it seems the
event is in safe hands, as Elisa’s credentials include
a stint running the London Food Festival.
“When I heard the previous organisers wanted
to pass it on, I immediately said I was interested,”
she says, “then I roped in Chloe from Seven
Sisters’ Spice, Jacob from The Feature Kitchen,
and Robin the Community Chef. Ronald Dam,
who is a local Lewes resident, is helping too, so
we’re a team of five. As we’re all very busy, it’s
been quite a challenge, but we’ve managed to
pull everything together.”
One highlight of the festival is an evening with
restaurateur and BBC chef Gennaro Contaldo.
He will be ‘in conversation’ with Saturday
Kitchen’s Olly Smith at the All Saints Centre on
Saturday 19 October, after which the ‘Greedy
Italian’ will be signing copies of his new book
Pasta Perfecto. Food and drinks will be provided
by Caccia & Tails.
“We’re going to turn the All Saints Centre
into an Italian Piazza with all the right lighting
and everything,” explains Elisa, who is herself
half-Italian, with roots in Genoa. “We’ll be
transporting everyone to Italy at Aperitivo time,
when everyone sits outside with a Campari or
beer and eats plates of focaccia.”
For those in search of something more cosy, the
Inglis Hall Secret Supper Club will be opening its
doors on Fridays, Saturdays and one Sunday during
the month. Places are restricted to ten people
per evening, and hosts will include The Feature
Kitchen, Seven Sisters’ Spice, One Supper Club,
Merle’s Kitchen, Brighton restaurant Chilli Pepper,
and Caccia & Tails.
“Inglis Hall have a beautiful, fully functioning
show kitchen and dining room at their premises
at the Phoenix Works,” Elisa says. “It’s an amazing
space, and there will be different people doing
different things on different nights. Because
numbers are limited, it will feel quite intimate,
and people will be able to see the food being
prepared and to chat to the chefs.”
Some of the many other events on offer include
free pop-up wine tastings at the Riverside every
Saturday in October – see page 88 – and a Street
Food Market on Saturday 12th in Harvey’s Yard.
There’s also ‘And Everything Nice – Delightful
Desserts and Nightcaps’, which takes place on the
evenings of 11 and 12 October. “If you’ve been
to an evening event without a dessert – or you
want an extra one – you can go on to this,” Elisa
enthuses. “It means you can combine it with an
earlier event, or eat at home and then go out for
dessert. In Italy, you often have dinner at home
and then go out for ice cream. We should definitely
adopt that custom over here!” Anita Hall
lewesoctoberfeast.com
Photo of Gennaro Contaldo by Simon Burt Photgraphy
33

JO O’SULLIVAN
WORKING TOGETHER
What’s best for your
family?
As a Collaborative Family Lawyer and Family
Mediator, I work with separating couples and
families across Sussex.
I choose to practice the collaborative
process and mediation rather than the
usual adversarial process because I wanted
to help couples and families through this
difficult period of change in the most
positive way possible. I am not motivated
by a system where one party ‘wins’ and
the other ‘loses’; where one side is pitted
against the other. The truth is that even in
court, no one really wins.
The couples who choose my services
do so because they say they want the
most amicable divorce possible. They are
determined to put their children’s needs first.
They recognise they need help to do this. As
the name suggests, the process is built on
collaboration and finding common ground.
Things to consider:
1. How is it to be your child right
now?
2. When and how do you tell the
children you are separating?
3. How and when to separate?
4. What memory do you want your
children to have of your separation?
5. What are your principles and
objectives as parents?
6. What are you hoping for, for
them?
These are not questions that are asked
or answered in a court process. But the
welfare of the children is paramount
to most parents and these and more
questions are the big ones, best to be had
in a collaborative process or in mediation.
Please call to discuss what might be the best process for you
on 07780676212 or email jo@osullivanfamilylaw.com
For more details about how I work visit
www.osullivanfamilylaw.com

ON THIS MONTH: MUSIC
Two for the show
A band called TOM
Photo by Mia Waghorn
Some musical groups are moulded from a
Lynx-scented cauldron of hairstyles and tattoos.
Others assemble themselves, often with the help
of a well-placed classified ad. “Colin wanted a
playmate”, Lance Maleski (pictured right) tells
me. “My wife saw the advert and said ‘Why
don’t you go along?’ And from that, it grew.”
I’m in the pub with musical duo TOM, where
founder member Colin Chapman is unable to
explain the band’s name. “I wanted something
that was short, familiar and possibly catchy.”
Lance claims it’s an acronym for Two Old Men,
which Colin quickly denies. “No! Somebody
did say that – I think it was my grandchildren.
There’s no sane explanation, I’m afraid.”
With such an easy rapport between the pair, it’s
difficult to believe they’d not met until a few
years ago. In Colin’s words, “I went round to
Lance’s place, and he said ‘I don’t really play
very much’. I thought ‘Well, this isn’t going
anywhere, is it?’ and then he said ‘I’ve got these
songs, though.’ And he had thick folders of
songs that he’d written over the years.” Despite
not being comfortable with performing, Lance
was a prolific songwriter. “I could always knock
up a melody”, he says. “Colin has really encouraged
me, to be honest. I’d never played live
until I was over 60. Basically, I was going to take
photographs after retirement. I bought a lovely
Nikon camera. And I haven’t taken a single photograph
because I’m always doing music.”
It seems a well-balanced creative partnership
with both men learning from each other. “I tend
to move on a bit too early whereas Lance sticks
at it”, Colin confesses. “He’ll write and write
and write and get it perfect.” But Lance wasn’t
always that way. “Because I was never good at
performing, I’d write a song and it would have
one verse because no-one else was going to hear
it. Now I ask myself, is each line appropriate, is
it good enough? That’s what I’ve learned from
Colin.”
The music of TOM has been compared to
Bob Dylan and praised by Peggy Seeger but
proves hard to categorise when I ask if there’s a
convenient label. Lance speaks first. “I think it’s
folk, Colin.” Instant disagreement. “I don’t think
it’s folk.” Lance offers ‘folk-ish’ as a compromise,
Colin suggests ‘singer/songwriter’ and
then Lance proposes a chimera that’s part Ian
Dury, part Chris de Burgh and part Paul Simon.
What’s certain is that storytelling is an essential
part of what they do. “We both write good
melodies”, Lance explains. “Lyrically, Colin is
incredibly strong and I try to aspire to that level.
And I like to take on any challenge.”
“Your speciality is also your comedy songs”, adds
Colin. Lance’s face lights up. “Oh yes. ‘Sadie the
Flatulent Horse’. True story.” Mark Bridge
TOM play the Sunday Brunch Live session at
Lewes Depot on 13th October, 11am-1pm.
tomsongs.info
35

Download the App!
~ Live access to our diary ~
~ View your prescription ~
~ View retinal photos ~
~ Update your details + more! ~
www.barracloughs.net/app
Barracloughs the Opticians Lewes are proud to incorporate
FIND YOUR FEET
PODIATRY &
CHIROPODY
- Fungal Nail advice
- Diabetic Foot
- Rheumatology
- Wound care
- Nail Surgery
- Nail Cutting
- Corn & Callus removal
- In-growing Toenails
- Verrucae
- Biomechanics
www.fyfpc.co.uk
52 Cliffe High Street . Lewes . 01273 471893
CHANTAL & CHARRELLE
HAIR COLOUR & BALAYAGE SPECIALISTS
Check us out on
exteriorhairstylist_
01273 567 333 | 16 market street, Bn7 2nb | exteriorhair@gmail.com

ON THIS MONTH: TALK
Jess Phillips
Speaking truth to power
I’m scheduled to speak with
Jess Phillips MP about her
new book Speaking Truth to
Power: 7 Ways to Call Time on
BS, but the phone hasn’t rung.
I’m not surprised. It’s the
morning after one of the most
momentous days in British
politics and Jess has given
an excoriating speech in the
House of Commons calling
out the Prime Minister for
playing a “bully boy game”
over his plans for Brexit, declaring
that there was “literally no distance” that
she would trust him on anything and shaming
the “cowardly” members left on the Conservative
benches for sitting silently by as 21 of their
colleagues were suspended for rebelling against
the PM. Delivered with righteous rage, it was a
masterclass in calling time on BS.
Since taking office as MP for Birmingham Yardley
in 2015, Jess Phillips has developed a reputation
for calling it how she sees it. Her plainspeaking
is a refreshing change in Parliament.
(“Let’s just call it shutting down parliament. I
literally hate the word prorogation” – another
thing she’s bloody angry about.) But it’s won her
plenty of enemies as well as supporters. In the
book, she reveals that she sleeps with a panic
button next to her bed, installed after her close
friend and colleague Jo Cox was murdered by a
far-right extremist. She is constantly threatened
for speaking out and viciously trolled on social
media with vile and hateful comments. I can’t
help but wonder if the price of speaking up is
too high?
Of course, she admits, the
backlash is distressing and the
most difficult part of speaking
truth to power. ‘Backlash
usually means you have hit a
nerve.’ she writes. ‘It can be
terrifying and tiring and you
should expect it and prepare for
it, but it is also a force we can
use for good if we learn what to
amplify and what to ignore.’
As well as how to channel the
fear, the book is full of practical
advice for getting your message
across in the most effective way and with the
maximum impact and – in case you’re thinking
your voice is too small to make a difference
– interviews with ordinary people who were
compelled to speak out. People like Zelda Perkins
who blew the whistle on Harvey Weinstein,
Sarah Rowbotham who refused to be silenced
having discovered the child exploitation scandal
in Rochdale, and the families of Grenfell United
campaigning for safer social housing.
It’s an inspiring and emboldening read. A battle
cry as well as a ‘how to’ manual. A reminder that,
if you want to be heard, you’ve got to speak up.
If you’re not ready to start a one-woman crusade
just yet, Jess advises that we all start with not being
a ‘bystander to bullshit’. As world politicians
continue to behave in unspeakable ways, it falls
to us to call them out. ‘If you don’t speak back to
the bully, the bully always wins.’ Lizzie Lower
Jess Phillips MP will be discussing her new book
on Thursday 3rd October at the Brighthelm
Centre, Brighton, 7.30pm. Visit city-books.co.uk/
events for tickets.
37

Valuation Day
Jewellery and Fine Art
Charleston House, Lewes, BN8 6LL | 9 October, 11am to 3pm
APPOINTMENTS
AND ENQUIRIES
01273 220000
hove@bonhams.com
bonhams.com/hove
A DIAMOND AND SAPPHIRE
TRANSFORMABLE
NECKLACE
by Grassy, circa 1935
Sold for £257,562 *
* Prices shown include buyer’s premium. Details can be found at bonhams.com

ON THIS MONTH: THEATRE
Psychic Connections
The Ayckbourn legacy
“When I was young
and trying to find my
own voice, it was quite
a pressure,” says Philip
Ayckbourn, the Lewesbased
playwright who
is directing his own
two-act ghost story,
Psychic Connections, at the
Lewes Little Theatre in
October. “I had to step
away from Dad’s shadow. And it’s quite a long
shadow.”
‘Dad’, of course, is Alan Ayckbourn, arguably the
country’s most successful living playwright. “It
helps open doors, and people give you a second
look when otherwise they might not have, but I
felt I had to escape that shadow. I spent twenty
years running a touring theatre company in
France, where I had relative anonymity. That’s
where I cut my theatrical teeth.”
Nowadays, long back in England, with a string of
well-received plays behind him, Philip doesn’t so
much avoid comparisons with his father, as invite
them. He’s part of the scheduling committee at
Lewes Little Theatre, and suggested, this autumn,
that there should be a double bill of ghost
stories, to help celebrate the 80th birthday of
both Ayckbourn Sr and the theatre itself. Psychic
Connections follows his father’s Haunting Julia,
which played in September.
“Both plays were a reaction to The Woman in
Black, which premiered in Scarborough Library
Theatre in 1987,” he says. “That influenced Dad
to write Haunting Julia, and, since seeing it, I
always had it in mind to write a ghost story. I
finally completed Psychic Connections three years
ago. This is its premiere.”
He gives me a brief
description of the
plot. A TV psychic
takes two punters to a
long-derelict Victorian
school in Surrey,
where she performs an
on-screen seance. She
discovers connections
between them and their
forebears, and starts
unravelling the mystery of the death of a young
girl, Alice, in the 1880s. Did she commit suicide,
or was there foul play involved?
“The action oscillates between two periods of
time,” he continues, “and, as the title suggests,
plays on the many connections between past and
present. It’s a ghost story, but becomes a detective
story, too, as the truth gradually unfolds. The
key is the psychic medium, a quirky, mysterious
woman, with a dark undercurrent.”
Philip’s mother was a sometime attender of seances,
and the playwright, who has read widely
on the subject, believes there ‘must be something
in it’. “I’ve heard too many stories to just dismiss
the whole business,” he says. “I’m not expecting
the same of my audience, but some suspension of
disbelief comes into play.”
I wonder if his father has read the script, and
what he thinks of it. “We no longer read one another’s
work,” he smiles. “We prefer to show one
another the finished product, on the stage.” So is
Alan coming to Lewes to see Psychic Connections?
And does this make Philip nervous? “He is. I’m
sure he’ll like it. Whatever the case, I’m proud
of him, and what he’s done, and to be part of his
legacy.” Alex Leith
25th Oct-2nd Nov, lewestheatre.org
39

