Category: News

THE Farmers Market is to continue as a weekly event after crisis talks between the stall holders and the Town Council to save it.

The former market manager Tony Martin had announced he was pulling out after stall numbers fell dramatically over recent months. But the remaining traders were keen to continue, and with the help of the Town Council have now reached an agreement which will enable them to remain in the High Street for the foreseeable future.

Town Clerk Julie Holden called Mr Martin’s decision "a great shame" but said the Council was fully behind the remaining traders, and would hope to encourage more quality stalls in the coming months.

Chris Veasey, who runs the fish stand with his father, welcomed the decision to carry on.

"The amount of rent we were being charged put a lot of people off coming to East Grinstead, but we hope that the new arrangements will prove fruitful," he said.

WEST Sussex County Council has issued a gritting map to let drivers know which of the towns roads will be prioritised for clearing in case of bad weather this winter.

East Grinstead’s A22 and A264 will be gritted, but the County Council will be unable to access the High Street and London Road because of the speed humps.

A local contractor will be responsible for gritting these, and for ensuring access remains open to Sackville, Imberhorne, Blackwell Hollow and Estcots schools, and the town railway station.

Grit bins around the town have been filled in readiness for a repeat of the last two years’ heavy snowfalls, but the County Council has warned that the grit should only be used on the public highway and not on private drives.

“Once the bins are emptied during a period of bad weather, they cannot be refilled until it is over, so we are asking people to be sensible and to ensure that they are used wisely,” said Town Clerk Julie Holden.

FOOTLOOSE is one of these feel-good family musicals which arrive at their inevitably happy ending via a plot which combines foot-stomping dance routines with great songs, some of which have become much-loved stand-alone hits.

The eighties film version was instantly popular, and the subsequent stage adaptation earned four Tony Award nominations.

In choosing Footloose to showcase the considerable talents of its young performers, Act One Beginners did themselves – and their audiences – very proud indeed.

Tim Hewitt has a strong, warm voice and his essential decency as Ren McCormack, the troubled teen unjustly labelled a troublemaker in Dullsville Bomont, made him an immensely likeable lead.

Sophie Karaolis put in a sassy performance as the rebellious preacher’s daughter Ariel Moore, and her Holding Out for A Hero was one of the show’s many highlights.

The Hero in question’s six-pack was another, and Tom Rowlinson’s shirt-ripping reprise in the finale earned roars of appreciation for his finely-chiselled chest.

A great dancer, Sophie also brought a real sense of pathos to her role as a misunderstood daughter rebelling against a father too locked in his own misery to notice hers.

Ian McCheyne and Alexandra Constable both gave touchingly accomplished performances as her grieving parents, and the scene in which they realise how much they still love each other, was a real shiver-down-the-spine-moment. Sweet-faced Katherine Stevens was also well-cast as Ren’s mother, torn between defending her son and wanting to fit into her new life.

There were some lovely moments too from Ariel’s five-strong coterie of giggly girl chums, and Jose Napper as Rusty gave a scene-stealingly terrific rendition of Let’s Hear it for the Boy.

The boy in question was Matt Harris as Willard, always spoiling for a fight, but still too shy to ask a girl to dance, and his endearingly funny portrayal of teenage angst was a delight, as was his Mama Says.

The principals were wonderfully well-served by their ensemble, who were step-perfect in some very tricky dance routines, and some great lighting effects down by the rail road tracks.

And when the entire audience got to its feet for the rip-roaring finale, I think it is fair to say that everyone had had a very good time indeed.

THE Town Council has written to congratulate two local bus companies on new routes which have proved popular with town residents.

The 400 route by Metrobus connects East Grinstead to the Redhill hospital for the first time, and the South Down 509 route runs from East Grinstead through Felcourt, Lingfield, South Godstone, Godstone and Caterham.

IT may not have been quite as frantic as the search for Scarlett O’Hara, but finding the right actor to play opposite Snow White at Chequer Mead this Christmas has caused The Company of Friends some sleepless nights in recent weeks.

However their south-east wide search was richly rewarded when they spotted talented Nick Gibb at a recent drama workshop in Kenley which he has been attending for the past nine years.

Nick (who has yet to have a cast photo taken in costume) modestly declined to rate his good looks, but his mum says he is "very handsome" – which will please Abbie Lomax who will play his eponymous panto princess.

Nick, a former pupil of Caterham School, is in his second year at Reigate College. As well as drama, he loves sport and hopes to take a year out after college to qualify as a ski instructor in Quebec.

* SNOW White will be playing at Chequer Mead throughout the Christmas period. For full details of times and ticket prices, contact the theatre box office on 01342 302000.

MID Sussex District Council has published a new Communications Directory of Services for Older People.

The directory contains easily accessible information about services, and can be provided to both elderly members of the public, and to professionals working with them.

Its aim is to give information about the many organisations, statutory and voluntary, which are available to offer help and support to older people as part of the new Mid Sussex Wellbeing Service.

The Service is a “one stop shop” for information about, and contact details of, organisations within the Mid Sussex District, and includes the services of a trained Wellbeing Advisor who can give guidance about healthy lifestyles and staying well.

