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Viva Lewes Issue #158 November 2019

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THE BEAUTIFUL EVERYDAY


158<br />

VIVALEWES<br />

EDITORIAL<br />

‘You can see <strong>Lewes</strong> lying like a box of toys under a great amphitheatre of<br />

chalk hills’. So wrote William Morris, a quote I think captures what has<br />

always, for me, been the best thing about the town: its setting.<br />

And it seems a fitting moment to share his image, at the start of our<br />

‘Theatre’ issue – which we’ve interpreted quite broadly as dramatic, from<br />

Michael Munday’s nostalgic, (also Victorian), cover, which cleverly incorporates<br />

stage and that most costumed of <strong>Lewes</strong> nights, Bonfire.<br />

We visit Paul Pyant, maestro of stage lighting, who tells me nothing excites him more<br />

than a dark stage, then one light, one actor…<br />

Which, in turn, puts me in mind of the <strong>Lewes</strong> Festival of Solo Theatre showing this month in<br />

what was <strong>Lewes</strong> New School: a feast of single-actor shows over one weekend.<br />

We also have an interview with <strong>Lewes</strong> Prison Governor Hannah Lane, who’s appearing in the<br />

Homelink Gala at Glyndebourne – in aid of the charity which helps, among others, prison<br />

leavers find a home. And the New Note Orchestra, the inspiring orchestra of recovering<br />

addicts who are performing their Kind Rebellion at the Attenborough Centre.<br />

Speaking of which, do you, like me, still hark back to the Gardner Arts Centre? You might<br />

enjoy our look at its history. Or our visit to Glyndebourne’s exciting Production Hub. Or<br />

how about some ‘real’ Punch and Judy: David Wilde is bringing this to <strong>Lewes</strong> Little Theatre,<br />

along with his traditional puppets, hand-carved and, (once again), Victorian.<br />

THE TEAM<br />

.....................<br />

EDITOR: Charlotte Gann charlotte@vivamagazines.com<br />

SUB-EDITOR: David Jarman<br />

PRODUCTION EDITOR: Joe Fuller joe@vivamagazines.com<br />

ART DIRECTOR: Katie Moorman katie@vivamagazines.com<br />

ADVERTISING: Sarah Hunnisett, Amanda Meynell advertising@vivamagazines.com<br />

EDITORIAL / ADMIN ASSISTANT / HAND MODEL: Kelly Mechen admin@vivamagazines.com<br />

DISTRIBUTION: David Pardue distribution@vivamagazines.com<br />

CONTRIBUTORS: Jacqui Bealing, Michael Blencowe, Julie Bull, Hasia Curtis, Lulah Ellender, Mark Greco, Anita Hall,<br />

John Henty, Robin Houghton, Eleanor Knight, Linda Lamont, Dexter Lee, Alex Leith, Lizzie Lower, Carlotta Luke,<br />

Nione Meakin, Anna Morgan, Michael Munday, Galia Pike, Janet Sutherland and JJ Waller.<br />

PUBLISHER: Becky Ramsden becky@vivamagazines.com<br />

<strong>Viva</strong> <strong>Lewes</strong> is based at <strong>Lewes</strong> House, 32 High St, <strong>Lewes</strong>, BN7 2LX, all enquiries 01273 488882


GIFTS AND GIFT BOXES FOR ALL OCCASIONS<br />

Use the code<br />

VIVA19<br />

For 20% off all gift boxes<br />

www.bookblock.com


THE THEATRE ISSUE<br />

CONTENTS<br />

Bits and bobs.<br />

10-29. Michael Munday draws back<br />

the curtain on his cover; Paul Pyant<br />

lights the stage; Photo of the month,<br />

the scene from Cliffe Bridge; Five<br />

minutes with Priory Drama teacher<br />

Amy Marsh; Friends for life in Pets<br />

of <strong>Lewes</strong>; Zero Waste Cupboard at<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Food Market; Charity box<br />

on Chestnut Tree House; Christmas<br />

lights campaign for <strong>Lewes</strong>; a scheme<br />

to get us all shopping locally; <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Living Wage visits the town’s three<br />

food banks; Carlotta Luke’s photos<br />

from Brighton Corn Exchange; and<br />

Craig runs auditions.<br />

Columns.<br />

31-35. John Henty on the living<br />

theatre of <strong>Lewes</strong>; David Jarman<br />

discovers Liverpool; and Eleanor<br />

Knight on Auntie Brenda’s drama.<br />

On this month.<br />

36-55. JJ Waller after Bonfire;<br />

Cinecity, world cinema across<br />

the South East; the Homelink<br />

Glyndebourne Gala; Something<br />

Underground presents the <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Festival of Solo Theatre; Jacqueline<br />

Wilson is guest speaker at The <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Lit; New Sussex Opera’s La belle<br />

Hélène; Film ’19 from Dexter Lee;<br />

New Note Orchestra and their Kind<br />

Rebellion; David Wilde brings Punch<br />

and Judy to the <strong>Lewes</strong> Little Theatre;<br />

Citizens UK’s Frida Gustafsson<br />

speaks power at the U3A’s Public<br />

Lecture.<br />

Art.<br />

57-65. Brighton Art Fair at <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Town Hall, including Simone Riley;<br />

Martin Gayford’s cityscape; and Art<br />

and about featuring Chalk Gallery,<br />

the Nevill Collective, Paddock<br />

Studios and many more.<br />

Listings.<br />

67-87. Diary dates including The<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Ripple, The Winter Garden,<br />

Bargain Book Sale, and others; Gig<br />

of the month is The Captain’s Beard,<br />

plus others; Brighton Philharmonic<br />

Photo by JJ Waller<br />

88<br />

36


THE THEATRE ISSUE<br />

launches its new season; and<br />

Classical roundup pick of the month<br />

is the Corelli Ensemble, plus Coffee<br />

Concerts, Seaford Music Society<br />

and others; Freetime listings,<br />

including (Newhaven) Fort Fright<br />

Week, and Christmas at Nymans;<br />

plus book review for Chris Riddell’s<br />

Guardians of Magic.<br />

Food.<br />

89-95. An evening out in Chaula’s;<br />

The Pelham Arms serves up a<br />

Bonfire special; a lunchtime spread<br />

from Beckworths; plus, food news<br />

from The Seasons, the Vegan<br />

Festival and Rathfinny.<br />

90<br />

The way we work.<br />

96-99. Photographer Benjamin Youd<br />

visits four production professionals,<br />

and asks who’s your favourite<br />

theatrical character?<br />

Features.<br />

101-108. Gardner Arts Centre,<br />

and how and when it became the<br />

Attenborough Centre for the Creative<br />

Arts; Alex Leith sees behind the<br />

scenes of Glyndebourne’s Production<br />

Hub; Michael Blencowe accounts for<br />

Shakespeare’s US starlings; Business<br />

news from the streets of <strong>Lewes</strong>; and<br />

Annie Timoney on her return to<br />

football.<br />

96 80<br />

Photo by Benjamin Youd<br />

Inside left.<br />

122. The Smugglers take a bow,<br />

<strong>November</strong> 1911.<br />

VIVA DEADLINES<br />

We plan each magazine six weeks ahead, with a mid-month<br />

advertising/copy deadline. Please send details of planned events<br />

to admin@vivamagazines.com, and for any advertising queries:<br />

advertising@vivamagazines.com, or call 01273 488882.<br />

Remember to recycle your <strong>Viva</strong>.<br />

Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of our content.<br />

<strong>Viva</strong> <strong>Lewes</strong> magazine cannot be held responsible for any omissions,<br />

errors or alterations. The views expressed by columnists do not<br />

necessarily represent the view of <strong>Viva</strong> Magazines.<br />

<strong>Viva</strong> retains copyright for any artwork we create.<br />

Love me or recycle me. Illustration by Chloë King<br />

6


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CHARLESTON.ORG.UK


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BRIGHTON ART FAIR at LEWES POSTER.indd 1 14/10/<strong>2019</strong> 16:55


SUSSEX SAVER TICKET<br />

ENTRY TO BOTH SHOWS<br />

AVAILABLE ONLINE @£8.50


THIS MONTH’S COVER ARTIST<br />

Michael Munday’s wonderful<br />

theatrical cover, featuring Guy<br />

Fawkes centre stage, was inspired<br />

by Pollock’s Toy Theatres,<br />

he tells me – the kind you<br />

can see in the Pollock’s Toy<br />

Museum of Victorian toys (or<br />

on their website). Indeed. We<br />

love it.<br />

Michael seems to have a mind<br />

that darts back and forth,<br />

visiting and revisiting ideas.<br />

The works-in-progress he<br />

shows me in his studio (in<br />

the Star Brewery, where he’s<br />

been based for 30 years) are<br />

more than six feet high, and<br />

are life drawings that depict<br />

figures twisting and dancing.<br />

He works over and over them<br />

until he’s satisfied, he tells me.<br />

Or he may find one part of<br />

the piece catches his eye until<br />

he makes that the painting or<br />

drawing’s focus. His drawings<br />

in Artwave this August were<br />

very popular with visitors – it<br />

was the movement in them that<br />

people loved.<br />

(I smile at his lengths of blank,<br />

waiting paper hanging in the<br />

studio: weighed down to lose<br />

their curl with chunky metal<br />

paper clips, a length of stick, an<br />

arbitrary hammer – my kind of<br />

practical.)<br />

Our cover he made by drawing<br />

by hand first: as he always does.<br />

“I couldn’t<br />

not draw on<br />

paper”, he says,<br />

showing me one<br />

of the Moleskinestyle<br />

watercolour<br />

sketchbooks he<br />

favours, and his<br />

“scratchy” calligraphic<br />

pen. The line work he<br />

then imported into Photoshop<br />

to fill in the colour. “I<br />

like the bright, Victorian colours”,<br />

he smiles. “My wife Gill<br />

sometimes makes me elaborate<br />

cut-out birthday cards”, he<br />

says – and this too is a seed for<br />

our cover. “I thought about actually<br />

making it in cardboard,”<br />

he says, “but then I drew and<br />

Photoshopped it instead (lazy).<br />

But I like the fake 3D, and the<br />

10


MICHAEL MUNDAY<br />

shadows…”<br />

We do too.<br />

He had planned, for a time,<br />

Boris Johnson in place of Guy,<br />

his doublet smouldering…<br />

he shows me his roughs, and<br />

we touch briefly on the state<br />

of the country, the world, the<br />

climate. (He remembers 1962,<br />

and being a boy in a classroom<br />

at the time of the Cuban Missile<br />

Crisis, and “expecting any<br />

moment to see a flash in the<br />

sky…”) Details capture him,<br />

of course, and he has fun with<br />

them: “I liked the idea of Guy<br />

Fawkes looking bored…”<br />

He’s infectiously cheerful<br />

company. Also, a musician<br />

(“guitar/vocals”) in three<br />

bands – Ska Toons, Joko and,<br />

most recently – “we’ve got<br />

our first gig in <strong>November</strong>!”<br />

– Hope Street. What a lovely<br />

name. This new incarnation is<br />

a three-piece band – “It’s me,<br />

my son Max on bass, and Lisa,<br />

a great sax player from Ska<br />

Toons”.<br />

And he discovered he loves<br />

contemporary dance.<br />

A devoted member for the last<br />

eight years of the Brighton<br />

contemporary dance company,<br />

Three Score Dance, he’s excited<br />

about their first mini-tour<br />

coming up. (As an aside, I try<br />

to encourage him to blog from<br />

it, having loved his ‘Seasoned<br />

illustrator nervously circumnavigates<br />

globe’ blog; “I get<br />

anxious even going to Lyme<br />

Regis”, he tells me…) “I’ve<br />

finally found something really<br />

expressive. We have visiting<br />

choreographers who come and<br />

make performances with us –<br />

recently, Ben Duke, who’s just<br />

fantastic. And it feeds into my<br />

drawing.” This makes sense,<br />

too, of the six-foot pictures:<br />

they are, we agree, like dance<br />

drawings.<br />

Which brings us, too, full<br />

circle. Charlotte Gann<br />

michaelmunday2.com – occasional<br />

but recent blog;<br />

michaelmunday.wordpress.com<br />

– travel blog; michaelmunday.<br />

com; threescoredance.co.uk;<br />

skatoons.co.uk<br />

11


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with your team<br />

Festive Fun Raceday –<br />

Monday 2nd December<br />

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Monday 16th December<br />

Dine in the course-side<br />

Marquee Restaurant with<br />

welcome drink, three-course<br />

lunch and racing for just £65<br />

per person inc. VAT.<br />

Book now to avoid<br />

disappointment!<br />

ADVANCE<br />

GRANDSTAND<br />

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Group Tickets (10+): £14<br />

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GRANDSTAND<br />

& PADDOCK<br />

Tickets: £15<br />

Tel. 01273 890383 | racing@plumptonracecourse.co.uk<br />

www.plumptonracecourse.co.uk


Photo by Charlotte Gann<br />

MY LEWES: PAUL PYANT<br />

What brought you to <strong>Lewes</strong>, and when? I<br />

studied Theatre at RADA and, when I emerged,<br />

got my first job by utter happenstance at<br />

Glyndebourne. So I moved to <strong>Lewes</strong> in 1974 –<br />

and here I still am.<br />

You’re a giant among stage lighting designers.<br />

What, for you, makes great lighting? The way<br />

I think about it is often mundanely practical!<br />

It’s my job to shine a light on what the director<br />

and designer have in mind – and to achieve that<br />

in reality, within budget, and so on. Partly, it’s a<br />

question of managing expectations. And for each<br />

production, it’s a long process. The work’s also<br />

changed beyond recognition – it used to be, as<br />

someone said to me the other day, lightbulbs in<br />

tin cans. Today most lighting equipment is highly<br />

technical or ‘intelligent’ – although I prefer to<br />

think of it as ‘obedient’; I’d worry if they were up<br />

there thinking what on earth was I up to...<br />

Presumably it’s as much about what isn’t lit as<br />

what is? Absolutely. I’m never afraid of darkness.<br />

In fact, for me, there’s nothing as exciting as a dark<br />

stage. With a bit of mist. One actor, one light...<br />

You spent many years at Glyndebourne. Does<br />

that feel like home? It’s my spiritual home. I<br />

grew up there, working with the most incredible<br />

people – Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn. I didn’t know<br />

anything about opera. It was an epiphany for<br />

me. The sheer beauty of it – and on such a grand<br />

scale. It’s a wonderfully unique place to have here,<br />

I think, on our doorstep.<br />

What for you, is ‘theatre’? It’s that thing: a<br />

rainy Monday morning turning up to some grotty<br />

rehearsal room for a run through – and ending<br />

up transported all because of the skill of the<br />

actor, writer or director without any help from<br />

scenery, costume, lighting. If the chemistry works,<br />

theatre’s magnificent. Like our 1993 opening<br />

production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia at the<br />

National – with Bill Nighy, Samuel West, Felicity<br />

Kendal – which won ALL the awards that year.<br />

It all came together – it doesn’t always! But when<br />

it does… I felt like this too, finding myself in a<br />

room with Maggie Smith and Alan Bennett doing<br />

his Talking Heads. There’s a thing called ferocious<br />

perfectionism; Maggie Smith has it.<br />

What do you like about <strong>Lewes</strong>? (Bonfire?) I<br />

think the town’s filled with quirky, interesting,<br />

fairly mad characters. I do think it’s lost its<br />

connection with its surroundings, over the years;<br />

and miss some of the old independent shops like<br />

Elphicks and Lucy of <strong>Lewes</strong>. But I love gardening<br />

– I have what was three gardens behind my<br />

house in Friars Walk. Living there, I’m obliged<br />

to embrace Bonfire: three of the societies process<br />

past my door. So I have an open house. And I like<br />

the creaky buildings. I used to work in your old<br />

offices, in Pipe Passage, alongside David Jarman.<br />

Working late I might look out of the terrace door<br />

and be aware of eyes on me in the dark: the eyes<br />

of the hundreds of frogs that congregated to mate<br />

in our pond. Interview by Charlotte Gann<br />

13


christmas menus<br />

Available from 13th <strong>November</strong><br />

Enjoy one complimentary bottle of Crémant de Bourgogne for every four<br />

guests in your party, when dining from our Christmas menu in <strong>November</strong>.<br />

To redeem, simply book your table at: www.cote.co.uk/cremant<br />

Côte Brasserie <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

82 HIGH STREET, LEWES, BN7 1XW<br />

01273 311 344 | www.cote.co.uk/cremant<br />

Offer valid for parties dining 13/11/19 - 30/11/19. One complimentary bottle of Crémant de Bourgogne for<br />

every four guests dining from our Christmas menu (£29.95). Cannot be used in conjunction with any other<br />

offer. Offer must be booked in advance.


PHOTO OF THE MONTH<br />

STAGE SET<br />

Blanaid Mason took this picture on Cliffe Bridge. She wrote ‘I took this photo at about midday on<br />

a beautiful bright sunny day in June. I was standing on Cliffe Bridge, listening to some buskers,<br />

chatting to a nice lady from Switzerland and generally soaking up and enjoying the unique <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

atmosphere.<br />

I glanced over the bridge, down the river and was struck by the contrast and clarity of the reflection<br />

of the buildings in the water. As a keen amateur photographer, I was so pleased to have my camera<br />

with me, a Canon 80D, and couldn’t resist taking the shot. I am personally drawn to black and white,<br />

and felt it would be perfect for this image, to focus attention on the light and lines and, generally,<br />

enhance the dramatic effect of the scene.’<br />

Please send your pictures, taken in and around <strong>Lewes</strong>, to photos@vivamagazines.com, or tweet<br />

@<strong>Viva</strong><strong>Lewes</strong>. We’ll choose one, which wins the photographer £20, to be picked up from our office after<br />

publication. Unless previously arranged, we reserve the right to use all pictures in future issues of <strong>Viva</strong><br />

magazines or online.<br />

15


BITS AND BOBS<br />

FIVE MINUTES WITH...<br />

Amy Marsh started as<br />

subject leader for Drama<br />

at Priory School in<br />

2013. She’s responsible<br />

for planning the KS3<br />

curriculum, delivering<br />

GCSE lessons and<br />

running extra-curricular<br />

activities. ‘I really<br />

enjoy those’, she said, ‘as I get to see students<br />

out of context. We have some amazingly talented<br />

and hard-working students, I always feel<br />

so proud of them. I also really enjoy directing<br />

as a creative part of my job.’<br />

Amy used to work in HR for fashion company<br />

AllSaints, at their head office in Spitalfields.<br />

But her degree was in the Arts in education<br />

and she studied at Bretton Hall. ‘I always<br />

intended to become a teacher’, she says.<br />

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?<br />

The beach, afternoon tea, festivals, music,<br />

spending time with family and friends and<br />

interior design!<br />

HUZZAH!<br />

FOR<br />

BONFIRE<br />

BONFIRE ITEMS<br />

K FOR SALE J<br />

MATCHBOXES, MUGS,<br />

PRINTS, CARDS etc.<br />

K THE TOM PAINE J<br />

PRINTING PRESS & GALLERY<br />

151 High Street <strong>Lewes</strong>, opp. Bull House & Westgate Chapel<br />

Christmas Trees for Sale<br />

P.E. Underhay and Son<br />

16<br />

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?<br />

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I read it<br />

for English A Level and revisit every few years.<br />

I also love a crime novel (or a Harry Potter).<br />

YOUR FAVOURITE PLAY? Sweeney Todd in<br />

2012 with Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton.<br />

So chilling and original, and I’m quite partial<br />

to a good musical!<br />

TOP PLACES TO GO OUT IN LEWES? I<br />

live in Hove so don’t socialise a lot in <strong>Lewes</strong>,<br />

but Bill’s is always a favourite and I like visiting<br />

the Depot: so different today from the<br />

vast warehouse space where we once staged<br />

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…<br />

Nordman fir (non-drop)<br />

Traditional Norway Spruce<br />

Best prices & varying heights<br />

Logs and mistletoe also available<br />

Buy from the grower<br />

Cut to order<br />

Super fresh<br />

No needle-drop here<br />

Open every weekend in December, 10am to dusk.<br />

Situated on B2124 between Laughton & Golden<br />

Cross between Park Lane & Broonham Lane<br />

before ‘Quik Loo Hire’.