ON THIS MONTH: LITERATURE
Susie Boyt
Human landscape artist
Susie Boyt is the author of six novels, but she’s
best known for her palimpsestic 2008 memoirbiography
My Life as Judy Garland, and you get
the feeling, talking to her about the book, that
its success has been something of a doubleedged
sword.
I wouldn’t have picked it up if I hadn’t been
asked to interview her. While I quite like Judy
Garland, I’m not a fan, in the way many people
are, and I wouldn’t have felt qualified, somehow,
to read it. But as I became absorbed in its pages,
I realised that my preconceptions were flawed.
Midway through my half-hour phone conversation
with Boyt, she addresses the issue. “The
difficult thing about it is that people who aren’t
interested in Judy Garland really enjoy it, but
no-one who isn’t interested in Judy Garland
would consider reading it… that’s very me to put
off half my readers without really meaning to.”
It turns out the main theme of the book isn’t
Garland, but Boyt’s emotional rawness, and it
takes the reader a while to realise this. Or as
she puts it: “it’s a book about loss, disguised as a
book about me, disguised as a book about Judy
Garland, with layers upon layers of things going
on… I always write things that are very much on
the slant, I don’t like looking at things head on.”
I ask Boyt if the Garland theme was something
of a disguise: had she ever considered writing
a similar book about her relationship with her
father, the late artist Lucian Freud? “I wouldn’t
ever do that,” she says. “The only other person
I could have done it about was Henry James…
I’m constantly re-reading his work on a kind of
loop, so that’s quite a powerful wallpaper in the
background of my life.”
Henry James and Judy Garland, I think: what
an incongruous marriage of cultural heroes. So
I ask her: if she hosted a dinner party, inviting
just the two of them, how does she think they’d
get on?
There’s a long pause. Finally: “It wouldn’t be a
very relaxed evening. Both of them, for a start,
were very troubled about food. Henry James
had utterly terrible digestion issues, and Judy
Garland didn’t really like to eat, so me being
a feeder, that’s going to be challenging, for a
start.”
Then: “I suppose Henry James’s whole literary
force was to do with uncovering in its entirety
the whole landscape of human consciousness.
And I think she was interested in the whole
landscape of human feeling. So those are two
quite big things to share.”
After we speak, I start reading her latest (2017)
novel, Love & Fame, another story with
bereavement as its driver. Again,
I become absorbed in her
words. And I realise that
Henry James and Judy Garland
are, after all, a formidable
partnership of muses
for a writer. Human
consciousness, and
human feeling: that’s
quite a landscape to
explore.
Alex Leith
Lewes Literary
Society, All
Saints, October
8th, 8pm.
lewesliterarysociety.co.uk

Thank you Lewes
You made our opening
weekend a great success
We were so happy to see
such wonderful crowds of
well-wishers as our Mayor
and Mayoress John and
Gaynor Lamb announced
The Unity Centre open!
JOIN UP
Half-price
membership for
the first month
www.being-in-unity.com/the-unity-centre-lewes
Lewes
Little
Theatre
Written and Directed by
Philip Ayckbourn
Friday 25 October – Saturday 2
November 7:45pm excl Saturday
26 & Sunday 27 October.
Matinees Saturdays 26 October
& 2 November 2:45pm.
www.lewestheatre.org
Box Office: 01273 474826
£12/Members £8
Psychic
Connections

ON THIS MONTH: FILM
Maiden, The Leopard, Red Desert
Film ’19
Dexter Lee’s cinema round-up
This month’s book-to-film offering (Oct 3rd)
features a much-loved classic. To Kill a Mockingbird
won a Pulitzer prize for author Harper Lee
in 1950, and its screen adaptation won three
awards in the 1962 Academy Awards, including
best actor for Gregory Peck, and best adapted
screenplay for Horton Foote.
Luchino Visconti’s historical epic The Leopard
(6th) didn’t win an Oscar, but did bag the Cannes
Palme D’Or in 1963. Based on Giuseppe Tomasi
di Lampedusa’s eponymous novel, it’s set during
Garibaldi’s military campaign in Sicily in 1860.
Burt Lancaster stars; the costumes are stunning.
This is the first of an Italian 1960s mini-season
at Depot. It’s accompanied by Michelangelo
Antonioni’s existential 1964 masterpiece Red
Desert, starring Monica Vitti and Richard Harris
(16th, preceded by an Italian meal for those who
choose), and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s metaphorical
and thought-provoking masterpiece, Theorem
(23rd), starring Terence Stamp as a young man
who has a dramatic effect on the lives of a bourgeois
Italian family he visits.
From the sublimely ridiculous to the ridiculously
sublime: October’s dementia-friendly
offering is the Elvis Presley vehicle Blue Hawaii
(8th), all surfboards, colourful shirts, and complicated
love triangles.
Depot is celebrating European Arthouse
Cinema Day with a preview of the latest film
by French ‘new New Wave’ director François
Ozon. By the Grace of God (13th) examines the
after effects of the Lyons Catholic Church
sexual abuse scandal; the film gets a week’s run
later in the month (from 25th).
The oldest film of the month, and this month’s
choice in the Michael Voigt Film Club, hasn’t
lost any of its vibrancy. Howard Hawks’ 1940
screwball comedy His Girl Friday (16th) stars
Cary Grant as an unscrupulous journalist
trying to stop his former colleague – and lover
– Rosalind Russell from getting married, by
trying to involve her in an unfolding scoop.
And the month should end with a few more: exact
details weren’t released as we went to press,
but expect at least one horror movie at Depot
on Halloween (31st, obvs).
There are two films at the Lewes Film Club,
in the All Saints, and both feature powerful
female leads. Benedikt Erlingsson’s 2018
offering Woman at War (11th) sees Halldóra
Geirharðsdóttir portray a mild-mannered
Reykjavik choir instructor leading a double life:
by night she is a hardened eco-terrorist. Can
she pull off one-last manoeuvre before fulfilling
her life dream and adopting a child? Alex
Holmes’ Maiden, meanwhile (22nd) is a moving
and illuminating documentary examining how
Tracy Edwards turned from ship’s cook to yacht
skipper in order to lead the first-ever all-female
crew in the Whitbread Round the World Race
in 1989, confronting chauvinistic ridicule from
the yachting fraternity, and biblical weather
conditions, along the way.
43

From
Buckingham
Palace
Treasure
A PRINCE’S
to the
Royal Pavilion
21 SEPTEMBER 2019
– AUTUMN 2021
Admission payable
Members free
brightonmuseums.org.uk
The Royal
Collection returns
to Brighton
THE ROYAL PAVILION • BRIGHTON, BN1 1EE
Images: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

ART: BOOK
Voyaging Out
So many lives…
Sylvia Pankhurst,
daughter of Emmeline,
was a political activist
and campaigner for
women’s rights. She was
also an artist. ‘Her art’,
writes Carolyn Trant
in her new Thames &
Hudson book, Voyaging
Out, ‘became her way of
bearing witness, showing the monotony of the
repetitive work done by women, from packing
fish to stooking corn; enduring the heat of the
mills or cold in the fields.’
The book’s packed with fascinating life stories
of British women artists over the last 150 years:
how they did and didn’t manage to work, how
they organised their lives, who they lived with,
who they worked with; and how that work was
then received – or not – by the establishment of
the day.
The effect of this “narrative non-fiction” is
compelling, and cumulative: all these lives
lived, and lost – and the extraordinary art that
emerged. The pictures dotted throughout are
an education. And Carolyn is herself, of course,
an artist, not historian: the emphasis stays firmly
with the work.
The idea for the book came, Carolyn tells me
when I visit her in Lewes, after she wrote and
published her 2004 life of Peggy Angus. Peggy,
born to a mining family, one of 13 children, was
always an outsider when it came to the art establishment,
and deliberately so. “She was being
an outsider definitively, so she could say what
she thought”, says Carolyn. “This could seem
intimidating, but she was totally fearless.”
Carolyn knew Peggy well – from the age of
11, when Peggy was her art
teacher at her school in North
London. They remained
close until Peggy’s death in
2004. “And there were so
many other women artists
I encountered through her.
I wanted to write about her
wider group of friends. That
was the seed. This book grew
from there. At one stage it was three times the
size! And of course it was a joy writing it because
I know a lot of the next generation: they’ve been
so generous.”
She was also politically motivated. “I’d been
part of a group called Women In Print. Of
course, I’ve cared about how women have been
overlooked for simply being women. And the
relevance today is important. We’re at a period
where we’re rethinking what art is. Grayson
Perry – who I think is brilliant – is Peggy Angus
today. It’s to do with looking at art as something
you do as part of life – nothing to do with galleries
etc.”
Throughout this account, of course, women
juggle their art with other roles and constraints:
financial, class, marriage, security, children, the
kitchen sink. Their courage and determination
shine through these potted histories. And
Carolyn also thinks that, politically and socially,
we have things to (re)learn. “Now is so like the
1930s – with the rise of fascism. These women
were so inspiring, had such integrity.
“Perhaps they didn’t have so much to lose”, she
says. “But they lived by their beliefs, and they
stood up for things. Today, we could do with
remembering this.”
Charlotte Gann
45

(EAST)
BRIGHTON RACECOURSE
Freshfield Road, Brighton BN2 9XZ
PREVIEW EVENING
11th October 2019 (6pm - 9pm)
OPEN ALL WEEKEND
12th & 13th October 2019 (10am - 6pm)
Artwork: Jody Craddock
HALF PRICE WEEKEND TICKETS AVAILABLE! REGISTER
AT EVENTBRITE.CO.UK WITH THE CODE: VIVAL50
Preview Evening Tickets also available for purchase online.
AFFORDABLE
ART TO BUY
FROM OVER
120 ARTISTS,
GALLERIES &
COLLECTIVES
sussexartfairs.co.uk | #sussexartfairs | @sussexartfairs

ON THIS MONTH: ART
David Nash
Wizard of wood
You get the feeling, when you talk to David
Nash, the internationally respected Anglo-Welsh
sculptor and land artist, that he really loves his
primary material, wood.
In October the Towner in Eastbourne is showing
a retrospective of his career, 200 Seasons at
Capel Rhiw, an indoor forest of his raw abstract
sculptures, in all their charred, chipped and
chain-sawed glory. The exhibition celebrates
the artist’s long relationship with Wales, where
he has been working in his studio – a converted
chapel in Blaenau Ffestiniog – for 50 years. He
also has strong connections with East Sussex,
where he sources much of his wood.
“Every species speaks a different dialect of the
language of wood,” he tells me, over a glass of elderflower
cordial, on a hot July afternoon. “Each
has its different qualities. Oak has longevity,
birch has a short life. Holly is so dense and white
they use it to make piano keys. Elm doesn’t split,
but it can smell funny. In fact, it can smell like
dog shit. I had to remove a sculpture from an
exhibition once, because everyone was looking at
the soles of their shoes.”
Another sculpture that had to be taken away, for
a different reason, was Big Bud, a four-metrehigh,
6-ton oaken carving that was briefly on
show, in Grange Gardens, as part of his 2007
With the Grain exhibition, in Lewes Town Hall.
“It was vandalised,” he says, “and we had to put
a fence round it, and a guard, with a dog. It
became too much bother, so we removed it. My
wife didn’t like it anyway.”
Nash has utmost respect for his materials. He
would never kill a healthy tree, to make a sculpture.
“I only work from dying, or dead trees,
or ones that have fallen, or become dangerous.
After a storm, people ring me up about a fallen
tree; if they’re any good I go and quarry them.”
Wooden Boulder was a case in point. In 1977 he
was alerted to the fact that an oak had fallen
on a hillside of the Ffestiniog Valley, in North
Wales. He hewed out a huge, asymmetrical,
half-ton lump, and attempted to work it down
a stream, so he could take it in his truck to his
studio/home at Capel Rhiw. It got lodged in a
waterfall, and he chose to leave it there, visiting
it regularly to see how it changed, through the
seasons. Over the next 25 years, rainstorms
moved it down the stream to the estuary below
and it disappeared, presumably washed out into
the Irish sea.
“I never thought I’d see it again,” he smiles.
“Then, ten years later, in 2013, it mysteriously
reappeared, in the same estuary. It was like a
lap of honour.” Two years later, it disappeared
anew. “I doubt I shall ever see it again,” he says,
“but it’s still somewhere, it’s just out of sight. No
energy dissipates.” Alex Leith
28 Sep-2nd Feb 2020, free entry
townereastbourne.org.uk
Branch Frame, David Nash, 1996
47

Sundays until 27th October 2019
Experience the extraordinary atmosphere of the
Sussex home and garden of the Surrealists Lee
Miller & Roland Penrose. 50 minute guided house
tour tickets available online or in the gallery
on arrival.
Muddles Green, Chiddingly
East Sussex, BN8 6HW
www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk
@ FarleysHG
exhibition 2019
1st november - 8th december
© Roger Dean, 1974
concerts & events throughout the exhibition
including steve hackett & focus
trading boundaries-01825 790200-www.tradingboundaries.com

ART
ART & ABOUT
In town this month
Jane Bridger
Patrick Altes
From the 14th, Chalk
Gallery start their
Autumn season with
Earthly Blings, an
exhibition of works
by ceramicist Jane
Bridger. This collection
– inspired by
ancient Persia, the Far East and the world
around us – encapsulates her 30 years of
experimentation and experience with decorative
techniques and glazes. You’re invited
to ‘Meet the Artist’ on Saturday 19th October
2pm to 4pm.
From the 28th of
September until
the 19th of October,
Depot host
In the Moment,
presented by
Drawing Life – a
charity that offers
artist-led life
drawing classes
to people living
with dementia. Visual artists Oska Lappin,
Matthew Radford and Patrick Altes
present works inspired by their time leading
the group, accompanied by a soundtrack
created by DJ Danny Rampling and Aidan
Lavelle. [drawinglife.org]
Captivating Colour
– an exhibition
by the East
Sussex Guild of
Weavers, Spinners
and Dyers
– will be at the
Town Hall on the 25th and 26th. Showcasing
items made by the members, as well as
second-hand equipment for sale, trade stalls,
demonstrations of weaving and spinning
techniques. Children are particularly welcome
to join in. (Adults £4, accompanying
children and students free.)
Our congratulations
to Mohamed Hamid
whose Star Pottery
recently celebrated
its 30th anniversary
in the Star Brewery.
Mohamed’s distinctive
brush-decorated
stoneware pottery has
become synonymous with the town, with
his number plaques adorning so many local
doorways, and his bespoke plates and mugs
commemorating countless births, marriages
and retirements. He also teaches around
50 students each week, of all ages, tutoring
hundreds of budding makers over the course
of his career. Long may he continue.
Out of town
This month Sussex Art Fairs bring together
more than 125 artists, galleries and collectives at
Brighton Racecourse from the 11th-13th. Visitors
will be able to chat to the artists and gallery
owners, whilst browsing thousands of affordable
artworks. (Preview 6-9pm Friday 11th, £12 entry. General admission 10am-6pm Sat 12th & Sun
13th, £6 entry. Free for children under 12. See pg 46 for reader offer. sussexartfairs.co.uk)
Single Use Planet I Lexi Laine
49

