LOCAL MOLLY MAID IS A SHINING SUCCESS
MOLLY MAID UK recently held their latest National Conference at Albrighton Hall Hotel and Spa in Shrewsbury, with its’ impressive grounds it was a fitting backdrop to this year’s event.
The conference was concluded with a Gala dinner and awards ceremony where Gilly Wise, from MOLLY MAID Brighton & Hove received not one, but two of the top awards. The first award she received was the MOLLY MAID Golden Mop and Bucket Award. This award was presented to Gilly for her sustained marketing efforts in increasing the brand awareness of MOLLY MAID locally. This increased awareness has led to Gilly increasing sales enquiries for the MOLLY MAID service and ultimately helped grow her business by 110% in 2009. The growth of Gilly’s business earned her a second award of the evening, when she was presented with the Top Sales Growth Runner Up Award.
Gilly said “MOLLY MAID is a strong brand, which is why I started the business up locally. We provide a reliable high quality service to our customers and it is thanks to their loyalty and that of my staff that we are a success.”
For more information visit www.mollymaid.co.uk or contact Charlotte Hassenstein 01628 610996 or chassenstein@mollymaid.co.uk
Haywards Heath man back from Haiti
Despite a career in aid and development Geoffrey, from Haywards Heath, was shocked by the devastation he saw, saying: “It was far worse than I expected. I’ve worked in places such as war-torn Sarajevo and Somalia, but this was on a completely different scale. Building after building was crushed.”
Geoffrey was in Haiti to assess CARE’s aid operation and look at the challenges ahead, as the aid effort changes from emergency response to re-building lives. More than 220,000 people died in the earthquake and 1.2 million have been left homeless.Despite all the problems, great progress has been made by the Haitian people and humanitarian community to assist the nearly three million people affected by the earthquake.
“To date, CARE has reached more than 265,000 people with food, safe drinking water, shelter, sanitation facilities, emergency supplies and reproductive health care for pregnant and nursing mothers,” said Geoffrey. “But more needs to be done. This requires a three- to five-year response and CARE is in it for the long haul.”
While in Haiti, Geoffrey experienced severe after-shocks and says some buildings are still collapsing, significantly delaying reconstruction.
“Shelter and sanitation are the biggest challenges as the rainy season approaches a month earlier than usual,“ said Geoffrey. “It is a real race to get people waterproof before the rains start in earnest, and after that, the hurricane season lasts from June to November. The Government is very weak in Haiti and big decisions are needed on land allocation to move the situation forward.
“I visited a camp at the bottom of a hill, and at the top of the hill there is a rubbish dump and an area people use as a toilet. When the rains come there will be serious problems. All these problems underline the need for a three- to five-year response, and CARE will be in it for the long haul, re-building people’s lives so they are in a stronger position than before the earthquake.”
Steve Bentley: Adding value to your business
When a business is obviously thriving in spite of the worst recession for years, it’s worth asking what they’re doing right.
In the case of Steve Bentley’s accountancy practice the answer is simple. They don’t just deal in the minutiae of accounts like costs, accruals, overheads and so on, but offer the kind of advice their customers need and value highly.
Since its inception four years ago, Bentley’s, as the firm is now called, has provided its business clients with revealing insights into what their accounts say about them. And if it sounds strange that any company should need an external specialist like Steve to explain their own figures, consider that whilst they may be good at construction, or retailing, or whatever it is they do, they are not necessarily expert with management information. Yet, timely, accurate management information is critical to the success of any business and never more so than in times like these.
“When I approach a new client,” says Steve, “I always think about what we can bring to the party. It’s about adding value, not just adding and subtracting which is what most people think accountants do.” The fact that Bentley’s really understand business imperatives is clear from the simple fact that they operate on a fixed fee basis, thereby allowing clients to budget exactly for their costs. “Our clients don’t have to worry about the number of visits or phone calls they make. Unlike many accountancy practices, we don’t charge by the hour, or by the seniority of the person dealing with the query. Our clients get me, unlimited advice throughout the year and definitely no nasty surprises. In a period of cutbacks, when clients need to save every penny, that’s important.”