CATS AND DOGS<br />

PETS OF LEWES<br />

Meet Kipling, a lurcher, approximately six years old,<br />

adopted from All Sorts Rescue. Kipling was originally<br />

found as a stray in Ireland, starving and suffering with<br />

mange (a parasitic skin disease which can cause intense<br />

itching resulting in open sores, scabs and hair loss). He<br />

settled into his new home well, despite being half bald<br />

and having just had a toe amputated. He’s a good boy and,<br />

what’s more, is insured to drive any car.<br />

Loves: science, cola cubes, Hackney<br />

Hates: souvlaki, sparrows, those speeded-up YouTube<br />

videos where someone makes a hideous table out of epoxy<br />

resin, some coat hangers and the bones of aggressive<br />

hamsters: you hate it but you can’t stop watching…<br />

He’s pictured here with his big pal Quincy, rescue cat, age unknown. The expression ‘fighting like<br />

cats and dogs’, is something of a misnomer – cats and dogs can and often do form lasting friendships.<br />

Granted, their body language is open to misinterpretation – to a dog, an upright waggy tail means<br />

‘play’; to a cat, ‘get the hell away!’ – which can result in misunderstandings. But, if early introductions<br />

are monitored carefully, Fido and Dido can be BFFs, regardless of species. @dogsoflewes


NUTS AND BOBS<br />

ZERO-WASTE CUPBOARD<br />

The Friday Food<br />

Market are rightly<br />

proud of their<br />

new ‘Zero-Waste<br />

Cupboard’. “If<br />

you remember<br />

Charlotte’s<br />

Cupboard, it was<br />

a van that came<br />

to the market and<br />

offered the same<br />

sort of stock”, says<br />

Market Manager<br />

Lucie Inns. “Now<br />

we’ve absorbed<br />

that idea into the<br />

market itself.”<br />

And just look at that lovely dresser they’ve found –<br />

in Furniture Now, the <strong>Lewes</strong> based community-led<br />

charity helping people escape poverty.<br />

So, shop here for any of the pictured organic<br />

dried goods, packaging free. You bring your own<br />

container, or the market will give or lend you a<br />

jam jar or similar. They’re also selling washing<br />

up liquid, laundry liquid and bicarbonate of soda<br />

‘loose’ – you bring your own container.<br />

The items currently available in those jars on<br />

the shelves include sunflower seeds, banana<br />

chips, couscous, fusilli, muesli, nuts, sugar, rice,<br />

lentils… and plenty more. To an extent, the stock<br />

is, and will be, customer-driven, Lucie tells me;<br />

“come and say what you want, and we’ll certainly<br />

consider stocking it, space allowing.”<br />

There’s also a loyalty scheme: every £5 you spend<br />

in the ‘Cupboard’, you get a stamp; 10 stamps,<br />

and you get £5 back to spend there again.<br />

Here is shopping of the future. Time we all built<br />

a trip to the Zero-Waste Cupboard into our<br />

weekly routine? Charlotte Gann<br />

The Cupboard is open every Friday at the <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Food Market in Market Street clock tower,<br />

9.30am-1.30pm, lewesfoodmarket.co.uk<br />

Do you have Workspace to Let?<br />

Workspace to Let as a Desk,<br />

Office or Studio?<br />

I have a list of clients wanting<br />

workspace in <strong>Lewes</strong>.<br />

For more info visit:<br />

www.spaceagentlewes.co.uk<br />

HAPPY<br />

BONFIRE<br />

FROM EVERYONE AT VIVA<br />

18


BITS AND BOX<br />

CHARITY BOX: CHESTNUT TREE HOUSE<br />

What is Chestnut<br />

Tree House? A children’s<br />

hospice which<br />

cares for around 300<br />

children and young<br />

people across Sussex<br />

and South East<br />

Hampshire, all of<br />

whom are unlikely to<br />

reach adulthood. We<br />

offer care and support<br />

in families’ own homes, and in Chestnut Tree<br />

House, and are caring for local families, right<br />

now, in <strong>Lewes</strong> and surrounding areas.<br />

It’s such delicate, incredible work you do:<br />

what is your aim, for each family? Our goal is<br />

to provide the best quality of life for children,<br />

young people and their families, and to offer a<br />

total package of practical, social and spiritual<br />

support throughout each child’s life, however<br />

short it may be. We help local families live For<br />

the Now, and offer a hug and a hand to hold.<br />

We’re a safe port in a sea of life-changing diagnoses<br />

and need for round-the-clock care. We<br />

aim to give the children and their families care,<br />

support, quality time and, most importantly, fun.<br />

Where are you physically based? And the<br />

area you cover? Our purpose-built house is<br />

situated off Dover Lane near Arundel. We work<br />

there, and in the community. On visits, kids can<br />

be astronauts for the day in the multi-sensory<br />

room, discover creepy crawlies on a woodland<br />

walk, or form their very own pop group in the<br />

music room. It’s a place where parents can just<br />

be parents, and not carers, and where siblings<br />

have people to talk to who understand.<br />

And what is the kind of care that you offer?<br />

Every family has a key worker, who will help<br />

them access the care and support they need.<br />

As well as care provided at the house there is a<br />

Community Nursing Team who visit families<br />

at home across Sussex<br />

and South East<br />

Hampshire, taking<br />

children out to explore<br />

their local community<br />

or simply giving tired<br />

families and carers the<br />

chance to take a wellearned<br />

break. Then,<br />

when the time comes,<br />

Chestnut Tree House<br />

help families say goodbye, in whatever way feels<br />

right for them, either at home or in the hospice<br />

itself. We offer ongoing bereavement support<br />

for the whole family.<br />

No family pays for their care…? Can you<br />

explain a little more how this works? It costs<br />

over £4 million every year to provide these specialist<br />

care services and less than six per cent of<br />

that comes from central Government. We have<br />

a team of about 75 nurses, care workers, activity<br />

co-ordinators and counsellors, and two GPs and<br />

a consultant paediatrician. All care is offered to<br />

families free of charge, so Chestnut Tree House<br />

relies heavily on the generosity of the public.<br />

How can people HELP? Whether it’s baking<br />

a cake or dreaming up funky fundraising<br />

fun, making new friends and learning new<br />

skills through volunteering (we have over 100<br />

volunteers), taking on a challenge in one of<br />

our events, or shopping in one of our retail<br />

outlets, there’s loads you can do to support local<br />

families. Everything helps, so head over to our<br />

website to get involved!<br />

Charlotte Gann interviewed Susan Freeman,<br />

Community Care Support Worker<br />

chestnut-tree-house.org.uk<br />

Look out too for <strong>Viva</strong> columnist John Henty’s<br />

new CD (voiced by Captain Sensible!) Cheshire<br />

Flies High £5. All proceeds from sales will go to<br />

Chestnut Tree House.


SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER <strong>2019</strong> / 2.45PM<br />

Christian Garrick<br />

& Friends with<br />

the Brighton<br />

Philharmonic<br />

Strings<br />

Programme includes Poldark<br />

theme tune, John Dankworth’s<br />

jazz Violin Concerto, Piazzolla’s<br />

Four Seasons and Libertango<br />

and more<br />

TICKETS £14.50-£42.50<br />

(50% DISCOUNT FOR STUDENTS/U18S)<br />

BRIGHTON DOME TICKET OFFICE<br />

01273 709709<br />

brightondome.org<br />

Focusing<br />

on you<br />

Counselling, Psychotherapy<br />

and Psychological services<br />

in central <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

01273 921355<br />

www.brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com<br />

admin@brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com<br />

Volunteer<br />

with us<br />

Get back a whole lot more than you give<br />

E-mail<br />

ILCRVolRecruitment@redcross.org.uk<br />

to fi nd out about the roles in your area and<br />

help people in your community who need<br />

a little extra support to live well.<br />

brightonphil.org.uk<br />

@BPO_orchestra<br />

/BrightonPhil<br />

redcross.org.uk/independent-living-volunteer<br />

The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter<br />

1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949),<br />

Scotland (SC037738) and Isle of Man (0752).<br />

Photo © Simon Rawles/BRC.


BITS AND BULBS<br />

LIGHT UP LEWES: CAMPAIGN FOR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS<br />

Simulation and pic by Gala Lights Limited<br />

‘Ever felt that, as the County Town, <strong>Lewes</strong> lacks that<br />

magical sparkle at Christmas?’ That’s a question posed<br />

by the <strong>Lewes</strong> High Street Traders’ Association, of which<br />

Tom Reeves is Chair. “The Association”, he tells me, “was<br />

formed less than a year ago to make Late Night Shopping<br />

happen last year. Over subsequent meetings, it became<br />

clear Christmas lights were an issue.”<br />

All the shops are struggling, Tom tells me. “We need<br />

something to get people out, and into the town. We believe Christmas lights will help.”<br />

The coordinated plan covers the length of the High Street, Cliffe High Street, Market Street and<br />

Station Street. In the years to come, they hope to add a special “ceiling of lights” feature above the<br />

War Memorial. “But that’s not on the cards this year,” Tom says, “because scaffolding’s about to go<br />

up round The Crown… This year, a conservation officer will liaise with the lighting company (Gala,<br />

who provided this simulation pic), to devise a scheme for this Christmas. It will be as spectacular as<br />

possible and will be a taster for the full scheme which we are intent on delivering for 2020.”<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> retailers, local authorities and the Chalk Cliff Trust have already contributed towards the cost.<br />

Now, the association is appealing for any local residents who’d like to chip in. “Every little counts,”<br />

says Tom. “We think Christmas lights could help bring our community together…”<br />

Interested? Check out the appeal. Charlotte Gann<br />

leweshighstreettraders.co.uk, leweschristmaslights.co.uk, gofundme.com/f/lewes-christmas-lights,<br />

Instagram @leweshighstreet<br />

Gift Shopping at Farleys <strong>2019</strong><br />

Muddles Green, Chiddingly, East Sussex, BN8 6HW<br />

www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk<br />

@ FarleysHG


Licensed Bar<br />

Food<br />

Craft Stalls<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

Gifts<br />

Raffle<br />

Plus Santa<br />

A VERY LEWES HAMPER<br />

Logo design by Scott Wotherspoon<br />

This Christmas, Visit <strong>Lewes</strong> wants<br />

to celebrate the town’s independents.<br />

“I’ve approached 97 shops”, says<br />

Helen Browning-Smith, Tourism<br />

& Arts Manager of <strong>Lewes</strong> District<br />

Council, “including Kings Framers,<br />

the 15th Century Bookshop, Union<br />

Music, Wear 2, Mays Butchers, Bake<br />

Out… so a really eclectic mix, which is the<br />

hallmark of our High Street.” (If you run an indie<br />

and would like to join in, she adds, please email<br />

events@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk.)<br />

From 1st <strong>November</strong>, shoppers are invited to<br />

pick up a Visit <strong>Lewes</strong> tote bag from the Tourist<br />

Information Centre. “There’s a stamp card in the<br />

bag. Each time you buy an item from one of the<br />

participating indies, ask them to stamp it. Once<br />

you’ve collected 10 stamps, return the card to<br />

Tourist Information to be entered into<br />

a prize draw.” The prize? “A hamper of<br />

quirky delights donated by the shops.<br />

We believe our unique range of<br />

independents is worth shouting about,<br />

and a huge attraction to visitors”, says<br />

Helen. “We’re also painfully aware<br />

that many of our valued local shops<br />

are facing great challenges, and struggling in a<br />

crowded market of chain stores. If we can persuade<br />

a handful of people to think twice before<br />

shopping online, and go out and support the local<br />

economy instead, this will have been worth it.”<br />

The hamper winner will be announced on the<br />

Visit <strong>Lewes</strong> website and through social media on<br />

Friday 20th December. Charlotte Gann<br />

visitlewes.co.uk, Twitter @enjoylewes,<br />

Instagram @Visit.<strong>Lewes</strong><br />

22


If you have a degree you can train to teach in less than<br />

a year. Plus, you could get a bursary of up to £28k<br />

or earn a salary.<br />

eastsussex.gov.uk/teach<br />

23


<strong>Lewes</strong><br />

SATURDAY<br />

7TH DECEMBER<br />

Starting at Harvey’s Yard<br />

beverntrust.org/santarun<br />

Registered Charity No.1103520<br />

Kindly supported by<br />

FUN RUN, WALK OR PUSH


LEWES FOOD BANKS:<br />

HEARING FROM THOSE WHO RUN THEM<br />

Why do they do it?<br />

Managers say: “There<br />

is a clear need”….<br />

“People need help<br />

and I like helping”….<br />

“The vast difference<br />

between the haves and<br />

the have nots”…. “My<br />

own experience of being<br />

very poor with a child to<br />

look after” .... “We do not all have the same life<br />

chances.”<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> is shamed by needing three food banks in<br />

our small and apparently prosperous town. But<br />

we should be proud of the many dedicated people<br />

who give huge amounts of energy and dedication<br />

to running them. The one or two hours<br />

on a Monday when the food banks actually<br />

provide essential supplies of food and so much<br />

more to people who desperately need support,<br />

is only the tip of the iceberg. I have seen for<br />

myself the hours of preparation and planning by<br />

managers that go into the operation.<br />

Running a food bank takes a wide range of<br />

skills: people and team management, administration<br />

and public relations, fundraising and diplomacy,<br />

sometimes even moving the furniture.<br />

Sensitive relationships with clients are key; so is<br />

recruiting, enthusing and managing volunteers,<br />

sometimes clients themselves. Keeping the<br />

books involves recording clients’ referrals and<br />

collection of their small weekly payments, as<br />

well as the ordering and checking of supplies.<br />

Most supplies come from the Fair Shares operation<br />

and cost each food bank upwards of £1,000<br />

a year. There is a constant need to raise the<br />

profile and funding of food banks.<br />

Monday mornings are busy and cheerful as volunteers<br />

bustle round sorting through the stores<br />

and filling bags. Dry goods and perishables<br />

are separated; fresh fruit and vegetables are an<br />

important but sometimes<br />

scarce commodity.<br />

Donated items with<br />

sell-by dates like bread<br />

and cakes are laid out on<br />

tables. Sanitary products<br />

are a more recent addition.<br />

When the doors<br />

open, families, couples<br />

and individual clients are<br />

already waiting and are greeted warmly.<br />

During their six to seven years in the job the<br />

managers say they have seen the numbers of clients<br />

and their difficulties increase. The average<br />

number of food bank clients in <strong>Lewes</strong> fluctuates<br />

but has risen from around 200 people a week<br />

to an average of more than 275. High rents and<br />

lack of affordable housing are severe problems.<br />

“We’ve got more money going out than coming<br />

in” is a typical comment. Clients reveal multiple<br />

reasons for needing help. A lost job or home;<br />

parents caring for a disabled child; illness, an<br />

accident or a series of misfortunes can strike a<br />

family or individual. It can – and does – happen<br />

to people from all backgrounds. The past year<br />

has seen “the advent of Universal Credit and its<br />

delays in processing payments”…. and “benefit<br />

cuts biting hard”.<br />

We began our campaign to make <strong>Lewes</strong> a (real)<br />

Living Wage town because we were appalled<br />

that people working on low or unreliable pay<br />

could not earn enough to feed their families.<br />

Our three food banks have become a fixture. We<br />

rely on people like these managers to plug the<br />

gaps in the system on our behalf. We are lucky<br />

to have them.<br />

Linda Lamont, <strong>Lewes</strong> Living Wage<br />

leweslivingwage@gmail.com or 01273 470940.<br />

Landport food bank: debbie.twitchen@gmail.com;<br />

Fitzjohns: helen.chiasson@btinternet.com; Malling:<br />

Mat Moulding at chilli500@hotmail.co.uk<br />

25


SUSSEX CHRISTMAS BARN<br />

Visit the Christmas Barn, located just outside Barcombe<br />

and choose from a stunning range of Christmas decorations<br />

for your home and tree.<br />

We open Wednesday 6th <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong> at 9AM<br />

Weekdays 9am - 5:30pm<br />

Saturdays 10am - 5:30pm<br />

Sundays 10am - 4pm<br />

Tempting homemade cakes and lunch menu from our onsite café<br />

Freshly cut 100% UK grown Christmas Trees<br />

Available from Thursday 21st <strong>November</strong><br />

G I P P S F A R M , B A R C O M B E , E A S T S U S S E X . B N 8 5 E H<br />

w w w . s u s s e x c h r i s t m a s b a r n . c o . u k<br />

s h o p @ s u s s e x c h r i s t m a s b a r n . c o . u k<br />

0 1 2 7 3 4 0 1 0 2 1<br />

01444 405250 | @NymansNT | @NymansNT<br />

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nymans<br />

Credit: Quentin Blake: A P Watt at United Agents on behalf of Quentin Blake.


CARLOTTA LUKE<br />

FOCUS ON: BRIGHTON DOME CORN EXCHANGE & STUDIO THEATRE<br />

I’ve been officially photographing the<br />

refurbishment of these incredible spaces to<br />

document work on the building’s transformation<br />

and restoration of its heritage features.<br />

Clockwise from top left: the 200-year old Corn<br />

Exchange roof showing the stripped back timber<br />

beams; the beautiful original windows in the<br />

Studio Theatre; close up of the building’s wooden<br />

frame taken from the new viewing balcony; the<br />

ornate Church Street facade with the scaffolding<br />

finally removed; and the 1930s bi-fold entrance<br />

doors waiting to be renovated.<br />

brightondome.org / carlottaluke.com<br />

27


Xmas fair and grotto<br />

Sunday 8 December<br />

10am–3pm<br />

Sleigh rides to Santa, Mid Sussex Choir, stalls and a<br />

warming café!<br />

National Cat Adoption Centre, Chelwood Gate, RH17 7TT<br />

(Sat Nav 7DE)<br />

T: 01825 741 331<br />

W: www.cats.org.uk/ncac<br />

Reg Charity 203644 (England and Wales) and SC037711 (Scotland)<br />

NCAC_4929<br />

NCAC_4929 Christmas Fair <strong>Lewes</strong> Ad (128 x45).indd 1 04/10/<strong>2019</strong> 12:02<br />

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Find out more by calling<br />

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CARTOON<br />

29


COLUMN<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Out Loud<br />

Plenty more Henty<br />

At this year’s <strong>Lewes</strong> Societies Fair in the Town<br />

Hall, the oft quoted words of William Shakespeare<br />

came instantly to mind as I toured the<br />

multiple stalls: ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the<br />

men and women merely players’.<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> itself is surely an open stage, a living theatre<br />

of a town I conjectured, and all these well-meaning<br />

and welcoming folk are the participating players.<br />

Some of the dynamic women I met on the <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

FC stall, for example, were indeed players in the<br />

footballing sense. Rhian3, Jess10, Katie22 and<br />

I got on famously and this despite the fact that<br />

I was wearing the colours of a rival championship<br />

team who they were about to play the next<br />

afternoon at the Pan.<br />

The fair was once again a life enhancing occasion<br />

and it was good to mingle with the likes of<br />

Landport gardeners, Pells Pond people and a<br />

costumed team of Tudor dancers. As I left, Sally,<br />

from the Flower Club, chased after me with a<br />

single stem rose bearing the message ‘Please take<br />

me home and smile’. I did both.<br />

Sadly, when it comes to live theatres which I have<br />

been associated with over the years, I am more<br />

likely to frown than smile. This is mainly because<br />

many of them are no longer standing and others<br />

are at risk of demolition or mindless redevelopment<br />

like the Hippodrome in Brighton (home to<br />

cheeky chappie Max Miller, pictured).<br />

I was vice-chair of the ‘Save the Grand Theatre’<br />

in Croydon, having appeared there as the third<br />

pirate on the left in an amateur production of The<br />

Pirates of Penzance previously. It became a soulless<br />

car showroom. When the theatre on Brighton’s<br />

Palace Pier was ‘painstakingly’ dismantled by<br />

the Nobles organisation for ‘temporary’ removal<br />

to Hastings, we were assured it would return. It<br />

didn’t.<br />

Thank goodness then for the thriving Royal Hippodrome<br />

theatre in Eastbourne where the British<br />

Music Hall Society is promising another ‘Day By<br />

The Seaside’ early next summer. The only way<br />

to ensure that theatres keep going in this age of<br />

virtual reality and box sets is literally keep going!<br />

A mention now for the final international antiques<br />

and collectors fair at Ardingly this year at<br />

the South of England showground on <strong>November</strong><br />

5 and 6. If you are planning to attend from<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> by car on the Tuesday, do remember that<br />

