Author: Andrew Taylor

THE East Grinstead Tennis and Squash Club in Ship Street will be holding an Open Day on Saturday 6 April between 10am – 4pm to showcase their facilities and enable anybody who wishes to do so to come and have a go at tennis, squash or racketball.

EAST Grinstead in Bloom was formed in the early 90s by the Town Council to be a community-led initiative.

Residents whose gardens received an award in the Front Garden competition were invited to join the group, which is how chairman Julie Mockford became involved in 1995.

Their projects for this year include:

• The Compass Garden at Mount Moddy, Hurst Farm pond and the Millennium Garden which are all It’s Your Neighbourhood projects
• Work at the East Grinstead train station on a new wildflower meadow and hedgerow planting on the upper level of the new station car park.
• Liaising with the Bluebell Railway to enhance the entrance to the steam railway’s new station with hanging baskets and planters.
• Working with the local schools to encourage them to use their grounds for the benefit of the pollinators.
• Forging links with local companies to further enhance the town environment, such as the Caravan Club’s sponsorship of the Compass Garden.

But Bloom chairman Julie Mockford would like to see more residents involved in making the town a more attractive place for everyone to enjoy.

“It would be wonderful to get more local residents involved with East Grinstead in Bloom,” she said. “There are so many wonderful gardens around the town that  we know there are some very talented gardeners out there, and their knowledge and skills would be welcomed.

“But there are some community areas around the town which are in need of tidying up, and this gives us possible areas for new projects.

“So what we would really like is for residents to nominate an area local to them for improvement, then join us to fulfil their wishes.

“With backing from the town, district or county councils we can help residents improve their local areas.”

Photo credits:

High Street in bloom by Simon Kerr

Hanging baskets by Bob Mainstone

THE Town Mayor’s Ball will take place on Saturday 27 April at the East Grinstead Sports Club.

The night will be a fundraiser for the Mayor’s charity, and will be attended by local dignitaries, charities, organisations and members of the public.

The evening will begin with a champagne reception at 7pm, followed by a three course dinner with wine.

There will be a grand raffle, a live auction, music supplied by local band Naked Bass, followed by a disco.

Carriages will be at 1am. Dress code is black tie.

Tickets are £35 and can be obtained from Linda Williams on 01342 323636 or by email: l.williams@eastgrinstead.gov.uk

THE East Grinstead in Bloom committee has announced its first ever Annual Photography open to the town’s residents, and not surprisingly the theme is East Grinstead in Bloom.

Beautiful photographs can be anything from flowers in growing in private gardens, scenic pictures of East Grinstead, seasonal wildflowers or flowers blooming in the snow.

Categories:

1. Pupils of primary school age (4-11years)
2. Pupils of secondary school age (11-18years
3. Adults (16 years plus)
4. The East Grinstead Observer “Readers Choice” winner.

There will be one winner from each category.

Prizes

THE winner of each category will have their photograph published in the annual East Grinstead in Bloom Calendar for 2014.

Other prizes on offer include photo sessions courtesy of Hamilton Studios, Paul Johnson Photography and Simon Stewart Photography, 250 photo prints and a photo album from TruPrint, a Canon photo-printer from Canon, a family ticket to an upcoming event at Tulleys Farm and a meal for two at Anise, The Felbridge Hotel.

To Enter

SEND your winning photograph to:

competition@eastgrinsteadinbloom.co.uk

All photos must be the highest resolution possible (Minimum of 300 dpi and width 3579 pixels x height 2551 pixels)

Closing Date

Entries must be received by Friday 9 August 2013.

Winners will be notified after this date and publically announced at the East Grinstead in Bloom Annual Presentation Evening in September 2013.

The Rules

1. This competition is open to all amateur and professional photographers. Amateur and professional entries will not be judged separated. East Grinstead in Bloom committee members and their families are not eligible to enter.
2. You can enter by sending your picture as a jpeg file to competition@eastgrinsteadinbloom.co.uk. These can be in colour or black and white. Please ensure that part of your full name appears in the file name for easy identification. Entries will not be accepted if we cannot easily identify the entrant. It is a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the competitor agrees to abide by these rules. The competition entries will be displayed and winners announced at the East Grinstead in Bloom AGM in September 2013.
3. If there is any doubt, East Grinstead in Bloom will decide whether or not a photograph fulfils particular criteria for this year’s theme. If it does not, it will be withdrawn. East Grinstead in Blooms decision is final.
4. Your photograph may be published on eastgrinsteadinbloom.co.uk and may be used in publicity for East Grinstead in Bloom and our associated projects and by our sponsors in their magazines, publicity or web site.
5. All entries must include full details including: the location where photograph was taken, name of photographer, postal address, contact telephone number and must clearly state which category the image is being entered under.
6. All entries must be received by the closing date (noon GMT on 9 August 2013).
7. The winning photos will be published in the East Grinstead in Bloom annual calendar soon after the closing date and you will be credited if your photograph is published.
8. By submitting your photograph for entry into the competition you will retain your copyright and also hereby grant to us and our sponsors a royalty free, non-assignable, worldwide, non-exclusive license to use the photograph for publication for all time.
9. You warrant that any photographs you submit are your own original work and that you own the copyright and any other relevant rights in such image and you have the permission of any people identifiable in the picture. Entrants confirm that their entry is their own original work, is not defamatory and does not infringe any UK laws. The image must also not have already been professionally commissioned.
10. Any commercial opportunities that arise following the publication of the submitted photograph will be notified to the photographer who will be free to negotiate terms independent of the competition. You will be free to decline any commercial usage licences, this will not affect your chances of winning.
11. All personal data provided to East Grinstead in Bloom and the competition sponsors in relation to this competition will be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and you hereby consent to us processing all personal data for the purposes of this competition.
12. No cash alternative is available. Prizes are non-transferable, non-refundable and non-changeable. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Any enquiries please contact: Samantha Baldery on 01342 322322 or competition@eastgrinsteadinbloom.co.uk.

