Viva Lewes June 2015 Issue #105

105
VIVALEWES
Editorial
We’ve rolled up our trouser legs, donned a
knotted hanky and decamped to the seaside
for this issue. Well, we dip our toes in the
briny water anyway. Exploring our chosen
theme of water, we visit Newhaven to speak
to a boat builder, as well as one of only
three women crane drivers in the country
- currently working on the new University
Technical College. We also try the Coastal
Trail on a bike to visit some art, and winkle
out some local fish mongers to photograph.
But we don’t neglect water in our own
backyard – we look inside the pump room at
the Pells pool, discover a time when candelit
Venetian regattas were all the rage on the
Pells lake, and we delve into the fascinating
history of the Lewes Rowing Club.
patrick marber
We speak to him about his new footballthemed
play at the National Theatre
p25
utc harbourside
We look inside the new Tech College being
built in Newhaven
p83
VIVA DEADLINES
We plan the contents of each magazine six weeks
ahead of any given month, with a mid-month
advertising/copy deadline. Please send details of
planned events to events@vivalewes.com, and
for any advertising queries, contact advertising@
vivalewes.com, or call 01273 434567.
lewes chamber festival
We interview Catherine Manson about the music
the London Hadyn Quartet be performing
at this terrific event. p31

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the big splash issue
Contents
Bits and bobs
9-23. Starfish CD review,
Sussex Downs’ student
Bailey Langford Vox Pops,
My Newhaven with Brian
Newbury, Lewes Worthy is
Master and Commander author
Patrick O’Brian, Photo
of the Month by Darren
Coleshill
On this month
25. Interview. We speak to
Patrick Marber about his
new play The Red Lion
27. Interview. Joe Stilgoe at
Love Supreme
29. Classic Car Show
31. Southease Open Gardens
and Fête
33-35. Classical round-up.
Plus interview with Catherine
Manson
37-41. Art and About, with
the spotlight on Rebecca
Garland and Louise
Chavannes
43. We cycle the Coastal
Culture Trail, between three
seaside galleries
45-55. Listings. Films, talks,
gigs, and other diary dates
57-67. Free Time, listings
for the under-16s, we try
Branching Out Adventures
and fishing, plus Young
Photo of the Month
Food and drink
63-73. We review Erawan,
The Galley at Seaford Sailing
Club, Sea Cider, Ross
from Salt & Sea shares his
hot prawn salad recipe, and
the Nibbler has a chip on
her shoulder. Plus we try
making sushi
Features
75-79. The Way We Work.
Tracey Robinson’s portraits
of four fishmongers
81. Day in the Life of Vicky
Harvey, crane driver
82-83. Bricks and Mortar.
New University Technical
College in Newhaven
85. My Space. Phil Ransley
at the Pells pool
87. Getting out and about
on the water
89. Wildlife. House martin
90. North Street. We look
into flood defence plans
91. Lewes Swimming Club
92. Lewes Rowing Club
Columns
93-97. John Henty, David
Jarman and Mark Bridge
Business news
99. Trade Secrets. Gulet
Barefoot Cruises
101. Directory spotlight on
Sally Holder, plantswoman
Inside Left
114. Merman at a Venetian
Regatta on the Pells Lake
Photo by Rob Read

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this month’s cover art
With our theme of water, we felt Chris Arran
would be a great person to approach for a cover.
We asked him how he came up with this joyful image.
“I wanted this one to fit in nicely with the previous
Viva covers I’ve designed. I was going for a
summery colour scheme of sky blue as well as yellow,
for extra impact. With the theme, I pondered
creating a scene, someone diving in a pool for example.
But I’ve been doing a lot of collage work
recently, using books I pick up in old bookshops,
so I decided on a painted collage technique. The
paddling man perfectly depicts the British condition.
He’s dressed for autumn on a summer’s day.
The pretty woman with the retro floral swimming
cap looks really happy. He’s probably having just
as good a time, but he’s reserved about expressing
that. I grew up by the seaside on the Isle of Man. I
love it. It makes everyone feel special. And people
still love to roll up their trouser legs and paddle,
even when it’s cold. I did it last week with the kids.
I even love singing Sussex by the Sea! In terms of
my other work, I teach expressive and experimental
fashion illustration at the London College of
Fashion. I also teach illustration at Southampton
Solent University. chrisarran.com
Chris is holding a pop-up exhibition of both past
and new work at the Stable Gallery, downstairs at
Paddock Studios, on the weekend of 27/28.
the team
EDITOR: Emma Chaplin emma@vivalewes.com
STAFF WRITERS: Moya Crockett, moya@vivalewes.com, Steve Ramsey rambo@vivalewes.com
SUB-EDITOR: David Jarman
ART DIRECTOR: Katie Moorman katie@vivalewes.com
ADVERTISING: Sarah Hunnisett, Amanda Meynell advertising@vivalewes.com
EDITORIAL/ADMIN ASSISTANT: Isabella McCarthy Sommerville admin@vivamagazines.com
PUBLISHERS: Lizzie Lower, lizzie@vivalewes.com, Nick Williams nickwilliams@vivamagazines.com
directors: Alex Leith, Nick Williams, Lizzie Lower, Becky Ramsden
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Jacky Adams, Michael Blencowe, Mark Bridge, Mark Greco, John
Henty, Mat Homewood, Paul Austin Kelly, Lewes Peasant, Rob Read, Ian Seccombe, Marcus Taylor
Viva Lewes is based at Pipe Passage, 151b High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XU, 01273 488882
Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of our content. Viva Lewes magazine cannot be held responsible for any
omissions, errors or alterations. The views expressed by columnists do not necessarily represent the view of Viva Lewes.

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its and bobs
ian seccombe’s point of view
Construction of the east and west piers at Newhaven began in the 1630s. The current east pier is 320
metres long and its concrete lattice framework is designed to keep silt out of the harbour channel.
ghost pub #9 - The Dolphin Inn, St Nicholas Lane
The Dolphin Inn is understood to have been opened in the
mid-1700s by Thomas Sergison, whose family crest bore three
dolphins. When Henry Bridger leased the Dolphin in 1884, its
contents included a bar, a parlour, a clubroom (with a print of
Queen Victoria), a bagatelle room, skittle-alley and equipment
for cribbage, draughts and other games. George Beaumont
took over the tenancy in 1898, and although not an experienced
publican, his wife was described by his referee as ‘a very sharp
woman... well adapted for a landlady of a public house’! The
Dolphin was finally closed in 1957, and the building was taken
over by Charles and Kenneth Geering, builders of St Nicholas
Lane. The Geering family have long been connected with the
lane, and, in the 1860s, their ancestor John James Geering had
been landlord of the Dolphin. Words and photo Mat Homewood
9

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Photo by Emma Chaplin
my newhaven
brian newbury
Are you local? I’ve been living in Iford since
1985, working in Newhaven the whole time. I
was brought up on a dairy farm in West Sussex,
where my grandfather was tenant farmer. I moved
to Burgess Hill to become a car mechanic in 1970,
then began work for Dronhaven Motors in this
very building. But, after the petrol crisis in 1975,
they ceased trading. I did a sideways step into
marine engineering, working for Metrec, as crew
on tugs and salvage work. In 1982 I started doing
welding repairs for the fishing fleet and in 1990
I took on John Robbins boat-building company,
and I’ve been here ever since. With three members
of staff I’ve built 55 steel boats: 48 fishing
boats – trawlers and cockle dredgers, two yachts
and five workboats. Our last boat was a steel yacht
for the opera singer Emily Turton, ‘Huskyan’, Orcadian
for ‘strong one’. It’s now in Orkney. I’m
retiring at the end of May.
What will retirement hold? I’ll get odd jobs
done at home and catch up with things I should
have been doing: shed mending and painting, and
decorating. I’ll take on some gardening jobs. I also
enjoy fishing and shooting, but just for the pot.
What have you most enjoyed about boat building?
The satisfaction of producing a working
craft for mainly owner/skippers. The really exciting
bit of boat building is forming the basic hull,
but the small details at the end get a bit tedious.
What’s your local? The Abergavenny Arms in
Rodmell. It’s cheered up in recent years. I like
their steak, and my wife Jan (who is also our company
secretary) likes their veggie stuff.
What’s your poison? Harvey’s Best.
What do you like about Iford? I love the Flower
Show (Saturday 11 July this year) – I’ve been entering
veg for the last 25 years. My onions were
Best in Show! I make cider too, and every autumn
we hold an Apple Festival in the village, pressing
local apples into juice.
What do you like about Newhaven? I love
Newhaven. I’ve been here a long time. I knew it
when it was a bustling port. Fifty fishing vessels
and regular cargo ships carrying meat and veg
from Argentina and the Canaries in the harbour.
Anything you don’t like? I’ve seen it change
over the years. They turned the town into a huge
roundabout when they put the ring road in. We
don’t even have a bank here now. Brighton dumps
its rubbish here via the incinerator, as well as their
sewage in Peacehaven.
How would you spend a perfect Sunday? A
nice trip to the pub with Jan. A bit of socialising
with friends. We both like cooking - I smoke my
own salmon. We also both like walking, anywhere
different really. Interview by Emma Chaplin
11

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its and bobs
spread the word
mongol rally
Plumpton College animal husbandry
instructor Russell Gates
and two friends Jo and Chris (a
team they’re calling 3 Fists In)
are taking part in the Mongol
Rally in July, which means driving 10,000 miles from
the South of England to Ulan-Ude, Siberia. They
will do this in a 1 litre Suzuki SJ (pictured), raising
funds for St Wilfrid’s Hospice, Surfers Against Sewage
and Cool Earth Action. See Virgin money giving
page if you want to support them.
album review: starfish
Catriona Dejean sent us this photo of herself taken
in Kyrgyzstan in March, when she was on holiday.
She’s in Bishkek, and a national celebration is taking
place around her. Catriona works for international
aid agency Tearfund. If you wish to support Tearfund’s
current efforts to support victims of the Nepal
earthquake, you can do so here: tearfund.org/en/latest/nepal_earthquake/
In music news: the latest compilation album by Starfish
Youth Music bands is out now. Recorded over
the course of one year at Starfish Studios with the
help of Project co-ordinators Iain Paxon and Steve
Franklin, the hour-long collection features twenty
original songs by young up-and-coming local bands
with fantastic names: Calpol Killed My Uncle,
Soother, Point Taken, Knight, Fine By Me, Monk
and Carpet on the Walls are just a few. Expect indie,
rock and acoustic tunes by musicians aged 11 to 17,
with male and female singers and instrumentalists
sharing the spotlight. Moya Crockett
The album can be purchased for £8 at Starfish Youth
Music, 1a Phoenix Works, North Street – or email
hello@starfish.co.uk if you’d like a copy posted to you.
town plaques #3: dr richard russell
On the wall of 78 High Street, close to St Martin’s Lane, is a Town
Council plaque commemorating Dr Richard Russell. Russell was born
in this house in 1687 and practised medicine there from 1725. In
1750, he wrote a dissertation in Latin expounding his theories on the
use of sea water on diseases of the glands. It was the first book to make
a connection between drinking and bathing in seawater and improvements
in health. Dr Russell recommended especially that people try
the water near Brighton, which he claimed was superior to all other.
He moved his practice there in 1753 and built a large house at the Old Steine which opened directly onto
the beach. He is thus regarded by many as the effective founder of Brighton as a bathing resort. He died
a wealthy man in 1759 and is buried in South Malling churchyard. Marcus Taylor
13

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photo of the month
park life
This lovely picture of Sheffield Park Gardens was taken by Darren Coleshill. Darren is a professional
blogger and enjoys photography. He and his family became National Trust members this year, and
thought they’d try somewhere new on the gloriously sunny May Bank Holiday Monday. “We were
debating between different properties to try. We live in Uckfield, and realised Sheffield Park is only
ten minutes’ drive away, so we thought we’d give that a go. We’d never visited it before so had no idea
what it was like, but we really liked it. It’s amazingly colourful.” Darren, his wife and two daughters,
aged seven and four, took a picnic with them. “My wife and I enjoyed the walk around the gardens
and found the trees full of blossom really beautiful, but if I’m honest, I think our girls liked the picnic
best of all, although they also really enjoyed seeing a swan on her nest and the bluebells.”
He continues, “I took a number of photographs as we walked around the lakes. Taking photos of
nature is something I love doing, so Sheffield Park was perfect for this. If only my garden was this
beautiful.”
We ask about this particular shot: “It was taken from one of the bridges, using my Olympus OM-D
EM10 whilst using the handrail as a support, because I left my tripod at home. It was shot at ISO200
1/400secs F/9 and touched up in editing using Snapseed.”
Please send your pics to photos@vivalewes.com. We’ll choose our favourite for this page, which wins the
photographer £20. Unless otherwise arranged we reserve the right to use all pictures in future issues of
Viva magazines.
15

its and bobs
lewes worthy: patrick o’brian
Really it’s surprising that anything is known about the Master and Commander-writer Patrick
O’Brian’s time in Lewes. He ‘guarded his private life zealously,’ his Times obituary noted. ‘Even to
friends he remained an enigma’. After WWII, he changed his name from Patrick Russ and developed
a partly fictional back-story. He managed to keep his real background secret, despite his growing
literary fame, until 1998 (he died in January 2000).
Thus, pretty much all of what I could find about his three years here was in the biography by his
stepson, Nikolai Tolstoy, who calls the period ‘idyllic… a happy interlude,’ in what was a ‘generally
wretched’ childhood. His mother died when he was three. His father, a doctor who was no good with
money, seems to have been a domineering-and-emotionally-distant type. Patrick only got to go to
school for four years. Three of those were spent at Lewes Grammar. He moved to the town with
his stepmother and two of his siblings in 1926, when he was 11 or 12. His father generally stayed in
London, which may have been a bonus. When off school, he liked wildlife-spotting by the Ouse, and
visiting Seaford beach or Brighton Aquarium. He was ‘captivated’ by Lewes’s ‘Georgian and Regency
elegance’, which, Tolstoy argues, surely influenced his subsequent ‘brilliant literary recreation of the
Georgian world’.
Despite O’Brian’s rejection of his own past, he revisited Lewes several times as an adult, and, very
unusually for him, ‘expressed nostalgia’ about the place. He even described one of these visits as ‘a
sentimental pilgrimage to Sussex’. Steve Ramsey
17

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its and bobs
book review: francesca and the mermaid by beryl kingston
Francesca and the Mermaid is by bestselling author Beryl Kingston. After seeing a
mermaid on holiday, South London office worker and frustrated artist Francesca
leaves her bullying lover and moves to Lewes. As Francesca grows in confidence
and happiness, her angry former partner schemes to ruin the new life she has
built. Beryl Kingston lives in Sussex, and obviously knows Lewes well: Francesca is
startled by house prices, roped into attending parties with women in floaty scarves,
buys her art supplies from a fictional version of TashTori and parks her car in the
Westgate car park. A good summer read. MC £7.99
LEWES RIVER TRADE IN NUMBERS
Lewes used to depend on the tidal Ouse for goods and employment.
In 1810 there were 39 barges trading on the river, 10
upstream to Sheffield Bridge, and 39 downstream to Newhaven. A
plan to extend navigation upstream was completed by 1812, when
the river was navigable almost to Balcombe, 22 miles and 19 locks
above Lewes. Trade upstream ceased by 1868 through competition
with rail, though traffic on the 9.5 miles downstream to Newhaven
continued until the 1950s. Sarah Boughton