This was turning out to be unlike any professional conversation I’d ever had with an accountant. I said as much to Steve. He laughed and directed me to the company’s mission statement: ‘We will create and encourage growth for our clients by supplying quick, professional, value for money service’.
It had already become clear to me that Bentley’s aren’t interested in simply preparing end of year accounts, but in what those accounts mean for the business. They provide, as a matter of course, a Business Review and a Taxation Review drawn from the hard numbers and the Key Performance Indicators which they reveal. Both of these vital reports come with clear recommendations and as Steve’s particular strength is in Taxation, he’s always delighted when he can save clients money and defend them from what he refers to as the “relentless invasion of Inland Revenue Investigations.”
Bentley’s specialise in helping small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), from sole traders turning over thousands, to companies turning over anything up to eight million pounds a year. So if you’re an SME, whatever your size, it seems to me that it might be a wise decision to have Steve Bentley on your side.
Bentley’s
Chartered Certified Accountants and Registered Auditors
Suite 6, 141-143 South Road
Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 4LZ
www.bcca.uk.com
Suite 6, 141-143 South Road
Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 4LZ
www.bcca.uk.com
Burgess Hill:Victoria Pleasure Gardens
With no television, radio or cinema for distraction, pleasure gardens were one of the most popular forms of entertainment during the early 20th century. The forerunner of the modern day theme park, they combined beautiful scenery with amusements and attractions to please all age groups and inclinations.
An important part of our social history, pleasure gardens developed as a response to the industrial revolution and growing urbanisation of our towns. Many residents of the South’s coastal towns spent their days living in cramped homes and treeless environments and on weekends and holidays, desperate for some fresh air, they would make the journey to the rural idyll north of the Downs, to picnic and ramble through the fields. With the building of the railway, their numbers increased and, seeing an opportunity to make some money, the more enterprising folk of Mid Sussex set about creating venues that positively encouraged these townsfolk to come and enjoy a day in the country.
Born in Hurstpierpoint, but by then a butcher and farmer in Burgess Hill, Edwin Street was one such individual. Edwin had three farms in the vicinity, but it was his farmland at St John’s Lodge, now the site of the Victoria Industrial Estate, which he felt had the most potential. Being just a short walk from the railway station, Edwin knew that if he developed the site as a pleasure garden, he would have a competitive edge over his main rivals, the Chinese Gardens at Hurstpierpoint and Webbs Park, situated on the Ansty Road.
Indeed, Edwin was already in the habit of making his land available for recreational purposes and, in July 1893, had donated a meadow off Station Road, close to the present site of Oakmeeds School, for the public to celebrate the Royal Wedding of Queen Victoria’s grandson, the Duke of York. The event was a great success and, in 1895, he finally took the decision to invest in pleasure gardens of his own on the St John’s Lodge site. His aim was to have the business up and running by 1897, the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and to name the project after the monarch. However, while the site was well located for transport links, there was no water, and for the gardens to be a success they would need a lake.
What followed was an admirable feat of engineering and back-breaking labour. A vast rectangular hole, over 300 yards in length and covering an area of three acres was gouged from the landscape and a stream diverted to allow the newly created lake to flood. The project took around three months to complete and the topsoil was given free of charge to a farmer in Malthouse Lane, on the condition he carted it away.
Edwin wanted the Victoria Pleasure Gardens to cater for large groups of visitors and offer a wide range of entertainments, whatever the weather. With this in mind, he had a spacious hall built in the grounds, which would provide indoor activities and a seating capacity of 1,000 people. Yet, despite all his hard work, when the country celebrated Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee on 22nd June 1897, the gardens were still not ready. He had to wait another two months for that until August Bank Holiday, when his pleasure gardens, covering a seven and a half acre site, finally opened to the general public.