an early return home would be wise as the town<br />

will be in ‘shut-down’ mode mid-afternoon<br />

onwards for Bonfire.<br />

Talking of antiques, we have been watching<br />

episodes of The Repair Shop on BBC2 of late and<br />

what a delightful programme it is. No competitiveness,<br />

talk of money or pointless applause<br />

(currently spoiling Antiques Roadshow). It’s a<br />

pleasure to watch people’s joyous reaction when a<br />

much loved object is revealed to them following<br />

meticulous restoration. By the way, I did enquire<br />

as to whether the shop, in its West Sussex rural<br />

setting, is open to visitors. Apparently not. It’s<br />

created solely for filming. A shame. John Henty<br />

31


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COLUMN<br />

David Jarman<br />

My back pages<br />

Three days in Liverpool. First night I’ve been<br />

away from King Henry’s Road since July, 2017.<br />

And that was only Islington. Colin Brent has<br />

been extolling the virtues of Liverpool to me<br />

for over twenty years, so it was no surprise to<br />

discover that, architecturally, it’s a magnificent<br />

city. The extraordinary vista of St. George’s<br />

Hall, as the traveller emerges from Lime Street<br />

Station, the ‘Three Graces’, especially the 1910<br />

Liver Building, alongside the river front, the<br />

Georgian glory of Rodney Street; they are all<br />

just breathtaking.<br />

Shipbuilding was, of course, the thing in Liverpool.<br />

Look at E. Chambré Hardman’s famous<br />

photograph across Liverpool towards The Ark<br />

Royal. Its passing much lamented, though not by<br />

Elvis Costello in his wonderful song Shipbuilding.<br />

Writing in 1964, Ian Nairn wondered whether<br />

the city was always going to be ‘hopelessly sunk<br />

in the past, still mourning the day that the liners<br />

went to Southampton’. And yet today, as <strong>Viva</strong><br />

publisher, Becky Ramsden told me, the city is<br />

‘vibrant’. It just worries me that so much of that<br />

vibrancy seems to be dependent on not shipbuilding<br />

but the Beatles. There’s no escape. Bars<br />

(Harrison’s, McCartney’s), museums, The Cavern<br />

Quarter, the Hard Day’s Night Hotel, a rather<br />

poignant statue of Eleanor Rigby (‘All the Lonely<br />

People’). On Hanover Street there’s the Epstein<br />

Theatre. Could this be, just perhaps, named<br />

after Jacob Epstein, whose sculpture adorns a<br />

nearby building? Alas the theatre’s ‘Brian’s Bar’<br />

disabused me. Only Billy Fury seems to get a<br />

look-in. There’s a statue of him outside Tate<br />

Liverpool. He was born, one Ronald Wycherley.<br />

Any relation?<br />

Leaving the Philharmonic Dining Hall in Hope<br />

Street (one of several gorgeous Victorian pub interiors<br />

in the city) I turned into Hardman Street<br />

(remember Adrian Henri’s haiku ‘For Elizabeth’<br />

– ‘Morning / your red nylon mac / blown like a<br />

poppy across Hardman Street’) which I assumed<br />

was named after E. Chambré Hardman, whose<br />

photographic studio in nearby Rodney Street is<br />

now a museum, run by the National Trust. But<br />

no, it’s the Hardman family of Allerton Hall.<br />

A visit to the museum was the highlight of my<br />

Liverpool trip. Guided tours take you through<br />

the studio as well as the Hardmans’ living<br />

quarters. Stone me, as Tony Hancock used to<br />

say, WHAT CLUTTER! They’re preserved as<br />

the affectionate couple left them. (He called his<br />

wife, Margaret, ‘Pearl’, she called him ‘Gobbles’).<br />

Margaret once asked: “Why is our kitchen like<br />

the West Coast of Scotland?” Answer: “Because<br />

they both have Isles of Muck”.<br />

And the lowpoint? That must be the less than<br />

happy inspiration of installing one of Tracey<br />

Emin’s neonlight fatuities (‘I felt you and I<br />

knew you loved me’) beneath the stunning<br />

stained glass in the west front of<br />

the Anglican Cathedral.<br />

Back to the Beatles. And King Henry’s<br />

Road. It was there, at my friend<br />

Barry O’Connell’s house, that I once<br />

met a man who had been in the same<br />

class at school as George Harrison.<br />

What was George, famous as the<br />

real sweetie of the Fab Four, actually<br />

like, I asked<br />

him. His<br />

answer? ‘A<br />

complete<br />

thug.’<br />

Illustration by Charlotte Gann<br />

33


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COLUMN<br />

Eleanor Knight<br />

Keyboard worrier<br />

Illustration by Hasia Curtis<br />

So, no improvement in ‘things’ then since last<br />

issue. In fact, given the current fluctuations in<br />

political leadership there is every chance that<br />

by the time you read this my Auntie Brenda,<br />

exasperated beyond all reasonable endurance, will<br />

have risen up and assumed supreme command of<br />

our crazed United Kingdom. She will of course<br />

have put the hoover round and left a casserole in<br />

the slow-cooker before leaving for Whitehall.<br />

Under my redoubtable aunt’s benign dictatorship,<br />

Vitamin C tablets will be mandatory at<br />

breakfast, ironing will replace football as the<br />

national sport and we will all be in bed by nine<br />

o’clock. Because Auntie Brenda knows that without<br />

a healthy routine and clear boundaries we are<br />

asking for trouble.<br />

Admit it, it’s an attractive prospect.<br />

But moan all we like, we Brits have never quite<br />

managed to go the full Auntie Brenda – and for<br />

this there are two main reasons. Firstly, because<br />

we believe that dictators are, well, just a bit silly<br />

and secondly, because of something we’re really<br />

rather good at. Satire.<br />

In the run-up to this year’s Bonfire, I’ve been<br />

thinking a lot about those laudable individuals<br />

who tirelessly devote themselves and their<br />

considerable artistic talents to fashioning the<br />

effigies, which are paraded through the streets<br />

of <strong>Lewes</strong> only to be swiftly and comprehensively<br />

obliterated for our entertainment. But how to<br />

choose? There’s never a shortage of candidates<br />

for the PM treatment – and for the sake of<br />

argument please understand that I refer here<br />

not to the current leader of the Conservatives,<br />

or any other party, but to the sticky amalgam<br />

of discarded newsprint and cheap glue known<br />

universally as papier mâché. This year there are<br />

more potential PMs than the Bullingdon Club<br />

has had hot boars’ heads. In the words of Ferrero<br />

Rocher’s ambassadorial guest: <strong>2019</strong>, you are really<br />

spoiling us.<br />

Who could resist filling a supine Rees-Mogg<br />

replica with sufficient explosive to see him sit up<br />

from that infamous recline? How many rockets<br />

would it take to blow effigy Jeremy off the fence?<br />

Could there be anything, at this moment, more<br />

satisfying than watching a carefully constructed,<br />

lovingly hand-painted Boris bus make a rapid<br />

one-way trip upwards?<br />

Bonfire has always had its detractors. And<br />

this year, with the language of civic life barely<br />

hovering above the level of pavement fouling,<br />

there will be those who fear that offence may be<br />

caused, tempers frayed and – a very real concern<br />

– public representatives targeted as they go about<br />

their ordinary, real lives.<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong>, hold your nerve. Our annual spell of<br />

anarchy and arson is short-lived and lovingly<br />

cleared away. We blow up our papier mâché<br />

politicians to take the edge off wanting to do it<br />

for real, something James I knew when he passed<br />

the Thanksgiving Act in 1606, giving the people<br />

what they really wanted – the epic inferno they<br />

missed out on when Parliament was spared.<br />

Because we all like to know what’s<br />

what. But now and again even<br />

Auntie Brenda likes a<br />

good explosive.<br />

35


<strong>Lewes</strong> Bonfire<br />

The morning after...<br />

Do you visit one of the Bonfire sites on the 5th? Photographer and <strong>Viva</strong> Brighton regular<br />

JJ Waller sent us these pictures which he took last year on the evening of Bonfire Night<br />

and the morning of the 6th. He wrote:<br />

‘I see an intrinsic sculptural beauty in these bonfires. I am fascinated by their transient<br />

nature, a form of unremarked folk art. The structures are simple but skilfully assembled.<br />

I have great respect for the altruistic efforts of the bonfire captains who make them:<br />

creations whose sole destinies are to be reduced to ash. Very often it is the fireworks and<br />

the effigies that take the public gaze but the bonfire is at the core of the event…These<br />

pictures’, says JJ, ‘are a testament to their art.’<br />

JJ has also produced a bonfire poster – see jjwaller.com<br />

36


ON THIS MONTH: BONFIRE<br />

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ON THIS MONTH: FILM<br />

The Juniper Tree, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Berlin – Symphony of a Great City<br />

Cinecity<br />

Around the world in 90 minutes<br />

Cinecity, which bills itself as ‘the South-east’s<br />

biggest film festival’, has been going for 16 years<br />

now, and with screenings on offer in seven different<br />

venues, including the Depot in <strong>Lewes</strong> and ACCA<br />

in Falmer, it’s never been bigger.<br />

But it’s the geographical range of the films on offer<br />

that’s really striking. Because, once again, the festival’s<br />

strapline is ‘Adventures in World Cinema’ and<br />

it offers the chance to watch a carefully curated collection<br />

of fine movies from all over the world, from<br />

Palestine to Georgia, via Afghanistan and Australia.<br />

As well as the best of British, of course.<br />

One highlight – timed to coincide with the 30th<br />

anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall – is a<br />

remastered version of Walter Ruttmann’s influential<br />

1927 documentary Berlin – Symphony of a Great<br />

City, a contemporary box-office success despite<br />

its avant-garde nature, which compresses a day in<br />

the life of the German capital into a beautifully<br />

composed hour. The film will be accompanied by<br />

a new score, performed by musicians Simon Fisher<br />

Turner, Klara Lewis and Rainier Lericlorais.<br />

East Side Story gives an interesting glimpse at pre-<br />

1989 Eastern Bloc culture, examining the world<br />

of big-budget Soviet musicals, with extracts from<br />

classics such as Tractor Drivers (USSR), Holidays<br />

on the Black Sea (Romania) and Stalin’s favourite<br />

movie, which he is said to have watched over 100<br />

times – Volga, Volga.<br />

Rather more enigmatic and serious is The Juniper<br />

Tree, based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, a little<br />

known but highly rated 1990 movie by the late<br />

American director Nietzchka Keene. This slowpaced<br />

black-and-white tale was shot in Iceland and<br />

features the screen debut of a 23-year-old Björk<br />

(pictured above).<br />

Portrait of a Lady on Fire, meanwhile, is a rich<br />

<strong>2019</strong> period piece by Céline Sciamma, set in the<br />

18th Century, with an all-female cast, that won<br />

the Queer Palm and the Best Screenplay at this<br />

year’s Cannes Festival. It stars Noémie Merlant<br />

as a young artist commissioned to secretly paint<br />

a portrait of an increasingly reluctant bride-to-be<br />

(Adèle Haenel).<br />

The festival is topped and tailed with local premieres<br />

of much-anticipated American films, which<br />

have made an impact at Cannes and other festivals,<br />

which you would otherwise have to wait till 2020<br />

to watch. The festival opener is Robert Eggers’ The<br />

Lighthouse, a black-and-white psychological drama<br />

starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as<br />

two men who get to know each other rather too<br />

well while manning a lighthouse on a remote rock<br />

off New England. And the closing feature is Taika<br />

Waititi’s dark offbeat comedy Jojo Rabbit, about a<br />

lonely Hitler Youth cadet, whose best friend is an<br />

imaginary version of his Führer; the lad is faced<br />

with a number of choices when he discovers his<br />

mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic. Think<br />

The Producers meets Moonrise Kingdom.<br />

Dexter Lee<br />

For full schedule see cine-city.co.uk<br />

39


ON THIS MONTH: GALA<br />

The singing prison governor<br />

Homelink Gala at Glyndebourne<br />

What do comedians Eddie<br />

Izzard, Steve Coogan<br />

and Zoe Lyons, presenter<br />

Katie Derham, writer Simon<br />

Fanshawe, and actors Toby<br />

Stephens, Nimmy March<br />

and Sophie Okonedo have in<br />

common with the governor<br />

of HMP <strong>Lewes</strong>? The answer<br />

is they’re all appearing at Glyndebourne this<br />

month to help raise money for local charity<br />

Homelink.<br />

The charity, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary<br />

this year, works to provide permanent<br />

housing for those who are homeless or at risk of<br />

losing their homes. Liaising with <strong>Lewes</strong> District<br />

& Eastbourne Borough Councils – as well as with<br />

other organisations, such as job centres, women’s<br />

refuges, children’s services, the Sussex Rough<br />

Sleeper Prevention Project, and Southdown<br />

Housing in <strong>Lewes</strong> Prison – Homelink provides<br />

interest-free loans to hundreds of people<br />

each year who are homeless or facing eviction,<br />

enabling them to move into private rented accommodation<br />

in the Sussex area.<br />

The Homelink #homes4homeless Anniversary<br />

Gala takes place at Glyndebourne on Sunday<br />

17th <strong>November</strong> and will feature a host of homegrown<br />

talents, including the aforementioned<br />

celebrities (all of whom have links to the area)<br />

and <strong>Lewes</strong> Prison Governor Hannah Lane (pictured).<br />

She and a group of her colleagues have<br />

formed a choir, and, under the tutelage of local<br />

musical director and conductor John Hancorn<br />

(also pictured), are preparing to perform at the<br />

event.<br />

“When we were approached to get involved, I<br />

thought it was a great idea,” she says. “We’ve got<br />

strong connections with<br />

Homelink, as it’s a local<br />

charity and helps many of<br />

our residents who don’t<br />

have anywhere to go when<br />

they are released. Around<br />

30 per cent of our men are<br />

officially ‘of no fixed abode’<br />

when they leave here, and<br />

many end up staying with friends or family and<br />

‘sofa surfing’, so the service Homelink provides<br />

is vital. We wanted to support that – and I also<br />

thought it would be a good opportunity to<br />

mythbust what prison staff are like, as we’re all<br />

different and from different backgrounds. Then<br />

I got roped in to take part myself!”<br />

The <strong>Lewes</strong> Prison Staff Choir is made up of<br />

staff from a range of positions, Hannah adds,<br />

including officers, teachers, admin staff and<br />

chaplains. “We haven’t decided what to wear yet,<br />

but the consensus is it would be nice to wear our<br />

belts and chains, so that there’s the identification<br />

with the prison.”<br />

There’s something else unusual about the group.<br />

The members’ differing shift patterns mean that<br />

the choir won’t have the opportunity to sing together<br />

as a whole until the Gala itself, making the<br />

Glyndebourne performance truly a one-off.<br />

“Before this, I hadn’t sung since primary school!<br />

It’s a great opportunity – to be able to sing at<br />

Glyndebourne and to raise money for a really<br />

good cause. We’ve got our slot, plus the Grand<br />

Finale, when everyone will be on stage together.<br />

It’s going to be amazing. I just hope we don’t<br />

let anyone down, as the standard will be very<br />

high...” Anita Hall<br />

Glyndebourne, 17 <strong>November</strong>, 3pm. For tickets,<br />

see glyndebourne.com. leweshomelink.org.uk<br />

Photo by Sam Stephenson<br />

41


JO O’SULLIVAN<br />

DIVORCE AND SEPARATION<br />

Without the fireworks<br />

Living in Sussex few of us are likely to forget<br />

Bonfire Night; the <strong>Lewes</strong> celebrations are<br />

infamous.<br />

Remember, remember the Fifth of <strong>November</strong>,<br />

the Gunpowder Treason and Plot,<br />

I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason should<br />

ever be forgot.<br />

Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent to blow up King and<br />

Parliament.<br />

A penny loaf to feed the Pope<br />

A farthing o’ cheese to choke him.<br />

A pint of beer to rinse it down.<br />

A faggot of sticks to burn him.<br />

Burn him in a tub of tar.<br />

Burn him like a blazing star.<br />

Burn his body from his head.<br />

Then we’ll say ol’ Pope is dead.<br />

Despite the gruesome nature of <strong>November</strong><br />

5th’s origins reflected in the poem/nursery<br />

rhyme – and some of the <strong>Lewes</strong> Bonfire Night<br />

effigies – it is a happy occasion that brings<br />

parents and children closer together. Most<br />

of us will marvel at the lit-up sky, eating<br />

autumnal comfort food and enjoying the<br />

warmth from a roaring bonfire.<br />

For separated families it can be another<br />

calendar date marred by sadness, where<br />

children celebrate with one parent or where<br />

the only fireworks are those between warring<br />

parents – who in Guy Fawkes-like fashion –<br />

plot and scheme.<br />

As a Collaborative Family Lawyer and<br />

Mediator I help separating couples see that if<br />

you are prepared to put the work in you can do<br />

things differently… divorce doesn’t have to be<br />

about fireworks.<br />

Collaborative practice is a way of doing things<br />

differently. Each partner has their own lawyer,<br />

we all sit down together to work out a way<br />

forward.<br />

As a mediator I help couples negotiate some<br />

of the practicalities of parenting after parting.<br />

Once the parents I work with understand that<br />

the process is open and built on trust then<br />

things become easier, they can start seeing<br />

that with some work their relationship with<br />

the other parent can be more like a business<br />

arrangement that needs to be maintained so<br />

that their children can still benefit from having<br />

two parents involved in their life.<br />

I help couples work together to find new<br />

solutions and move on from the oftenexplosive<br />

past of an unhappy relationship.<br />

Therefore, in time, the only fireworks are<br />

the ones that light up the sky on a chilly<br />

<strong>November</strong> night.<br />

Please call to discuss what might be the best process for you<br />

on 07780676212 or email jo@osullivanfamilylaw.com<br />

For more details about how I work visit<br />

www.osullivanfamilylaw.com


ON THIS MONTH: THEATRE<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Festival of Solo Theatre<br />

Curator/writer/actor Jonathan Brown<br />

A solo show, I think,<br />

can be a very accessible<br />

entry-level introduction<br />

to theatre. I<br />

mean, everyone knows<br />

a good comedian can<br />

easily captivate an<br />

audience for a couple<br />

of hours, and it’s no<br />

different when it<br />

comes to drama. Also,<br />

I find that once people<br />

experience one solo show, they become complete<br />

converts to the genre.<br />

Some shows involve the performer playing many<br />

different characters. In Happy Hour, I play 14<br />

named characters, culminating later in portraying<br />

a large crowd and a full-blown pub fight.<br />

There’s no time for changes of costume! It has<br />

to be conveyed by the acting.<br />

That doesn’t mean to say it’s all about the actor.<br />

Yes, a little bit of flair is useful, but that flair<br />

shouldn’t upstage the story. The actor has to<br />

be the mediator between the audience and the<br />

narrative, rather like a Bunraku puppeteer: even<br />

though they’re standing above the puppet, if<br />

they do it well, they become invisible.<br />

The audience will not be expected to get up on<br />

the stage – with perhaps one exception, anyway<br />

– but using their imagination to fill in the gaps<br />

in the narrative enables an internal type of<br />

audience participation, a much more rewarding<br />

experience than being spoon-fed everything.<br />

The more they get involved, the more they own<br />

the performance. It’s democratic theatre.<br />

A solo show is a very intimate experience,<br />

especially in a small venue like the <strong>Lewes</strong> New<br />

School hall. The seats, set out in a ‘thrust’ formation,<br />

will be no more<br />

than three rows deep,<br />

creating a connection<br />

between the performer<br />

and every member of the<br />

audience. The performer<br />

speaks to, and responds<br />

to, the audience far more<br />

than in a multi-actor show,<br />

thus breaking down the<br />

fourth wall.<br />

This festival gives audiences<br />

the chance to sample up to 17 shows over<br />

a single weekend, featuring 14 different performers.<br />

I’m performing four of them, and there<br />

are several well-established, award-winning<br />

shows, by the likes of Kate Darach, Pip Utton,<br />

Daniel Finlay and Ross Gurney-Randall. The<br />

rest are by the very best actors who have come<br />

out of the ‘Grow Your Own Solo Show’ course<br />

that I’ve been teaching in London and <strong>Lewes</strong> for<br />

seven years.<br />

People ask me how I can keep all the lines in my<br />

head for so many shows. Well one of my performances<br />

is entirely improvised, so that solves that<br />

one! The others are shows I’ve done before, and<br />

remembering the lines is like remembering the<br />

words to a song, albeit a very long song.<br />

People tell me they’re surprised, after a show,<br />

when only one person takes a bow, as they feel<br />

they’ve been watching a host of characters. Is<br />

it exhausting? It’s a good work-out, you could<br />

say, but after every performance I feel entirely<br />

energised. As told to Alex Leith<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> New School, Friday 8th <strong>November</strong>-Sunday<br />

10th <strong>November</strong>. Public can buy single tickets,<br />

whole weekend tickets, or anything in between<br />

from somethingunderground.co.uk<br />

Jonathan Brown in Large Print Trash. Photo by Pete Gioconda<br />

43


ON THIS MONTH: TALK<br />

Jacqueline Wilson<br />

On lacking a mother<br />

“<strong>Lewes</strong> is one of my favourite places, there are<br />

always so many things to do”, says Jacqueline<br />

Wilson, when I ring about her upcoming talk at<br />

The <strong>Lewes</strong> Lit (<strong>Lewes</strong> Literary Society as was)<br />

in <strong>November</strong>. She’s looking forward to coming.<br />

Her talk is billed for over 16s, so I ask what it<br />

will be about. Author of 111 children’s novels,<br />

Dame Jacqueline has been thinking about<br />

“mothers and the lack of a mother”, a powerful<br />

theme in her books. She tells me she’s looking<br />

forward to answering lots of questions<br />

afterwards.<br />

We chat about her character, Tracy Beaker, who<br />

grew up in care and who’s now, she says, a lovely<br />

mum to a girl called Jess, although she still has<br />

anger issues. There’s a new Tracy Beaker story<br />

coming out in October, We are the Beaker Girls,<br />

and Jacqueline tells me that Tracy is thinking<br />

about fostering a child. The question is<br />

asked – how will daughter Jess react? While she<br />

was writing We are the Beaker Girls, Jacqueline<br />

was in touch with many girls in care, through<br />

The Fostering Network, for whom she’s an<br />

ambassador. The book is dedicated to a group<br />

of care leavers Jacqueline met through another<br />

organisation, Who Cares Scotland, who told her<br />

that they wanted Tracy Beaker to achieve more,<br />

they wanted Tracy to be aspirational to care<br />

leavers and to help reduce the stigma associated<br />

with care. “I try to make the books as realistic as<br />

possible, as positive as possible, without turning<br />

lives into a fairy tale. I hope they will be pleased<br />

with the book”, she says.<br />

Your books don’t shy away from difficulty, I say,<br />

and Jacqueline agrees: “Children like to know<br />

about the hard stuff; trusted adults might let<br />

them down, but things can still work out. This<br />

can work positively for children who have had a<br />

rough time and for those who, through stories,<br />

gain an awareness of what others go through”.<br />

Children send her emails and tell her that<br />

her books have made them feel better about<br />

themselves. “The lovely thing about reading”,<br />

she says, “is that through books you can be<br />

not so alone in your emotions and that can be<br />

comforting”.<br />

Our conversation turns to illustration. Jacqueline’s<br />

books are lovingly illustrated by Nick<br />

Sharratt. As a child, Jacqueline always loved<br />

black-and-white illustrations and grieved that,<br />

once past the picture book stage, they disappeared.<br />

So, when she started writing the first<br />

Tracy Beaker, she asked her editor for illustrations<br />

to help break up the text and was introduced<br />

to Nick. “He’s the first person I send a<br />

finished book to”, she says, and she suspects, “he<br />

can see inside my head!” Jacqueline tells me she<br />

writes her first drafts in PJs, in bed. 1,000 or so<br />

words a day, seven days a week and she can’t stop<br />

writing because it is, and has been, her life since<br />

she was 17. Generations of children are thankful.<br />

Janet Sutherland<br />

The <strong>Lewes</strong> Lit, <strong>November</strong> 12th, 7.30 for 8pm.<br />

lewesliterarysociety.co.uk<br />

45


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ON THIS MONTH: OPERA<br />

La belle Hélène<br />

Outrageous operetta<br />

It’s been a good year for New Sussex Opera.<br />

September saw the release of their world<br />

premiere recording of Charles Villiers Stanford’s<br />

opera, The Travelling Companion. The final<br />

performance was recorded live in Saffron Hall,<br />

with the Telegraph describing the production as<br />

an ‘accomplished revival of a little-known gem,<br />

greatly to the credit of the ever-enterprising<br />

New Sussex Opera.’<br />

I meet NSO’s Artistic Director David James in<br />

his <strong>Lewes</strong> home, where he further explains how<br />

they are ‘enterprising’. When selecting which<br />

opera to perform, the NSO aim to strike a balance<br />

between the obscure and the mainstream:<br />

great news for opera fans who might want a<br />

change from the ever-presents in the repertoire.<br />

“On the one hand we want to do something people<br />

want to come and see, but on the other hand,<br />

if we do something really obscure, are we going<br />

to get an audience?”<br />

Offenbach’s comic operetta La belle Hélène<br />

sits happily in the middle. The operetta form<br />

includes spoken dialogue and songs, so any fans<br />

of musical theatre might well have fun here.<br />

David is excited about this “very funny”, rarely<br />

performed, farcical parody of the story of Helen<br />

of Troy.<br />

The NSO stages at least two shows a year. The<br />

first is an in-house production, which provides<br />

opportunities for individual chorus members<br />

to take their first steps as soloists. The second<br />

show each year is a fully professional production,<br />

which is what’s coming to <strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall<br />

this month. The two forms of production are<br />

symbiotic: Jennifer Clark’s work in an in-house<br />

production has led to her performing as Bacchis,<br />

as a professional soloist in La belle Hélène.<br />

The calibre of soloists appearing with the chorus<br />

is a source of pride; Katie Bray, for example,<br />

played Lazuli in their production of L’Etoile in<br />

2013, and won the Joan Sutherland audience<br />

prize in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition<br />

this June (representing England). Soloists<br />

in La belle Hélène include mezzo-soprano Hannah<br />

Pedley (Helen, pictured), tenor Anthony<br />

Flaum (Paris), tenor Paul Featherstone (Menelaus),<br />

all of whom have worked at the Royal<br />

Opera House, and mezzo Catherine Backhouse<br />

in the trouser role of Orestes.<br />

La belle Hélène is the first co-production in<br />

NSO’s history. Opera della Luna’s 2003 production<br />

of the opera was directed and translated by<br />

Jeff Clarke; he returns for this adapted version<br />

and the NSO will be reusing “a fair bit of the<br />

set and the soloists’ costumes”. David shows<br />

me some photos of the original costumes: he<br />

doesn’t want to give away any surprises but it’s<br />

safe to say that the production will be bold and<br />

colourful.<br />

“Jeff’s version is different”, says David. “It’s<br />

slimmed down. Offenbach turned it into a farce,<br />

and Jeff turns it into even more of a farce. It’s<br />

quite a rude version. He is bringing references<br />

and jokes up to date but it’s still just as outrageous,<br />

not for young children!” Joe Fuller<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall, 13th, 7pm, newsussexopera.org<br />