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Make
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A fabulous
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A grass-reared
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A selection of
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from Poppy’s
By Cliffe Bridge, Lewes
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RIVERSIDE

its and bobs
sussex downs’ student bailey langford’s vox pop
What would name your boat?
“Bubblegum” Yaa
“Excalibur” Zak
“Lifeboat” Lucy and Felix
“SS Freedom” Katherine
“Jenny” George
“Star 1” Sandra
Blues on the Farm ticket competition
Win two adult weekend tickets, including
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staged in a 40 acre setting south of Chichester.
Under 10s free. Email info@bigiam.
co.uk with ‘Viva Competition’ in the title
and your contact details.
Closing date Mon 15, winner to be
notified June 16. bluesonthefarm.co.uk
Photo by Chris Brown
21

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lewes peasant
23

on this month: drama
The Red Lion
Patrick Marber’s new Lewes FC-inspired play
Photo by James Boyes
I meet Patrick Marber outside the National
Theatre, where his new play, The Red Lion, is to
open on June 3. He’s dressed in red and black.
This is purposefully apt. Patrick’s play is loosely
based on the three years he spent as a director of
Lewes Football Club.
We agree to lunch at the NT restaurant, where
I wonder: just how much is the play based in
reality?
There are three characters in it, I find out: a kit
man, a manager, and a promising young football
player. “For different reasons,” says Patrick, “both
the kit man and the manager want to manage
this player in different ways, and the play is about
the battle for the soul of this kid. This becomes a
bigger and more metaphorical conflict as the play
progresses.”
The kit man, he reveals, is very loosely based on
Steve Ibbitson, manager at the club immediately
before and after the 2009 constitution change, a
darling of the fans. “He’s the man behind the play,
the man I met and instinctively loved and wanted
to help save the club. I wouldn’t have got involved
if I hadn’t met Ibbo. He’s the source.”
And how about the manager? “In my time at
Lewes there were four or five different managers,
and there are bits of all of them in the character.”
Patrick’s called this character ‘Jimmy Kidd’ and
the process of ‘getting’ him took, it turns out, a
lot of soul searching. “The only way I was able
to write the part was to find the Jimmy Kidd in
myself. You have to love your baddies as well as
your goodies, you’ve got to have sympathy for
the devil. I could only believe in the character
once I’d admitted that I myself could be a liar, a
bullshitter and a desperado! Once I realised the
play was about myself, it became writable.”
Other board members can rest assured that
versions of them won’t appear in the play. “The
board exist like the Gods in a Greek tragedy.
They are referred to occasionally, but never seen.
Their judgement is immense. The board are
hated, but they hold the power. Which is probably
pretty much always the case in football.”
Patrick is most famous for his play Closer; he
adapted that into a screenplay which was made
into a successful movie. My final question, as we
drain our post-meal macchiatos, is this: is The Red
Lion ever likely to get the Hollywood treatment?
“No chance,” he says. “It’s a play about three guys
sitting in one room talking about non-League
football. It’s not very filmic.” Then, with a cheeky
glint in his eye: “But then again I never saw Closer
as a movie prospect. So you never know…”
Alex Leith
The Red Lion, National Theatre, Southbank,
London. Wed 3-Thurs 28 (£15-55) nationaltheatre.
org.uk
25

on next month: love supreme
Joe Stilgoe
On jazz and Neighbours
“I remember we were given some Starlight
Express roller skates. I used to gel my hair, slide
around the house on roller skates, crashing into
stuff, trying to sing. So maybe that was an early
ill-judged ambition, to be Greaseball, the rock ‘n’
roll diesel train.”
This is the jazz pianist and singer Joe Stilgoe,
whose father is Richard, the Starlight Express
lyricist. “I loved Starlight Express. I think it was ok
to love something my dad did that much, because
for a five year old, being in the middle of people
whizzing around on rollerskates…”
“I must have seen it about 30 times. It was a
happy memory, and maybe a bit of inspiration
to get up and perform.” Stilgoe has been playing
piano since he was five, and “once I’d worked out
the notes I could play anything,” which meant he
was often co-opted into entertaining at parties. At
school he played in “really terrible rock bands”.
But at that point he still hadn’t decided to pursue
it as a career.
“I don’t know what I wanted to do then; I was
sort of free of ambition and enjoyed everything
from sport to TV.” His fondness for the soap
Neighbours was such that he wanted “probably to
be in it, or at least have a job that could let me
watch it all day.”
He tried out “loads of rubbish jobs, like driving a
van for a wine merchant, and trying to get to the
delivery point as quickly as possible, and realising
I’d smashed half the cases of red wine. I realised
wine merchanting wasn’t for me.”
For a while, he wanted to be an estate agent.
“That lasted about six months, and I think it was
beaten out of me, I was told this wasn’t my actual
ambition. So I think music sort of gave me that
drip-drip inspiration and ambition, and then
when I was about 21 I just thought: ‘this is all I
can do, all I want to do.’
“You know some people say they have that
moment when they’re 12 and they see someone
performing and they know they’re going to be a
performer? I never really had that. It was all built
up from my parents, through the way we grew up
listening to music, and finally ending up at university
and meeting lots of people and thinking:
‘These are the same people as me; we can talk
about Neighbours, we can talk about weird music
that other people don’t like.’
“I suppose with all of those things, it’s all about
thinking that you’re a bit misplaced. ‘Have I been
born in the wrong era? Have I been put in the
wrong scene?’ Music is a great glue for bringing
people like that together. As I’m sure you know,
if you join a club for anything, you can suddenly
find like-minded people and not be overwhelmed
by the sense of being a Neighbours addict.”
Steve Ramsey
Joe Stilgoe appears at the Love Supreme Jazz Festival,
Glynde Place, Jul 3-5, lovesupremefestival.com
Photo by Carl Hyde
27

on this month: cars
The Sussex Classic & Sports Car Show
Motoring to Middle Farm
Photo by Glenn Butler
“Take a look at this”, says auctioneer Glenn
Butler, as we sit in the Wallis & Wallis auction
gallery. But I’m not looking at antiques. Instead
he opens his laptop to show me photos of his
‘Brooklands 280’ Ford Capri, one of 1,056 cars
produced in 1986 to mark the end of the coupé’s
production. Barely 200 are still running. Glenn’s
is even rarer: only three were made with automatic
transmission. This one-owner vehicle has
covered a mere 30,000 miles in its 29-year life,
with major restoration work helping to keep it in
nigh-on showroom condition. “I’d never restore a
car again”, Glenn laughs. “Never. There were bits
here, bits there… but when it goes back together
again, you start to get a buzz. It slowly comes
back to life.”
Glenn’s passion for cars made him an obvious
choice to set up the Sussex Classic & Sports Car
Show, a fund-raising event for charities supported
by Lewes Barbican Rotary Club. “The first show
we did, at Michelham Priory, had 75 cars. We
very quickly outgrew that venue.” Next came a
move to Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum,
where manager Barry Sutherland provided a
free site and even agreed to donate some of the
Sunday admission charge. “It was wow, wow, wow.
We couldn’t lose.” After Barry died from cancer
in 2012, the following year’s show took place as a
tribute to him, raising money for Macmillan Cancer
Support and the St Peter & St James Hospice.
So what exactly is the Rotary Club all about? “It’s
a group of like-minded people who get together
once a week to try and raise money for good
causes”, Glenn tells me. “It’s social, but at the
same time there is a serious side to it.” Lewes
Barbican is one of three Rotary clubs in the town.
Each has its own personality – Glenn describes
his club as “very relaxed” – with membership
open to anyone. Recently, they’ve provided
emergency assistance to earthquake victims in
Nepal via Nepalese Rotary Clubs. In addition,
Rotary International is working to eradicate polio
worldwide via immunisation. And local charities
are nominated every June by the club president.
That’s not the only change this month. The 2015
car show is moving to Middle Farm on the A27 at
Firle, where up to 200 vehicles are expected to be
on display. Yet despite this increase in size from
the show’s early days, the original ‘summer fête’
feeling remains. “It’s a gathering for like-minded
enthusiasts”, Glenn explains. “And there’s also the
farm stuff, the tea rooms, the cheese, meats, preserves,
lots of animals for youngsters to look at.
It’s a nice summer’s day out. Most importantly, all
the money from the public goes to charity. That’s
really what Rotary is all about.” Mark Bridge
The Sussex Classic & Sports Car Show, 10am-5pm,
Sun 14, Middle Farm. Admission £2.50 adults,
£1 children. Classic cars £5 per vehicle (includes
admission for 2 people).
29

VISIT ALFRISTON
COME AND ENJOY OUR VILLAGE
ENJOY OUR EVENTS.....
SUSSEX DAY Sun 14th June
FRENCH MARKET Sun 5th July
AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY FESTIVAL
Sat 29 - Mon 31st August
and visit our shops, galleries, pubs,
restaurants, hotels, clergy house (NT),
tea shops, mediaeval village, The Tye, beautiful countryside
and much, much more.....
visit www.alfriston-village.co.uk for more details

on this month: gardens
Southease Open Gardens Fête
Fixing the roof while the sun shines
What do you do when
your thousand-yearold
church needs a
new roof and there are
only 16 households in
the village to pay for
it? In Southease, they
thank the Lord that so
many of those houses
are beautiful and throw
open the gardens for
a party.
For those of us
squeezed into small
terraces and flats in
Lewes, the 10 minute
drive (or one train
stop) downstream to
Southease is literally a
breath of fresh air. In
the Domesday Book
it is listed as home to
46 villagers. Today,
according to the village
website, it has ‘approximately 50’. And you think
Lewes is resistant to change…
Southease’s position where the South Downs
Way crosses the River Ouse made it important
way back even beyond King Alfred’s day, but it
was Alfred’s great-grandson King Edgar who
founded the present church in 966 – the charter
is in the British Museum. Its round tower is one
of only three in Sussex and was added in the
12th century, as were the frescoes on the walls
that you can (just about) still make out today.
So it’s old, and the roof needs fixing at a cost
of £62,000, and the church – which doesn’t get
any money from the Church of England or the
Government – is on a fundraising drive. Enter
David de Mallet Morgan, churchwarden, who
found his faith, he tells me, as soon as he walked
into Southease Church several years ago. Now,
the retired local solicitor is an energetic force in
saving it: “This is our
turn to look after the
church. In the 10th
century it was their
turn and now in the
21st century it is our
turn.”
To fix the roof, David
has organised a programme
of events, the
highlight of which will
be the Open Gardens
Fête. “There will be six
gardens open. Some
are large, up to two
acres, while one is tiny.
Some are formal and
beautifully ordered,
another is a wonderful
mix of vegetables,
flowers and weeping
willows over the lake.
Then you have country
gardens that are very
different to anything you will see in Lewes.
Adrian Orchard, who ran the highly successful
chilli festival in the village, will be opening his
own, highly technical garden”.
As well as enjoying the gardens and quizzing the
owners, you can buy plants, with well-known
gardeners such as Jennie Maillard offering sage
advice. Anyone inspired can buy gardening
implements and other bric-a-brac. There’s a
barbecue too.
David wants lots of children to visit: “We are
having a quiz, where children will run around
finding answers to win a prize.”
Best of all, there will be that quintessential joy
of the English countryside in summer, cream
tea and cakes in a marquee on the village green.
Words and photo by Chris Nye
Saturday, Sunday, 13-14, 1-5pm, Southease. Entry:
£5 donation, small children free.
31

LEWES CHAMBER MUSIC
FESTIVAL
12th-14th JUNE 2015
Celebrating the music of Joseph Haydn
27th-29th JUNE
Iestyn Davies
and many others with...
London Haydn Quartet
Tom Poster
Philip Higham
Bengt Forsberg
DON’T MISS LEWES’ VERY OWN WEEKEND OF
WORLD-CLASS PERFORMANCES
TICKETS:
www.leweschambermusicfestival.com
Don’t miss world 01273 class music 479865on your doorstep!
BOOK TICKETS NOW:
01273 479865
registered charity no.1151928
leweschambermusicfestival@gmail.com
Under
26s
FREE!
www.leweschambermusicfestival.com
PHILIP HIGHAM ・ THOMAS DUNFORD ・ TOM POSTER ・ JAMES BOYD
MICHAEL GUREVICH ・ IESTYN DAVIES ・ PIERRE DOUMENGE
MISHKA RUSHDIE MOMEN ・ BENGT FORSBERG ・ CATHERINE MANSON
TIM CRAWFORD ・ TOM HANKEY ・ JONATHAN MANSON ・ HANNAH SLOANE
BEATRICE Lewes Chamber PHILIPS Music ・ TIMOTHY Festival is a registered RIDOUT ・ charity THE LONDON in England HAYDN & Wales: QUARTET no.1151928

on this month: lewes chamber music festival
Catherine Manson
Hadyn seek
Catherine Manson,
leader of the
London Haydn
Quartet and the
Amsterdam Baroque
Orchestra,
has performed in
world-class venues.
She speaks
to us about
coming to the
Lewes Chamber
Festival.
Can you tell me
how the London Haydn Quartet was formed
and why? James Boyd (LHQ’s violist) and I met
30 years ago and discovered a common passion for
Haydn. Haydn’s 60-odd quartets are the greatest
masterpieces in the quartet repertory and yet
only a dozen are regularly played. We wanted to
redress the balance and play all of them. We are
now halfway through recording the complete set
on the Hyperion label.
Do you use period instruments, and if so,
why? The more we explored this music and its
language, the more we were drawn to the world
of period instruments. There is a real connection
between musical meaning and the way the sound
is produced and we find much more of a connection
with the music when it is allowed to inhabit
its own native sound world. Anyway, gut strings
were absolutely standard from the dawn of music
until the 1940s.
Do you think it’s true, as is often said, that
string quartets are a form of musical marriage?
There’s a kind of mystique about relationships in
quartets but it’s all less interesting than the music
itself! When four people come together to think
profoundly about works that are some of the
greatest contributions to humanity, it’s usually a
pretty intense scene. In LHQ the intensity is enhanced
by the fact that the cellist and I are brother
and sister so have
been lucky enough
to play and think
about this music
together for almost
all our lives.
Do you find
teaching makes
you a better
player? James
Boyd and I,
together with
cellist Robert Max,
run MusicWorks,
which presents chamber music courses for young
musicians and several of our former and present
students are playing at the festival this year.
On the courses we often play in the groups we
coach so we explore the music together with our
students rather than necessarily “teaching” them.
Great music is an unending source of fascination
so one is learning throughout one’s life.
How do you feel about performing in Lewes?
The Lewes Chamber Music Festival is a very
special event. The performers are some of the
world’s most celebrated chamber musicians and
are all there because the opportunity to play great
music with like-minded people is something not
to be missed. The intimacy of the venues in Lewes
means that the audiences also feel very much like
participants and we all revel in the musical feast
together. Beatrice Philips chooses some of the
most creative programmes I have ever seen, juxtaposing
some of the most unusual combinations of
music - she’s like a great chef in her vision of how
unexpected combinations of ingredients can work
spectacularly well together.
Paul Austin Kelly
Sat 13, 6pm, John sub Castro, £14.
For more details of all events taking place during
the Lewes Chamber Festival, 12-14 June, at various
venues, leweschambermusicfestival.com
Photo by Giorgia Bertazzi
33

