Call us now on: 0800 731 5905 - Viva Lewes

5. The Big Issue. High Street
rents, and ‘change of <strong>us</strong>e’
15 My Lewes. Julia R<strong>us</strong>hbury,
long-term resident mural painter
17. Photo of the Month. David
Stacey pays homage to Bill Brandt
18 Ragged School. A Victorian
school for the poor, in Lewes
21 Lesley Thomson. Award winning
‘Kind of Vanishing’ novelist
23 Small Wonder. Beth Miller interviews
Alexei Sayle
25 Art and About. Artwave, in all
its colourful glory
29 Foc<strong>us</strong> on… Jessica Zoob’s
painting Deep Water
31 Foc<strong>us</strong> on… Ben Fowler’s Seat
Sebastian Ascending
33. Foc<strong>us</strong> on… Peter Messer’s
painting Frost Fair
35. Cinema. Keeping murder in
the family with Les Diaboliques
and Mother
The Team
Issue 48. September 2010.
V I V A L E W E S contents
37. Chiddingly Festival. Rob Read
interviews Arun Ghosh
39. Glyndestock. M<strong>us</strong>ic? Definitely?
Real ale? Plenty. Sunshine?
Let’s hope so
41. Mysterio<strong>us</strong> Wheels. Pogues
drummer Andrew Ranken
43. Allotment Show. It’s D-day
for horticulturalists
45. Diary dates. A duck race, and
a rook hunt
48. Gig guide. European gypsy
swing to American folk
51. Food. Marco Pierre White’s
new Chequers Inn in Maresfield
53. The Nibbler. Foodie news
54. Food. Bill Collison’s footie
feasts for famished fans
57. Buttercup Café. A potato,
done with some panache
59. We try out… kids’ cooking
with the Commnity Chef
61. Food. The OctoberFeast is j<strong>us</strong>t
EDITOR: Alex Leith alex@vivalewes.com
DEPUTY EDITOR: Emma Chaplin emmachaplin@vivalewes.com
SUB-EDITOR: David Jarman
STAFF WRITER: Chloë King chloe@vivalewes.com
DESIGNER: Katie Moorman katie@vivalewes.com
ADVERTISING MANAGER: Steve Watts steve@vivalewes.com
ADVERTISING SALES: Lisa Bullen lisa@vivalewes.com
PUBLISHER: Nick Williams nick@vivalewes.com.
Viva Lewes is based at Pipe Passage, 151b High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XU
round the corner
63. Amanda Grant’s kids’ cooking.
Cheese and herb crumble
71. Bricks and Mortar. Lewes
Ho<strong>us</strong>e, through the ages
72. Viva Villages. Maresfield, more
than j<strong>us</strong>t a dormitory town
75. Weekend away. The Côte
d’Opale, in sight of Blighty
77. We try out… stone carving.
79. Food. Jams and Preserves.
81. We try… orbing.
83. Football. The season’s started
87. Henty’s Twenty. What’ll he
get with this month’s score?
89. Column. Beth Miller
91. Literary S<strong>us</strong>sex. Steyning
youth Arthur Calder-Marshall
93. Column. Norman Baker
99. Trade secrets. Stephen Wischh<strong>us</strong>en,
aka Catlin
114. Inside Left. Life on Mars
time: remember Lipton’s?
For information about advertising or events you would like to see publicised, call 01273 488882 or e-mail info@vivalewes.com
Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of our content. The Viva Lewes Handbook cannot be held responsible for any
omissions, errors or alterations.
3

4
EDITORIAL
Two articles which appeared within ten days of one
another in the Times and the Sunday Times in Aug<strong>us</strong>t
painted contradictory portraits of Lewes.
The first, which described the casual racism encountered
by a mixed-race family who’d recently
moved to Lewes from Brixton, ca<strong>us</strong>ed the most
stir, and led to countless debates in town. Our take
on the matter is that the writer had a point, but he
made it rather badly.
It’s easy for a largely mono-ethnic community
(Lewes District is 98.7% white) to be blasé about its
attitude to race, and a positive reaction to the piece
would be for everybody in Lewes – however tolerant
they believe themselves to be - to examine their
behaviour, and wonder if it comes up to the mark.
That said, the tone of the piece was at best naïve,
and at worst provocative, and the whole affair left
something of a bad taste in the mouth. We would
have preferred the author to address a community
THIS MONTH’S COVER
issue in a community magazine – such as ours –
rather than tarring the whole town with a national
reputation it scarcely deserves. Norman Baker addresses
the issue in his monthly column.
A week later a piece appeared on the front page
of the Times Life section, by Ben Ward, about the
community takeover of Lewes FC which, you may
have noticed, we have been involved with. This
painted Lewes in an entirely different light – as a
go-ahead, community-driven town that does things
its own way. That’s the way we prefer to see our
town, but, again, such a reputation
depends on action, not
spin; and complacency is the
arch-enemy of action.
Enough said. Welcome to the
September issue, welcome to
the start of Autumn, and enjoy
the month…
In May this year the East S<strong>us</strong>sex Records Office
made an amazing purchase. A series of didactic
lantern slides of Lewes and the surrounding
area, derived from the Jireh Chapel archive.
These slides had not been seen by the public for
over 100 years. Among the pictures were some
images of children from the Lewes Ragged
School, an institution for the poor kids of the
town, which ran for some 70 years, until 1916.
There were also some shots, including the one
we’ve chosen for our cover, of children from the
Jireh Chapel Sunday School (from their clothes
from much more prospero<strong>us</strong> homes) during
their ‘annual treat’ at the Dripping Pan, held
every June. These kids, sitting on a bench in
front of one of the flint walls in (what was then,
as it is <strong>now</strong>) the football ground, with their tin
cups and their hunks of bread, look like they’re
having a fine old time of it. The cover design,
kept simple due to the strength of the photo,
is by Katie Moorman, who has simply added
the moniker of our magazine in the font Brock
Script, chosen, she says, ‘for its curly, calligraphic
quality’.

IS THE HIGH STREET DYING?
There’s no doubt about it, if you take the rents landlords
are charging into account, Lewes High Street,
including the ‘top end of town’, is a ‘hot’ place for
commerce.
One soon-to-be-empty shop on the High Street, for
example, is currently being offered an annual rent of
£425 per metre squared of retail space. Perfect likefor-like
comparisons are hard to engineer, but shop
space in broadly comparable locations in Haywards
Heath are available for £277 per square metre, and
j<strong>us</strong>t £224 per square metre in Burgess Hill. A shop
bang on the High Street in Kingston upon Thames
is only £398 per metre squared.
This wasn’t always the case: prices have ballooned
over the years, and are still ballooning.
Price increases can be down to two factors: high demand
(ie prices rising as a lot of shops want to move
into the area and are prepared to pay top dollar to
do so) or low supply (ie there are not enough shops).
We believe, from both anecdotal and statistical evidence,
that the demand for shop space in Lewes is
extremely high: when a place closes down, in other
words, the space is soon filled by another b<strong>us</strong>iness,
and there are plenty of b<strong>us</strong>inesses itching to get into
town.
But, crucially, there is also increasingly low supply:
fewer and fewer commercial premises are up
for grabs. This is largely beca<strong>us</strong>e shops are being
given permission by the District Council planning
department for ‘change of <strong>us</strong>e’, and being converted
into private residences. This is particularly happening
at the top of town, which is considered by the
department to be less important to ‘hang onto’ than
premises closer to the Eastgate precinct, which they
view as being the commercial centre of town.
Once such ‘change of <strong>us</strong>e’ permission is granted,
the decision is almost irreversible: private property
is worth so much more than commercial property
in the current climate, nobody in their right mind
would convert a ho<strong>us</strong>e into a shop.
Interestingly, the Council benefits from properties
becoming residential, beca<strong>us</strong>e it keeps the income
from residential rates, while it has to pass commercial
rates, which it collects, onto Westminster.
Is the practice to the benefit of the town? Absolute-
b i g i s s u e
ly not. And not j<strong>us</strong>t beca<strong>us</strong>e of the poor individual
shopkeepers struggling to make ends meet in such
an environment (and we haven’t even addressed the
issue of rates here, which have in some cases doubled
in the last five-yearly assessment). The more
shops shut, the less ‘footfall’ there will be, and the
harder will become the surviving shopkeepers’ lot.
After a while, there’s a certain ‘tipping point’, where
there aren’t enough c<strong>us</strong>tomers to keep any shops
going. Do we really want the High Street to become
a residential quarter, with a nice castle in the middle
of it?
We don’t want to point fingers at any individual cases
where this practice, which is perfectly legal, has
occurred. But we want to <strong>us</strong>e this space to appeal to
the LDC Planning Committee to think again before
allowing any more ‘changes of <strong>us</strong>e’, before the
situation gets out of hand. They might have decided
that the top of town is expendable as a commercial
centre, but that doesn’t mean we have to take their
policy lying down. Every ‘change of <strong>us</strong>e’ judgement
is another nail in the High Street’s coffin, and we
don’t want to witness the commercial death of the
traditional centre of town.
5

6
ALWAYS
À LA CARTE
We are delighted to announce that,
for the first time, we are offering an
a la carte menu for both lunch and
dinner service - allowing you to choose
from one, two or three courses.
Average price is £21.50
per person for 2 courses
Our new menu has created a wider
choice of home grown and locally
sourced dishes to compliment
our extensive wine list.
NEWICK PARK, NEWICK
EAST SUSSEX BN8 4SB
+44 (0)1825 723633
bookings@newickpark.co.uk
www.newickpark.co.uk

YOu’RE SO VANE #8
St Anne’s church in
Western Road is the
only one in Lewes
with a weathercock.
The handsome gilded
copper bird is 4ft 6ins
from its feet to the top
of the golden ball on
its spindle. When it
was taken down to be
repaired in 1928 it was
found to be stamped,
‘1826 William Balcombe
Langridge, churchwarden. James Diggins, overseer. G
Gurr, maker.’
From Brigid Chapman’s book The Weathervanes of S<strong>us</strong>sex.
Her new book, The Weathervanes of Lewes, will be reviewed in
the next issue.
GARDEN SCuLpTuRE
Ben Autie and his assistant Matt Garton have created a beautiful
garden bench, which they are raffling to raise money for the
Working Horse Tr<strong>us</strong>t in Eridge, a body dedicated to the promoting
and preserving of traditional breeds of working horses.
This beautiful hand-forged, sculptured piece of garden furniture
is worth £3,000, and raffle tickets are j<strong>us</strong>t 50p, so the winner
is going to have quite a bargain
on their hands, and quite
a nice addition to their back
garden. Tickets are on sale
from Lewes Forge in Fisher
Street: the bench will be on
show during Artwave, on the
weekends of Aug 28 and 29,
Sept 5,6 and Sept 11,12.
READER OFFER
We have two lovely foodie reader offers for you to enjoy in
September. One is for afternoon tea at the delightful Newick
Park Hotel, and the other, a ‘buy one get one free’ offer from
the delicio<strong>us</strong> range of ready meals made by Kudos Foods in
Ripe. See page 65.
WE’RE ON TWITTER
b i t s a n d b o b s
As well as our award-winning weekly web
magazine, where you can find up-to-date
listings of what’s on in and around Lewes,
as well as photos and columns, we’ve
finally caught up with the times, and
opened up a Twitter account (which you
can access from the website) which gives
you instant tweets about what’s happening
in town.
LEWES IN QuOTES
“No one can have any idea of the extraordinary
beauty of Lewes, who has only
passed through the station. Seen from
‘The Paddock’, a large field on the northwest,
the town is almost as striking in its
aspects as Edinburgh or Durham; but Edinburgh
is hard and a<strong>us</strong>tere and Durham
dirty, whereas Lewes is soft, homely and
clean…”
Coventry Patmore
‘Hastings, Lewes, Rye and the S<strong>us</strong>sex
Marches’ (1887). Pic by Sue Fasquelle.
7

LEWES STREET NAMES #26
About noon on 8th September, 1908, a Corporation
carter gave the alarm that Malling Mill
was on fire. Although the fire brigade raced to
the scene, the lack of a sufficient water supply
meant the whole mill became a furnace and was
gutted. Th<strong>us</strong> came to an end the windmill after
which this road was named. But the miller’s
ho<strong>us</strong>e remains as well as the base of the mill,
<strong>now</strong> converted into a ho<strong>us</strong>e.
Lewes was once ringed with windmills. From the site of the old windmill (burnt down in 1760) on Cliffe Hill
near the golf clubho<strong>us</strong>e, the line stretched to Malling Mill and across the O<strong>us</strong>e Valley to Steere’s Mill (demolished
1901) on Race Hill. Then southward to Spital Mill (burnt down 1885) and across the Brighton road to the
Ashcombe Smock Mill at Juggs Road, which collapsed in a storm in 1890. In 2010 a new ‘windmill’, actually a
ho<strong>us</strong>e, has been built on the site.
At the annual beating of the bounds, the miller would allow beaters to walk through Malling Mill, since the
boundary line passed through the middle. Early maps depict Malling Mill standing on the west side of the main
road and overlooking the lane down to South Malling Church. The geography was altered in 1830 when the
present main road from the Prince of Wales Inn was cut to bypass the steepness of the former road which ran
under the hill and behind the development called The Lynchets. The new road bisected the old lane, and the
portion which led up to the windmill came to be k<strong>now</strong>n as Mill Road, and the lower section, Church Lane.
From Kim Clark’s revision of L.S. Davey’s Street Names of Lewes, available at the Tourist Information Centre
Photo courtesy of Joe Knight, and our apologies to Joe for neglecting to credit him for his weathervane and streetname
pics in our Aug<strong>us</strong>t issue.
ANGEL DELIGHT
With all the Artwave art shows around town in the first
fortnight of the month, we nearly missed a couple of
shows going on after the last festival enth<strong>us</strong>iast has
been booted out of the last venue to shut up shop. Both
shows are collaborations between family members.
Brothers Chris and Frank McHugh have an exhibition
in St Anne’s Gallery (18th-26th September) called
‘Los Angeles’, referring not to the Californian city, but
to the angels both of them have been diligently painting
as a foil to their
other artwork. Meanwhile,
Mary Smythe,
an abstract painter,
is sharing the Hop
Gallery space with
her daughter Helen,
a semi-abstract watercolour
artist, from
Wednesday 15th to
Thursday 23rd.

IN SEASON NOW: peppers and Chillies
b i t s a n d b o b s
Originating from the tropical Americas, up to 30 species of capsicum have been identified although only five
are in common cultivation, with capsicum annuum being the most commonly cultivated. It is the source of all
sweet peppers, chilli and cayenne pepper varieties.
Unlike their solanaceae co<strong>us</strong>ins, potatoes and tomatoes, which took centuries to be accepted in Europe, the
capsicum was welcomed more readily, aided by the fact that when ground down it made a passable alternative
to the hugely expensive black pepper.
It is likely the first seeds were brought back with Columb<strong>us</strong> and eventually spread their way around the world
largely due to Spanish and Portuguese colonisation.
Their heat is determined by the level of capsaicin, a powerful, odourless alkaloid found in the inner membranes
of the fruits.
The term “Chilli” is derived from the Aztec language ‘Nahuatl’. In the USA the heat of chillies is determined
by a system of measurements devised in 1912 called Scoville Heat Units. This scale refers to the number of
times dissolved chilli extracts can be diluted with sugar water before the capsaicin can no longer be tasted.
Vanessa Langley - Lewes Farmers’ Market Co-ordinator for Common Ca<strong>us</strong>e Co-operative. Next two markets
are Saturday 4th Sept and 2nd Oct.
LEWES FLOOD
SOuTHEASE CHILLIFEST
The wonderful Southease chillifest is back, for its fifth
edition. Two villagers, nurserymen Adrian Orchard
and Ian Barugh have been growing, as they do every
year, scores of different varieties from the mildest
(Navaho, almost devoid of Capsaicin) to the hottest
(Bhut Jalokia, eye-wateringly hot at over two million
Scovilles). On sale will be chilli jams and relishes,
chilli oil, chilli powder, and, of course, chillies in their
raw form, already picked, or as plants. There’s a bar,
of course, and m<strong>us</strong>ic and food, including chilli con
carne pitched at three different strengths. Unmissable.
On October 12th 2000, the O<strong>us</strong>e flooded its banks in
Lewes, with devastating effect on the town. Nobody who
was there at the time will ever forget the mayhem that
ensued. Everybody’s got a mindfull of memories, everybody’s
got a story to tell.
Even Private Eye got in on the act, showing Platform 2 of
Lewes Station, looking like a Venetian canal. The group
artemis arts, based in the Foundry in North Street, are
setting up a ten-day ‘community response’ to the disaster
between October 8th and 12th, coordinating events and
exhibitions to share information, memories, photographs, films, stories and artwork to celebrate the resilience
of the community. If you are interested in getting involved in any way, call organisers Christine Hall (470376) or
Wenda Bradley (486595).
9

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a R t a n d b o b s
TOM HOMEWOOD
FILM COMpETITION
Thanks again to Tom Homewood, who
donated his oil painting A Pint of Harveys
to be auctioned at our ‘Artists United’
exhibition in July, and which we <strong>us</strong>ed
as the central image in our Aug<strong>us</strong>t issue.
The painting eventually raised £1300 for
Lewes Football Club. We are delighted to
say that Tom has given <strong>us</strong> permission to
sell prints of the painting, in A3 frames,
which we are selling for £15 (488882 for
information). Tom is an up-and-coming
Lewes-based artist, who generally exhibits
his art in London, and particularly in
the Northcote Gallery in Battersea. You
can see some more of his beautifully
styled, Degas-like work at their website:
www.northcotegallery.com, and his www.
tomhomewood.com
Our friends at Lewes Film Club are repeating the genero<strong>us</strong> offer they made last year: they are giving away
two pairs of season tickets for their latest programme, which runs from September to May, and includes 30
films. Season tickets normally cost £45 each. All you have to do to get into the draw, is answer this question:
which French film auteur directed the movie Les Diaboliques (below)? Answers to competition@vivalewes.
co or on a postcard to our address (see page 3). Normal rules apply.