Although today the site is now covered by the Victoria Industrial Estate, in 1897 the approach to the gardens was by a farmyard entrance nearly opposite the junction of Station Road with London Road. This still exists, but now merely as a footpath leading to a factory road called Victoria Gardens and at the point where Victoria Gardens now meets Albert Drive, there would have been the entry turnstile, alongside a roundall, just wide enough for horse drawn carriages to be able to turn.
As visitors approached the gardens, they would have seen the playing fields on either side of the driveway, containing a variety of amusements including a large see-saw, a huge slide and plank swings. The Grand Hall was situated just inside the entrance, on its southern side there was an enclosed cycle track and on the opposite side a shooting gallery, a steam roundabout with a centrally mounted organ (which attracted complaints about the noise from residents nearby), a row of swing boats and a kiosk dispensing ‘hokey-pokey’ ice cream. At that time, a line of poplar trees stretched westwards as far as the present site of Jubilee Road and, behind them, more playing fields and the cricket ground.
As Edwin had foreseen, one of the main attractions was the lake which was situated in the pocket of land now enclosed by Albert Drive, Jubilee Road and Consort Way. Here visitors could hire rowing boats, some of which carried up to 30 people, or take a ride on an impressive paddle steamer, The Victoria, which was large enough to accommodate 25 tourists.
If the weather was bad, there was a theatre, dance floor, roller skating rink, shop selling souvenirs and a restaurant, all undercover in the large hall. Interestingly, the gardens were run as an alcohol-free establishment and while Edwin himself was not teetotal, to run on temperance principles was a shrewd move. At that time the ‘demon drink’ was blamed for many of society’s ills (no change there then!) and Edwin knew that to attract Sunday school outings and religious clubs, a ‘no alcohol’ policy would give him a competitive edge.
With such a wonderful wealth of attractions and facilities, the gardens were a tremendous success with the public. During the first full season in 1898, hundreds of visitors arrived week in and week out and, on Whit Monday, over 2,000 people paid their 6d admission. Keen to maximise his success, the following winter Edwin extended the Grand Hall and added what was arguably the most unforgettable attraction of them all: ‘the famous gravity railway’, forerunner of the rollercoaster. The late Mr F. Brown claimed that “this astonishing structure of soaring arches mounted on high stilted legs completely spanned the lake, and at one point dipped so alarmingly that the track barely skimmed the water’s surface, so that the carriage when it passed, threw up a cloud of spray drenching anyone in the near vicinity, and caused the girls on board to clutch their hats and scream with sheer excitement.”
The Victoria Pleasure Gardens soon gained the enviable reputation of being one of the leading resorts in the county and holidaymakers came in their droves from Brighton, Worthing and as far away as Croydon and Eastbourne. The demand was so great that large groups wishing to spend a day at the gardens had to book several weeks in advance and there were reports that up 5,000 daily visitors came during the high season.
During the winter, people still came to rollerskate and dance in the Grand Hall and, when it was cold enough for the lake to ice over, the gardens were a popular venue for ice skating. Each year it became a tradition for Edwin – all 23 stone of him – to be the first to venture out onto the surface, as a human safety test. Inevitably, he at once made a serious error of judgement; the ice cracked and he had to be pulled from the freezing water. Evening skating was especially popular. On cold winter nights the lake would be lit by hundreds of coloured lights, suspended from the trees, creating a magical and enchanting atmosphere.
Over the following years, the gardens went from strength to strength, and when Edwin’s wife, Amelia, died on New Year’s Eve 1909, at just 46 years old, Edwin sought solace in his work and worked harder to make the Gardens an even greater success. The result was that the seasons spanning 1910 to 1914 were the heyday of The Victoria Pleasure Gardens, regularly attracting huge crowds of merrymakers.
Unfortunately, the outbreak of the First World War put paid to Edwin’s future plans, when the Gardens were requisitioned by the military authorities for the billeting of troops – first the London Rifle Brigade and then a Lancashire Regiment. When the War finally ended in 1918, there was a feast and celebration held in the grounds but sadly they had been left in a frightful state. Edwin spent the following years restoring them to their former glory before a grand reopening on Whit Monday 1923.
