Town & Village News

ANSTY

Barbara Harding barbarhard@gmail.com

FRIENDSHIP CLUB: will be meeting on Wednesday 9th February in the Village Centre from 2pm to 4pm. Tea and cakes will be on offer, as well as Board and Card games, it costs £1.50 per person, everyone is welcome.

BALCOMBE

Rosemary Robertson roo.rob@btinternet.com

BALCOMBE BABY & TODDLER GROUP: We are very pleased to announce that the Baby and Toddler Group is returning on Thursdays from 9.30 am until 11.30 am at a new venue, the Parish Room. We hope that when we get better weather the children will benefit from having an outdoor space to play in, as well as the usual toys inside. Only £3 per family and this includes a snack for the little ones and hot drinks for the grown ups. All welcome.

BALCOMBE WI: Our next meeting is on Thursday 3 February, a talk entitled “A Recycled Virgin.” This is at 2.00 pm in the Victory Hall POSTPONED GARDENERS’ ASSOCIATION AGM: In view of high Covid numbers it has been agreed to postpone the

NLS6009349_v5 Balcombe Gardeners’ AGM until later in the year when the event can take place in its normal sociable format. It was due to take place on Friday 28 January.

POLICE: Our local PCSO Craig is holding surgeries on 4 and 18 February, 11.30 am until 12.30 pm and at the Sports Pavilion on the Recreation Ground. All dates are subject to operational commitments which take priority and cancellation can happen without notice. If you see my vehicle then I am there.

BALCOMBE SCHOOL FOBS (FRIENDS OF BALCOMBE SCHOOL) : look out for the Pizza & Cookie Event on Friday 11 February raising money for our school. The team have joined forces with Doughies for a fun family night in. Order your pizza and cookie making kits and you’ll receive everything you need to make artisan Margherita pizzas (regular or vegan) and warm gooey cookies in your home oven. The school receives £2 per pizza and £1 per cookie kit sold. Order via Doughies website by Saturday 5 February Orders to be collected at school pickup on Friday 11 February from 3.00 – 3.30 pm.

BALCOMBE FETE: In organising the Balcombe Fete the Committee’s aim is always to put on an event for the village to enjoy and to allow our many clubs and organisations to make money too by running stalls and attractions. We also need to raise enough money to cover our costs for subsequent years. We then seek to distribute the excess funds raised to local charities, societies, organisations or individuals in need. We are now inviting proposals and requests for funds to be submitted for consideration in February 2022. Please tell us what you would use the donation for and send it to markfairweather@sky.com or to Honeywood House, Deanland Road , Balcombe, before 15 February 2022.

ST. MARY’S CHURCH: Sunday 30 January 8.00 am Holy Communion, 10.00 am Parish Eucharist with Revd Gordon Bond

THE CHURCH: remains open on Sundays and Thursdays 10am – 3pm for personal prayer and reflection.

BURGESS HILL

Miranda Hansen Lise burgesshillnews@post.com

NOTICE OF VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF COUNCILLOR: Notice is hereby given that a casual vacancy exists in the Office of Councillor for the Burgess Hill Town Council - Dunstall Ward. A by-election to fill the vacancy will be held if, within 14 days [of Friday

21st January] (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays), TEN electors of the electoral area give notice in writing claiming such an election to the Proper Officer. The Proper Officer is: Tom Clark, Returning Officer,

Mid Sussex District Council, Oaklands, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH15 1SS. Email: elections@midsussex.gov. uk. If no such notice is given the Town Council shall fill the vacancy by co-option. View full details and notice at https://www.burgesshill.gov.uk/town-councillors/ or contact Steve Cridland, Town Clerk, at Burgess Hill Town Council on 01444 238208.

FREE ICE SKATING: Get your skates on with Burgess Hill Town Council’s free synthetic Ice Rink, located outside the Town Council Help Point, Church Walk, Burgess Hill, from 10.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday 12th February. No need to book, just turn up!

BURGESS HILL TOWN MARKET: The monthly outdoor market in Church Walk will taking place on Saturday 12th February from 9.00am to 2.00pm.