east sussex
BACH
c h o i r
the
fairy
Queen
Purcell
SUN 21 JUNE
St John sub Castro
Church, Lewes, 6.00pm
Tickets:£15, £10 Under 16s: free
Ring: 07759 878562
Lewes Information Centre
Web: www.bachchoir.org.uk
President: Sir John Tomlinson CBE
Celebrating
500 years
of English
Sacred Music
Including works by Sheppard,
Tallis, Parry and Harris
Director:
Sandy Chenery
Tickets
£10 in advance from our website
£12 on the door
Under 16s free
See www.esterhazychoir.org
for more details
Saturday 20 June 2015
7.30pm
St Anne’s Church, Western
Road, Lewes BN7 1RJ
Sunday 21 June 2015
3.00pm
Church of St John the Evangelist
Preston, Brighton BN1 6RB
Viva ad 94x66 june_Layout 1 14/05/2015 16:11 Page 1
Concerts
Sat. June 20 –
7pm
Louis
Schwizgebel
(piano)
BBC New Generation Artist
Mozart, Beethoven,
Schumann, Schubert
Sat. July 18 – 7pm
Esther Yoo (violin)
BBC New Generation Artist
Robert Koenig
(piano accompanist)
J.S.Bach, Beethoven,
Debussy, Glazunov,
Tchaikovsky
House open May/June &
August Bank Holiday.
2015
For tickets & information:
www.glyndeplace.co.uk Tel: 01273 858224
Photo : Marco Borggreve

on this month: music
Classical
Paul Austin Kelly’s round-up
We have an embarrassment of riches this month
with two chamber music festivals on the same
weekend: the Rathfinny Estate Festival and the
Lewes Chamber Music Festival. The former
features the London Conchord Ensemble, a
black tie ‘musical dégustation’ dinner, and a
concert with soprano Dame Felicity Lott, while
the latter celebrates the music of Haydn with
the London Haydn Quartet (see p33), as well as
recent works from composers Edmund Finnis
and Melanie Daiken.
Mezzo-soprano Sara Gourlay and pianist Nicholas
Houghton will perform works of Handel,
Gluck, Duparc and others.
Sun 7, 3pm, St Michael’s Church, free
Rathfinny Estate Chamber Music Festival Wine
tasting dinner and concert, Fri 12, 6pm, £175,
Piano four-hands tea recital, Sat 13, 3pm, £20, Gala
evening, Sat 13, 6pm, £60, Coffee concert, Sun 14,
11.15am, £15, Festival Finale, Sun 14, 3pm, £30
rathfinnyestate.com
Lewes Chamber Music Festival, Fri 12, 6.30pm,
St John sub Castro, £14, Fri 12, 10pm, Westgate
Chapel, £12, Sat 13, 11.30am, St Peter’s, Firle,
£14, Sat 13, 6pm, St John’s, £14, Sat 13, 9.45pm,
All Saints, £17, Sun 14, 11am, All Saints, £12, Sun
14, 2.30pm, All Saints, £14, Sun 14, 7pm, St John’s,
£14 leweschambermusicfestival.com
The Corelli Ensemble perform Vivaldi’s Four
Seasons featuring violinist Maeve Jenkinson.
Sun 14, 4pm, St Pancras church, £12,
corelliensemble.co.uk
Glynde Place Concert series continues with
rising star of the international piano scene
Louis Schwizgebel (pictured), a 2013 BBC New
Generation Artist. Sat 20, 7pm, Glynde Place,
£25, glynde.co.uk
Brighton Singers present songs of Vaughan
Williams, Copland and Matyas Seiber. Sat 20,
7.30pm, Court Gardens Farm, Ditchling, £10
Esterházy Chamber Choir offer a capella English
choral music conducted by Sandy Chenery.
Sat 20, 7.30pm, St Anne’s Church, £12
East Sussex Bach Choir perform Purcell’s The
Fairy Queen. Sun 21, 6pm, St John sub Castro,
£15/10, under 16s free
A-level students of the East Sussex Academy of
Music play a final concert together with orchestra,
choir and session bands. Wed 24, 7.30pm,
Town Hall, £6, £3
Bass-baritone Alex Roose and pianist David
Ollosson give a song recital, including Vaughan
Williams’s Five Mystical Songs. Thu 25, 1.10pm, St
Anne’s Church, free
East Sussex Community Chorus offer an evening
of opera choruses and solo ensembles featuring
Lynn Deacon, Niamh Kelly, Paul Austin
Kelly, Jozik Kotz with Carol Kelly, directed by
Nicholas Houghton. Sat 27, 6pm, Town Hall, £12
The Paddock Singers present an eclectic programme,
from Poppins to Pergolesi, featuring
his Stabat Mater. Sun, 28, 7pm, All Saint, £8
Photo by Marco Borggreve
35

Quentin Blake: Life Under
Water – A Hastings Celebration
2 July – 6 September
Jerwood Gallery, Rock-a-Nore Road
Hastings Old Town, TN34 3DW
jerwoodgallery.org
01424 728377
Also featuring...
Lowry by the Sea
11 June – 1 November
Rachel Howard: At Sea
18 July – 4 October
Quentin Blake, Life Under Water – A Hastings Celebration, 2015 © the artist.

on this month: art
Focus on:
What Falls Out
of the Moon
by Rebecca Garland
590mm X 840mm, £195
(limited edition Giclée prints)
How did this image come about? I
wanted to do something seasonal and
local, in terms of flora and fauna. It was
drawn in early summer, with fox gloves,
blossom and rattle grass. I wanted a
variety of shapes and forms and I like
drawing decorative patterns and animals.
There’s a rabbit skeleton and a goldfinch
- such a beautiful songbird, and so associated
with summer.
What’s the process? I pick a few things
to work on in my sketch book and pencil
out a rough composition on paper. I
then draw into it with black pen using
ideas from my sketchbook. Then I add
the colour.
How long did it take to create? Twohour
bursts in the evenings and around
childcare, over a couple of weeks or so.
What inspires you? All sorts: colour,
form, stories. Seeing little scenes, such
as flowers in the garden, or my daughter
Marcy’s toys left out in a certain way.
Where do you buy your materials?
Sometimes Tash Tori, sometimes Sussex
Stationers, but some bits I can only get
on-line, or in Brighton, like Copic markers
and Faber Castell crayons.
Tell us about your other work. A piece called The Rookery
will be in Artists United this year. I also do a lot of pet portraits
and am working on a portfolio of hand lettering.
How did you come to be involved in Artists United?
This is my second year. It was on my radar and I was asked to
take part. I think it’s a really strong event, involving two unlikely
partners, artists and football, in that lovely Lewes way.
What’s your favourite gallery? Manchester Art Gallery,
for reasons of nostalgia. It was one of the first ones I went to
when I was studying art.
If you had to hang one painting from your desert island
palm tree, what would it be? A Peter Messer painting we
have in the house or anything by W Heath Robinson, because
he’s exceptional. becgarland.com
Artists United, Foundry Gallery, North Street, Fri 26-Sun 28.
37

Beautiful art, affordable prices
Autumn by featured artist Chris Liddiard
Chalk Gallery
4 North Street
Lewes, BN7 2PA
Telephone 01273 474477
www.chalkgallerylewes.co.uk

on this month: art
art & about
This month be sure to
catch Reveal, the annual
showcase of the vibrant,
award-winning visual
arts department at Sussex
Downs College. The
Grand Opening is on Tue
16 from 6-8.30pm. The
show runs until Fri 3 July,
9.30am-4.30pm, Mon-Fri.
South East Open Studios
runs from Fri 5-Sun 21,
with over 300 artists in
various venues opening
their workplaces to the
public. A wide range of
work will be displayed,
including oil, watercolours,
ceramics, textiles and
metalwork. Full guide
available at seos-art.org
Gail Ginson Tait
Ellie Tew from Sussex Downs College
Art in Lewes
From Mon 8-Sun 28 the
featured artist at the Chalk Gallery
is Gail Gibson Tait, whose
paintings are influenced by her
work in garden design and by
changing light, detail and wildness
in land and seascapes.
Genesis, a new exhibition by
Julian Bell, is being held at St
Anne’s Galleries from Sat 20. A
series of 37 panel paintings in
oils will be on display, showing
a bold new interpretation of the
first 33 chapters of the Bible.
From Wed 24 at Pelham House
Lucinda Rendall is displaying a
series of paintings of fishermen,
fishmongers and chefs at work
in Catch of the Day, while Teresa
Winchester exhibits her striking,
fantasy-inspired lino prints
in An Unlikely Journey.
Further afield
A Radical View: William Gear as
Curator 1958-64 is now showing
at Towner. This Collection display
celebrates abstract painter Gear’s
time as Towner’s curator, where he
added to the diversity and modernity
of the permanent collection.
Fitting conveniently with Viva’s
water theme, the Jerwood Gallery
are hosting Lowry by the Sea, which
runs from Wed 10. The exhibition
reveals Lowry’s less well known sea
paintings, and explores the intense
relationship that he had with the sea.
And finally, Farley Farm Gallery in
Chiddingly have a new exhibition
of paintings by Mark Glassman,
entitled Beaches and Ruins. Mark’s
recent work includes a series of
paintings based on the lost village
of Tide Mills. Exhibition open
every Sunday throughout June
and July.
Lowry by the Sea
Be sure to catch Artists United at the Foundry Gallery this month, between Fri 26 and Sun 28, with the
Private View on Thu 25. Artists can still submit work until Fri 12, artistsunited2015@gmail.com.
39

artist profile
Louise Chavannes
Wave after Wave
What is it about watercolour that you love?
I love its complexity. I’m always struck by how
pigments react to each other, it’s like watching an
exciting chemical reaction.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Paint in
the colour Manganese Blue. It mixes so well with
everything and has an almost luminous quality
about it. I love watching it push through all the
other colours.
What inspires you? Currently it’s the ocean. I
grew up in Northumberland, which has such an
evocative coastline, huge seas and great skies. I’m
a surfer and try to spend as much time in or by the
sea as possible. I’m inspired by my fear and affection
for the water.
How do you get into the zone before you
begin? I can’t begin painting until I visualise what
it is I want to create. So I often lie awake at night
planning. It means that when I come downstairs in
the morning I can execute what I’ve visualised.
Where can people see your work? I’ll be showing
my work in an exhibition entitled Wave after
Wave at the Hop Gallery from 6-18. You can also
see examples of my work on my website louisechavannes.com.
Isabella McCarthy Sommerville
The Hop Gallery is open Tue-Sat 11am-4.30pm,
Sun 12-4.30pm and closed Mon.
41

Best-selling local author
Beryl Kingston’s
latest book
Francesca and the Mermaid
is out now
£7.99 ● 978-1-910208-07-6
Francesca and her self-centred lover
are on a cruise, when Francesca sees a
mermaid. The sight of it swimming away
inspires her to change her life. She leaves
her lover and moves to Lewes, where she
embarks on a new career, using her skills
as a painter. But freedom brings problems
and she has much to learn.
Order your copy at: www.buriedriverpress.co.uk
Farley Farm House & gallery
Home of the Surrealists
Experience the extraordinary atmosphere of the Sussex home of the
Surrealists Lee Miller and Roland Penrose whose friends and guests
included Picasso, Max Ernst, Man Ray and Miró. We open to visitors on
Sundays offering 50 minute guided tours, inspiring exhibitions in our
gallery and a sculpture garden to explore.
Farley Farm House
Muddles Green, Chiddingly
East Sussex, BN8 6HW
Tel: 01825 872 856
www.farleyfarmhouse.co.uk
Open to visitors every Sunday from April - October 2015 from 10. 00 am - 3.30 pm

art
Coastal Culture Trail
On your bike
Bicycles and I have never really got along. As a
child, I couldn’t pedal two feet without swerving
ingloriously into a wall, and when I was sixteen I
disproved the adage that “you never forget how to
ride a bike” by doing just that. It is to my great
surprise, then, that I find myself agreeing to cycle
the Coastal Culture Trail.
The Coastal Culture Trail connects Towner in
Eastbourne, the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill,
and the Jerwood in Hastings, a distance of some
twenty miles. The idea is that travelling the Trail
allows you to explore and engage with the three
towns, and the Trail website is full of recommendations
of places to visit, eat and stay. Although it’s
not obligatory to cycle, sustainable travel between
the galleries is encouraged: you can even rent bicycles
from selected local bike shops and leave them
at other stops on the Trail.
It’s a sunny May morning when my bike and I set
off on the train to Eastbourne. First stop: Richard
Billingham’s eerie photographs of the English
countryside at Towner. The map on the Trail website
is basic, so after consulting Google Maps over
a coffee on the Towner terrace, I cycle down to the
seafront.
Although a cycle path runs along part of the beach,
much of the route to Bexhill is on busy roads. I
wouldn’t attempt this part of the journey with children.
The beach is pleasingly austere, and when
the road heads inland, the countryside is gorgeous:
fields of honey-coloured cows, purple flashes of
bluebells and UKIP signs.
At the De La Warr I head straight for the restaurant
and wolf down a mackerel salad. I’m an hour
behind schedule, but I make time for John Stezaker’s
dark, hypnotic Film Works exhibition, where
found images are projected at lightning-speed.
With an hour until the Jerwood closes, I hop back
on my bike (wincing slightly – a cushion might
have been a good idea) and pedal like the dickens
along the promenade cycle path, which runs all the
way to Hastings. I face my first hills in the cliffs
between Bexhill and St Leonards, but the view is so
lovely that I almost forget my aching thighs.
Thirty minutes later, I sail up to the Jerwood. I
love the look of the modernist, black-timber building,
squatting between boats on the beach, and the
temporary collection of Scottish paintings inside is
well worth a look. When the gallery closes, I stop
for some chips on the seafront before catching the
train back to Lewes.
The next time I travel the Trail, I think I’ll break it
into two trips. I enjoyed the luxury of going at my
own glacial pace, but I’d have liked more time in
the galleries and the chance to explore the towns.
Overall, though, I’ve never had a better time on
two wheels. Get on your bike and enjoy some
coastal culture – if I can do it, anyone can.
Moya Crockett
coastalculturetrail.wordpress.com
43