East Grinstead Town Council’s Social and Community Group, under the chairmanship of Council Leader Norman Webster, will also use the publication to identify gaps in local service, and create a plan to bridge them.

To find out more contact the Mid Sussex Wellbeing Team telephone 01444 477191, email wellbeing@midsussex.gov.uk or visit www.midsussexwellbeing.org.uk

THE ACE Theatre Company has found a solid niche at Chequer Mead with productions which amuse rather than inform, and if the chortling of their audience for Habeas Corpus last week was anything to judge by, they fulfilled their modest brief to everyone’s entire satisfaction.

Alan Bennett’s play is a farce which explores that most British of preoccupations, sex – who wants it, who’s getting it, and whose sexual peccadilloes are going to land them in some very hot water indeed.

But if its trousers-down portrait of middle-class angst was entirely traditional, Bennett’s script is a quirky mixture of philosophy, insight and occasional rhyming couplets which raise it out of strictly Brian Rix territory to achieve a certain poignant compassion for the human condition.

Set in the sixties, just as the Permissive Society was getting into full swing, the action of the play is narrated by charlady and all-seeing Every Woman Mrs Swabb, delightfully played by Christine White whose comic asides were a highlight of the show.

Mike Baker gave an accomplished performance as Dr Arthur Wicksteed, playing the Hove GP whose wandering hands threaten to imperil his career with a roguish charm which went a long way to redeeming his indiscriminate lechery.

As his neglected wife Muriel, Lynne Fallowell displayed hidden fire when faced with the attentions of Steve Gray as Mr Shanks, a travelling salesman of false breasts.

There are few men who can retain their dignity when trouserless upon the public stage and to the delight of his audience, Steve was not one of them.

Small-but-perfectly-formed Peter Jones as vertically challenged Sir Percy Shorter may not have bestrode the stage like a Colossus, but he was nevertheless terrific as a lovelorn lecher. And Robert Mitchell put in a lovely performance as his frustrated love rival Canon Throbbing.

Carrie Hazeel won well-deserved applause as Constance Wicksteed, the spinster whose life is transformed by the acquisition of a pair of false mammaries.

While Kath Lunn had some great laugh-out-loud one-liners as the snobbish Lady Rumpers whose past eventually catches up with her.

Tanis Everest and Jay Rolfe both put in lovely performances as the ill-suited young lovers, and Colin White was terrific as the depressed Mr Purdue, whose repeated attempts at suicide punctuated the action to the huge amusement of the audience and the utter indifference of his fellow players.

A hugely enjoyable evening which had sent the audience out to the car park laughing.

TOWN Mayor John Saull attended a hockey match between East Grinstead first team and Reading in a clash which raised funds for resurfacing the home team’s water-based pitch.

The players included more than 20 current England and GB internationals, but despite his support, Grinstead were defeated 3-2 by their Reading rivals.

MICHAEL Leppard, the town historian and founder member of the East Grinstead museum, has stepped down.

In 1976 Michael helped open the original museum which was in East Court mansion, and was closely involved in its transfer to new town centre premises in Cantelupe Road in 2006.

Known to generations of the town’s children whom he taught at Sackville school, Michael campaigned for a town museum following the formation of the East Grinstead Society, of which he was chairman, in 1968.

"In the 1950s, there was a museum in the tower of the parish church, which the new vicar of East Grinstead disposed of. Although I was still at school, I very much hoped that the time would come when East Grinstead could have a new museum, and one which would be protected against the treatment which it had received at his hands," he said.

A temporary home was found for the collections in three rooms at East Court, but it was always clear that the available space was both too small, and too far from the town centre.

As honorary curator, Michael made the best possible use of the cramped space, while retaining the hope that one day a more suitable site would be found.

A new museum was eventually built in Cantelupe Road on land given by the Town Council. It opened in 2006, since when Michael has been a trustee, with particular responsibility for the research room.

In 2009 the Queen Victoria hospital transferred their collection of memorabilia relating to pioneering plastic surgeon Archie McIndoe and his “Guinea Pigs” into the care of the town museum.

A collection of international importance, it is hoped that the artefacts will one day be on permanent display in a purpose-built new wing.

"As a boy seeing the Guinea Pigs in the town in the ’40s and ’50s I certainly could not imagine them becoming part of the town museum. That’s the biggest triumph, I think."The m

seum’s collection also includes items from the family-run pottery which once stood at the junction of Park Road and Garland Road. It was closed in 1943, and eventually demolished 30 years later.

Paying his own tribute to the man behind the museum’s success, chairman of trustees Mike Hollins said: "Michael was the font of all knowledge. He campaigned for the foundation of the museum, established it and then sustained it for more than 35 years, all as a volunteer.

"We hope we can still rely on his historical expertise, which is unmatched in modern times. He has made a unique contribution to the history of the town."

* Earlier this year, helpers at the museum were awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the equivalent to an individual being made an MBE.

TOWN Mayor John Saull presented the three winners of this summer’s EG4KIDZ competition with their certificates and prizes at a special ceremony held in his Parlour at East Court.

The three lucky winners were drawn by Kristine Judge of T4Toys from the large number of correct entry forms returned to the Tourist Information desk in the library.

The lucky winners pictured with the mayor are Joshua Yaxley, Grace Mewse and Jensen Rann.