MAGAzINE REVIEW - THE CHAp MAGAzINE
bOOk REVIEW - HEARTSTONE bY CJ SANSOM
b i t s a n d b o o k s
In Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, we follow the tribulations of Aunt Dahlia
with her publication M’lady’s Boudoir. Here in Lewes, a splendid ‘mod-
ern’ variant called The Chap magazine is currently published bi-month-
ly. Subtitled a ‘Journal for the Modern Gentleman’, I cannot help but
feel Bertie Wooster would have approved. The editor is G<strong>us</strong>tav Temple,
and other editorial positions include literary, sartorial and ‘whiskerade’.
Examples of the sort of articles it features include one on ‘britches and
hoes’ and another called The Fitting Room ‘Where a gentleman and his
inside leg measurements may be openly and frankly disc<strong>us</strong>sed’.
The Chap shares the premises of the Vintage Shirt Company on Mount
Place and copies can be purchased from the shop, also available by subscription
01778 392022, £3.25 per issue, £20 annual subscription.
The extremely successful historical crime writer, CJ Sansom, lives relatively close to Lewes
and has a new novel coming out on 3rd September called Heartstone. Set in 1545, it is the
fifth in the series featuring lawyer Matthew Shardlake. The action takes place during the time
of Henry VIII’s invasion of France, and includes the sinking of the Tudor warship, the Mary
Rose. As with his other novels, the attention to detail is remarkable. He told <strong>us</strong> that Lewes
M<strong>us</strong>eum was a <strong>us</strong>eful resource for researching the 16th century iron ind<strong>us</strong>try, and in the book
he <strong>us</strong>es the legend: ‘Grieve Not My Heart is Thine’ which he found on a fireback displayed
there. Designer of many Viva Lewes covers, Neil Gower, draws maps for the Shardlake
novels, and did a remarkable seven for this one, including a depiction of Shardlake’s journey from London to
Portsmouth and Portsea Island Area including the location of the Royal Tents to the east of Portsmouth.
Published by Mantle, for sale in British Bookshops (or ‘S<strong>us</strong>sex Stationers’ as some of <strong>us</strong> still persist in calling it).
bOOk REVIEW - REpLAY bY TRISTAN DONOVAN
Within weeks of the launch of Tomohiro Nishikado’s revolutionary video game
Space Invaders, Japan saw something of a financial crisis. ‘Children, teenagers
and adults alike flocked to the arcades to join the battle against the alien threat’,
writes Lewes-based author Tristan Donovan, in his j<strong>us</strong>t-published history of Video
Games, Replay. ‘Pachinko parlours, bowling alleys and even grocery stores reinvented
themselves as dedicated Space Invaders arcades. Cafés swapped their tables
for Space Invaders cocktail cabinets… Within three months of its launch Space
Invaders had gobbled up so many 100 yen coins it brought Japan to a standstill,
preventing people from buying subway tickets or <strong>us</strong>ing public telephone boxes.’
Donovan’s book is extremely well-researched, and beautifully written, and takes
you from the very first clunky games that scientists started producing in the fifties, via the revolution ca<strong>us</strong>ed
by Space Invaders, to the incredibly complex multi-million-dollar-making latterday products, with development
staffs in the several hundreds. The author, a freelance writer for publications such as The Guardian and
Stuff, has written the definitive history, it seems, and a great present for an intelligent gamer. Interestingly, he
didn’t call it ‘game over’.
1 3

Celia
of Poppy’s
Chocolate
Shop
“Nine reasons why
I love Riverside!”
Jaine
of The Riverside
Café Bar
Martin
of Boat Ho<strong>us</strong>e
butchers
Clare of
Riverside
Flowers
Georgina
of Georgie’s
pottery
Liz of
The Gallery
Saira
of The Stitchery
Carol
of
Riverside
Brasserie
Lee
of Terry’s
fishmongers
Cliffe Bridge, Lewes BN7 2RE www.riverside-lewes.co.uk

MYLEWES JuLia RuShbuRY
Julia R<strong>us</strong>hbury is a mural painter who has lived in
Lewes for over fifty years. Her father was Sir Henry
R<strong>us</strong>hbury, an artist who gained international re<strong>now</strong>n
as one of the leaders of the British etching revival in
the 1920s. An ack<strong>now</strong>ledged master of topographical
drawing, he also served as an official war artist in both
world wars. In the latter part of his life he was a distinguished
Keeper of the Royal Academy, improving
the RA schools beyond recognition. For many years his
work was neglected except by a small body of collectors.
The 1989 exhibition at Birmingham City M<strong>us</strong>eum and
Art Gallery, marking the centenary of his birth, and a
small show this summer in the Tennant Gallery at the
Royal Academy, running until 12th Sept, have brought
a new generation to look at his work afresh. To coincide
with the exhibition, a Catalogue Raisonné of his prints
has been published.
What was your father’s connection with Lewes? In
his early days he had rented cottages in West S<strong>us</strong>sex at
Bosham and Amberley, but he always liked the country
around Lewes and my parents moved here in 1957.
What was Lewes like in those days? A small market
town, still stifled by the rigid social hierarchy that
comes across so clearly in Mrs Dudeney’s Diary. I’m
afraid my father found it all rather dull, missing the
congenial company of fellow artists at the RA and the
Chelsea Arts Club. He didn’t go out much, and was given
to indicating that the visits of neighbours had gone
on too long by going round the room plumping up the
c<strong>us</strong>hions. But he relished the company of his numero<strong>us</strong>
grandchildren, and greatly enjoyed the visits of former
pupils and old artist friends like Ethelbert White and
Photo by Emma Chaplin
Percy Horton.
What did your parents like about Lewes? They
loved their ho<strong>us</strong>e, 6 St Martin’s Lane, with its balcony
overlooking the valley and the Downs. When they
bought it, the ho<strong>us</strong>e was done up by Wicks, a local
building firm. At the time, Dennis Wicks, a re<strong>now</strong>ned
opera singer who had begun his career as a bass in the
Glyndebourne Chor<strong>us</strong>, sometimes helped the family
firm out if they were eager to finish a job on time.
My mother, unaware of the m<strong>us</strong>ical connection, once
exclaimed to me, “What a wonderful town Lewes is!
Even the carpenters are able to sing Mozart arias while
they work”.
Tell <strong>us</strong> about a cherished Lewes landmark. The
cycle rack in Grange Gardens, erected by the Friends
of Lewes to commemorate Elisabeth Howard. She was
an indefatigable conservation campaigner, often to be
seen riding around Lewes on her heavily encumbered
bicycle. I was at Langford Grove School with her, in
Barcombe Mills. In 1946, I and five other girls, all going
onto Art School, were put up at Westgate Ho<strong>us</strong>e
whilst learning how to <strong>us</strong>e the lithographic press
owned by the Ladies of Miller’s.
What do you dislike about Lewes? The ever-increasing
volume of traffic on Southover High Street. Useless
traffic-calming measures. The smug hypocrisy of
those who bang on about the environment while fitting
in as many short haul holiday flights to Naples or Bratislava
as they can.
Recommend a film. Fellini’s La Strada, a poignant
and beautiful work that I never tire of.
David Jarman
1 5

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RANDT AWARENESS
p h o t o o f t h e m o n t h
This month’s winning photo was shot by the talented David Stacey, and is a homage to David’s favourite
photographer, Bill Brandt. Brandt was born in Hamburg, but made England his home in the 30s. He is most
famo<strong>us</strong> for his black and white nudes, but he successfully practised many different genres of photography, including
landscape. You can find Brandt’s depiction of this very scene (Cuckmere River, S<strong>us</strong>sex 1963) on google,
or in a number of collections of his work: David has tried as closely as possible to take his shot from the same
position. “I took a copy of Brandt’s picture with me on my phone so I could check the compostion,” he tells <strong>us</strong>.
“It isn’t perfect, but my camera/lens combination is not the same as Brandt was <strong>us</strong>ing. I <strong>us</strong>ed a Pentax K10d
(I’m not sure but I think Brandt <strong>us</strong>ed a Rolleiflex and then cropped down from the square format). My version
is more tonal than Brandt’s very stark and graphic image.”
David is exhibiting this photograph and a selection of others, alongside the paintings of his wife Dawn, at his
home during Artwave. The show, at 14 Toronto Terrace, will be open on all three weekends of the Festival, from
11am-5pm.
Send your pictures to info@vivaleqwes.com. We publish the best in our ‘photo of the week’ column in www.
vivalewes.com, and choose our favourite in this slot, which wins the photographer £20. Unless otherwise arranged
we reserve the right to <strong>us</strong>e all pictures received in future Viva Magazines Ltd publications.
1 7

lewes
ragged
school
Education, education,
education,Victorian style
As local historian LS Davey found to his fr<strong>us</strong>tration
in the 1970s, information about the history
of the Lewes Ragged School has been difficult to
find, beca<strong>us</strong>e, he concludes; ‘these ragged schools
were very much family affairs’. But two recent
discoveries have cast a fascinating new light on
a slice of 19th-century Lewes life experienced by
those who were extremely poor.
This year, the East S<strong>us</strong>sex County Record Office
purchased a series of lantern slides, unseen by the
public for over a hundred years, which include
portraits of pupils of the Ragged School from
1895. And Senior Archivist Christopher Whittick
traced a file held at the National Archives at Kew
which tells <strong>us</strong>, amongst other things, how and
why a heavy s<strong>now</strong>fall in 1916 led to the School’s
eventual closure.
Free, compulsory education in Britain did not
begin until after 1870, and the parents of impoverished
families in Lewes, as everywhere, could
not afford to educate their children. In 1818, a
Portsmouth shoemaker called John Pounds started
teaching poor children without charging a fee,
and the name ‘ragged school’ was coined. Dickens
later wrote a letter to the Daily News describing
ragged schools as being for people ‘who are
too ragged, wretched, filthy, and forlorn, to enter
any other place: who could gain admission into
no charity school, and who would be driven from
any church door’.
Lewes Ragged School, which ran for upwards of
70 years, was founded by a Jireh Chapel member,
but it seems that the Ragged School was run
as a separate entity in a rented schoolroom in St
John’s Street, owned by John Dudeney. In January
1870, an event for the benefit of the school
took place, according to the NA file, ‘at the old
room in which they assemble’. Then, in 1879,
a freehold was acquired for the school on the
east side of St John Street, the site of the former
Bethesda Chapel.
The lessons mostly took place on Sunday evenings
although eventually ‘week-night classes
were sometimes held for instruction in secular
subjects’.
A newspaper article from 1892 refers to ‘... the
Ragged School so energetically conducted by
Mr Isaac Vinall’ where ‘the teachers, the majority
attending monthly in rotation ... number 179.’
The article goes on to say; ‘When we consider
the difficulties of influencing and reclaiming the
class for whom it is established all praise m<strong>us</strong>t be
accorded to Mr Vinall for his excellent work’.
The lantern slide portraits of Lewes Ragged

School pupils taken in 1895 bring the school to
life in an extraordinary way. Poor people were
not <strong>us</strong>ually seen in portraits, since photography
was an expensive b<strong>us</strong>iness. The details of the
young people’s cut-down, heavily mended and
ill-fitting clothes are fascinating, as is the expressiveness
of their faces.
The children would have been taught the three
Rs in a strictly moral and religio<strong>us</strong> context. The
labels that go with slides indicate this, examples
include: ‘Joseph: the great Joseph was a poor boy
once but he became a prospero<strong>us</strong> man for God
was with him’, ‘Patience: as she sits in her class.
To her teachers who have need of patience.’ and
‘Nameless: not one of the best girls – well may
she hide her face’.
There was, of course, a sharp social divide between
the pupils, and the Lewesians who supported
the school by voluntary contributions
and legacies. Isaac’s granddaughter Kathleen
Vinall, in recordings made by the WEA in 1972,
talks of visiting ho<strong>us</strong>es of Ragged School pupils,
delivering dates and oranges. ‘We didn’t look
down on those people, it’s j<strong>us</strong>t that you knew
where you stood’.
So why did the Ragged School close? It transpires
that on Sunday 26th February 1916, a
l E w E s I N h I s t o r y
heavy fall of s<strong>now</strong> ca<strong>us</strong>ed the collapse of the
older part of the building. Tenders were sought
for its repair (see above sketch), but in May 1916,
tr<strong>us</strong>tees decided that would be too expensive,
and the property should be sold. Their solicitors,
Isaac Vinall and Sons, wrote to the Board
of Education, saying their decision had been influenced
by the great improvement of the social
conditions of child life in Lewes, leading to the
conviction that ‘there is no longer the same need
for a Ragged School as formerly’.
The building was eventually bought by an undertaker.
After lengthy negotiation with the Charity
Commission about whether the proceeds of the
sale had to benefit ‘poor’ children, it was decided
in 1923 that they could be <strong>us</strong>ed to augment
the endowment of the Lewes Exhibition Fund,
a charity still running today whose aims are to
support young people who live within five miles
of Lewes with their studies.
Emma Chaplin
Thanks to Christopher Whittick, S<strong>us</strong>anne Jenks
and Andrew Bennett for their invaluable assistance
and to the East S<strong>us</strong>sex County Record Office for
permission to <strong>us</strong>e the slides, which are available for
everyone to see under reference AMS 6919.
1 9

High Street, Barcombe, Near Lewes, BN8 5DH. Telephone 01273 401526
Opening Hours Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5.30pm
Also open Aug<strong>us</strong>t Bank Holiday Monday 10am to 4pm
Start-rite, Ecco,
Petasil, Camper, Geox
Buckle My Shoe
Angul<strong>us</strong>, Haflinger
Converse and
many more.
Some brands are available
in women’s sizes
www.elizabrown.co.uk

lesleY
ThoMsoN
Emma Chaplin interviews the
Lewes author shortly after
her atmospheric book about
the mysterio<strong>us</strong> disappearance
of a young girl, A Kind of
Vanishing, is announced
inaugural winner of The
People’s Book Prize for Fiction.
Congratulations on the award, what
a terrific achievement. How’s it been
since you won? It’s psychologically
good for any writer to win a prize. It has
changed a lot: it’s raised my profile, and
led to an American company expressing
interested in making a film of A Kind
of Vanishing. And of course everyone
wants to k<strong>now</strong> when the next novel will
be coming out (the answer to which is –
next year sometime!).
The People’s Awards were the
brainchild of Beryl Bainbridge,
weren’t they? Yes, and sadly she died
three weeks before the ceremony. Her
absence was felt keenly. I would love to
have met her. However I am proud to
be the first winner of her prize.
I’d categorize your book as a ‘literary
crime novel’, in a similar vein to
Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie
series. You’re not the first to make that
comparison, and I’m flattered. I love
Kate Atkinson’s writing, but I’ve not
read her crime novels yet.
The novel is set around here, in
Newhaven and Tide Mills and
Charbury. Charbury? It’s Firle. When
I was writing A Kind of Vanishing I
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
Photo by Alex leith
l I t E r At U r E
was working with the Charleston Festival and was offered the
chance to rent an annexe in Firle from Anne Olivier Bell, editor
of the Virginia Woolf Diaries. I walked around the village rarely
seeing any one. The atmosphere was right. The same thing
happened with Tide Mills. Someone suggested it as a good place
for dog walking, I went there and knew immediately it’s where
the character Alice vanished.
Is a sense of place important to you? Yes, very. If I’m reading
a novel that mentions a real location I’ll <strong>us</strong>e Google Street View
to look at it. I did a lot of research into Tide Mills, spending
time in the fascinating m<strong>us</strong>eum at Paradise Park. An old man
came over to find out what I was doing; he told me he’d lived
in Tide Mills before it was abandoned. He brought the ghost
village to life.
But you’ve reinvented a different sort of Tide Mills, with
buildings you can go into? Perhaps rebuilt it would be another
way of putting it. It is a place where the past is very present - I
hope A Kind of Vanishing captures this.
You spent some childhood holidays in Brighton and
mention visiting Saltdean Lido. I learnt to swim there and
have many happy memories of family picnics on the grassy
slope. I hope the campaign to keep it safe succeeds –it’s a
treasure for this area.
What’s it like to be a writer in Lewes? It’s an inspiring
place. I love exploring the streets and alleys, or going further
afield and taking the train back here. I like the buildings, the
brickwork–and that you can see the edges of the town with the
Downs rising beyond.
A Kind of Vanishing, published by Myriad Editions, £6.99, stocked
by Sky-Lark in the Needlemakers.
2 1

Lewes, 16 High Street, BN7 2LN
01273 479055

sMall woNder
beth Miller talks to a pork-pie-hatless Alexei Sayle
The short story had been in d<strong>us</strong>ty
decline for many years, but lately
has made something of a comeback.
Its revival is due in part
to events such as Charleston’s
Small Wonder Festival, a four
day celebration of all things
short story-ish. This year’s starry
line-up includes A.S. Byatt,
Salley Vickers, Joseph O’Connor
and Michele Roberts. Flicking
through the programme I
thought for one heart-quickening
moment that Colin Firth was
also appearing, and he is, but
only in celluloid form – a latenight
showing of A Single Man.
There are events for families
too, including the intriguingsounding
Ho<strong>us</strong>e of Fairytales, a
storytelling/theatre thing which
runs over a whole weekend.
Last year I attended the
legendary short story slam (my
name wasn’t picked from the hat
so I can’t report on a marvello<strong>us</strong>
triumph), and to the lovely
Stories under the Stars, which
took place in a c<strong>us</strong>hion-strewn
Arabian tent. The slam is on
again – take entries along on the
night - and the tent will host a
m<strong>us</strong>ic event this time.
The speaker I am most keen
to see is Alexei Sayle, himself
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
an accomplished short story
writer. I spoke to Mr Sayle the
other day and asked if he would
have been a member of the
Bloomsbury Set had he been
around in the 1920s. ‘No! They
would have hated me and I
would have hated them’, he said.
‘We would cut each other dead
at salons.’ On further reflection
he made an exception for Lytton
Strachey, who looked as if he
‘liked a laugh.’
Alexei’s writing CV is impressive:
tv scripts, five novels, two
short story collections pl<strong>us</strong>
‘almost enough for another
collection’, and most recently a
memoir entitled Stalin Ate My
Homework. He enjoyed writing
the memoir most, though it took
a while to get the technique: ‘I
threw a first draft away.’
I asked Alexei if he had any
unfulfilled ambitions, other than
the one noted in his blog: to
be on the ‘pretentio<strong>us</strong>’ South
Bank Show. He confessed that
he would love to win a literary
prize – ‘or be short-listed.
Or even j<strong>us</strong>t long-listed.’ His
proudest achievement was
having made the transition from
comedian to serio<strong>us</strong> writer, and
he felt an award would be a fine
l I t E r At U r E
ack<strong>now</strong>ledgement of that.
The conversation returned to
short stories, the best of which,
he said, were like ‘little gems’.
His favourite short story writers
were Raymond Carver, Saki
and Graham Greene. And his
favourite story was Bartleby the
Scrivener by Herman Melville,
which he described ‘as like
nothing you’ve ever read.’
The festival programme is also
like nothing you’ve ever read,
taking in as it does not j<strong>us</strong>t
writing workshops, interviews
and disc<strong>us</strong>sions, but also plays,
the actress Kerry Fox, ping pong,
conversation cards, tiny figurines
and other little gems. Beth Miller
Small Wonder runs from 23rd-
26th September at Charleston.
Alexei is appearing on Sunday
26th September at 2pm. The full
programme is at www.charleston.
org.uk/smallwonder. <strong>Call</strong> 01323
811626 for a printed copy. Details
of how to book tickets can be
found in the programme.
2 3