YOUNG CARERS EVENT: Burgess Hill Youth and Burgess

Hill Town Council are working on the next Young Carers event to be held on Thursday 24th February from 10.30am to 2.30pm at Fairfield Community Centre in Western Road. The event is free and is for Young Carers aged 6-11years (a Young Carer is someone who is living with someone with a person who has an illness, disability, mental health issue or drink and alcohol problems). There are lots of activities planned and members of the Lost Woods Project team from Action in Rural Sussex will be attending. Lunch will be generously provided by the Mustard Seed café at St Edwards Church. If you would like to attend the event, please complete the form at https://buff.ly/33KjF1m If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer on 01444 238207.

ART DISPLAY: The window of 94 Church Walk, next to the Help Point, has once again had a colourful makeover. Annie Watts, a member of Burgess Hill Artists, has set up a display of her artwork. Be sure to check it out! CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK: Please send news, information and details of any events you would like included in this column by Monday lunchtime for publication in that week’s paper.

CHAILEY

Mandy Dembrey mandydembrey@btinternet.com

ST PETER’S CHURCH: has Holy Communion this Sunday (January 30) at 8am and Family Communion at 10am. For instructions regarding practices being followed for services in these challenging times please visit http://www. stpeterschailey.org/.

CHAILEY FREE CHURCH SERVICE: this Sunday (January 30) is at 10.30am. In line with government guidelines it won’t be necessary to wear a mask but you are very welcome to do so if you wish. Services will continue to be posted online at https:// www.chaileyfreechurch.com/ for those who don’t feel comfortable meeting in person at this present time.

WOMENS INSTITUTE: meet at the village hall on Tuesday February 1 at 7.30pm. The speaker will be Helen Poole who will talk on ‘The Gages of Firle Place’. The WI are always pleased to welcome guests and potential new members to join them and listen to the speaker and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and delicious homemade refreshments. All this for a £3 donation for visitors. Assuming the current rules and restrictions are still in

operation do wrap up warm as there is a requirement to have the village hall windows open. For more information call Margaret Smith on 01825 723519.

CHAILEY PARISH COUNCIL

MEETINGS: Please note that future Planning and Full Council meetings will be held in person (unless otherwise advised) at St Peter’s Church, Chailey Green. Planning meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month and Full Council meetings on the third Tuesday of the month. Both meetings start at 7.30pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend. However, it would be helpful if you could contact the Clerk to let her know of your attendance. Contact details are: 01825 722388 and chaileypc@btconnect.com We advise that a Lateral Flow Test is done on the morning of the meeting and that you bring a mask with you. Agendas and Minutes are available on the Parish Council website, chailey.org.

REPAIR CAFÉ: is open next at St Peter’s Church, on the A275 at Chailey Green, on Saturday February 12 between 10am and 1pm. Repairs are undertaken free of charge, although a donation towards running costs is invited. Anyone can take along broken items or clothing needing repair and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and delicious homemade cake while you wait. Please don’t leave items for repair at the Church when the Café isn’t there. Visit the Repair Café when it is open or contact the Café via chaileyrc@gmail.com and they will see what they can do to help.

BLUEBELL RAILWAY: February half-term will see the return of ‘Kids for a Quid’ and this will also run during other half-term weekdays in 2022. To book tickets visit https://www.bluebell-railway.com/.

LUNCH CLUB: takes place on the third Thursday of each month at St Peter’s Church. The next Lunch Club will be on Thursday February 17 at 12.30pm and costs

£5. For more information call 01825 722586 or email Stpeterschurch12@hotmail.co.uk.

QUIZ NIGHT: with ploughman’s supper in aid of St Peter’s Church funds takes place at the church on Friday February 18. Teams of 6, £12 per person. All welcome to take part in what promises to be a fun evening. For tickets contact Teresa Wenban on 01825 722586 or via teresa. wenban@btinternet.com or Christine Peskett on 01825 721431 or via email chrispeskett@hotmail.co.uk.

FREE@FOUR: will be at St Peter’s Church on Sunday April 3 at 4pm. It is a brand new family church experience which will include family crafts and games, modern Christian worship, songs and interactive bible story as well as open discussion, prayer and refreshments. Volunteers are needed to help with setup, running crafts, audio/ visual and refreshments.

