'Tour de Wight' fundraiser by Lindfield parishioners

Definitely in for the long haul, this 11-strong Tour de Wight cycle team, organised by Phil Hale of Lindfield’s All Saints Church, rode around the Isle of Wight on 30th June to raise money for the Romanian charity, Caminul Felix, which the church has been supporting for well over a decade.

Sporting their distinctive but self-funded strip, designed by professional animator and TdW rider, Olly Brown, the team covered the 67 miles with over 4,700ft of climbing on what was one of the hottest days of the year. They were accompanied by a support team in liveried vehicle driven by Alastair McDermid, to boost the charity’s profile and attract vital funding to build another home for the family ‘village’ near Oradea in western Romania.

Another team from Lindfield will be travelling there in September to build with materials entirely funded from efforts such as this. 

The fundraising page is still open at: www.give.net/caminulfelix2018/fundraising

Elin Manahan-Thomas - the Royal Wedding singer

By Claire Cooper

Elin Manahan-THomas

Last month’s Royal Wedding drew millions of viewers from all over the world eager to share in the historic occasion.

And when soprano Elin Manahan-Thomas heralded the arrival of the bride, sending shivers around St George’s Chapel and beyond, members of All Saints congregation had an extra special reason to be proud.

Elin, who lives just outside the village, is well known locally, attending All Saints and performing in the church with her husband Bob Davies. “We moved to Sussex because Bob sang at Glyndebourne, but just fell in love with the area,” said Elin, who is originally from Swansea.

With a glittering career which has included performing at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals with leading orchestras and conductors, and with five solo albums, Elin is undoubtedly one of the leading sopranos of her generation.

But nothing could have prepared her for the text that came out of the blue in March.

“I got a text from James Vivian, the Master of Music at Windsor, asking me to call him,” Elin recalled. “I have to admit to not thinking anything of it, so when I got around to it and he said ‘Elin, are you free on the 19th May?’, the penny took a while to drop. When I did realise what he was asking, and when he explained that I was being asked to sing at the entrance of the bride, I was just so excited.

[Full article published in the July 2018 issue of Lindfield Life magazine]

Village People, Graham Russell

By Claire Cooper

Sitting by an African waterhole for several hours may not be everyone’s idea of fun, but for wildlife photographer Graham Russell there’s no better way to spend a morning.

Some of Graham’s most stunning images have been captured after patiently waiting for wildlife to take a drink or a dip in the water, blissfully unaware of the man behind the lens.

After more than 20 safaris, Graham, from Denmans Lane, has fine-tuned his photography skills by going off the beaten track and focussing on a select few animals with some fantastic and award winning results.

“When I first went on safari, I naturally wanted to see the ‘big five’ and most of my photographs were of complete animals or herds,” said Graham. “But I’ve learnt that the most striking photos are often of one small part of an animal.”

[Full story on page 10 of July's Lindfield Life magazine]

Snowdrop Inn, Lindfield to get young blood

George Stockton, new manager of The Snowdrop Inn, Lindfield

27 year old George Stockton is coming back home to breathe new life into a 19th century former beer house on Snowdrop Lane.

A musician at heart, George went to school at Oathall but discovered his passion for pints while working behind the bar of a Brighton hotel during his music degree. “I found that I actually really enjoyed it and very quickly realised how much I’d love to run my own place,” George commented.

He soon got into management and was running the Preston Park Tavern before setting his sights on his own business here in Lindfield.

The Snowdrop, in partnership with Hall & Woodhouse brewery, has now been completely refurbished with the addition of bay windows, wooden floors and opening up what was the ‘games room’ into an additional bright dining area. “We’re going for ‘modern country pub’ with the décor,” George explains. “All the furniture is new, plus the cellar has been overhauled as well as those all-important toilets!”

George hopes to bring his ‘young energy’ to the much loved Lindfield pub, saying the focus will very much be on quality, offering great beers, delicious food and fantastic service.