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Dial Ho<strong>us</strong>e, 221 High Street, Lewes BN7 2AE
Tel 01273 477071 Fax 01273 478515
Offices at Brighton, Eastbourne, Lewes,
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Mayo Wynne Baxter LLP is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

art&aBoUT
Blue Drift (detail) by Meryl stringell
For many people Artwave is the social and
cultural social event of the year, as artists
throughout the district, and particularly in
Lewes, open their home and studio doors to
punters, exhibiting a wide variety of genres in a
wide variety of settings. The festival takes pace
over three consecutive weekends – Aug<strong>us</strong>t Bank
Holiday, September 4th-5th and September 11th-
12th, though some venues open throughout the
three-week period.
Our advice is to pick up a brochure from the
Tourist Information Office (and other venues),
check out the artists or groups you like the look
of, and track a course from place to place. In
many venues you’ll be offered a cup of tea or a
glass of wine as you look at the art. Some find
the artists’ interior design as interesting as their
artworks.
We don’t, obvio<strong>us</strong>ly, have enough space in this
slot to mention every exhibition, but we can
highlight some that have caught our eye; having
foc<strong>us</strong>sed on events taking place outside Lewes in
the Aug<strong>us</strong>t edition, here we’ll take a look at stuff
going on in town.
When people want to draw a stereotypical image
of an artist, they often portray an oil painter
in front of a canvas in a field, with a palette in
his hand. Tom Benjamin, though we’ve never
seen him in a beret, spends a lot of time in this
situation, and he is one of four artists in the
Foundry Gallery’s exciting exhibition Outside
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
(throughout the Festival but closed Mondays
and Tuesday). Tom’s impressionistic oils are
on show alongside works by Haydn Cottam,
Andrew Fitchett and Gavin Lockheart. All the
paintings display the artists’ differing approaches
to landscape. All this in the Foundry wareho<strong>us</strong>e,
once an integral part of the Phoenix Ironworks.
Round the corner is another wareho<strong>us</strong>e-cumgallery-cum-studio
space, and much more
besides. We featured the restaurant of the Café
Des Artistes (10 Phoenix Place) last month:
throughout Artwave the space will be displaying
an exhibition of artists, some of whom <strong>us</strong>e a nook
or cranny of the wareho<strong>us</strong>e to create their art.
They’re throwing an opening party on Aug<strong>us</strong>t
28th, and are open everyday till the 11th: artists
included in the show, called Bewitched, are
photographers Martin Gayford and Graham
Carlow, and painters/sculptors Christian
Thompson and rising R<strong>us</strong>sian star Svetlana
K-Lie –whose work can also be seen in Renwick
Clarke. For information on other events, phone
Christian on 08882986350.
St Anne’s Gallery, of course, has prepared a
show from its high-level repertoire of locallybased
artists, and the likes of Nick Bodimeade,
Lucia Corrigan, Kate Hall, Julia Hamilton,
Mark Johnston, and Jo Lamb will be
represented in one of the m<strong>us</strong>t-see stop-offs for
any art trailist, at the smart gallery on the High
Street, opposite Shelleys. (Continued overleaf...)
A r t
2 5

pastoraleartwave2:Layout 2 12/8/10 16:26 Page 1
pastorale artwave
open studios 2010
28th aug<strong>us</strong>t - 12th september
open daily 10-5
Pastorale Antiques, 15 Malling Street, Lewes BN7 2RA
recent works by:
Simon Keizer
Chris Liddiard
Antonia Ogilvie
Anne Schulte
Celia Soucek
Lucinka Soucek
Laina Watt
Peter Messer
limited edition prints from
The Fine Art Company
and much more!
Phoenix Ca<strong>us</strong>eway
North Court
Foundry Lane
Harveys Way
P
Cli�e High Street Chapel Hill
Morris Road
Malling Street
15
South Street
Located at the end of Cliffe High Street,
in the Pastorale Antiques courtyard,
next to the Buttercup Cafe

Andrew Fitchett (detail), Martin Gayford (detail) and Nick Bodimeade
art&aBoUT continued
Where to go next? There are all sorts of un<strong>us</strong>ual
spaces to choose from. The B<strong>us</strong> Station, for
example, exhibiting a multi-media show of
work by the likes of Rachael Plummer, Sara
Grisewood, Mark Hewitt and Laurence
Galpin. The Former Cramps Butchers
Shop, on Market Street, which will be showing
photographs by Sarah Weal and Catherine
Benson, taken inside Harveys Brewery. The
Brewers Arms, showing T.A.T.E Lewes,
showcasing the work of the Paddock Wednesday
Evening Group. And the Elephant and Castle,
juxtaposing the art of established 50-something
fine artist Peter Messer, with acrylic works by
his 11-year-old protegé Ashley Carter.
In July we helped organise the massive Artists
United exhibition, in the Foundry; the other
side of a similar coin is an exhibition of old
photographs and memorabilia concerning Lewes
FC, celebrating their 125th anniversary in
September. The Rook Inn at the Dripping Pan
is the venue for the show: the bar will be open for
drinks and refreshments.
The Café at the Needlemakers, meanwhile, is
the venue for the latest exhibition of the Paddock
Printers. You may remember the group’s joint
exhibition on Tom Paine, last year, or on ‘The
High Street’ the year before. This time round
they’ve turned their attention to the footsteps
of Gideon Mantell: the series of prints is called
Round the Block and has been made into a
calendar and book.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
For many, though, Artwave is about wandering
around artists’ ho<strong>us</strong>es, and no tour is complete
without a visit to rising star Jessica Zoob’s place
on De Montfort Rd. Other homes that sound
worth a visit are 20 Dorset Rd, where mother and
daughter Meryl and Alison Stringell exhibit
their mix of oils, assemblages and silver jewellery
and, in the most imaginatively titled show in
the festival, there is work from four different
artists, including Rowan Hannay’s mixed media
abstracts, in Wave from the Hill! at 17 Chapel
Hill. As we say, read the brochure for much,
much more. There’s enough out there for threeweekends-worth
of entertainment.
All that doesn’t leave <strong>us</strong> much room to round up
other art events going on in Lewes in September,
but we’ll do our best. We’re particularly taken
by the sound of an exhibition in Lewes Ho<strong>us</strong>e,
Immagini e Memoria featuring photographs
taken in Rome by Father Peter Paul Mackey
between 1891 and 1901, previo<strong>us</strong>ly exhibited
in the Sir John Soane M<strong>us</strong>eum in London.
Where’s the Lewes connection, you might ask?
Mackey was friends with former Lewes Ho<strong>us</strong>e
owner Ned Warren and there are images of him
with Rodin taken on the balcony of Warren’s
flat in Rome. The last day of the exhibition,
on September 11th, coincides with National
Heritage Day, and there will be a guided tour of
the historic ho<strong>us</strong>e, and the stable block where the
French sculptor’s The Kiss was stored for some
years.
A r t
2 7

The Artwave Show
St Anne’s Galleries
An exhibition of paintings,
prints, sculpture and jewellery
28 Aug<strong>us</strong>t - 5 September
10am - 5pm Saturdays and Sundays
SArAh o’kane contemporary fine art
S T Anne’S GaLLeries
111 HiGH street, Lewes, east s<strong>us</strong>sex Bn7 1xy 01273 478 822
sok@stannesgalleries.com www.stannesgalleries.com

Foc<strong>us</strong> on...
Jessica Zoob, deep water
You’ve had an interesting year? I have. I was featured artist during London Design Week at the Chelsea
Harbour Design Centre. Then I had solo shows at the Medici Gallery in Cork Street and on board The
World, the second biggest ship on the planet, whilst it was in residency in British Waters!
Tell me what you’re up to for Artwave? I’ll be having my <strong>us</strong>ual open ho<strong>us</strong>e, studio and garden here in De
Montfort Road, as well as exhibiting a collection in the Ripe Post Office.
How do you feel about opening up your ho<strong>us</strong>e to the public? When my work is in galleries, it’s a more
clinical experience, so Artwave is the one chance I get to actually meet clients. People come from all over
the country for it, and they can see a range of my work, since both recent and much earlier paintings are on
display. I always want people to feel completely welcome to look, enjoy a glass of wine, without feeling the
pressure to buy anything.
Tell me about your process. I get so much pleasure from the making of the work. I work almost entirely
in oils, beca<strong>us</strong>e I love the depth of colours. But it is very time consuming, beca<strong>us</strong>e of the layering process.
Each layer takes a long time to dry, so paintings can take years to complete, with different stories getting
obliterated with each additional layer, but with tiny bits of early paintings showing through – pieces of my
own history I suppose.
What are the themes of your current paintings? I’m doing more landscapes these days. Paintings from
the Stories Without Words sequence are about my love affair with nature. But my work isn’t full of angst –
the way I see it, life is tough and I don’t seek to make it worse.
And the range of prices? I’ll be selling a book of postcards from the Stories Without Words collection for
£5. The paintings themselves start from £100 and go up into the tho<strong>us</strong>ands.
Holly Ho<strong>us</strong>e, 26 De Montfort Road. Open weekends of Aug 28 & 29th, Sept 4th &, 5th, and 11th & 12th from
12-6pm. Also, Church Lane, Ripe Post Office and Stores, Mon-Fri 9-1pm and 4-6pm, Sat 9-5pm during Artwave.
(www.jessicazoobdesire.com)
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
A r t
2 9

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Alexis Dove
www.alexisdove.com
Collections and Com missions
The Needlemakers Lewes 01273 945786

Foc<strong>us</strong> on...
seat sebastian ascending
by Ben Fowler
How did you get involved with the 24 Chairs
Exhibition? The curator S<strong>us</strong>anne Wolf had lots
of Lewes artists to work with, so she invited me
as a furniture designer, and one or two others, to
broaden it out a bit.
Tell me about this chair: Possibly the most
famo<strong>us</strong> chair in the world is Arne Jacobsen’s
Butterfly Chair, which is a lot like this one. There
is a photo of Christine Keeler sitting on it that
became iconic beca<strong>us</strong>e of the Profumo scandal.
Why did you choose to transform it in this
way? I began thinking of all sorts of things chairlike,
but then I thought no, it would be nice to do
something unfamiliar. I decided to make it very
difficult to sit in, and then I remembered a fantastic
painting of Saint Sebastian. I’m not familiar with the religio<strong>us</strong> message, to me it’s j<strong>us</strong>t a beautiful
image, I like the way the arrows spear him all over but he still looks calm.
Did you make it impossible to sit on beca<strong>us</strong>e ‘Design has to work, art does not?’ That’s
right, art has to be <strong>us</strong>eless, doesn’t it! My dad once said, “The thing about chairs is, you can sit
on almost anything.” Chairs are pretty <strong>us</strong>eless; they are the things that come closest to fine art
for designers and you can have real fun designing them.
Did you make the arrows? My son Dom and I made the arrows. My sweetheart Sarah, Dom
and I talked about the brief a lot. Artists think it all up in their own heads but I can’t do that. I
have ideas and talk about them and see what happens.
What makes a good chair? Something that looks gorgeo<strong>us</strong> and makes you want to sit on it,
and I think it helps if it’s comfortable.
Have you got a favourite chair? The Wishbone Chair by Hans J. Wegner, it’s a really beautiful,
elegant, modern version of a Windsor chair: very comfortable, but mainly very pretty. CK
The 24 chairs Exhibition, in which each chair has been ‘modified’ by an artist or designer, is at the
Foundry Gallery from 18th - 25th Sept. On 25th Sept the chairs will be auctioned to raise money for
the Lewes Community Land Tr<strong>us</strong>t. Ben’s furniture can be seen at www.fowlerco.co.uk.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
A r t / D E s I G N
3 1

How much is it going for? It’s not formally for sale, but if someone fell in love with it, I’d consider
an offer.
Tell me about the picture. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while; a fantasy about what might
happen if the O<strong>us</strong>e froze over. In the late 17th century, this happened in London and they held ‘frost
fairs’ and hog roasts on the Thames. So I’ve painted a parallel Lewes with a bit of the old Bear Hotel,
the Riverside building, Clark’s jewellery shops both sides of the bridge. The foundry chimney can
be seen in the background, and there’s a roast chestnut stall beyond the bridge. I enjoyed putting
it together, with the chimney smoke going in one direction, the men on the swing another. It has a
slightly grotesque, dreamlike quality to it.
There aren’t many people. No, it’s as if the fair hasn’t quite opened yet. There’s a sense of a
s<strong>us</strong>pended action or a ‘caught moment’.
What’s inside the tent? I’m not sure. It might be a fortune teller!
What materials did you <strong>us</strong>e? Egg tempera on a gesso panel.
Does any painter directly influence this image? I like the s<strong>now</strong> scenes by the early Dutch painter,
Hendrick Avercamp.
What response do you hope for from your art? I like things that rattle the cage a bit, work that
engages you and keeps you in the room. I don’t like art that declares itself on first viewing.
You also play with the Contenders. What do you listen to when you paint? Radio 3, Radio 4 and
vario<strong>us</strong> CDs. I’m enjoying the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir at the moment. Really great rough
and ready blues.
Peter Messer and Jo Lamb are having Open Studios in the Paddock Arts Studios on Paddock Lane during
Artwave, 12.30-5.30pm, 28/29th Aug and 4/5th Sept. They will also be selling a range of freshly printed
cards of their work. During the second two weeks of Artwave, Peter will also be exhibiting upstairs at the
Elephant and Castle pub alongside his wonderful eleven-year-old protégé, Ashley Carter, who has made
several witty interpretations of Peter’s paintings.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
Foc<strong>us</strong> on...
Frost Fair by Peter Messer
A r t
3 3

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BeTTer The devil YoU KNow
Murder is a family affair in two cracking movies from the Lewes Film Club
In 1954, according to Hollywood folklore, Alfred
Hitchcock missed out by hours on acquiring
the rights to a novel, The Woman Who Was, by
Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Instead a
French film director – Henri-Georges Clouzot,
fl<strong>us</strong>h with the success of The Wages of Fear –
snapped it up, and created a horror movie that
threatened to <strong>us</strong>urp the great master’s crown as
King of S<strong>us</strong>pense.
Les Diaboliques, it was called, starring Simone
Signoret, Clouzot’s
wife Véra Clouzot
and Paul Meurisse,
and it employed
many of the
cinematographic
tricks favoured by
Hitchcock himself,
to play with the audience’s sense of wellbeing. ‘Be
Sure to Take a Handkerchief’, read the blurb in
the American release trailer, ‘you’ll need it to dry
your palms.’
The story takes place in a boarding school, where
the tyrannical headmaster openly flaunts his
affair with a teacher in front of his wife. The two
women find themselves united by their mutual
disg<strong>us</strong>t of the man, and murder him, dumping his
body in the (weeded-up) swimming pool. When
the pool is drained, however, there’s no body
there, when the plot, in Hitchcockian fashion,
starts thickening.
There are bits in the film when the sheer nastiness
of the headmaster gives you the creeps, and then
there are the really psychologically disturbing
scenes, particularly one long shot in the dark,
featuring a corpse in the bath. I don’t want to
give anything away here: let’s j<strong>us</strong>t say that Fatal
Attraction doesn’t contain the scariest tub scene in
film history. The lighting in this particular scene:
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
chiaroscuro, heavy on the scuro, is particularly
effective.
Hitchcock made sure to buy the novelists’ next
book – he turned it into Vertigo – and it is said
that he was influenced to make Psycho as a
response to his rival’s movie. The big question is:
is it still as scary <strong>now</strong> as it was then? The answer,
inevitably, is no. Don’t worry too much about the
palms of your hands. But don’t let that put you
off a great movie experience. It’s a fine start to the
Lewes Film Club’s new season (Fri 17th, 8pm, £5)
The Film’s great strength is their mix of old
classics, and modern artho<strong>us</strong>e and foreign films
you might have missed, and the second film in
the season (Tues, 8pm, £6) is Mother, a 2009 film
by Korean director Bong Joon-ho. The original
title ‘Madeo’ plays on the fact that both English
words ‘mother’
and ‘murder’
are phonetically
identical when
transcribed into
Korean. The film
is a psychological
drama, centring on
a mother’s attempts to clear her son’s name after
he’s arrested for a murder she doesn’t believe he
committed. There’s a very Asian melodramatic
mystic realism about certain passages of the film:
the dance sequences that top and tail the action
linger long in the memory.
Both movies will be shown at the All Saints. For
a full list of the movies in the Film Club’s new
season, including a special weekend dedicated
to the Octoberfeast, and another (in January)
sponsored by Viva Lewes, see page 32. The FC
have genero<strong>us</strong>ly offered to give away four season
tickets to readers of Viva Lewes; see page 12 for
more details. Dexter Lee
F I l M
3 5

(c)taran Wilkhu photography
chiddiNglY FesTival
“You get magic moments at a gig like this.”
The Chiddingly Festival, <strong>now</strong> entering its 32nd
year, always seems to manage to find something
special. This year looks like no exception with the
first performance in the region by Arun Ghosh
and his Indo-jazz group, since he played at the
Brighton Great Escape Festival in 2008.
Viva Lewes caught up with Arun one Sunday at
home and asked him about his influences and
what he makes of playing a local festival such
as Chiddingly. “I’m excited to be playing at the
Festival”, says Arun, “We want to bring our m<strong>us</strong>ic
to people of diverse backgrounds.”
“It’s also great to be playing in a small, intimate
venue; there’s less of a barrier with the audience.
We’ll also be able to play an almost entirely
aco<strong>us</strong>tic set, so as m<strong>us</strong>icians we get to hear each
other. And you’re more likely to get those magic
moments at a gig like this. I feel this is how m<strong>us</strong>ic
should be played.”
His core band of six jazz m<strong>us</strong>icians was formed
in 2007, and in 2008 recorded their first album
“Northern Namaste” - which means ‘greeting’
in Hindi – to critical acclaim. They’ve also
performed at major festivals in the UK and
overseas – the line up for Chiddingly is the same
seven that performed to rave reviews at London’s
Pizza Express jazz venue.
He’s avowedly a jazz player – but one that draws
on his Asian heritage along with those of his
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
F E s t I VA l
fellow performers, to create a sound he calls
‘Indo-jazz’. “We’re more melodic and tuneful
than some modern jazz. And ‘Indo’ since we
incorporate m<strong>us</strong>ic influences from the whole
sub-continent.”
How does he find audiences outside London and
Manchester respond? “We’ve j<strong>us</strong>t come back
from the North Devon Festival in Barnstaple.
There’s a warmth and great response to what we
do – you get a different reception, appreciative
that we’re playing there and not j<strong>us</strong>t sticking to
large cities.”
Growing up in the North-West of England in a
family that supported his m<strong>us</strong>ical development,
he played recorder from a young age, going on
to study clarinet at the Royal Northern College
of M<strong>us</strong>ic in Manchester, and improvisation was
always part of his approach to m<strong>us</strong>ic: “Something
j<strong>us</strong>t clicked when I was little. I found myself
making up tunes. Good jazz is like a dialogue - a
conversation between players – that builds from
simple m<strong>us</strong>ical ideas.”
He also composes m<strong>us</strong>ic for films and events - his
m<strong>us</strong>ic for six stories has recently been performed
at Charleston - and works as an educator with
schools: “We run workshops for young people.
And I’d really like children to come along to see
<strong>us</strong> at Chiddingly. We’ve got a very communicative
way of playing which engages audiences of all
ages and backgrounds.”
S<strong>us</strong>sex should be in for something special since
the concert comes j<strong>us</strong>t before he takes up his next
big project, recording his group’s second album in
October and he promises he’ll be trying out some
of the new material at Chiddingly. Then next year
it’s on to a tour of Europe. Rob Read
Chiddingly Festival, 23 Sept to 3 Oct Tickets go on
sale from 1 Sept. www.chiddinglyfestival.co.uk
3 7