Can you help with this once a month? If so email Ali via alibarcombe@gmail.com.

SURVEY OF TREES: ALONG

THE HIGHWAY East Sussex County Council is currently undertaking a network survey of all the U-roads (i.e. lanes) in the County. Residents may therefore notice some spraypainted dots on trees in our Parish; the colour of the dots is not significant - it simply depends on what colour is in stock. The dots do however signify that a safety defect has been spotted and that remedial works have been recommended for the tree. These may include that the tree requires to be felled; to have dead wood removed; or simply to be monitored further. Both private and ESCC trees are being surveyed. If a private tree is marked, the landowner will be notified and made aware of the works that are necessary; however, it will also be suggested that they have the rest of their trees adjacent to the highway privately assessed for other issues. If the trees are owned by ESCC they will be entered into a works programme. ESCC will always aim to minimise disruption to road users where they can do so safely and efficiently. Trees that are felled will only be felled if a high risk is associated with the fault detected; the risk can be increased by the level of occupancy of the road. Trees will not be felled if they are healthy or showing no significant faults, ESCC will always leave what they can and carry out other remedial works such as thinning or reducing if it prolongs the tree’s life in a cost-effective way. However, they may have to remove healthy trees if leaving them increases a risk of them being subject to windthrow/exposure.

This does happen, especially with groups of ash which are generally shallow rooted and tend to grow very tall very quickly due to density. ESCC intends to survey sections of the network annually, i.e. urban trees, A-roads, B-roads, C-roads and U-roads to ensure that they are resurveyed a minimum of every five years. Please send any enquiries to the

Tree Health Officer by email: anthony.becvar@eastsussex.gov.uk

CHAILEY COMMON: Andy Mitchell, Countryside Officer and our Ranger writes that the cattle have now been moved off Lane End Common for the winter. There are also no cattle on the Combined Commons, Pound, Memorial & Romany Ridge, or Red House Common. The four Exmoor ponies remain on Red House Common. Please keep dogs under control so they don’t chase or worry the ponies. Dog fouling is still an issue. Please clean up after dogs and don’t allow them to jump into the cattle troughs, this water is for drinking only.

FLY-TIPPING: is dealt with by Lewes District Council along with litter, dog nuisance, car parks or bins to report a problem please contact them directly via https://www. lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/report-a-problem/.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

NEWS: ‘As I write this I am cautiously optimistic that we will be able to hold our Spring Show on the 19th March. So if you do not have a schedule they are available from the committee members, myself and can be picked up at The Five Bells. After two years without a show it would be really nice to start the

2022 season with a bumper Spring Show. So please look through the schedule and come along and support us. There are always committee members on hand to help and give advice not to mention the tea and cakes at the show itself. Also remember the potatoes in a bucket competition for children. Buckets, seed potatoes and instructions will be available at the spring show. Judging is at the summer show and there are prizes! Now what to do in the garden? In recent years February has become a difficult month. Changing weather patterns often make it excessively wet, windy and yet still cold. All this makes getting on the plot difficult and frustrating but there is still plenty to do. Finish pruning apples, pears and quinces and give them a good feed with added magnesium sulphate and lime. Ensure that all maintenance to hedges has been completed so nothing needs to be done that might disturb nesting birds. Prune and tidy up wisteria. Sage bushes get untidy and straggly and should be cut down to just above ground level and new growth will appear in the spring. If the weather permits rake the lawn to remove dead grass and moss and to identify areas that will require reseeding in the spring. Late February is the time to sow plants that require a long growing season such as aubergine, chillies and to a lesser extent sweet peppers. Greenhouse tomatoes also need to be sown now. So what varieties? With aubergine try Black Beauty, Moneymaker and early long purple. For chillies try Long Slim and Cayenne. Apache gives a bush shaped plant with small, red hot fruit which does well in a pot on a windowsill or sheltered patio. For sweet peppers try Californian Wonder and Yellow Bell. The choice for greenhouse tomatoes is vast and as only a few plants are required of different varieties it may be better to buy plug plants, but try Shirley for a very reliable standard size tomato; Gardeners Delight and Sungold for small salad tomatoes and pink brandy wine for beefsteak fruit. Shimmer is a new and interesting variety producing small almond shaped fruit with spectacular markings and excellent texture and flavour. If growing from seed always use fresh seed compost and a propagator. Next month I will deal with tomato varieties for growing outside which will all be blight resistant. Late February is the time to start first early potatoes in sacks and buckets. This enables you to move them in, out and around so as to avoid frost and ensure maximum warmth and sunlight. The best early first early is Swift which is also the varsity we give out in our potato growing competition. There are numerous other first earlies but try Red Duke of York and Sharpes Express- an excellent tasting new potato but also makes the world’s best roast potatoes. Fortunately February is a short month so that is probably enough to be going on with. With the arrival of March things really get going. Stay well, warm and dry whilst looking through our schedule and dreaming of all those first prizes! Good gardening.’ To learn more about the Society contact Peter Estcourt via pge44@ icloud.com or 07803179708.

