Author: Andrew Taylor

EAST Grinstead Town Council staff and councillors joined Meridian FM at the Old Court House in November to record a panto production of Dick Whittington which will be broadcast on the town radio station over Christmas.

An invited audience saw the mayor, Liz Bennett, as the eponymous hero, Council leader Norman Webster as the Alderman, Meridian FM’s Krys O’Brien playing his daughter and Town Promotions officer Simon Kerr as the evil King Rat.

“The play was based loosely on Dick Whittington, who became the Lord Mayor of London,” said Simon, “but in our version he goes on to become mayor of East Grinstead. The recording was part of Meridian FM’s Christmas celebrations and it was great fun to be involved.”

The audience were encouraged to take part by producer Colin Holden who held up signs reading “Boo” and “Hiss” at the appropriate moments in the plot.

“There was not a single fluff-up, and we had live music and sound effects to go along with the script,” said Simon. “It was great fun to be involved and we hope everyone enjoys the show when it goes out on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.”

Clockwise from left – Town Clerk Julie Holden, Town Promotions officer Simon Kerr, Town Mayor Liz Bennett and Council Leader Norman Webster give Dick Whittington an airing

Photo courtesy of the East Grinstead Observer

EAST Grinstead plays host to its annual Christmas Fair on Sunday 9 December 2012.

Most of the shopping parts of London Road will be closed to traffic on Sunday and this also affects access to King Street and Queens Road. The street is filled with fairground fun and stalls galore and opens to the public from 10am  until 4pm. It’s East Grinstead busiest outdoor event and has fun for all the family with a traditional Santa’s Grotto as well as the arrival of the Town Mayor together with Santa himself to start the day off. Entertainment and fun and games with a wealth of stalls to browse to pick up a special gift or two.

EAST Grinstead Town Council has taken up residents concerns with the authorities that run Gatwick and the largest carrier EasyJet in a bid to reduce affects from aircraft noise.

The Public Services Committee of the Town Council heard on Thursday how responses to letters had been received from MP Nicholas Soames and Chief Executive of WSCC pledging support for the town’s plight. The Town Council had not been so lucky with GATCOM, the official communications body for the Airport, who advised that Parish Councils were not invited to the table unless they physically border the airport. However both Mid Sussex District and West Sussex County have seats and can take up residents problems directly. GATCOM has offered the inclusion of papers circulation to the Town Council so that representations to the members can be made.

In a separate meeting with EasyJet representatives the Town has secured a pledge to keep communications open as the airline would like to work with the Council and be seen as a responsible carrier. Easyjet have confirmed that they fly within the set flightpath but that an update in navigational equipment means that more flights now skirt the edge of the town. They are looking into ways that this may be able to be mitigated in response to the request of the Town Council as the new PRNAV directional system currently at consultation could mean almost all flights taking off on the eastbound runway would fly this intrusive path. An objection to this pathway has been made by East Grinstead Town Council directly to Gatwick Airport Ltd (GAL).

TOWN Mayor Liz Bennett, supported by Rotary Presidents Ray Lloyd and Chris Smith, turned on the Christmas tree lights in the High Street on Saturday to mark the start of the season’s festivities.
The Greenstede Singers and the Sackville school choir sang carols, including East Grinstead’s very own Good King Wenceslas, supported by crowds of shoppers with musical backing from the East Grinstead Concert Band.

The Master of Ceremonies was Ken Jackson of Meridian Rotary who dressed as Town Crier for the event.

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TOWN Mayor Liz Bennett and Cllr Nicola Burns have been honoured at the HUGS Pride of East Grinstead awards.

HUGS is a charity based in the Holtye Road which raises money by recycling computer ink cartridges.

Awards are given to local people who have gone beyond the call of duty to save lives, care for others, overcome life-threatening illnesses or help our young people to be the best they can, often whilst overcoming their own personal difficulties.

HUGS gives grants to other fund-raisers to help children, purchases specialist equipment for the disabled and gives young carers ‘special treats’ to thank them for all the hard work they do.

The charity also offers a 24/7 emotional support system for teenagers with drink/drug related problems, teen pregnancies and issues around sexuality – and can give parents a helping hand, a kind ear, or a HUG when they need it most.