While there are still a few loose ends to sort, he expects to be opening the doors early July. Look out on Instagram for updates (@thesnowdrop_lindfield).

Yes, you can recycle takeaway coffee cups in West Sussex

WSCC Recycling Ambassador Colin McFarlin sheds some light on what can and can’t be recycled in our domestic blue bins. If you have a question for him, email: editor @lindfieldlife.co.uk

---

Thank you for sending in your specific questions on recycling. Here are two you have asked about that I have picked out. Keep them coming ….

YES to Pringle Tubes and lids. These can be recycled. Separate the plastic top from the cardboard tube. Do not worry about the metal base as our clever machinery can separate these.

You CAN recycle Costa/Starbucks coffee cups in Blue recycling bins

What about Ben & Jerry’s pots and coffee cups?

We are fortunate in West Sussex to have state of the art machinery that CAN recycle ALL of these, and the plastic lids. YES we can recycle coffee cups in your blue top recycling bin.

We can recycle everything – except the coffee! The lids are big enough not to contaminate the glass. (see last month).

Would you like me to give a talk to your local group on recycling? There is no charge for this service. Would you be interested in collecting items that can be recycled to raise funds for your favourite charity? I will be happy to guide you through this process. Look forward to hearing from you.

Caroline took on the Marathon Challenge

Caroline raised over £1k for preschool

Lindfield resident Caroline John has recently completed the London Marathon after a rather impulsive decision! 

Caroline was inspired by a friend who, in May last year, put her name into the public ballot for entry to the London Marathon. “I just decided to do it too,” Caroline said. “I knew who I’d like to run for, if I got a place, after Tiger Cubs had been so good for my daughter Ariyana. I wanted to give something back, and supporting a small charity gives an opportunity for the money to make a huge difference.”

However, long before she had any idea whether she had a place at all, her first run didn’t go too well! “Having never been a runner, I thought I had better give it a go! I only made it down Gravelye Lane to Luxford Road before having to stop in a heap!”

Caroline persevered and later in the year joined a running club – much to her own surprise! She was genuinely enjoying running.

Although she discovered in November that she hadn’t got a place through the ballot system she ended up winning a place through the luck of the draw at Burgess Hill Runners – who had a number of places to give out to members.

She was delighted to accept the place, and spoke to preschool manager Clare Nibloe immediately to let her know she’d be raising money for Tiger Cubs.

Beetle Boy author visits Lindfield school

By Lucy Duncalfe, teacher

As part of our National Book Week celebrations, we welcomed award winning author of the Beetle Boy Trilogy, M.G. Leonard, to Lindfield Primary Academy on 1st May.

Maya led an energetic assembly in which she filled the children’s imaginations with all things beetles! The children were awestruck by her passion and knowledge and enjoyed finding out about her journey to becoming a writer. Year 4 pupils became beetle experts and enjoyed creative writing workshops through which they planned stories based on their chosen beetle heroes. 

Most enjoyable was discovering the gruesome truths about beetle survival!

Maya proved an inspiration to the staff too, delivering a presentation about the importance of immersing children in the natural world and harnessing stories in all their forms from dance, theatre, screenplays and books. Many thanks go to our wonderful, supportive PTA for funding such a fabulous day!

Behind the Counter: Paul's Greengrocer, Lindfield

By Joe Wayte

Most of us have encountered difficult times in our lives that make us reset our focus on what is really important and our next interviewee is no different. From changing the way high street stores operate across the country, to the hardship that has influenced his business decisions, this next edition of Behind the Counter takes a bite into the life of Paul Bignall – owner of Paul’s Greengrocers.

In 2006, Shirley Temple shared some words of wisdom at the Screen Actors Guild Awards: “I have one piece of advice for those of you who want to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award: Start early!” Paul Bignall, let me tell you, started very early.

After six weeks in Spain celebrating the World Cup, Paul returned home and needed two weeks to recover! 

“My Mum got frustrated with me lazing around and made me go for an interview at Sainsbury’s,” Paul told me. “I got the job and they must have seen something in me as they offered me a management opportunity and sent me to Hastings for 12 months.”