47


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S U P P O R T E D B Y F W R<br />

ARtiStS &<br />

MAkeRs <strong>2019</strong>


ON THIS MONTH: FILM<br />

The Miseducation of Cameron Post, If Beale Street Could Talk, So Long My Son<br />

Film ’19<br />

Dexter Lee’s cinema round-up<br />

Depot has become a major venue for the Cinecity<br />

Film Festival, an annual chance to indulge<br />

in a fortnight’s ‘Adventures in World Cinema’<br />

(see page 39). There are some UK-based movies<br />

to enjoy too, though. Documentary Outside the<br />

City (9th, plus Q&A with Director Nick Hamer)<br />

charts the lives of a group of East-Midland Cistercian<br />

monks as they convert their monastery<br />

land from a farm to a brewery. London is practically<br />

a protagonist in Andrea Luka Zimmerman’s<br />

Here for Life (12th), a grainy docu-style drama<br />

featuring ten Londoners and a dog, scraping<br />

a living as best they can on the streets of the<br />

capital. Portsmouth is the setting for Aki Omoshaybi’s<br />

drama Real (11th), charting the budding<br />

relationship of a young black couple, brought<br />

together by a shared loneliness. And there’s a<br />

collection of early Victorian short films, set to<br />

live music, on the 16th.<br />

Otherwise, settle down for some stationary air<br />

miles. Sons of Denmark (9th) is a political thriller,<br />

directed by debutant Ulaa Salim, set in a near<br />

future in which the far right threatens to take<br />

control. So Long My Son (10th) is a generationspanning<br />

drama looking at the long-term effect<br />

of the one-child policy on a closely-knit group<br />

of Chinese friends; Variety magazine deems it<br />

‘utterly wrenching’. The elegant noirish thriller<br />

The Whistlers (13th, preceded by Romanian<br />

‘supper club dinner’ if booked) takes us from<br />

Bucharest to the Canary island of La Gomera,<br />

following a corrupt Romanian cop who hopes<br />

to profit from a multi-national drug deal he’s<br />

investigating. Elia Suleiman’s latest feature, It<br />

Must be Heaven (15th), transports us from his native<br />

Palestine to Paris, via New York, following<br />

the director’s whimsical journeys as he toys with<br />

references that may or may not be metaphorical.<br />

Finally, System Crasher (16th), a stunning drama<br />

about a nine-year-old girl with such vicious psychotic<br />

episodes she’s become unplaceable in any<br />

care facility, is set in director Nora Fingscheidt’s<br />

native Germany.<br />

Depot are also screening a French Film Festival,<br />

largely in December, which starts off on <strong>November</strong><br />

30th with Michel Ocelot’s children’s animation,<br />

Dilili in Paris. More on the rest next month.<br />

Also worth a mention is this month’s Book-to-<br />

Film slot, which features The Miseducation of<br />

Cameron Post (Nov 7th). Emily M Danforth’s 2012<br />

novel, about an orphaned teenage girl forced into<br />

a gay conversion therapy centre, was made into<br />

a 2018 movie by director Desiree Akhavan: read,<br />

then watch, then discuss the differences.<br />

There’s a fine crop of films in <strong>November</strong> from the<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Film Club. Wanuri Kahiyu’s Rafiki (1st)<br />

was banned in its native country for portraying<br />

homosexuality positively, then became the first<br />

Nigerian film to be screened in the Cannes Film<br />

Festival. Wolfgang Fischer’s Styx (3rd) depicts a<br />

solo sailor’s dilemma as she encounters a stranded<br />

boat full of dying refugees off Cape Verde; If Beale<br />

Street Could Talk (15th) is a dramatic interpretation,<br />

by Barry Jenkins, of James Baldwin’s 1974<br />

novel, and Capernaum (19th) is a multi-awardwinning<br />

drama about a Beirut street kid who finds<br />

himself looking after an Ethiopian baby, having<br />

run away from his abusive family.<br />

49


ON THIS MONTH: MUSIC<br />

Kind Rebellion<br />

New Note Orchestra<br />

“Kindness is so important<br />

in terms of recovery<br />

from addiction,” Molly<br />

Mathieson says. “Addicts<br />

have to consider what it is<br />

that made them spiral out<br />

of control and what they<br />

need to do to stay sober.<br />

Often a big part of that is<br />

being kind to themselves<br />

and to others.” We’re<br />

talking about Kind Rebellion, the latest work by<br />

Brighton’s New Note Orchestra, which was<br />

founded by Mathieson in 2015 to help people<br />

recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.<br />

The music, composed by artistic director Conall<br />

Gleeson in tandem with the 22-strong orchestra,<br />

is set to be performed at ACCA on <strong>November</strong><br />

13 as part of a collaboration with the University<br />

of Sussex, which has an entire research<br />

department dedicated to the study of kindness.<br />

Playing live is a big deal for the orchestra, which<br />

rehearses every Tuesday at St Luke’s Church on<br />

the Old Shoreham Road. “It’s the thing we all<br />

work towards,” explains Mathieson.<br />

The former TV producer founded New Note<br />

on the back of her 2014 Channel 4 TV show<br />

Addicts’ Symphony, which followed a group of<br />

addicts as they were invited to perform with<br />

the London Symphony Orchestra. “As I was<br />

watching the show unfold, I was so moved by<br />

the process,” she says. “It was clear that music<br />

really helped people with addiction issues. That<br />

was it really. We had just moved to Brighton and<br />

I decided to set up an orchestra.”<br />

After taking a course with the School of Social<br />

Entrepreneurs, she held a one-day pilot in<br />

Brighton. “I expected about four people to show<br />

up but there were 20.<br />

So there was obviously<br />

a need for it. Then I did<br />

an extended pilot to look<br />

at whether people would<br />

commit to coming every<br />

week and whether the<br />

music we created would<br />

be good enough to put on<br />

a performance. It was yes,<br />

yes, to all those things.<br />

There are three core orchestra members who<br />

were there at the very first session back in 2015<br />

and they’re still with me today. It’s felt like this<br />

thing we’ve built together.”<br />

Members come to the orchestra in a number of<br />

ways: “Sometimes a support worker will recommend<br />

us; sometimes people find out about us<br />

through someone already in the orchestra. But<br />

a lot of our members have just walked in one<br />

evening.” Members are not required to have<br />

any prior musical training. “The only criterion<br />

for joining is being in recovery and wanting to<br />

stay in recovery. Hardly anyone in the orchestra<br />

reads music when they come to us. But there’s<br />

a high aspiration and commitment is important<br />

– it’s something to turn up for every week,<br />

and people will expect you to be there.” The<br />

group does not talk about addiction or recovery.<br />

“But you’re with people who have all been<br />

through the same things as you. That peer-topeer<br />

support is very powerful. Then there’s the<br />

confidence boost that comes with learning and<br />

playing music; everyone is given the chance to<br />

shine. People come in feeling like addicts and<br />

leave feeling like musicians.”<br />

Nione Meakin<br />

ACCA 13 Nov, 1pm, free. newnote.co.uk<br />

50


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ON THIS MONTH: PUPPET SHOW<br />

David Wilde<br />

Punch and Judy man<br />

Punch and Judy shows may be thought of as<br />

an English seaside tradition, but the puppet<br />

character of Punch is known to originate<br />

from the Italian Punchinello of the Commedia<br />

dell’arte. Samuel Pepys recorded Punch and<br />

Judy performances in London as far back as<br />

1662. The cast of characters are no longer marionettes<br />

but glove puppets, though in other ways,<br />

the show has endured unchanged over time in a<br />

way which might seem surprising, given modern<br />

sensibilities. There are estimated to be between<br />

100 and 150 Punch and Judy performers in<br />

England currently appearing at fêtes, festivals<br />

and other venues.<br />

One such is David Wilde, who will be giving a<br />

talk and performing his traditional Punch and<br />

Judy show at <strong>Lewes</strong> Little Theatre this month.<br />

We met and talked about Punch, past and<br />

present.<br />

David saw his first Punch and Judy show on a<br />

childhood holiday in Weston-super-Mare and<br />

was captivated. Now he’s a master of this very<br />

particular art form. His show is performed with<br />

genuine Victorian puppets hand carved in 1890,<br />

in a nine-foot-high theatre, which is over 120<br />

years old. David tells me there are lots of shows<br />

out there but many of them are not the real<br />

thing. “There are a lot of skills involved and you<br />

have to learn how to do it”, he says. “You have to<br />

work the puppets properly. It gets passed down.<br />

I like to think I am carrying on a tradition at a<br />

high level rather than diluting it by just waving a<br />

puppet around.”<br />

The real thing means real puppets, real puppetry,<br />

and the particular voice of Punch – as rendered<br />

through a swazzle, which is a kind of reed<br />

put in the puppeteer’s mouth to project Punch’s<br />

uniquely mad voice. These elements come<br />

together in a performance which is intended<br />

to be fast-paced and knockabout. Punch is the<br />

ultimate maverick – he is anti-authority and he<br />

hits everything in his path with a slapstick (this,<br />

I learn, is where the term ‘slapstick’ originates).<br />

For 20 minutes, the audience will see Punch<br />

take everyone on. They’ll also be able to see<br />

puppets close up, including those from the Tony<br />

Hancock film The Punch and Judy Man.<br />

When I ask David about objections that might<br />

be levelled at a show where violence may seem<br />

casual and pervasive, he tells me that Punch and<br />

Judy has been subject to accusations of immorality<br />

going back to Dickensian times. “It’s always<br />

had its critics”, he says. “But it’s not real, people<br />

know it’s not real. You don’t have a puppet man<br />

with a reedy voice taking on a clown or a devil<br />

or a crocodile in real life, it’s like a dream, a<br />

fantasy. It’s not violent in the way many modern<br />

computer games are. Most audiences understand<br />

this perfectly well.”<br />

The enduring appeal of Punch and Judy may<br />

be hard to explain, but David asserts that, above<br />

all, the show is funny. It may just be as simple as<br />

that. Julie Bull<br />

That’s the Way to Do It is at <strong>Lewes</strong> Little Theatre<br />

on <strong>November</strong> 17th at 2.30 pm. lewestheatre.org<br />

Photo by Julie Bull<br />

53


Sacha Allistone MBACP<br />

‘A burden once lifted is lighter than air.’<br />

— Ioannis Georgiadis<br />

sachaallistone.com | 07909986812


ON THIS MONTH: LECTURE<br />

Frida Gustafsson<br />

Power in less traditional robes<br />

Frida Gustafsson is fascinated<br />

by power – who has it, why,<br />

what it’s for, and how to change<br />

that order. Frida grew up in<br />

Sweden. “I remember I was<br />

always interested in why some<br />

people had power,” she says,<br />

“and why didn’t we?” So she<br />

came to the University of<br />

Sussex to study Politics, “to try<br />

to figure out how to fix it”, she<br />

told me. Then, she says she realised<br />

“I wasn’t figuring it out!”<br />

Frida got involved in the Student Union – she was<br />

President from June 2017 to June <strong>2019</strong>. Here, she<br />

says, she learnt about “alternative power. And the<br />

place of grassroots movements.”<br />

She hasn’t looked back. This month she’s coming<br />

to speak at the U3A’s public meeting in <strong>Lewes</strong> as<br />

the Associate Community Organiser for Citizens<br />

UK in Brighton and Hove, an alliance of community<br />

groups of faith institutions, schools, universities,<br />

unions and sports clubs which was set up in<br />

September 2018.<br />

“Citizens UK has been around since the late 80s,”<br />

she tells me. “It’s responsible for creating the Living<br />

Wage, and the campaign that ended the detention<br />

of child refugees in this country. And today<br />

there’s never been a greater need for grassroots<br />

movements. If not now, when?”<br />

She remains fascinated by the mechanics of power.<br />

“Power is a neutral word”, she says. “It means the<br />

ability to achieve change. But we’ve built so many<br />

structures and systems around the word, forgetting<br />

its key purpose: to achieve change. We have a duty<br />

now to build power within our communities, and<br />

make the world of power more inclusive.”<br />

Listening seems key to Frida. Developing our ability<br />

to do this effectively: to really<br />

listen. “Local community groups<br />

have significant powers, powers<br />

we unlock by building meaningful<br />

relationships across groups.<br />

This work is all about how we<br />

speak to each other and how we<br />

listen. We’re also interested in<br />

hope. Hopelessness is feeling<br />

you can’t achieve change. It’s so<br />

powerful to begin with things we<br />

might be able to change.”<br />

Brighton and Hove Citizens is<br />

currently working on four campaigns, she tells me,<br />

voted for by its members. The first, “to reinstate<br />

an accessible toilet in Hove Cemetery – it sounds<br />

like such a small thing, but it’s not. To the powers<br />

that be, this is not a priority. To the communities<br />

affected, it really is…”<br />

Another priority is working towards a local ‘mental<br />

health pledge for young people’. This Frida<br />

explains as “a promise” – between Brighton and<br />

Hove’s young people, the city in which they live,<br />

and its council. The plan is to all agree between<br />

them, led by listening to the young people, what<br />

is missing and wrong with current provision, and<br />

what can and will be delivered as a better alternative,<br />

and when.<br />

So what, I ask her, does she make of fellow-Swede<br />

Greta Thunberg? “Oh, she’s fantastic!” says Frida.<br />

“It’s incredibly unfair that it’s falling to her to<br />

have to carry this burden and do this work, but it’s<br />

fantastic to see that power isn’t always dressed in<br />

traditional robes…”<br />

Charlotte Gann<br />

Frida Gustafsson is speaking at U3A’s public meeting<br />

in the Town Hall, <strong>November</strong> 6th, 6.30 for 7pm.<br />

u3asites.org.uk/lewes/home<br />

Photo by Becky Doran<br />

55


ON THIS MONTH: ART<br />

Simone Riley<br />

Digital photomontage artist<br />

I understand you’ve recently appeared in the<br />

Royal Academy Summer Show? In 2018 I put<br />

an artwork in for the first time, because Grayson<br />

Perry was the head curator, and I love Grayson<br />

Perry. I entered Innocence, a digital collage depicting<br />

a Victorian girl (a photo of my grandmother)<br />

standing in a school milk bottle, on a multilayered<br />

background. It was chosen, and it sold on<br />

the first day! This time I entered Time Passes By<br />

(pictured), and while I was disappointed not to be<br />

chosen, I was delighted to have made the shortlist.<br />

Another print, The Golden Bough was chosen for<br />

this year’s National Original Print Exhibition at<br />

the Bankside Gallery, though.<br />

It looks rather darker than your still lives,<br />

which we’ve previously featured in <strong>Viva</strong><br />

(including on our cover)? The techniques I’ve<br />

employed haven’t changed, but the subject matter<br />

in this landscape composition series has. And<br />

yes, it’s a little darker in mood.<br />

Can you explain your technique? I use my<br />

own digital photos to create digital montages.<br />

I’m often out ‘fishing’, looking for old and<br />

decayed surfaces to photograph, and these form<br />

the basis for the many layers I lay down to form<br />

the ‘texture’ of the print. I always use my own<br />

photographs, and have taken many landscapes<br />

over the years, parts of which are incorporated<br />

in this series.<br />

So it’s all done on the computer? Yes, all the<br />

composition I do is on Photoshop. I can play<br />

with the opacity of the images and often create<br />

ten or 12 layers in any image. Then I produce<br />

a limited number (usually 15) of professionally<br />

printed high-quality digital prints.<br />

Has any one artist influenced your style? No,<br />

I think that any influences have been indirect,<br />

which is for the best as I believe my work is quite<br />

original. I love artists who use a lot of texture,<br />

though. One of my favourites at the moment is<br />

Sam Lock.<br />

You were, until recently, with Chalk Gallery? I<br />

would really recommend it. It was a great launch<br />

pad for me, helping me to understand how the art<br />

world works and offering support and encouragement.<br />

It’s time-consuming being part of a<br />

collective, though, and I felt it was time to spread<br />

my wings.<br />

And you’re exhibiting in the <strong>2019</strong> Brighton<br />

Art Fair? I did so at the last one, in 2016, with<br />

the Chalk Gallery, and this time I’ve got a solo<br />

stand, which is exciting. It’s a curated show, in<br />

the Town Hall in <strong>Lewes</strong>, as the Corn Exchange<br />

in Brighton is still being renovated. I’ll be there<br />

throughout, happy to tell anyone more about my<br />

work. Interview by Alex Leith<br />

Brighton Art Fair, <strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall,<br />

30th Nov-1st Dec<br />

57


Martyrs’ Gallery Winter Exhibition:<br />

Art Posters from the 20th Century<br />

16 <strong>November</strong> –15 December <strong>2019</strong> · Private View 15 <strong>November</strong> 6pm<br />

www.martyrs.gallery in association with


ON THIS MONTH: ART<br />

I Finished It and Now I Want Some Praise for It<br />

by Martin Gayford, <strong>2019</strong>, pencil on A3 paper<br />

The title of the drawing<br />

suggests you appreciate<br />

feedback… Definitely. Other<br />

people sometimes see things<br />

in my work that I haven’t even<br />

thought about. It’s one of the<br />

best reasons for having a show.<br />

Where is this cityscape? This<br />

isn’t a view that really exists. I<br />

like starting with a figurative<br />

source and working with it to<br />

make something with abstract<br />

elements.<br />

So where do you ‘source’<br />

the buildings? The central<br />

building was an image I found<br />

online, that I made a drawing of<br />

and deleted. I’m not interested<br />

in where it was, just in its shape<br />

and reflective quality. Other<br />

buildings are from a photograph<br />

that my friend Gabs took<br />

from Blackfriars Bridge.<br />

Why are there no people in<br />

your drawings? Somebody<br />

else pointed that out recently…<br />

it also means there is<br />

no clutter, no cars or pollution.<br />

I find the deserted spaces very<br />

attractive.<br />

You’re better known for your<br />

paintings… I’m using the drawings<br />

to inform a series of larger<br />

abstract paintings, two of which<br />

will be in this show. There’ll be<br />

more in a larger show I’m curating<br />

in London in December.<br />

Both forms are equally important<br />

to me though.<br />

Who have you been influenced<br />

by? For an influence<br />

to be positive it needs to<br />

be something that I’ve half<br />

forgotten, not something I’ve<br />

recently studied. There’s definitely<br />

something of Georgia<br />

O’Keeffe’s city paintings in<br />

these, as well as the paintings<br />

of Zaha Hadid.<br />

Do you work in silence? All<br />

these drawings were made in<br />

my Star Brewery space, where<br />

I usually listen to music or chat<br />

with studio mates. I can chat<br />

and draw at the same time.<br />

Interview by Alex Leith<br />

A Year of Drawings, Stable Gallery,<br />

Paddock Lane, 9th & 10th<br />

<strong>November</strong>, 10am-5pm (Private<br />

View Friday, 6.30-9pm)<br />

59


Towner Art Gallery<br />

David Nash 200 Seasons<br />

29 September <strong>2019</strong> – 2 February 2020<br />

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ<br />

www.townereastbourne.org.uk @townergallery<br />

#200Seasons #EastbourneAlive<br />

David Nash, Nature to Nature, 1985. © Jonty Wilde, courtesy David Nash. Tate Collection<br />

exhibition <strong>2019</strong><br />

1st november - 8th december<br />

© Roger Dean, 1974<br />

concerts & events throughout the exhibition<br />

including steve hackett & focus<br />

trading boundaries-01825 790200-www.tradingboundaries.com<br />

VIVA_TB_OCT_HALF.indd 1 11/09/<strong>2019</strong> 14:03


ART<br />

ART & ABOUT<br />

In town this month<br />

Chalk Gallery will be closed all day on the 5th for<br />

Bonfire celebrations and a new exhibition begins on<br />

the 6th, featuring Emily Stevens’ paintings, sketches<br />

and drawings inspired by her time as Artist in Residence<br />

at the Pells Pool. The gallery’s Christmas window<br />

is revealed on 25th and the artists warmly invite<br />

you to join them for an end of year party with an Advent<br />

theme on Saturday 30th (2-4pm).<br />

Cecile Gilbert<br />

While refurbishments continue at Brighton Dome’s Corn<br />

Exchange, Tutton & Young’s long-running Brighton Art<br />

Fair decamps to <strong>Lewes</strong> this year. On 30th of <strong>November</strong><br />

