Category: News

A TEAM of healthcare professionals headed by Cllr Danny Favor and Mrs Maribel Favor held a free healthcare check at Our Lady and St Peter’s church in April.

Many parishioners came forward to have their blood pressure, blood glucose and BMI taken in a simple, painless check-up which can detect and prevent life-threatening illnesses.

Danny’s team will be in action once a month and will work closely with communities in the town which would like them to visit.

To find out more, contact the East Grinstead Extra Care Health and Wellness Support group at extracare.df@googlemail.com.

Or ring Danny on 07867 846495, Maribel on 07528 694112, or see the www.extracareeastgrinstead.com.

THE Town Council joined in the fun of Spring Sunday by issuing visas to cross from the East to the West Hemisphere (and back again). The event coincided with April Fools day and staff including the Town Clerk Julie Holden and tourism officer Simon Kerr manned the border control hut in order to issue the visas.

More than 250 were handed out before noon.

Julie Holden said: “It was a fun way of raising the profile of the Meridian line and reminding everyone that the town stands on the 0 degree line which divides the East from the West, and from which the whole world takes its time. We took a little bit of licence with the positioning of the line as it does not actually intersect the High Street, but obviously it was the profile that mattered.”

The ‘visas’ included information about the Meridian line and explained exactly where in East Grinstead the line is marked and can be visited.

TOWN Mayor John Saull took a trip down memory lane when vintage buses took to their old routes around the town for a taste of yesteryear during April’s annual Vintage Bus Day.

TOWN Clerk Julie Holden will be running the 10km Burgess Hill leg of the May Bank holiday Three Towns Marathon to raise money for restoration projects at her local church, St Peter and St John in Wivelsfield.

A veteran of several 5km runs for her local hospice and Race for Life, this will be the first time that Julie has tackled 10kms, but she is confident pride and a following wind will see her through the second half.

“I’ve never run more than 5km but the route is a double loop around the same course, so I hope that by the time I get to the halfway mark, I’ll just start again and think ‘well at least I won’t have to do this a third time…'”

* To sponsor Julie, sign her form at East Court during office hours.

THE Registrar Service will be back in the town library, by appointment, from 11 May. Ring 01243 642122 for details or to make an appointment.

For more information about any of the shows, times or ticket prices ring the box office on 01342 302000.

 Jazz Café, Thursday 10 May at 7pm

ENJOY live Jazz Café combined with the finest bistro menus from Cuisine Studio. Open from 7pm, entry £5. Please reserve a table for a meal in advance only by calling Mandy, Roger or Paul on 01342 324860.

Pericles Theatre Company presents The Flying Ship from Friday 11 May to Friday 18 May

A flying ship, a kind heart and a beautiful princess combine to make magic in this Russian fairy tale. Supported by the parents and friends of Pericles and the RTR Foundation.

Desperado presents The Very Best of the Eagles on Saturday 12 May at 7.30pm

DESPERADO faithfully recreates The Very Best of Eagles, the definitive Eagles hits collection, delivering a wealth of material with the reverence and authenticity Eagles fans deserve.

Chequer Mead Lunchtime Concert Series presents Hilary Needhamand pianist Janet Gillbard, on Tuesday 22 May at 1.30pm

OUTSTANDING professional musicians with impressive credentials, concert regulars Hilary and Janet are back with an exciting and quirky programme of well-known classics.

VB Dance presents Fancy Footwork on Saturday 26 May at 2pm and 6.30pm

This is a youth production for a dance school.

HANNAH Kester, who has been working at the town’s community arts centre and theatre for the past five and a half years, has left Chequer Mead to take up a new post in London.

‘I have had a fantastic time at Chequer Mead,” said Hannah, who was promoted from deputy manager to manager in June 2010. “I will be leaving with a lot of happy memories of all the fantastic people I have met through work here and they will be what I will miss the most. All the staff and volunteers are hugely proud of the theatre’s achievements in recent years, and are looking forward to an exciting future for Chequer Mead.”

“I’m going back to London to take up the post of manager at the Kingsgate Workshops in Hampstead. Kingsgate is a collection of studios and galleries working with artists, and work is about to start on developing the building within a converted Victorian factory so there will be plenty to get my teeth into.”

Hannah, who will continue to live in East Grinstead, left at the end of April.

THE Town Mayor’s official regalia has been repaired and upgraded with a new velvet collar which will stop it slipping and prevent wear and tear on the links.

“The chain was designed to be worn with a business suit, the collar of which kept it in place, but women’s clothes are cut differently and it is inappropriate for female mayors,” said Town Clerk Julie Holden.

The chain was made for the old Urban District Council in 1951, and various clubs and organisations in the town donated links to it, including the Guinea Pig Club.

But alterations over the years, which included making the central motif detachable, have changed the shape of it, and it no longer fits in the heavy wooden box made to house it, and presented to the UDC by local company John Stenning and Son in 1952.

On the demise of the old UDC the Town Council subsequently inherited the chain but with recent mayors undertaking far more appearances than their predecessors, it is no longer practical to use the heavy handle-less box to carry the chain around in.

The new box has been purpose-made by regalia specialists Thomas Fattorini to fit the chain, and the lightweight design in the shape of a large briefcase will house it securely when the mayor is on the move.

The old box will now be put on display in the mayor’s parlour.

EAST Court’s gardener Jenny Watson will be hosting a guided walk Mansion to Memorial around the grounds on Sunday 27 May between 10am and noon.

Price is £5, and includes tea, coffee and cake afterwards.

TOWN Major John Saull has presented a cheque on behalf of the Town Council to junior members of the East Grinstead Cricket Club.

Pictured with John are Oliver Kirby, an U10 batsman padded up and ready for action, and receiving the cheque U8 bowler Oliver Main.