JUNElistings
Sat 30 May- Sun 21 June
Lewes Hike and Bike Festival. Full programme
available at leweshikeandbike.co.uk
Tue 2
The Group. A club for single men and women
aged 45+. Walks, dinners, theatre, pub evenings,
holidays. Meets in a pub on the first Tuesday
evening every month, 8pm, thegroup.org.uk
Wed 3
Fri 5 & Sun 7
Film. Selma. (12A) Based on the 1965 Selma to
Montgomery voting rights marches. All Saints,
Fri 8pm, Sun 5pm, £5-£6.50, filmatallsaints.com
Sat 6
Jumbo jumble sale and café. Harveys Depot
by the station, 10.30am-2.30pm, 50p. In aid of
Cystic Fibrosis Trust and South Street Bonfire
Society.
Watercolour painting class. With tutor Alison
Cotton. Suitable for beginners, those with some
experience and seasoned painters. Coastguard
Cottages, Cuckmere Haven, 9.45am, £52 (includes
lunch and refreshments). 07773481492
learn-watercolours-outdoors.com
Sat 6 & Sun 7
Talk. New Herbaceous Perennials, by Lewis
Norman from Coblands Nurseries. Cliffe
Church Hall, 7.45pm, £3. 01273 474110
Film. Wild. (15) A biographical film about one
woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike, undertaken as a
way to recover from a recent catastrophe. All
Saints, Sat 5pm, Sun 7.30pm, £5-£6.50
filmatallsaints.com
Thur 4
Comedy at the Con!
Sol Bernstein, Frankie
Chalet and Romesh
Ranganathan take to
the stage, with MC
Neil Masters. Con
Club, 8pm, £7.50- £11.
Tickets 07582 408418,
wegottickets.com or Union Music.
Fri 5 & Sat 6
Film. Whiplash. (15) Written and directed
by Damien Chazelle, based on his experiences
in the Princeton High School Studio Band.
All Saints, Fri 5.45pm, Sat 7.30pm, £5-£6.50,
filmatallsaints.com
Sun 7
Guided tour. Quirky tour of the town with
historian Kevin Gordon. Meet at the Railway
Station, 2pm, £5. Tickets, Tourist Info or OTD.
Waterloo Bonfire Society Fête. Harveys beer
tent, live music, traditional fun fair, local stalls
and more. The Paddock, noon, free.
amanda@waterloobonfire.co.uk
45

junelistings (cont)
Mon 8
Talk. Art and Industrialists in Late Tsarist Russia,
by Professor Beryl Williams. This illustrated
lecture will focus on the role of merchants
in Moscow as philanthropists and art patrons.
Friends Meeting House, 7.15pm, £3.
Talk. A day, a year, a lifetime for a Monk at
Lewes Priory. A talk by Graham Mayhew,
based on his research for his recent book The
Monks of Saint Pancras. King’s Church Building,
7.30pm, £3/£2. leweshistory.org.uk
Sun 14
Fletching garden trail. Lunches, cakes and
refreshments available. Free parking all day.
11am-4pm, £6, children free. All proceeds benefit
Fletching Church of England Primary School.
Poetry. Creation. Readings by poets including
Jeremy Page and Ann Segrave. St Anne’s
Church, 3pm, free (donations welcome).
.
Sussex Day. Food stalls, crafts, morris dancers,
vintage fairground, guided walks and lots more.
Alfriston Tye, 12-4pm. alfriston-village.co.uk
Mon 15- Sat 20
Tue 9
Skittles Tournament. The Rotary Club’s annual
wooden-ball-down-skittle alley extravaganza,
raising funds for local charities. From
6pm in the Grange Gardens.
johnwburfoot@btinternet.com
Talk. Observing the 1980s: AIDS and Mass
Observation. The Keep, Falmer, 5.30pm, free
entry but booking essential. 01273 482349
Wed 10
Discussion Group.
Death Café. Coffee, cake
and conversation about
dying, death and the end
of life. Buttercup Café,
7-9pm, free (donations),
drop-in. cafe@livingwelldyingwell.net
Sat 13
Open morning. Annan School, Uckfield,
10am-12pm. 01825 841410
Tue 16
Talk. Travels with an author. Sussex author,
Richard Masefield, discusses the real journeys
behind those made by the characters of his
historical novels. Town Hall, 2.30pm, free.
Thu 18
Open Evening. Eastbourne College,
5-7.30pm. eastbournecollegeopenevening.co.uk
46

junelistings (cont)
Fri 19 & Sat 20
South Downs Beer and Cider Festival. Over
80 real ales, plus cider, perry and bottled beer.
Town Hall, Fri 11am-10.30pm, Sat 11am-6pm,
£4-£6.50, over 18s only. Tickets Harveys Brewery
Shop, Gardeners Arms and Brewers Arms.
Film. Trash. (15)
Brazilian-British
film about kids
who make a discovery
in a garbage
dump, then
find themselves
running from the
cops and trying
to right a terrible
wrong. All Saints, Fri 8pm, Sat 6pm, £5-£6.50,
filmatallsaints.com
Fri 19 & Sun 21
Film. Testament of Youth. (12A) A powerful
story of love, war and remembrance based on
the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain.
All Saints, Fri 5.30pm, Sun 7.15pm, £5-£6.50,
filmatallsaints.com
Sat 20 & Sun 21
Film. Ex Machina. (15) A young programmer is
selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment
in artificial intelligence. All Saints, Sat
8.15pm, Sun 5pm, £5-£6.50, filmatallsaints.com
Sun 21
Open air theatre. Twelfth Night, performed by
the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Bentley Wildfowl
and Motor Museum, 5pm, £15/£10, 01825
840573
Southover Open Gardens. 2.30-5pm. Entry is
by programme, £5/£3 from Tourist Info, Union
Music Store, St Pancras stores, The Swan and
The King’s Head. Also available on the door at 6
Grange Rd, where cream teas will be served.

ESTD
2015
CHANDLERSʼ WHARF
LEWES EAST SUSSEX
Launch Event at Pelham House Hotel, Lewes
Saturday 20th June • 10am to 5pm
A stunning collection of thirteen contemporary homes,
on the River Ouse in the historic County Town of Lewes
These stunning new riverside homes offer a combination of roof terraces, balconies,
garages, large lower floor hobby/work spaces and allocated parking.
Chandlers Wharf offers a range of 1 bed houses from 1,520 sq.ft
to 4 bed houses of up to 3,315 sq.ft.
Prices start from £695,000 up to £1,600,000
Ready
Winter
2015
Reserving
off-plan
now
For more information or to receive an invitation for the launch event please contact:
Helen Oakley Tel: 01273 487444 Email: helen@oakleyproperty.com Visit: oakleyproperty.com

Traditional Sussex Ales
delivered direct from the Brewery
Great beers, fine wines & souvenir gifts
from the brewery shop
Award winning Sussex ales
available in containers from
4-72 pints
DIRECT FROM THE BREWERY AT BREWERY PRICES
Open Monday - Saturday 9.30 - 5.30pm
Choice 8 year old
Scotch Whisky
exclusively blended
and bottled
for Harveys.
The ‘County Town’
branding was first
used over a
century ago.
Available from
the Brewery Shop
in Lewes or via
our website.
01273 480217
www.harveys.org.uk • shop@harveys.org.uk

junelistings (cont)
Fathers Day BBQ lunch at Shelleys Hotel.
Booking essential 01273 472361
Tue 23
Talk. Saving the Cheetah. An audio/visual
presentation by local photographers, Carole and
Paul Nicholson, on the work of the Cheetah
Conservation Fund. Plumpton Village Hall,
7.30pm, £5. 01273 891725
Thur 25
Story Cabaret. Little Fishes Objets d’art.
Coffeehouse Bar, 7.30pm, £3.50. Tickets from
eventbrite.co.uk
Sat 27
Summer Fair. Sideshows, curiosities, circus
skills, music, games and BBQ. Lewes New
School, 12-4pm. lewesnewschool.co.uk
Sun 28
Mad Hatter’s tea
party. Guests are
encouraged to dress
up, with a prize for
the best dressed. Pelham
House, 2.30pm,
£24.95/£12.50.
pelhamhouse.com or
01273 488600.
PUT IN YOUR DIARY
Fri 3- Sun 5 July. Love Supreme Jazz Festival.
Book your tickets: lovesupremefestival.com
THE
THURS - SAT
6.30 - 11.30pm
3 FISHER ST
www.facebook.com/LewesCoffeeHouse ASK
A LIVING WAGE EMPLOYER
LEWES HIGH STREET
BN7 2DG
now!
NEW
DRINKS
MENU
+
weekly drinks promotions
D. J. + nights
ROOM HIRE 07721 942 845

gig of the month
A big happy birthday to Tongue & Groove’s Midsummer
Madness party, which celebrates its tenth year at Pells
Pool this June. Legendary Lewes covers band Tongue &
Groove have raised over £25,000 for various local charities
over the last decade, and this year all proceeds from
the party will go to Starfish Music and a new Landport
and Malling Summer Play scheme. It promises to be a
fabulous summer night, with a beer tent, BBQ, fireworks
display and a dramatic finale from Tongue & Groove
frontman Phil Rhodes, aka ‘The Fox’: last year, he flew
across the pool on fire. Starfish bands kick off the day
at 5pm before the main event begins at 7.30pm. Tickets
available from the Pells kiosk, Si’s Sounds, and lewesyouththeatre.co.uk.
Pells Pool, Sat 20, 5pm, £6/ £3
Photo by James McCauley
june listings
Mon 1
Simon Savage, Dan Sheppard & Terry Seabrook.
Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
TUE 2
English dance tunes session. Folk. Bring instruments.
John Harvey Tavern, 8pm, free
THU 4
Alligator Swing. Gypsy swing. Pelham Arms,
8.30pm, free
FRI 5
Murphy’s Mob. Irish. Con Club, 8pm, free
SAT 6
The Naming of Things. Americana. Union
Music Store, 3pm, free
Night Before. We R Bob, Michael Baker and the
Whiskey Preachin’ Road Show. Bar & BBQ, in
support of Waterloo BS. Paddock, 5pm, free
Spinning Jennys. Resident DJs play eccentric
pop. Coffeehouse Bar, 7pm, free
Martin Carthy. Folk. Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £10
SUN 7
English dance tunes session. Folk. Bring
instruments. Lamb, 12pm, free
Kind of Blue. Acoustic. Con Club, 3pm, free
Open Mic. Elephant & Castle, 7pm, free
MON 8
Terry Seabrook piano trio, with Paul Whitten
and Peter Hill. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
fri 12
Grean Day. Green Day tribute band. Con Club,
8pm, £5
SAT 13
Ruth Jacobs Band. Folk. Union Music Store,
3pm, free
Ska Toons. Ska jazz. Con Club, 8pm, free
Geoff Lakeman. Folk. Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £6
SUN 14
Mel Hayes. Acoustic. Con Club, 3pm, free
The Magic of the Musicals. Show tunes with
Ruthie Henshall, West End performers and
community choir. De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill,
7.30pm, £12/£25
MON 15
Nigel Price, Terry Seabrook & Alex Eberhard.
Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
FRI 19
Jellyhead. Rock covers. Con Club, 8pm, free
53

Tel 01273 477071 | 3 Bell Lane | Lewes | East Sussex | BN7 1JU
www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk

gig guide (cont)
SAT 20
Charlie Dore & Julian Littman. Folk. Union
Music Store, 3pm, free
Popguns. Indie. Con Club, 8pm, £8/£4
Waterloo. Folk. Bring songs and tunes. Elephant
& Castle, 8pm, £3
SUN 21
Junior Starfish concert. St Marys Social Centre,
2pm, £5/£3
The Contenders. Con Club, 3pm, free
Senior Starfish concert. St Marys Social Centre,
6pm, £5/£3
MON 22
Organ trio with Andy Williams and Dave
Cottrell. Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
WED 24
Gregory Porter. Jazz. De La Warr Pavilion,
7.30pm, £35/£44
THU 25
Suede. Indie rock. De La Warr Pavilion, 7pm, £27
FRI 26
Father John Misty. Modern folk, from former
Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman. De La Warr
Pavilion, 7pm, £14.50/£16.50
Ricardo Curbelo. Latin American. All Saints,
7.30pm, £8 Union Music Store/£10 OTD
Yiri Baa. African. Con Club, 8pm, £5
SAT 27
Hard Pressed. Folk. Elephant & Castle, 8pm, £6
SUN 28
Folk in the Chapel. Music from Will & Wolfie,
Hickory Signals and Guy Hayes. All proceeds to
the Oyster Project. Westgate Chapel, 2.30pm, £5
Lipstick & Beatniks. Acoustic duo. Con Club,
3pm, free
The Good Lovelies. Folk. Con Club, 8pm. £12
Union Music Store/£14 OTD
MON 29
Julian Nicholas, Terry Seabrook on piano, Nigel
Thomas on bass & Peter Hill on drums.
Jazz. Snowdrop, 8pm, free
JUN
5
12
13
19
20
26
28
MUSIC EVENINGS
@ The Con Club
MURPHY’S MOB
ONE OF WEST LONDONS FINEST IRISH BANDS
GREAN DAY
AUTHENTIC GREEN DAY TRIBUTE
SKA TOONS
ROCKING COLLISION OF SKA, FUNK & JAZZ
JELLYHEAD
HIGH ENERGY ROCK COVERS
POPGUNS
CATENARY WIRES & LOVEJOY
YIRI BAA
AFRICAN HIGH-LIFE AFROBEAT BAND
GOOD LOVELIES
A UNION MUSIC STORE PRESENTATION
SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS & ENTRY
JUN
7
14
21
28
Sundays
@ The Con Club
KIND OF BLUE
DYLAN TO PEYROUX - JAZZY, BLUESY LAID BACK TRIO
MEL HAYES
SOLO SESSION WITH VOCALIST OF AKA BAND
CONTENDERS UNPLUGGED
WITH HARDY SCHOELCH ON SAXOPHONE
LIPSTICK & BEATNIKS DUO
JAZZ. ROCKABILLY & BLUES
55