16th & 17th October 10am - 5pm
Warmly embrace the season of mellow fruitfulness with a hearty celebration
of all things ‘apple’.
Mingle with like-minded pommofiles, to marvel at the multitude of apple
varieties for sale, sample every conceivable pommological product and toast
the unparalleled quality of our orchard treasures with a brimming cup of pure
apple nectar.
A singular event to relish, a joyful memory to cherish - a celebration in m<strong>us</strong>ic,
dance and feasting of something we do better than any other nation on earth!
3 8
Apple Festival
at Middle Farm
National Collection of Cider & Perry
Middle Farm
Firle, Lewes
East S<strong>us</strong>sex BN8 6LJ
telephone 01323 811411
fax 01323 811622
email info@middlefarm.com
www.middlefarm.com
Photograph by Laura Crow

glYNdesTocK
Autumn of Love
F E s t I VA l
The inaugural Glyndestock Beer and M<strong>us</strong>ic
Festival, a fundraising event for a number
of local ca<strong>us</strong>es, is taking place at the Trevor
Arms on Saturday 4th September, from 1pm-
11pm. There’s an 11.34pm train from the
nearby railway station, so our advice is to walk
over there, and get the train back.
There’s m<strong>us</strong>ic on all day, with The Fold
(above) headlining, supported by five other
local bands: Sam Chara, Big Wheels, Robert
Brown, Ahabe & the Wailer and Porchlight
Smoker. The Fold are <strong>us</strong>ually billed as a ‘Folk
Rock’ band, and while this is an accurate
description of a number of their set-piece
belters, there’s a lot more to their sound,
with elements of Americana, electronica and
even funk. They’re famed for getting their
audiences up and dancing.
Help is at hand for the reluctant: the Trevor
is a Harveys pub, and there will be five ales
on sale from our local brewery, as well as ten
guest ales, including Dark Star, Hogs Back,
1648 Skinners, Arundel, Robinsons, Whites
and Titanic. There’s wine and cider, and, of
course, soft drinks, too.
This is a day/night event, and the first part
is very much geared to the whole family
with face-painting and kids’ stalls to keep
the littl’uns occupied. There are also arts
and crafts on sale, food stalls, and, inevitably
enough, a hog roast. Beneficiaries are the
Glynde and Beddingham Play Group, Glynde
Cricket Club, Sprouts and Lewes FC.
Tickets from The Trevor (858208) Harveys
Shop and Octave Records.
3 9

MYsTerioUs
wheels
It’s berlin, paris… Lewes for the pogues drummer
When I call Andrew Ranken he sounds knackered,
beca<strong>us</strong>e he’s j<strong>us</strong>t had a long journey back from his
latest Pogues gig, in Moscow. Andrew is the Anglo-
Irish band’s drummer, and was so in the barmy old
days of Rum, Sodomy and the Lash, too.
So is it still, er, rock and roll, on tour with front man
Shane McGowan, a notorio<strong>us</strong>ly heavy drinker? “Not
as bad as it was,” he replies. “Not for most of <strong>us</strong>, at
least. Or not very often.” And was touring with the
band back in the 80s as chaotic as it’s been cracked
up to have been? “Worse than you could possibly
imagine.” In what way? “I couldn’t tell you without
getting into trouble.”
Andrew is coming to Lewes with his other band, for
which he’s the lead singer, Mysterio<strong>us</strong> Wheels. It’s a
homecoming, of sorts: he went to school at Priory,
and so did three other members of the band. He
still comes here regularly to see his late girlfriend’s
mum, the grandmother of his first son. He’s looking
forward to this gig, beca<strong>us</strong>e he hasn’t played one
in Lewes for 40 years. So long ago, in fact, he can’t
remember where it was, though he thinks it might
have been the scout hut.
So should we expect a Pogues-like riot of a concert?
“You can expect to dance, beca<strong>us</strong>e we play dance
m<strong>us</strong>ic, and we always get people onto the floor.
But the m<strong>us</strong>ic is very different from the Pogues.
Mysterio<strong>us</strong> Wheels has been going, in one form or
C I NGE MI GA
another, for thirty years, and we’ve always been a
blues band, more or less. We do one Pogues song,
Amadie, from the second-to-last album, but it’s not
characteristic of the band. It’s more of a rockabilly
number. We also do a bit of Country.”
Having looked at the itinerary of the Pogues tour, I
wonder how difficult it is to flit between drumming
with a once-massive band in big stadiums, and
singing for a much less famo<strong>us</strong> one in places like the
Con Club. Berlin, Moscow… er, Lewes. Isn’t this
a bit of a comedown? “Not at all,” he says. “I like
playing with different people, in different bands.
And Lewes is one of the m<strong>us</strong>ical capitals of the
world, as far as I’m concerned. It’s produced a lot of
famo<strong>us</strong> m<strong>us</strong>icians.” Like who? “Well, j<strong>us</strong>t looking
at my year at school, there was Wreckless Eric. And
there was Pete Thomas, drummer for Elvis Costello.
I’ve got to mention John Whippy, as well, who <strong>us</strong>ed
to play with the Elevators, and was one of the very
special guitarists. Sadly, he passed away recently.”
Finally, the name. Mysterio<strong>us</strong> Wheels. What’s that
all about? “We’ve had a few names over the years.
Mysterio<strong>us</strong> Wheels actually comes from something
my son Danny said when he saw band member
Simon’s car. He was three years old at the time. He
found the hub caps fascinating.” We’re not quite in
Pogue Mahone, territory, then, but there you go. AL
Con Club, 10th Sept, 8.30pm, £3, members free
4 1

51 High Street Lewes
East S<strong>us</strong>sex BN7 1XE
tel: 01273 477255
128 South Road
Haywards Heath
West S<strong>us</strong>sex RH16 4LT
tel: 01444 454888
e: david@davidsmithjewellery.com
www.davidsmithjewellery.com
David Smith Jewellery
Rubelite Tourmaline
3,42 carats with
Diamonds pave set
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h o r t I C U l t U r E
Hope in the Valley, Earwig Corner,
Hangman’s Acre. Lewes has many poeticsounding
allotments, tended by people from
all walks of life. All are eligible to enter the
hotly contested annual Lewes Allotments
Show at the Town Hall, where people can
bring their prize onions and other produce
to be judged. But Martin Leeburn tells me
that prevailing allotment growing conditions
are not equal. “The Landport is a sunlit
floodplain with alluvial soil ten feet deep! At
Coombe, we’ve got solid chalk, occasional
sheep invasions and rabbits to contend with.
That’s before you get invaded by asparag<strong>us</strong>
beetles and carrot fly.” Not that he’s bitter.
His partner, Dilly Barlow’s Cara potatoes
won a prize the first time they entered the
show. “You get a certificate signed by the
mayor to pin up on the wall of your shed.”
It sounds a fiercely competitive event, and
frankly I don’t envy the task of the judges,
who this year are Philip Pople, gardener for
Lewes District Council, and Joe Simons, a
former allotment keeper with a great deal
of experience. Anyone with an allotment is
eligible to enter one or all of the 41 classes,
including ones for children and an Esther-
Rantzen special of ‘most un<strong>us</strong>ual vegetable’.
Sunday 19th September at Lewes Town Hall.
Entry free. Judging takes place between 11-
2pm, followed by prize-giving, then tea and
cakes. For an application form, go to the Town
Hall or contact Emma Martin 471469, or email
c<strong>us</strong>tomer.services@
lewes-tc.gov.uk

SEpTEMbER 2010
D I A r y D At E s
Sat 4th. Passion Play meeting.
Following the success of the PP at Easter, the group involved in organising it has asked anybody interested
in doing further events to help bring together the communities from Lewes’ vario<strong>us</strong> churches, to
meet (bring your own lunch) at Christ Church Hall at 12.30pm.
Sat 4th. Cruise on the O<strong>us</strong>e Duck Race.
Live entertainment from the Desperate Hurstwives, pl<strong>us</strong> the chance to sponsor a duck in a wacky race.
All proceeds go to St Peter and St James Hospice, who need to raise an incredible £4,000 a day to keep
afloat. The Anchor, Barcombe Mills, 11am-3pm.
Sun 5th. Table-top Sales Trail.
More than 15 addresses in the Nevill Estate will be holding table-top sales in their front gardens. 50p
programmes from Nevill Newsagents on Highdown Road from Aug 25th.
Sun 5th. Fundraising gig for the film ‘Night Train to Laredo’
(being filmed in Lewes) featuring songs from West End shows, and bands Smokestack and The Sweet
Nothing. Tickets from 474637, Laporte’s, John Harvey Tavern and The Ellie.
Sun 5th: Rook Hunt.
Fun for all the family, hunting dressed-up model rooks in shop windows all over town. Over 40 shopkeepers
have agreed to place a Rook in their displays. You and your kids will have hours of fun trying to
find them all, with the aid of a rook-hunting map. There’s a quiz, tea and cakes, and plenty of prizes, up
for grabs.
Weekend starting Fri 10th: Lewes Cinema.
There will be a full programme of films this weekend at the All Saints, after the LC’s Aug<strong>us</strong>t break.
Details tba in www.vivalewes.com
Sat 11th. Battle of Britain Ball.
Mark the 70th anniversary of the crucial air battle over S<strong>us</strong>sex and Kent with live jazz at Newhaven
Fort. There’s swing m<strong>us</strong>ic, jive dancing, a Land Girls’ reunion and a fly-past by Spitfires and Hurricanes.
Tickets £5.95/£4.80/£3.90. <strong>Call</strong> 01273 517622 for more info.

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SEpTEMbER 2010
D I A r y D At E s
Tues 14th. Heinz Wolff lecture.
Lewes Old Grammar have organised for the popular Anglo-German scientist, most famo<strong>us</strong> for his TV
series The Great Egg Race, to come to Lewes to give a talk. The school have opened up the lecture to
the general public. Town Hall, 6.30pm, free but please book via goulds@logs.uk.com
Fri 17th: Lewes FC Beer Festival.
Following the resounding success of last season’s event, here’s another beer-tasting party in the Rook
Inn. Sample from over 20 real ales on sale at £2.50 a pint. £5 ticket includes a free souvenir pint glass.
There’s food, too, from the Gourmet Game Company.
Dripping Pan, from 5pm, £6 on the door, £5 in advance from the club, The Gardeners or Tourist info.
Sat 18th. Ringmer Big Band Night.
The 18-strong Les Paul Big Band pump out 40s classics in the Village Hall, to raise funds for the building.
Tickets £10 (call Ruth on 01273 812060)
Sun 19th. Ladies Day at Plumpton.
Ladies don’t go free this year, but this day is still for them; expect some interesting hats. A fun day out at
our intimate local jump course. First race 2pm.
Thur 23rd. Needlewriters.
Another three local writers read from their latest work. This time it’s Matt Friedson (former US publisher
of Granta), poet Janet Sutherland and poet and teacher Kim Lasky. Needlemakers’ Café, 7 for
7.45pm, £5/£3
Sat 25th: Lark in the Park.
Hurstpierpoint Festival’s Family M<strong>us</strong>ic Day. A bit far out but worth mentioning thanks to performances
from Lewes-based Leveller Mark Chadwick, ex Squeeze frontman Chris Difford and disability-shunning
rockstars Heavy Load. 11am-11pm,

G I G G U I D E
SEpTEMbER DAY-bY-DAY LISTINGS
WED 1ST
Tab & Ben’s Aco<strong>us</strong>tic, Folk & Roots Session. The
S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
THUR 2ND
Dunia Duo. Flamenco guitar and violin. Pelham
Arms, 8pm, free
Spider John Koerner. Trad American living
legend. Royal Oak, 8pm, £7
FRI 3RD
Led Zep Too. No RP et al, but the songs remain
the same. Con Club. 8pm, £8/members Free
Road Runners. The Volunteer, 9pm-11pm, free
SAT 4TH
Holliday Junction The S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
SUN 5 TH
Ray Owen. Aco<strong>us</strong>tic session with Juicy Lucy
front man. Con Club, 3pm, free
Rick Bonner. The Volunteer. 4pm, free
Night Train to Laredo. Smokestack, The Sweet
Nothing and songs from the West End. All
Saints, 7pm, £10 from Laporte’s
MON 6TH
Tim Wade (Trombone) . S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
TUES 7TH
The Informers. 70s blues, soul & funk. S<strong>now</strong>drop.
9pm, free
WED 8TH
Tab & Ben’s Aco<strong>us</strong>tic, Folk & Roots Session.
S<strong>now</strong>drop, 9pm, free
THUR 9TH
Ian Price (Sax) Jazz. S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
Diego Parada. Gypsy walzes and polkas. Pelham
Arms, 8pm, free
Taffy and Aimee Thomas, Father and daughter
stories and songs. Royal Oak, 8pm, £6
FRI 10TH
Andrew Ranken & Mysterio<strong>us</strong> Wheels. Pogues
drummer sings the blues. Con Club 8pm, £3/
members free
Crackling Griffins. Pogues-style Irish. Volunteer.
9pm, free
SAT 11TH
Toby Borelli aka King Size Slim. S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm,
free
SUN 12TH
Homecoming. Con Club, 3pm, free
Sam Chara. Cabaret-style French jazz. Volunteer,
4pm, free
MON 13TH
Simon Savage (Tenor Sax) Jazz: The S<strong>now</strong>drop.
9pm, free
WED 15TH
Tab & Ben’s Aco<strong>us</strong>tic, Folk & Roots Session.
S<strong>now</strong>drop, 9pm, free
THUR 16TH
Pollito Boogaloo (tbc). Colombian vallenata.
Pelham Arms, 8pm, free
John Conolly, ‘Fiddlers Green’ respected singersongwriter.
Royal Oak, 8pm, £6
FRI 17TH
Rebel Control. Reggae/Ho<strong>us</strong>e/Hip Hop/Rock N
Roll. Con Club,£5/members Free
Hillbilly Delux. Rockabilly rebels, from head to
toe. The Volunteer. 9pm, free
SAT 18TH
The Contenders. Sterling silver blues-rock. The
S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
SUN 19TH
Tab Hunter and Ben Paley. Red hot traditional
fiddle and guitar. Con Club, 3pm, free
Earlybird Special The Volunteer. 4pm, free
In The Mood with Five Star Swing Songs from
the Stars of Swing. All Saints, 7.30pm. £10. from
Laporte’s

SEpTEMbER DAY-bY-DAY LISTINGS
MON 20TH
John Harris (Guitar) Jazz. The S<strong>now</strong>drop, free
WED 22ND
Tab & Ben’s Aco<strong>us</strong>tic, Folk & Roots Session. The
S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
THUR 23RD
Swing Ninjas. Gypsy guitar, helicon and sax trio.
Pelham Arms, 8pm, free
FRI 24TH
Fat 45. 11-piece Jive Jump band. Con Club
Dolly Dagger. Volunteer. 9pm, free
SAT 25TH
Shakedown. S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
SEPT
5
19
26
ACOUSTIC Duo
G I G G U I D E
SUN 26TH
Zora and the Tatsmiths. Brighton based original
folk rock/punk. Con Club, £tba
Dick Knigtly Experience. Motown and rock covers.
Volunteer. 4pm,free
MON 27TH
Pete Burden (Alto Sax) Jazz. The S<strong>now</strong>drop.
9pm-11pm, free
WED 29TH
Tab & Ben’s Aco<strong>us</strong>tic, Folk & Roots Session. The
S<strong>now</strong>drop. 9pm, free
THUR 30TH
Develeski Trio. European gypsy brass. Pelham
Arms, 8pm, free
The Claque. Trad English singing quartet. Royal
Oak, 8pm, £6
Aco<strong>us</strong>tic Sunday’s
@ The Con Club
RAY OWEN
SESSION WITH JUICY LUCY FRONTMAN
12 HOMECOMING
TAB HUNTER BEN PALEY
RED HOT TRADITIONAL FIDDLE & GUITAR
ZORA & THE TATSMITHS
Brighton based original folk rock/punk
4 9