(10.30am-6pm) and 1st of December (10.30-5pm), upwards<br />

of 60 local and national artists will exhibit their<br />

work at <strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall (see pg 57). Join them for a<br />

private view on Friday 29th Nov at 6pm (£20) or buy<br />

general admission tickets for £5 until Nov 14th (£7.50<br />

after). Purchase a Sussex Saver for £8.50<br />

and gain entry to both days plus their<br />

MADE Brighton makers’ fair at St<br />

Bartholomew’s Church in Brighton<br />

on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd of <strong>November</strong>. Visit brightonartfair.<br />

co.uk for details and to see the full list of exhibiting artists.<br />

Jana Nicole<br />

Seven Sisters’ Spices<br />

Also, on Saturday<br />

30th,<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Women<br />

in Business<br />

hold their Pop<br />

Up Christmas<br />

Emporium.<br />

More than 20<br />

local female-run<br />

independent businesses will be selling<br />

their wares – from jewellery to spices,<br />

ceramics to art prints and much more<br />

besides – with a café run by Caccia<br />

& Tails. (10.30am-5pm, All Saints<br />

Centre.)<br />

The same weekend,<br />

the Nevill<br />

Collective Christmas<br />

Event is at<br />

St. Mary’s Church<br />

Hall. Eight local<br />

artists and makers show quilts, textiles,<br />

prints, tea towels, cards, pottery, clothing,<br />

Christmas wreaths and more. Mulled wine,<br />

tea, coffee, cake. (Saturday 30th 1-9pm<br />

and Sunday 1st 11am-5pm) Contact Kate<br />

on 07828 221796 to book a place on the<br />

wreath-making workshop and Ruby at nativehands.co.uk<br />

to join the workshop making<br />

festive decorations from rushes.<br />

61


A R T 7 P R E S E N T S<br />

20th Anniversary art exhibition in <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

An exhibition/sale of works by Russian and Ukrainian artists:<br />

Yuri Matushevski (1930-1999), Viktor Templin (1920-1994), Viktor Koshevoi (1924-2006),<br />

Anna Cherednichenko (1917-2003), Vitaly Baranenko (1965), Yuri Kuchinov (1951) and others.<br />

Viktor Templin (Russian, 1920-1994) “Autumn Day”<br />

1960-s, oil on board, 50cmx70cm<br />

Viktor Koshevoi (Ukrainian, 1924-2006)<br />

”Winter Forest” 1987, oil on board, 45cmx50cm<br />

Yuri Matushevski (Russian, 1930-1999) “Last days of Summer”<br />

1960, oil on board, 49cm x 69cm<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> House, 32 High Street, <strong>Lewes</strong>, BN7 2LX<br />

Friday 15 th - Saturday 23 rd <strong>November</strong><br />

Open daily from Saturday 16 th - Saturday 23 rd , 10am - 6pm<br />

Private viewing Friday 15 th <strong>November</strong>, 6pm - 9pm<br />

Art-7 Art Gallery | www.art-7.com | mail@art-7.com<br />

N O V E M B E R :<br />

Sat 2nd, 7-9pm<br />

Open mic night.<br />

Book tickets on website<br />

Saturday 9th - Sunday 10th, 11am-4pm<br />

Multi-media installation Dave Stephens<br />

Thursday 21st <strong>November</strong>, 7.30 -9pm<br />

Julian of Norwich talk with Simon Parke<br />

Book tickets on website<br />

Crypt Gallery, 23 Church Street, Seaford, BN25 1HD | www.thecryptgallery.com


ART<br />

In town (cont)<br />

This month Art 7 are celebrating 20 years of promoting and<br />

selling Russian and Ukrainian paintings with an exhibition at<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> House from the 15th-23rd. Since perestroika raised the<br />

curtain on the Art scene in the USSR, the gallery has represented<br />

close to 200 artists, many of whom will be included in this<br />

exhibition. Private view Friday 15th (6-9pm), then open daily<br />

(10am-6pm) until the 23rd. art-7.com<br />

Yuri Matushevski, Still life with bread, 1966<br />

Paddock Studios have a busy <strong>November</strong>. Martin<br />

Gayford’s A Year of Drawings is on the 9th & 10th<br />

(see pg 59). Inner Pieces, on the 17th (11am-4pm),<br />

is an exhibition of mixed media collage using found<br />

objects and drawings reminiscent of aboriginal<br />

art and mandalas, by Rebecca Wells and Alison<br />

Briggs. The magical Wunderkammer pop up shop<br />

arrives on Saturday 30th and Sunday 1st December<br />

(11am-5pm), with handmade festive curiosities<br />

and oddities by<br />

Samantha Stas, Emily Warren (The Stealthy Rabbit) and<br />

Chiara Bianchi (Use and Take Care).<br />

From 16th till 1st December, Depot are hosting Women X<br />

Football = Art, a solo exhibition by Jill Iliffe. Her paintings and<br />

drawings celebrate women with a passion for football, women<br />

Jill met through <strong>Lewes</strong> FC. (Weekends, 10am-6pm.)<br />

Out of town<br />

Experience a walk-through installation<br />

by multi-media artist<br />

Dave Stephens at the Crypt<br />

Gallery in Seaford on Saturday<br />

9th and Sunday 10th (11am-<br />

4pm). Remains includes hundreds<br />

of tiny sculptures and features the<br />

film Moth on Mouth (directed by<br />

Matt Page and Dave Stephens);<br />

a reflection on how we perceive war and disaster from<br />

our living rooms. Plus, the gallery hosts an open mic<br />

poetry night on Saturday 2nd (7-9pm) and a talk about<br />

Julian of Norwich by Simon Parke on Thursday 21st<br />

(7.30-9pm). thecryptgallery.com<br />

Dave Stephens<br />

Also, in<br />

Seaford,<br />

Studio+<br />

Gallery<br />

open their<br />

Christmas<br />

Show on<br />

<strong>November</strong><br />

21st: a<br />

private collection<br />

of<br />

preliminary<br />

drawings by<br />

Sir Stanley Spencer, held in aid of a<br />

local charity supporting families and<br />

children. studioplusgallery.com<br />

Drawing (detail) by Gilbert Spencer, Stanley’s brother Jill Iliffe<br />

63


The Nevill Collective<br />

CHRISTMAS EVENT<br />

8 local artists and<br />

makers, showing cards,<br />

quilts, textiles, prints,<br />

tea towels, pottery,<br />

clothing, Christmas wreaths,<br />

basketry and more!<br />

Mulled wine, tea, coffee, cake.<br />

St Mary’s Church Hall<br />

Highdown Road, <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

BN7 1QE<br />

Sat, 30th <strong>November</strong><br />

1-9pm<br />

Sun, 1st December<br />

11-5pm<br />

Contact Kate 07828 221796 to book your place on our wreath making workshop.<br />

Contact Ruby via nativehands.co.uk for a place on our Xmas decoration workshop.


ART<br />

Out of town (cont)<br />

Deborah Manson<br />

Charleston hold a Designer<br />

& Maker Fair on<br />

Saturday 23rd and Sunday<br />

24th <strong>November</strong> (11am-<br />

5pm): 30 carefully curated<br />

stands will be selling a wide<br />

variety of goods from local<br />

and regional makers. Enjoy<br />

a warming winter lunch,<br />

boozy hot chocolate, hot<br />

toddies and mince pies at<br />

the café. (£4 in advance, £5<br />

on the day.)<br />

Laila Smith<br />

On the 2nd and 3rd of<br />

<strong>November</strong> (10am-5pm) Six<br />

Sussex Artists & Craftsmen is<br />

at Selmeston Village Hall<br />

featuring new work by local<br />

makers: ceramics by Jonathan<br />

Chiswell Jones &<br />

Kerry Bosworth, furniture<br />

by Chris Alley, quilts by Louise Bell, knitwear<br />

by Alison Ellen, wood engravings by Sue Scullard<br />

and jewellery by Amanda Zoe.<br />

Roger Dean’s <strong>2019</strong> exhibition, The Gates of Delirium,<br />

is at Trading Boundaries in Sheffield<br />

Park from the 1st of <strong>November</strong> until the 8th of<br />

December. The internationally acclaimed artist<br />

and designer is responsible for some of the most<br />

iconic album covers over the past five decades.<br />

The exhibition features prints and original paintings<br />

from across his career, including Inland Sea<br />

II used on the latest Yes album cover.<br />

tradingboundaries.com, rogerdean.com<br />

Alison Ellen<br />

At Ditchling Museum of Art +<br />

Craft you’ll find Disruption, Devotion<br />

and Distributism: an exhibition<br />

drawn from a major acquisition of<br />

over 400 St Dominic’s Press pamphlets<br />

and posters. The private press<br />

published a wide range of material<br />

including books and pamphlets<br />

for The Guild of St Joseph and<br />

St Dominic and other artists and<br />

thinkers sharing their philosophy<br />

of craftsmanship and life. Over 100<br />

objects have been brought together,<br />

including never-before-seen pieces,<br />

that illustrate the underlying ideas<br />

and beliefs which led artists like<br />

Edward Johnston, Hilary Pepler<br />

and Eric Gill to Ditchling.<br />

Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic safe door, painted<br />

by David Jones. Image by Tessa Hallmann<br />

65


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Nov listings<br />

Photo by Xavi Buendia – xdbphotography.com<br />

TUESDAY 5<br />

Enjoy and stay safe.<br />

THROUGHOUT NOVEMBER<br />

Rathfinny Estate tours. A behind-the-scenes<br />

look at the wine production process at the<br />

award-winning Winery. See rathfinnyestate.<br />

com.<br />

SATURDAY 2<br />

Mind, Body, Spirit Sussex Festival. Psychic<br />

readers, healing therapies, group healing workshops,<br />

sacred art, artisan crafts and more. <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Town Hall, 10am-4pm, free.<br />

SUNDAY 3<br />

The <strong>Lewes</strong> Ripple Live Broadcast. The<br />

Ripple hosts a live broadcast on Rocket Radio<br />

FM from the Lamb of <strong>Lewes</strong>. All are invited to<br />

attend, 7pm-11pm.<br />

Film: Migrant Voices in London (12A).<br />

Short film sharing the stories of four migrants<br />

living in London, with introduction and Q&A<br />

discussion by Ahmed Sinno. All Saints, 4pm,<br />

£5/£2.50.<br />

Film: Styx (12A).<br />

Doctor Rieke’s dream<br />

solo sailing trip<br />

changes completely<br />

when she comes<br />

across a boatload of<br />

stricken migrants and is forced to make life or<br />

death decisions. All Saints, 4.30pm, £5/£2.50.<br />

WEDNESDAY 6<br />

Building Power with Local Communities.<br />

U3A public lecture with Frida Gustafsson of<br />

Brighton and Hove Citizens. Council Chamber,<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall, 7pm, free (entry on a<br />

first come, first serve basis). See page 55.<br />

The Winter Garden. <strong>Lewes</strong> & District Garden<br />

Society talk. David Fitton trained at Wisley<br />

and was Head of Horticulture at Plumpton<br />

College, he is Garden Advisor to Paradise<br />

Park. He will be talking about how to enhance<br />

your winter garden. St Thomas Church Hall,<br />

7.30pm, £3 for visitors.<br />

THURSDAY 7<br />

An evening with Lynne Truss. Best-selling<br />

author Lynne Truss will be talking about her<br />

comic crime mysteries A Shot in the Dark and<br />

The Man That Got Away with local novelist and<br />

<strong>Viva</strong> Brighton columnist Lizzie Enfield. The<br />

Keep, 7pm, £10 (includes a drink).<br />

FRIDAY 8 – SUNDAY 10<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Festival of<br />

Solo Theatre. A<br />

weekend of oneperson<br />

shows, with<br />

a host of award<br />

winners. <strong>Lewes</strong> New<br />

School, see somethingunderground.<br />

co.uk and page 43.<br />

67


NOVEMBER<br />

HIGHLIGHTS<br />

01273 678 822<br />

attenboroughcentre.com<br />

BRIGHTON FILM FESTIVAL 8-17 NOV <strong>2019</strong><br />

ADVENTURES IN WORLD CINEMA<br />

www.cine-city.co.uk


Nov listings (cont.)<br />

such as Grange Road, Wallands and the Pells.<br />

Risky and rarely profitable, they helped <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

to prosper and shaped a substantial part of<br />

today’s townscape. King’s Church, 7pm for<br />

7.30pm, £1/£3.<br />

SATURDAY 9<br />

The Snobbery of Paint. Simon March of<br />

Marchand Sons in Station Street talks about<br />

his life in paints. Paddock Art Studios, 3pm, £5<br />

(free to members of LADVAA).<br />

MONDAY 11<br />

The Rise of Victorian & Edwardian Suburbs<br />

in <strong>Lewes</strong>. <strong>Lewes</strong> History Group talk<br />

with Sue Berry, exploring the development of<br />

Victorian and Edwardian suburban projects<br />

Art of flower photography. Talk by Celia<br />

Henderson LRPS. St Mary’s Supporters Club,<br />

Christie Road, 7.30pm for 7.45pm, £5 guest<br />

fee.<br />

TUESDAY 12<br />

Full Moon Fire<br />

Ceremony. Vert<br />

Woods, BN8 6BP,<br />

7pm, contact ali@<br />

lucidhealing.co.uk<br />

for more info.<br />

Jacqueline Wilson at The <strong>Lewes</strong> Lit. All<br />

Saints, 8pm, £10/£5 for under 25s, see page 45.<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Little<br />

Theatre<br />

By Charles Dickens<br />

Adapted by Gary Andrews<br />

Directed by Darren Heather<br />

Friday 6 – Saturday 14<br />

December 7:45pm excl Saturday<br />

7 & Sunday 8 December.<br />

Matinees Saturdays 7 & 14<br />

December 2:45pm.<br />

www.lewestheatre.org<br />

Box Office: 01273 474826<br />

£12/Members £8<br />

A Christmas<br />

Carol<br />

69


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Nov listings (cont.)<br />

WEDNESDAY 13<br />

New Sussex Opera present La belle Hélène.<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall, 7pm, see page 47.<br />

THURSDAY 14<br />

Vegan Festival<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong>. Speakers,<br />

informative<br />

exhibitors,<br />

samples of<br />

vegan food from<br />

vegan-friendly<br />

businesses and a range of vegan products and<br />

food to purchase. East Sussex College, Mountfield<br />

Road, 11.30am-7pm, free.<br />

Palestine home rebuild <strong>2019</strong>. <strong>Lewes</strong> Amnesty<br />

members Adrian Briggs and Linda Calvert<br />

give an illustrated talk on their trip to Palestine<br />

in April <strong>2019</strong> to help rebuild a family’s home<br />

demolished by the Israeli army. Lecture Room,<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall, 7pm, free.<br />

The Darker Shades of Sun Street. Combining<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> street history with music and song,<br />

this show is based on stories of petty crime<br />

and scandal in late 19th century Sun Street,<br />

researched by Frances Stenlake and read by<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Little Theatre actors. The speciallycomposed<br />

songs are performed by leading<br />

members of the <strong>Lewes</strong> Saturday Folk Club.<br />

The Keep, 7pm, £7.<br />

Comedy at the Con. With Stephen Grant,<br />

Charmian Hughes, Dinesh Nathan and Jake<br />

Baker. Con Club, 7.30pm, £8-£12.<br />

FRIDAY 15<br />

Lee Miller and Picasso. Illustrated talk by<br />

Antony Penrose. Iford Village Hall, 7.30pm for<br />

8pm, £15 (includes a glass of wine).<br />

1264: The Battle of <strong>Lewes</strong>, a military perspective.<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Archaeological Group talk by<br />

Joe Gazeley. Lecture Room, <strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall,<br />

7.30pm, £4/£3), free entry for 25 and under.<br />

Film: If Beale Street Could Talk (15). Barry<br />

Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1970s<br />

novel. All Saints, 8pm, £5/£2.50.<br />

SATURDAY 16<br />

Bargain Book Sale. Range of nearly new<br />

books, ideal for Christmas presents. All proceeds<br />

to LIA (Life in Abundance) and Open<br />

Hands. Next to St Thomas’ Church off Cliffe<br />

High Street, 9am-1pm.<br />

Repair Café. Take along damaged clothes,<br />

broken electrical appliances, bicycles, china,<br />

jewellery and more. Tea, coffee and cake will<br />

be available. Landport Community Hub, BN7<br />

2SU, 2pm-5pm, no charge is made but donations<br />

are welcome.<br />

Winter Stargazing. Learn to navigate the<br />

stars with a talk and viewing from experienced<br />

astronomers. Includes warm supper and a hot<br />

drink. Sheffield Park & Garden, 6.30pm-10am,<br />

£22/£12.<br />

SUNDAY 17<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> HempEvent. Plastic Free <strong>Lewes</strong> hosts<br />

an afternoon of talks, film, debate and stalls<br />

exploring the many roles that hemp can play in<br />

helping to mitigate climate change – and how<br />

we can create a sensible policy in the UK for<br />

its large-scale production. <strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall,<br />

1.30pm-5pm, £5/£3, tickets from ticketsource.<br />

co.uk or on the door.<br />

That’s the Way to Do It! David Wilde, one<br />

of Britain’s leading authorities on the history of<br />

the art of Punch and Judy, talks about the genre<br />

and performs his show. <strong>Lewes</strong> Little Theatre,<br />

2.30pm, £5, see page 53.


Nov listings (cont.)<br />

TUESDAY 19<br />

Forced Entertainment: Out of Order. ‘A<br />

kind of poetic State of the Nation rendered as<br />

clown act gone wrong’. Attenborough Centre,<br />

8pm, £12/£10.<br />

WEDNESDAY 20<br />

Parenting Teens Talk. Designed to give<br />

parents a better understanding of teenagers;<br />

the tools and skills for a smooth ride through<br />

adolescence and a forum to exchange ideas and<br />

thoughts with other parents. Teen Tips, East<br />

Chiltington, 9am-1pm, see teentips.co.uk.<br />

Charity Christmas Open Evening. Competitions<br />

to win treatments and products, discounts<br />

on Christmas stock showcasing brands and<br />

festive nibbles and drinks. Raising money for<br />

local charity Chestnut Tree House. Reading<br />

Room Day Spa, Iford, 5pm-8pm, free.<br />

THURSDAY 21<br />

Julian of Norwich<br />

Uncovered. Talk with<br />

Simon Parke reflecting<br />

on her life and times, and<br />

her unique voice in English<br />

history. The Crypt<br />

Gallery, Seaford, 7.30pm, £6.<br />

SATURDAY 23<br />

Fundraising event. In aid of Breast Cancer<br />

Now. <strong>Lewes</strong> Dance Club perform 12.30pm-<br />

1pm, handmade photo greeting cards for sale<br />

and Leslie Norah Hills RA will display her<br />

portraits for commissions. Refreshments available.<br />

All Saints, 12pm-3pm, free.<br />

Barn Dance. Bar, snacks, raffle and The<br />

Sussex Pistols play. Raising funds for FoCK<br />

(building schools in Africa, protecting the local<br />

wildlife and environment whilst preventing<br />

Female Genital Mutilation) All Saints, 7.30pm,<br />

£15 (two for £25), see chemakizzi.com.<br />

SATURDAY 23 & SUNDAY 24<br />

Designer & Maker<br />

Fair. Unique wares from<br />

designers and makers in<br />

the South. 30 carefully<br />

curated stands will sell<br />

crafted goods, including<br />

homeware, textiles,<br />

ceramics, jewellery and more. Charleston,<br />

11am-5pm, £5 (£4 adv).<br />

SAT 23 – MON 25 & FRI 29<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Passion Play castings. Open casting<br />

events for people to try out for various roles in<br />

the April 2020 Passion Play. Chapter House,<br />

Southover Church, contact thelewespassionplay@gmail.com.<br />

MONDAY 25<br />

Headstrong Club. Talk followed by discussion<br />

with Catherine Pope on the Victorian<br />

commodification of the female body. Elephant<br />

& Castle, 8pm, £3.<br />

THURSDAY 28 – SATURDAY 30<br />

Christmas and Thanksgiving shopping at<br />

Farleys. The gift shop offers a range of items<br />

related to Roland Penrose and Lee Miller and<br />

their circle of friends. Prints of Lee Miller’s<br />

photographs, first edition books and a range of<br />

small gifts available. Farleys House & Gallery,<br />

11am-3pm.<br />

SATURDAY 30<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Women in Business Pop Up Christmas<br />

Emporium. 20+ local independent businesses<br />

sell their wares, with Caccia & Tails running<br />

the café. All Saints, 10.30am-5pm, free.<br />

SAT 30 – SUN 1 DECEMBER<br />

Brighton Art Fair. <strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall, see<br />

pages 57 and 61.<br />

73


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GIG GUIDE // NOVEMBER<br />

GIG OF THE MONTH:<br />

THE CAPTAIN’S BEARD<br />

PICK<br />

OF THE<br />

MONTH<br />

Avast! It’s not often you get the chance to see a pirate<br />

band (live or otherwise), but this month the opportunity<br />

arises for an evening of swashbuckling fun at the<br />

Con Club with Brighton band The Captain’s Beard.<br />

The merry gang of travelling troubadours play a mix of<br />

Irish folk, rocked-up maritime and raucous folk-rock<br />

Photo by Elliot Tatler<br />

and this year has seen them supporting the likes of<br />

Professor Elemental and on the same line up as Richard Thompson. We can highly recommend<br />

checking out their debut album Same Ship Different Day, a rollickingly good listen from start to<br />

finish (highlights include I’ve Got a Beard and Pirates Don’t Fall in Love). If you miss them this<br />

time, check their website for future dates of rum-driven merriment with the pirate minstrels.<br />