DITCHLING Sarah Bridge sarahbridge3@aol.co.uk

THE BEACON PARISH: On Sunday 30th January, there will be a 10am service of Holy Communion at St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling. Everyone welcome to join us in person or watch the live stream, available via our website https://www.beaconparish.co.uk/services. The service can also be watched later via this link.

FLETCHING Andrew Hudson parishpump@shellbarn.co.uk

CHURCH OF ST ANDREW & ST MARY THE VIRGIN: Sunday

30th January 10am Holy Communion

Wednesday 2nd February 10am Holy Communion

MONDAY 31ST JANUARY:

Chromatics Choir 7pm in the Church

TUESDAY 1ST FEBRUARY:

Fletching Singers 7.30pm in Village Hall

WEDNESDAY 2ND FEBRUARY:

Yoga Class 7pm in Village Hall.

80 YEARS AGO SUSSEX

EXPRESS 30TH JANUARY

1942: FLETCHING Choral Society. —After a break for the Christmas holidays, the Choral Society met at the

Vicarage on Wednesday evening to continue their practices. 120 YEARS AGO SUSSEX EXPRESS 25TH JANUARY 1902:

DEPUTY MEDICAL OFFICER APPOINTED. Mr. Frank Gravely, Medical Officer at the Chailey Workhouse, wrote stating that he would like to appoint his brother, Mr. Harry Gravely, of Fletching, his deputy. The request was granted, Mr. Banks remarking that it was very essential that a Deputy Medical Officer should appointed. 130 YEARS AGO SUSSEX EXPRESS 26TH JANUARY

1892: FLETCHING.

LORD SHEFFIELD’S CRICKETERS—A Reuter’s telegram from Melbourne of the 22nd inst. says: Lord Sheffield’s cricket team today concluded a match with “Twenty-two of Malvern”, an important suburb of this city. The home team went in first and made 191, against which the Englishmen only succeeded in putting together 143. Dr. W. G. Grace was caught and bowled before making a single run. The Australians again went to the wickets and played out time, losing two wickets for twentythree runs. The match thus ended in a draw.

HURSTPIERPOINT Margaret Carey middy@112a.co.uk

PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS: Full Council Meetings in the Village Centre on 27 January and 24 February; Finance & Governance Committee on 20 January; Planning & Environment on 3 February; Estates & Facilities on 10 February. As you know, all meetings are open to the public.

HURST VILLAGE CINEMA: Back in business for February, so get booking. 10 February, ‘Red Turtle’. Mike says - for the first time we are screening an animation and I couldn’t think of many other places to start than The Red Turtle, beautiful and engrossing fable. A collaboration between Studio Ghibli and Dutch writer director Michael Dudok de Wit, it tells the tale of a man shipwrecked on an island and who forms a bond with a turtle.’ 25 February, ‘For Sama’, about which

Mike says: This was not a film I really wanted to watch; a documentary about the horrors of war torn Aleppo is uncomfortable viewing, especially when amplified by watching from the privileged safety of West Sussex. But as the curtain came up on this film, I was not left with the feeling of how low humanity can be, and there is plenty of that, but rather a feeling of how amazing humans can be. Book at www.hurstfilms.com.