Kaleidoscope Summer School 2015 A6-flyer.indd 1 15/04/2015 21:09:02

under 16
FreeTIME
What’s on
Sun 7
Film. Night at the
Museum: Secret of
the Tomb. (PG) Latest
in the NATM series,
featuring one of
Robin Williams’ last
roles. Security guard
Larry Daley must
travel to London to
return the tablet of Ahkmenrah, an Egyptian
artefact which causes the exhibits to come to life,
before the magic disappears. All Saints, 3pm, £5-
£6.50, filmatallsaints.com
sun 14
Wishworks puppet show. Whispering Smith.
The story of a very shy creature whose search
for food gets him stuck up a tree. Christ Church,
3pm, £7. Suitable for ages 2-7. Only 40 tickets
available, which must be reserved in advance.
puppetsall@yahoo.co.uk
Sun 21
Film. Toy Story.
(PG) Our love
affair with Pixar
Studios began 20
years ago when
they released this
groundbreaking
feature-length
computer animated
comedy. Bring your favourite toy for a chance to
win a prize. To infinity and beyond! All Saints,
3pm, special price £3 for kids, filmatallsaints.com
Young People’s
Art Competition,
Civic Society Friends of Lewes want to encourage
young people and their families to value
what makes our town such a fabulous one,
so they’re running an art competition with a
theme of A Special Place. Children are invited to
draw, paint, print or make a collage of a building
or place in Lewes they think is great, on an
A4 piece of paper – landscape orientation. To
enter you need to live in, or be at school in the
town. Prizes are £25 book tokens for winning
entries in each age group, 4-7 years, 8-11 years
and 12-18 years. Closing date September 11.
Enter via friends-of-lewes.org.uk, give your
picture and entry form to your school office, for
collection by the Friends of Lewes, or the Town
Hall, (“FOL Special Places Competition”).
St Marys
Sports Day
Hugh Coppin
has been Chair
of the St Marys
Sports Day
for the last 16
years, and is
finally stepping
down from the role. He provided us with this
brilliant photo of a past St Marys Sports Day.
This year the annual event, now in its 67th year,
takes place on Sat 27, 10-6pm, on Nevill Green.
It’s open to children from reception to year 8.
Entry forms will come through letterboxes on
the Nevill estate and surrounds as well as Nevill
Newsagency, and there will be visits from the
organisers to local primary schools as well.
stmaryssportsbn7@gmail.com
57

under 16 êêêê
young Photo of the month
This striking picture, entitled Under
Water, was sent to us by 13 year old
Priory student Martha Ashby. “My
mum loves crystals and I thought it
looked pretty in front of the blue,
cloudy sky. I took it in the evening, the
first day I got a new camera. I was playing
around with the focus, and thought
the blurred background was effective.”
Martha wins a £10 book token, kindly
donated by Bags of Books. Please email
photos to emma@vivalewes.com, with
your contact details.
Fishing with Mike Maynard
I had a lesson with Mike at one of the three lakes at Spring
Barn Farm. They have carp up to 18lb, also roach, bream and
perch. Because of the threat from predators, such as mink and
cormorants, they put up fake guards. We used live red maggots
as bait and put them on a barbless spade end hook. This
doesn’t hurt the fish. I caught three fish, the biggest was a 3.5lb
common carp. We let all the fish back into the pond. Next time
I would like to go river fishing.
I asked Mike some questions:
Where did you learn to fish? In Singapore when I was seven
or eight, sea fishing.
Who taught you? My father. He was in the RAF so we moved
around, Singapore, Africa, Holland, fishing in each country.
What do you like about fishing? It’s relaxing, but exciting too.
I love being in nature, seeing the wildlife… animals and birds by the river, seeing kingfishers.
Why do you teach other people? I have had so much pleasure from fishing I like seeing other people
experience it too. I especially like to teach disabled adults and young people too.
Interview by Luke Meynell, year 7 Priory student
Mike is a level two coarse fishing coach with the Angling Trust, and offers coaching free, but asks for donations
to the Red Cross children’s shop on Station Street. anglingtrust.co.uk 01273 470231, mjm.angling@gmail.com
59

freetime
êêêê
swimming lessons
Babies have a natural affinity for water, and water play
groups can help them retain that confidence. Wave Leisure,
at Lewes Leisure Centre and Ringmer Pool, run
sessions for babies as young as five months old and their
parent or guardian. In July, Pells Paddlers returns to Pells
Pool: these weekly “splash and play” sessions for under-5s
are a fun way of building water confidence, and entry is
only £2 per family. A new Water Babies programme, for
newborns and older, will be starting at the White Hart
later in the year. Kids can begin having formal swimming lessons at Lewes Leisure Centre and Ringmer
Pool from the age of four and a half. After completing the Wave Beginners course, it’s onwards through
11 levels – though you needn’t complete them all, of course. All child and baby lessons at Wave Leisure
are charged at £4.90 a pop. After a trial session, you can sign up for a 15-week block of lessons, payable
by direct debit. Elsewhere in town, Wet Wet Wet Swim School run lessons for beginners and intermediate
swimmers at GILES Leisure. It’s a small, heated hydropool, with a hoist for easy disabled access.
Classes run on Wed and Thurs afternoons, at £8.90 a lesson. Of course, swimming lessons aren’t just for
children. Wave Leisure run adult lessons at Lewes Leisure Centre on Monday evenings, and at Ringmer
on Tuesday nights. The benefits of learning to swim can be enormous, so why not give it a go? MC
For more information, see waveleisure.co.uk/swimschool; waterbabies.co.uk; pellspool.org.uk;
wetwetwetswimschool.co.uk.
Illustration by Joda, jonydaga.weebly.com
Early Years
and Reception
spaces for September 2015
Open Morning
Saturday 13th June 10-12 pm
For more information call 01825 841410
Independent Primary School and Kindergarten for 3 to 11 years
Annan School | Easons Green |Uckfield | East Sussex | TN22 5RE | www.annanschool.co.uk

êêêê freetime
Go wild in the country
On its first official day, this
father and son team headed
to Branching Out Adventures
at Bentley Wildfowl.
We were looking forward
to a half-day’s exertion and
exhilaration in a beautiful
setting. And we weren’t
disappointed.
Health and safety is important
in a venue like this,
and here it’s handled in a
low-key and encouraging
way, not overbearing or
intrusive. Indeed, as we’re
trussed up in snug-fitting
harnesses, learning how to use the trolleys
for zip wires, and shown how to keep metal
clips always attached to the super-tough steel
cable that runs the length of walks, we are well
looked after. The Branching Out team clearly
takes customer service seriously – from the café
to the high ropes – and all the staff are friendly
and supportive.
Training over, we head for the low ropes, 3-5
metres above ground, welcoming kids over six,
taller than 1.2m. A series of a dozen obstacles,
tackled one climber at a time, tested our head
for heights, upper-body strength, coordination
and determination. Some look simple and turn
out tricky, like the zigzag lolly sticks; others
look impossible, but turn out simple, such as
the nothing-to-hold-on-to bridge with as many
gaps as planks. There are mini-zip wires during
the course, and a good long one to finish.
After a stop for a drink and snack in the promising
café, stocked with locally-sourced tuck, we head
up to the high ropes. This course is both harder
and more elevated than its little brother, with our
favourite section the giant wind chimes and our
Photo by Sam Knowles
least favourite the rope loops.
A longer zip wire brings this
course – about 45 minutes,
like the low ropes – to an
end. Plenty more staff members
on the ground encourage
struggling dads through
trickier moments.
Next up is the ultimate zip
wire, a 30-second descent
from a high tree accessed by
climbing 7m up giant staples.
The excitement is rising.
And finally: the giant
swing. This ROCKS.
Shackled and bolted to a
metal bar, you’re winched as high as you dare.
We get to about 30 feet, pulled by a complex
series of pulleys. When you’re ready to go, you
pull a red cord and … whoooosh! The drop is
vertiginous, and we whoop and whistle through
the air, the adrenaline pumping round. We’ve
definitely saved the best till last.
Changing over metal clips between obstacles
can be tricky, but we soon learn it just requires
patience. We haven’t brought gloves or bought
them on site, and our hands are a bit sore by
the end; they are to be recommended. And
though there are rain showers during our visit,
we don’t get wet, protected as we are by the
foliage canopy.
Customer service: 10/10. Thrill-factor: 8.5/10
(giant swing: 10/10). Difficulty: 6 (Max), 8
(Sam). Sense of achievement: 9/10. Overall
experience: 9/10.
Max and Sam Knowles, aged 11 and 48.
Priced per activity, from £5 per child, up to
£10/12. Best to pre-book. Bentley, Halland.
branchingoutadventures.co.uk, 01825 280 250 /
0759 5043 353.
61

A great
British pub
with some
bistro oo la la
The Pelham arms
HigH Street • LeweS
Vintage Hot Swing with
AlligAtor Swing on
thursday 4th June, 8.30pm FrEE!
tasty lighter seasonal lunch menu
served weekdays including a
great value set menu option:
two courses £13 &
three courses £17
relaxed drinking & eating in
our bar or dining room, sunny
courtyard garden, children
friendly & dogs welcome
we can look after your special
occasion whether its full,
private hire or a family gathering
opening Hours
tuesday to thursday
Bar 12noon to 11pm &
Food 12noon to 2.30pm and 6 to 9.30pm
Friday & Saturday
Bar 12noon to Midnight &
Food 12noon to 2.30pm & 6 to 9.30pm
Sunday
Bar 12noon to 10.30pm & Food 12noon to 8pm
get in touch!
Tel. 01273 476149
Email. manager@thepelhamarms.co.uk
Twitter @PelhamArmsLewes
Facebook.com/pelhamarmslewes
Book online @ www.thepelhamarms.co.uk

food
Photos by Rob Read
Erawan
Beau Thai
When we visited friends in London in the 1990s,
their favourite place to take us was in Southampton
Way in Camberwell - a tiny front room Thai restaurant,
now long gone. I’d never tasted quite the same
flavours again, until Erawan popped up in Lewes.
This bistro and takeaway on Lansdown Place occupies
the site of a former Chinese takeaway, but
the interior is completely transformed. Wood-lined
walls, Thai décor and flowers on blocky wooden
tables, it’s a warm and welcoming space. It’s also
opened as a “bring your own”, so we pop into Symposium
next door and grab a nice bottle of Kentish
cider to go with our meal. Corkage is £5 for wine
(£2 for our large cider).
As we enter, the thing that strikes us most is the
smell of fresh jasmine, taking us back to an idyllic
Californian holiday, adding to the allure of the
place. We’ve quizzed friends who’ve already been,
and then also steer our own course as we study the
menu. As Erawan themselves say, they seek to
bring the “authentic savoury flavours” of Thai cooking
- combining sweet, spicy, salty and sour tastes.
Starters include satay, tempura, spring rolls, spare
ribs, dumplings… and we opt for fish cakes (£6.15)
and a lovely recommended concoction
called Gliow Grob (£5.50), crispy fried wontons
filled with a mixture of chicken and prawn.
The starters are beautifully presented, since Thai
food doesn’t just pay attention to how a dish tastes,
but how it looks as well. Erawan get this just right
with a clean modern style and traditional, delicatelycarved
vegetables. The dishes are so good, we share.
Between courses, some people drop in to collect
takeaway orders and some to sit in at one of the six
other tables. All seem as happy as us that Erawan
has arrived in Lewes. For the mains, there are soups
such as the classic hot and sour Tom Yum and noodle
dishes like Pad Thai. We’ve also been recommended
the Drunkard Noodles, but my tester is a Chicken
Thai Red Curry (£8.50), since that was my Southampton
Way standby, plus a bowl of sticky rice.
My partner chooses a richer Panang curry (£10.50),
with fish, cooked in coconut milk with lemon grass
and lime leaves. These are equally delicious and well
presented, and again happily shared.
Too replete for a full-blown pudding, we are won
over by the ice cream, a green tea for her and a sweet
Thai special for me. We leave clutching a takeaway
menu (prices slightly lower than eating in).
After our visit we Google the name Erawan and
discover it’s the Thai word for the revered mythic
elephant which carries the Hindu god Indra: an
important symbol in Thai culture and a fitting name
for this exemplary Thai restaurant.
Rob Read
Erawan, 34 Lansdown Place, 471999, erawan.co.uk.
Open evenings 6-10pm Tue-Sun, and lunchtimes
12noon-2.30pm Tue-Sat.
63

64
Photo by Rob Read

food
Tiger Prawn Salad with Spiced Syrup
Ross Pavey shows us how to dish up a quick but delicious
prawn and Parma ham salad, with a spicy wine syrup
Many know Ross Pavey from his time as chef at the superb Moonrakers in Alfriston, but he grew
up in Lewes. We visit him in his Seaford café/restaurant, Salt & Sea, where he shows us how to
cook a hot prawn salad. “I was born in Zimbabwe, which most people are aware is a difficult country
now, but it was back then too. My sister and I were driven to school by my mum, who had to
carry a gun on her lap. We moved to Lewes, and my folks still live on the Nevill. I went to Priory,
but I hated school. I became a landscape gardener, but hurt my back, so I fell into cooking – my
first job was in the kitchen at The Shelleys when Graham Cole was manager. My neighbour was
head chef. I also worked at Circa and the Long Room. I try to cook what’s local and in season, but
one thing that’s tricky is that local producers won’t always deliver. I sometimes put on curry or fish
nights here, and for one fish night, I created an elaborate dish involving tiger prawns and pancetta.
I decided to simplify the recipe to serve in my café, and this is what I came up with. You pre-cook
the prawns, so they’re warm, and you can make the spiced syrup dressing in advance.”
Spiced syrup recipe
Put 50g caster sugar, 75g soft brown sugar,
125ml red wine vinegar, 75ml port, 75ml red
wine, half a vanilla pod (seeds scraped out),
one star anise, a lime leaf (Pestle and Mortar
in the Needlemakers sell these, but if you can’t
get one, use the zest of a lime), four cardamom
pods, two white pepper corns, half tsp fennel
seeds, three cloves and one small cinnamon
stick in a pan, heat slowly, and reduce until a
light syrup has formed. Let this steep for 20
minutes then pass through a fine sieve.
Ingredients for one bowl of salad
Ten raw peeled tiger prawns (baked in an oven
at 200c, about five minutes until cooked – I buy
mine from Paul’s Plaice next door)
100g baby mixed leaf salad, about six brazil
nuts, roughly chopped, a handful of dried cranberries,
ten sun blushed tomatoes, three slices
of Parma ham. Salt and pepper (I use Maldon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper).
Wash salad leaves, place on plate/shallow bowl,
place all the other ingredients in a separate
bowl and toss in a little oil (I use rapeseed oil)
and place on the salad leaves. Season, but not
much salt, as the ham is quite salty, then drizzle
over the cooled syrup (I use a lot!).
I also sometimes add a granny smith apple,
chopped up, and a handful of watercress to this
salad.” As told to Emma Chaplin.
Salt & Sea, 2 Dane Road, Seaford. Closed Sun-
Tues. 01323 872380
65

food
Seaford Sailing Club Café
Ciabatta by the sea
There’s a café on a quiet part of Seaford beach, near
Bishopstone Station but some distance from the town
centre. It has a minimal web presence, and it would
be easy enough to walk past without really registering
that it was a café. Neither my mum nor my uncle, both
long-time Seaford residents, had ever been. So, on the
way to the café, at Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club,
one offputtingly-cold-and-windy Saturday lunchtime,
we joke about how empty it will be. Then we arrive and stop doing that joke, because there are twenty or so
people here. The Galley has the ambience of a clubhouse, as well as a full-on nautical theme. There are sails
on the ceiling, lifebelts on the walls, and pictures of a sea god and goddess on the toilet doors.
My mum and I each have a Sweet Potato and Melted Brie Ciabatta (£4.50), which we agree is very good.
The sweet potato is soft, the grilled cheese tasty and the bread nicely toasted. My uncle is happy enough
with his medium-rare Steak Ciabatta (£6.50), calling it “enjoyable” rather than excellent.
The bill, including two pints of Long Blonde and one juice, is under £25, which felt like great value. There
was one thing my dining companions couldn’t get over, though. One of the many coffee options is: ‘Just a
mug of instant, £1.’ “That would be a daring step in Lewes,” my uncle says. Steve Ramsey 01323 890077
LocaL vegetabLes, fruit,
meat, dairy & more
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67

drink
Sea Cider
It goes down too easily
“We made our first batch back in January. I thought we’d
made enough to see us through the year, but we sold
out after nine weeks.” I’m with Matt Billing, brewer at
Goldstone Brewery in Ditchling, who has just launched
his own cider, Sea Cider Sussex. “I still use the same
methods I used when I was brewing cider at home, just
on a much larger scale.” His traditional recipe contains
apple juice, and not much else. “We use a little
champagne yeast to crisp it up slightly, but while a lot of
producers will sweeten the cider with water and sugar, I
sweeten mine with more apple juice. We have some of the best apples in the world here – you want to
be able to taste them.” And taste them you can. We crack open one of the last remaining bottles from
January’s pressing and it bubbles up into a thick froth as we pour it into the glasses. “This one actually
used to be still,” Matt explains: without the usual added sulphites, the cider carries on fermenting.
So while this variety was ‘medium’ when bottled, now it’s closer to ‘medium-dry’. And while it tastes
like a scrumpy – and smells a little of hay, which I always take to be a good sign – it retains the fresh
flavour of the apple juice. It’s refreshing and goes down a bit too easily. I’m glad I’m not the one driving.
Rebecca Cunningham
You can buy Sea Cider at Middle Farm near Firle. facebook.com/SeaCiders
Photo by Lizzie Lower
69