I was once treated to dinner in a restaurant that
Nico Ladenis had put his name to. No evidence of
Ladenis, and I was singularly unimpressed with the
food. So when I heard that Marco Pierre White
had taken over the Chequers Inn in Maresfield
(pretty S<strong>us</strong>sex village, erstwhile home to Jordan
and Peter Andre) frankly I was cynical.
So when we sit in the restaurant on a weekday
lunchtime and spot the man himself holding court
in the bar, I feel I have done him a disservice. The
whiff of testosterone is evident from twenty paces.
There are many framed cartoons on the walls of
this ‘eating and drinking ho<strong>us</strong>e’, and we’ve j<strong>us</strong>t
walked past one featuring him wielding a machete.
My companion mutters something about ‘not
being sure the light is right’ to take photographs of
the food, but I give him a stern look. We’re not to
be afraid of the big bad chef.
The Chequers Inn has been called a gastro-pub,
but that’s not right. The large garden and terrace
at the rear is pubby, but inside, it feels more like a
Gentleman’s Club. There are wood-panelled walls
and the restaurant has starchy tablecloths. The
food is butch, with lots of fish and meat, including
devilled lamb’s kidneys, rib-eye steak and pressed
calf tongue, but not much by way of vegetables.
The table d’hôte seems a reasonable £15.90 for
two courses, £19.90 for three.
My companion orders a ‘very good’ glass of
Laulerie Merlot (£5.50) to steady his nerves, and
opts for the à la carte ‘Marco Pork Belly’ (£14.50).
I order salt marsh lamb (£15.50). Several things
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
The cheqUers iNN
Marco pierre White’s new place
F o o D
photos: Rob Read
pleasantly surprise me. The staff are superb in an
understated, competent way. It’s not a place that
rips you off with the small stuff, with a large bottle
of mineral water at £3.50 and coffee only £2.
Our food arrives with marvello<strong>us</strong>ly savoury
aromas. The meat is evidently superbly sourced
and cooked, with sufficient fat to keep it succulent.
The pork, that has been braised with honey and
star anise, is served over butter beans that look
like pebbles, and topped with a criss-cross of
magnificent crackling shards.
My tender, salty and delicio<strong>us</strong> slices of lamb come
with a circular portion of exemplary tender and
delicio<strong>us</strong> potato gratin dauphinoise and a puddle
of deep brown j<strong>us</strong>.
We finish with coffee and I order a Sherry Trifle
Wally Lad, named, we’re told, for the London
chef who invented it. It’s a thing of beauty – a glass
topped with c<strong>us</strong>tard, cream, pistachio and almond,
over the top of striped layers of pink sponge and
purple black cherry jam, like the socks of Pippi
Longstocking. For a man who said he ‘didn’t like
trifle’, my companion manages to eat a remarkably
large amount of it, pronouncing it ‘l<strong>us</strong>cio<strong>us</strong>,
unctuo<strong>us</strong> and toothsome’.
As I pay the bill, I look up with a start to see Marco
Pierre White again, sweeping into the dining
room. Far from breathing fire, he smiles pleasantly
and checks with the table next to <strong>us</strong> if the diners
are enjoying their food. Very much, I imagine if
ours was anything to go by. Emma Chaplin
The Chequers Inn, Maresfield, 01825 763843
5 1

5 2

veggie BoX
N I B B l E r
My grandad grew masses of veg at his allotment, and
I didn’t appreciate it, finding his broad beans to be the
work of the devil (not k<strong>now</strong>ing then that if you pick
them small or peel each bean of its coating, you get the
sweetest little things). Admittedly, along with green
fingers, he had a dubio<strong>us</strong> love of DDT, but these days
you can get lovely veg boxes delivered, some organic.
So we thought we’d offer you a round-up of local
veg box suppliers. Generally a box includes a variety
of the freshest produce that week. You only find out
exactly what this consists of when it arrives (or with
Ashurst Organics, when you pick it up from the
local collection point). Prices start at £7.50 for a small
box from Ashurst, who are based in Plumpton (01273
891219). The boxes from Barcombe Nurseries (01273
400011) start from £9.50 and are also organic. Theirs
can include fruit and also offer the choice of opting
out of vegetables you don’t like. Both schemes offer
optional extras such as honey, bread, apple juice and
eggs, and sometimes you get a recipe slip with helpful
suggestions (I recently made a batch of excellent
pesto from a bunch of basil leaves). A very good local,
but not organic, option is Greenfield box scheme
(greenfieldboxes@talktalk.net). Malcolm mostly sources
his vegetables, and sometimes fruit, from S<strong>us</strong>sex
growers, including smaller ones. Boxes start from £8,
and are delivered Friday afternoons. Finally a mention
for Spring Barn Farm, who are opening a new farm
shop from 14th September, and Café des Artistes,
<strong>now</strong> offering a bistro menu on Tues and Fri in Sept
from 6.30-10pm. BYO wine, £3 corkage. Happy harvest
nibbling! Food news? Email thenibbler@vivalewes.com
5 3

iN The oNioN Bag
The football season is here and there’s no better exc<strong>us</strong>e for cooking up some good
savoury dishes for players and pundits alike, says Bill Collison.
There are some sad things about leaving the
summer behind – the longer days, the easy in-andout
way of living and eating and the sunshine. And
there are some good things. And one of them is
football.
Playing it, watching it, reading about it, listening
to pundits disc<strong>us</strong>sing it, football – for many – is a
highlight of the Autumn. Indeed, there are those
who barely register the passing of summer, so
wrapped up are they in league tables and transfers.
It goes without saying that these people are
predominantly men.
This year there is an added reason for <strong>us</strong> Lewesians
to get out our vuvuzelas, since the Rooks is <strong>now</strong>
a community-owned team and it really needs our
support. You too can become part of the roar
that sweeps across the town on a grey Saturday
afternoon! Forget the fat cat Premier League stuff
– this is where it’s at. And, as we can all become
shareholders from the end of this season, we need
to get down there to check out the talent.
If you are a football fan (or about to become one),
Saturday afternoons have a particular resonance
and whether you’re playing or watching, some
gathering together of friends is likely to feature
and if it’s all round to your ho<strong>us</strong>e, you’ll need some
Saturday afternoon/evening staples that extend
beyond a crate of beer.
On the whole, or in fact without question, these
should be of the big-savoury-hit variety, partly to
soak up the beer and partly, beca<strong>us</strong>e if you’ve been
running around on a pitch for an hour or so, you’ll
be needing it.
Homemade burgers stuffed into a bun are good,
served alongside a tray of golden oven chips made
from roughly chopped potatoes, skins on, tossed in
some olive oil and sea salt and cooked in a hottish
oven for about an hour.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
F o o D
Pizza is also good, as are sa<strong>us</strong>ages, oven-baked and
served inside some toasted sourdough or with a
helping of creamy mash.
This is good too: Buck Rabbit. Apparently, the
word rarebit is a misunderstanding and it’s not that
rarebit was wrongly called rabbit, but the other
way round. No matter, it’s a good and tasty dish,
whatever the spelling: cheese, beer, m<strong>us</strong>tard and an
egg, poached or fried, to finish and here with the
addition of some leeks. A properly Welsh Welsh
Rabbit!
Bill’s Leek and Cheddar Buck Rarebit
For 4: 1 leek, 100g butter, 1 tbsp flour, 75ml ale. 75ml
milk, 1tsp English m<strong>us</strong>tard powder, 150g Cheddar
cheese, grated, large knob butter, 1 tbsp Tabasco
Sauce, 8 slices good bread, 4 eggs, optional
Wash the leek, dice it into 1cm pieces. Melt half
the butter in a pan and fry the leeks till they’re soft.
They can be beginning to colour, but don’t let them
burn. Add the flour and the rest of the butter and,
stirring constantly, gradually add the beer and the
milk, bringing it to a gentle simmer. Add the m<strong>us</strong>tard
and roughly 100g of the cheese. Keep stirring until
you have a smooth and thickened sauce. Grind a good
amount of fresh black pepper in and turn off the heat
to let it all sit.
Toast the bread, spread each slice with the cheese
mixture and slide under a hot grill until the slices are
golden and bubbling. Meanwhile, assuming there is
more than one cook in the kitchen, somebody else
should be either frying or poaching eggs, ready to
put them on top as the slices emerge from the grill.
Finish with the rest of the cheese, a good grinding of
fresh black pepper and a shake of Tabasco.
You can add to this with ham, grilled m<strong>us</strong>hrooms or
flaked mackerel. If you do, the extra ingredients go on
to the toasted bread before the cheese mixture.
Photograph by Katie Moorman
5 5

5 6

CAFÉ &
POTTERY
145 HIGH STREET
LEWES
BN7 1XT
01273 483449
OPEN NOW
ELEGANT TARTS
CLASSIC CROISSANTS &
TRADITIONAL FRENCH BREAD
FRENCH PATISSERIE
light lunches, treats & afternoon tea
eat in or take away
COURTYARD GARDEN SEATING
5 STATION STREET, LEWES
TELEPHONE: 01273 483211
celebration cakes made to order
hours: mon-fri 8.00 - 5.30, sat 8.30 - 5.30
( open sunday during artwave )
photo: Chloë king
BUTTercUP caFÉ
I turn down Malling Street and only k<strong>now</strong> about
Buttercup beca<strong>us</strong>e I see a headless shop mannequin
wearing a tomato vine and a sandwich board. In
Lewes this sign means “home-cooked local produce
and Fairtrade coffee”.
The sunny, inviting garden is already packed with
hungry mums so I venture indoors. I find a cosy seat
in what looks like a larder, and am served quickly
and gracefully by not one but three waiters.
“We’re all sold out!” says the first. “My first
restaurant review and there’s no food!” I think,
bordering on angry, and order a coffee. “We have
portobello m<strong>us</strong>hroom, onion and cheese stuffed
jackets left…” says the second. “I’ll have that,” I
reply, for fear of hunger. The third hands me a
menu, but my food envy is waylaid when I see there
were only ever two alternatives: a soup or chicken
‘pot’ with puff pastry.
My jacket arrives promptly and stops me thinking
of pies. A crunchy, colourful salad takes up most of
my plate, rendering the potato an aside. It’s tasty.
Sweet carrots are mixed with nuts, which according
to the blackboard, the Buttercup kitchen “is full of”.
Pickled peppers, broccoli, humm<strong>us</strong>, mixed leaves
and a slightly zingy dressing add interest to the
spud, which although crisp but soft and earthy and
filling, is still very much, a potato.
“Is it alright back there?” I’m asked and I ponder a
second. I’m full and my coffee is j<strong>us</strong>t the right side
of strong, “Yes, thank you, it is.” Chloë King
F o o D
5 7

5 8

Before we meet I wonder if we’re in for an earnest
hour or so of health-based lecturing. As it turns
out, we had nothing to fear. Robin greets <strong>us</strong> and
during an initial chat we collectively make a simple
but delicio<strong>us</strong> fruit smoothie. A mixture of berries
and some apple juice later and everyone’s happy.
He’s been teaching cookery for longer than he cares
to remember, and estimates that he’s taught over
12,000 people, and trained 500 or more teachers.
Nowadays, his work takes him nationwide, but
today he’s at home, and we’re there too. His manner
is calm and his tone relaxing as he shows <strong>us</strong> how to
make dough and from that dough, bread rolls, pizza
and chapatis. As soon as they get their hands in the
dough mix the kids love it. It’s a strange sensation
- almost unpleasant when you’ve got the wrong
consistency on the go, but when it’s right, it feels
good. The mixture is then set aside in a warm spot
to rise, and we concentrate on making our lunch,
which is going to be pizza and a salad. Not your
regular lettuce affair though, this one features warm
chunks of butternut squash, beetroots, red onion
and feta cheese. It sounds delicio<strong>us</strong> and whilst the
pumpkin is warming in the oven, smells so too.
Then, collectively switching our attention back to
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
COMMuNITY CHEF
F o o D
photos: nick Williams
Community Chef Robin Van Crevald, a passionate man, aims to <strong>us</strong>e cookery as a tool for
promoting positive change, and undertakes a whole string of workshops and demonstrations
to help achieve that aim. Teaching children the benefits of making healthy food choices is a
big part of his work, so we sent Nick Williams and his family along for a session.
our dough, we knead and roll, adding flour and
water where needed, until we have a selection
of rolls, which are then dipped into sesame or
pumpkin seed piles. We also produce a 400gram
section for a loaf, and a section is set aside to
become our pizza base. Robin even shows <strong>us</strong> how to
make chapatis which is so surprisingly simple (j<strong>us</strong>t
dry-fry a teardrop shaped section of dough) that
each piece only takes a minute or so to make. Fresh
out of the pan, it’s dipped in butter and dropped
in to our expectant mouths. We’re in the swing
<strong>now</strong>, and whilst Shelley and I mix the <strong>now</strong>-cooked
pumpkin with the rest of the salad ingredients, the
kids happily spread tomato paste on their pizza
bases, and add fresh toppings. Our collective efforts,
with Robin’s help, produce a fantastic lunch, and
after thanking him prof<strong>us</strong>ely, we head home, armed
with a big chunk of dough to practice with. Five
hours later when our next effort isn’t nearly as tasty,
we realise j<strong>us</strong>t how good Robin was…
Robin is running a number of workshops during
September and features at the Octoberfeast, which
runs from 1-10 October For further information
contact him via robin@communitychef.org.uk or visit
his website at www.communitychef.org.uk
5 9

Rat Pack Charity Dinner Dance Thursday 11th November 2010
Tickets Priced at £30.00 per head
Live Entertainment with Paul James
In Aid of Help for Heroes
For more information please visit www.pelhamho<strong>us</strong>e.com
6 0

ocToBer
FeasT
10 days of foodie heaven
It started, for me, with a phone call, back in March.
It was Tony, from the S<strong>now</strong>drop Inn. “A few of <strong>us</strong>
are thinking of starting up a food and drink festival
in Lewes,” he said. “Do Viva want to get involved?”
“You bet,” was the answer, or words to that effect,
and pretty soon I was at the first meeting to disc<strong>us</strong>s
matters. There were about ten of <strong>us</strong> there, mostly
involved in some way in the food ind<strong>us</strong>try in town.
Everybody there, importantly, adhered to the same
food philosophy. If people buy locally produced
wares from local shops, rather than flown-in stuff
from the supermarkets, it’s better for the local
economy, better for the environment at large, and,
in the long run, better for the consumer too. So the
festival should be <strong>us</strong>ed as a showcase for the rich
variety of stuff produced and sold, raw and cooked,
around Lewes. Pl<strong>us</strong> we could bring a number of
visitors to Lewes, who would spend money here,
and might decide to come again. And, of course,
everyone loves a party. We decided, at that very
meeting, to call the festival the ‘Octoberfeast’.
That was <strong>now</strong> many meetings ago and since then,
though sometimes things seem to have moved
incrementally slowly, a fantastic schedule has
taken shape, and is still taking shape. Paddock
Productions are putting on two different foodrelated
plays (including the Brighton-Festival hit
Shakespeare à la Carte); the Film Club are putting
on a couple of fine films; there are speakers and
demonstrations galore; there’s stuff on in Harvey’s,
including tours of the brewery and a ‘dancing in
the Old’ afternoon; there are Norman and Tudor
banquets in Lewes’ historic buildings; there’s a
‘food crawl’ round some of Lewes’ best pubs;
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
F o o D
there’s an apple press to turn your windfalls to
juice; there’s a day-long pickling event, called
‘Pickled’; there’s a kids’ art competition, to be
exhibited in shop fronts around town. There’s even
a tea dance, in the Town Hall, to raise money for
the Mayor’s charities.
Apart from a genero<strong>us</strong> grant of £1,000 from the
Town Council, and another for the apple press,
the festival organisers have had no money to put
into the event (it’s equally important to say that
the organisation is a not-for-profit affair) so we’ve
pulled in a number of groups to organise their
own events under the umbrella of the Octoberfeast
Festival. There’s a website up (lewesoctoberfeast.
com) to let you k<strong>now</strong> what’s scheduled, with blogs
and other information, too.
We’re <strong>us</strong>ing the Market Tower as our HQ, and
there will be a succession of events on there,
courtesy of the Lewes Food Group, which
organises a market there every Friday morning.
Rocket FM have got involved, too, and are starting
up their popular annual broadcast a week early (for
internet access only) to cover the festival events.
Inaugural events are always worrying things,
when you’re an event organiser, when you don’t
realise whether all the hours and days and weeks
and months of preparation is going to be worth it.
The biggest figure in the equation is the public,
which, by and large, means you. We urge you to
get involved in the party, in one way or another, to
ensure that it’s a success, and to ensure in turn that
it becomes an annual event. As it says in the blurb,
it’s all in the best possible taste. Alex Leith
www.lewesoctoberfeast.com
6 1

Olive
Branch
Catering
For all your Catering
needs in the Lewes area
8a Cliffe High Street, Lewes
01273 473286
www.olivebranchcatering.co.uk
dedicated to <strong>us</strong>ing the best produce
S<strong>us</strong>sex has to offer
fresh modern british cuisine
relaxed informal space
ideal for large parties & receptions
book <strong>now</strong> & save 15%
off your meal*
quote viva-lewes when you book
01273 479713
197 high street
lewes
www.one-9-seven.co.uk
*excludes drinks, not to be <strong>us</strong>ed in conjunction with any other
offer

Cheese and herb crumble
Savoury easy-make one-pot delights from Amanda Grant
Surprise your friends and family by making a delicio<strong>us</strong> cheese and herb crumble with vegetables instead
of the <strong>us</strong>ual blackberries and apples. The great thing about this supper is that it is all in one pot, which
means very little washing up. If you haven’t made a white sauce <strong>us</strong>ing flour and butter before <strong>now</strong>, this is
the time to have a go. I have added leeks to the sauce to make sure it has lots of yummy flavour. You can
then include any vegetables you like. If you want to add some meat, chicken or ham is particularly good.
For extra flavour and texture in the crumble, mix in grated cheese, oats and chopped herbs. Finley, my
youngest, says rosemary tastes best. Enjoy!
Serves: 4-6
2 medium leeks, trimmed and washed
50g butter
50g plain flour
500ml full fat milk
1tsp English m<strong>us</strong>tard
1 broccoli head & 200g green beans (OR
small pieces of courgettes, sweet potatoes,
cauliflower, peas etc)
For the topping:
100g butter – chilled and cut into small pieces
150g plain flour
2 big handfuls fresh chopped herbs e.g. a
mixture of rosemary & parsley is good
50g grated cheddar cheese
handful oats (optional)
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
photo: s<strong>us</strong>an bell
k I D s ’ k I t C h E N
Turn the oven on to 190C/375 F/ gas mark 5.
Cut the leeks into thin circles.
Put the leeks and butter in a pan and heat gently to soften, this will take about 10 minutes.
Add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Add the milk and cook gently, stirring. Keep stirring until it
has thickened and then leave to simmer for a few minutes. Add the m<strong>us</strong>tard.
Cut the broccoli into small florets and trim the beans. Put the vegetables (and any meat like chicken or
ham) into ovenproof dishes. Spoon the sauce over the top.
Make the crumble topping by putting the butter and flour into a big bowl. Using finger tips, ‘rub’ in the
butter. Add the chopped herbs, cheese and oats (if <strong>us</strong>ing) and mix.
Spoon the crumble over the sauce and veg, and bake for 25-30 minutes until the topping is golden and
the sauce is hot and bubbling.
Win a copy of Amanda Grant’s book Grow it, Cook It With Kids by answering the following question
correctly. Are tomatoes a) a fruit or b) a vegetable? Email thenibbler@vivalewes.com with your name and
contact number by 30th Sept. Winners will be drawn out of a casserole dish.
6 3