Once he’d learnt the ropes and got to grips with all of the different operations, Paul passed with flying colours. 

He was then moved around the South East of England opening stores, setting up new displays and getting employees on their feet. It was during this time that Paul was posted as an Evening Manager in one of the shops. “Supermarkets were getting busier and busier as people started to enjoy the big retailers that sold lots of items in one place. However, staff weren’t able to keep up with re-filling the shelves before it was time to close.

We were constantly chasing our tails,” Paul explained, “and so I asked to keep a selection of staff overnight and we trialled overnight re-filling.” After a successful pilot, Sainsbury’s – along with other supermarkets – began to roll out overnight re-filling and it’s now a standard practice.

He moved to a different retail company but after a couple of years had to make the tough decision to either stay with the big retailers or leave and go and help his mother with her greengrocers business that was sadly struggling due to the increase in larger supermarkets and the early 90s recession taking affect. Paul saw the opportunity and decided to take over the business.

“It was the 80s and my Mum also worked for the same  company. When I was younger, I always swore I’d never work with my Mum, and I didn’t want to own a shop or factory,” Paul told me trying not to smile, “I opened the current shop in Lindfield and my Mum moved across to look after it and then launched another store in Hurstpierpoint.”

[Read the full story in May 2018 issue of Lindfield Life...]
Photos by Dale Reubin

Oathall Community College - Crowdfunding science and maths excellence

Across the country, Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) are hosting quiz nights, fairs and coffee mornings to raise money for schools. At Oathall Community College they have decided to try something different for their next fundraising project.

“We wanted to be a bit more ambitious this year,” explains Karen Crockford, current Chair of Oathall Community College PTA. “We wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that having a new Science and Maths block provides and involve the local community in our fundraising through a crowdfunding campaign.”

Oathall Community College has secured funding from West Sussex County Council to completely refurbish the Science and Mathematics block. It will see the dated 1970s building replaced with a modern, purpose-built resource housing eight maths classrooms and eight science labs including prep rooms and an IT suite.

The new space will also have many small improvements to make a big difference. Headteacher Edward Rodriguez led some members of the PTA on a tour of the site last month and explained: “Little things like the raising of the windowsill height in the labs just makes sense. Students can also walk right through the building now, which will vastly improve the flow at peak times.” 

The PTA hopes to raise £25,000 to equip the building with state of the art teaching resources. Karen said: “This is not about replacing test tubes, heat mats and calculators; it is about providing students at Oathall Community College with the latest technological advances and resources to bring science and maths alive in the classroom and inspire a love of the subjects.”

Items to be purchased include digital microscopes, interactive anatomical models, a planetarium and a linear air trap.

Mr Rodriguez, who has been key in planning the space and specifying the new science labs, explained: “We have an opportunity to make this school a real centre for excellence. This extra equipment will enable students to try new experiments and, as a result, gain greater understanding of the subject.”

Crowdfunding is an online platform for raising funds by asking a large number of people to each make a small donation. It enables not only those directly involved in a project to make a contribution, but also people in the wider community to support a worthwhile cause. 

Karen continued: “For instance, we are hoping that former pupils and their parents will want to give something back in this way.”

For donors there are rewards on offer for their generosity including a public thank you on Facebook, your name entered onto a fabulous display of donors that will adorn the entrance wall, the possibility of having a plaque with your name on a microscope, the opportunity to attend the grand opening in September with a celebrity guest or even the chance to have a classroom named after you .

The crowdfunding campaign launches on Tuesday 22nd May and the team hopes to have raised the £25,000 by 22nd July 2018.

If you are interested in finding out more please email the PTA team at opta @ oathall.org, visit the Oathall Community College PTA Facebook page or visit the crowdfunding page at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/oathall-pta which went live on Tuesday 22nd May.

A fun Lindfield photo quiz

How well do you know the village of Lindfield? Try taking this quiz to identify the following close-up photos taken around the High Street in March 2018. 