The day was a great success with over 5,000 paying visitors, but sadly, just a few weeks later, Edwin died peacefully in his bed above his butcher’s shop in Burgess Hill, on the corner of Church and London Road. His daughter, Mrs Daisy Upton, inherited the gardens, which continued to operate successfully, but probably not on the scale Edwin had visualised.
The end came with the outbreak of the Second World War, when once again the military requisitioned the site. They were never to reopen and are now just a fading memory. As once senior citizen recalled, “I used to curse the noise made by the old Street’s organ. But oh, how I wish I could hear it now!”
With kind permission from:
Edwin Street and the Victoria Pleasure Gardens
Mark Dudeney and Eileen Hallett
Mid Sussex Books, 20xx
ISBN 0 9530625 0 3
Edwin Street and the Victoria Pleasure Gardens
Mark Dudeney and Eileen Hallett
Mid Sussex Books, 20xx
ISBN 0 9530625 0 3
What's On in Mid Sussex this weekend: 11-14 March
Thursday 11 – Saturday 13
20th Sussex Beer & Cider Festival, Hove Centre, Hove.
Sussex CAMRA Branches presents. Sales of real ale are increasing so to cope with the expected big demand, a record number of beers, well over 220, will be available this year plus a large selection of ciders, perries, country wines and British and foreign bottled beers. The downstairs bar has been designated as the Sussex Bar and will be selling only those beers from breweries in Sussex.
Tickets for the Festival will be available from:
In Brighton & Hove: Hove & Brighton Centres, Evening Star, Sir Charles Napier;
In Shoreham: Buckingham Arms
in Horsham: Beer Essentials
In Lewes: Gardener’s Arms;
In Worthing: Selden Arms
Further information from www.sussexbeerfestival.co.uk or call 07807 105803.
To avoid disappointment, it is advisable to buy tickets in advance particularly for the very popular Friday and Saturday evening sessions.
There will be live entertainment on Friday and Saturday night in the Main Hall.
Hot and cold food will be on sale in the balcony area as well as soft drinks, teas and coffees.
This year the festival charity will be Headway based in Newick.
Friday 12, 20.00
‘Rudyard Kipling’ – by Geoff Hutchinson. Cyprus Hall, Burgess Hill.
A talk on the life of Rudyard Kipling with readings from his poetry. Tickets are £2 on the door or in advance. Organised by Brenda Anderson, tel. 01444 248250.
Saturday 13 – Sunday 14, 10.00-17.00
West Hoathly Local History Archive Exhibition. West Hoathly Village Hall.
Old photographs, maps, documents and artefacts and recently recorded reminiscences.
Come and see the whole collection including the latest additions. Bring your own items of interest and your queries. Teas and Raffle.
Saturday 13
Champagne Pommery Polo Ball. Hickstead Showground.
We are delighted this year to be joining forces with one of the leading equestrian charities in the country, the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund, so our legendary end of season party promises to be the biggest and best yet. Come and join us at Hickstead, help us raise a glass of Pommery to the season, and experience first hand our deserved reputation for unbeatable après-polo.
Champagne reception and sumptuous four-course meal; awards ceremony and celebrity auctioneer; live band and dancing. Tickets £65. For tickets and information call 01273 834315 or visit www.hickstead.co.uk
Saturday 13
Wellbeing Days. Horam Natural Therapy Centre, Horam, East Sussex TN21 0EL
Raising funds For Demelza House. Treatments available at £20 for 1 hr and £10 for 1/2 hr. For further details call 01435 812997 or visit www.shunyata.co.uk
Saturday 13, 9.45-11.45
Royal British Legion Womens Section: Coffee Morning. United Reformed Church Hall, Hassocks.
Saturday 13, 14.30
Hassocks Horticultural Society Spring Show. Adastra Hall, Hassocks.