Come upstairs at the
Riverside Centre to
haberdashery, fabric
and knitting yarns
10% discount for
bonfire supplies
ribbons, lace, tape, cord, pins,
trims threads, buttons, dyes,
elastic, zips, scissors, needles,
bobbins, boning & interfacing
new fabrics <strong>now</strong> in stock
12-14 Riverside, Cliffe Bridge,
High Street, Lewes, BN7 2RE
01273 473 577
NEW fantastic Spring 2010 range
of Camping equipment instore!
We are a specialist shop offering clothing, footwear
and equipment for walking, hiking and camping,
as well as lifestyle clothing and footwear.
• Bergha<strong>us</strong> • Brasher • Columbia • Merrell • Reef • Sprayway • Teva
www.outdoorshoplewes.co.uk
10 Cliffe High Street Lewes - 01273 487 840

BARCOMBE
NURSERIES UK5 G2272
VEGETABLE GROWERS
LOCAL ORGANIC BOX SCHEME
free delivery to your door
Mill Lane, Barcombe, Nr Lewes, BN8 5TH.
Telephone: 01273 400011
www.barcombenurseries.com
barcombenurseries@tiscali.co.uk

Ben Sulston has only been at the Rainbow in
Cooksbridge for a couple of months when we meet
him, but his ideas are already starting to permeate
the walls of this historic S<strong>us</strong>sex pub...
Tell me about your cooking experience? I was
at Ockenden Manor before joining the Rainbow,
but much of my thoughts on food were developed
when I was lucky enough to work ‘stages’ in some
fantastic kitchens, including The Fat Duck and Le
Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons. I <strong>us</strong>e fresh, seasonal, local
produce whenever possible, and believe that you
shouldn’t over-complicate a dish - let the flavours
speak for themselves.
How is this reflected in your menu? Our menu
is seasonal, and at the moment (mid Aug<strong>us</strong>t), girolle
m<strong>us</strong>hrooms and greengages are key ingredients on
the menu. We aim to source the best available local
ingredients - the m<strong>us</strong>hrooms are hand-foraged,
and all of the fish is line-caught - <strong>us</strong>ually earlier
that morning. S<strong>us</strong>tainability is a key part of our
philosophy.
How does that reflect in your prices? We provide
high quality food at extremely competitive prices.
For example, our daily set menu, offers two courses
for £12.50 or three for £15. The à la carte is equally
fairly priced, (prices start from £5 for a starter and
£11 for a main) and we always offer a choice of 6
starters, mains and desserts.
Your Specials Board looks interesting… We
believe the specials should be j<strong>us</strong>t that - special. We
always feature a steak, from a local farm, and the best
line-caught fish available that day. A recent example
of our specials was a beautiful Hebridean Hoggett
from Townings Farm, which we served as a piece of
cheF
coNFideNTial
...................................................................
BeN sUlsToN
A D V E r t o r I A l
loin, crispy belly and shepherd’s pie. As a chef it’s
exciting to work with such fantastic ingredients.
Any vegetarian options? We always have a couple
of vegetarian starters and one main on the menu.
[Wild M<strong>us</strong>hroom & Mozzarella Arancini the day we
looked].
Any pub grub? Head in to the front bar and we’ll
serve you a S<strong>us</strong>sex glazed ham and homemade
piccalilli sandwich or a homemade sa<strong>us</strong>age roll.
What’s your favourite dish so far? It’s hard to
pick j<strong>us</strong>t one! The hogget was fantastic, but I was
also very happy during the asparag<strong>us</strong> season with a
sea bass served with homemade gnocchi, chorizo,
asparag<strong>us</strong> and butternut squash. A recent lunch
favourite m<strong>us</strong>t be the homemade venison sa<strong>us</strong>ages
served with S<strong>us</strong>sex beetroot and pickled girolles.
Any special events coming up? We put on regular
tasting men<strong>us</strong>, to enable our c<strong>us</strong>tomers to try
seasonally available treats. In September, we’ll be
celebrating apples; while in November there will be
a game-based menu. The aim, as always, is to serve
everything at its freshest and best.
Can I get my hands on these ingredients? We’re
j<strong>us</strong>t about to start a monthly produce market, and
on the first Saturday morning of the month (starting
Sept 4) our main suppliers will be selling their range
of produce out the front of the pub.
Give a top tip to our readers: Buy fresh
ingredients and treat them with respect.
Interview by Nick Williams
If you would like to be kept up to date with events
coming up at The Rainbow you can sign up for their
monthly e-newsletter via ben@rainbows<strong>us</strong>sex.co.uk
6 7

lewes cYcle
challeNge
C y C l I N G
If you’ve got a bike sitting in the shed (or blocking the
landing in my case), then the recently announced Lewes Cycle
Challenge could provide you with an incentive to actually
get it through the door, and out on the street. The event, run
by Lewes District Council and the Challenge for Change
organisation, is aimed at local b<strong>us</strong>inesses and takes place
between 6-26th September. It has a simple aim - to persuade
more of <strong>us</strong> to get back on a bike. A quick look at their website,
showed that quite a few local companies, and organisations are
looking to take part, including Lewes Prison, S<strong>us</strong>sex Police, Glyndebourne Productions, Waitrose and the
District Council themselves, of course.
Prizes are on offer, including cinema tickets (simply persuade someone who hasn’t ridden a bike for a year to
do so, and you and they will receive a free cinema ticket), and a 2011 Trek 7300 hybrid bike courtesy of the
folks at Cycle Shack. The bike is worth £550, so that alone makes taking part seem like a good idea.
All you have to do to qualify for the draw for the bike, is to cycle at least once during the period, and then
log your trip on the website. Seems so simple in fact that I’m planning to get Viva Magazines signed up
sharpish. And Lewes Football Club, for that matter. NW
For details on how to register call the organiser Kim Washington on 07711 098638 or take a look at their website
via www.lewescyclechallenge.org.uk

From a trip to the shops to a journey of a lifetime
we have the bike for you.
Hybrids Road Bikes FoldingBikes
Touring Bikes Mountain Kids Bikes
Recumbents Accessories Servicing
&
Repairs
Lewes
Forest Row
01273 483 108 01342 822 847
Lewes@futurecycles.co.uk bikes@futurecycles.co.uk
WWW.FUTURECYCLES.CO.UK

lewes
hoUse
Open day at Bunny’s pad
It’s strange that one of Lewes’ finest townho<strong>us</strong>es,
with intact interior design features from two distinct
periods and a highly flamboyant and exotic history
of residents and visitors, should <strong>now</strong> be the main
offices of a body as unglamoro<strong>us</strong> as the Lewes
District Council. Strange, but perhaps fortuito<strong>us</strong>.
Beca<strong>us</strong>e the Council is clearly extremely proud of its
headquarters, has kept its main features intact, and
provides guides every year to show visitors round as
part of the Heritage Open Day scheme.
I manage to blag a private look around the building,
courtesy of Ann Spike and Philip Pople, Council
employees who have been showing visitors round
every September since 1994, learning, they say,
something new about the building every time.
We’ve already covered the story of the building’s
most famo<strong>us</strong> and eccentric resident, Edward
Warren, a rich American who formed a
‘Brotherhood’ around the turn of the 20th century
which <strong>us</strong>ed the ho<strong>us</strong>e as a home and a base for
the collection of ancient (mainly Greek) artworks,
which were stored there before being transported to
m<strong>us</strong>eums as far afield as Boston.
Warren leased the ho<strong>us</strong>e in 1890, buying it outright
in 1910, and filling it with lavish furnishings and
fittings, including a great Elizabethan oak table at
which he entertained accomplished guests, such
as the painter Roger Fry and the French sculptor
Aug<strong>us</strong>te Rodin, whose sculpture The Kiss was
commissioned by Warren, and spent a number of
years in Lewes.
The ho<strong>us</strong>e m<strong>us</strong>t have looked extraordinary in
Warren’s time, but there is little evidence of his
tenure in what’s left there – save for some panels
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
picture courtesy of Lewes district Council archive
B r I C k s A N D M o r tA r
and beams in the former stable next to the old
Thebes Gallery which he <strong>us</strong>ed as his private office,
modelled on the Western end of the library at
Corp<strong>us</strong> Christi College, Oxford. He bequeathed
the ho<strong>us</strong>e to his colleague Asa Thomas, and the
furnishings were sold in their entirety in 1929 by a
new company that established its reputation on the
transaction – Gorringes.
The building dates back to the 14th century, when
it was k<strong>now</strong>n as Bugates, and formed part of an
estate that stretched back to Friars Walk, bordered
by Broomans Lane and Walwers Lane. Its first
major restoration occurred around 1733, which
accounts for the heavy Georgian features in the
two-storey back part of the present building. The
ho<strong>us</strong>e then featured a walled front garden, which
was built over in 1812, a date which accounts for the
neo-classical style of the building’s grand stepped
entrance, the high-ceilinged rooms of its threestorey
frontage, and the ornate interior decorations
in the grand dining room on the ground floor
overlooking School Hill, where Warren entertained
his guests.
Nowadays the building is filled with the
paraphernalia of a government office, and you have
to imagine its more exotic ho<strong>us</strong>eguests of the past,
mentally replacing b<strong>us</strong>y workers with French artists,
photocopiers with Greek b<strong>us</strong>ts, and office desks
with four-poster beds. But Ann and Philip are fine
guides, who open your eyes to every nuance, and
help turn a tour round an office building into a trip
back in time. Alex Leith
Heritage Open Days, 10th & 11th Sept. For more
information, check out www.heritageopendays.org.uk
7 1

MaresField
Sleepy village, or executive dorm?

photo: emma Chaplin
For much of the twentieth century
Maresfield was not so much a
village as a sacrificial offering to
the juggernaut of the internal
comb<strong>us</strong>tion engine. There was talk
of a by-pass as early as 1936, but it
was not until November 1989 that
it actually opened. In the interim
Maresfield had been a godsend to
those motorists temperamentally
disinclined to slow down.
Certainly I remember my father
barrelling though the village en
route from Croydon to the family
dacha at Fairlight Cove. For many
passing through, Maresfield was
reduced to a flash of battlemented
church tower, a glimpse of the
solid facade of the Georgian
Chequers Inn, a slalom round the
sharp corner, an impression of tilehung
cottages and little more.
The terse entry for Maresfield’s
St Bartholomew’s Church in
Pevsner begins with the single
word ‘overrestored’. This 1879
restoration involved replacing
the existing chancel and the
addition of two transepts. At the
same time the narrow opening
in the south wall of the nave was
rediscovered, having remained
hidden for hundreds of years. This
was the only surviving remnant
of an earlier Norman church.
Apart from some nice Victorian
stained glass in the chancel and
an interesting free-standing iron
tombstone to Robert Brooks who
‘departed this life’ in 1667, there is
little to detain the visitor, although
the monument to Edward Kidder
(1817) does feature a curio<strong>us</strong>
Turkish-looking soldier wearing
a turban and holding a shield
decorated with three crescent
moons. The Kidders were a
distinguished local family, the
most famo<strong>us</strong> of whom went on
to become Bishop of Bath and
Wells. This was Richard Kidder,
a martyr to gout so debilitating
that he often had to be carried
to ordinations and debates at the
Ho<strong>us</strong>e of Lords. He was cr<strong>us</strong>hed
to death during the Great Storm
of November 1703, when a
chimney stack collapsed through
the roof of the Bishop’s Palace.
The gargoyled lodge at the
entrance to Maresfield Park was
built in 1847 to replace the old
‘streteho<strong>us</strong>e’. Sir John Shelley had
inherited the estate in 1814. Fond
of gambling and ‘trotting races’,
the implementation of proposed
renovations and extensions to his
property were often dependent
on the performance of his horses
on the flat. So in 1818 a new
conservatory was aborted when
‘Prince Paul’, favourite for The
Derby, only came in third. In
1824, by contrast, Sir John’s horse
‘Cedric’ won The Derby, and
some of the £8,000 prize money
was spent ensuring that the
coaching road was rerouted away
from his ho<strong>us</strong>e.
In October 1819, the Shelleys
welcomed the Duke of Wellington
to Maresfield. A shooting party,
laid on as entertainment, proved
eventful when the Duke’s
assessment of what constituted
a legitimate quarry turned out
to include one of the keepers, a
retriever and ‘an old woman who
chanced to be washing her clothes
at her cottage window’. No doubt
the Duke reacted with the same
insouciance that he showed when
characterising the destruction
of the Turkish Fleet, in time of
peace, at Navarino as ‘untoward
incidents’.
V I VA V I l l A G E s
The artist Edward Wadsworth
and his wife, the violinist Fanny
Eveleigh, moved to Dairy Farm
in Maresfield Park in 1927. The
tedio<strong>us</strong> attentions of agricultural
implements salesmen necessitated
a change of name to Dairy Ho<strong>us</strong>e.
While in Maresfield Wadsworth
worked on a design for a painting
for the cafeteria at the De La Warr
Pavilion and also produced large
paintings for the Smoking Room
in the new Cunard liner Queen
Mary; for the latter the Parish
Council allowed Wadsworth the
<strong>us</strong>e of the Village Hall.
To avoid unsympathetic
development, the Wadsworths
bought the ten acre meadow
next to Dairy Ho<strong>us</strong>e. Would
that their successors had shown
similar sensitivity! A more motley
collection of ho<strong>us</strong>es than those
disfiguring Maresfield Park today
is hard to imagine. In fact the
whole of Maresfield risks being
transformed from a village into
an executive dormitory. The
church and the Village Hall are
flourishing. There is still a village
shop, although if too many people
take up the offer of ‘free computer
training’ advertised outside, with
its touted benefit of ‘J<strong>us</strong>t think!
You could order your shopping
online’ it might not last much
longer. The Chequers has borne
little resemblance to a village
pub for some time <strong>now</strong> and the
advent of Marco Pierre White
is only likely to exacerbate the
problem. In fact the whole village
seemed pretty dead when I visited
but the Deputy Editor reports
an enth<strong>us</strong>iastic stoolball contest
in progress when she did the
restaurant review so perhaps I was
j<strong>us</strong>t unlucky. David Jarman
7 3

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le weeKeNd
Alex Leith foregoes the burgers of
Dover for some moules marinières
in pas de Calais
Most Brits who take the ferry to Calais get the hell
out of the area as soon as possible, in order to motor
to more fashionable parts of France.
Strange, that, beca<strong>us</strong>e the most dramatic and
beautiful stretch of the ‘Côte d’Opale’ coast is j<strong>us</strong>t
a fifteen-minute or so drive from the ferry port.
Which makes it fine weekend-away territory for
Lewes residents.
My girlfriend and I stayed in the area twice, to topand-tail
a two-week multi-stop camping holiday
in the North of France. On the first night of our
trip we stayed at a camp-site in Audresselles, a
pleasant touristy seaside village where we had a kilo
of moules marinières each, and indulged in that
wonderful feeling of suddenly being abroad, at the
beginning of a long period away from normality.
Our mood was more poignant eleven days later,
when we returned to the area for our last weekend
of the break, staying even nearer to Calais, in a
village called Escalles.
Escalles is built in the shadow of ‘Cap Blanc Nez’
(White Nose Cape), a vast cliff with an obelisk
on top of it celebrating the solidarity between the
French and English sailors who kept the supplyline
running between the two countries in WW1,
protected from U-Boats by the Dover Patrol.
The cliff looks over a sandy bay, which stretches
ten kilometres eastwards, to ‘Cap Gris Nez’ (Greynosed
Cape), another cliff with a modern lightho<strong>us</strong>e
on the top.
We pitched our tent on the windy side of a hill with
a view of the Blanc Nez obelisk, glad to have ended
up in such a picturesque setting, though rather
worried whether our tent pegs were strongly enough
embedded to stop our bell tent from ending up in
England.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
C A M P I N G
By then we were old hands at the sub-culture of
camping in France: you stick to your numbered
pitch, generally make polite friendships with your
neighbours, and regulate your toiletry needs to suit
the times in which the campsite facilities are open.
Each of the eight campsites we’d visited had its
own personality: this one we agreed, though our
‘parcelle’ was rather cramped, was our favourite of
the lot.
One of the best ways of ensuring a good night’s
sleep in a tent is by making sure you are physically
exha<strong>us</strong>ted when you get into your sleeping bag, and
we achieved this on our last full day with a walk of
20km from one cape to the other and back.
The view from the promontory overlooking the
Channel at Cap Gris Nez was one I’ll never forget.
The sky was completely clear, and the white cliffs
of Kent were splendidly visible in the distance,
reflecting the Aug<strong>us</strong>t sun.
We <strong>us</strong>ually take breaks to get away from our normal
life, so perhaps it’s this vivid reminder of home that
makes the area so unpopular with British visitors
(most of the tourists in our camp-site were French,
Dutch or Belgian).
No matter, the cliffs were a pleasant sight, and not
j<strong>us</strong>t aesthetically speaking. They acted as a physical
reminder about how geographically close England
is to France, and Britain is to the rest of Europe,
whatever the cultural differences. And they also
spelt out the words ‘bed’ and ‘roof’, a welcome
message after fourteen days under canvas.
P&O run regular ferry services from Dover to Calais,
which are generally much cheaper than the Newhaven-
Dieppe crossing. Camping du Cap Blanc Nez, Escalles,
open April till November, 0033 321 85 27 38
7 5

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Hidden in a corner of Upper Stoneham Farm, Guy
Stevens and Alyosha Moeran craft stone into new
forms, from pocket-sized spinning tops to giant
public art.
On my way there I pass ‘Brian’ and the chalk cliffs
that overlook town; Lewes is clearly not a natural
habitat for stone sculptors, I think, but what does that
matter? I arrive and am welcomed into an intriguing
space, filled with curio<strong>us</strong> maquettes and heavy things
that look light.
“I started with heads,” says Guy, while I stare at a
slab of stone, that I will soon make my own. “I did
about 100 of those, and insects, they’re a good way
to learn.”
Guy tells me he <strong>us</strong>es an angle grinder and potter’s
wheel to spin sculptures into smooth, cylindrical
shapes, but I had better start with the basics. It’s easy,
I’m told: “All you need is an old builder’s chisel and
a hammer.”
I draw onto the stone and am shown how to cut
outside my pencil line with a flat chisel, keeping a
loose grip and the back of the blade facing me. I have
chosen to carve a relief: an ill<strong>us</strong>trative technique in
which an image is raised out of a flat surface.
The outline cut away, I mark a depth of 5mm along
the sides and ‘waste’ the outer matter <strong>us</strong>ing a wide,
flat ‘bolster’ and an applewood mallet. I’m surprised
that breaking this Bath Stone or ‘biscuit’ is so easy.
“Harder stone would pop, rather than create so much
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
sToNe carviNg
Chloë King flashes the Crow’s Foot
w E t r y o U t
photos: Chloë king
d<strong>us</strong>t,” says Guy.
Before I start the detail, Alyosha drills ‘eyes’ between
the fingers to protect the acute angles. I’m left to
work away, testing the different marks made by
evocatively named tools, like Crow’s Foot, Claw and
Fishtail. I try angling the cuts to create shadows and
an ill<strong>us</strong>ion of depth.
I soon find myself absorbed, aware of little but the
sound of hitting stone and the effect this has on its
surface; it’s, as Alyosha says, “almost a dreamlike
state.”
Sound is very important, I’m told, beca<strong>us</strong>e a stone
that ‘rings’ has no flaws and is therefore safe to
work with. Alyosha enjoys <strong>us</strong>ing this feature of
the material, to create sculptures with ‘keys’ like a
xylophone.
Guy <strong>us</strong>ed to be a performance artist and at first I
thought this a real departure, but as I circle the piece
I’m working on, I notice some theatricality. It’s less
of a surprise then, as Guy rinses the completed relief
with water and I prepare to leave, that he says, “I’ve
tried every medium, but stone is the one that stuck.”
Guy and Alyosha’s studio is open throughout Artwave.
Visitors on September 11th & 12th are invited to ‘have
a go’ – an hour’s tuition and your own carving to take
home costs £10. After the festival, one-day courses
for groups of 2-6 can be arranged by appointment,
workshops cost £50 per person and you keep what you
carve. To book email guy@guystevenssculpture.com.
7 7

