PLUMPTON 'GREEN' FAIR

PLUMPTON is pushing ahead with its Village Action Plan implementation with the Plumpton ‘Green’ Fair on Saturday, March 7 in the village hall from 12 noon until 4pm.
Part of the programme will demonstrate how the carbon footprint of every day life can be reduced effectively with little fuss. Participants will include East Sussex County Council with its Rethink Rubbish Bus; Lewes District Council and its Smarter Living trailer, South East Water, the local primary school and Action in Rural Sussex’s 21st Century Village,
There will also be a number of stalls selling local produce plus activities for children demonstrating how even play can include going ‘green’.
Lewes MP Norman Baker and East Sussex County Councillor Meg Stroud will be there.
Plumpton’s Village Action Plan was launched via a comprehensive questionnaire that was delivered to every household. A staggering 82 percent of the population responded by completing the document and the plan was formulated from the responses and presented to the community.
Since then things have progressed in leaps and bounds. Several teams were formed to deal with the various issues and 20 percent of residents are involved one way or another.
Various Action Plan teams will have displays at the fair to illustrate the progress made to date which includes the formation of a new Wildlife Society.
On the day there will be Ploughman’s lunches, bacon butties, teas, cakes and refreshments available to help make it a real community get together.
Steering Group chairman, District Councillor Tom Hawthorne said” I urge everyone to come along to see just how well our village community is working together” and further commented that people from other communities will be most welcome to find out just what can be achieved with the right community spirit.

Pembury House Garden

Awards for All Improvements

Hurstpierpoint Village Centre would like to acknowledge and thank the 'Awards for All' section of the National Lottery for grant funding which has enabled them to improve the security and safety of the Centre by replacing the last of the old windows and doors with double glazed aluminium frames.

The grant of £6,994 enabled the charity to employ a local company from Keymer to replace the last remaining wooden doors and window frames.

Thank you National Lottery.

Bowled Over with Success

Hurstpierpoint Gym Club repeated their success of last year by winning the Area Bowling trophy outright. The team of :- Lucy Adlam, Catherine Eckford, Rosie Leach, Georgina Harrison, Grace Couchman & Sacha Lansdall won the shield by a convincing margin. Lucy Adlam topped her day by winning the individual Top Score trophy.
Well done all the girls.

Kissing goes missing

Okay - so how do you lose a complete Victorian kissing gate - full size and bigger than you could get in your car-boot ? No idea ! - ask West Sussex Rights of Way.

After taking up this much loved feature of Policemans Lane, and replacing it with a modern monstrosity, they managed to lose it within days. We're assured it's going to be replaced - and a reward is offered for retrieval of the original - no questions asked.

I'm not accusing anyone - but if you can help please contact me or Hurstpierpoint Society.

A Fair Profit

If you've got over Christmas & the New Year - then start to make life easier for next year by planning a visit to Hurst's Christmas Fair. All nature of goods were available - from the traditional cards and toys, to jewellery and even antiquarian books. Over thirty stall gave the 500 visitors ideas for every age-group. Apart from being indoors, weather-proof and having good food available - the Fair also made a profit for the Village Centre and the Gym Club.

For 2009 book 27th November (6.30 - 9pm) and 28th November (9.30am - 1pm)

THAT display all that

THAT is Top Hats And Tutus - a mixture of boys and girls exploring their skills in the performing arts arena.

Recently they performed a showcase of talent for parents, friends and supporters, on a competitive basis - rather like a junior X Factor.

There were several contenders for each category, but after an evening of delightful acts (not to mention a super supper), the winners were announced :-

Emily Marples - Special Vocal Award for singing 'How Do I Live'
Overall Winner- Lauren Collier several brave vocal performances including 'I Feel Pretty' and 'Fever'
Younger Individual act- Megan McHale/ Georgina Easterbrook - For 'Rockin' around the Christmas Tree' and "Delayed Devotion'
Older group award - 'Wizard of Oz' Zoe Stevens, Rebecca Regan, Laurel Waghorn, Deniz Kotan, Georgie Herst
Younger group award- 'Sound of Music', Amy Coughtrey, Deniz Kotan, Charlotte Burholt, Victoria Ashdown, Charlotte Henderson, Rosie Leach, Sophie Reed
Older individual act - Ellie Waller/ Anna Mahoney, for both singing and Ellie playing 'Hometown Glory'

Look out for their next termly performance - due in March.