---

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

---

So, here are the answers...

1 - Malling Priory, High Street, Lindfield

2 - The iron gates of All Saints Church, Lindfield

3 - the outside light of South Downs Cellars

4 - Humphrey's Bakery, Lindfield

5 - The sun casting a shadow on the sign of Viking Cottage, High Street.

6 - The front door of King Edward Hall, Lindfield

7 - Tufnells Home shop on Lindfield High Street

8 - The garage of 74 High Street, Lindfield

New bench on Lindfield common for Chris

In January, a beautiful new bench was installed at the top of Lindfield Common.

The bench commemorates the life of Chris Paice, a Lindfield resident who sadly lost his life to cancer a year ago aged just 43.

Chris’s enthusiasm for life and love for Lindfield makes the bench a fitting tribute, providing a place for his family and many friends to reflect and remember him.

[Read the full story on page 19 of the April 2018 issue of Lindfield Life.]

What’s happening at All Saints Church, Lindfield?

Lindfield church closed until January 2019

By Olly Brown

Shortly after Easter 2018, contractors will move in to All Saints to begin the final phase of building works to redevelop the parish church building to provide a warm, welcoming and more flexible space to meet the needs of current and future generations.

While the church is closed the congregation will be temporarily relocating their Sunday services to Lindfield Primary Academy, close to the Common. Services will take place morning and evening in the Sports Hall and everyone is very welcome. Children’s groups and youth ministry will also be on-site, and ample parking is available in the Academy grounds. The 8am Holy Communion services on the first, third and fifth Sundays will be held in the Tiger Lounge (next to All Saints). Full details are available on the church website.

The project (known as ASPIRE) has already seen the spire, roof and windows repaired, the vestries redeveloped to include an accessible toilet and the replacement of pews with modern seating. The more accessible interior has enabled the church to host a number of community events, including gospel singing workshops and The Christmas Experience for schools. 

The next phase requires the temporary closure of the church building. Work will include the replacement of the floor with new stone tiling and underfloor heating, improvements to the south porch and west entrance, upgrading the audio visual and lighting facilities and redecoration. Alongside the building works, it is planned to renew the bells and refurbish the church clock.

It is anticipated that the church will be closed until January 2019.

During the week, the Tiger building will continue to host its regular weekly activities and the church office will be open as usual throughout the building works. 

Once the work is complete, the church will be in great shape to continue worshipping God and welcoming the community of Lindfield for many years to come. Watch this space for updates!

Lindfield Arts Festival secures high profile bursary judges

View fullsize

Katie Derham, Lynn Tulip & Hilary Knight

Katie Derham, Nick Broomfield, Leesa Le May and Robin Belfield will decide which local resident will be the beneficiary of the Festival’s new £1,000 bursary. They will be looking for the applicant who demonstrates a desire to start or continue an arts discipline. The line up was announced at an event last month.

The bursary is open to anyone aged 7-100 and living in the village and surrounding locality. 

Lynn Tulip, Co-Project Manager of the Festival said: “We are thrilled to have such high profile judges on board to award this bursary. Their skills and experience, combined with their love of the village, will be invaluable to the scheme.”

Nick Broomfield, the award-winning documentary film director added: “This is a great idea and a wonderful opportunity for the village.”

Katie Derham, who spoke at the Bursary Fund launch event, said: “I get so excited when I come to Lindfield; there’s so much going on here. The Arts Festival is one fantastic example!”

In other news, the Festival has announced more highlights of its September programme. Sitting alongside its community orchard, arts and crafts activity, and performance, will be a major cake exhibition, a film celebrating the creativity of the village and a local food festival. For more information on these and on how to apply for the bursary visit www.lindfieldartsfestival.com or email enquiries at lindfieldartsfestival.com.

The day that we saw Lindfield Life being printed

This month the Kipper team went to see Lindfield Life magazine being printed at Gemini Print in Shoreham. 