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Eastgate St, Lewes BN7 2LP (Bus Station, opposite Waitrose)

food: the nibbler
Edible updates
Frying tonight
A lot of terrible punning has been employed
in the naming of chip shops. The Nibbler has
come across The Codfather, A Fish Called
Rhondda, Codrophenia – and perhaps the worst
of all – Frying Nemo. There are rituals around
them – for example, there’s a Lewes family who
buy fish and chips for tea every week before bell
ringing. For most people, it’s what you do on a
seaside holiday, eating them out of paper, ideally
on the beach, avoiding dive-bombing seagulls.
The Blue Dolphin in Hastings is great for this,
as is Trawler’s in Seaford. You can get fantastic
fish and chips in many Lewes pubs, but the three
chippies, South Street, The Friar and the new
Fish Bar, all have loyal fans. But what makes a
really good chip supper? The Nibbler’s father believed
that beef dripping gave chips a far superior
taste – but they absolutely must be piping hot.
Cold chips are devil’s fingers. The batter should
be crisp, the fish milky-fresh, ideally freshly
cooked. The Nibbler likes the whole lot soaked
in vinegar and sprinkled with unhealthy quantities
of salt. And, as for the question of ketchup,
mushy peas or curry sauce, she suspects we all
have strong feelings on the matter.
Food news. The Shelleys are holding a Fathers’
Day barbecue on Sunday 21. The Real Eating
Company have various offers: see their ad on
p68. And Pelham House have a Wimbledon
Special of strawberries and Pimm’s, to enjoy
whilst watching the tennis, from 29 June. Email
food news to thenibbler@vivalewes.com
Photo by Rob Read

food
Photos by Lizzie Lower
Make Your Own Sushi
Miso hungry
I’ll wager we’ve all got at least one obscure and exotic
condiment lurking at the back of the larder.
Purchased in a fit of Sunday supplement-induced
culinary zeal, its ‘best before’ date expired and any
recollection of how to use it a distant memory.
It’s wonderful then that there are the likes of David
and Nicola McCarthy, at Big Life Organics, to
light the way. I’m attending a ‘Make Your Own Sushi’
workshop in the perfectly formed demonstration
kitchen behind their shop in Haywards Heath.
The counter is busy with exotic-looking bottles
and packets. Some I recognize from the back of my
cupboard, others I’ve never heard of.
Over a cup of Kukicha tea Nicola introduces them.
There’s mirin, shoyu and dried shitaki mushrooms.
Tempeh, ponzu, wasabi and nori. Koya tofu, sweet
rice, brown rice, brown rice vinegar... the list goes
on. They’ve also got some reassuringly authentic
kit. Customary rolling mats, bamboo rice bowls and
deeply glazed, jewel-coloured dishes. David sharpens
wafer-thin knives on a whetstone; their bright
edges all the better to reveal the innards of each roll.
Nicola talks us through the preparation of the rice
– a balance of sweet rice and short grain brown
rice that is cooked at pressure for 45 minutes, rendering
it sticky and soft without the need to add
sugar. The McCarthy’s follow a macrobiotic diet
(for which Big Life is a hub of expertise and ingredients)
so the prepared fillings are all vegan
but interchangeable for more omnivorous appetites.
There are slivers of cucumber, red pepper,
blanched green beans, alfalfa sprouts, marinated
dried shitake mushrooms, glazed tempeh and tofu.
We learn the delicate art of flavour combinations
and - crucially - which of those exotic bottles to
reach for, when.
Nicola deftly demonstrates three types of sushi – a
large nori roll; substantial and ideal for travelling:
A more delicate version, great for kids or canapés:
And an inside-out roll – with (guess what?) the rice
on the outside. She expertly coats the nori with
just the right amount of seasoned rice, keeping the
edges pristine and rolling the filling in with a tight
tuck and the gentlest pressure. The result is immaculate.
Soon it’s our go and it’s huge fun. I’m
pretty impressed with my first effort – I’ve listened
well and my tight tuck has delivered a well-formed
roll. My glory is short-lived and my inside-out
‘roll’ is more of a flop. Luckily, those bamboohandled
knives cleave delicate millefiori slices, all of
which are entirely delicious and full of interesting
textures and complex Japanesey flavours. And what
of those condiments? Whilst they might be difficult
to pronounce, it turns out they are incredibly simple
to use and decidedly delicious when you know how.
Big Life Organics run frequent courses.
Lizzie Lower
Join their open day - and free miso soup demonstration
- on June 14. biglifeorganics.co.uk, 01444
628667, 112 South Road, Haywards Heath
73

Let’s work together
JOIN BETWEEN
Monday 11th May – Sunday 7th June
and you receive a FREE
Personal Training Session (worth £15)
Call your local centre or visit our website for further information
www.waveleisure.co.uk

the way we work
Tracey Martin took these great portraits of fishmongers with their catch of
the day. The question she asked each of them: what’s your favourite fish?
facebook.com/traceymartinphotography.
Paul, Paul’s Plaice, Seaford
What’s your favourite fish? Turbot

the way we work
Dan Howes, Veasey & sons, Lewes Friday Food Market
What’s your favourite fish? A sea bass. Nice large fish with lovely thick flesh.

the way we work
Lisa Derrick, Bickerstaff ’s Newhaven,
What’s your favourite fish? Sea bass and whiting
77

the way we work
Lee Webster, Terry’s in the Riverside
What’s your favourite fish? Squid is beautiful, even though it’s not really a fish!
79

a day in the life of...
Photo by Carlotta Luke
A crane driver
Vicky Harvey tells us about her working day
The days are long. I live in Worthing, so I get up at
5am, leave the house at 6am, and arrive at work in
Newhaven at 7am.
I try to exercise a little when I first get up in the
morning because I’m sitting down all day.
I’m lucky to only have to travel about an hour to
work, as my home life is everything to me. Working
in the city used to mean earlier starts and very
late nights.
I don’t really eat breakfast (or lunch!), I just eat four
Belvita biscuits during the day, as they are packed
with good stuff. I don’t have cups of tea, instead I
take bottled water up the crane with me.
We all wear PPE (personal protective equipment).
It’s compulsory. Hard hat, gloves, goggles, high vis
jacket and safety boots. Once in the cab though, I
am not required to wear it. Just for climbing and
walking on site.
To start work, I climb up the multiple platforms of
the tower via ladders to the cab.
My jib is 7.5 tonne and 50 metres, and most lifts I
perform are the same - steel, shutters, beams, concrete
skips and rubbish skips, amongst other things.
Wind is the hardest challenge though as it likes to
push the jib and load in directions you don’t want it
to go. If it gets too windy though, we just stop until
it dies down.
I used to be a marketing manager, but after being
made redundant at the age of 30, I decided to make
a big change to my life. I applied to HTC (tower
crane and hoist company) to become an apprentice
tower crane operator. I went to the National Construction
College in Bircham Newton, Norfolk,
where I studied for three months for my NVQ2.
We learned to operate tower cranes, pedestrian-operated
cranes, crawler cranes on caterpillar tracks,
as well as learning the slinger/signaller roles (man
on the ground directing the lift and securing loads).
Since leaving college last October, I’ve worked on
big sites in London and all over. Jobs vary vastly on
timescale from a few months, to years.
In March this year I was fortunate to get a permanent
role working with Kier on the UTC@
harbourside (University Technical College) site in
Newhaven. It’s been fascinating watching the site
develop and it’s going really well. Working for Kier
has been fantastic as they support the fact that I’m
new to the industry and a woman. I’m one of only
three female tower crane operators in Britain.
I’ve been treated really well. The Newhaven townspeople
have been exceptionally welcoming, coming
over and waving. I’ll be sad to move to another job.
As for the notorious toilet question... there is no
loo. Polite response is: festival rules apply! Same for
men and women.
As told to Emma Chaplin
81

UTC Harbourside
Victorian marine workshops enter a new age
Beneath the giant red crane at Newhaven’s West
Quay, work is underway to develop the Victorian
marine and carpenters’ workshops into a 21st century
university technical college, UTC@harbourside.
In September the grade II listed workshops,
which have stood empty since the 1980s, will open
as a training ground for a new generation of scientists,
environmentalists and engineers.
Newhaven’s marine and carpenters’ workshops belonged
to the London, Brighton and South Coast
Railway company (LBSCR) formed in 1846. LB-
SCR invested heavily in Newhaven developing the
town, the port and investing in cross-channel ferry
services. The company ran a Newhaven to Dieppe
service in 1853 and established the key route for
passengers and freight from London to Paris.
LBSCR built the marine workshops in 1882 and
the carpenters’ workshops in 1885, enabling the
company to undertake heavy jobs for itself. The
marine workshops included a locomotive running
shed capable of accommodating sixteen engines,
a large turntable and machinery including: two
large traversing hydraulic lifting cranes; five lathes;
six drilling machines; punching and sheering machines;
four smith’s fires and apparatus for heating
rivets. The workshops repaired ships’ boilers and
engines until the early 1960s.
Photographs and records at Newhaven Museum
show that in the early 1900s around 100 staff
worked there repairing and refitting mainline
trains and the LBSCR fleet. In 1883 the wages
for an apprentice fitter, boilermaker, carpenter or
painter were 10 old pence per week, raised to 2
shillings per week for the year he finished.
In 1993 the marine workshops became grade II
listed buildings - nationally important and of special
interest. An interesting collection of original
fittings still survive. They include the two original
hand-operated cranes and their gantries, still in operation.
The design for the £12m UTC@harbourside, first
put forward in 2012, retains as many heritage features
as possible, including one of the gantry cranes,
cast iron columns and beams. The existing walls of
the marine workshops will remain and the skin of
a new building is being inserted inside, linked to
the carpenters’ workshops by a new three-storey
structure. Damaged windows will be replaced with
heritage windows in keeping with the building.
University technical colleges are governmentfunded
colleges that teach 14-18 year olds technical
and scientific subjects working with the local
business community and industry partners. UTC@
harbourside, the only UTC on the south east coast,
will specialise in the skills in demand from the region’s
growing marine engineering and environmental
technology sectors. There has been interest
from students in Newhaven, Lewes, Brighton, St
Leonards and Haywards Heath.
UTC@harbourside principal designate, Jonathan
Clarke says: “Engineering is a way to make a better
environment through developing cleaner and renewable
energy, making products less harmful, recyclable
and biodegradable, understanding the climate
better and protecting people where they live.”
Students will be able to enter in years 10 and 12
and study for GCSEs and A Levels alongside technical
qualifications such as the engineering BTEC
diploma. Studies based around real-life projects
designed in partnership with local employers and
using state-of-the-art facilities and equipment will
give students a head start in the jobs market or in
applying to university or for apprenticeships.
Matthew Hafernik, head of options and pathways
82

Bricks and
mortar
at Newhaven’s Seahaven Academy (formerly
Tideway) visited an open morning at UTC@
harbourside with students from the academy.
The students left ‘intrigued’ by what was on
offer and some have since applied.
Mr Hafernik says the college was an excellent
opportunity for a specific type of high-ability,
independent learner and thinks the college
could have a very positive impact on Newhaven
students and schools in the wider area. “The
college is offering a very specific set of courses
beneficial for anyone interested in this highprofile
career path, something nowhere else is
offering.”
He also thinks bringing in students from across
the region could benefit the town’s economy,
its shops, businesses and the wider community.
This is a view shared by Newhaven mayor
Judith Ost. She says: “UTC@harbourside is
putting Newhaven on the map and drawing in
students from across the region. It is providing
good links with universities and preparing
students to work in the new green technologies
such as the wind farm. It is a very welcome reuse
of the building.”
Could the workshops that marked such a development
for Newhaven in the 1800s and 1900s
once again steer the fortunes of the town and
its people? It is somehow fitting that the next
generation of engineering students on their
way to their computer-aided design and technology,
science and engineering labs will pass
reminders of the cutting edge technologies of
the apprentices of the 1900s. Emma Clothier
utc-harbourside.org
newhavenhistoricalsociety.org.uk
seahavenacademy.org.uk
Photo courtesy of Newhaven Museum
Photos by Carlotta Luke (www.carlottaluke.com/architecture-and-restoration/utecharbourside-renovation-project/)
83

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feature
my space
Phil Ransley, General Manager, Pells Pool
I’ve been at the Pells since 2003. I helped out,
then took over as manager in 2005. I’d worked at
indoor leisure centres around Sussex, and was fed
up with being inside.
I’m here from the first week of February. Before
the season starts mid-May, my job is all about
maintenance. It’s like the Forth Bridge – as soon as
you finish, you have to start again. I’m here almost
every day once we’re open.
There’s no average day, especially when it’s manic
at the height of summer. At night we sometimes
get kids jumping over the wall for a swim, petty
vandalism, or things being chucked in the pool, so
everything has to be checked and cleaned.
You can never predict what’s going to happen,
but we’ve never had any serious injuries. When I
took over as manager I tightened up the lifeguarding
policies – a bit boring, maybe, but a lot safer.
Photos by Rob Read
I leave the pool late if we’ve been hired out for
a party. We can host up to 650 people, but I’m
sure there’ll be more at our Midsummer Madness
Party on 20 June. Tickets are like gold dust, and
people find a way of getting in. This year, we’re
donating our half of the money raised to the Landport
and Malling Play Scheme.
After the season ends mid-September, I look
after the landscaping of the grounds. I finish in
November, then take all my holiday in lieu and
hibernate for a couple of months.
We’ve got a good bunch of staff that come back
every summer. They start working here when
they’re about sixteen and often stay until they’re
23 or 24. Some who work for me now used to
come in with their families when they were four,
five years old.
The Pells is nothing fancy. We just do what we
do, and do it well. It’s a challenging job, and it can
be stressful, but it’s rewarding. I’d rather work here
than anywhere else. As told to Moya Crockett
pellspool.org.uk
85