HURST MONTHLY SOCIAL

GROUP: The next meeting is on February 2nd, when David Tingley, Editor of Hurst Life,

will be telling us all about the magazine. For more information do contact Ann 07806 670359 or Dianne 01273 835284. The Group meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month. 2 pm to 4 pm. Guide HQ, Trinity Road.

MID SUSSEX SINFONIA:, 7.30 pm, 12 February, Holy Trinity Church. Their last concert in the church was excellent, so do get yourself a ticket. Conductor: Ian McCrae. Haydn Symphony No 104 (London); Vivaldi “Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera”; Mozart “Exultate Jubilate”; Mozart Bassoon Concerto (1st Movement)

Tickets: £12 in advance or £14 on the door; Ticket Secretary: Sue Carpenter 01273 478036 up to 9 February; Muriel Brown 07799 084804 from 10 February; or email suelcarpenter@gmail.com.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, HURSTPIERPOINT: ‘West Gallery’ evening, Saturday 19 February 6 pm – 730 pm: ‘Si’s Three’ with Special Guests in their ‘Good for the Soul’ concert.

We are delighted to welcome musician Simon Anckorn again for the first of our 2022 evenings. His popularity is legendary, so we’ll be in the main church rather than the Gallery, as there is much more space. Simon Anckorn brings with him the amazing vocal talents of Sarah Rolph and sax player Phil Paton. Simon will be departing slightly from the jazz and blues orientated music previously performed and has teamed up with Sarah Rolph to offer some much loved American soul music from such artists as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones and many more. This will be an informal and relaxing evening of recognisable songs. Simon will be joined by Nick Kay (Bass) and Stef Grimmett (Drums). With our lovely flexible seating, we can ensure that people feel safe and socially distanced. Seats are still just £5 and there is a licenced bar. Doors open at 5.30 pm. If you can let me know that you are coming, that will be very helpful, so that we can ensure that the right amount of seating is set out. Email or phone: margaret@112a.co.uk. 01273 835113. But if you decide to come at the last minute, we’ll find space for you.

BRIGHTON CONSORT RETURNS TO HURSTPIERPOINT ON FEBRUARY 5TH: The Brightonbased early music choir will be presenting a concert in Holy Trinity Church on Saturday February 5th at 4.00pm. This will be a performance of their first full public programme since March 2020. The title of the concert is “BACK TO BASICS”, with the sub-title

“remembering why we do what we do”. Tickets (£12) can be purchased online via the Brighton Consort website (go to the “Next Concerts” page), or by ringing 01273 833746, or on the door. You can also see more details about Brighton Consort on their Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/brightonconsort).

HURSTPIERPOINT HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY:

Meetings on the last Friday of each month in the Guide Hall next to Trinity Road car park. The first meeting of 2022 is called “Sussex Shepherds” and will be presented by Ian Everest on 28 January. Admission to all our meetings is free for members, £3 for nonmembers or £2 for members of other Historical Societies. Contact Bill Kent on 01273 832280, e-mail w.kent123@btinternet.com for further information about our very friendly society.

New members are always welcome.

HURSTPIERPOINT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY:

Rewilding of the Knepp Castle Estate: Tuesday 8 February, 7.45 pm. An illustrated talk by ecologist, Penny Green, on the rewilding of the estate. The West Sussex estate has been transformed over the last twenty years from failing farmland into a profitable site of wildlife abundance. Extremely rare species are now breeding there and populations of more common species are rocketing. Knepp demonstrates that lowcost methods of ecological restoration benefit not only wildlife but are also profitable. Club Suite, Hurstpierpoint Village Centre.

HOLY TRINITY SERVICES:

8am on the 1st Sunday of each month. A quiet said service of Holy Communion in the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer; 9.30am every week Sung Eucharist in modern language, with choir and hymns; 11am fortnightly, a vibrant service welcoming people of all ages - 6th & 20th February, 6th & 27th March. On the Sundays in between, there is a programme of walks and brunches for all the family. All details on www.holytrinityhpp.org.

METHODIST CHURCH SERVICES:

all at 10.30 am.

Sunday 13 February: Morning Service including Holy Communion led by Rev Will Fletcher

Sunday 27 February: Morning Service led by Deacon Brye Rop

PLEASE KEEP THE

INFORMATION COMING: so that your group or activity can be included here. Many of the people who read this column don’t do much online, so it does get information out into the community.