Friday 8, Con Club, 8pm, free, thecaptainsbeard.co.uk<br />

FRIDAY 1<br />

David Mbilou in fusion with Katatsitsi<br />

Drummers. African. Con Club, 7pm, £8/10<br />

(members free)<br />

C Ciders. Lively covers. Lamb, 8pm, free<br />

Stevie Watts Trio. Hammond grooves, funk &<br />

blues. Upstairs at the Oak, 8pm, free<br />

SATURDAY 2<br />

Guana Batz. Psychobilly. Con Club, 7.30pm,<br />

£18<br />

Halloween; open mic night with fire, candles<br />

& soul cakes. Folk. Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £4<br />

Hoofish Live, plus DJs Ben & Shaz. Upstairs<br />

at Royal Oak, 8pm, free<br />

Specs Appeal. Shadows tribute band. Lamb,<br />

8pm, free<br />

FRIDAY 8<br />

The Captain’s Beard. See Gig of the Month.<br />

The Informers. Blues, rock, funk & soul. Upstairs<br />

at Royal Oak, 8pm, free<br />

Ska Toons. <strong>Lewes</strong>’ 8-piece jazz-ska outfit.<br />

Lamb, 8.30pm, free<br />

SATURDAY 9<br />

Bad Bad Whisky. Skiffle, rockabilly and RnB.<br />

Lansdown, 8pm, free<br />

Boogie Troupe. Lamb, 8pm, free<br />

Riley Baugus. US old-time with banjo, fiddle,<br />

voice. Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £10<br />

SUNDAY 10<br />

The Woodentops. Alternative. Con Club,<br />

7.30pm, £15<br />

SUNDAY 3<br />

Jam night. Free drink for all participants. Lansdown,<br />

8pm, free<br />

MONDAY 11<br />

Andy Urquart, Darren Beckett &Terry Seabrook.<br />

Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free<br />

MONDAY 4<br />

Karen Sharpe, Darren Beckett & Terry Seabrook.<br />

Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free<br />

THURSDAY 14<br />

Black Market lll. San Diego blues. Lansdown,<br />

8pm, free<br />

>>><br />

75


GIG GUIDE // NOVEMBER<br />

FRIDAY 15<br />

The Elevators. Blues. Con Club, 8pm, free<br />

Pretty Little Dogs. Lamb, 8pm, free<br />

SATURDAY 16<br />

Dichotics. Psych, garage and beyond. Lamb,<br />

8pm, free<br />

Iris Bishop, Marilyn Bennett, Sue Gates.<br />

Folk, voices, concertina, mouth organ, accordion.<br />

Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £7<br />

The Men They Couldn’t Hang. Folk rock.<br />

Con Club, 7.30pm, £20<br />

SUNDAY 17<br />

Hope Street. Depot Sunday Brunch with bluesgospel-jazz<br />

trio (see page 10). Depot, 11am-1pm,<br />

free<br />

MONDAY 18<br />

Safehouse Improvised Music Session. Noise<br />

makers, performers and musicians all welcome.<br />

The <strong>Lewes</strong> Arms, 7.30pm, £2<br />

Mark Bassey, Marianne Wyndham, Alex<br />

Eberhard & Terry Seabrook. Jazz. Snowdrop,<br />

8pm, free<br />

FRIDAY 22<br />

Bus Monkeys. Indie rock covers. Lamb, 8pm,<br />

free<br />

Fat Freddie & The Queens. Tribute. Con<br />

Club, 8pm, free<br />

SATURDAY 23<br />

Loose Caboose. DJ night. Con Club, 7.30pm, £6<br />

The Don Bradmans. Lamb, 8pm, free<br />

Fish Brothers. Victorian music hall/punk rock.<br />

Lansdown, 8pm, free<br />

Original 45ers. DJ Set. Royal Oak, 8pm, free<br />

Simon Mayor & Hilary James. Folk, mandolin,<br />

fiddle, voices. Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £12<br />

SUNDAY 24<br />

Steve ‘Snips’ Parsons. ‘Sundays in the Bar’<br />

session. Con Club, 3.30m, free<br />

UK Subs. Night of punk with Peter and the<br />

Test Tube Babies with Nuffin’ supporting.<br />

Con Club, 7pm, £16<br />

MONDAY 25<br />

Nicolas Meier Standards Trio with Ken Ford<br />

and Jakub Cwynski. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free<br />

FRIDAY 29<br />

The Curst Sons. Americana Hillbilly Blues.<br />

Con Club, 8pm, free<br />

Monster Groove Night. With special guests<br />

The Soul Steppers. Lamb, 8pm, free<br />

SATURDAY 30<br />

Bob Lewis. Folk, Sussex trad songs. Elephant &<br />

Castle, 8pm, £7<br />

King Kurt + Snakerattlers. Psychobilly &<br />

garage trash. Con Club, 7.30pm, £18<br />

The Informers. Funk covers. Lamb, 8pm, free<br />

Soul Brother, Soul Sister. Soul classics. Royal<br />

Oak. 9pm, free<br />

Simon Mayor & Hilary James<br />

77


Cooper & Son<br />

Funeral Directors<br />

42 High Street, <strong>Lewes</strong> 01273 475 557<br />

Also at Seaford, Uckfield & Heathfield<br />

www.cpjfield.co.uk<br />

Because every life is unique


ON THIS MONTH: MUSIC<br />

Photo by David Gerrard<br />

Brighton Philharmonic<br />

An interesting opener…<br />

For an orchestra to be approaching its centenary<br />

in these days of cuts to the arts is quite some<br />

achievement. And yet the Brighton Philharmonic<br />

Orchestra is doing just that. Founded 95 years ago,<br />

Brighton’s professional orchestra has been based<br />

for all but two of those in the Dome.<br />

As the <strong>2019</strong>-2020 season begins, Chairman<br />

Nicolas Chisholm is coming to the end of his<br />

five-year tenure, but it’s clear that optimism<br />

is high at the BPO. He admits their concerts<br />

regularly attract over 1000 people, but the aim is<br />

to “improve on that and be even more exciting<br />

and innovative. Brighton is vibrant and diverse.<br />

We want to present programmes that appeal to a<br />

wide audience.”<br />

This month’s concert, featuring jazz violinist<br />

Christian Garrick and Friends with the Brighton<br />

Philharmonic Strings, promises to be an interesting<br />

opener to the season. It’s a programme of<br />

tango, jazz and gypsy-folk music and includes<br />

Astor Piazzolla’s ‘sizzling’ Four Seasons of Buenos<br />

Aires (billed as ‘Four Seasons of Brighton<br />

Aires’). It’s exciting stuff. But does that mean<br />

the orchestra is moving away from its classical<br />

roots? Chisholm says not at all. For example in<br />

December the programme includes two Haydn<br />

symphonies, Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik and<br />

Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending – “very<br />

much our core repertoire,” he explains, “and<br />

our New Year’s Eve Gala concert is practically<br />

a Brighton institution, pretty much selling out<br />

each year.”<br />

But alongside this there are distinct signs<br />

that the BPO is determined to stay ahead of<br />

the game. “We want to do unusual things.”<br />

Chisholm is enthusiastic about a new initiative<br />

to showcase the different sections of the<br />

orchestra. February’s concert is given over to<br />

Brighton Philharmonic Brass with music from<br />

the sixteenth century to the present, including<br />

Chris Hazell’s Four Cats Suite.<br />

Chisholm acknowledges that today’s audiences<br />

often appreciate, even expect a visual element<br />

to complement what they’re hearing, so that it<br />

becomes not unlike theatre. “We want people to<br />

go away thinking ‘wow, that was a real musical<br />

experience.’ Later in the season we have virtuoso<br />

piano duo Worbey and Farrell returning with<br />

one of their own programmes, Rhapsody, which<br />

they’ve performed all over the world. They’re<br />

showmen as well as fantastic musicians. Many<br />

audience members will have seen nothing like<br />

it.” This is true – look them up on YouTube!<br />

Things are looking good for a bumper centenary<br />

celebration in five years’ time. It’s clear that<br />

Chisholm is immensely proud of the BPO’s<br />

achievements and the quality of its programmes.<br />

“People often don’t realise this is the city’s<br />

professional orchestra – all the members play in<br />

other orchestras and come together as the BPO.<br />

It’s a real jewel in the crown for Brighton.”<br />

Robin Houghton<br />

Christian Garrick & Friends, Sunday 10th Nov,<br />

2.45pm. brightonphil.org.uk<br />

79


LEWES CHAMBER MUSIC<br />

FESTIVAL<br />

Christmas Concert celebrating<br />

6th December 7:30pm<br />

St John sub Castro Church, <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

EUSEBIUS QUARTET<br />

MARIA WŁOSZCZOWSKA - violin<br />

ADAM NEWMAN - viola<br />

Featuring<br />

String Quartet Op.132<br />

String Quintet Op.29<br />

Home-made mince pies and mulled wine included<br />

TICKETS: £18 || FREE for U26<br />

www.leweschambermusicfestival.com<br />

01273 479865 and at Baldwins Travel


MUSIC<br />

Classical round-up<br />

SUNDAY 17, 4PM<br />

Corelli Ensemble<br />

The <strong>2019</strong>-2020 season is a special one for<br />

the Corelli Ensemble which is celebrating its<br />

30th anniversary. Guest soloist this month is<br />

prizewinning oboist, Owen Dennis, who’ll be<br />

performing Bach’s Concerto for Oboe D’Amore<br />

in A – a rare treat for all Bach lovers. The<br />

concert also features <strong>Viva</strong>ldi’s Concerto for Two<br />

Violins in D minor, with Music Director Maeve<br />

Jenkinson and Kate Comberti playing the solos. Corelli Ensemble concerts are known for their<br />

fine, uplifting music – and they’re friendly affairs too. No need to rush off at the end – stay for<br />

refreshments and the opportunity to meet the players.<br />

St Pancras Church, tickets £12 in advance, £14 on the door. Children free. corelliensemble.co.uk<br />

PICK<br />

OF THE<br />

MONTH<br />

Photo by Owen Dennis<br />

SUNDAY 3, 3PM<br />

St Michael’s Recitals. Malcolm Warnes,<br />

trumpet & Nick Houghton, organ.The last<br />

of the <strong>2019</strong> First Sunday recitals is a Trumpet<br />

Special featuring duets & solos. Including<br />

works by Handel, Frank Bridge and Lefébure-<br />

Wély. St Michael’s, free with retiring collection,<br />

stmichaelinlewes.org.uk<br />

SATURDAY 9, 7.45PM<br />

Musicians of All Saints. This month’s concert<br />

showcases new and 20th century music alongside<br />

Handel’s Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.9 in F major.<br />

Ellie Blackshaw and Shereen Godber are the<br />

soloists in Peter Copley’s Double Violin Concerto<br />

(second performance), and John Hawkins’s<br />

Grounds for Oboe and String Orchestra receives its<br />

first performance with soloist Clare Worth.<br />

Directed by Andrew Sherwood, with a preconcert<br />

talk by Peter Copley at 7.10pm.<br />

All Saints Centre, tickets on the door only: £12/£9<br />

concessions, children free. mas-lewes.co.uk<br />

SUNDAY 10, 2.45PM<br />

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra. Christian<br />

Garrick & Friends with the Brighton Philharmonic<br />

Strings. Jazz violinist extraordinaire<br />

Christian Garrick plus guests join the BPO<br />

Strings for a South America-influenced programme.<br />

See page 79.<br />

Brighton Dome, £14.50-£42.50 (50% student/U18<br />

discount), brightondome.org<br />

WEDNESDAY 13, 1PM<br />

New Note Orchestra, Kind Rebellion. A performance<br />

of newly-composed music in celebration<br />

of World Kindness Day. Created by the New<br />

Note Orchestra musicians and Artistic Director<br />

Conall Gleeson, a panel discussion will follow<br />

the performance. See page 50. Attenborough<br />

Centre for the Creative Arts, free entry, donations<br />

welcome. attenboroughcentre.com<br />

WEDNESDAY 13, 7PM<br />

New Sussex Opera, La belle Hélène. NSO<br />

begins its autumn tour of Offenbach’s sparkling<br />

La belle Hélène in collaboration with Opera<br />

della Luna, to celebrate the composer’s 200th<br />

anniversary. NSO Chorus, St Paul’s Sinfonia,<br />

conductor Toby Purser, director Jeff Clarke,<br />

designer Gabriella Csanyi-Wills. See page 47.<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Town Hall, £28-£34 (students & children<br />

50% reduction), ticketsource.co.uk/nso or 0333<br />

666 3366. newsussexopera.org<br />

81


E A S T<br />

SUSSEX<br />

B A C H<br />

C H O I R<br />

HIS MAJESTYS<br />

SAGBUTTS &<br />

CORNETTS<br />

A VENETIAN CHRISTMAS<br />

GABRIELI<br />

ST JOHN SUB CASTRO, LEWES<br />

SAT 7 th DEC<br />

Director -<br />

John Hancorn<br />

eastsussexbachchoir.org


Offenbach’s favourite, sung in English<br />

La Belle Hélène<br />

CLASSICAL MUSIC<br />

The Fitzwilliam Quartet, photo by Peter Searle<br />

Live opera fully staged: French fizz and foolery<br />

set to deliciously immortal music: outrageous fun<br />

NSO Chorus, St Paul’s Sinfonia, c.Toby Purser,<br />

d. Jeff Clark, with Hannah Pedley & Anthony Flaum<br />

Town Congress Chequer Old Bloomsbury<br />

Hall Theatre Mead Market Theatre<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> Eastbourne East Grinstead Hove<br />

Nov 13 Nov 17 4pm Nov 28 Dec 1 4pm Dec 5<br />

www.newsussexopera.org<br />

A collaboration with Opera della Luna. NSO charity no. 1185087<br />

Easy Design Workshops & Have-A-Go Garden Days<br />

London<br />

SUNDAY 17, 11AM<br />

Coffee Concerts: Endymion Horn Trio. A<br />

programme of Beethoven and Brahms from the<br />

acclaimed Endymion Horn Trio, celebrating its<br />

40th anniversary this year. Attenborough Centre,<br />

£18.50, £16 concessions, attenboroughcentre.com<br />

SUNDAY 24, 3PM<br />

Seaford Music Society, Capriccio Ensemble.<br />

Piano quintet the Capriccio Ensemble perform<br />

music by Mozart and Brahms. In addition there’ll<br />

be the chance to meet Seaford’s Kenneth V Jones,<br />

composer of numerous film scores, and hear some<br />

of his music. St. Leonard’s Church, Seaford, £15,<br />

under 26s free, seafordmusicsociety.com<br />

SUNDAY 24, 7PM<br />

Esterhazy Chamber Choir. New Director of<br />

Music Richard Stafford conducts the Esterhazy in<br />

a concert of 20th century works including Duruflé<br />

Requiem, Vierne Messe Solennelle and motets by<br />

Messiaen, Villette and de Sévérac. St Michael’s<br />

Church, £15, under 16s free. esterhazychoir.org<br />

Fun & informative, illustrated garden workshops<br />

at fabulous Sussex garden venues.<br />

The perfect Christmas gift for<br />

garden beginners & enthusiasts<br />

Check our website for dates and book online:<br />

www.sussexgardenschool.com<br />

FRIDAY 29, 7.45PM<br />

Nicholas Yonge Society. The Fitzwilliam Quartet<br />

are this month’s guests, together with Nancy<br />

Cooley who joins them for Elgar’s Piano Quintet.<br />

The all-English programme also features music<br />

by Purcell, Barcham Stevens, Delius and Vaughan<br />

Williams, and a work by Uckfield-based Julian<br />

Broughton. Cliffe Building, East Sussex College,<br />

Mountfield Road. £16, free for 8-25 year olds.<br />

nyslewes.org.uk<br />

Robin Houghton<br />

83


FreeTIME<br />

êêêê<br />

UNTIL SUNDAY 3<br />

Fort Fright Week. Arts & crafts, quizzes,<br />

tunnel walks and other Halloween activities.<br />

Newhaven Fort, see newhavenfort.org.uk.<br />

‘Spook-tacular’ Halloween Fun. Pumpkin<br />

carving, craft sessions, story time, face<br />

painting and more. Blackberry Farm Park, see<br />

blackberry-farm.co.uk.<br />

Witches and Wizards. Bluebell Railway<br />

invites you to a spooky gathering this half<br />

term. Head to Horsted Keynes Station for<br />

Halloween fun and games, including a fancy<br />

dress competition, crafty fun, and more. Prices<br />

vary, see bluebell-railway.com.<br />

SATURDAY 2<br />

SAT 23 – TUES 24 DEC<br />

food and drink<br />

will be available<br />

both outside in the<br />

Carriage Ring and<br />

in the Seed Café and<br />

Stables restaurant.<br />

kew.org/wakehurst.<br />

Santa’s Toy Factory. Visit Santa and receive<br />

a gift. Meet some of his new helpers in<br />

the factory. South Downs Nurseries, see<br />

tatesofsussex.co.uk.<br />

SAT 23 – SUN 5 JANUARY<br />

Christmas at Nymans. Inspired by Quentin<br />

Blake’s The Story of the Dancing Frog, a sculpture<br />

trail of froggy dancers comes to Nymans this<br />

Christmas. See nationaltrust.org.uk/nymans for<br />

details and related events.<br />

SATURDAY 30<br />

Halloween Fun Dog Show. Raystede Centre<br />

for Animal Welfare, see www.raystede.org.<br />

SUNDAY 3<br />

Look Think Make. Drop-in family-friendly<br />

creative activities, with support from DLWP<br />

staff and volunteers. De La Warr, 2pm-4pm, £1.<br />

THURS 21 – SUN 22 DEC<br />

Glow Wild. Winter lantern trail in the grounds<br />

of Wakehurst. Trees, ponds and landscapes<br />

are brought to life with hundreds of glowing<br />

lanterns, torches of fire and projections. Festive<br />

CBeebies Hansel and Gretel. CBeebies<br />

Christmas Show once again comes to the big<br />

screen from the theatre stage, with plenty of<br />

Christmas fun. Includes interactive content<br />

exclusively created for cinemas, alongside the<br />

Hansel & Gretel stage performance recorded<br />

at Edinburgh Festival theatre. Depot, 11am &<br />

1pm, £10/£8.<br />

FROM SAT 30 – TUE 24 DEC<br />

Santa Specials. Enjoy a journey through<br />

the Sussex countryside in all its winter<br />

splendour. Santa and his elves will<br />

be on board with a present and<br />

chocolate treat for all the children.<br />

Tickets must be pre-booked<br />

online, bluebell-railway.com.


THE BRIGHTON<br />

Waldorf School<br />

CHRISTMAS<br />

BAZAAR<br />

SATURDAY 7 TH DECEMBER<br />

11.00am - 4.00pm<br />

Come along for a day of festive family fun<br />

and Christmas shopping<br />

The Gnome’s Grotto<br />

Live Music<br />

Craft Activities<br />

The School Café will be serving<br />

delicious treats<br />

Festive market stalls selling<br />

hand-crafted, eco-friendly gifts<br />

Entry<br />

ONLY £1<br />

PER ADULT<br />

Children - FREE<br />

FIND US ON FACEBOOK<br />

facebook.com/brightonwaldorfschool<br />

www.brightonwaldorfschool.org<br />

Limited Company No. 2395398 • Registered Charity No. 802036


Guardians of Magic<br />

by Chris Riddell<br />

BOOK REVIEW<br />

Guardians of Magic kicks off a brand new fantasy series for nine to<br />

12 year old readers by much-loved author and illustrator Chris<br />

Riddell.<br />

The Kingdom of Thrynne is a place where fairy tales don’t behave,<br />

and magic can be found in unexpected places. But magic brings<br />

danger to Zam, Phoebe and Bathsheba, because it is forbidden.<br />

Now, the future of magic itself is under threat from powerful enemies:<br />

those who fear it and, worse, those who want to use it for their own ends. What can three<br />

ordinary children do to protect it?<br />

Destined to fight back and keep the Forever Tree’s magic alive, the three children leave their<br />

homes and, armed with their magical objects (a runcible spoon that creates living gingerbread<br />

creatures, a cello that speaks and dreams and a glowing worpel sword), they come together to<br />

fight the villains who threaten the tree’s sacred magic. With help from the beautiful cloud horses,<br />

the children use their courage and wit to embark upon a unique magical quest.<br />

The stunning illustrations throughout the book are what make this really special, with character<br />

sketches, maps and building cross-sections that both delight and inform. Anna, Bags of Books<br />