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fun on the water
Splish splash splosh
Ways of getting in, under and on the water
Whether you’re interested
in kayaking, shipwreck
diving, boating,
windsurfing, sea fishing,
or anything else,
there’ll be something
around Lewes for you.
The Kayak Coach
run guided river trips
through the Sussex
countryside, in kayaks,
canoes, and even standup
paddle boards.
These are pleasure
trips, rather than formal
kayaking lessons, but no previous experience
is necessary: coaches make sure that all paddlers
feel safe, confident and in control on the water.
The gentlest expedition is the Lewes to Hamsey
trip (£30 per person), suitable for kayakers aged
12 and over. Coaches also lead excursions from
Cuckmere Haven to Alfriston, and day trips from
Barcombe Mills to Isfield Weir (both £40 per person,
suitable for ages 14 and over). More intensive
kayaking courses are run from Cuckmere Haven,
with prices starting at £25 for a two-hour session
(thekayakcoach.com).
If you’d like a cheaper way of exploring the Ouse,
have younger children in tow, or don’t fancy getting
wet (an occupational hazard in a kayak), hire
a rowing boat from the Anchor Inn at Barcombe
and meander down to Fish Ladder Falls. Boat
hire is charged by the day or by the hour, at £6
per adult and £3 per child (anchorinnandboating.
co.uk). Alternatively, Knockhatch Adventure
Park in Hailsham has a boating lake, which visitors
can enjoy along with access to the whole park.
If you’d rather get some sea air in your lungs,
there are plenty of ways to get on the water along
the coast. Sussex Voyages run trips from Eastbourne
in RIBs, or Rigid Inflatable Boats, which
look like the offspring
of a speedboat
and an orange inflatable
dinghy. Their
most popular trip is
a one-hour guided
tour along the coast
to Beachy Head, but
they also run the
boldly-named ‘Powerboat
Adventures’:
a high-speed twentyminute
blast around
Eastbourne’s Bay,
aimed at adults and
children over ten. Prices range from £5 for an infant
to £25 for an adult, depending on the trip and
time (sussexvoyages.co.uk).
Channel Diving, based at the Marina, offer
ground and deep sea wreck fishing trips and diving
expeditions, and can also take up to twelve
people on sightseeing trips along the Brighton-
Eastbourne coastline (channeldiving.com). Of
course, dozens of charter boat companies operate
out of Brighton and Eastbourne, and the best one
for you will depend on what you’re after: a relaxing
cruise, a one-hour mackerel fishing trip, or a
nine-hour, call-me-Ishmael quest for conger eel?
Directory website boatdistrict.co.uk is a good way
of finding the best sea trip for you.
Sussex isn’t quite on a par with Cornwall when
it comes to water sports, but there are plenty of
places where you can give it a go. Hove Lagoon
offer sailing, wakeboarding, windsurfing and
stand-up paddleboarding courses for adults and
kids. Adults can also learn how to sail a yacht and
drive powerboats. Courses aren’t cheap – a kids’
Learn to Stand-Up Paddleboard course costs £80
– but are a great option for people who are serious
about learning a new water sport (lagoon.co.uk).
Moya Crockett, photo by Rob Read
87

TREKKING
TRAIL RUNNING
SKIING
CAMPING
SKIING
WALKING
HIKING

feature: wildlife
House Martins
The Building Blocks of Summer
My summer is built from screams, cries, chatters
and warbles. Walking around Lewes and the surrounding
countryside, I’m always soaking up the
sounds of migrant birds returning back home from
their winter, south of the Sahara. Each voice offers
a familiar reassurance to me. Only when everything
is back in its place can my summer begin.
One of the top tunes of my summer soundtrack is
the sweet, bubbling twitter of the house martin.
Shakespeare loved that sound too. To him they
were ‘the guest of summer’. From Macbeth’s castle
to cathedrals, country cottages and urban terraces,
these birds have historically been linked to our
homes. They’re as much of a feature of English
architecture as the clay, bricks and uPVC they
build their nests against.
House martins are surveyors, architects, bricklayers,
decorators and homeowners, rolled into one
19g two-tone ball of feathers. Give them a building
site of a vertical surface under an overhang and
they’ll get to work. Each lumpy half-dome home,
tucked snug under the eaves, is made of 1000 tiny
mouthfuls of muddy bricks carried from the edge
of a nearby puddle or stream. The birds construct
each nest over ten days, finally lining it with feathers.
They don’t always build a brand new nest; if
they find a fixer-upper they’ll renovate.
House martins are stereotypical builders. They
constantly communicate with chirpy chatter, call
down from the roof-tops and while they’re bent
over, they reveal their pale rump. This white builder’s
bum is a way of identifying the bird from that
other summer eaves-dweller, the swallow.
They’ve shared our homes throughout history,
but their numbers have suffered a massive decline
in England, with a worrying 18% nosedive over
the past decade. Aerial insect food and changing
weather patterns here, in Africa and on migration
routes in between have had an effect. This loss
should strike deep in the heart of every Sussex
resident because our county’s flag is made up of six
proud martlets. Martlet means ‘little martin’, but
this heraldic bird may also represent the swift, that
summer visitor whose numbers are also in decline.
This year we’re supporting the British Trust for
Ornithology’s national house martin survey to
count house martin nests, and a new group, the
Lewes Swift Supporters, has been established to
help keep our skies screaming. I know of house
martin nests near St John-sub-Castro and swift
nests near The Needlemakers, but are there any
more in Lewes or the surrounding villages? If you
see a house martin or swift nest – or are one of
the lucky people to share your home with these
incredible birds – please let me know the location.
Email me at michaelblencowe@sussexwt.org.uk
Michael Blencowe, Sussex Wildlife Trust
Illustration by Mark Greco
89

north street
Shelter from the storm
Flood protection for the proposed North Street Quarter
Building on a flood
plain is, by its very
nature, a risky business.
But it’s a risk worth
taking, according to
the latest Joint Core
Strategy prepared by
Lewes District Council
and the South Downs
National Park Authority.
In fact, it’s a risk
that’s been taken locally for many years, as the
victims of the November 1960 and October 2000
floods will attest.
The proposed ‘North Street Quarter’ development
by Lewes District Council and Santon North Street
has put flood protection back in the news. As well
as protecting their new houses and commercial
properties, the developers plan to protect existing
houses in the Talbot Terrace (Pells) area.
Paul Deane, a Lewes-based Chartered Civil
Engineer who’s previously worked in Flood Risk
Management for the Environment Agency, has
taken an in-depth look at Santon’s Flood Risk
Assessment. His comments, published on lewesphoenixrising.com,
conclude “the proposed flood
defences are broadly considered to be the best viable
solution for this location.” But not everyone’s
happy with the way those plans have progressed.
I talk to John Webber, a local resident and a member
of the Pells Residents working group. He says
Santon’s representatives assured him they would
defend the Pells area during the first phase of any
construction, yet their planning submission shows
these defences won’t be completed until phase 3.
Not only does the proposed development increase
the risk of flooding, he tells me, but it also means
the Pells defences wouldn’t be put in place if the
development stopped after phase 2. John’s not the
only person making these
claims, which I put to
Clive Wilding, Project
Director of Santon
North Street.
Clive describes the flood
defences as being “phased
in line with relocation
and development plans”,
noting that some businesses
could be relocated
from ‘phase 1’ – the part of the site due for imminent
redevelopment – to buildings in the ‘phase
2’ area, enabling these people to remain on-site
during the construction period. Apparently this
would avoid clearing the whole site to implement
all the flood defences in phase 1.
However, a potential compromise is now being
suggested. In a statement, Clive Wilding tells me
“following further discussions with Pells residents,
we are proposing to amend the planning application
to bring forward some of the Pells flood
defence work so that it is protected from the west
in phase 1 of the construction, this will protect
Pelham Terrace housing and will go part way to
assisting the area and will also allow the new landscaping
and planting to settle quickly.”
Although the changes could benefit homeowners,
they won’t protect the Pells Pool or the adjacent
park; Santon says this protection can’t be completed
“until our tenants in phase 3 are relocated
into a new completed phase 1”.
Whether this reassures local residents depends on
many factors, including an issue of trust: trust in
the developer, trust in the calculations, trust in the
construction. Those who remember the flooding
of fifteen years ago are understandably nervous.
Mark Bridge
northstreetqtr.co.uk
90

Community Group
Lewes Swimming Club
Come on in, the water’s fine!
The current incarnation
of Lewes Swimming
Club can trace
its history back to May
1975, when Maurice
Breese – the town’s
recently-appointed
mayor – suggested
setting up a number of
clubs for young people.
Former Olympic swimmer
Christine Parfect,
who’d recently moved
to the area, was in the right place at the right time.
She became the club’s coach, using her experience
to ensure the new club was affiliated with the
national governing body for swimming. “Maurice
was our president for years”, she tells me. “He was
a lovely man, quite the Lewes character.”
Despite its name, the Lewes Swimming Club’s first
sessions didn’t take place in town. “There was only
the Pells in Lewes at the time”, Christine explains.
“We started off at the old Devonshire Baths in
Eastbourne, which have long gone.” Today the
club meets at Lewes Leisure Centre, at Seaford
Head Pool, at Ringmer Swimming Pool and at
Seahaven Swim & Fitness Centre in Newhaven.
For more information, I talk to Tim Cole, who has
been a member since 2007. “I joined because of
my children, mainly my eldest son, Nick. He’s got
a through-knee amputation and found swimming
very therapeutic.” Nick soon discovered that he
was good enough to swim competitively, as evidenced
by a shelf full of trophies and a gold medal.
Not only has he represented England at disabled
swimming events, he’s competed against ablebodied
swimmers at club and county levels. “The
club was good for him and we became involved by
supporting him”, says Tim. “That’s how lots of our
volunteers start. They
bring their children, they
support them, and eventually
they get involved
with the club.”
Recently Lewes Swimming
Club has become
licensed, which means
any times set at club
championships will count
towards county events.
But there’s much more
to the club than winning,
as Tim points out. “We teach all ages, from four
upwards. Our aim is to improve the quality of
swimming. Some swimmers don’t want to be competitive;
they just want to come for fitness. Some
like the social side. And quite a few want to push
themselves. We cater for all abilities, really.”
“Everyone’s very supportive. There’s a good camaraderie,
definitely. And it’s a life-saving skill. There
aren’t many sports you can say that about.”
For a competitive sport, swimming is remarkably
sociable. Tim and Nick speak fondly of the
friendships they’ve made at the club, and Christine
Parfect tells me she still regularly meets her fellow
competitors from the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.
I can’t resist asking her about the gold medal she
won in Cardiff at the 1958 British Empire and
Commonwealth Games, as part of the 4x110 yard
Ladies Medley team. “That was a fantastic race.
Absolutely nail-biting.” Is her medal still on the
mantelpiece? “In the loft. But the world record
certificate is on the landing!”
Mark Bridge, photo by Tim Cole
For more details about Lewes Swimming Club,
telephone Caralynne Ledingham on 07503 018610
or Trixie Nisbet on 01273 582629
lewesswimmingclub.org
91

lewes in history
Lewes Rowing Club
The story behind 141 years on the river
Not much is known
about the formative
years of Lewes Rowing
Club, which celebrates
its 141st birthday this
month. Early records
were lost some time
ago, and nobody has
much hope of finding
them. However, LRC
members have a theory
about the club’s founding.
The Ouse had
been a trade route for barges since the eighteenth
century, but with the arrival of the railways, its
popularity as a means of cheap transport waned.
With the disappearance of heavy industrial
barges, the Ouse became a place for leisure. Lewes
Rowing Club was founded in June 1874, under the
presidency of William Nevill, the Earl of Lewes.
Archaeological records at Barbican House and the
Edward Reeves Photography archive have helped
to form a picture of LRC in its infancy. Early
meetings were held at the Lamb, and members
rowed in small skiffs with sails, or gigs for teams
of oarsmen. The club organised summer camps,
and photographs from the Reeves archive show
well-to-do gentlemen dressed in straw boaters,
sometimes with LRC badges pinned to their
blazers. Enthusiasm seems to have waxed and
waned throughout the early twentieth century,
likely influenced by the World Wars and the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
Not unusually, LRC was a male domain for much
of its existence. A newsletter from 1974, when the
club celebrated its centenary, describes the annual
summer barbecue: members did the cooking while
“wives and sweethearts organised themselves into
a serving squad.” In the eighties and nineties, LRC
gained a reputation for being difficult to join.
Brendon Parsons,
who served as club
secretary for a
decade before being
elected chairman in
May, says that this
closed-door culture
was down to the rise
of a new generation
of wealthy boat
owners. For LRC to
survive, its members
had to genuinely
care about the club’s history and future, rather
than just wanting somewhere to store their boat,
and the committee became highly selective about
who was allowed to join.
Today, this has changed. Although spaces are
limited, LRC is open to anyone over the age of
18 with a genuine interest in boating. Currently,
there are around 130 members from all kinds of
backgrounds – teachers, builders, artists, pilots,
carpenters – who share a commitment to keeping
the club alive. LRC barbecues still take place
every summer, and the skiffs have been replaced
by a mix of sailing yachts, motorboats, row boats,
canoes and kayaks.
Pinned up in the LRC clubhouse is an old poster
from 1910, advertising something called a “Venetian
regatta” on the Pells Pond. On July 19, LRC
is resurrecting the regatta alongside the raft race,
with boat races and a flotilla of vessels from the
club. “Nothing happens quickly at Lewes Rowing
Club,” says Parsons, “but we felt that after 105
years, it was time to have another party – and the
whole town is invited.” Moya Crockett
lewesrowingclub.co.uk. Thanks to Reeves for the
photo. Anyone interested in entering a raft for the
Lewes to Newhaven race on July 19 contact Matt
Craig via lewes-and-district.roundtable.co.uk.
92