Word of mouth

Now, more than ever before, consumers are relying on people they know and trust to advise them on what to buy.

The role of magazines as a trusted agent, acting on behalf of the consumer by helping them edit choice within their lives, means that magazines have the strongest media influence on purchasing behaviour and act as a catalyst for personal recommendation.

Magazines readers are likely to generate 2-3 times more word of mouth recommendations than the average UK adult and these recommendations are more likely to convert into action than from the population at large (Ipsos Mori).

HASSOCKS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

HASSOCKS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

is a partnership of individuals and village organisations which "work together on issues and projects of interest and concern to Hassocks and its surrounding communities".

Successful ventures include the Star Cinema and the Village Market, the production of a Shopping Map, this Community Directory and comprehensive local bus timetables. (available at the library and Age Concern)

It acts as a host for groups such as the Tree Group, and Friends of Hassocks Station. It has given support to Light Up Hassocks and helped to purchase a large cinema screen for Adastra Hall.

The latest project is the Hassocks Visitor Programme. The aim is to enhance the possibilities of green tourism and benefit the economy of the village.

If you are a resident of Hassocks or the surrounding area why not become a member and help to make Hassocks prosperous and an even better place to live. Further details of meetings etc from

Betty Davies (Secretary) 26 Kymer Gardens, Hassocks. BN6 8QZ Tel 844537

Colin Wilsdon (Chairman) at 9 The Crescent, Hassocks. BN6 8RB Tel 842489

Choices

The Highway Code is essential reading for everyone and can significantly reduce road casualties, a responsibility we all share. It is important that all road users are aware of the Code and are considerate towards each other.

The ‘MUST/MUST NOT’ rules are legal requirements, and failure to comply is a criminal offence. Other rules of the Code with advisory wording such as ‘should/should not’ or ‘do/do not’ may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under the Traffic Acts to establish liability. Cars who blast their horns at cyclists on the A273, where use of the cycle route is not compulsory (Rule 61), contravene Rule 112, and are not considerate.

Cycling on the road is a choice; knowledge of the Highway Code is not optional.

HISTORY MADE AT PLUMPTON RACES

AT the race meeting held at Plumpton on Monday, February 9 the record books were changed. Tony MacCoy, thirteen times champion jockey, clocked up his 3,000th winning ride astride Restless d'Artaix, who was on his first outing over fences, in the last race of the day.
Tony arrived at Plumpton needing two wins to make it 3,000 winners. In his second ride he came one step closer onboard Hello Moscow. He next climed onboard Miss Sarenne and was out in front until the last fence, when his steed took a tumble.
However, he picked himself up, dusted himself down and started all over again. The result is now in the history books. No other National Hunt jockey has ridden more than 2,000 winners.
Plumpton has seen him ride 126 winners on the course, making him the most successful jockey to ride there.
The wins came amid poor racing conditions with rain falling most of the afternoon. However, this truly champion jocket was undeterred and passed his latest milestone.

PLUMPTON MECCA FOR RUMMAGERS

PLUMPTON has again shown itself to be the hub of successful Jumble Sales in this area. On Saturday, February 7 the Village Hall Management Committee organised another sale and raised a massive £1,187.50 just £2.50 short of the record set in 2007.
Buyers travel from miles around to attend the sales and their cars fill the car park and seriously overflow on to adjoin ing roads. They know there are always great bargains to be had.
What is the secret of this success? It can only be attributed to meticulous organisation. Ladies of the Women's Institute regularly help at the sales and have honed their routine to perfection. Local residents also play their role by donating quality jumble for the many deserving causes that benefit.
Watch South Downs Living's calendar for details of future sales.

Olga and Bev's leaving champagne lunch

Olga, Roger and Bev at the champagne and cakes leaving lunch.

They will be sorely missed but have gone on to great jobs. We wish them well.