FiFteen years oF BriGHton art Fair, tHis year cominG to
LeWes toWn HaLL FisHer street LeWes Bn7 2Qs
earLy Bird tickets avaiLaBLe onLine £5 or on tHe door £7.50
www.brightonartfair.co.uk

ART
Studio+
Gallery
AUTUMN EXHIBITION
THE UNEXPECTED
OPENING ON OCTOBER 3rd
Out of town (cont)
NEW PAINTINGS BY
PETER MESSER
STUDIO+GALLERY
21 Church Street
Seaford, BN25 1HD
07511 817366
www.studioplusgallery.com
OCTOBER 3RD TO NOVEMBER 3RD 2019
every Thursday to Sunday 11.00 to 17.00
Post-Impressionist Living:
The Omega Workshops
is at the galleries
at Charleston.
Established by the
painter and art critic
Roger Fry in 1913,
with Vanessa Bell and
Duncan Grant as codirectors,
the Omega Workshops
were inspired by the new, vital spirit of
Post-Impressionism, producing bold, playful
and inventive items for the home.
Tickets include entry to Coming Home: Virginia
Woolf by Vanessa Bell, part of a major National
Portrait Gallery project that sees portraits
of iconic individuals from the national collection
travelling to the towns and cities most
closely associated with their subjects. Vanessa
Bell’s portrait of her sister, Virginia Woolf, was
painted at nearby Asheham, Virginia’s Sussex
home in 1912, and is displayed at Charleston
for the first time.
Plate with overglaze painted sailing boat design, Duncan Grant, 1913-14.
© The Estate of Duncan Grant. All rights reserved. DACS 2019 / The
Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London.
Peter Messer
From 3rd October,
Studio+ Gallery
in Seaford present
The Unexpected – an
exhibition of new
paintings by Peter
Messer, many on
display for the first
time. His intense
and watchful tempera
paintings explore unseen elements of a
world ignored by many of us until he, deftly
and persuasively, reminds us of it. (21 Church
St, Seaford. Continues until 3rd Nov.) Just
next door, the Crypt Gallery has a full month
of events with a group exhibition, a guitar
recital and an interactive sound and vision
installation inspired by the Sussex Downs.
Visit thecryptgallery.com for details.
51

DEPOT CINEMA LEWES
In the MoMent
AN EXHIBITION
INSPIRED BY PEOPLE LIVING
WITH DEMENTIA
28th SEPTEMBER-19th OCTOBER
IN THE MOMENT is a show
presented by Drawing Life and
curated by visual artists Oska Lappin,
Matthew Radford, Patrick Altes and
DJ Danny Rampling.
For more information visit
www.lewesdepot.org
Sponsored by Arts Council England,
Sussex Community Foundation, Hastings Borough Council
O C T O B E R :
Tuesday 1st - Sunday 6th
Take Five with Roger Scott, David Mills,
Peter Stafford, John Deller and Liz Scott
Saturday October 12th 7.30- 9 pm
Guitar duo Ashworth and Rattenbury
Saturday 19th - 26th
Solace an interactive sound and vision
installation with Karen Tilley and Kevin Grist
www.sparkedecho.org/solace
Crypt Gallery, 23 Church Street, Seaford, BN25 1HD | www.thecryptgallery.com

ART
Out of town (cont)
Floating Worlds – an exhibition of Japanese woodcuts from the Edo period
(1615-1868) – continues at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. The style
of prints on display is known as Ukiyo-e, which means ‘pictures of the
floating world’, capturing the sights of 19th century Edo (modern day Tokyo).
The exhibition offers a calm space to relax and a series of events including
yoga, Tai Chi, meditation and haiku poetry have been programmed
to promote mindfulness and wellbeing. Across the gardens at the Royal
Pavilion, upwards of 120 splendid objects are now on display in their original settings. On
loan from the Royal Collection Trust, visitors will be able to see porcelain pagodas and extraordinary
clocks originally acquired by the Prince Regent for his exotic Brighton palace and
moved to London by Queen Victoria in 1847.
Image courtesy of Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019
Oska Bright, the world’s biggest learning disability film
festival, returns to The Old Market in Hove from the
23rd-26th. Challenging perceptions of who can create and
star in films, this year’s festival offers dozens of animations,
documentaries, dramas, film surgeries and a new ‘After
Dark’ slot where ‘the most unexplained, unexpected and
experimental films’ will be screened. A glittering awards
night takes place on Friday 25th, with the winners screened on the 26th. (oskabright.org)
Towner Art Gallery
David Nash 200 Seasons
29 September 2019 – 2 February 2020
Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ
www.townereastbourne.org.uk @townergallery
#200Seasons #EastbourneAlive
David Nash, Nature to Nature, 1985. © Jonty Wilde, courtesy David Nash. Tate Collection

With your
heart and
soles, conquer
the coals!
30TH OCTOBER 2019 AT 6PM
MID SUSSEX GOLF CLUB, BN6 8XJ
Enjoy an interactive seminar before facing your fears and
taking a daring dash across burning coals. Bring friends
and family for an evening filled with fun, fire and inspiration.
Entry is just £25 per person with a promise
to raise £100+ or £125 with no fundraising
commitment.
Find out more and register at
www.stpjhospice.org or call 01444 470208.
Registered charity number 1056114.

Oct listings
THROUGHOUT OCTOBER
OctoberFeast. Events throughout the town,
see page 33 & lewesoctoberfeast.com.
TUESDAY 1
NT Live: One Man, Two Guvnors. Encore
screening of the play featuring James Corden,
to celebrate the 10th birthday of National
Theatre Live. Depot, 1pm, £20.
TUESDAY 1 – SATURDAY 5
Grease. LOS Musical Theatre’s production
of the popular hit musical. Lewes Town Hall,
7.30pm (Saturday 2pm & 7pm), £10-£17, see
page 31.
THURSDAY 3
Comedy at the Con. With
Markus Birdman, Omid
Singh, Alex Kealy and special
guest MC Sally-Anne Hayward.
Con Club, 7.30pm,
£8-£12.
Movement 4 Movement in Calais and Beyond.
A group of students from London’s Trinity
Laban Contemporary Dance present their
recent experience of taking music and dance to
refugee camps in Calais and neighbouring sites.
Tea, coffee and soft drinks available afterwards,
followed by the AGM of LOSRAS (Lewes Organisation
in Support of Refugees and Asylum
Seekers). Christ Church Main Hall, Prince
Edward’s Road, 7.30pm, free.
FRIDAY 4
Henges & Hand Grenades: New Discoveries
from Salisbury Plain. Lewes Archaeological
Group talk with Martin Brown. Lewes
Town Hall Lecture Room (Fisher Street entrance),
7.30pm, £4/£3 (free for under 25s).
SATURDAY 5
NT Live Encore: Fleabag. Encore screening
of the award-winning, one-woman show
that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag.
Depot, 2.30pm, £20.
A Girdle Round the Earth – Music of Longing
and Belonging. East Sussex Freedom from
Torture supporters group present their second
recital with award-winning musicians. Refreshments
and a raffle to follow. St Anne’s Church,
6pm, £15.
Beyond the Water’s Edge – Transformative
Tales from the Sea. Local
storyteller presents sea tales of sea
goddesses, shape shifters, loss, belonging,
death, nature, gender, love and
suffering. Family-friendly but parental guidance
advised. Westgate Chapel, 7pm, £10/£8.
Chiddingly Festival Disco. Party to end the
festival with local DJs spinning disco, funk and
house all night long. Chiddingly Village Hall,
7pm till late, £5.
SUNDAY 6
TUESDAY 8
Fun Dog Show. In honour
of World Animal Day, raising
funds for Raystede Centre
for Animal Welfare. Seaford
beach, see raystede.org
Susie Boyt at Lewes Literary Society. All
Saints, 8pm, £10 (£5 for under 25s), see p41.
55

Riverside & Octoberfeast
A series of Wine Tastings of Sussex Wines in our Pop up Space upstairs at Riverside
Breaky Bottom
Saturday 5 th October
11am to 4pm
Bluebell Vineyard Estates
Saturday 12 th October
11am to 4pm
Vineyards of the
Sussex Weald
Saturday 19 th October
11am to 4pm
Plumpton Estate Wines
Saturday 26 th October
11am to 4pm
Each Saturday in October Riverside will be hosting a
series of wine tasting pop ups giving you an opportunity
to taste, compare and buy local Sussex wine from a
cluster of passionate growers and winemakers. Riverside
brings you Breaky Bottom, Bluebell Vineyard, Plumpton
Estate Wines and the Vineyards of the Sussex Weald
including Beacon Down, Fox & Fox, Hidden Spring, Off
The Line and Tickerage who will all be showcasing their
range of wines in our unique pop up venue.
Find us upstairs at Riverside Lewes
Cliffe High Street, Lewes, BN7 2RE
FESTIVALS
DIGITAL
FILM
MUSIC
PERFORMANCE
University of Sussex, Gardner Centre Road, Brighton BN1 9RA
01273 678 822
attenboroughcentre.com

Oct listings (cont.)
WEDNESDAY 9
Flexible Minds Flexible Bodies: how the
Feldenkrais Method supports mental health.
An event in partnership with East Sussex
Libraries to mark World Mental Health Day.
Meet local practitioners, hear a talk about
Moshe Feldenkrais and his work (6pm), and
a presentation of a new collection of books
about him and the Method. Lewes Library,
Friars Walk, 5.30pm-7pm, free.
The Changing Landscape of Sussex Place
Names. In this, the third in a series of lectures
in memory of Pam Combes, Professor Richard
Coates will explore the place names of Sussex
with reference to Mawer and Stenton’s seminal
work, 90 years after its initial publication.
He will share his special interest in the area
where linguistics, history and geography meet,
as well as his expertise on the traditional dialects
of Sussex. The Keep, 6.30pm, £10 (free to
FoTKA members).
THURSDAY 10
Needlewriters. Featuring readings from Robert
Hamberger, Martin Nathan, Anna Reckin
and Clare Best. John Harvey Tavern, 7pm for
7.45pm, £5/£3.
John Every’s Phoenix Ironworks, Lewes.
Talk by John Blackwell, Chairman of Sussex
Industrial Archaeology Society. Priory School
Hall, 7.30pm, £2 for Members of the Lewes
National Trust Centre/£5 for non-members.
The Case for a Real Living Wage.
Headstrong Club talk with Sonya Baksi who
worked over a 40 period in the NHS and was a
consultant community paediatrician. Elephant
& Castle, 8pm, £3.
FRIDAY 11 – SUNDAY 13
Giants of
Steam Autumn
Gala.
Special weekend
with
guest trains
‘Duchess of
Sutherland’
and ‘Britannia’, and a chance to ride the footplate.
See bluebell-railway.com.
SATURDAY 12
Self-Help Menopause. A friendly and supportive
one-day session specifically for the
general public. It will be a small group with
the aim of giving everyone the chance to find
out what they need to know about menopause,
and the opportunity to create their own
positive self-help strategies. St Mary’s Church
Hall, see chantryhealth.com.
SATURDAY 12 & SUNDAY 13
FRIDAY 11
Film: Woman at War (12A). Icelandic dramedy
about Halla, who is leading a secret double
life as an environmental activist. All Saints,
8pm, £5/£2.50.
Wakehurst’s Bountiful Botanics. A weekend
celebrating nature’s bounty, with a programme
of tours, talks and family activities, plus handson
workshops, tree-climbing and demonstrations.
See kew.org/Wakehurst.
57

Lewes Castle &
Anne of Cleves House
Anne of Cleves House
Beginners Weaving Workshop
Fri 18 th Oct, booking required
Lewes Castle
Morning Explorer - Herbs &
Spices
Mon 28 th Oct,10.00-11.00am
For families with additional needs to
explore the site & collections. Hands
on activities, stories & guiding.
For more details call: 01273 405734
Anne of Cleves House
Autumn Colours
Tues 29 th Oct, 1.00-4.00pm
Explore Tudor plants, dyes & paints.
All ages. Included in admission.
Lewes Castle*
Heros & Dragons
Thurs 31 st Oct,10.30 -12pm
Listen, discover & make.
Ages 4-8. Tickets £5.
*Booking required for
Lewes Castle activities
www.sussexpast.co.uk
SPITTING IMAGE MEETS NOT THE NINE O’CLOCK NEWS VIA HIGNFY
THE TREASON SHOW
halloween
brexit Special
The con clUb 139 high St lewes BN7 1XS
Thursday 31st October - 8pm
Tickets £15 & £12.50 members (or£16 on door)
Book online www.treasonshow.co.uk

Oct listings (cont.)
Max Cristafi Photography
SUNDAY 13
Back Room Romp. Afternoon swing dance
with DJs playing swing jazz, rhythm ‘n’ blues,
doo wop and blues from the 30s to the early
60s. The Lamb, 4pm-7pm, free.
MONDAY 14
The Godlees of Bear Yard: An Intimate
Family Portrait. Lewes History Group lecture
by Joanna Hodgkin giving a unique, behindthe-scenes
account of the unusual and colourful
Godlees family of Bear Yard, Cliffe based on a
wealth of previously unseen archival documents.
King’s Church, 7pm, £1/£3.
TUESDAY 15
Labyrinth. Physical theatre
meets live literature
in this fierce feminist
monologue from Portugal,
performed by Marta
Carvalho. All Saints,
7.45pm, £10/£12.
THURSDAY 17 & SUNDAY 20
NT Live: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Shakespeare’s romantic comedy screened live
from the Bridge Theatre in London. Starring
Gwendoline Christie, Oliver Chris, David
Moorst and Hammed Animashaun. Depot,
7pm (17th) & 1pm (20th), £20.
SATURDAY 19
Repair Café. Take
along damaged
clothes, broken electrical
appliances, bicycles,
china, jewellery
and more. Tea, coffee
and cake available.
Landport Community
Hub, 2pm-5pm, no
charge is made but donations are welcome.
TUESDAY 22
Film: Maiden (12A). The story of how Tracy
Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats,
became the skipper of the first ever all-female
crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World
Race in 1989. All Saints, 8pm, £5/£2.50.
FRIDAY 25
Black Cat Firewalk. With live band, bar and
hot food, fundraising for Cats Protection. National
Cat Adoption Centre, Chelwood Gate,
see cats.org.uk/blackcatfirewalk.
FRI 25 – SAT 2 NOVEMBER
Psychic Connections. Written and directed
by Philip Ayckbourn. Lewes Little Theatre, see
lewestheatre.org for times and prices & p39.
SUNDAY 27
Pells last swim of the season. See pellspool.
org.uk for more info.
WEDNESDAY 30
Commonwealth War Graves. Talk about the
work of the War Graves Commission with a
Lewes connection, as well as looking at, and
learning about, the Russian memorial erected
in 1877 in the St John sub Castro graveyard.
For age 50+. The Trinity Centre, St John Sub
Castro, 2.30-4.30pm, free.
Fire Walk. Fundraising
for St Peter &
St James Hospice.
Seminar before a dash
across the coals, followed
by an evening of fun, fire and inspiration.
Mid Sussex Golf Club, see stpjhospice.org.
Works in Progress. Rehearsed readings of
new and emerging works by local playwrights,
including Louise Monaghan, Josie Melia and
Mark C. Hewitt. All Saints, 7.45pm, £8/£10.
59