WITH Spring just around the corner, the East Grinstead in Bloom volunteers are hoping that this year’s planting will encourage bees.

An area of land on the corner of College Lane was seeded with a wild flower mix last year but a cold Spring yielded disappointing results as they failed to germinate, until heavy rain in August brought out a late but welcome crop of blooms.

So this year the Bloom Committee, under chairman Julie Mockford, has sought the advice of botanist Steve Alton, the man responsible for the “fabulous verges in Ardingly” laughed Julie.

“With the UK’s bee population dwindling we really wanted to concentrate on wild flowers which will encourage and support the local bee population which is why we are also planting wildflowers around the station and liaising with the Bluebell Railway for their planters and hanging baskets.”

And if anyone wants to do their bit in their garden at home, Julie suggests that they too can grow plants which will encourage bees.

“The continuing crisis in our bee and bumblebee populations means the more we can do to help these and other pollinating insects, the better. Research has shown that honeybees can only forage to a maximum of three miles from their hive, which means that if they have to go farther afield to locate sources of food, they will die.  So we want the town’s gardeners to create areas of garden rich in nectar-producing plants.

“Most of our best-beloved annuals fall into this category including poppies, cosmos, snapdragons, daisies and so on. Bumblebees prefer nectar-rich perennials and herbs like chives are among their favourites, but there are a number of websites like Buglife which provide all the information on what plants to choose for which insects.”

A late snowfall may have dusted the town, but the first steam train to arrive into East Grinstead on the Bluebell’s new line extension arrived to a warm welcome a week before the Easter break.

Crowds of supporters and railway enthusiasts turned out to drink Champagne and cheer the completion of a project which has been more than three decades in the planning.

The final stage of the ambitious project – building a two mile stretch of track to link with the mainline station at a cost of £4 million – was completed earlier this month.

Promotions officer Simon Kerr called the “doorstep delivery” of one of the South’s premier tourist attractions to the heart of the town “a real game changer” which would increase visitor numbers to East Grinstead and bring new custom for local businesses.

Simon will be working with the Bluebell in the coming months on a number of joint projects to promote East Grinstead as an easily accessible visitor destination only 55 minutes from London on the Victoria line.

Council leader Norman Webster called the arrival of the historic steam railway “an historic opportunity for growth” which should be welcomed by everyone who cares about the future of their town.

To celebrate the opening of the new line there will be a number of special events on the Bluebell as follows – for full details see the website at www.bluebell-railway.co.uk:

Monday 1 April – New service two. Bo Peep Special. Wealden Rambler Afternoon Tea.

Tuesday 2 April – New service two. Special guided tour of the National Trust Sheffield Park Garden.

Wednesday 3 April – New service two. Special event to be announced.

Thursday 4 April – New service two. Special evening Cheese & Wine Party plus quiz on board the Wealden Rambler commencing at East Grinstead.

Friday 5 April – New service two. East Grinstead residents day. First Rail Ale special starting at East Grinstead.

Saturday 6 April – New service two. Bell ringers special. Bus service Horsted Keynes station to village. Tours of St Giles Church and the grave of former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Sunday 7 April – New service two. Free vintage buses and discount admission to National Trust Standen. Evening Service of Thanksgiving.

THE Town Council has had its IIP (Investors in People) reaccreditation approved.

IIP is a standard open to any business which employs people to show that they develop their staff by training and support.

Town Clerk Julie Holden said: “IIP standard is nationally understood to show an employer cares about their staff and is interested in them: happy staff are motivated and do their best for the organization.

“East Grinstead Town Council is a great place to work, but we also take employment roles seriously to keep motivated and competent staff who strive to improve and develop their role and service to the residents in order to provide best value.”

She added: “IIP Standards are about training, recruitment and ‘golden threads’ – the ethos of the organization understood at all levels, so everyone knows where they fit into it, and how they can contribute to its aims and goals.”

* Launched in 1991, Investors in People is the UK’s leading people management standard. It specialises in transforming business performance through people. Over a third of the UK’s workforce use Investors in People today because they see a number of real business benefits.