Please note that Blackwell Hollow will be closed between 9.30am and 3.00pm on Monday 11th May to allow urgent treeworks to be carried out. Diversions will be put in place
THERE is still time to catch the latest exhibition at the town museum in Cantelupe Road.
The ‘in house’ exhibition explains how the museum’s collections are managed, the sort of items that would be welcomed as donations, and how unwanted items are disposed of.
For a fascinating insight into what makes a museum, go along until 3 February. Entry, as always, is FREE.
EAST Grinstead’s Hockey Team has triumphed over Reading in the men’s final of the Maxifuel Super Sixes competition.
An attacking match in front of a 6,000 strong crowd saw East Grinstead take a record-equalling fifth consecutive title with a 7-1 win over their Reading opponents.
East Grinstead captain Glenn Kirkham opened the scoring for his side, but celebrations were short-lived as Stephen Dick levelled things up for Reading seconds later to make it 1-1.
Reading’s Richard Mantell got a yellow card after 11 minutes which meant a three-minute stint in the sin bin, leaving East Grinstead to capitalise on their man-advantage when Kirkham scored his second goal of the match to give the defending champions a 2-1 lead.
German international Hendrik Geyer expertly netted to put his side 3-1 up, and despite a time-out called by Reading with three minutes of the half remaining, they were unable to stop Grinstead’s winning streak.
Richard Smith slotted home powerfully making the score 4-1, and then followed up with Grinstead’s fifth goal less than two minutes into the second half.
Teammate Mark Pearn finished off a cracking move by East Grinstead to score what could easily be voted ‘goal of the finals’ for a 6-1 lead.
Adam Jordan was shown a green card, but despite being a man down, East Grinstead continued to maintain their command of the game when Pearn scored an unassailable seventh goal to clinch the title.
Speaking after their win, East Grinstead captain Glenn Kirkham said, “It’s always nice to get personal accolades but, more importantly, it was a great win for the team and everyone performed. It might be a cliché, but we took our chances, we played well and dug in deep to come out on top.”
Kirkham who was named player of the match added: “The crowd was fantastic. We have a great East Grinstead following who were here today in good voice which was a massive boost.
“And of course it’s nice to have a personal fan base and get my name on the score sheet, too.
“We have a good calibre of players who feature in and around the Great Britain and England setup which gives us the experience and ability to win big games like this.”
“And it’s a massive achievement to win five titles on the bounce.”
MUSEUM staff and volunteers welcome visits by community groups or organisations including schools, and can accommodate them outside normal opening hours. Younger groups can be offered a museum quiz and other fun things to do, and the visit can also be linked to the National Curriculum.
To arrange a visit, please email the museum info@eastgrinsteadmuseum.org.uk or telephone 01342 302233.
A TEAM of Arsenal legends is coming to East Grinstead in March to raise money for local charities and celebrate Bob Smith’s 25 years with the town’s football club.
Since joining the Wasps in 1988 Bob has turned out more than 400 times for the team – and broken his leg twice.
As first-team manager he led Grinstead back into Division One of the Sussex County League in 2002, and the following year the club won their first major honour for nearly 50 years when they lifted the RUR Charity Cup.
In addition to the former Gunners players, it is hoped the charity team will also include familiar names such as EastEnders’ actors Joe Swash and Joe Attwater, Royle Family star Ralf Little and former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley.
Smith, who is a lifelong Arsenal fan, currently plays for and manages East Grinstead’s third team but says he will be pulling on his boots again to play for the Wasps and, if they agree, the Gunners.
“I am very grateful to the club for allowing me to stage the game and, of course, to the Arsenal legends for coming down to support lots of worthy causes.
“We hope it will be a fun day out for all the family and I’m sure they will see a great game of football.”
The game takes place at the GAC Stadium at East Court on Sunday, March 24.
Kick-off is 2pm and all the proceeds will go to charity, with 30 per cent donated to the Arsenal Foundation and the rest being distributed by East Grinstead Lions to local charities.
Admission is £6 for adults and £3 for children and there will be plenty of other attractions for all the family.
* If you would like to sponsor the game or for information about mascot packages, contact Bob on 07709 154350.
CHEQUER Mead Community Arts Centre has embarked on its seat refurbishment scheme for 2013 by holding a Grand Prize Draw.
Tickets are only £1 each and the great prizes on offer include an iPad2, a Fender Dick Dale Malibu Guitar, and a spa day.
Prizes have been donated by East Grinstead businesses including The Caravan Club, Fender, the Ashdown Park Hotel and Bullfrog Music, who are all keen to support their local theatre.
Centre Manager Nick Byrne was thrilled that Chequer Mead celebrated both its one-millionth visitor before Christmas, and its 15th birthday.
But he is the first to admit that time has taken its toll on theatre’s fittings over the past decade-and-a-half
“We’ve seen an awful lot of bottoms on a great many seats over the past 15 years, so the time has come to look at replacing them, and the worn carpet,” he said.
Tickets are available from the Chequer Mead box office, Bullfrog Music and from The Caravan Club, and the draw will take place on 23 February.
* For more information contact Chequer Mead 01342 302000
EAST Grinstead is one of over 500 UK towns to have joined Fairtrade, an international movement to reduce poverty in developing countries.
Two billion people in the world live on less than £1 a day but Fairtrade enables local communities to help global communities by promoting justice in the international market place.
East Grinstead’s schools, shops, churches and other community groups involved in the project would like everyone to try the wide range of Fairtrade products which are available locally and include tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, bananas, wine and flowers.
Find out more during Fairtrade Fortnight from 25 February-10 March or see the web site at www.fairtrade.org.uk
THERE are no exhibitions scheduled at Chequer Mead’s Gallery for February.
King Street car park will be closed with effect 13 February for a period of up to 4 days to carry out essential resurfacing and relining of the whole car park.
The contractors have been delayed and so the resurfacing work and closure of the car park has now been moved to the following week starting Tuesday 19 to Friday 22 Februrary.
West Sussex County Council proposes to make a new permanent Traffic Regulation Order that will introduce double yellow lines on lengths of Charlwoods Road and various adjoining roads in East Grinstead to prevent parked cars obstructing the flow of traffic, particularly for large commercial vehicles trying to access business premises in the area.
The link below will direct you to the TRO Team’s consultation page, containing plans showing the proposed restrictions, the draft Order, public notice and statement of reasons for making the Order. I should be grateful if you could accept this message as the formal consultation on the proposal.
If you would like to make any comments or objections to the proposal please make them to Martin.Moore@
East Court Circular – THE East Court Circular is a new monthly list of the events and clubs held at the East Court premises.
Copies are available from the Tourist Desk in the library and the Town Council’s East Court offices or click here.