Autumn Concert
Wagner
Overture
The Flying Dutchman
Richard Strauss
Horn Concerto No. 1
Soloist Brendan Connellan
Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 1
‘Winter Daydreams’
Friday 11th October 7.30pm
Lewes Town Hall, Lewes
Info tickets and prices visit
www.lewesconcertorchestra.org
METAMORPHOSIS
Join us for 35 events
across Brighton &
Hove featuring 700
years of music, from
concerts, dance and
drama to a modern
take on the medieval
Feast of Fools.
Full programme and ticket booking at
bremf.org.uk or 01273 709709
BREMF
brightonearlymusic
brightonemf

GIG GUIDE // OCTOBER
GIG OF THE MONTH:
ANDY IRVINE
PICK
OF THE
MONTH
‘Often copied, never equalled’, Andy Irvine is a one-man spectacular of
singing, song writing and musicianship. Over his 50-year career Andy
has been at the helm of legendary bands like Sweeney’s Men in the
mid-60s, Planxty in the 70s, and then Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD
and recently Usher’s Island. His repertoire consists of Irish traditional
songs, dexterous Balkan dance tunes and a compelling canon of his
own self-penned songs, all as he plays the bouzouki, mandolin, guitar,
harmonica and hurdy gurdy. Saturday 26, Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £12
Photo by Béla Kása
FRIDAY 4
Dead Reds and The Hidden. Blues. Lansdown,
8pm, free
Dende. Afro Latin. Con Club, 8pm, £5
Supernatural Things. Soul. Lamb, 8.30pm, free
SATURDAY 5
King Mob DJ. 1980 and beyond. Lamb, from
7.30pm, free
Open night: Songs of the sea. Folk, English
trad, Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £3
The Wild Pansies. Bluegrass, klezmer & English
tunes. Lansdown, 8pm, free
FRIDAY 11
Planningtorock. Electronic. Part of Brighton
Digital Festival. Attenborough Centre, 8pm, £12
Total Stone Roses. Con Club, 8pm, £15
Market Street Band. Warm and soulful, featuring
the voice of Kate Turvey. Lamb, 8.30pm, free
SATURDAY 12
Rory McLeod. One-man soul band, poet and
storyteller. Con Club, 7.30pm, £14
Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer. Folk. Elephant &
Castle, 8pm, £8
100 Monkeys. Covers. Lamb, 8.30pm, free
SUNDAY 6
A Complete History of Soul Music. Performed
by Steve ‘Snips’ Parsons, The Chain
Gang & The Paddock Singers under the direction
of Ruth Kerr. Con Club, 2pm, £6/£7
MONDAY 7
Kjell Berglund, Javier Forrero, Terry Seabrook,
Nigel Thomas. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
THURSDAY 10
Funke & the Two Tone Baby. One-man sonic
explosion. Con Club, 7.30pm, £8
MONDAY 14
Graeme Flowers, Nigel Thomas, Darren
Beckett, Terry Seabrook. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
TUESDAY 15
Tim Hecker presents Anoyo / Sugai Ken.
Part of Brighton Digital Festival. Attenborough
Centre, 8pm, £14
WEDNESDAY 16
Amanda Palmer. Indie/alternative/folk explosion.
De La Warr, 6.45pm, £23.50
Rozi Plain. Con Club, 7.30pm, £10
>>>
61

BEXHILL ON SEA
EAST SUSSEX
FREE EXHIBITIONS
Renee So, Woman I, 2017, Stoneware. Photo: Angus Mill.
Courtesy of the artist and Kate MacGarry, London
LIVE
EVENTS
RENEE SO: ANCIENT AND MODERN
Saturday 28 September – Sunday 12 January 2020
In partnership with West Dean College of Arts and Conservation
CERAMIC AND TEXTILE WORKS
MIKHAIL KARIKIS: I HEAR YOU
Saturday 28 September – Sunday 19 January 2020
A new co-commission with Project Artworks
MOVING IMAGE INSTALLATION
CALEXICO AND EXPLOSIONS IN
THE LIGHTNING
IRON & WINE THE SKY
SEEDS
PLUS LISA O’NEILL 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR JOLLIFICATION 25TH ANNIVERSARY
Sunday 24 November Tuesday 11 February 2020 Friday 20 March 2020
Charity number: 1065586
Viva Lewes - half page ad.indd 1 12/09/2019 18:21:35
BRIGHTON
DIGITAL
FESTIVAL
2019
#ACCADIGITAL
ELECTRONIC MUSIC & AUDIOVISUAL ART

GIG GUIDE // OCTOBER
THURSDAY 17
Holly Herndon presents PROTO. Part of
Brighton Digital Festival. Attenborough Centre,
8pm, £15
FRIDAY 18
Lazy Susan Special. Vinyl only DJ Night. Con
Club, 8pm, free
Mangoweejee. Boogie-woogie-hoodoo. Lamb,
8.30pm, free
SATURDAY 19
Femme Brûlée. DJ party night. Lamb, from
7.30pm, free
Sunscreen. Electronic. Con Club, 7.30pm, £10
James Clifford & Ruth Cooke. Folk, two
entertaining songwriters. Sheriff’s Room, White
Hart, 8pm, £4
Fruitful Sound System ‘Too Much Pressure’.
Two-tone, ska & reggae. Royal Oak, 9pm, £5
SUNDAY 20
Lewkulele Orchestra. Chill down Sunday.
Lamb, free
The Polecats. Rockabilly. Con Club, 7.30pm, £18
MONDAY 21
Safehouse Improvised Music Session. Noise
makers, performers and musicians all welcome.
The Lewes Arms, 7.30pm, £2
Benn Clatworthy, Darren Beckett, Jon Donaldson,
Simon Thorpe. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
WEDNESDAY 23
TOM. Acoustic duo. Depot, 11am, free, see
page 35.
THURSDAY 24TH
Worry Dolls (pictured above). Female folk duo.
Con Club, 7.30pm, £12
Worry Dolls
FRIDAY 25
Famous Monsters of Funk. Lost organ unit &
specialist DJ. Lamb, from 7.30pm, free
The Feelgood Band. High energy rhythm &
blues. Con Club, 8.30pm, £5
SATURDAY 26
Andy Irvine. See Gig of the Month
Loose Caboose. DJ night playing a mix of 60s
soul, Northern soul, rhythm ‘n’ blues, Latin,
Jazz. Con Club, 7.30pm, £6
The Manatees and IBEX. Double bill of local
bands. Lansdown, 8pm, free
Sweet Onions & The Muzztones. Royal Oak,
8pm, free
The Contenders. Lamb, 8.30pm, free
SUNDAY 27
The Contenders. Con Club, 3.30pm, free
Edenwood. Chill down Sunday. Lamb, free
MONDAY 28
Andy Williams, Javier Forrero, Terry Seabrook.
Snowdrop, 8pm, free
THURSDAY 31
A Night of Horror at the Lamb. Two live
bands & DJ Nightmare. Lamb, from 7.30pm,
free
63

Nicholas Yonge Society
2 0 1 9 - 2 0 2 0 S E A S O N
F R I D AY S A T 7 : 4 5 P M

MUSIC
Classical round-up
SATURDAY 19, 3PM
Far From the Home I Love
Hamsey resident and internationally acclaimed
pianist, Margaret Fingerhut set herself the goal this
year of raising £88,000 (£1,000 for each of the 88
keys on a piano) to help support refugees, through
a recital series that she’s taking around the country.
This month she’s at Alfriston Church, playing a
programme that includes works by Chopin, Grieg,
Prokofiev and Rachmaninov, as well as a newly
commissioned piece by Kurdish Syrian composer Moutaz Arian. So many composers have over
the years had to leave their homes because of war, political upheaval or fear of persecution. Far
From the Home I Love, in aid of Lewes Organisation in Support of Refugees and Asylum Seekers
(LOSRAS) tells the stories of some of those composers through their music.
St Andrew’s Church, Alfriston. Tickets £12 from Eventbrite or on the door
margaretfingerhut.co.uk/alfriston
PICK
OF THE
MONTH
Photo by Andy Tyler
SUNDAY 6, 3PM
St Michael’s Recitals Trio. Rebecca Leggett,
Mezzo-Soprano. Programme to include songs
and arias by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Britten and
Dvorák. Accompanied by Joe Howson.
St Michael’s, free with retiring collection,
stmichaelinlewes.org.uk
FRIDAY 11, 7.30PM
Lewes Concert Orchestra. The LCO presents
Wagner The Flying Dutchman Overture, Richard
Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1 featuring young Sussex
soloist Brendan Connellan and Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 1 Winter Daydreams. Lewes Town
Hall, £10 in advance, £12 on the door, students £5,
lewesconcertorchestra.org
FRI 11 OCT – SAT 2 NOV
Glyndebourne Tour. The 2019 Tour opens on
October 11 with Verdi Rigoletto which continues
until 2 November. Donizetti L’elisir d’amore plays
from 13-31 October and Handel Rinaldo begins
26 October and runs until 1 November.
Glyndebourne Opera House, £10-£72,
glyndebourne.com
SUNDAY 20, 3PM
Seaford Music Society. Divertimenti Ensemble
Includes Mendelssohn Octet in E Flat Major, Opus
20 and new work by Sally Beamish.
St Leonard’s Church, Seaford, £15, under 26s free.
Season membership £60, seafordmusicsociety.com
FRIDAY 25, 7.45PM
Nicholas Yonge Society. Esmé String Quartet
The season begins with these Wigmore Hall International
String Quartet competition winners.
Music by Webern, Schumann and Schubert.
East Sussex College, Mountfield Road, Season
membership £65 (for 5 concerts), single concerts
£15. Free for 8-25 year olds. nyslewes.org.uk
SUNDAY 27, 4PM
Corelli Ensemble. 30th Anniversary Concert
Celebrating 30 years of the Corelli Ensemble,
with special guests Dame Felicity Lott and Paul
Austin Kelly. We’re promised a glorious selection.
Seaford Baptist Church, Belgrave Road, Seaford,
Tickets £12 in advance, £14 on the door. Children
free. corelliensemble.co.uk
Robin Houghton
65

Giants of Steam
11th - 13th October 2019
Special Guests
‘Duchess of Sutherland’ and ‘Britannia’
join a line-up of home fleet locomotives for the Autumn Gala
Footplate Experience Britannia
A unique opportunity to fire and drive the Giant
Dine Behind Britannia
5 course silver service gala dinner as you
journey through Sussex Countryside
©John Whitehouse
Monday 14th October 2019- see website for details
26th October -
3rd November 2019
Calling all Witches and Wizards
For a gathering at Horsted Keynes Station this October half term
A week of Halloween fun and games.
Fancy dress competitions, crafty fun and much more.
Lost your broom?
Catch the train from Sheffield Park or East Grinstead Stations.
www.bluebell-railway.com
01825 720800
Special offer applies on 26-30 Oct & 1-3 Nov. Discount available on advance bookings
Adult, Child and Family Rover tickets only. Offer may not be used in conjunction with
any other offer. Full terms and conditions available on our website.

FreeTIME êêêê under 16
SAT 26 – SUN 3 NOVEMBER
October half-term fun at Wakehurst. A
range of activities including art, games and a
trail. See kew.org/Wakehurst.
Halloween Shriek Week at Drusillas. See
drusillas.co.uk for more info.
Calling all witches and wizards… Halloween
at Bluebell Railway. A spooky gathering for
October half term with Halloween fun and
games, including a fancy-dress competition,
crafty fun, and more. Visitors on Halloween
(31st October) will also enjoy
extra spooky fun, including
pumpkin lighting,
a disco for small
children, and an additional
evening train. Horsted Keynes
Station, see bluebell-railway.com. £1
off when you quote code ‘HALVL19’.
Halloween at the Borde Hill Academy of
Witches & Wizards. Help Sapphire, the
witch’s cat regain her magical powers on a
bewitching garden trail full of spells, potions
and mystery. With crafts, pumpkin carving,
stories, wand making, magic shows and more.
See bordehill.co.uk/events.
SATURDAY 26 & SUNDAY 27
Halloween
Weekend.
Traditional
entertainment with
Punch & Judy, crafts,
trails and heaps of
scary Halloween
fun with Crazee
Hazee. Michelham Priory, 10.30am-4pm, see
sussexpast.co.uk.
MONDAY 28
Morning Explorer: Herbs and Spices.
Morning Explorer is a special time for families
with additional needs, open between 10am
and 11am exclusively for them. The morning
includes a story, with special tactile objects to
feel and scents to inhale, plus audio-described
tours. Lewes Castle, 10am, see sussexpast.co.uk.
TUESDAY 29
Autumn Colours.
Drop in to the house
for hands-on activities
based around autumn.
Embroider a flower or
make a herb bag, explore
paints and plant dyes and do some drawing
in the garden (weather permitting). Anne of
Cleves, 1pm-4pm, price included in admission.
MON 28 – FRI 1 NOVEMBER
Roman Army Week. Get an army ‘tattoo’,
try your hand at spear practice and see if you
can earn your keep as a new recruit. Sign up
with the recruitment officer and learn to write
your name in Latin before completing a range
of tasks to ‘earn’ a day’s pay. Other activities
include archery, sword practice and dressingup
Roman-style. Fishbourne Roman Palace,
10am-3pm, see sussexpast.co.uk.
THURSDAY 31
Heroes & Dragons. Listen to the Old
English story of Beowulf, create a dragon
in clay or make a scary mask, discover
Anglo-Saxon beads and brooches.
Holiday workshop for children
aged four to eight. Lewes
Castle, 10.30am-12pm, £5.

