THE third Spring Sunday event, held by High Street traders in mid April to promote local shops, proved a huge hit in Summer-like sun.
"It was extremely well-attended," said town tourism officer Simon Kerr. "It was like having a country fete come to town and the traders who organised it deserve a real hats-off salute for their imagination and initiative.
"It was a great success and everyone obviously enjoyed it very much indeed."
A group of Harley Davidson enthusiasts enjoyed an April run out by following the 0 degrees Greenwich Meridian from the grounds of the Royal Observatory in south London to the Meridian line marker on the East Court estate.
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EAST Grinstead’s Music and Arts Festival exists to encourage and promote dancing, singing, speech and drama, painting and art in Sussex and neighbouring counties.
Tickets available on the door.
For more information see: egmaf.org.uk
Dancing will take place on 1 May, 7 May and 14 May.
THE Chequer Mead lunchtime concert series presents Music for Clarinet, Flute and Piano on 17 May from 1.30pm – 2.30pm.
Clarinetist Jeremy Lowe and flautist Ivor Humphreys will be joined by pianists Simon Morris and Carey Humphreys in a recital of music ranging from the Baroque to the 20th century.
Reservations for a meal at Cuisine Studio can be made on 01342 324860.
Tickets £4/concessions £3.50 or £3 each when buying three concerts in the series.
THE Vienna Festival Ballet presents Cinderella on 18/19 May.
Music by Rossini, choreography by Sheila Styles.
Cinderella is one of the best-known fairy tales, and the Vienna company’s full-length version has all the familiar ingredients including a glass slipper, two comical ugly stepsisters and a handsome prince, plus a specially commissioned score created for them by Chris Nicholls, featuring music from some of Rossini’s most famous operas.
Reservations for a meal at Cuisine Studio can be made on 01342 324860.
Tickets £18.50/ senior citizens £15.50/ children £12.50.
ACOUSTIC Sussex presents Jon Allen on 20 May.
With shades of a young Bob Dylan or even Rod Stewart, Jon’s soulful, slightly gravelly voice is accompanied by acoustic guitar and occasionally harmonica.
His songs are so beautifully melodic, many of them already sound like classics.
Reservations for a meal at Cuisine Studio can be made on 01342 324860.
Tickets £12.50/ concessions £10.
THE Show Providers present The Essence of Ireland on 24 May when the acclaimed company makes a welcome return to Chequer Mead after a sellout performance last year.
This time they have teamed up with The Roy Castle Fund to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
This exclusive green tie and tiara evening will be hosted by a celebrity guest and will give theatregoers the chance to watch a wonderfully exhilarating show while donating to a worthwhile charity.
Tickets £50 (includes canapes, glass of champagne on arrival, auction and raffle).
CUISINE Studio presents its regular Jazz Cafe on 25 May.
Tickets, on entry, £5 per head.
Table reservations for the bistro menu at Cuisine Studio can be made in advance only by calling 01342 324860.
BULLFROG productions presents Peter Pan the Musical at three performances over 27/28 May.
Written by Piers Chater Robinson from the play by JM Barrie.
Reservations for a meal at Cuisine Studio can be made on 01342 324860.
Tickets £12/ children £10/ family ticket £39.
CONCHORD Big Band, performing as the Glenn Miller Air Force Band, presents On Parade! on 29 May with a programme of music from WWII and the forties.
The concert will be a fundraising evening for the British Legion which celebrates its 90th birthday this year.
Tickets £14/ concessions £12.
GUIDES, Brownies and Rainbows joined the Council’s outdoor staff and volunteers from the Ashplats Conservation Group to plant 3,000 bluebells along the new woodland walk at East Court last month.
Work on the walk, which runs behind the children’s play area, should be complete in time for the judging of this year’s South and South East in Bloom competition.
THE Spring Craft Fair will take place at Chequer Mead on Monday 2 May with stalls selling high quality gifts and crafts. Cuisine Studio will be open to serve teas and lunches.
The Passage of Time 1989 – 2011, from 5 to 11 May:
John Scotland shows work that maps his development over 22 years, seeing the land and the figure in a literal and visionary way.
Colour in Art, from 12 to 18 May:
Inspired by some of the greatest 20th century artists, a love of colour and a passion for art, this exhibition brings together a rich variety of work by artists aged between 28 and 92.
Seven Sins Tattoos, from 19 to 25 May:
Seven Sins marks ten years in the tattoo business with a display of skin decoration.
RETIRED teacher Jenny Watson has joined the Town Council’s outdoor staff. A keen gardener, Jenny will be working two days a week tending the award-winning flower beds at East Court.
THE garden behind East Court Mansion is to be renamed the Rolley Terrace in honour of newly-retired Town Clerk Chris Rolley.
The announcement was made at a Meridian Hall reception to mark his retirement after more than 25 years in post.
Among the many friends and family who came to pay tribute to Chris, a former Town Clerk of the Year, was MP Nicholas Soames who broke a previous engagement to be at the event, saying it was “a great honour” to be included in the guest list.
“When I was first elected as the MP for East Grinstead I came along to ‘an audience’ with Chris,” he joked.
“I have never regretted it, and I am very grateful for the sound, careful, pragmatic, sane and sensible advice he has given me for the past 14 years.
“Chris has been absolutely brilliant.”
In paying his own tribute to “the Reading lad” who has spent the past quarter century devoted to the affairs of East Grinstead, Mayor Stephen Barnett said Chris had always “fought his local corner very strongly” while at the same time fostering good relationships with community groups and other Councils.
“Localism is the new buzz word,” he said, “but he has been practising it for years.
“When we looked for a replacement for Chris we knew that making the right appointment was critical: so the people who appointed him 25 years ago deserve enormous accolades for making a fantastic, fantastic choice.”
Town Council leader James Baldwin announced that because Chris had requested a collection made to mark his retirement should be given instead to the town museum, councillors had devised a surprise gift which he was not in a position to refuse – the renaming of the garden behind East Court Mansion as the Rolley Terrace in his honour.
Replying to the good wishes of all those who had paid tribute to his long service, Chris said he would be kicking off a retirement which he hoped would feature fewer evening engagements and more sporting activities, with a three-day bike ride across the country from Workington to Sunderland.
Looking back over a career in which he had worked with 26 mayors, and been instrumental in bringing the town its own theatre complex and museum, he said had no regrets about staying in one post for over 25 years, when he had originally only planned to stay for four.
“You can chase success by constantly moving, and that is what I did until I came to East Grinstead. But then I realised you could get just as much satisfaction by staying in one job and aspiring to high standards.
“The Big Society is not a new concept – it is what East Grinstead is all about. It’s a great town, full of great people, and the council staff have been a joy to work with.
“God bless you all.
“God bless East Grinstead.”
Retiring town clerk Chris Rolley, centre back, with (l-r):
Andrew Metz (his daughter Hannah’s fiancé ), Mayor Steve Barnett, Hannah, wife Sue, mother Maureen and Council leader James Baldwin
TOWN tourist office staff Dawn Spalding and Simon Kerr have produced The Great Time Machine, a new booklet about East Grinstead.
Available at the library, it features a host of fascinating facts about the town’s history and architecture, as well as forgotten anecdotes about some of the famous people who have lived in or visited the town.
THE wall alongside the staircase in East Court has been redecorated and all the pictures of past mayors rehung to create room for 15 more appointees before space for new ones will need to be found elsewhere.
Retiring Town Clerk Chris Rolley with the plaque which names the terrace behind East Court in his honour
(photo: by courtesy of Andrew Taylor)