Advertising in Lindfield Life works for Norsat

It's always great to hear that our advertisers are making a good return on their investment with their advertising with us - however, its even sweeter when they are very long term customers of ours. Marie Penge, from Norsat (TV Aerials and satellite specialist), has been using the magazine for over eight years to get new customers in Lindfield and Scaynes Hill. In fact, its working so well, she's recently added Cuckfield Life magazine to her marketing plan is is now getting new customers from Cuckfield and Bolnore through our sister title. 

In her own words:

"Hi I'm Marie Penge from Norsat and we specialise in satellite TV, TV aerials and security systems.

"I've been really pleased with the responses that we've received from the magazines over the past 8 years. We will be continuing with the adverts. We measure and record the response from the magazine just to see how successful the advert is being. We record when people call through to the office and we ask them how they heard of the company. And also we receive a report on a monthly basis with regards to how many calls we've had from the phone number.

"OK, Lindfield Life magazine has been excellent for Norsat, I'm REALLY pleased with the response we've had from it for the amount that we pay and I'd recommend it to any local business."

To advertise your business with Lindfield Life magazine - get in touch today. Call 01444 884115 or visit http://www.lindfieldlife.co.uk

Behind the Counter: Masters & Son

Undertaking is among the world’s oldest professions. Ancient Egypt is famous for its careful mummification to preserve the dead with records dating back over 4,000 years, and in the West specialised priests were known to spend 70 entire days with a single body. While the aforementioned services were reserved for wealthy royalty and nobility, today funeral services are an essential part of remembering and saying goodbye to those we care about. In this next edition of Behind the Counter, we meet Ian Masters of Masters and Son – who have been supporting families in Sussex through the process of losing loved ones for more than 160 years.

By Joe Wayte

It feels like I can’t get away from this particular topic in my life right now. Whilst writing this article, the team at BBC Radio 1 is doing some heavy promotion around the office about a new series titled, The Youngertakers. 

In my personal life, a great-aunt recently passed away, giving me an opportunity to celebrate her life, as well as watch the funeral director intensely as part of my research. I’ve been to many funerals and they’ve all been different. My great-aunt, for example, asked to be cremated and requested that Händel’s Hallelujah Chorus be played loudly at the point she disappeared behind the curtain. Others have been a much more sombre affair.

“All families are different and each funeral is unique,” Ian told me. “Some choose traditional wooden coffins, while others choose ones made of materials such as willow, seagrass, bamboo or wool. On a few occasions people have come in to personally decorate the coffin. The services we carry out also vary enormously from a traditional church service to no formal service at all. On one occasion we were asked to provide champagne in our service room for a family who wanted a more casual and relaxed event before continuing the celebration of their loved one’s life over lunch at a local pub. We like being adaptable to whatever people ask for to give their family member an appropriate send-off.”

[Read the full article in March 2018 Lindfield Life magazine]

Photos by Dale Reubin

Jewellery expert to feature on BBC's The Repair Shop

Lindfield resident Richard Talman received a curious phone call one evening in September last year. 

As a bespoke jewellery manufacturer he’s had his fair share of beautiful and bizarre requests made upon his time, however this phone call was from a TV producer who was asking him to take part in the BBC2 show The Repair Shop.

“I already knew of the programme,” Richard said, “but they went on to explain that they had had their first piece of jewellery requested to be fixed and they needed a goldsmith who could help.”

Richard agreed and, a month or so later, took his place among the other craftspeople in an ancient barn at the Weald & Downland Museum, near Chichester.

The show features the general public bringing in a treasured possession in a poor state of repair, wishing it to be fixed. The Repair Shop houses such skilled craftspeople as a furniture restorer, ceramicist, horologist, saddler and teddy bear restorers. All the trades sit under one roof and host Jay Blades moves around looking at what’s happening at each bench during the repairs.

[To read the full article, see the March 2018 issue of Lindfield Life]

BBC gardening expert visiting Lindfield

Lindfield Horticultural Society has arranged for Nick Bailey of BBC’s Gardeners World to give a talk at the King Edward Hall on 11th April 2018 at 7.30pm.