SANTA S
TOY FACTORY
Opens 23rd November 2019
’
SOUTH DOWNS
NURSERIES & GARDEN CENTRE
BOOK
ONLINE
NOW
NEW animated displays for 2019!
Meet Santa and receive a gift
From £6.50 per child
Last year we raised £23k+ for The Budding Foundation
Book online at www.thebuddingfoundation.co.uk
(charity no. 1155335)
A273 Brighton Road HASSOCKS
Sussex BN6 9LY 01273 845232
www.tatesofsussex.co.uk
SANTA’S
NEW Grotto experience for 2019!
Meet Santa and receive a gift
£9.50 per child
BOOK
ONLINE
NOW
Raising money for The Budding Foundation (charity no. 1155335)
Book online at www.thebuddingfoundation.co.uk
OLD BARN
NURSERIES & GARDEN CENTRE
A24 Dial Post, HORSHAM
Sussex RH13 8NR 01403 710000
www.tatesofsussex.co.uk

Quill Soup
by Alan Durant
BOOK REVIEW
Quill Soup is an African version of the traditional
tale many of us will know as Stone Soup.
In this version, Noko the porcupine has been
travelling for a long time and is tired and hungry.
He finds a small village where he thinks
he’ll be able to find food and shelter. However,
the animals who live there are frightened of
strangers and don’t want to share their food.
Luckily Noko has a plan to encourage the villagers
to change their minds!
Quill Soup is a wonderful book for encouraging
thought and discussion around concepts
of sharing, generosity and compassion. It
highlights the initial selfishness and ignorance of the village animals and shows the impact that an
act of kindness can have on the whole community.
Alan Durant’s lovely retelling is accompanied by wonderfully vibrant illustrations by South African
illustrator Dale Blankenaar. Recommended. Anna, Bags of Books
Find Quill Soup with 20% off throughout October at Bags of Books.
Open Morning
With its excellent and imaginative approach, the
Steiner Waldorf curriculum has gained ever-widening
recognition as a creative and compassionate
alternative to traditional avenues of education.
But just how does it feel to be a child in this
environment, soaking up this stimulating and
rewarding teaching?
www.michaelhall.co.uk/school-open-days
Kidbrooke Park, Priory Road, Forest Row. East Sussex, RH18 5JA
Tel: 01342 822275 - Registered Charity Number 307006
Open
Morning
Wednesday 9th October
from 08:30 - 13:00
Alternatively, book in for a Private Tour
email: contact@michaelhall.co.uk

Steyne Road, Seaford, BN25 1QG
01323 872723—applicationss6h@seafordhead.org
OPEN EVENING
Thursday 10th October 6.00pm-8.30pm
6pm- Formal Presentation: Steyne Site Main Hall
6.45pm-8.30pm- Department Fair: Sixth Form
OPEN MORNING
Saturday 12th October 10.00am-12.00pm
Sixth Form Site
Application Deadline Monday 2nd December 2019

INTERVIEW
Imagine Eating Lemons
Helping children with anxiety
‘Your thoughts are very
powerful, they change the
way you feel. / Imagine eating
lemons and your mouth will
think it’s real.’
This is what Chester Chestnut
learns in Jason Rhodes’
excellent children’s book
Imagine Eating Lemons. It’s a
long way from being preachy.
Instead, it uses rhyme and
wonderful illustrations by
Richard Dearing, to take us
inside Chester’s experiences of
rising anxiety – ‘Today he starts
his lessons, / he’s the only one
that’s new. // “What if I’m too
shy to play, / I don’t know what
I’ll do!” – and the steps he’s
learnt (through mindfulness) to
lower it.
I imagine it would be a lovely
book to read in a group,
everyone joining in the
refrain… I like the repeating
pattern too: you don’t solve
anxiety once and for all;
you need to keep taking the
steps. (Those sneaky slippery
thoughts.)
I met up with Jason to chat
through how the book had
come about and what his
intentions were in writing it.
“For me, extreme anxiety came
on when I was about 25”, he
tells me. “My world got smaller
and smaller. My anxiety at times
would make me physically sick.”
So he tried, he says, “to find
tools” to help. “I tried CBT,
hypnotherapy, I read all these
books. And then I stumbled on
mindfulness, and things just
clicked into place. It was one
realisation that did it: someone
said, the body can’t tell the
difference between a real threat
and an imagined one, and the
penny just dropped. I realised
that, whenever I struggled the
most, I was focussing solely
on worst case scenarios. Now
I really want to pass on what
I have found, especially to
children.”
He believes if children learn
these things early it could,
potentially, save them a lot of
grief later.
So why the rhymes, I ask him.
He laughs. “The rhyme was
not intentional; nor indeed
was writing a book! Someone
suggested it, and then the
ideas just started to come. The
chorus came first. And the
character. And yes, rhymes do
help; it’s like song,” he says. “It
makes it easier to remember.”
The lemon at the centre “comes
directly from an exercise,”
Jason tells me. “If you really
imagine eating a zesty tangy
lemon, your mouth starts to
salivate. It proves the body and
our thoughts are connected! All
your mind’s trying to do is keep
you alive. It’s on your side. Just
sometimes, its methods cause
problems.
“Mindfulness is about
recognising which thoughts
you’re giving your attention
to. We’re not comfortable with
discomfort; we think we can’t
tolerate it. In fact, staying with
it long enough to separate the
negative thoughts from the
sensation can stop it escalating.
We can grow much stronger
and more resourceful just by
being present.” Charlotte Gann
Imagine Eating Lemons is
available in Boon Books.

enjoy a
complimentary
bottle of wine
-Choose from either-
Maison l`Aiglon Chardonnay
or
Chemin de Marquiere Merlot
To redeem, simply present this advert
Côte Brasserie Lewes
82 HIGH STREET, LEWES, BN7 1XW
01273 311 344 | www.cote.co.uk/lewes
Valid from 01/10/19 until 31/10/19 at Côte Lewes only.One
complimentary bottle of wine when 2 or more guests dine from our
À La Carte menu Sun-Thurs. Offer can only be used once and cannot
be used in conjunction with any other offer or Set Menu.
Lewes_VivaLewes_Oct2019.indd 1 12/09/2019 15:28
Sussex Cheesemonger & Fine Food Specialist
NOW OPEN
A WIDE SELECTION OF LOCAL, BRITISH
& CONTINENTAL CHEESES
SPECIALLY SELECTED WINES
CHUTNEYS, CRACKERS
AND OTHER CHEESE ACCOMPANIMENTS
LOCAL PRODUCTS FROM SMALL
INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS
CHEESE EVENTS AND CELEBRATION CAKES
46 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2DD
01273 481048 - fran@cheesepleaselewes.co.uk - www.cheesepleaselewes.co.uk
Monday – Saturday 9.30am – 5pm

FOOD REVIEW
Zu Café
Food as medicine
Zu Café is open and going strong in the bus
station – and what a lovely environment they’re
creating. We popped down there for lunch one
Wednesday, in the light, bright upstairs room.
The room’s been redecorated with lovely blue
walls, and large vases of fresh flowers standing
on every table.
The upstairs lunchtime format is that you
choose from two mains or soup. There are also
always four salads on offer. One main with three
salads – a very generous plate – for £9. And the
food is delicious. The menu’s always changing –
depending on the seasonal local vegetables. It’s a
lovely formula, and you get a real sense of being
nurtured and looked after.
This is no coincidence. The mantra that runs
behind the scenes is food as medicine. Look
after your guts, and you will look after yourself.
We tried the Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, which was
absolutely wonderful – so flavoursome, and
interesting, while also being deeply comforting
and traditional. All complemented beautifully by
accompanying salads, and tahini dressing.
Our other main was Roasted Patty Pan – squash
filled with quinoa (in place of couscous: the
whole place is gluten free), sage and walnut
stuffing. Very spicy and nutty; again, a feast.
Pete especially loved the roasted beetroot salad
– “spicy, crisp, nicely rounded” – and I enjoyed
the crunch of apple with sprouted mung bean.
All the salads were excellent: we both liked the
Broccoli and Pumpkin Seed; and Pete his Zu
Green Leaf Salad dressed in ginger.
All the salads – indeed everything on our plates
– blended an extraordinary but complementary
variety of flavours and textures. Between the different
elements there were so many ingredients
– and here perhaps was the key. Few choices but
each one packed with nutrition. Not food we
would make at home – because cooking it we
would find so complicated. A joy to be fed.
Zu Café has a lovely, warm atmosphere, with
lots of young people visibly helping in the
kitchen. Chatting with owner Samira, and
chef Nikita, I learnt more about the Zu Café
community. That any soup that’s left over from
lunch they’ll sell through the downstairs hatch
that evening for £1 a go. That they also plan a
freezer lunchbox scheme: people will be able to
sign up for regular lunch boxes. That they plan
to work with local refugees – creating a real
community.
Oh, and they have a specialist fermenter, who
creates many of the special ingredients and healthgiving
elements: the sauerkraut and kimchi.
It will be fascinating to see how it all develops…
and the food is heaven.
Currently, upstairs is open every lunch time, as
is the crêperie downstairs. And the evening bar
is open on Thursday to Saturday nights. CG
Zu Café, bus station, zucafe.co.uk
73

74

RECIPE
Four-onion pakora
Alun Sperring, from Chilli Pickle,
on an Indian street-food staple
I had wanderlust as a young man and worked
my way around the world, learning my trade in
eight countries over five different continents,
under a variety of brilliant chefs.
I particularly developed a passion for Indian
cuisine, and when my wife Dawn and I had
our first child – in Dubai, twelve years ago –
we decided to set up our own restaurant in
England. The idea was to produce amazing
Indian food, inspired by all the regions of the
country, espousing authenticity of style and
method, tweaked a little to suit our own style
of cooking.
I was brought up in Brighton, and it seemed
the obvious choice of venue, a city that is
open-minded enough to embrace something a
little different. We started in a little 40-cover
space in the Lanes, and moved to our current
building, in Jubilee Street, nine years ago. It’s
all about teamwork: Dawn is front-of-house,
I’m head chef, and we make sure everyone who
works at Chilli Pickle does so with enormous
passion, both in the kitchen and the restaurant.
We see ourselves as being in the entertainment
business: we’ve made the restaurant reflect the
vibrant colours of India, and there’s always a
wow factor when the food arrives on the table.
But the most important thing is the taste,
which involves, of course, sourcing fresh produce.
So all our meat and vegetables are locally
produced, while we import the best quality
spices from India (you can use Taj!)
Onion pakora are eaten throughout India,
as a street food or starter, and are always on
our menu. They are easy to make at home,
especially if you have a deep-fat fryer (though a
chip pan will do fine). And, of course, they are
absolutely delicious.
Method (makes 24 pakora).
Finely slice 400g of white English onion, 100g
red onion, 50g shallots and 50g spring onion,
and mix well in a bowl with 20g fresh chopped
coriander, 30 torn-up curry leaves, a finely
sliced green chilli, 15g freshly roasted coriander
seed, 15g freshly roasted cumin seed, 10g
fennel seed, 5g asafoetida, 35g Masoor red dal,
5g turmeric, 8g salt, 4g baking powder, 250g
chickpea flour, 150g of rice flour. Add 225ml
of cold water, and mix with your hands, being
careful not to squeeze too much, otherwise
excess water will release.
Heat 1 litre of vegetable oil to 165c (you can
use a thermometer). Create small pakora
shapes with the tips of your fingers and your
thumb, carefully dropping into the oil pan. Add
eight or nine at a time: cook until light golden
colour, turning a few times so the colour is
even. Drain onto a paper towel, and repeat,
until all the pakora mixture is cooked. When
you’re ready to serve, heat the oil to 175c, and
fry the pakora patties a second time – again in
batches – until they are crispy. Serve with the
best mango chutney you can get your hands
on: we source a wonderful Alphonso mango
chutney direct from India. Enjoy!
As told to Alex Leith
75

LEWES FRIDAY FOOD MARKET
J M Furniture Ltd
TRADING IN LEWES SINCE SEPT 1999
www.lewesfoodmarket.co.uk
Bespoke custom made furniture and kitchens.
We welcome commissions of all sizes and budgets.
01273 472924 | sales@jmfurniture.co.uk
www.jmfurniture.co.uk

At Harley
House, we
produce some
of the finest gins
in the land using
water from a local
aquifer in every bottle!
Born in Seaford, this unique
distillery focuses on producing
the most flavoursome and smooth
spirits you will find using the finest
ingredients.
01323 491998
WWW.HARLEYHOUSEDISTILLERY.CO.UK
LEWES BITES
Flint Owl
Rosemary and seasalt sourdough
When I was a nanny in Rome, taking the kids to school, we’d walk past a
corner flower stall that actually had featured in various films. Flint Owl
has a bit of a similarly filmic quality, I always think – well, Lewes
does in general, and it fits right in. It looks effortlessly cool. Nothing
much in the window, but as you walk in, you see filled wooden
racks of bread, that you know will empty. There’s the display of
baked goods facing you. What’s available varies, but it always looks
impressive. Then there are the cakes and savouries on the counter
too. Not like an immaculate French patisserie, but gloriously
colourful and creative. I like the cheese straws and the flaky,
buttery sausage rolls with a huge filling. The focaccia is
outstanding. But I’d rate their best product as the rosemary
and seasalt sourdough. Ideally ‘large’, because you get a
better crust-to-crumb ratio for toast. And it makes perfect
toast – even (in my view) with jam or marmalade on top.
The salt enhances the sweet. It’s not cheap, so with their
bread, I use the old wartime trick – leave it a day and it
slices thinner. Then I also save some in the freezer to
enjoy later. @LewesNibbler
77