This is your chance to see exhibits of members of Flowers, Floral Art, Vegetables, Cookery, Handicrafts, Photography and Painting. Refreshments are available. Admission is 50p. All welcome and we do hope to see lots of you there. Contact Sylvia Hancock on 01273 844544.
Saturday 13, 14.30 and 19.30
Thoroughly Modern Millie – Junior. Chequer Mead Community Arts Centre, East Grinstead.
Presented by Born2Perform Productions. Tickets £12 – call 01342 302000 or visit
www.chequermead.org.uk
Saturday 13, 20.00
Ghosts at Preston Manor. Preston Manor and Gardens Preston Drove, Brighton.
Are you brave enough to spend the night in Brighton’s most haunted house? Be prepared to be scared as you explore the house and discover its haunted history and then take part in a paranormal vigil led by a guest medium. Serious enthusiasts and the curiously brave (over 18s only) should call 03000 290902 to book or visit www.thecaspiangroup.co.uk
Sunday 14, 10.00
Mid Sussex Ramblers: Clayton Mills and Beacon.
Meet at Clayton, Jack and Jill car park, for a 9.5 mile walk around Ditchling Beacon – Moon’s Bottom – Stanmer – Lower Standean. Please bring picnic lunch. Leaders Gary and Sarah, tel: 01273 833834.
Sunday 14, 14.00
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Open Auditions at The Community Room, 38 Church Road, Burgess Hill (behind Lloyds Bank).
An open air production by Players in The Park, in aid of St Peter & St James Hospice on 16th-26th June. For an audition pack and further information about Players in The Park and how you can be involved in this project, please contact Cathryn or Geoff on 01444 258177 or by emailing loneoakgeo@aol.com
Sunday 14, 14.00
Mothers Day Patchwork Quilting, Coffee and Cake Event. Ditchling Village Hall.
Raising money for Computer Aid International. I am also taking part in a fundraising Cycling Challenge from London to Paris. Please support Computer Aid International. Tel 01273 841821.
20th Sussex Beer & Cider Festival, Hove Centre, Hove.
Sussex CAMRA Branches presents. Sales of real ale are increasing so to cope with the expected big demand, a record number of beers, well over 220, will be available this year plus a large selection of ciders, perries, country wines and British and foreign bottled beers. The downstairs bar has been designated as the Sussex Bar and will be selling only those beers from breweries in Sussex.
Tickets for the Festival will be available from:
In Brighton & Hove: Hove & Brighton Centres, Evening Star, Sir Charles Napier;
In Shoreham: Buckingham Arms
in Horsham: Beer Essentials
In Lewes: Gardener’s Arms;
In Worthing: Selden Arms
Further information from www.sussexbeerfestival.co.uk or call 07807 105803.
To avoid disappointment, it is advisable to buy tickets in advance particularly for the very popular Friday and Saturday evening sessions.
There will be live entertainment on Friday and Saturday night in the Main Hall.
Hot and cold food will be on sale in the balcony area as well as soft drinks, teas and coffees.
This year the festival charity will be Headway based in Newick.
Friday 12, 20.00
‘Rudyard Kipling’ – by Geoff Hutchinson. Cyprus Hall, Burgess Hill.
A talk on the life of Rudyard Kipling with readings from his poetry. Tickets are £2 on the door or in advance. Organised by Brenda Anderson, tel. 01444 248250.
Saturday 13 – Sunday 14, 10.00-17.00
West Hoathly Local History Archive Exhibition. West Hoathly Village Hall.
Old photographs, maps, documents and artefacts and recently recorded reminiscences.
Come and see the whole collection including the latest additions. Bring your own items of interest and your queries. Teas and Raffle.
Saturday 13
Champagne Pommery Polo Ball. Hickstead Showground.
We are delighted this year to be joining forces with one of the leading equestrian charities in the country, the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund, so our legendary end of season party promises to be the biggest and best yet. Come and join us at Hickstead, help us raise a glass of Pommery to the season, and experience first hand our deserved reputation for unbeatable après-polo.