LINDFIELD Miranda Hansen Lise lindfieldnews@post.com

LINDFIELD REPAIR CAFE: is next taking place on Saturday 5th February from 10.00am to 1.00pm at the United Reformed Church in the

High Street. The team will be collecting unwanted laptops or computers for Computers for Kids, a local community charity which repairs second hand computers and donates them to children to aid them in their school work. So if you get a lovely new laptop for Christmas, don’t leave the old one lying unused in a cupboard! Children who come along to the event will be able to take old computers apart themselves at the Kids Table. The Repair Cafe also has an amazing team of volunteers who can assist in computer recovery and repair, as well as giving basic advice.

COFFEE MORNING AND SEED SWAP: Lindfield Horticultural Society will be holding a Coffee Morning and Seed Swap on Saturday 5th February in The Jubilee room of the King Edward hall. Visitors are invited to bring along any spare seeds they may have to exchange with other gardeners. Seed swaps are a great way of using up excess seeds and of discovering new or unusual varieties of flowers and vegetables without great expense. There will also be a sale of second hand gardening books, as well as a small selection of plants, preserves, and of course, the all important coffee and cake. The coffee morning starts at 10.00am till 12.00pm and entry is free.

FAIRER WORLD LINDFIELD:

To kick off 2022, Fairer

World Lindfield is holding a Virtual Climate Cafe on Monday 7th February on the subject of measuring your own carbon footprint. Speaker Louise Downey is Senior Sustainability Advisor at West Sussex County Council. One of Louise’s roles at the Council is to deliver in-house Carbon Literacy training. Carbon Literacy describes awareness of climate change and the carbon costs/impacts of our everyday activities. Louise will look at the importance to our planet of reducing our carbon emissions and some of the options that could reduce our individual carbon footprint. It’s important that we all keep our climate and ecological crisis in the frame, especially as the UK is still holding the COP Presidency until handing over to Egypt in November. The Climate Cafe takes place between 7.30pm and 8.45pm. Please register on Eventbrite at https://tinyurl.com/yckz4p56 Once you have registered, a link to the Zoom meeting will be sent to you nearer the time of the event.

LINDFIELD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY TALK: Lindfield Horticultural Society is looking forward to welcoming award winning gardener Andy McIndoe as their guest speaker in February. Andy has over 40 years of experience in retail and production horticulture and was responsible for the development of the Hilliers Nurseries chain of garden centres. During his long career with Hilliers Andy designed the company’s show gardens and headed up the team that won 25 consecutive gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show. In 2017 the Royal Horticultural Society awarded Andy Mcindoe the Veitch Memorial Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the science and practice of horticulture. Now established as a freelance consultant, Andy works as a garden designer, lecturer and tour guide and has authored several books as well as being a regular contributor to various gardening publications, blogs and BBC radio. The talk Andy will be giving is titled ‘Planting with Trees’ and will take place in King Edward Hall on Wednesday 9th February at 8.00pm. Entry fee is £2.00 for members and £4.00 for guests, though any guests joining the Society on the evening (subscription for the year is £6.00) will have their entry fee waived. CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK: Please send news, information and details of any events you would like included in this column by Monday lunchtime for publication in that week’s paper.

PLUMPTON Mandy Dembrey mandydembrey@btinternet.com

JUMBLE SALE: at the village hall (BN7 3BQ) takes place this Saturday (January 29) starting at 2pm. There will be lots of bargains and refreshments too. The sale is raising funds for the village hall. When taking jumble to the hall please consider carefully the condition of the items you will be donating. Also, please do not leave jumble outside the hall the night before. No large items of furniture or electrical items will be accepted. Please be aware that once the tables are full the doors will be closed to new items that morning. A mask must be worn at all times when in the hall. If you are able to help on the day, please contact sueakers@hotmail.com.

WINTER RACEDAY: on Monday January 31 has six brilliant races for you to enjoy, including the feature Class 3 Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle for horses rated 0-130. Last year won by the Gary Moore-trained Zhiguli under promising claimer Niall Houlihan.