Come and join us
for a
unique Christmas
party experience
in our Brigon
or Lewes
Roasteries!
Your Christmas party will be
designed to suit your needs,
working together to create an event
to remember in our fully licenced
venue and includes a welcome
glass of prosecco for your entire
party.
All of our Christmas buffet menu is
made on site by our head chefs on
the day.
Please get in touch to arrange a
viewing and check availibility with
our in-house events co-ordinator
Trading Post Coffee Roasters:
40 Kensington Gardens, Brighton, BN1
4AL
18 Cliffe High St, Lewes, BN7 2AH
36 Ship St, Brighton BN1 1AB
Contact us:
bookings@tradingpostcoffee.co.uk
01273 818527
Generation 11 Sussex Dry Gin is juniper forward
with zingy citrus, warm spice and elegant floral
notes. Our ancestors started the gin revolution
11 generations ago. As King and Queen of
England, William and Mary encouraged home
grown spirits and inadvertently started the Gin
Craze.
Today we are creating beautifully refined spirits
in our distillery in North Chailey, near Lewes.
We use local botanicals in our Gin and draw
water from our own well.
For more information
and available Stockists
Please visit us at
generationdistillers.co.uk

FOOD & DRINK
The Rook Inn
Beer and pies
Lewes are playing Crystal Palace in the Women’s
Football Championship, and I’m part of the
‘ultras’ choir, encouraging the female Rooks with
chants and songs, to the accompaniment of a brass
band and a group of drummers.
We’re all members of Lewes FC’s over-35, mixedgender
‘vets’. And our voices are lubricated with
pints of beer from The Rook Inn, the pitch-side
bar, which has recently been taken over by Steve
Keegan, the mastermind behind Holler Brewery.
Steve – also a ‘vet’ footballer – has instilled a
rotating beer menu, refurbished the bar area
and employed professional bar staff to make the
purchasing process as efficient as possible. No
more big, disgruntled queues, then: you can even
pay by card.
Before the game starts, I opt for an Abyss
Superfuzz Hazy IPA (5.6%, £4.50). It’s a hoppy
headrush of a pint, and I see no reason to change
to anything different on subsequent visits to the
bar (though two Gun Brewery ales are tempting). I
also buy a pie-mash-and-mushy-peas combo from
the hatch next door, for soaking up purposes.
The attendance is 705, more than the average for
men’s games last season, and the atmosphere is
electric. We sing our hearts out, and go mental
when Lewes’ equalising goal goes in, courtesy of
Jess King’s right boot. Then, of course, we retire to
the bar again, for an in-depth post-mortem. The
players visit the establishment after the game, too,
so they reflect on our performance while we reflect
upon theirs. This is going to be fun. Alex Leith
The Pelham arms
ANNUAL
I
BURGER
FESTIVAL
I
I
£1
PER BURGER IS
DONATED TO THE
BRIGHTON
HOUSING TRUST
WED. 9 TH - SAT. 12 TH OCTOBER
We use ingredients sourced from
local farms, producers & suppliers
supporting our local economy and promoting
the best produce of the Lewes area.
HIGH STREET LEWES BN7 1XL
T 01273 476149 E MANAGER@THEPELHAMARMS.CO.UK
BOOK ONLINE @ WWW.THEPELHAMARMS.CO.UK
I
^

THE WAY WE WORK
Photographer Torz Dallison caught up with four local makers in
the gin trade. She asked each: What’s your favourite tipple?
torzdallison.com
Frances Bendit, Folkington’s (juices and mixers)
‘A Sussex G&T’

THE WAY WE WORK
Adam Cowley, Harley House Distillery
‘A quality bourbon whiskey, which could explain the smoothness of our gins’

THE WAY WE WORK
Archie Driver, Seven Sisters
‘Negroni from the Tasting Room’

THE WAY WE WORK
Claire Kentish Barnes, Generation 11
‘Martini with Generation 11 Sussex Dry or, for an extra kick, with our new Overproof gin!’

Ex-display chairs all fully
renovated to give years of pleasure

FEATURE: WI
Not all jam
and Jerusalem
The WIs of Lewes
Image courtesy of gunsnposies.co.uk
“I moved here four
years ago, from
Kent, and didn’t
know a soul,”
Gill Norman,
Secretary of
Westgate WI, tells
me. “I walked through
the door and… problem
solved. All anyone needs is to find
the courage to cross that threshold.
There’s real friendship waiting in the WI.”
President Julia Blake, meanwhile, has lived in
Lewes “for 52 years”; and Treasurer and Advisor,
Shirley Kirby, “a mere 31!” We’re sitting
round a table in Fuego Lounge, drinking coffee.
A hundred years on from the first WI market
opening in Lewes, Gill wrote to Viva asking if
we might meet and chat: ‘The Women’s Institute
isn’t all jam and Jerusalem’, she’d said. Now,
I ask what she meant?
“We welcome all women of all backgrounds and
all ages”, she says; “anyone who identifies as a
woman.” “We’re non-religious and non-political”,
adds Shirley. The WI strapline is ‘INSPIR-
ING WOMEN’ – which can be read, of course,
and rather neatly, two different ways: that its
members are inspiring, and it’s there to inspire.
“Yes, we’re all about inspiring people to do
something with their time,” says Julia. “To be
with others, and to learn new things.”
It’s not all crafts, I’m assured; though there are
craft meetings. Each WI has monthly meetings,
where they have visiting speakers, for example
from charities, a local expert on healthy eating,
people speaking about their travels. Members
get together outside of meetings too, for lunch,
walks and general
socialising.
“Every group runs
their meetings
differently,”
stresses Gill. “If
you go along to
one, and feel it’s not for
you, don’t be put off. Try
another.”
There are currently two WIs in
Lewes – Westgate, which has morning
meetings, and Lewes Neville (with an e!),
which meets in the evening – plus ones in
Uckfield, Ringmer, Firle, Kingston, in fact all
over East Sussex.
So, WHAT, I have to ask (this being our Grape
and Grain issue) about their CAKES!
“Some of us do make very good cakes”, laughs
Gill. “We’re famous for them.” “We make all
varieties, for all dietary needs”, adds Julia. “And
a lot of us don’t make cakes, we just enjoy eating
them”, grins Shirley.
This is also another way they support charities.
“Neville sell cakes for Artwave at Castle House,”
Gill says. “And we’re running our next fair in
St Thomas’s on November 9th,” says Julia.
“Do pop in and buy a cake! We’re supporting
a project to install a community defibrillator in
the Cliffe…”
Charlotte Gann
Westgate WI meet every second Wednesday
morning, from 10am, in St Thomas’s Church Hall.
Lewes Neville meet every third Wednesday from
7pm, in St Mary’s Hall, Highdown, Nevill. Anyone
welcome to try two free taster sessions. See esfwi.
org.uk for details of all the groups in East Sussex.
85

Hopesprings Chairs
Green wood and shave horses
Chairmaker Jason Mosseri is nonchalant
about building his workshops and storeroom
in his garden, on The Nevill. Did he have
any experience building buildings before?
“Not really. I’ve just got a mind that can
figure stuff out. I’ve got some great books
about building. It’s really very simple, much
easier than making a chair. It’s right angles,
and cladding, you find out how to stop water
coming in and heat getting out.”
Jason makes Windsor chairs as part of his
business, Hopesprings Chairs, in a larger
workshop and a smaller outdoor space, which
includes a shave horse (pictured) and a pole
lathe to make chair legs (a process known
as bodging). The main workshop – made
partly using “stuff out of skips” such as the
glazing and doors – was built in around
three months, with help from a friend to
dig the foundations. The chairs are made
using ‘green wood’: “fresh wood as opposed
to dried wood. Rather than air dried or kiln
dried, you’re using the wood freshly cut. It’s
wetter, so you can use a hand tool on it.”
Jason was a tattoo artist for twenty years,
until he felt like he’d “done it properly
and wanted to do something different”.
Possessing a “bit of a chair fetish”, he
chanced upon a chairmaking course run by
Paul Hayden at Westonbirt Arboretum. He
now puts on his own six day chairmaking
course in the woods of Cuckfield. “It’s a way
for me to share my enthusiasm for the similar
courses that I’ve been on. I’ve really loved
them, particularly the ones that are out in the
woods. Real no electricity kind of attitude.
That’s what I wanted to recreate.
“You make a really nice Windsor chair. You
start with a log and end with the chair. We
look at the tree that the log’s come from, and
86

MY SPACE
why you select particular bits of timber.
We talk about how we then take that
massive log and split it up and make it into
parts. Everyone leaves with their chair: a
really usable, durable, comfortable, stylish
chair.”
After interviewing Jason while sat on two
of his chairs, and discovering the tools of
the trade in the workshops, I can certainly
see the appeal of the craft. Jason enjoys the
positive feedback he gets from his courses,
and is developing a theory that this comes
from a latent predisposition to make things
ourselves.
“A couple of hundred years ago, our
communities would have made everything
that we needed. It’s only recently that
we’ve stopped, and we’ve started a kind
of different culture. I think it’s there
underneath the surface for most people.
People really like it [making]. It’s the same
if you grow your own vegetables, they
taste so much better and you don’t want
to waste any part of them. It’s the same
with anything you make. Not only have
you invested energy in it, but you know
so much about it. It’s that much more
meaningful.” Joe Fuller
hopespringschairs.com,
Insta @hopespringschairs, 07795114982
Anti-clockwise from top left: travisher, scorp, brace, draw knife, adze
87

Wine tastings
Join a pop up Saturday
Riverside, in the Cliffe, are running a series of free, drop-in tastings of Sussex wines
this month. Four consecutive Saturdays through October, and as part of Octoberfeast,
they’ll be hosting different local vineyards in their pop up space.
“Come along to sample and buy local Sussex wines from a cluster of passionate
growers and wine makers”, says Riverside Director Margaux Allfrey.
“Riverside focuses on local producers, and bringing in Sussex wines is an ideal complement.
Why not try some wine in our pop up space upstairs, then wander down
and buy your local meat from Mays’ Farm Cart or fish from Bickerstaff?” she says.
“Or just enjoy a bite to eat at the Café and Brasserie while you ponder which wine
to take home…” Mmm, sounds rather lovely.
The “fun, informal” pop up sessions are free to drop into, and will run from 11am to
4pm every Saturday in October. Here’s the programme.
Finally, listen out for Wine Happy Hour on Rocket FM this year. Dominic Buckwell
– who helped organise the Riverside pop ups – and Galia Pike will be hosting a
weekly radio show featuring each of the Octoberfeast vineyards. CG
5 TH OCTOBER
BREAKY BOTTOM
Photo by Emma Croman
Originally planted in 1974, Breaky Bottom,
in Rodmell, is run by Peter and Chris Hall.
It’s now entirely given over to making vintage
sparkling wine from the grape varieties Seyval
Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.
88

WINE
12 TH OCTOBER
BLUEBELL VINEYARD
Bluebell is a 100-acre award-winning estate known for
its Hindleap range of traditional method sparkling wines.
July 2019 saw the launch of their first ever still range –
Ashdown. This includes three white wines and a rosé.
19 TH OCTOBER
VINEYARDS OF THE
SUSSEX WEALD
A group of five Wealden producers – Paul and
Alice Pippard’s Beacon Down, Hidden Spring,
Off the Line, near Horam – which exclusively
produces still rosé wines – Tickeridge, at Blackboys,
and Fox & Fox of Mayfield. Come and
meet some near neighbours…
26 TH OCTOBER
PLUMPTON
ESTATE WINES
Wines made by the college, Sarah
Midgely is Plumpton’s Chief Winemaker,
and Chris Foss outgoing
Head of Wine. They’ll be showing a
range of cuvées.
89

Daniel Bell Gardens
Daniel has over 30 years’ experience creating and renovating gardens of all sizes, from
private courtyards to large country gardens and estates. He is an expert in the use of
hardy plants and the care of seasonal plants. Daniel and his family have recently moved
back to Sussex after 13 years in Sweden. He is looking forward to meeting new potential
clients and discussing new projects.

GARDENING
Not bees but apples
Autumn treats
First, to share a disappointment. It was my
ambition to restore bee hives to Charleston’s
garden. A bee hive was one of the items that
David Garnett brought to the house when
the small group of Bloomsburyites arrived
in September 1916. How appropriate for a
garden that was destined to provide so much
sustenance to all who spent time there.
Local bee keepers are always helpful: Jonathan
Coote, of the Eastbourne Beekeepers
Association, offered to assist me in the set-up.
However, finding a suitable site is not an easy
matter. The space required around a hive to
minimise any conflict is around three metres.
Apparently, bees are not what they once were
– understandably, they have become more
aggressive in response to modern environmental
pressures. The only potential site we
could identify was at the end of the car park.
However, as Jonathan pointed out, “should
a driver leave the engine running alongside
the enclosure, the CO2 in the exhaust is a
warning sign to bees of the arrival in their
midst of a big predator and they react accordingly.”
Too great a risk, we realised, when you
consider three per cent of people may suffer
anaphylactic shock if they are stung by a
bee… Sadly, then, bees are off the agenda.
Apples are very much on, on the other hand:
this year we planted ten apple trees. Peter
May, the regional expert on Sussex apple
varieties, advised us on our selection. Peter
and the Brighton Permaculture Trust have
spent 15 years planting community and
schools’ orchards across the county as well as
establishing a National Collection of Sussex
apple varieties at Stanmer Park.
The names of these varieties are wonderful:
Sussex Mother, Tinsley Quince, Forge,
Crawley Beauty, Nanny, Eastbourne Pippin.
“There are 30 varieties of apple tree which
are closely linked to the county of Sussex,”
Peter told me. “They vary in colour, size
and in the month in which they ripen with
Ashdown Seedling ready to be picked in
mid-August to Saltcote Pippin in October.”
And yes, the names do link them to particular
places. Hawkridge comes from Hawkridge
Farm near Hellingly, while Wadhurst Pippin
grows in the heavy clay soils in the north of
the county. Alfriston, however is not from that
village but was raised during the late 1700s
in Uckfield and called Shepherd’s Pippin. I
rather prefer that name.
We shall be juicing our current apple harvest
to serve to our garden visitors this autumn.
Do come and sample!
Fiona Dennis, Head Gardener at Charleston
91

my vet
listens
“I told my vet, that Queenie
my cat was very anxious in the
surgery. Now she’s given plenty of
time to investigate the room and
settle before they examine her.”
Lara Havord
coastwayvets.co.uk