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JaMs aNd Preserves
s h o P P I N G
photo: katie moorman
I’ve a quince tree in the garden, and no clue as
to what to do with the fruit it bears, so I spoke
to someone who does, Julian Warrender of the
delectable O<strong>us</strong>e Valley Foods. “Quince goes well
with lemon and has a natural affinity with cheese,”
she tells me. “We’ll be making jelly, marmalade and
chutney.” September is also a good month to forage
for blackberries, elderberries and sloes, which can
be <strong>us</strong>ed to make cordials, jellies or sloe gin. But if
you’re going to make your own preserves, where
can you get the kit? Potts in the Cliffe stock a good
variety of different sized Kilner jars. Bunce’s sell
handsome Maslin jam pans, sugar thermometers
and a variety of labels for jars, as do Steamer
Trading who also stock jam jars, and a hooped jelly
bag for straining (which I’ve seen hanging in the
O<strong>us</strong>e Valley Foods kitchen, looking rather like an
udder). There’s May’s General Store for spices and
sugar, and Harveys for gin or vodka to drop your
sugar and pre-frozen (tip from my sister) or pricked
sloes or damsons into. And I k<strong>now</strong> local poet Janet
Sutherland makes delicio<strong>us</strong> blackberry brandy.
A good cookbook is handy for inspiration and
Gardener and Cook stock Hugh Fearnley-
Whittingstall’s new River Cottage book about
foraging, Hedgerow. And if all else fails, pop along
to Bill’s, Laporte’s, Beckworth’s or Cheese Please
to pick up a jar of the stuff. You can always decant it
and pretend.
Also –look out for the ‘Pickled’ event taking place
on October 10th in Grange Gardens during
Lewes’ Octoberfeast Food and Drink Festival
(lewesoctoberfeast.com).
7 9

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Tel: 01273 486000
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orBiNg
Nick Williams gets to
k<strong>now</strong> an old mate better
I arrive at the Orb 360 site at Devil’s Dyke with my
mate Darren, who’s much more relaxed than me,
beca<strong>us</strong>e he’s there to take photos, and I’m there to
roll down a hill inside a gigantic plastic globe. Darren
has only agreed to come along after establishing from
the website he was too heavy to participate, so can’t
possibly get roped in. “Don’t worry,” says the bloke
in charge, Tom. “We’ve had much bigger guys than
you.” Darren gulps, and I start laughing - hysterically
once I realise we’re going down the hill in the same
orb.
To access an orb, you take a flying dive through a
hole in the side, ending in a heap in an unfamiliar
plastic world. I jump first and then Tom leans in
and straps me to the side with a selection of belts.
I’m then rolled so I’m hanging from what is <strong>now</strong>
effectively the roof, as Darren leaps in and is strapped
to the floor. ‘Are you ready?’ says Tom. I look down
on 17ish stone of Darren and wonder how strong
the straps are. Before I can say ‘no’, however, we’re
off and rolling. The first 360 degrees is disorienting,
but the straps hold and I feel more relaxed. Within
seconds, we’re rapidly gaining speed, and I can see
grass, sky, grass, sky, appearing behind a manically
laughing Darren’s head. The next sensation is brief
weightlessness, as we appear to leave the ground,
followed by relief, as we start to slow down. However,
we then roll backwards and sideways, which induces
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
w E t r y o U t
a slight feeling of na<strong>us</strong>ea, and a lot more conf<strong>us</strong>ion.
We slow again and eventually stop. We’re giggling
like kids.
Next it’s aqua-orbing, which is the same size sphere,
but this one has a second ball within it which means
there are no straps, beca<strong>us</strong>e you’re (in theory) staying
in the same spot. Before I get in, they throw in a
bucket of icy-cold soapy water. As I have no change
of clothes I decide to strip down to my pants and
t-shirt, so I’ll have something dry to change back
in to. I hurl myself in to the orb, and slide around
before eventually getting my back against the orb.
I’m ready to roll, but to my horror, realise Darren is
getting in too! “Is that safe?” I whinge, pathetically,
before bursting out laughing as Darren crashes into
me and slides helplessly around (think new-born
lamb attempting to stand). He eventually settles
and we’re off again. We’re not spinning 360, but it’s
actually more fun than the ‘normal’ orb, as you slide
crazily around, sometimes backwards, sometimes
sidewards, always laughing.
It’s a fantastic experience, and even better than I
hoped it would be. And to be honest, if you’d have
told me last week that I’d have a great time rolling
around in a giant inflatable with Darren, in our
underpants, well I wouldn’t have believed you…
For rates and availability visit www.orb360.co.uk or call
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8 1

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PaN haNdlers
The football season has started... in earnest
I spent the first half of the first home
game of the season, against Thurrock,
doing an interview with a reporter
from the Arg<strong>us</strong>, while keeping half my
attention on the match in progress in
front of <strong>us</strong>.
It took nearly half an hour to explain
the intricacies of the situation. About
how the club was on its last legs at
the end of last season, and in danger
of going b<strong>us</strong>t on its 125th birthday.
About how I’d been approached in
April by a group calling itself ‘Rooks
125’, intent on saving the day by
turning the club into a communityowned
organisation. About how
I’d been wooed into joining them,
alongside my b<strong>us</strong>iness partner,
Nick. And about the heady last few
months, in which talk had turned
into negotiations, negotiations into
takeover, and takeover into a handson
day-to-day running of the club.
The lads – our lads – were battling
away in front of <strong>us</strong>, then, as she took
notes in a diligent shorthand, and I
tried to remember all the points I
needed to stress. That kids go free
into the ground. That we’ve turned
down the opportunity to earn money
from shirt sponsorship by giving the
space to Lewes Victoria Hospital.
That we’re hoping there will be a
‘community bump’ in the crowds, as
the townspeople start appreciating
the way things are going, as they start
realising it’s <strong>now</strong> their club.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
F o o t B A l l
“How big a crowd are you expecting tonight,” she asked, as our
young teenage star George Jones picked up the ball in midfield, and
whipped in a delicio<strong>us</strong> curling cross.
“I reckon there are about…” I muttered, watching Lewis Ide rise up
and head the ball… into the net.
It took me a while to answer the question. I stood up, raised my
arms, one hand still holding the last dregs of a pint of Harveys
Olympia. And I yelled, into the evening sky: “Yes. Yes. Yes!”
When I sat down she was looking at me with a strange expression
on her face. She’d j<strong>us</strong>t witnessed my reaction to the first goal in a
new era for the club I love. She’d j<strong>us</strong>t witnessed raw passion; utter
delight.
“Sorry about that,” I said. There were, and I’m not exaggerating
here, tears in my eyes.
“Um…” I said. “What were you asking?”
“How many people do you reckon are here?”
I had a pretty good idea, beca<strong>us</strong>e I’d been watching the fans come
in, throughout the evening, and I’d been delighted to see how many
had turned up.
“About 600,” I said. “Which is bloody brilliant.”
As it happened, I was one out: the crowd was, in fact, 601. And that
was bloody brilliant, 250 more than the corresponding game last
season, on a Wednesday night, in Aug<strong>us</strong>t, with loads of people still
on holiday. A great result, then, one of two that night. We ended up
winning 2-1. Alex Leith
photo: James boyes
8 3

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convenience of your own home
“A superb outfit”
Chambers UK Directory
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Our roots lie in providing services
to individuals and helping them
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Tel: 01273 480616
Offices in Lewes and Brighton
Clients throughout the country
Walk-In Baths
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01273 473838
The Old Dairy, Rise Farm, Cockshut Rd, Lewes, East S<strong>us</strong>sex BN7 3PR
www.orangebadge.co.uk
Viva Lewes Summer 2010 Campaign.indd 1 15/06/2010 14:04:55

sat aug 28th: dover athletic.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
coming up at the dripping Pan
F o o t B A l l
High-flying Dover are among the favourites for promotion this season, as they were last. Nobody who
went to the corresponding game last season will forget it in a hurry. Dover started second in the table,
Lewes second bottom, and at first the scoreline followed the script, with Athletic leading 2-0 after 15
minutes. Then, all hell let loose, and in front of a delirio<strong>us</strong> and rather festive-spirited crowd the Rooks
knocked in goal after goal. The final result was 6-2. That’ll take some beating.
sat sept 4th: hampton and richmond
Another cracking afternoon to look forward to at the Pan. It’s non-league day, which means that, as
England are playing and there are no Premiership and Championship fixtures, fans are urged to go
and watch their local non-league team instead. This should significantly increase the gate, in a game
against old rivals. Lewes won their last game of the season at Hampton in 2009/10, a result that ensured
survival in the Blue Square South. ‘The Beavers’ (it’s true) are managed by former West Ham legend
and England international Alan Devonshire. Long-term Lewes fans will welcome back skilful midfielder
Karl Beckford.
sat 18th, 3pm chelmsford city
As we go to press Chelmsford have made a blistering start to the season, scoring six goals in two wins
against Basingstoke and Woking, and start among the favourites to win promotion to the Conference
Prem next season. Managed by former Southend and Palace regular Glenn Pennyfather, City will be
tough opponents: Rooks fans will be familiar with the imposing presence of Sami El-Abd, on loan at the
Pan at the end of last season, in central defence.
Entry to the Dripping Pan is £10 for adults, £5 concessions (OAPs, students, 16-18 etc) and KIDS GO
FREE, courtesy of sponsors Regatta Outdoor Clothing. Season tickets are still on sale at £150/£75. <strong>Call</strong>
Nick on 488882 if you’re interested.
photo: James boyes
8 5

31 Western Road, Lewes
01273 483007
A fun and creative
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Commissions, Team Building, Parties,
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Late Thursday opening until 10pm for adults
www.fireworkslewes.co.uk

HENTY’S
TWENTY
knock him down with a feather
The news that Viva Lewes editor, Alex, has
promised to hand me a twenty pound note
each month to purchase a collectable object
somewhere in the town has seemingly spread like
wildfire! For example, even in my own road, as I
walked to the shops recently, a young neighbour
at the start of her school holidays asked me if I
would like to buy …a peacock’s feather.
With her brother, enterprising ‘Autumn’ had
a collection of the exotic items swaying in a jar.
“There are nineteen of them” I was informed,
“And they’re twenty pence each”. “Beautiful” I
replied, “I’ll buy one if you’re still here when I
return from Waitrose.” She was and as we shall
discover later, the feather was a bargain.
Not everyone’s quite so keen on my new
journalistic endeavour though. Down at the Pells,
a woman with her dog shouted at me across the
pond “Your stuff’s all very well in Viva Lewes but
it’s not much help for real antique collectors like
me. I’m looking for a nice bit of Chippendale.”
Now I k<strong>now</strong> it was foolish of me but – as I raced
up Brook Street pursued by the woman and what
I assume was a young Rottweiler dog – I have to
admit that asking her whether she meant a tallboy
or a toyboy was a mistake. You live and learn in
this b<strong>us</strong>iness and what I should have replied, of
course, was that a visit to the new St. Peter and
St. James Hospice Store (opposite Laura Ashley)
might have been a more helpful suggestion.
Chippendale? Unlikely, but an impressive selection
of named quality furniture is proving very popular
I’m told, in the light and airy showroom. Friendly
staff too.
Worried by the Pells experience (it wasn’t only the
dog that was barking) and conscio<strong>us</strong> that my brief
appearance on the BBC1 One Show in Aug<strong>us</strong>t
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
A N t I Q U E s
might create more unrest, I chose to wear disguise
a couple of days later for my visit to the Emporium
Antiques Centre in Cliffe.
My wife, Sylvia, and I shared a stall there a few
years back so owner Michele Doyle is k<strong>now</strong>n to
<strong>us</strong> and it’s always a pleasure to trawl through her
3-floor treasure trove.
Once she had persuaded me to remove my
disguise – “Men don’t wear the Burkha, John,
and the beard’s a dead giveaway!” we got down to
the serio<strong>us</strong> b<strong>us</strong>iness of finding a collectable item
for the Viva “score”. I always seek help on these
occasions to ensure that the chosen object has a
wider appeal.
Michele pointed me to a cabinet on the ground
floor which had j<strong>us</strong>t been re-stocked. From a
mix of jewellery, silver ware and small ceramics,
we chose two cloissonné cylindrical boxes which
had been attractively hand-painted with enamel
paint in a metal wire design. She told me they
were probably tourist gifts from the 1920s or 30s,
originating in the Orient and were valued at £24
for the pair. I liked them. She accepted my £20.
Happily, The Emporium was doing good b<strong>us</strong>iness
for a Monday afternoon and you k<strong>now</strong> what?
On one of my favourite stalls inside (“Pastimes”)
peacock feathers were selling at a pound each. Still
a bargain!!
John Henty
8 7

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I see your true colours shining through
‘Typical’, huffed Hoxton Mum, sipping her skinny
macchiato. ‘The one time something exciting
happens in Lewes, and I was stuck in bloody
T<strong>us</strong>cany.’
‘Good holiday was it?’ I asked, idly watching as
Things One and Two carefully emptied hundreds
of sugar sachets into Hoxie’s handbag. So nice to
see them working on a project together without
bickering.
‘Rotten. The coffee wasn’t even as good as here.’
Hoxie waved her hand round Costa, her boycott
of Bill’s having been extended to Caffé Nero
and Baltica. Nero’s due to people with laptops
hogging the best tables, and Baltica beca<strong>us</strong>e ‘the
mirror in the loo makes me look like my mother’.
‘And I couldn’t relax by the pool beca<strong>us</strong>e every
two minutes someone sent me a tweet or text
about this Sunday Times b<strong>us</strong>iness. Maddening,
it was.’
‘Maddening to be acc<strong>us</strong>ed of unthinking racism?’
‘No, maddening to be so far away from the action.
Anyway, the article specifically excluded DFLs
from any such acc<strong>us</strong>ation. Which is only right.
After all, back in Hoxton I won plaudits for my
sensitive direction of Hox-Dram’s culturally
diverse production of My Night with Reg.’
‘Hard for the children’, I said, thinking of the
youngsters mentioned in the article.
‘Yes, indeed. Poor Django: he had nightmares that
everyone would be talking about it on his return
and him quite clueless. Thank heavens I had my
Blackberry so he could Facebook his friends and
keep up.’ She smiled, basking in the glow of her
superb parenting.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
C o l U M N
Django and Lysander joined <strong>us</strong>. Lysander had
been charged with supervising his son’s hair-cut in
Avant Garde, but had clearly drifted off, for rather
too much of Django’s pink scalp was revealed.
Hoxie squealed in horror. ‘Lysander, what have
you done? He looks like a Black Shirt.’
‘It’s not that short’, Lysander bl<strong>us</strong>tered. ‘I didn’t
notice them getting the clippers out.’
‘J<strong>us</strong>t pop into Brats why don’t you, get him a Ben
Sherman and some Doctor Martens and your
job’s done’, Hoxie said hysterically.
Thing Two looked up from his sugar work and
said rudely but accurately, ‘Django’s ears stick
out.’
I hastily apologised to Django and reminded
Thing Two of our rule that all personal comments
m<strong>us</strong>t be run quietly past me before being relayed
to a third party. This rule has been enforced since
the time Thing One asked a very large gentleman
if he was pregnant.
But Django leaped to his own defence. ‘You can’t
say that about my ears, it’s racist.’
This gave <strong>us</strong> all pa<strong>us</strong>e.
‘How so, darling?’ Hoxie asked her earnest little
chap.
‘If you say anything about someone’s appearance
it’s racist. It said so in that newspaper.’
‘Hmm’, said Lysander. ‘There’s going to have to
be a certain amount of education all round in the
wake of this b<strong>us</strong>iness.’
Hoxie picked up her bag. ‘Lord, this is heavier
than I remember’, she sighed. ‘How apposite: as
with the burden of kids, one’s load never seems to
lighten.’ And off she went to her yoga class.
8 9

arthur calder-Marshall
A magic Steyning youth
Arthur Calder-Marshall was born on 19th Aug<strong>us</strong>t,
1908 at ‘El Misti’, Woodcote Road, Wallington,
Surrey. It was on this road, incidentally, that
Mervyn Peake’s father set up as a general
practitioner when he brought his family home
from China. The experimental, left-leaning
novels that Calder-Marshall wrote were once
highly regarded. Now he is probably best k<strong>now</strong>n
for being the father of the actress Anna Calder-
Marshall. About Levy (1933) is the story of a
sympathetic Jewish doctor, acc<strong>us</strong>ed of murder.
Dead Centre (1935) <strong>us</strong>es no fewer than sixtyseven
different narrators to tell a story that draws
on the author’s own experiences teaching at a
minor public school. One of the teachers in the
novel exclaims, “It’s wrong to blame the Public
Schools for what is actually the nature of boys.”
Calder-Marshall’s misgivings about private
education were given a further airing in
Challenge to Schools, a pamphlet published by
the Hogarth Press. In an article published in the
New Statesman and Nation in February 1941, he
coined the phrase ‘The Pink Decade’ to describe
the 1930s. Once employed in Hollywood as a
scriptwriter for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, during
the war Calder-Marshall joined the film division
of the Ministry of Information. An admiring
depiction of Calder-Marshall at this time appears
in Memoirs of the Forties by Julian Maclaren-
Ross. After the war he wrote books on subjects as
diverse as Havelock Ellis and the salacio<strong>us</strong> picture
postcards of Donald McGill. He edited selections
of the writings of Jack London, Tom Paine and
George R Sims. The last named was author of It
was Christmas Day in the Workho<strong>us</strong>e and one of
the many candidates for Jack the Ripper.
Calder-Marshall’s life changed when
commissioned to write a life of Vice-Admiral
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
l I t E r A r y s U s s E x
Riall Wadham Woods. While serving as a signals
officer at the Battle of Jutland, Woods allegedly
received an ‘interposed message’ amongst other
Morse code traffic, instructing him to serve God.
He later took Holy Orders and worked as a
padre in a Whitechapel seaman’s hostel. During
his research Calder-Marshall became convinced
that Woods was praying for him from heaven,
and the book, No Earthly Command, became
partly biography and partly the story of Calder-
Marshall’s own conversion to Christianity.
Steyning is Calder-Marshall’s connection with
S<strong>us</strong>sex. The town is probably best k<strong>now</strong>n for
its tradition of treating whooping cough with
donkey-hair sandwiches, a cure <strong>now</strong> largely
discredited. Arthur moved there with his family
at the age of fifteen. His grandfather wrote a
poem entitled A Reverie at Steyning, which
began, ‘I see the roofs of dear old Steyning/
Quaint old-fashioned market town./ Some are
roofed with S<strong>us</strong>sex limestone,/Some are red, and
some are brown.’ Printed at his own expense, it
retailed for the modest sum of threepence with
all proceeds going to the Church Lads’ Brigade.
Arthur was befriended by the oddball proprietor
of Steyning’s Vine Press, Victor Neuburg. He was
a former associate of Aleister Crowley who, it was
rumoured, had once transformed Neuburg into
a zebra. Calder-Marshall’s memoir, The Magic
of My Youth (1951) not only tells the story of his
own later involvement with Crowley but is also a
delightful evocation of S<strong>us</strong>sex in the 1920s.
David Jarman. This article is dedicated to
the memory of John Grover (1917-1997) who
introduced me to The Magic of My Youth.
9 1