Champagne reception and sumptuous four-course meal; awards ceremony and celebrity auctioneer; live band and dancing. Tickets £65. For tickets and information call 01273 834315 or visit www.hickstead.co.uk
Saturday 13
Wellbeing Days. Horam Natural Therapy Centre, Horam, East Sussex TN21 0EL
Raising funds For Demelza House. Treatments available at £20 for 1 hr and £10 for 1/2 hr. For further details call 01435 812997 or visit www.shunyata.co.uk
Saturday 13, 9.45-11.45
Royal British Legion Womens Section: Coffee Morning. United Reformed Church Hall, Hassocks.
Saturday 13, 14.30
Hassocks Horticultural Society Spring Show. Adastra Hall, Hassocks.
This is your chance to see exhibits of members of Flowers, Floral Art, Vegetables, Cookery, Handicrafts, Photography and Painting. Refreshments are available. Admission is 50p. All welcome and we do hope to see lots of you there. Contact Sylvia Hancock on 01273 844544.
Saturday 13, 14.30 and 19.30
Thoroughly Modern Millie – Junior. Chequer Mead Community Arts Centre, East Grinstead.
Presented by Born2Perform Productions. Tickets £12 – call 01342 302000 or visit
www.chequermead.org.uk
Saturday 13, 20.00
Ghosts at Preston Manor. Preston Manor and Gardens Preston Drove, Brighton.
Are you brave enough to spend the night in Brighton’s most haunted house? Be prepared to be scared as you explore the house and discover its haunted history and then take part in a paranormal vigil led by a guest medium. Serious enthusiasts and the curiously brave (over 18s only) should call 03000 290902 to book or visit www.thecaspiangroup.co.uk
Sunday 14, 10.00
Mid Sussex Ramblers: Clayton Mills and Beacon.
Meet at Clayton, Jack and Jill car park, for a 9.5 mile walk around Ditchling Beacon – Moon’s Bottom – Stanmer – Lower Standean. Please bring picnic lunch. Leaders Gary and Sarah, tel: 01273 833834.
Sunday 14, 14.00
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Open Auditions at The Community Room, 38 Church Road, Burgess Hill (behind Lloyds Bank).
An open air production by Players in The Park, in aid of St Peter & St James Hospice on 16th-26th June. For an audition pack and further information about Players in The Park and how you can be involved in this project, please contact Cathryn or Geoff on 01444 258177 or by emailing loneoakgeo@aol.com
Sunday 14, 14.00
Mothers Day Patchwork Quilting, Coffee and Cake Event. Ditchling Village Hall.
Raising money for Computer Aid International. I am also taking part in a fundraising Cycling Challenge from London to Paris. Please support Computer Aid International. Tel 01273 841821.
Free Salsa Lessons in Haywards Heath
Free beginners SALSA lesson April 21st 2010
The United Services Club, 6-8 Wivelsfield Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 4EG
7.30pm-8.30pm Free Beginners Salsa Lesson
8.45pm – 9.30pm Free Master Class:
A combination of Cuban dances applied to Salsa (advanced)
Salsa Lessons every Wednesday.
Beginners and Improvers: 7-8pm
Intermediate: 8.10pm - 9.10pm
Advanced: 9.20pm - 10.20pm
Social dancing: 10:20pm - 11pm
For more information Contact Yersin:
e: yersincuba@hotmail.com
t: +(44) 07949000665
facebook: timbacontambor
Burgess Hill District Lions collect Books for our Boys
HAVE you any unwanted books taking up space or gathering dust? Well, a local charity can put them to good use to fund community projects and to boost our soldiers’ moral in Afghanistan.
Burgess Hill District Lions depends on a constant supply of books, and now there’s a new, more convenient way to donate your second-hand books. From today (17 March), they may be taken to the South Downs Heritage Centre at South Downs Nurseries in Hassocks, which is open every day of the week.