WILDLIFE
Illustration by Mark Greco
Blackthorn
Sloe times with Betsy
From up there it felt like I could see the whole
world: the Oak trees adorned in summer’s fading
leaves, the fields at harvest, the city far in the
distance. Each October my Grandad would load
me and a bucket into Betsy, his faithful 1963 Ford
Anglia. Together we’d cruise the county’s back
roads. Every few miles he would ease Betsy to a
halt and inspect the landscape until finally declaring
“this is the place”. My bucket and me would be
hoisted high up on his shoulders and from there
I’d get my Grandad-stand view of the world. More
importantly though, it’d put me within reach of
the treasure. The jewels we sought on our expeditions
were sloes, the round purple-black berries
that bedecked the Blackthorn bushes. My Grandad
was convinced that the finest fruits were located
high on the hedge. And the best sloes made the
best sloe gin.
Each spring the Blackthorn hedges bloom, their
brilliant white flowers blanket the countryside
temporarily creating snow-white drifts against
the woodlands and along our roadsides. These
ephemeral petals soon fall and the Blackthorn
becomes cloaked with small, oval leaves capturing
the energy which powers production of the sloes.
A Blackthorn bush is a prickly character and as approachable
as an enraged porcupine. Each twig is
armed with spikes which deter cattle and Grandads
from helping themselves to its leaves and berries.
This spiny spinney fortress also safeguards a
wealth of wildlife. Nightingales, Turtle Doves and
other birds nest under its protection and the elusive
Brown Hairstreak butterfly lays its miniature
sea urchin-like eggs on the bush’s black bark.
Many years after my Grandad and Betsy had
departed, I decided to honour them both and
concoct my own sloe gin. I found an online recipe
and, in what was and still remains one of the biggest
disappoints of my adult life, I discovered that
the main ingredient in sloe gin… was gin. After
watching my Grandad making his moonshine I
had genuinely believed that by submerging a load
of sloes in a bottle you would magically turn water
into gin. It seems my Grandad couldn’t perform
miracles, indeed looking back our hedgerow pillaging
raids could easily be dismissed as forced child
labour. Was he exploiting me and my tiny hands
to bypass those thorns and reach the best berries?
A few decades earlier he’d probably have sent me
down a mine or up a chimney. But my Grandad
wasn’t some Fagin-like character. Now I think of it
I never once saw him actually drinking any of his
sloe gin. Perhaps just being out in the countryside
in the autumn sunshine on an adventure with
Betsy and his grandson was the truly intoxicating
ingredient.
Michael Blencowe, Senior Learning & Engagement
Officer, Sussex Wildlife Trust
93

Sacha Allistone MBACP
Focusing
on you
Counselling, Psychotherapy
and Psychological services
in central Lewes
01273 921355
www.brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com
admin@brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com
‘A burden once lifted is lighter than air.’
— Ioannis Georgiadis
sachaallistone.com | 07909986812

HEALTH
Boys don’t cry
Counselling for men
I’m sitting in a
comfortable chair in
a summerhouse in a
garden in Prince Edward’s
Road. There’s a
small table with a jug
of water, two glasses,
and a box of tissues,
the top one half out,
for easy access. Opposite
me, on an identical
chair, sits Alex Francis.
Alex is a psychotherapeutic counsellor.
Alex, it should be pointed out, is a man, and one
reason I’ve come is to find out why he thinks that
men are significantly more reluctant than women
to undergo psychotherapy or counselling, despite
the fact they appear to have just as many mental
health problems. “Three quarters of successful
suicide attempts are male,” he tells me. “Men
are three times more likely than women to have
substance issues. Men score significantly lower in
the National Wellbeing Survey.”
I’m not about to undergo a full therapy consultation,
but Alex has offered to give me a taster, by
assisting in a 20-minute ‘introductory’ session,
in which I’m invited to tell him something that’s
on my mind. After reassurances that it’ll go no
further than this space, I unload a complex and
troublesome issue, which he reacts to with nods,
short responses, other sympathetic verbal cues,
and, at one appropriate moment, a ‘that’s shocking’
lifting of both eyebrows. It’s a very liberating
experience.
Afterwards, in effect, we swap roles; it’s my turn
to glean information from him. It’s a curious
sensation interviewing a counsellor: Alex has a
way of turning my questions around, so I become
part of the answering process. We talk about all
sorts. How a lot of our
problems come from us
suppressing one or more
of the four emotions –
happiness, sadness, fear
and anger – and what
problems this can cause.
How some of the behavioural
traits we learnt
during disturbing periods
of our childhood can be
inappropriately repeated
in our adult lives, and how understanding what’s
going on can help us. How different clients he
talks to respond best to different approaches –
which means he has to be sensitively adaptable.
“In an ideal world, therapy would be available to
everybody, on demand, on the NHS,” he tells me.
So, I ask him, other than cost, what is stopping
more people from benefitting from it? And why,
countrywide, are there two female clients seeking
therapy, for every male one?
Taboo is the key. Some people still believe
counselling is only for ‘crazy’ people, rather than
anyone looking to understand themselves better.
“When it comes to men, there can also be a desire
to appear strong. For many men, counselling
equals talking about your feelings; talking about
your feelings might involve crying; and ‘boys
don’t cry’. I’d love to see more men challenge that
belief. We evolved to experience emotions. Like
hunger and thirst, they give us crucial information
about what we need or want. Experiencing
feelings, including sadness, isn’t a sign of weakness,
it’s simply a sign of being human.”Alex Leith
Alex Francis, downsviewcounselling@gmail.com,
07588 786060, or his colleague, Eileen Kemp,
summerhousecounselling@yahoo.com,
07754 630149
95

Black Cat Firewalk
Friday 25 October
at the National Cat Adoption Centre
Plus live band, bar and hot food from 6pm.
www.cats.org.uk/blackcatfirewalk
National Cat Adoption Centre
Chelwood Gate, RH17 7TT (SatNav 7DE)
Reg Charity 203644 (England and Wales) and SC037711 (Scotland)
FUND_4841
NCAC_4841 Black Cat Firewalk (128x45) VIVA LEWES02.indd 1 05/09/2019 11:58
Cooper & Son
Funeral Directors
42 High Street, Lewes 01273 475 557
Also at Seaford, Uckfield & Heathfield
www.cpjfield.co.uk
Because every life is unique
01273 317403
07879 573040
info@plumberlewes.co.uk
www.plumberlewes.co.uk
Bathroom renovation | Boiler installation,
service and repair | Small plumbing works
1 Valence Rd, Lewes

FOOTBALL
Collecting vital data
Lewes FC’s video analysis platform
When Ross Standen, Lewes FC’s 6 foot 4 assistant
manager, used to keep goal for the club, around
the turn of the millennium, it was a rather different
institution. Ross, now 45, made his debut for the
club’s reserves when he was just 14, and played in
the 2000/2001 team that famously, and historically,
reached the First Round of the FA Cup.
Back then Lewes used to play in front of 50-orso
diehard fans. There were no fancy stands or
terraces, no beach huts, no 3G training pitch.
And they certainly didn’t use the services of an
American video analysis platform to hone their
tactics and help improve performance.
Video analysis platform? “It was all down to a
generous donation by an anonymous fan,” smiles
Ross, sitting in the home dug-out of a splendidlooking
Dripping Pan, a few days after Lewes’
belated first win of the season, at Leatherhead.
“Whoever it was gave the club a large pot of
money, specifically to help improve the analysis
of our performances. The women’s team opted
to spend it on GPS tracker vests; I suggested
that we invested in Hudl, which I’d heard great
things about from a friend of mine, Danny
Cowley. Danny is manager of Lincoln City, and
he told me that Hudl was an excellent way of
collecting vital data to help improve individual
and team performance, to reduce injury, and to
analyse opposing teams. Last season, using Hudl,
Lincoln won promotion to Division One of the
Football League.”
He goes into the intricacies of the system, which
takes some time. Lewes FC employ a cameraman
(from the group Your Instant Replay) who
films the team’s matches, home and away. The
footage is sent to Hudl’s lab, and automated
statistical reports are instantly generated. “At
the click of a button, we can analyse an amazing
amount of data,” says Ross. “We can look at
possession statistics, examine goals scored and
conceded, look at how successful crosses from
different areas are, look at our shooting accuracy,
track individual players throughout the match,
and a whole lot of other things. All the players
have access to the app so they can look at their
individual performances, what they have done
well, and what they have done badly. We also
have video debrief sessions – Monday Night
Football style – before training sessions.”
Hudl, it must be said, wasn’t able to save Lewes
from a rather disastrous start to the season,
which Ross puts down to the unexpected injuries
of several key players, all of whom are battling
their way back to fitness. “But I can see it
making a huge difference to our preparation for
games as the season progresses, and players get
used to it,” says Ross. “I’d like to use this opportunity
to say a big thank you to the anonymous
donor who gave us this opportunity to have the
edge over teams that don’t use such technology.
And that’s just about all of the other teams that
we play.” Alex Leith
Photo by Alex Leith
97

Do you have Workspace to Let?
Workspace to Let as a Desk,
Office or Studio?
I have a list of clients wanting
workspace in Lewes.
For more info visit:
www.spaceagentlewes.co.uk

BRICKS AND MORTAR
Prezzo no longer
173 High Street
“Just before we arrived, of course it was Prezzo”,
Kevin Scott of Herbert Scott grins. “When we
took on the new lease, we transformed the space
in six weeks: three weeks ripping everything out
that was left behind – built-in freezers, the pizza
oven. There was a lot of mess – for instance,
an enormous extractor fan coated in grease. It
was a big clearing-up job. They even left their
long-handled pizza shovel. Upstairs, on our roof
terrace, we have kept the giant Prezzo umbrellas.”
So what of the building? Downstairs, in its brand
new incarnation, is a lovely open-plan office seating
around twenty, and two meeting rooms. The
air conditioning greets me. Upstairs is an even
more open space – “laid out café style” – and the
roof terrace, with a great view of the castle.
“Back in the early 80s I used to work for National
Westminster, and was in this building when it
snowed and I couldn’t travel. It had oak-panelled
walls then.” Kevin smiles as we both glance round
at the new, light and airy, open-plan offices.
The Nat West premises were, according to a recent
survey, a 1927 replacement for an earlier historic
building on the site. But the distinctive front
of the building dates from its time as a bank: with
the moulded stone plinth, and ‘semi-ornamental
undersized bricks’ that give it its charming and
rather commanding face onto the High Street.
Kevin says the old building that stood on the site
originally probably dates from the 17th Century.
(The excellent Reeves photo, Tom Reeves tells
me, is from soon after the 1920s renovation –
when it was ‘National Provincial Bank’. ‘The
manager was Mr Palmer’, Tom writes…)
So, why the move here for Herbert Scott? “For
the 23 years we’ve been in business, we’ve never
had our own front door. We spent three years in
Station Street, ten years on the second floor of
Temple House – where Seasalt is – and nine years
upstairs in St Anne’s House, on St Anne’s Hill.
Now, at last, we can look after a client’s experience
from start to finish of a visit. We’re having a
moving-in party in October. And then we want to
start sharing the space with the wider community:
hosting public seminars in our upstairs room on
all sorts of personal finance topics – estate planning,
setting up a trust for grandchildren etc.”
Herbert Scott was founded in 1996 by Kevin
Scott and David Herbert. “People often assume
Herbert Scott was a person – although probably
from a few generations back...” So, has he called
his son Herbert, maybe? No! “He’s named after
something else,” laughs Kevin. “I’m always surprised
there aren’t more Harveys in Lewes…”
Charlotte Gann
herbertscott.co.uk
99

BUSINESS NEWS
Hold onto your hats, the town is buzzing with
new enterprises this month. For a start – talking
hats – top-notch milliner Lucy Barlow is setting
up a studio and shop in the Needlemakers, next
to the Backyard Café. Since 1990 Lucy, formerly
based on the Portobello Road, has been making
hats for collections such as Saks Fifth Avenue
and Harvey Nichols. Her Rasta hats are to die
for, but also expect a broad range of largely male
headwear ‘from Panamas to Peaky Blinders’, both
of her own design and from different labels.
That’s not all, on the haute-couture front. The
uber-trendy dress-maker Susie Cave, wife of Bad
Seed singer-songwriter Nick, has announced on
her Instagram account that she’s moving the HQ
of her business, The Vampire’s Wife, to Lewes.
Susie’s dresses commonly adorn A-List celebrities
such as Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley and
Dakota Johnson, names which you wouldn’t generally
find in this humble column. It looks like the
HQ will be in the building behind the Riverside
Centre, originally the Tabernacle Sunday School.
Another welcome addition to the Cliffe area is
The Seasons, the organic wholefood business,
established in Forest Row in 1971, bringing
‘zero-waste shopping, organic & biodynamic fruit
& veg, organic skincare, artisan breads, local produce,
vegan and gluten-free products’ to the space
formerly inhabited by Bunce’s. (See ‘My Lewes’,
page 11.) It’s worth mentioning that every Friday,
from 11am-4pm, they will invite the public in for
free ‘taster days’, starting with gut-healing snacks
from Organenergy on the 4th Oct, and Spirit of
Hemp on the 11th. Lewes Friday Market, meanwhile,
are joining in the zero-waste campaign,
with a bring-your-own-container ‘Friday Market
Cupboard’.
I’d really recommend popping into the Unity
Centre, in the old Turkish Baths on Friars Walk,
a veritable Tardis of a building with two spacious
studios, two treatment rooms, an infra-red sauna
and a flotation tank. Plus a lovely little café, Soul
Soup, where Maya makes healthy snacks and
meals from ‘rescued’ food, that would otherwise
go to waste. Friars Walk has become a go-to area
for health and fitness with the opening of Body
Happy at nos. 40-42, offering gym and bespoke
training packages. It opened late in September,
and is offering the first three months of any
membership for half price.
From Victoria, the elegant interiors store in the
Needlemakers, is moving to the High Street, in
the space where David Smith sold his jewellery
for so many years, ‘by the end of October’.
Victoria, accompanied by cocker spaniel puppy
Frankie, will sell furniture and furnishings downstairs,
with the upstairs level offering houseplants
and ‘lifestyle’ wares. The Needlemakers store will
remain open until the move, selling off much of
its stock at up to 50% off.
Finally, great news from the Lewes Traders
Association, the organisation chaired by Tom
Reeves looking after the interests of 88-andcounting
Lewes shop-holders, The LTA has
secured an annual £2,000 grant from the Town
Council, which will be used to close the High
Street to traffic on Late Night Shopping Night,
in December. More on that next month. AL
100

