EAST Grinstead Town Council is appealing for help and information to catch the people behind a scourge of fly posting which has defaced the town this summer.
The most recent adverts to appear have been for a circus, but there have been many others in recent months.
Town council staff have removed more than two dozen illegal posters in the past week alone and are hoping that someone can identify those responsible. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Council on 01342 323636.
TOWN Councillors attend surgeries at the public library in West Street every Saturday between 10am and noon. In August the following councillors will be available to answer questions, give advice or receive comments.
THE Millennium Mural around the restaurant area in Chequer Mead has been accepted as one of the nation’s ‘secret’ art works on a new BBC website.
The British taxpayer owns around 200,000 paintings nationwide, most of which are either hidden away in vaults, or hanging, unpublicised, on walls which most people don’t know about and never get to see.
So the BBC has pledged to discover the nation’s hidden art treasures and make them available to a wider audience on line.
And among the first 63,000 to be accepted are the 28 panels designed by the late East Grinstead artist Bill Lehan who organised the pictorial history of the town to mark the Millennium.
“The panels have been very popular with townspeople ever since they first went up, and they are also a real talking point with visitors, who appreciate being able to read a potted history of East Grinstead while they have a cup of coffee,” said theatre manager Hannah Kester. “So I am delighted that the mural will now, potentially, have a worldwide audience.”
TOWN Mayor John Saull attended the official opening of the new Lingfield Road playground built by Mid Sussex District Council.
The new site includes a seesaw, jungle climber, air rider, quad flyer, and a hover and cableway where adventurous youngsters can let off steam.
Also at the official opening were former town councillors Bernard Gilbard and Christine Mainstone who were involved in planning the play area prior to the last election.
Lingfield Road playground is the latest in a series of improved areas for outdoor play across the Mid Sussex district which includes the very popular East Court woodland playground finished last year.
Joining Harry, Erin and their Dad in Lingfield Road playground are:
Back (l – r) Norman Mockford of the local Neighbourhood Panel, Bernard Gilbard, Cllr Bob Mainstone and Julie Mockford of the local Neighbourhood Panel.
Front (l – r) Town Council leader Norman Webster, Chairman of Mid Sussex District Council Cllr Mandy Thomas Atkins, Town Mayor John Saull, Christine Mainstone and Cllr Pru Moore, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Sustainability, Mid Sussex District Council.
MAYOR John Saull lent his support to a consciousness-raising sleep-out in support of the homeless by councillors, and members of the town’s Peace and Justice movement.
John was among several supporters who visited the group before they settled down for a night sleeping rough by the war memorial in the High Street.
* Pictured below front are Cllrs Peter Wyan and Dick Sweatman (left and centre) with Cllr Danny Favor who also supported to their fund-raising efforts. Behind them are members of the town branch of the Peace and Justice movement.
MAYOR John Saull, pictured with Deputy Mayor Liz Bennett, turned the first turf to mark the start of the project to renovate the town’s railway station. Work will begin immediately on the tracks and platforms, which will allow 12-car carriages into East Grinstead for the first time. The second phase of the project will see the station itself upgraded with a new retail area, ticket office, retail space and passenger toilets.
Mayor John Saull said: "The station is the first place many visitors see when they come to East Grinstead and the arrival of the Bluebell Railway into town next year will significantly increase tourist numbers.
"The new station will give a very welcome facelift to the area, and a boost to the local economy."
A stunning recent production of Les Mis set the bar high when it came to expectations for the Ariel Theatre Academy’s end-of-year show, but the talented youngsters who took part proved they were up for the challenge in a varied and well-thought-out programme of music, dance and drama.
The smaller members of the Academy certainly have the “aaaah!” factor, but they didn’t rely on cuteness to carry them through a series of well-executed dance routines.
And there were some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, when their comic timing belied their tender years in the Little Red Riding Hood sketch, which was enjoyed as much by the small actors themselves as it was by their appreciative audience.
Natalie Boyd gave a simply beautiful performance of Hallelujah, with lovely harmonies provided by Lauren Merry and Charlotte Kenward. While Beth Elliott’s heartbreakingly original rendition of Winner Takes It All wrung real pathos from the end of a love affair turned sour.
The Prospero team’s choice of a dramatic tribute to the victims of 9/11 should on paper have been a difficult one for children still of primary school age: but their youthful gravity and careful delivery brought a special poignancy and dignity to their words as they recalled the horrors of the terrorism attack on New York.
Other highlights of the evening included monologues by James Rowsell and Polly Beaumont, and Gabriel Rathbone’s sweet-voiced Who Will Buy? from Oliver!
And by the time the whole school joined in the Shake Your Tail Feather finale, there wasn’t a parent – or a grandparent – in the audience – who didn’t want to shake along.
DEPUTY Mayor Liz Bennett has visited the Advance Centre in East Grinstead which treats people born with brain damage, or who have brain injuries.
It was founded by Linda Scotson, whose son Doran, pictured with Liz, was born with cerebral palsy.
The treatment system offered at the Centre works to develop the potential of uninjured portions of the brain by enhancing patients’ respiratory and circulatory systems.
Liz said: "I taught Doran many years ago at Kingsway School and it was great to see him again. It was a fantastic day at a fantastic charity."
MAYOR John Saull cut the ribbon to mark the opening of East Grinstead’s newest business, Wok’n Rolls in the London Road.
The new restaurant and takeaway specialises in sushi, noodles and filled rolls.
Mayor John, who is pictured with owners Chris and Christine Pollard, was one of several councillors who went along to the launch to express their support for the new venture.
“The Council is always pleased to see new businesses starting in the town and we all wish Wok’n Rolls every success for the future,” said Cllr John O’Brien.
COMEDIAN Tim Brooke Taylor was guest of honour at Chequer Mead’s Greenstede Gallery last month, where artist and "Goodies" fan Jenny Doyle put on an exhibition of work celebrating the iconic TV comedy series starring Tim and his fellow Goodies Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
Jenny baked some special fairy cakes marked with an OBE to celebrate the recent honour given to Tim, who endured a two hour traffic jam to see her work.
"Jenny’s really captured the mood and the complete zaniness of what went on," he said.