The books will then be sold at the local Lions’ Book Den which is the biggest second-hand book shop in Mid Sussex. Based at 99 Church Walk in Burgess Hill, it sells up to 1,500 titles every week, so new stock is always needed.
Additionally a local Lion has received a direct appeal from his son for books at the military Camp Bastion, in Afghanistan. The soldier has asked Mid Sussex residents to help with he refers to as some home-from-home comforts in the shape of reading books, crossword and puzzle books.
These are desperately needed for the forces’ rest room which is used by a large number of soldiers during their breaks. “The room is in operation 24-hours a day”, he explains. “And we are trying to create a library to be used by all service personnel on operation OP Herrick
The charity realises it’s not always convenient to drop the books off in town and is working with its partners at the South Downs Heritage Centre in Hassocks to make it easier to donate unwanted items which can be used to support projects in Hurstpierpoint, Hassocks and Burgess Hill.
“The Book Den is a very popular venue in the town”, says Lion President Colin Owen. “It's also the final re-cycling place for books as the paper cannot easily be re-cycled. Please pop-in to browse”, he adds. “We welcome people’s old books, CDs, Videos and DVDs. We will sort them and re-cycle any which we can’t sell”, explains Mr Owen. “So nothing goes to waste.”
The Heritage Centre doesn’t charge for admission, instead it asks visitors for donations in aid of local charities including the Burgess Hill District Lions, who use them to benefit the local community. “For over fifty years the Lions have been doing marvellous work in the area, raising money to support those who need a little extra help”, says Jonathan Tate the managing director of South Downs Nurseries. “I am delighted to support them and their community projects through what has been a most successful partnership since the Heritage Centre opened.”
Full details online at www.south-downs.co.uk <http://www.south-downs.co.uk> or call into the garden centre close to Stonepound on the A273 in Hassocks.
Burgess Hill District Lions depends on a constant supply of books, and now there’s a new, more convenient way to donate your second-hand books. From today (17 March), they may be taken to the South Downs Heritage Centre at South Downs Nurseries in Hassocks, which is open every day of the week.
The books will then be sold at the local Lions’ Book Den which is the biggest second-hand book shop in Mid Sussex. Based at 99 Church Walk in Burgess Hill, it sells up to 1,500 titles every week, so new stock is always needed.
Additionally a local Lion has received a direct appeal from his son for books at the military Camp Bastion, in Afghanistan. The soldier has asked Mid Sussex residents to help with he refers to as some home-from-home comforts in the shape of reading books, crossword and puzzle books.
These are desperately needed for the forces’ rest room which is used by a large number of soldiers during their breaks. “The room is in operation 24-hours a day”, he explains. “And we are trying to create a library to be used by all service personnel on operation OP Herrick
The charity realises it’s not always convenient to drop the books off in town and is working with its partners at the South Downs Heritage Centre in Hassocks to make it easier to donate unwanted items which can be used to support projects in Hurstpierpoint, Hassocks and Burgess Hill.
“The Book Den is a very popular venue in the town”, says Lion President Colin Owen. “It's also the final re-cycling place for books as the paper cannot easily be re-cycled. Please pop-in to browse”, he adds. “We welcome people’s old books, CDs, Videos and DVDs. We will sort them and re-cycle any which we can’t sell”, explains Mr Owen. “So nothing goes to waste.”
The Heritage Centre doesn’t charge for admission, instead it asks visitors for donations in aid of local charities including the Burgess Hill District Lions, who use them to benefit the local community. “For over fifty years the Lions have been doing marvellous work in the area, raising money to support those who need a little extra help”, says Jonathan Tate the managing director of South Downs Nurseries. “I am delighted to support them and their community projects through what has been a most successful partnership since the Heritage Centre opened.”
Full details online at www.south-downs.co.uk <http://www.south-downs.co.uk> or call into the garden centre close to Stonepound on the A273 in Hassocks.
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