Find Guardians of Magic, the first book of The Cloud Horse Chronicles, at Bags of Books with 20%<br />

off in <strong>November</strong>.<br />

THE <strong>2019</strong> AUTUMN / WINTER COLLECTION<br />

52 Cliffe High St . <strong>Lewes</strong> . 01273 471893<br />

www.barracloughs.net/wm<br />

Barracloughs the Opticians <strong>Lewes</strong> are proud to incorporate<br />

FIND YOUR FEET<br />

PODIATRY &<br />

CHIROPODY<br />

- Fungal Nail advice<br />

- Diabetic Foot<br />

- Rheumatology<br />

- Wound care<br />

- Nail Surgery<br />

- Nail Cutting<br />

- Corn & Callus removal<br />

- In-growing Toenails<br />

- Verrucae<br />

- Biomechanics<br />

52 Cliffe High Street . <strong>Lewes</strong> . 01273 471893<br />

www.fyfpc.co.uk


The Pelham arms<br />

hIGh sT. leWes<br />

CHRISTMAS<br />

BOOKINGS<br />

NOW BEING<br />

TAKEN<br />

Christmas parties<br />

for up to 40 guests<br />

Please email<br />

manager@thepelhamarms.co.uk<br />

to book your party<br />

and to receive a copy of<br />

this years festive menu<br />

We deliver via Just Eat<br />

Footlong sub<br />

£5 after 5pm<br />

Breakfast sub<br />

£2 with a drink<br />

Ts & Cs apply. £5 footlong not valid on premium subs and<br />

Breakfast deal valid on only single meat. Instore offer only.<br />

16 Eastgate St, <strong>Lewes</strong> BN7 2LP<br />

J M Furniture Ltd<br />

TRADING IN LEWES SINCE SEPT 1999<br />

Bespoke custom made furniture and kitchens.<br />

We welcome commissions of all sizes and budgets.<br />

01273 472924 | sales@jmfurniture.co.uk<br />

www.jmfurniture.co.uk


FOOD REVIEW<br />

Chaula’s<br />

The food of India<br />

Chaula’s is, and long has been, a complete<br />

one-off, for <strong>Lewes</strong>. Billed ‘The food of India,<br />

not just Indian food’, everything about it has an<br />

authenticity and its own character. The curry is<br />

delicious, traditional and has a lovely homemade<br />

look and flavour. Chaula has been cooking it for<br />

the town for years.<br />

I really like the setting – just outside Waitrose,<br />

standing in its own square. The room we sit in<br />

(the downstairs restaurant) has a special atmosphere.<br />

You step through the door, and feel you are<br />

in India – even as darkness falls, and the blinds<br />

remain open, with <strong>Lewes</strong> bus station opposite!<br />

When we went, the place filled nicely, even for<br />

early evening, and felt very relaxed, everyone<br />

leaning forward, chatting. I’m partial to the<br />

lunchtime buffet – all you want for £9 a head. It<br />

being evening, we got a menu and waiter service,<br />

sitting at a table surrounded by colourful murals.<br />

(There’s also a lovely cocktail lounge upstairs;<br />

open, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.)<br />

The food is described as ‘originating from<br />

Gujarat’, though the menu also offers ‘all-time<br />

favourites’ from all over India. ‘The décor’, the<br />

website says, ‘provides you with the complete<br />

Indian experience.’ So it does.<br />

After two nice large poppadoms washed down<br />

with raitu, mango chutney, Cobra and Kingfisher,<br />

we shared the Chaula’s Vegetarian Mix<br />

Platter (the small was plenty for two, at £6.99).<br />

The Bhajias were light and crunchy, the Samosa<br />

a lovely filo pastry parcel bulging with hot spicy<br />

filling. We couldn’t guess what the Patra was, but<br />

the waiter enlightened us: “elephant bay leaves<br />

packed together and baked”.<br />

For mains we shared a pilau rice £3.25 – different,<br />

with vegetables in it – and two mains –<br />

Hydrabadi Chicken (£8.50) and Shaami Prawns<br />

(£9.50) – plus a Bombay Aloo (£6.99), and Naan<br />

(£2.50). “The potatoes are a lovely colour,” Pete<br />

said; plus, they were delicious. All the dishes<br />

came in lovely beaten-silver looking bowls. The<br />

portions did not look dauntingly large but these<br />

bowls had a Mary Poppins’ carpet-bag magic: we<br />

never reached their bottoms. Deceptively generous,<br />

and satisfying.<br />

The naan I liked more than standard naans: it<br />

was soft and lighter somehow, a bit oily (in a<br />

good way). Perfect accompaniment to the curries<br />

and rice. The chicken – Pete’s favourite – was<br />

“incredibly tender”: generous chunks that just<br />

melted in the mouth served in a flavour-packed<br />

sauce with a stew-like consistency. The prawn<br />

was spicier without in any way overwhelming<br />

the strong prawn flavour. I enjoyed both enormously,<br />

and a good combination. Really different<br />

from standard curry. Very fresh, authentic home<br />

cooking: lovely, and super filling. CG<br />

6 Eastgate Street. chaulas.co.uk<br />

89


90


RECIPE<br />

Pulled Pork Bun with Red Apple Slaw<br />

& Headbangers BBQ Sauce<br />

Andrew Mellor of the Pelham Arms introduces a Bonfire special<br />

We’ve been serving a version of this pulled<br />

pork bun for over five years. It’s perfect for<br />

feeding a crowd, and is great for Bonfire gatherings.<br />

We love food you prepare in advance so<br />

you can spend time with your guests instead of<br />

in the kitchen. This dish always elicits greedy<br />

gasps of delight, despite being really simple to<br />

make.<br />

Our food is constantly evolving as Head Chef<br />

Matt Marten and I share inspiration for new<br />

dishes and ideas for tweaking old favourites. For<br />

this dish we took a recipe for Asian pulled pork<br />

by American chef David Chang and gave it a<br />

BBQ/Americana twist. We love smoking meats<br />

but for this recipe we’ve kept things simple and<br />

let the flavour of the pork take centre stage. Our<br />

pork comes from Holmansbridge Farm and<br />

we serve it with vegan demi-brioche rolls from<br />

Flint Owl. The rolls are key – they need to be<br />

soft, yet strong enough to hold their shape and<br />

keep the meat in place. Serve the buns with a<br />

homemade slaw and tangy sauce for the perfect<br />

crowd-pleasing meal.<br />

Recipe: Serves 12-15. Pulled Pork<br />

1 medium sized free-range pork shoulder/butt;<br />

½ cup salt & sugar 50/50; 100 ml cider vinegar<br />

The day before cooking remove the pork<br />

shoulder skin, leaving a layer of about 1cm of<br />

fat over the whole shoulder. Rub with the salt<br />

and sugar mix, place on a non-metallic tray or<br />

large bowl, cover with cling film or a tea towel<br />

and refrigerate overnight.<br />

On the day, nice and early, preheat the oven<br />

to 130C, place the pork on a deep roasting<br />

tray, cover it with a layer of baking parchment<br />

and then cover the whole tray with foil. Roast<br />

in the low oven for 10 hours – or overnight.<br />

Allow plenty of time for the pork to rest before<br />

serving. When you open it up, it should pull<br />

apart easily. Shred using two forks and sprinkle<br />

with cider vinegar to season.<br />

Red apple slaw<br />

½ medium red cabbage; 5 red apples; 4 red<br />

onions; 1 bunch parsley, chopped; 1 large tbs<br />

wholegrain mustard; ½ cup cider vinegar; 2 tsp<br />

salt; 1 tsp ground pepper<br />

Prepare at least an hour before serving for<br />

maximum flavour. Finely shred the veg and apples,<br />

then add to the rest of the ingredients in a<br />

large bowl and combine. Don’t add mayo!<br />

Headbangers Barbeque Sauce<br />

1 medium onion; 1 tin chopped tomatoes; ½<br />

cup cider vinegar; ½ cup cola; 125g dark brown<br />

sugar; 1 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 tsp allspice; 2 tsp<br />

smoked paprika<br />

Sweat the onions in some oil, then add the spices<br />

and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the cola and<br />

sugar and reduce by ¼, then add the chopped<br />

tomatoes and vinegar and simmer, reducing<br />

until it reaches a thick sticky consistency. Purée<br />

or leave coarse, and eat warm or cold.<br />

To serve, dish the food up for your bonfire<br />

guests to build their own messy pulled pork<br />

buns. As told to Lulah Ellender<br />

Try the pulled pork buns at the Pelham Arms on<br />

5th <strong>November</strong> from around 5pm<br />

91


FOOD REVIEW<br />

Beckworths<br />

Where treats abound<br />

I love a good sandwich shop. They offer comfort and variety, a chance to<br />

browse and then construct something fun, and they can be a convenient<br />

way to grab food in a hurry. I’ve been working in <strong>Lewes</strong> for ten months,<br />

and have enjoyed exploring the range of lunch options we have here.<br />

Beckworths is new to me however. It’s an appealing cavern, overflowing<br />

with treats. Ice cream, pies, soft drinks and yogurts are stacked in the<br />

fridge. The counter’s packed with meat, olives, cheese, eggs and sausage<br />

rolls. Thankfully, the staff are patient with me while I ponderously attempt<br />

to take it all in.<br />

I choose a Mortadella filling (pork with pistachios) in one of their focaccia<br />

rolls (£3.75): the meat is thinly sliced but tastes delicious. The focaccia<br />

is soft and generously herby, and the fresh salad makes for a beautifully balanced sandwich: the nicest<br />

I’ve had in a long time.<br />

There’s a wide range of Brown Bag branded crisps available (£1): the tiger prawn flavour tastes like<br />

actual prawns, rather than the lurid pink blaze of prawn cocktail. I’m drawn to some attractive curios<br />

on top of the counter: Italian pastry bites known as cannoli at 90p a go. We try each filling: a rich<br />

chocolate, and tasty, sugary, pistachio and vanilla flavours. A yogurt and raspberry flapjack is in fact<br />

more cake and crumble in texture: a fruity hit with the <strong>Viva</strong> team (£1.90). Joe Fuller<br />

67 High St, beckworthslewes.co.uk<br />

hristmas CGIFT VOUCHERS from £20<br />

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• Overnight stay with<br />

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High Street, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5TD<br />

www.wingrovehousealfriston.com | 01323 870276 | info@wingrovehousealfriston.com


Christmas Openings<br />

WINTER WARMER<br />

2 FOR 1 OFFER<br />

From <strong>November</strong> 4th through to<br />

December 12th The Jolly<br />

Sportsman are offering <strong>Viva</strong><br />

readers 2 main courses for the<br />

price of 1 from their à la carte<br />

menu.<br />

The offer is available on Tuesdays,<br />

Wednesdays and Thursdays for<br />

lunch or dinner. Booking<br />

essential. Please mention this<br />

voucher when booking and bring<br />

it along with you.<br />

01273 890400<br />

info@thejollysportsman.com<br />

jollysportsman.com


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12pm - 2:30pm<br />

(except Mondays)<br />

Sunday to Thursday<br />

5pm - 10.00pm<br />

Friday & Saturday<br />

5pm - 10:30pm<br />

Monday closed<br />

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BN7 2LP, 01273 476707


FOOD<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> bites<br />

The Seasons have various tastings in <strong>November</strong>.<br />

On Friday 8th, it’s ‘all things plantbased / Vegan’,<br />

a chance to sample cheese, milks and cookies. On<br />

15th, the founder and Head Baker of The Sussex<br />

Kitchen will be sharing breads and cakes. Finally,<br />

on 22nd, a festive tasting of ‘fine Italian foods’,<br />

from chutneys<br />

to cakes. Tastings<br />

run from<br />

11am to 4pm.<br />

All welcome.<br />

16-17 Cliffe<br />

High Street<br />

Vegan Festival <strong>Lewes</strong> is on Thursday 14th<br />

<strong>November</strong> from 11.30am till 7pm in East Sussex<br />

College (Cliffe Building, 1 Mountfield Road).<br />

This free event welcomes anyone interested in<br />

exploring the alternative lifestyle of veganism<br />

– which encompasses much more than simply<br />

eating vegan food: ‘veganism’,<br />

says the website,<br />

‘can reduce your<br />

carbon footprint by<br />

nearly three-quarters!’<br />

sussexvegan.com/<br />

vegan-festival-lewes<br />

www.lewesfoodmarket.co.uk<br />

Rathfinny’s Tasting Room restaurant will<br />

be open seven days a week for lunch from<br />

<strong>November</strong>, offering an ever-changing menu of<br />

seasonal, modern, British cuisine to accompany<br />

Rathfinny’s Sparkling Sussex<br />

and Cradle Valley wines.<br />

It will also be hosting a<br />

series of evening events<br />

throughout the winter<br />

season, such as a Game<br />

Night Feast on the<br />

8th and 9th <strong>November</strong>.<br />

rathfinnyestate.com<br />

95


THE WAY WE WORK<br />

Photographer Benjamin Youd visited a range of theatre or production<br />

professionals, and asked each: Who’s your favourite theatrical character?<br />

benjaminyoud.com<br />

Pete & Tom East<br />

Set builders and joint directors of East Productions<br />

‘Tim Walker, theatrical fashion photographer. Without having worked with<br />

Tim on his set builds, we wouldn’t be where we are now!’


THE WAY WE WORK<br />

Judy Neame<br />

Principal of Centre Stage Makeup and Hair training studio<br />

‘Sir Laurence Olivier, an amazing actor with an amazing voice.<br />

Also a dear friend and a compassionate person. Dearly missed.’


THE WAY WE WORK<br />

Trevor Morgan, Head of Lighting at <strong>Lewes</strong> Little Theatre<br />

‘Julia, from Alan Ayckbourn’s Haunting Julia, our last production. A tortured soul<br />

whose ghostly apparitions gave plenty of opportunity for special effects.’


THE WAY WE WORK<br />

James Garnon, Actor<br />

‘Oddly it may be the innocent Bergetto in ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore.<br />

Lying, dying in a puddle of blood by candlelight and hearing someone<br />

in the audience say, ‘Oh! But he can’t die! He’s lovely!’’


BRICKS AND MORTAR<br />

Gardner Arts to ACCA<br />

Looking back with an eye on the future<br />

Fifty years ago this month,<br />

Britain’s first campusbased<br />

university arts<br />

centre opened its doors at<br />

the University of Sussex.<br />

From the outset the<br />

Gardner Arts Centre –<br />

now the Attenborough<br />

Centre for the Creative<br />

Arts – was intended to<br />

provide a more avant<br />

garde experience for audiences.<br />

Contemporary dance, edgy and political dramas,<br />

experimental music, international and arthouse<br />

film and other events that defy boundaries<br />

continue to inhabit the brick towers of the Basil<br />

Spence-designed building at Falmer.<br />

Laura McDermott, the centre’s creative director,<br />

was well aware of this history when she took on<br />

the job in 2016. The centre, which closed in 2008<br />

when it lost regular funding from the local authority<br />

and from Arts Council England, had undergone<br />

a £8m refurbishment and was reopened and<br />

renamed in honour of film director Sir Richard<br />

Attenborough, the university’s former chancellor.<br />

“So many of the university’s founding principles<br />

were about trying to do things differently,”<br />

she says. “From the bold architecture, to the<br />

interdisciplinarity of the curriculum; it was about<br />

providing an alternative to the traditional forms<br />

of higher education.<br />

“The arts centre was fundamental to this experience.<br />

It recognised the arts as a key component in a<br />

rounded educational experience – nourishing your<br />

soul and developing your personal creativity. It was<br />

described as ‘the yeast in life’s solid dough’.”<br />

While it has certainly enhanced campus life,<br />

the centre has also been a boon to the wider<br />

community, not just as a<br />

venue for annual events<br />

such as Brighton Festival,<br />

Cinecity and Brighton<br />

Digital Festival, but as a<br />

space for local artists and<br />

musicians to rehearse and<br />

develop new work.<br />

One of the towers that<br />

once housed an electronic<br />

music studio has been<br />

given a 21st century makeover to become a new<br />

digital recording studio. Named after the late<br />

Professor of Music, Jonathan Harvey, the facility<br />

is for students during term time, but will be used<br />

for other projects out of hours.<br />

To celebrate the centre’s half century, Laura<br />

and her colleagues are devising a 50-day advent<br />

calendar featuring treasures from the archive<br />

– counting down from 12 <strong>November</strong> to 31 December.<br />

“We’ll have photos of people who have<br />

appeared here, such as Doris Lessing, recordings<br />

of past gigs (like Animal Collective in Brighton<br />

Festival), and pictures of the space in its various<br />

states of construction and renovation.”<br />

They are also recreating the first concert given by<br />

the university Symphony Orchestra in 1969. The<br />

event features novelist and former student Ian<br />

McEwan reading from his original programme<br />

notes, and international pianist and composer<br />

Shin Suzuma (also an ex-student) playing Beethoven’s<br />

Piano Concerto No 3 on the Steinway<br />

grand piano donated by Tony Banks (the keyboard<br />

player from Genesis – a third alumnus).<br />

“Bringing current students together with illustrious<br />

alumni feels like the perfect way to celebrate<br />

– looking back but with an eye on the future,”<br />

says Laura. Jacqui Bealing<br />

Photo courtesy of the University of Sussex<br />

101


MY SPACE<br />

Paul Brown<br />

Head of Props and Scenic Workshop, Glyndebourne<br />

I’ve been Head of Props<br />

for 15 years. It’s a position<br />

you keep hold of – there have<br />

only been six of us since the<br />

Glyndebourne Festival started<br />

in 1934. But until this year,<br />

there was a big problem we<br />

had to deal with: there wasn’t<br />

enough space to do all the<br />

things we needed to do.<br />

That’s not an issue anymore,<br />

because the company has just<br />

had a state-of-the-art production<br />

hub built on site, and the<br />

whole of the bottom floor is<br />

dedicated to our department.<br />

We now have more than three<br />

times the space we used to<br />

have and the whole process has<br />

become much more efficient.<br />

We make stuff. Or rather we<br />

make, source, adapt and buy in<br />

all the stage props and scenery<br />

needed for the shows. And<br />

with all the Tour shows as well<br />

as the six Festival operas every<br />

season, that’s up to nine a year.<br />

And it’s not just the current<br />

season we’re thinking of.<br />

As well as working on repairs<br />

and maintenance for current<br />

shows, we’re planning two<br />

years in advance for future<br />

events. Each one has a different<br />

director and different<br />

designers, and we have to<br />

adapt to their different ways of<br />

working. It’s a good challenge<br />

to have.<br />

There’s no end to the<br />

variety of props we deal<br />

with, from huge things like<br />

giant chandeliers, period cars<br />

or three-metre-high peacocks,<br />

to tiny details like sugar-tongs<br />

and plastic ice cubes. The main<br />

eye-catcher in the assembly<br />

room as we speak is a 1940s<br />

Photo by Alex Leith<br />

102


MY SPACE<br />

Photo by Graham Carlow<br />

Photo by Sam Stephenson<br />

MG 1500 sports car which has been converted<br />

into an electric vehicle. That’s for Rigoletto.<br />

The assembly room is the central hub<br />

around which all the other studios radiate.<br />

There is a mould-making room, a fabric space,<br />

a woodwork studio for small-sized items, a<br />

wood workshop for bigger-sized items, a paint<br />

shop, a room for fibre-glass work and a metal<br />

workshop. Before, we had to perform most of<br />

these activities in the same space, which wasn’t<br />

ideal: sawdust flying into newly-painted props,<br />

and that sort of thing.<br />

It was important to choose a good, flexible<br />

architect to build the new hub. What we<br />

do here is very odd, when you think about it,<br />

so the process was extremely consultative: we<br />

all had a say in how it would look and work.<br />

Nicholas Hare Architects did a great job. The<br />

old building was demolished in December<br />

2017, and we were back here in February of<br />

this year.<br />

Upstairs there are different departments,<br />

like the costume department and the wig<br />

department. It’s good to have them so close,<br />

as there’s a lot of crossover. For example, we<br />

recently had to make 400 rubber fish for the<br />

sleeves of a costume for Mozart’s Magic Flute.<br />

Including the dress rehearsals, I get to see<br />

each opera that’s performed four or five times.<br />

My favourite Glyndebourne Festival show, over<br />

the years? It’s got to be The Turn of the Screw.<br />

As told to Alex Leith<br />

Photo by Sam Stephenson<br />

Photo by Graham Carlow<br />

103


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WILDLIFE<br />

Illustration by Mark Greco<br />

Shakespeare’s Starlings<br />

Three act tragedy<br />

Hey y’all, I’m mailing in this month’s <strong>Viva</strong> article<br />

from my vacation at Bodega Bay on the foggy<br />

Pacific coast of California. It may be all organic<br />

coffee, art galleries, surfer dudes and flip-flops but<br />

this quaint coastal community is notorious for being<br />

the location for a most sinister film: The Birds<br />

(1963). Alfred Hitchcock has long gone, but flocks<br />

of the film’s stars still sit ominously perched on telegraph<br />

wires as if unaware that the portly director<br />

yelled “cut” 56 years ago. But unlike the local hummingbirds,<br />

phoebes and chickadees these particular<br />

birds look reassuringly familiar to me. They are<br />

Sturnus vulgaris, the European Starling, the same<br />

species we see wheeling around Brighton’s West<br />

Pier in their dramatic amoeboid murmurations.<br />

And, like me, they don’t really belong here. The<br />

Starlings are here thanks to Henry IV. Well, Henry<br />

IV Part 1 to be precise.<br />

Act I: London, 1597. William Shakespeare scribbles<br />

the word ‘starling’ in his epic tale of power<br />

and treachery. With that feathered flourish of<br />

his quill Shakespeare would unknowingly be the<br />

author of an ecological catastrophe that would play<br />

out until the present day.<br />

Act II: New York, 1877. Enter stage right Eugene<br />

Schieffelin, a socialite who would later be remembered<br />

as ‘an eccentric at best, a lunatic at worst’.<br />

He chaired the American Acclimatization Society,<br />

a group which, despite their nationalistic sounding<br />

name, were very keen to welcome foreigners. In<br />

fact their aim was to import animals of economic<br />

or cultural interest from the Old World to the<br />

New. Schieffelin, a big fan of Shakespeare, had<br />

a dream: to populate America with every bird<br />

mentioned in Shakespeare’s writings. And so the<br />

bard’s birds were boxed up in England and brought<br />

to New York where Skylarks, Pied Wagtails, Bullfinches,<br />

Nightingales, Chaffinches and many more<br />

were ‘liberated’ into Central Park. The majority of<br />

them died. But on March 6, 1890, 60 Starlings (a<br />

bird mentioned only once by Shakespeare) were<br />

released in Central Park and they fared better.<br />

Much better. Today there are around 200 million<br />

of them across the United States.<br />

Act III: US, present day. The story of Schieffelin’s<br />

Shakespearian motivation may just be an urban<br />

legend but the legacy of his misguided American<br />

Acclimatization Society is very real. Today European<br />

Starlings are widely vilified by Americans<br />

as aggressive pests that have destroyed precious<br />

ecosystems and turfed out native species. Which is<br />

pretty rich coming from a bunch of invasive Europeans<br />

who have been doing just that for the past<br />

few centuries. And don’t start me on their current<br />

leader – a lunatic at best – who is busy dismantling<br />

environmental regulations that protect wildlife,<br />

the landscape and our planet. But sure, let’s blame<br />

the birds. As Mr Shakespeare (almost) once wrote,<br />

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our Starlings, /<br />

But in ourselves”.<br />

Michael Blencowe, Senior Learning & Engagement<br />

Officer, Sussex Wildlife Trust<br />

105


Shop<br />

independent<br />

this Christmas<br />

...and win a hamper<br />

of local gifts!