Nick Bailey has worked in horticulture for 25 years and has created and managed gardens on four continents. He is also a garden designer, bestselling author, columnist and was the Garden Journalist of the year for 2017. He was also the Head Gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden for many years.

Tickets, on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, are £5 each for members of the Lindfield Horticultural Society and can be obtained from Michael Elliott, call 01444 483039. 

Cash or cheque (with SAE if unable to collect tickets personally). Tickets for non-members are £7.50 and go on sale on 14th March 2018.

The annual membership of the Society is £6 and non-members would be very welcome to join the society at the same time as purchasing a ticket for this talk at member’s rates.

Village People: Dale Reubin

By Claire Cooper

“I grew up in South Africa in a small coastal town in the Eastern Cape called East London,” said Dale Reubin, who arrived in England after leaving college when he was 19. “I chose England as it was the only place that offered a two year work travel visa.”

After spending some time in London, Dale quickly discovered that he was definitely not a ‘big city person’. “Fortunately I had a friend from Haywards Heath who invited me to check out the country.”

It was a decision that was to change his life. “Shortly after moving to Haywards Heath I met my future wife Laura,” he said. “We were introduced by a mutual friend.” 

By the time Dale’s visa ran out and he had to return to South Africa the pair were inseparable. “For the next two years we had a long distance relationship. It really worked, and we ended up being more in love than ever!”

When Dale returned to England the couple were married and settled in Laura’s home village, Horsted Keynes – but not for long! 

“I still had a burning desire to travel and explore,” said Dale. “As a boy I dreamt of driving across the length of the world.” Luckily Laura shared his dream and the pair began to plan their adventure.

“A couple who had done a similar journey advised us to buy our vehicle and then take a year to plan the trip. That way we were committed to going.

“We blew most of our savings spending £4,500 on a Land Rover and saved for a year,” Dale recalled. “I was lucky enough to get a shoot at the 2012 Olympics which went a long way to helping fund the trip.”

The Olympics finished in August and the couple left Britain in October. 

“We started by getting the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, and over the next six months we travelled 19,000 miles through 22 countries, ending up at Cape Town before driving to my home town,” said Dale.

[Read the full article in March's issue of Lindfield Life magazine]

Rev Lisa to become an honorary canon

Scaynes Hill vicar The Rev Lisa Barnett has been honoured by the Bishop of Chichester in recognition of her work supporting young women who are exploring ordination.

Rev Lisa Barnett

Lisa, from St Augustine’s Church, has been made an honorary canon of Chichester Cathedral and will take the stall of Prebendary of Woodhorn. 

“It’s an honorary title which is given for service to the diocese,” Lisa explained. “It doesn’t mean any extra responsibilities, but does mean a ‘seat’ in Chichester Cathedral for special services!”

Lisa will be installed as an honorary canon of Chichester Cathedral within a service of Evensong at the Cathedral on Sunday 18th March at 3.30pm. All are welcome!

Since being ordained in 2007 and being given her first parish, Scaynes Hill, in 2011, Lisa has been passionate about supporting other young women considering ordination.

“In spite of it being almost 25 years since the Church of England first ordained women as priests there are still not very many young women offering themselves as candidates for ordination,” said Lisa. “As a young female vicar in this diocese, I have supported several other young women who are newly ordained or exploring ordination, and I have become something of a role model for young clergy women who are pioneering new ways of balancing their vocation to church leadership alongside family life.

“I am enormously grateful to the wonderful church family at St Augustine’s, as well as the wider community in Scaynes Hill, who have been so encouraging of my ‘twin vocations’ as a vicar and a mother, and so supportive during my periods of maternity leave,” Lisa added.

“I will still be vicar in Scaynes Hill, so this title doesn’t change very much, but it is a very special honour and a recognition of the ongoing diocesan commitment to supporting women’s ministry.”