• Printer ink cartridges can be cleaned, refilled with ink and re-sold.
• The components of any printer ink cartridges that are unsuitable or damaged are broken down and recycled, not sent to over-used landfill sites.
• Members of the public can easily select a charity, school or club to receive a small amount of money for each cartridge that can be re-used.
• A spokesman for HUGS said: “As our planet grows with population, so does the waste we produce, and so do the waste landfill sites. Our partners are committed to providing ethical recycling solutions for the public while giving charities, schools, clubs or individuals the opportunity to earn money in the process.”
• Each year over 350 million cartridges are thrown out to landfills.
• By 2012 500 million laser cartridges and 1.8 billion ink cartridges will have been dumped in landfills.
• Each cartridge thrown into landfill can take up to 1000 years to decompose
• For more information, including how to recycle cartridges or register a charity, see www.charityinks.co.uk

STREET Pastors, who will be patrolling East Grinstead’s town centre on Friday and Saturday evenings alongside the police from the end of February, have celebrated their official arrival in town with a reception at East Court attended by Town Mayor Liz Bennett.

The Pastors, who are all volunteers from Churches Together in East Grinstead, will work in pairs from 6pm until the early hours each night, as a Christian presence on the streets to help anyone who may be in need of assistance.

The scheme was pioneered in London by the Rev Les Isaac as a response to urban problems including late night drunkenness and violence, and has seen remarkable results including a drop in crime in areas where teams are deployed.

Volunteers, who are CRB checked and have references from their local parish churches,  are trained by the Ascension Trust of which Rev Isaacs is the chairman. They are organised by a local coordinator, with support from the police, the Town Council and other agencies.

Town Mayor Liz Bennett cut the cake at the official launch of Street Pastors in East Grinstead supported by Rev Geoff Bell of Trinity Methodist Church, a representative of the Ascension Trust, John Durrant and Chief Inspector Jon Hull.

EAST Grinstead’s primary schools came together at East Court on 20 November to plant trees in commemoration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Six native species trees were planted, each with a plaque bearing the name of the school that planted them and the logo of the East Grinstead War Memorial Company who own the land East Court stands on.

The planting ceremony was also an opportunity for the War Memorial Company to announce their new logo as a result of a competition which was held for the local schools.

The trees included an oak, beech, hornbeam and lime and were planted by pupils from Escots, St Peter’s , Blackwell, Halsford Park and Baldwins, St Mary’s and The Meads.

Town Mayor Liz Bennett was joined at the event by by Councillor John O’Brien from West Sussex County Council and Margaret Collins, Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex.

BARBARA Stovold, one of the founder members of the Chequer Mead costume store, says she and her fellow volunteers are braced for the busiest time of the year.

They opened the hire store four years ago after nine months of intensive work by a group of talented volunteers who sorted, washed and mended costumes donated by local drama groups and East Grinstead Operatic Society.

New costumes were made to add to the Fancy Dress collection, and eventually they managed to turn what at first looked like “an idiosyncratic jumble sale” into the highly organised Chequer Mead Fancy Dress and Stage Costume Hire facility.

“The past four years have seen us grow out of all recognition,” said Barbara.

“Initially our home was the portacabin to the rear of the theatre and half the under-stage area when the New Life Church moved to its new premises. But since those early days we have acquired a second portacabin, with much-appreciated help from Chequer Mead Friends, and the renovated end of the Studio which had been riddled with damp rot.

“We still have some reduced storage space under the stage, and we continue to receive donations of stage costumes and long forgotten items found in attics. We have to be very selective as space is at a premium but nothing goes to waste, being passed on to charity shops or cannibalised for trim, buttons, zips etc if we can’t find use for it as it is.”

The nine regular volunteers who man the costume store each contribute their particular expertise, said Barbara, and they would welcome further help from anyone who has an interest in costumes. An ability to sew is helpful, but not essential as washing, ironing mending is always on-going.

The Costume store is open to the public on Saturday mornings from 10am until 1pm when a four-strong team is on duty. But they can also open at other times by special arrangement, particularly for anyone wanting costumes for a show.

“In order to keep on top of running the store we introduced a ‘work day’ on every fourth Friday in the month about 2 years ago but thanks to increased demand we now meet to work every Friday morning, and then we stay for a ‘social’ lunch.

“We have provided costumes for local drama groups, pantos, community events, school end-of-term productions and of course many fancy dress outfits covering a wide range of aspirations and themes ranging from prehistory, through Oriental, Roman, Anglo Saxon, Medieval, Tudor, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian costumes right up to the 1980s.

“We have just celebrated our fourth birthday and so far we have contributed just over £20,000 to Chequer Mead Theatre. We are a very happy team and go forward into our fifth year with great enthusiasm.”

* Opening times: Saturdays 10am until 1pm