BUSINESS NEWS<br />

First up, there’s some news about The Crown.<br />

The Grade-II-listed building is being redeveloped<br />

by Crown Development. The refurb work<br />

is to be done by Cheesmur Building Contractors,<br />

the company recently responsible for the<br />

extensive works on the old Post Office. In early<br />

<strong>November</strong> they are to begin converting the<br />

former pub and hotel into three retail units, and<br />

nine apartments. You can check out their progress<br />

on social media #thecrownlewes.<br />

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed a<br />

planning permission notice in the whitewashed<br />

windows of what used to be Aqua. It announces<br />

that Hixon Green are applying for an alcohol<br />

licence, Monday-Sunday, 9am-10.30pm. You<br />

might have visited this establishment at their<br />

smart base on Church Road, in Hove: they’re a<br />

New York-style bar/eatery/cafe, equally happy<br />

serving you scrambled eggs on toast, or a Guava<br />

Mule cocktail.<br />

It’s all change on the north side of Cliffe High<br />

Street. The Seasons is up and running in the<br />

space formerly known as Bunce’s, of course,<br />

selling organic, healthy food, from artisan bread<br />

to fresh turmeric: bring your own container if<br />

you’re after split peas or coriander seeds. And the<br />

family team at Lumen – until recently Simon<br />

David – has been busy giving a clean sweep and<br />

lick of paint to the 15th-century space from<br />

where they’re selling their lighting and other<br />

interior items; it’s worth popping in just to see the<br />

inglenook fireplace they’ve uncovered at the back<br />

of the shop.<br />

Next door, at number 11, it’s a warm welcome to<br />

Nørd, who have moved from the big groundfloor<br />

corner shop in the Needlemakers: expect<br />

bespoke no-ethanol fireplaces, Scandi interior<br />

furnishings, sustainable-fabric clothing and<br />

natural toiletries.<br />

Watch this space to see who moves into the one<br />

that Nørd vacate; while we’re in the Needlemakers,<br />

let’s welcome Alice Ashton, a jeweller who<br />

has beamed down into the store formerly known<br />

as Jewel Purpose, now ‘Jewel Makers: jewellery<br />

creations and the unusual’. She will share her<br />

workbench with the original manager; the little<br />

room has had a beautiful makeover, courtesy of<br />

Anna Hayman.<br />

We were sad to hear that Twinkle Twinkle, the<br />

boutique that’s been brightening up School Hill<br />

for the last 12 years, is to close, at the end of December.<br />

Good luck to Lucy and Susannah. And<br />

the best of luck, too, to Fran, who has re-opened<br />

Cheese Please near the War Memorial. Lovers<br />

of good cheese – both local and continental –<br />

will be delighted it’s back. It’s had a fine new<br />

refurb, too.<br />

The District Council are offering businesses a<br />

publicity opportunity: from £75 +VAT you can<br />

book a space in their Visit <strong>Lewes</strong> website [visitlewes.co.uk],<br />

aimed at the tourist market.<br />

Finally, make a note of Thursday 5th December,<br />

Late Night Shopping in <strong>Lewes</strong>. Road closure<br />

of the High Street, School Hill and Cliffe High<br />

Street has been ensured: expect horses and carts,<br />

Morris dancers, choirs of all shapes and sizes, and,<br />

of course, mince pies and mulled wine.<br />

Alex Leith<br />

107


FOOTBALL<br />

Annie Timoney<br />

Sub-lieutenant wing-back<br />

“When I signed up, I<br />

signed up for life,” says<br />

Annie Timoney, <strong>Lewes</strong> FC’s<br />

tenacious 22-year-old Irish<br />

wing-back, sitting in the<br />

Rook Inn before an early-<br />

October training session. “I<br />

was fully committed.”<br />

Annie’s talking about when,<br />

at the age of just 18, she<br />

made the decision to quit<br />

playing football, and join the<br />

Royal Navy.<br />

It was a tough call: she’d been excelling at the<br />

sport since the age of three. A natural athlete,<br />

she’d chosen it over her other loves of Hurling<br />

and Gaelic football, and reached the top of the<br />

game on the island of Ireland.<br />

“I played four full internationals for Northern<br />

Ireland, when I was still 18,” she tells me. She<br />

represented Shelbourne, in the Republic, and<br />

Glentoran of Belfast against the likes of PAOK<br />

Athens and Glasgow City in the European<br />

Champions League.<br />

“But I’m the sort of person who needs to make<br />

progress in life. I couldn’t see a way forward. I’d<br />

fallen out of love with football.”<br />

During her four years in the Navy, she was posted<br />

to the Middle East. She saw plenty of action<br />

on HMS Dragon, hunting drug smugglers in the<br />

Arabian Ocean. “I learnt a lot,” she says, “about<br />

expanding my limits, mentally and emotionally.<br />

I learnt social skills. I learnt how to lead.” She<br />

came to a point where she was a month away<br />

from graduating to drive a warship.<br />

“But there was always something niggling away,”<br />

she continues. “I was worried about feeling<br />

regret, when I got older, that I hadn’t fulfilled<br />

my childhood dream of<br />

reaching the very top as a<br />

footballer.”<br />

Aged 22, she quit the Navy,<br />

and started the search for<br />

a new club, that eventually<br />

took her to <strong>Lewes</strong> FC. “I<br />

met Fran [Alonso, <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

manager], and saw the<br />

set-up, and was genuinely<br />

impressed. The Equality FC<br />

was important: it’s amazing<br />

to be at the forefront of such<br />

an important movement in the women’s game.”<br />

Realising her years in the sporting wilderness<br />

would count against her, Annie was preparing<br />

herself to learn more off the pitch than on it, this<br />

season. “I earmarked this year for getting up to<br />

speed,” she says. “Watching, learning, developing<br />

the mental side of my game.”<br />

She was delighted, therefore, to be called up to<br />

start in the FA Cup game against Crystal Palace<br />

on September 23rd. Sadly, she didn’t last the<br />

full 90. A clumsy Crystal Palace boot stomped<br />

on her ankle in the last ten minutes: she was<br />

carried off and, as I write, is still recovering<br />

from what turned out, mercifully, just to be a<br />

soft tissue injury.<br />

Don’t bet against her making it back into the<br />

starting line-up soon, though. Considering the<br />

twists and turns in her career so far, the injury<br />

looks like a minor blip. And I wouldn’t bet, either,<br />

against her fulfilling her ultimate ambition,<br />

of ‘playing in the WSL’, the top tier of women’s<br />

football. But would that be in the red and black<br />

of <strong>Lewes</strong> FC?<br />

“That would be the dream,” she says.<br />

Alex Leith<br />

Photo by James Boyes<br />

108


DIRECTORY<br />

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guarantee the quality of any work undertaken, and accept no responsibility or liability for<br />

any issues arising. To advertise in <strong>Viva</strong> <strong>Lewes</strong> please call 01273 488882 or email advertising@<br />

vivamagazines.com<br />

Qualified, Experienced and Reliable<br />

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Call Fiona or Simon<br />

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46 Warren Drive, <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

• Digital TV aerial upgrades & service<br />

• TV, DAB, and FM aerials<br />

• Extra points<br />

• Communal systems<br />

• Aerial repairs<br />

• Satellite TV installs and service<br />

• SKY installs<br />

• Discreet fittings e.g. listed buildings, thatch roofs, flats<br />

• European systems serviced and installed<br />

• Gutters cleared • CCTV installed<br />

WE FIT BIRD DETERRENTS<br />

WE CAN BEAT ANYONE ON QUALITY AND PRICE<br />

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Tel: 01273 617114 Mob: 07920 526703<br />

We specialise in TV wall mounting<br />

We can beat anyone else’s price on a like for like basis<br />

www.1strateaerialsandsatellites.co.uk<br />

P M Services<br />

Plumbing. Heating. Gas<br />

Repairs and installations<br />

Landlord Safety certificates<br />

Friendly, local and reliable<br />

07958 473 622 | 01273 046 039


HOME<br />

OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE<br />

FREE estimates on all types of<br />

plastering work and finishes.<br />

TELEPHONE: 01273 472 836<br />

MOBILE: 07974 752 491<br />

EMAIL: cdpoulter@btinternet.com


HOME<br />

GUTTER UNBLOCKING | DOWN PIPE REPAIRS<br />

MINOR ROOF REPAIRS | CHIMNEY COWLS<br />

PEST & BIRD DETERRENTS<br />

GENERAL HANDY MAN SERVICE<br />

Free estimates and advice<br />

Call David on 01903 920 114 or 07716 443 957<br />

Or email david.sanders90@yahoo.co.uk<br />

Working in conjunction with GLC WINDOW CLEANING<br />

LTD<br />

We are a building company specialising in residential<br />

extensions, refurbishments, loft conversions<br />

and conservation work on listed buildings.<br />

We pride ourselves on paying attention to detail,<br />

using bespoke materials and bringing projects<br />

in on time and on budget.<br />

Contact us for a free quote and please<br />

visit the website for more info:<br />

www.stjamesbuilding.co.uk<br />

01273 499 641 / 07780 964 608


HOME<br />

Plumbing & Heating<br />

Design & Installation<br />

Bathrooms/Kitchens<br />

Plumbing/Heating<br />

Boilers/Central heating<br />

Gas Safe Registered<br />

Tiling / Woodwork<br />

Free estimates & Advice<br />

T: 01273 487 565 M. 07801 784 192<br />

E. tonywplumbing@icloud.com<br />

Don’t get caught out,<br />

Locked out - put this number<br />

in your phone NOW!<br />

• Digital Locks fitted<br />

• One Key For All Locks.<br />

• Cylinder Replacement.<br />

• 24hr / 365 days a year.<br />

• OAP Discount, No VAT.<br />

• No Obligation Quote &<br />

No call Out Charge!<br />

• Lockout within 30 minutes.<br />

• uPVC Door & Window Locks problems.<br />

• Garage Door Locks<br />

• British Standard Locks.<br />

• Mobile key cutting service.<br />

• CRB Checked & Approved.


HOME<br />

FREE ESTIMATES<br />

UIS OF EWES 07778987286<br />

leweshandyman@hotmail.com<br />

LOCAL HANDYMAN _ PAINTER AND DECORATOR<br />

Interior and exterior painting<br />

Plastering<br />

Flooring & Tiling<br />

Plasterboard<br />

QUALITY FINISHES<br />

All work in the house, big or small:<br />

Carpentry<br />

Assembling and fitting furniture<br />

Curtains/ Door handles and locks/ ...<br />

FINDING SOLUTIONS<br />

REFERENCES AVAILABLE<br />

IF YOU THINK “WHO COULD REPAIR THIS?” CALL LUIS OF LEWES<br />

Nina Murden,<br />

the <strong>Lewes</strong> Seamstress<br />

E S T . 2 0 0 5<br />

Also Professional Repairs and Alterations Service.<br />

01273 470817 | 07717 855314<br />

The<strong>Lewes</strong>Seamstress.co.uk<br />

Aluminium windows, doors,<br />

lantern roofs and bi-folding doors.<br />

Trading in your area for over 30 years<br />

We guarantee all our products, installation and service<br />

for the best doors, windows & conservatories<br />

CLARKS GLASS LTD<br />

Unit 10, Ringmer Business Centre,<br />

Chamberlaines Lane, Ringmer, BN8 5NF<br />

For your FREE no obligation consultation call us now on:<br />

01273 814077<br />

www.clarksglass.org.uk


HOME<br />

PROFESSIONAL RELIABLE<br />

FLAWLESS<br />

LADY DECORATOR LEWES<br />

For a no obligation quote call<br />

07917 067847<br />

hello@ladydecoratorlewes.co.uk<br />

07784053679<br />

tom@tbacc.co.uk<br />

thebuildingandcarpentryco.co.uk


HOME<br />

Jack Plane Carpenter<br />

Nice work, fair price,<br />

totally reliable.<br />

www.jackplanecarpentry.co.uk<br />

01273 483339 / 07887 993396<br />

Art Frames<br />

New in <strong>Lewes</strong> town centre.<br />

Bespoke coloured frame to complement artwork, finished in<br />

natural wax. Quick turnaround if required for exhibiting.<br />

Please contact Richard.<br />

Mobile: 07940 512021 | Email: rejpelling@gmail.com<br />

PAUL FURNELL<br />

Carpenter / General Building<br />

and Renovation works,<br />

Based in <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

t. 07717 862940 e. paul.lee.furnell@gmail.com<br />

Domestic & Commercial work undertaken<br />

Tom Carwithen<br />

07902183607<br />

info@tac-electrical.co.uk | www.tac-electrical.co.uk<br />

LEWES CHIMNEY SWEEP<br />

07796 802588<br />

GARDENS<br />

Jason Eyre Decorating<br />

Professional Painters & Decorators<br />

jasoneyre2@gmail.com | jasoneyredecorating.com<br />

07976 418299 | 07766 118289<br />

Handyman Services for your House and Garden<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong> based. Free quotes.<br />

Honest, reliable, friendly service.<br />

Reasonable rates<br />

Tel: 07460 828240<br />

Email: ahbservices@outlook.com<br />

RHS<br />

award winning<br />

garden design<br />

Real gardeners for all your gardening needs.<br />

Design, regular and one off maintenance<br />

07812 028704 | 01273 401962<br />

brookhartservices@gmail.com<br />

www.brook-hart.co.uk<br />

AHB ad.indd 1 27/07/2015 17:46<br />

01273 488882


GARDENS<br />

leweslogs.co.uk<br />

01273 477294 | 07729493611<br />

01273 477294 | 07729493611 | treeamigos.uk<br />

Gardener Available<br />

Beds, borders, pruning and tidying<br />

01273 814 926<br />

National Diploma Horticulture<br />

Qualified & Experienced gardener<br />

07912 606 557<br />

Global<br />

Gardens<br />

Design,<br />

Restoration &<br />

Landscaping<br />

Hamblin<br />

Tree Care<br />

expert arborists<br />

Tree surgery • Hedges • Gardens<br />

Nathan Hamblin FdSc (Arb)<br />

Experienced, professional and insured<br />

www.hamblintreecare.com<br />

0777 364 2640<br />

<strong>Lewes</strong><br />

based<br />

Mobile 07941 057337<br />

Phone 01273 488261<br />

12 Priory Street, <strong>Lewes</strong>, BN7 1HH<br />

info@ globalgardens.co.uk<br />

www.globalgardens.co.uk<br />

01273 488882


HEALTH<br />

John Davis<br />

MA BACP(reg)<br />

Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy<br />

Based at Coach House Clinic in the centre of <strong>Lewes</strong>,<br />

I offer therapy to those experiencing particular difficulties<br />

or individuals feeling somewhat lost in life.<br />

Please feel free to get in touch.<br />

Call: 0780 135 4803<br />

Email: jd-therapy@outlook.com<br />

www.johndavistherapy.co.uk<br />

VALENCE ROAD OSTEOPATHS<br />

neck or back pain?<br />

Readings<br />

Healings Workshops<br />

Lin Peters - OSTEOPATH<br />

for the treatment of:<br />

neck or low back pain • sports injuries • rheumatic<br />

arthritic symptoms • pulled muscles • joint pain<br />

stiffness • sciatica - trapped nerves • slipped discs<br />

tension • frozen shoulders • cranial osteopathy<br />

pre and post natal<br />

www.lewesosteopath.co.uk<br />

20 Valence Road <strong>Lewes</strong> 01273 476371<br />

www.maddyelruna.co.uk<br />

The Cliffe<br />

Osteopathy & Complementary<br />

Health Clinic<br />

Tom Lockyer BA (HONS). DIP COUNS, MBACP<br />

01273 480900<br />

23 Cliffe High Street, <strong>Lewes</strong>, East Sussex, BN7 2AH<br />

www.lewesosteopath.com<br />

Open Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings<br />

OSTEOPATHY<br />

Mandy Fischer BSc (Hons) Ost, DO, PG cert (canine)<br />

Caroline Jack BOst, PG cert (canine)<br />

Cameron Dowset MOst<br />

HERBAL MEDICINE & REFLEXOLOGY<br />

Julie Padgham-Undrell BSc (Hons) MCPP<br />

PSYCHOTHERAPY<br />

Julia Rivas BA (Hons), MA Psychotherapy<br />

Tom Lockyer BA (Hons), Dip Cound MBACP<br />

ACUPUNCTURE & HYPNOTHERAPY<br />

Anthea Barbary LicAc MBAcC Dip I Hyp GQHP<br />

HOMEOPATHY, COACHING, NLP<br />

& HYPNOTHERAPY<br />

Lynne Russell BSc FSDSHom MARH MBIH(FR)<br />

REMEDIAL MASSAGE THERAPY (ITEC & MTI)<br />

Nuro Weidemann


HEALTH<br />

FLU VACCINATIONS<br />

In stock NOW! To ensure you receive your<br />

vaccine please make an appointment, or try<br />

our walk-in clinic some Thursday mornings.<br />

We may be able to offer walk-in other mes.<br />

We recommend you get yours early in the<br />

season to ensure you’re covered and before<br />

vaccinaaons run out.<br />

FREE NHS HEALCHECKS<br />

are ssll available, call in or phone to book.<br />

YOU MAY BE CONTACTED<br />

by a 3rd party called “health extras” to book<br />

this on behalf of the NHS.<br />

(Closed between 1-2pm)<br />

Taking a Natural Approach<br />

at Menopause<br />

Offering informaaon & support for over 17 years<br />

Appointments at The Cliffe Clinic & via Skype<br />

Doctor P. Bermingham<br />

Retired Consultant Psychiatrist.<br />

Assoc. Medical Psychotherapy. Formerly SAP.<br />

Psychotherapy for the psychological core of depression.<br />

Suicidal ideation. Relapse. Supervision of therapists.<br />

drpbermingham@gmail.com<br />

LYNNE RUSSELL BSc FSDSHom MARH MBIH(FR)<br />

www.chantryhealth.com 07970 245118<br />

01273 488882


HEALTH<br />

Instrinsic Health <strong>Viva</strong> Advert 7.19 AW.qxp_6 01/08/201<br />

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Nutritional Therapy, Life Coaching,<br />

Physiotherapy, Pilates, Shiatsu,<br />

Podiatry/Chiropody<br />

Ruth Wharton<br />

BA (Hons) BSc (Hons) Ost Med DO ND MSc Paediatric Ost<br />

Biodynamic Cranial Osteopath<br />

Sally Galloway<br />

BA (Hons) Dip Nat Nut CNM MBANT MNNA CNCH reg<br />

Nutritional Therapist<br />

Art Therapy • Hot Stone Therapy<br />

Massage • Meditation<br />

Psychotherapy - individual & family<br />

Reflexology • Yoga for Autism<br />

32 Cliffe High Street • <strong>Lewes</strong> BN7 2AN<br />

HERBALIST<br />

Kym Murden<br />

BA Hons Dip Phyt<br />

Weaving wellness together<br />

whatever your age.<br />

Herb & Health Workshops<br />

Visit:<br />

kymmurden.com<br />

Appointments 07780 252186<br />

Holistic Treatments<br />

Swedish Body Massage<br />

Indian Head Massage<br />

Reflexology<br />

To book an appointment<br />

call Angelica Rossi on 07401 131153<br />

Email: angelicarossi@hotmail.co.uk<br />

www.angelsaromahealing.com<br />

Gift vouchers are available<br />

Healing Hands<br />

Energy Practice<br />

Intuitive Energy Healing: including<br />

Reiki and Reconnection Healing<br />

Additional help can be<br />

accessed from angelic realm<br />

Readings channeled to compliment<br />

and embellish healings<br />

Johnfinlayson3@msn.com | 07862299089<br />

www.healinghandsenergypractice.co.uk


LESSONS AND COURSES<br />

OTHER SERVICES<br />

Spanish<br />

GCSE • Beginners • Conversation<br />

Experienced and qualified teacher, central <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Contact Sara on 07598 784579


OTHER SERVICES<br />

CARS<br />

www.andrewwells.co.uk<br />

We can work it out<br />

• BUSINESS ACCOUNTS AND TAX<br />

• MEDIA AND THE ARTS<br />

• CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS<br />

• FRIENDLY AND FLEXIBLE<br />

T: 01273 961334<br />

E: aw@andrewwells.co.uk<br />

FREE<br />

initial<br />

consultation<br />

Andrew M Wells Accountancy<br />

99 Western Road <strong>Lewes</strong> BN7 1RS<br />

Andrew Wells_<strong>Viva</strong> <strong>Lewes</strong>_AW.indd 1 25/06/2012 09:05


INSIDE LEFT<br />

BONFIRE THEATRE<br />

It’s <strong>November</strong> 29th, 1911, and the curtain is<br />

about to fall on the one and only performance<br />

of the ballad operetta The Smugglers.<br />

The show was performed on the occasion of<br />

the annual prize distribution and concert of<br />

the <strong>Lewes</strong> company of the Territorial Army,<br />

at the Assembly Room of the Town Hall.<br />

The performers in the show were current and<br />

former volunteers in the D Company of the 5th<br />

(Cinque Ports) Royal Sussex Regiment.<br />

There’s a report on the concert in the Sussex<br />

Agricultural Times, which gives a brief precis<br />

of the plot (spoiler alert!): ‘The smugglers’ den<br />

is visited by preventivemen [customs officers]<br />

and an excise officer on the very night a lugger<br />

arrives laden with smuggled goods. The preventivemen<br />

are on the track of the smugglers<br />

but the incompetent excise official interferes<br />

and the smugglers succeed in outwitting their<br />

pursuers’.<br />

The journalist passes positive judgement on the<br />

performance: ‘It was arranged and presented<br />

by ex. Col-Sgt Edgar Flint, and the production<br />

certainly did him the greatest credit… the<br />

acting of every individual calls for the greatest<br />

eulogy’.<br />

Edgar Flint, I’m told by his grandson Nick<br />

(now the Vicar of Rusper), was a member of<br />

D Company from 1895 to 1905. He was a<br />

keen bonfire boy, and a member of the <strong>Lewes</strong><br />

Fire Brigade, which had been founded by his<br />

grandfather. Flint was later presented with a<br />

pair of golden cufflinks to thank him for stage<br />

managing the show.<br />

The picture, I’m told by Tom Reeves, was<br />

taken by his grandfather, Benjamin Reeves, as<br />

an experiment in the use of ‘flashlight’ photography,<br />

using flash powder. This method was, he<br />

reveals, very spectacular and potentially quite<br />

dangerous. The newspaper doesn’t report any<br />

casualties.<br />

At the time of this annual get together, according<br />

to the same newspaper report, D Company<br />

numbered 126 volunteers. Most of these chaps,<br />

we can assume, would have also volunteered<br />

in 1914, to fight in the regular army after the<br />

outbreak of war. Alex Leith<br />

Reeves, 159 High St, 01273 473274.<br />

122


Come and support your<br />

wonderful Rooks!<br />

Next up at the Dripping Pan:<br />

Sat 2 Nov, 2pm: Chelsea<br />

Sat 9 Nov, 3pm: Hornchurch<br />

Sun 17 Nov, 1pm: Sheffield United<br />

Sat 30 Nov, 3pm: Folkestone Invicta<br />

And remember that anyone under 16<br />

gets free entry to all <strong>Lewes</strong> FC matches.<br />

JOIN THE CLUB:<br />

www.lewesfc.com/owners


alistairflemingdesign.co.uk<br />

01273 471269<br />

Design<br />

Make<br />

Install

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