NORMAN bAkER
...on that Sunday Times article
It was with dismay that I read the
long, long piece in the Sunday Times
magazine recently about Lewes. It
raised so many issues that I barely k<strong>now</strong>
where to start, but let me try.
First and foremost, Lewes is not a town
riddled with racism, and I resent the
implication of the article that it is. I
particularly resent it beca<strong>us</strong>e, actually,
it’s a very tolerant place, a liberal town,
where you will find members aplenty
of Amnesty International for example,
but almost no BNP members – four
in total, in fact, according to that same
Sunday Times piece.
Second, I resent the patronising tone
of the article in the London-based
paper, with its implication that we are
all backwoodsmen down here, rather
behind the curve compared to a vibrant,
all-embracing modern capital city.
(Barking or Dagenham, anyone?) J<strong>us</strong>t
in case we missed the message, there
was a gratuito<strong>us</strong> picture of Bonfire to
imply that we are all anti-catholic as
well as racist.
Now I don’t want to pretend that
racist incidents never occur. They do
sporadically, as they will do anywhere
in the country you care to mention.
And they m<strong>us</strong>t be dealt with firmly
when they occur. But I can count all
those that have crossed my desk in 13+
years as the town’s MP on the fingers of
one hand. I could also point out other
towns not very far away where the
problem is far worse.
But then perhaps it turns on what you
call racist. I would define it a deliberate
act of discrimination, an insult, or
worse an act of violence against an
individual or group generated largely
or wholly by their race or racial
characteristics.
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
Doubtless there is also what you
might term unintended racism, when
people, with no intention to offend,
nevertheless can do, for example by
calling someone “coloured” rather than
“black”.
In the article, there was an example
given of a child who had observed,
innocently I expect, that another child,
black or mixed race, had bigger nostrils
than he did. This seems to have been
taken as a racist comment, but to my
mind, it was most likely simply a child
noticing a difference, which in this case
was nostril size, but might equally have
been eye colour or presence of freckles
or a hundred other characteristics.
Then there was the complaint that
the S<strong>us</strong>sex Express should not have
put on its front page a picture of a
14-year-old black child who had been
given an ASBO. Now there is certainly
a legitimate debate as to whether it
is appropriate for a local paper to put
photos of such 14 year-olds on its
front page, and I can see both sides.
But the article appeared to be arguing
a different case: that it was wrong to
print a picture of a black 14 year-old,
with the implication that it would have
been all right had the boy been white.
Racist incidents, where they do occur,
m<strong>us</strong>t be dealt with firmly. But it does
not help anyone to portray the town as
racist, when it is not. Nor does it help
our community, indeed any community,
if people become so fearful of speaking
for fear of offending that they stay
quiet instead. That only breeds a
different kind of intolerance.
I think Lewes generally gets it about
right. Which is more than I can say for
the Sunday Times.
C o l U M N
9 3

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buSINESS NEWS
Good News
There’s more activity in the Riverside in Cliffe this
month, where a new shop has opened up. As well
as selling a range of gift cards, necklaces, earrings,
Georgie’s main line is pottery, with local potter
Eric Pearson showcasing his wares in the outlet.
The space next to them is also taking shape, so we’ll
report back on that next month. Also new at the
Riverside this month, is their loyalty card, which
will reward regular shoppers with a 5% discount on
all purchases within the complex. To get a card, j<strong>us</strong>t
pop by and fill out a form.
We can also announce that the Alexis Dove shop
(above) is <strong>now</strong> fully open in the Needlemakers.
Alexis has transformed the space previo<strong>us</strong>ly <strong>us</strong>ed
by Baltica Pottery into a smart-looking showroom
for her collection of jewellery, as well as that of
other jewellers, too. In addition to an airy gallerystyle
space at the front, there is a surprisingly large
workshop area to the rear where much of the work
is undertaken. Take a look.
Not so good news…
There’s a few worries on the High Street at the
moment, with the threatened closure of Catlin’s
the most startling. Stephen, who runs the shop,
feels that the ever-increasing rent is forcing him
out. In a similar situation The Lansdown has also
closed, but we have been assured by the owners,
Enterprise Inns, who also run three other pubs in
the town, that they intend to have it open again in
the very near future. NW
9 5

sy_Viva_128mm x 90mm.qxd 19/12/07 16:35 Page 1
Family Law Specialists
To arrange a free
initial interview
and advice call
01273 480234
Blaker, Son & Young
S O L I C I T O R S
211 High Street, Lewes BN7 2NL
www.bs-y.co.uk
• Divorce and Separation
• Financial Settlements
• Children
• Property Disputes
• Pre-Nuptial Agreements
Professional and honest
legal advice since 1830

Barn Dance
In aid of Patina Moving On Parade at
Spring Barn Farm
Saturday 2nd October 2010
7.00pm till midnight
Red¬hot traditional fiddle,
guitar & accordion
Ben Paley & Tab Hunter
Hog roast, Bar, Dancing,
Free Parking Prizes awarded for
best cowboys & girls Charity Auction,
Raffle and Surprise Guests unique
transport available back to Lewes
Tickets £25.00
Available from Kings Framers or
katehook@btinternet.com
In Association with:
VIVA LEWES, the Lewes Octoberfeast
and Patina

W
What do you do? I satisfy the burning desire of those
old enough and I dispense sweet success to those too
young.
How long have you been here? My landlord thinks
for too long and wishes me to go, I’m a tenacio<strong>us</strong>
character and k<strong>now</strong> nothing else so I would rather like
to stay and keep a 200-year-old tradition alive. Tobacco
has been sold from these premises since before the days
of Tom Paine.
What do you sell? Loose tobacco for pipes and
hand rolling, pre-packed cigarettes, rolling machines,
tea, coffee, biscuits, cakes, sugar, jam, margarine and
fudge…
What are your bestsellers? There will be some
disappointed to k<strong>now</strong> that tobacco sales still make up
50% of the shop’s turnover. Aside from that, chocolate
and sweets comprise the majority.
What is your personal favourite? My sales assistant,
John Evans, and the rather lovely dark chocs called
Danucci. It has to be dark chocolate for me, and a nice
Dutch cigar, and also the wonderful aroma of a very
old pipe tobacco called Twist. It’s spun in the style of a
rope along a ropewalk, a tobacco from Nelson’s time
and still an amazing seller. One looks very buccaneering
with a pipe, the great poet and writer Louis MacNeice’s
widow <strong>us</strong>ed to sing railroading songs at the end of the
quay in Southern Ireland, smoking a pipe and waving a
hurricane lamp.
I hear your time in these premises may be limited,
can you tell <strong>us</strong> about that? I have come to the end
of my lease and my landlord wishes to charge me
unreasonably to stay. I hope I have until Christmas to
photograph: katie moorman
TRADE SECRETS STEPHEN ‘CATLIN’ WISCHHUSEN
find alternative premises, and will be very happy to
move the shop to the other end of Western Road if
necessary. What has embarrassed me, even made me a
little tearful, is the great affection in which this place
is held.
How does it make you feel? I don’t want to go, it’s
my life’s ambition to live to 110 and be found dead
behind this very till clutching a £5 note. When I do
I don’t want the theatrical closing of curtains, I want
flames licking at my coffin and a gramophone playing
Gracie Fields singing, “Wish me luck as you wave me
goodbye.”
Do you think residential conversions have
contributed to the escalating cost of commercial
property in Lewes? No, beca<strong>us</strong>e I have to say this
particular block of shops is sacrosanct. The irony is
that this shop was once residential - it formed part
of an Elizabethan hall. In 1976 the rent on this shop
was £280 per annum and it was possible to make a
living. Now the margin on tobacco is as little as 4%,
and on sweets it’s down from 25% to about 16%. The
volume of sales is not enough to pay higher rent, but
I understand this is not my landlord’s problem: it’s a
problem of modern life.
What are your High Street highlights? I’m very fond
of Castle Sandwich Bar, and I like very much the lady
in Lewes Luggage. I find the Post Office absolutely
friendly. Catherine Darcy is a lioness of style in the
Vintage Shirt Company. There is so much, and this is
why people come to Lewes – to be served in local shops
by living people. Forget supermarkets, some of them
don’t even have cashiers! Interview by Chloë King
9 9

DIRECTORY
Please note that though we aim to only take advertising from reputable b<strong>us</strong>inesses, we cannot guarantee
the quality of any work undertaken, and accept no responsibility or liability for any issues arising.
To advertise in VivaLewes please call Steve on 01273 488882 or email steve@vivalewes.com
LEWES

heaLth and WeLL being
ACHES & PAINS at any age are a
warning sign that something is WRONG.
Traumas, poor posture, excessive sitting
& even birth trauma can ca<strong>us</strong>e strain &
damage to the m<strong>us</strong>cles, ligaments,
joints & nerves of the spine which may
ca<strong>us</strong>e PAIN, NUMBNESS, TINGLING or
WEAKNESS.
50% off New Patient Exam
Offer ends September 30 th , 2010
www.back-in-motion.com
Dr. Trevor Mains
33 West Street Lewes 01273 473473
Chiropractic doesn’t mask these
symptoms with drugs but seeks to
correct the ca<strong>us</strong>e; gently restoring
normal function of the spine, which can
allow damaged tissue to heal.
A FREE SPINAL HEALTH CHECK could
uncover the root of the problem. <strong>Call</strong> to
book an appointment today!
1 0 3

heaLth and WeLL being
CLIFFE OSTEOPATHS
Osteopathy Mandy Fischer
BSc (Hons) Ost, DO
Osteopathy Steven Bettles
MEd, BSc (Hons) Ost, BA, DO
Acupuncture Tim Rofe
& Osteopathy BSc (Hons) Ost, BAc MBAC, DO
Hypnotherapy & EFT Lesley Isaacs
Dip I Hyp GQHP, GHR
Nutrition Nicki Edgell
BA (Hons) PDNN
01273 480900
23 Cliffe High Street
Lewes, East S<strong>us</strong>sex
BN7 2AH
www . lewesosteopath . com
Open Mondays to Friday
Saturday mornings
Lewes High Street
DENTAL PRACTICE
Mandy Fischer Osteopathy
Mandy has practiced in Lewes for the past 13 years
and established Cliffe Osteopaths three years ago.
Osteopathy provides gentle, effective treatment
of m<strong>us</strong>culoskeletal conditions, including low
back pain, joint pain, m<strong>us</strong>cular tension, and
sports injuries, and can provide relief to the pain
and stiffness associated with arthritic joints.
The range of osteopathic techniques available
means that it is a suitable therapy for all ages,
from infants to seniors.
Steven Kell
BDS (U. Lond) MFGDP RCS (UK) DPDS (U. Brist)
Lewes High Street Dental Practice offers a
personalised approach to modern dentistry.
Whether you are looking for a simple check-up or to
improve your smile through cosmetic dentistry &
tooth whitening, we are here to help.
We are dedicated to the provision of high quality
dentistry in a caring and gentle way <strong>us</strong>ing the very
latest dental techniques including dental implants.
Due to recent refurbishment and expansion we are
currently accepting new NHS patients for a limited
time
Lewes High Street Dental Practice,
60 High Street,
Lewes,
East S<strong>us</strong>sex,
BN7 1XG
Tel: 01273 478240
Email: info@lewesdental.co.uk
Web: www.lewesdental.co.uk

heaLth and WeLL being
www.thewiseway.co.uk
Intuitive healing &
guidance, including EFT
& relaxation classes*
Tel: 07952 999987
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Homeopathy
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Coach Ho<strong>us</strong>e Clinic
Lewes
01273 474419
ww www.fionacondie.com
Hilary Moore Flowers
,
• Fresh Cut Flowers, Bouquets,
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• Plants
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• Interflora & Local Deliveries
• Corporate Events & Contract Work
• Champagne, Wine & Chocolates
• Workshops
• Dr Ha<strong>us</strong>chka Skincare
85 High Street Lewes
East S<strong>us</strong>sex BN7 1NX
(01273) 480822
www.hilarymooreflowers.co.uk

1 0 6
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Replacement windows
& doors
C<strong>us</strong>tom-made windows, doors,
roof lanterns, staircases, and fi tted furniture.
Designed, manufactured and installed to
your individual requirements.
www.parsonsjoinery.com
T 01273 814870
E joanne@parsonsjoinery.com
Parsons Joinery are <strong>now</strong> FENSA registered.
Please refer to our website or call <strong>us</strong> for
further information.

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Jack Plane Carpenter
Nice work, fair price,
totally reliable.
www.jackplanecarpentry.co.uk
01273 483339 / 07887 993396
PLUMBER
taps • cisterns • WCs • radiators
• bathroom suites
www.plumbery.co.uk
call Matthew Spencer on
486621 or 07880 676262
Painter and Decorator
Niels Herdal
01273 471399
QUALITY CRAFTMANSHIP • FULLY INSURED • 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE
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Ollie
Clark
Does your kitchen
need updating?
• Design, supply and fit...
Project management
options
• ‘Fit only’ service
• Appliance & worktop
changes...
call Gary Mitchell on
07920 424189 or
01273 472352
Independent kitchen fitting
gmkitchens@talktalk.net
bespoke furniture
carpentry
painting & decorating
f u r n i t u r e ollieclarkfurniture.co.uk
lewes
01273 479909
07876 069681

home
Wooden sash window specialists
Hidden br<strong>us</strong>h pile system
Eliminates draughts and sash rattle
Reduces noise and improves security
Reinstate traditional sash windows
Specialising in listed buildings
and Conservation Areas
Repairing, servicing and improving
traditional sash windows.
<strong>Call</strong> <strong>us</strong> <strong>now</strong> on: 0800 731 5905
www.slidingsashsolutions.co.uk info@slidingsashsolutions.co.uk
6 Campbell Road, Brighton, East S<strong>us</strong>sex, BN1 4QD
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Do you need assistance?
If so, we can come to your rescue
07974 359 483
Based in Lewes and its Environs
Odd jobs – Gardening – Moving
Computers – Broadband – Email
Digital photography advice
Simple electrical or plumbing jobs
Assemble flat-packs – Curtain rails
Patios – Decking – Turf Lawns
Hang pictures – Tiling - Gutters
Fix things – Painting – Repairs
Non-smoker - Police Vetted
£10 per hr (min 2hrs)
Visit <strong>us</strong> at www.lassistant.co.uk
Qs Electricalþ
24/7 fair price emergency serviceþ
Lighting consultation & designþ
Rewires and upgradesþ
Testing and inspectionþ
Small jobs with pleasureþ
Free energy efficiency adviceþ
& discounts on installationþ
Kevin Moore 07837814235þ
Member of the National Association�
of Professional Testers and Inspectors�

home & gaRdens
gaRdens
Beautiful Perennials, Shrubs, Bedding Plants,
Herbs & Vegetable Plants Grown in East S<strong>us</strong>sex
Ideal for your Garden and Hanging Baskets
One-Day Plant Sales
Every 1st & 3rd Saturday of the month @
The Trevor Arms, Glynde
Every 2nd & 4th Saturday of the month @
Caburn Cottages, Nr Lewes
9.30am - 4.30pm
1 1 1

Lessons and CouRses
PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA
IN GARDEN DESIGN
The garden design course taught
by professional garden designers
17th September 2010 - 15th July 2011
Plumpton College
Contact Helen Marshall
01273 892052
helen.marshall@plumpton.ac.uk
www.nigelphilips.co.uk

Lessons & CouRses
otheR seRViCes

i n s i d e L e f t
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VAuXHALL VIVA
This 1971 photograph of the bottom end of the High Street was one of a series of scenes of Lewes taken by
Douglas Cyril Race, who was Borough Surveyor from 1969 to 1974. This was taken before this area became
a pedestrian precinct after the Cuilfail tunnel was built later in the 1970s. We can see Rice Brothers, saddlers,
fishing tackle and bicycle shop (<strong>now</strong> Forfar’s) next to a modern looking Lipton’s supermarket. It was, I’m told,
considered posher than the small Tesco that then existed on Cliffe High Street, but Tesco’s had the advantage
of offering Green Shield Stamps. Lipton’s has a rather chi chi 1st floor window display, and, reflected in the
windows, you can j<strong>us</strong>t make out the Mayo Wynne Baxter building opposite.
It seems an unpopulated shot, until you spot the girl in a mini-skirt crossing the bridge, and the couple inside
the navy A<strong>us</strong>tin Shooting Brake engaged in what looks to be an intense conversation. The fine selection of
cars includes, we believe, a Vauxhall Victor (the one with the L-plate), two Vauxhall Vivas, and, in the foreground,
the badge on the bonnet is of a Ford Zephyr.
LA Beck occupied the building we <strong>now</strong> k<strong>now</strong> as the Riverside, a taxi and car hire service that supplied smart
limos for civic events. The windows of Caffyn’s, then a Morris dealership, can be seen on the opposite side of
the river - <strong>now</strong> Argos.
Thanks to Anna Manthorpe and the treasure trove of local history, the East S<strong>us</strong>sex County Record Office in the
Maltings, for permission to <strong>us</strong>e this photograph (ESRO DL/A/24/1/138).