The feature race will again see plenty of the future star jockeys of National Hunt racing riding some exciting horses. A prize-money pot of £16k should ensure a competitive affair for the contest, which is run over 3 miles and one furlong. Elsewhere on the card there is a Class 4 Handicap Chase over 3m1½f worth £14k, and a Novices’ Hurdle which was last year won by the promising African Dance from Olly Murphy’s yard. Gates open 11.40am and first race 1.40pm. To book tickets visit https://www. plumptonracecourse.co.uk/. LEVEL CROSSING: the road will be closed for a distance of 20 metres either side of the level crossing on Thursday February 3 to Friday February 4, between the hours of

11pm to 5am. This is to allow Network Rail to carry out railway engineering works. There will be no pedestrian access, a safe route will be provided for pedestrians and vehicular access for residents and to properties maintained whenever possible with an alternative route for through traffic signed and maintained for the duration of the works. If you need to discuss this further please contact: Network Rail on 03457 114141.

FOOTPATH SOCIETY TALK: by Ian Everest on the ‘Ouse Valley - Its Past Life and Times’ takes place at the village hall on Wednesday February 16, meet at 2pm ready for the talk to start at 2.30pm. All welcome.

TENNIS CLUB: Details of all coaching sessions are available on the club website (https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/PlumptonTennisClub). Forthcoming Club events are the Open Day on Sunday May 8 and Quiz Night on Saturday November 19.

VOLUNTARY DRIVING SCHEME: is available for transport to local doctors, hospitals, chiropodists, opticians and dentists Mondays through to Fridays from 9am to 5pm. The Scheme has limited drivers at present but they will do their best to help, to book transport call Jackie on 07855 213947.

ADDITIONAL HOUSING TARGETS: Visit the Parish Council website (https:// www.plumptonpc.co.uk/) to see the recent letter written by the Parish Council to Michael Gove demanding the ‘Standard Method’ for determining housing need is suspended. The Parish Council has the support of neighbouring Parish Councils in the Lewes area who co-signed the letter, all deeply concerned about the damaging impact the ‘Standard Method’ for determining a minimum housing need is having on our communities.

ITEMS FOR THIS COLUMN: Please let me know

(via mandydembrey@btinternet.com) of any event in Plumpton that can be included in this column.

WIVELSFIELD Liz Gander clerk@wivelsfield.org.uk

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: Please note that, following the completion of refurbishment work at the Village Hall, Parish Council meetings for 2022 will be moving to the Renshaw Room and will start at the earlier time of 7pm. The next meeting will take place on Monday 7th February and all Wivelsfield residents are welcome to attend. Meetings begin with up to a 15-minute open forum session, to allow members of the public to ask questions or bring matters to the attention of the Council. Agendas are published on the Parish Council website Wivelsfield.org.uk a few days before each meeting.

RETURN OF WIVELSFIELD FILMS: after a period of rest, due to a combination of covid and the Village Hall refurbishment, Wivelsfield Films is delighted to return to its monthly schedule on Sunday evenings, starting with ‘West Side Story’ on Sunday 20th February.

Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm, giving half an hour to get seated, get a drink (a glass of wine, a beer, a soft drink), an ice cream, a slice of one of our locally home-made cakes, or all of the above! Tickets are on sale in the village shop, the Cock Inn, or online at wivelsfieldfilms.com, so please watch for the posters on the village green or outside the shop to see what we are showing each month and come along to enjoy a convivial evening watching a good film. Other film night dates for 2022 to put in your diaries are: March 20th, April 24th, May 15th, June 19th, July 17th, September 18th, October

16th and November 20th. LUNCH BUNCH: a drop-in lunch club that welcomes mums, dads, grannies and carers every Thursday from 12 noon to 2pm, in term time, at Wivelsfield Church Hall. Enjoy a light lunch of home-made soup and a roll + cake while meeting new friends and chatting to old ones. Children’s lunch will be provided for them, and play-helpers are on hand to entertain them while you lunch. Cost: £3 per adult, £1 per child, babies free. You are welcome to just drop in for a cup of coffee or tea. Wivelsfield Church Hall is in Church Lane, just beyond the church and on the other side of the lane. There is ample parking in the church car park. Contact Sheila Blair on 233937 or via sheila.blair@btinternet.com for more information.