DIRECTORY
Please note that though we aim only to 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 488882 or email advertising@vivamagazines.com
Qualified, Experienced and Reliable
All types of electrical work - Homes & Businesses
Electrical Inspections & PAT testing
Installations, Repairs & Maintenance
Home Automation Systems
NAPIT backed guaranty for all notified works
Free estimates and advice
www.sacbod.com
info@sacbod.com
Call Fiona or Simon
07976 008967 / 01273 968074
46 Warren Drive, Lewes
• Digital TV aerial upgrades & service
• TV, DAB, and FM aerials
• Extra points
• Communal systems
• Aerial repairs
• Satellite TV installs and service
• SKY installs
• Discreet fittings e.g. listed buildings, thatch roofs, flats
• European systems serviced and installed
• Gutters cleared • CCTV installed
WE FIT BIRD DETERRENTS
WE CAN BEAT ANYONE ON QUALITY AND PRICE
Free estimate • over 40 years experience • OAP discount
Open 7 days a week • Fully guaranteed • Same day service
Freephone: 0800 0323255
Tel: 01273 617114 Mob: 07920 526703
We specialise in TV wall mounting
We can beat anyone else’s price on a like for like basis
www.1strateaerialsandsatellites.co.uk
FREE ESTIMATES
UIS OF EWES 07778987286
leweshandyman@hotmail.com
LOCAL HANDYMAN _ PAINTER AND DECORATOR
Interior and exterior painting
Plastering
Flooring & Tiling
Plasterboard
QUALITY FINISHES
All work in the house, big or small:
Carpentry
Assembling and fitting furniture
Curtains/ Door handles and locks/ ...
FINDING SOLUTIONS
REFERENCES AVAILABLE
IF YOU THINK “WHO COULD REPAIR THIS?” CALL LUIS OF LEWES

HOME
OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE
FREE estimates on all types of
plastering work and finishes.
TELEPHONE: 01273 472 836
MOBILE: 07974 752 491
EMAIL: cdpoulter@btinternet.com

HOME
LTD
We are a building company specialising in residential
extensions, refurbishments, loft conversions
and conservation work on listed buildings.
We pride ourselves on paying attention to detail,
using bespoke materials and bringing projects
in on time and on budget.
Contact us for a free quote and please
visit the website for more info:
www.stjamesbuilding.co.uk
01273 499 641 / 07780 964 608

HOME
Plumbing & Heating
Design & Installation
Bathrooms/Kitchens
Plumbing/Heating
Boilers/Central heating
Gas Safe Registered
Tiling / Woodwork
Free estimates & Advice
T: 01273 487 565 M. 07801 784 192
E. tonywplumbing@icloud.com
Don’t get caught out,
Locked out - put this number
in your phone NOW!
• Digital Locks fitted
• One Key For All Locks.
• Cylinder Replacement.
• 24hr / 365 days a year.
• OAP Discount, No VAT.
• No Obligation Quote &
No call Out Charge!
• Lockout within 30 minutes.
• uPVC Door & Window Locks problems.
• Garage Door Locks
• British Standard Locks.
• Mobile key cutting service.
• CRB Checked & Approved.

HOME
Nina Murden,
the Lewes Seamstress
E S T . 2 0 0 5
Also Professional Repairs and Alterations Service.
01273 470817 | 07717 855314
TheLewesSeamstress.co.uk
Aluminium windows, doors,
lantern roofs and bi-folding doors.
Trading in your area for over 30 years
We guarantee all our products, installation and service
for the best doors, windows & conservatories
CLARKS GLASS LTD
Unit 10, Ringmer Business Centre,
Chamberlaines Lane, Ringmer, BN8 5NF
For your FREE no obligation consultation call us now on:
01273 814077
www.clarksglass.org.uk

HOME
PROFESSIONAL RELIABLE
FLAWLESS
LADY DECORATOR LEWES
For a no obligation quote call
07917 067847
hello@ladydecoratorlewes.co.uk
07784053679
tom@tbacc.co.uk
thebuildingandcarpentryco.co.uk

HOME
Surelock
s o l u t i o n s
LOCKSMITHS
Lewes: 01273 476067
FREE LOCK SURVEY
Project1/NEWSIZE_Layout 1 18/01/2012 14:59 Page 1
Call To Day
Don’t Get Caught Out.
Jack Plane Carpenter
Nice work, fair price,
totally reliable.
www.jackplanecarpentry.co.uk
01273 483339 / 07887 993396
Jason Eyre Decorating
Professional Painters & Decorators
jasoneyre2@gmail.com | jasoneyredecorating.com
07976 418299 | 07766 118289
Handyman Services for your House and Garden
Lewes based. Free quotes.
Honest, reliable, friendly service.
Reasonable rates
Tel: 07460 828240
Email: ahbservices@outlook.com
Art Frames
New in Lewes town centre.
Bespoke coloured frame to complement artwork, finished in
natural wax. Quick turnaround if required for exhibiting.
Please contact Richard.
Mobile: 07940 512021 | Email: rejpelling@gmail.com
PAUL FURNELL
Carpenter / General Building
and Renovation works,
Based in Lewes
t. 07717 862940 e. paul.lee.furnell@gmail.com
HB ad.indd 1
27/07/2015 17:46 LEWES CHIMNEY SWEEP
07796 802588

HOME
GARDENS
GARDENS
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
GGS1.001_QuarterPage_Ad_01.indd 1 12/11/10 18:24:51
RHS
Gold medal
Winners
Gardener Available
Beds, borders, pruning and tidying
01273 814 926
National Diploma Horticulture
Real gardeners for all your gardening needs.
From a one off blitz to regular maintenance.
Qualified & Experienced gardener
07912 606 557
07812 028704 | 01273 401962
brookhartservices@gmail.com
www.brook-hart.co.uk

HOME & GARDENS
Hamblin
Tree Care
expert arborists
Tree surgery • Hedges • Gardens
Nathan Hamblin FdSc (Arb)
Experienced, professional and insured
www.hamblintreecare.com
0777 364 2640
01273 477294 | 07729493611
Lewes
based
FLU VACCINATIONS
We are expeccng this seasons vaccines to
arrive by end of September. To ensure you
receive your vaccine please make an
appointment. We recommend you get your
vaccine early in the season (September to
November) to ensure you’re covered and
before vaccinaaons run out.
FREE NHS HEALCHECKS
are ssll available, call in or phone to book.
YOU MAY BE CONTACTED
by a 3rd party called “health extras” to book
this on behalf of the NHS.
01273 477294 | 07729493611 | treeamigos.uk
HEALTH
(Closed between 1-2pm)
Readings
Healings Workshops
www.maddyelruna.co.uk
VALENCE ROAD OSTEOPATHS
neck or back pain?
Acupuncture, Alexander Technique, Bowen
Technique, Children’s Clinic, Counselling,
Psychotherapy, Family Therapy,
Herbal Medicine, Massage,
Nutritional Therapy, Life Coaching,
Physiotherapy, Pilates, Shiatsu,
Podiatry/Chiropody
Lin Peters - OSTEOPATH
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
The Cliffe
Osteopathy & Complementary
Health Clinic
Mandy Fischer BSC (HONS) OST
01273 480900
23 Cliffe High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2AH
www.lewesosteopath.com
Open Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings
OSTEOPATHY
Mandy Fischer BSc (Hons) Ost, DO, PG cert (canine)
Caroline Jack BOst, PG cert (canine)
Cameron Dowset MOst
HERBAL MEDICINE & REFLEXOLOGY
Julie Padgham-Undrell BSc (Hons) MCPP
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Julia Rivas BA (Hons), MA Psychotherapy
Tom Lockyer BA (Hons), Dip Cound MBACP
ACUPUNCTURE & HYPNOTHERAPY
Anthea Barbary LicAc MBAcC Dip I Hyp GQHP
HOMEOPATHY, COACHING, NLP
& HYPNOTHERAPY
Lynne Russell BSc FSDSHom MARH MBIH(FR)
REMEDIAL MASSAGE THERAPY (ITEC & MTI)
Nuro Weidemann
Taking a Natural Approach
at Menopause
1:1 Appointments at The Cliffe Clinic
Self-Help Workshop 12th Oct in Lewes
LYNNE RUSSELL BSc FSDSHom MARH MBIH(FR)
www.chantryhealth.com 07970 245118
Healing Hands
Energy Practice
Intuitive Energy Healing: including
Reiki and Reconnection Healing
Additional help can be
accessed from angelic realm
Readings channeled to compliment
and embellish healings
Johnfinlayson3@msn.com
www.healinghandsenergypractice.co.uk

HEALTH
John Davis
MA BACP(reg)
Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy
Based at Coach House Clinic in the centre of Lewes,
I offer therapy to those experiencing particular difficulties
or individuals feeling somewhat lost in life.
Please feel free to get in touch.
Call: 0780 135 4803
Email: jd-therapy@outlook.com
Instrinsic Health www.johndavistherapy.co.uk
Viva Advert 7.19 AW.qxp_6 01/08/2019
Doctor P. Bermingham
Retired Consultant Psychiatrist.
Assoc. Medical Psychotherapy. Formerly SAP.
Psychotherapy for the psychological core of depression.
Suicidal ideation. Relapse. Supervision of therapists.
drpbermingham@gmail.com
Coranne Campbell
Reiki Master Practitioner
Tel 07584 572226
corannecampbellreiki@gmail.com
www.reikiconnect.co.uk
Energy healing complementary therapy
Ruth Wharton
BA (Hons) BSc (Hons) Ost Med DO ND MSc Paediatric Ost
Biodynamic Cranial Osteopath
Sally Galloway
BA (Hons) Dip Nat Nut CNM MBANT MNNA CNCH reg
Nutritional Therapist
Art Therapy • Hot Stone Therapy
Massage • Meditation
Psychotherapy - individual & family
Reflexology • Yoga for Autism
32 Cliffe High Street • Lewes BN7 2AN
Viva Lewes
We print 11,500 magazines every month
delivering 7,500 to houses in Lewes and Kingston
with 4,000 in high visibility pick ups
Reach our audience from just £25 a month.
Holistic Treatments
Swedish Body Massage
Indian Head Massage
Reflexology
Intrinsic Health, 32, Cliffe High Street, Lewes
To book an appointment
call Angelica Rossi on 07401 131153
Email: angelicarossi@hotmail.co.uk
www.angelsaromahealing.com
Gift vouchers are available

LESSONS AND COURSES
OTHER SERVICES
www.andrewwells.co.uk
We can work it out
Mathematics Tuition
Experienced Teacher
GSCE and A level
Call 07990076019
• 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
CARS
01273 488882
EXPERT
ADVICE
I N C O R P O R A T I N G F L O T Y R E S
COURTESY
CARS
DIAGNOSTICS & TPMS
SERVICING AND OIL CHANGE
COIL SPRINGS/SHOCKS – ALL SUSPENSION
EXHAUSTS, EGR – ALL EMISSIONS WORK
CLUTCHES, GEAR LINKAGES, DRIVESHAFTS
COOLING SYSTEMS INC RADIATORS
MOT SERVICE AND MOT REPAIRS
ESTIMATES USING QUALITY PARTS
SKILLED/QUALIFIED TECHNICIANS
Units 1-3 Malling Industrial Estate, Brooks Road, Lewes BN7 2BY
Vehicle Servicing, Repairs and MOT Service: 01273 472691
www.mechanicinlewes.co.uk | info@flomargarage.com

INSIDE LEFT
RETURNING EMPTIES
It’s 1933, and this young man appears to be
delivering Whitbread beer round Lewes, from
the Westgate Wine Stores on the High Street.
You’d think that the photograph depicts him
knocking on a customer’s door to alert them
that their weekly supply has arrived. Until,
that is, you work out that the picture was taken
outside the back door of the store in question
(now the chippy on the bottleneck).
We don’t know the lad’s identity (anyone out
there?) but we do know that his boss – Thomas
Watson – was quite a character. Watson, then
68, had moved down from London to run the
business in 1918. Before that he had been a sergeant
major in the Northumberland Fusiliers,
serving in India.
Not the sort of man you’d steal from, you’d
imagine, but the Sussex Agricultural Express
reports that in March of 1933, one Charles Gill
had targeted the off-licence on a wide-ranging
nicking spree across Uckfield and Lewes. Gill
was caught in Uckfield High Street in the act
of stealing several rolls of Kodak film, and
after being arrested, ‘further charges regarding
property found on his person were taken
into consideration’. This included a fountain
pen from WE Baxter, a box of chocolates from
Avery’s, two ties from Hugh Rae and two
bottles of wine from Westgate Wine Store. It
turns out that Mr Gill was about to get married,
and one might deduce that the items were
on a shopping list for the occasion. He was
given four months hard labour, by the judge,
who commented that if his future wife ‘was
worth anything’ she would still be there for
him when he came out.
Back to the young man in the picture. It appears
that rather than delivering beer – which
was no doubt part of his job – he is returning
empties he has collected from customers. Perhaps
– just perhaps – the former sergeant major
is about to appear at the door, leaving the shop
momentarily unattended…
Alex Leith
Reeves, 159 High St, 01273 473274. Visit to see
more old photos on sale as cards or prints.
114

THE BEAUTIFUL EVERYDAY

Your finances
your lifestyle
your future
Plan to make it happen
W
What money will you need in the future? We focus on helping you achieve
the returns you require on your investible wealth.
Successful investing isn’t about trying to beat the market. It’s about
delivering the returns you need to achieve your unique lifetime ambitions.
Our evidence-based approach is designed to do just that. Why take risks
with your money when you don’t need to?
Visit our website for more information or call us to arrange a free,
no-obligation meeting on 01273 407 500.
Herbert Scott Ltd • The Left Bank • 173 High Street • Lewes • East Sussex • BN7 1YE
Tel: 01273 407 500 Email: enquiries@herbertscott.uk Web: www.herbertscott.uk
Herbert Scott Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.