column
Henty’s 20
John Henty recalls the joys of Eastbourne music hall
I suppose one way of
achieving a day by the
seaside in land-locked
Lewes would be to hire,
for that day, one of the
beach huts recently
established at the Dripping
Pan. You could
then pretend that the
pitch was the English
Channel - or perhaps
Mediterranean if you
have a vivid enough
imagination – local
seagulls could add to
the illusion and, as the
inevitable rain thunders
down onto the wooden
roof, you could eat the packed cheese sandwich
and maybe contemplate a paddle in one of the
puddles outside.
Alternatively, you could do what I did very
recently at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre in
Eastbourne and join the British Music Hall Society’s
Day by the Sea. It was an all day celebration
of music hall and variety with music, comedy,
guest speakers and archive film footage.
There was a full house for this unique event,
with president Roy Hudd in sparkling form, and
the Hippodrome noisily recapturing its glory
days for me. You see just after the war, a couple
of weeks on the south coast was the Henty family
holiday destination of choice and we liked
Eastbourne. We stayed in B&B accommodation
in Nelson House. The beach was just across the
road and evening entertainment was excellent.
At the open air Redoubt bandstand we enjoyed
the concert party Fun in the Air, but for real
theatre, we made for the close-by Hippodrome
in Seaside Road and I still have the three penny
programme for one show
Fireman Smith Entertains.
The delightful comedian
Sandy Powell became
known as ‘Mr Eastbourne’
in the 1950s and a couple
of months back, a plaque
was unveiled to him at his
town centre home in Elms
Avenue. I never saw Sandy
appear in Eastbourne,
although many years later
I did interview him and
his wife, Kay, when they
starred in a summer show
on Brighton’s Palace Pier
in 1975. Sandy was one of
those rare showbiz people
– very much the same off the stage as when appearing
on it. He was approachable, affable and
totally unassuming.
In fact he was very much like the chubby character
(Sir Cumference) used in our illustration
this month. Yes – it’s unmistakeably Sir Harry
Secombe. I spotted this original piece of framed
cartoon work at the most recent Ardingly antiques
fair. It was on an outside stall together with
another framed illustration of Sir Harry and I was
chuffed to acquire both for our Viva Score (£20).
The Goons, of course, were favourites of mine
and I was privileged to work last year with Harry’s
dynamic daughter, Jenny, who will be shown our
exciting finds. I’ll let you know her reaction!
The next Gorringes Fine Arts sale in North
Street, 24, 25 June, 10am. Monday auctions in
Garden Street, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29. General items
10.30am. Tuesday markets, Town Hall, 2, 9, 16,
23, 30. 9-2pm. Ardingly, 23, 24, £5 admission on
Wednesday. Wallis & Wallis, West Street, Arms
and militaria, 9 June. 10am.
93

column
David Jarman
Crossing the channel from Brighton
It was not until 1847
that the completion
of the railway link
to Newhaven by the
London, Brighton
and South Coast
Railway enabled the
town to become the
only English port
for the Dieppe sea
crossing. Before then,
Brighton was the
usual embarkation
point for Dieppe, with Shoreham being used as an
alternative if the weather was particularly stormy.
Two men, remarkable in very different ways,
wrote accounts of the Brighton crossing. In his
autobiography, Benjamin Robert Haydon recalls
the journey to France that he made in the company
of his fellow-painter, David Wilkie, at the
end of May 1814, barely a month after Napoleon’s
abdication. Their ultimate destination was not
Dieppe but Paris or, as Haydon puts it in his
characteristically fruity style, ‘that bloody and
ferocious capital, in which refinement and filth,
murder and revolution, blasphemy and heroism,
vice and virtue, alternately reigned triumphant.’
At eighteen hours, the crossing was short for
the time (Cotman’s first painting expedition
to Dieppe, in 1817, took all of forty-two hours)
which was, perhaps, just as well. The cabin was
full of French officers returning home, who
found the spectacle of Wilkie’s red nightcap, and
his unavailing attempts to ward off seasickness by
barricading himself in his berth, sources of much
boisterous merriment.
Haydon marvelled at the contrast between
Brighton – ‘gay, gambling, dissipated, the elegant
residence of an accomplished Prince, with its
beautiful women and light hussars’ – and Dieppe
– ‘dark, old, snuffy and picturesque, with its
brigand-like soldiers, its Sibylline fish-fags, its
pretty grisettes, and its screaming and chattering
boatmen.’ Whereas
the houses at
Brighton ‘present
their windows to
the ocean to let in
its freshness and
welcome its roar’,
Dieppe ‘turns her
back on the sea, as
if in sullen disgust
at the sight of an
element on which
her country has
always been beaten.’
My other traveller’s account is supplied by a man
described by Haydon as ‘a singular compound…
of malice, candour, cowardice, genius, purity,
vice, democracy and conceit’. This is the great
writer William Hazlitt. On 1 September 1824, he
left for Dieppe from the Chain Pier, which had
opened in Brighton the year before. This was the
first stage of a Journey through France and Italy,
the account of which would appear as a series of
articles in the Morning Chronicle.
Hazlitt, like Haydon before him, enjoyed ‘a fine
passage’. His ‘pleasant and unobtrusive’ fellowpassengers
included ‘an English General, proud
of his bad French’, ‘a new-married couple who
grew uxorious from the effects of sea-sickness,
and took refuge from the qualms of the disorder
in paroxysms of tenderness’, and ‘a Member of
Parliament, delighted to escape from “late hours
and bad company”’. Some solace there for Norman
Baker, perhaps.
Brighton did not please Hazlitt, who seemed to
feel that the best thing about the place was visiting
Londoners. His greatest scorn was reserved
for the Pavilion – ‘anything more fantastical, with
a greater dearth of invention, was never seen’. But
the sighting of a Frenchman, ‘playing and singing
to a guitar’, cheered Hazlitt up and reminded him
that he would soon be shot of ‘the land of Sundayschools
and spinning-jennies.’
94

column
Norman Baker
Back on civvy street
This will be my last Viva Lewes column, as I
make the transition from public figure to private
individual.
I want first to thank the literally hundreds of
local people who have sent me emails, letters,
cards, even gifts since I lost my parliamentary
seat on May 7th. Their generous and supportive
comments have been overwhelming and
very touching.
I have always known that Lewes is essentially a
Conservative seat, held by them uninterrupted
between 1874 and 1997. For the Lib Dems to
win and hold it we have needed three elements to
work together: a natural Liberal vote, a personal
vote and a tactical vote. That is a fragile combination,
and if any of the three decline significantly,
then the seat is lost.
More than ever Britain needs a Liberal voice,
and I am delighted that in the week since the
election, more than 10,000 new members have
joined the party.
I am immensely grateful to all my team for the
huge commitment they put in and am only sorry
I could not hold the seat for them. For my part,
however, I have no regrets at all, as a councillor
for 16 years, council leader for six, an MP for 18
years and a Minister for four and a half.
I have enjoyed myself as the Member of Parliament
for the Lewes constituency and I hope I have done
my best for the constituents in this area.
Thank you and goodbye.
Lewesmobile.communications
Our brand new
mobile-friendly
website arrives
01/06/15
52 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XE
01273 473400

column
East of Earwig
Mark Bridge studies seasonal sport in Ringmer
The phone rings. It’s mum. There’s a low level of
exasperation in her voice, which makes me wonder
whether she’s been visiting the garden centre that
can’t make a decent cappuccino. But this isn’t the
problem. “I’ve been putting Vaseline on the pole”,
she announces. “It’s not slippery enough.” I’m
pretty certain mum doesn’t have a part-time job
cleaning the fire station. I’m reasonably confident
she’s not adopted a new way of keeping fit. I don’t
remember seeing any so-called Gentleman’s Club
within walking distance of the family home. The
awkward pause prompts my mother to explain.
“Squirrels have been climbing up the bird feeder”,
she tells me. “I can’t have them stealing all the
bird food.”
As a result, mum’s garden is designed to be a
rodent assault course. Bird feeders are mounted
on greased poles or suspended from springy wires,
with food hidden in double-layer cages under
a metal dome. I’m not convinced by all this. I
reckon there’s a possibility that mum is inadvertently
training the next generation of squirrels to
be ninja-smart. It’s certainly a sporting challenge
for all concerned. I’ll be studying their progress
with interest.
Mind you, we’ve already had our share of genuine
local sporting challenges this year. Although
Rooks supporters are breathing a sigh of relief
at the end of an occasionally stomach-churning
football season, it’s been a disappointing time for
the faithful at Ringmer FC’s Caburn ground. A
troubled season ended with a disastrous 8-0 defeat
that left the first team heading for a drop into
Division 2 of the Sussex County Football League.
Well, that’s where they would be if the Sussex
County Football League still existed. Instead,
from the end of May, it’s been transformed into
the Southern Combination Football League. I’d
be prepared to argue that it’s not relegation if
you’re starting the next season in a brand-new
league. Pioneers, not victims.
And some of our local footballers are still playing.
In fact, many of the youngest are preparing for a
major tournament. It happens during the weekend
of Sat 13 and Sun 14, it’s hosted by the Ringmer
Rovers Junior Football Club and it takes place on
the well-appointed sports field of Ringmer Community
College. Hundreds of visitors are expected
for what’s now the eighth annual Summer Football
Festival. I’m told there will be tea, coffee, cake,
ice creams and a barbecue... so everyone wins, I
reckon. Alternatively, if you like outdoor sport but
football’s not really your game, Ringmer Cricket
Club has an assortment of teams catering for
various ages and abilities. Better still, the club’s
picturesque home on the village green is enhanced
by a pavilion that contains a bar. On a sunny
afternoon, there’s every chance I can be persuaded
to enjoy a pint on their balcony. In pole position,
you might say.
97

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trade secrets
Gary Blount
Gulet-Barefoot-Cruises
Tell us about yourself. I’m Lewes-based, and, by
profession, an aircraft interior design engineer.
How did you came to be running Gulet Barefoot
Cruises? Lady Sovereign was my first boat.
Then I got married and had children, so I sold it to
buy a house! The kids grew up, and, after a ten year
search, I found a traditional gulet in Marmaris in
December 2013. I bought and renovated it, named
her Lady Sovereign II, and now organise cruises.
Where do you go? Along the Turkish coast, east
towards Fethiye, or west towards Datça, stopping
in some of the most beautiful bays that are only
accessible by boat. We also have a route around the
Greek Dodecanese islands.
Describe the facilities. Seven double cabins, all
en suite with air conditioning - although most
people end up sleeping on deck. It’s so beautiful,
under the stars. There’s a lounge with bar, galley
and storeroom. The crew cabin is separate. The
outdoor space has a shaded aft deck for lounging
and alfresco dining, plus there’s a large sun deck.
Guests can swim, snorkel, canoe and fish from the
boat. We have a dinghy too, so you can water ski.
What’s your favourite part of being at sea? The
freedom. The clear turquoise water. Moving such a
vessel with just the wind. It’s a beautiful feeling.
Tell us about the yoga. Certain cruises include an
instructor, who offers two yoga sessions a day on
the sun deck. Mats and blocks are provided, and we
don’t charge extra for the yoga.
Can people sail it themselves, or is it only
rented with crew? Only with crew - a minimum
of three. Altay the captain, the chef and a sailor,
sometimes plus two more in high season. We are
happy for guests to be as hands-on as they wish.
Who cooks? The chef, Tui. He’s superb. It’s a
major part of the whole holiday.
What sort of food? Turkish. He’ll do a barbecue,
cook fish twice a week. And if you charter the
whole boat, you can choose your own menu.
Is Lady Sovereign II only available to hire as a
whole, or can people book a cabin? You can just
book a cabin.
What happens if the sea is choppy? On the
Turkish routes, we just pull into a cove/bay until
the storm passes. That’s harder on the Greek
route. But it doesn’t happen often.
How much does it cost? Whole boat charter is
£8,094 all inclusive, per week for up to 14 people in
June (apart from one meal, when I give the chef the
night off and guests go for a meal ashore). Flights
to Dalaman/Rhodes are not included, but budget
airlines operate on these routes.
Interview by Emma Chaplin
For more details of prices and booking, see
gulet-barefoot-cruises.com, or call 07710 466981.
99

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01273 840 608 | www.gradientconsultants.com

DIRECTORY
Please note that though we aim to only take advertising from reputable businesses, we cannot guarantee
the quality of any work undertaken, and accept no responsibility or liability for any issues arising.
To advertise in Viva Lewes please call 01273 434567 or email advertising@vivalewes.com
LEWES
Directory Spotlight: Sally Holder, plantswoman
Plants are my passion, and to
come up with new combinations is
extremely exciting.
I began working as a jobbing
gardener in 1995 after taking numerous
courses, mainly at Plumpton
College. I’ve found that the best
knowledge comes from hands-on experience.
These days I offer a tailor-made service of preparation,
planning, and specialised maintenance.
My clients are very much involved in choosing how
they would like their garden to develop. Most have
an idea of shape and colour, but have yet to put
names to what they’re after. Visits to nurseries work
well, we pull out suitable plants they like and put
these alongside plants we know are already in their
garden - especially inspiring for foliage combinations.
It’s intense yet quick, gets somewhere, and
works for remaining within budget.
I was fortunate to grow up surrounded
by wonderful art (my father
was an art dealer). It left a deep
impression. We had an amazing
garden, with a beautiful cave-like
interior weeping beech. My own
garden is a changing and on-going experiment of
plants I may not necessary like but definitely find,
at this moment anyway, interesting. Combinations
are the obvious keys to the personalisation of any
garden, whether formal or more naturalised.
The majority of my lovely clients are in Lewes
with chalk soil, as well as some outside the town,
where it rapidly changes to clay-based soil. Gardens
are magical. What I wish to achieve for people is that
they use their garden with feelings of joy and relaxation.
07833 171656, 01273 400599
101

home
PVC Windows
Timber Windows
Aluminum Windows
Doors and Conservatories
coloured glass splashbacks
Give your kitchen a touch
of colour this summer!
Call for a free, no obligation quote!
(01273) 475123 www.lewesglass.com

home
103

home

home
105

home CP Viva Lewes Ad (Qtr Pg)_62 x 94mm 18/02/2011 17:
Colin Poulter
Plastering
Professional Plasterer
Over 25 years experience
All types of plastering work
and finishes undertaken
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Telephone 01273 472 836
Mobile 07974 752 491
Email cdpoulter@btinternet.com
Ideas for Alcoves
ollieclarkfurniture.co.uk
lewes 01273 479909 - 07876 069681

Home
gardens
e 1
Jack Plane Carpenter
Nice work, fair price,
totally reliable.
www.jackplanecarpentry.co.uk
01273 483339 / 07887 993396
Global
Gardens
Design,
Restoration &
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alitura
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01273 401581/ 07900 416679
design@alitura.co.uk
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Services include
- Garden Design & Project Monitoring
- Redesign of Existing Beds & Borders
- Plant Sourcing
Call us for a free consultation
Mobile 07941 057337
Phone 01273 488261
12 Priory Street, Lewes, BN7 1HH
info@ globalgardens.co.uk
www.globalgardens.co.uk
107

gardens
come & see us at
the farmers’
market
to lewes and
surrounding areas
info@fromthewood.com www.fromthewood.com

health and Well being
Stella Holistic QP Viva Advert AW 5.15.qxp_66 14/05/2015
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and energised as you find your own natural way of
moving in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
First taster class free.
Mondays 7.00 - 8.00pm
St. Michael’s Church Hall, top of the High St, Lewes BN7 1XN
Thursdays 10.30 - 11.30am
Cliffe Hall, St.Thomas a Becket, Cliffe High St, Lewes BN7 2AH
Drop in £8, or 5 classes for £35 (Concessions available)
Enquiries : Stella Homewood 07733 450631
Email: stellahomewood@yahoo.com
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109

Health & Well being
Homeopathy, NLP, Hypnotherapy
& Self-Hypnosis Workshops in and around Lewes
www.hypnowholeness.com
lessons and courses
neck or back pain?
Lin Peters & Beth Hazelwood
VALENCE ROAD OSTEOPATHS
for the treatment of:
neck or low back pain • sports injuries • rheumatic
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iva Lewes 45highx62wide.indd 1 16/11/2010 20:45

lessons and courses
cars
other services

other services
www.andrewwells.co.uk
We can work it out
• BUSINESS ACCOUNTS AND TAX
• MEDIA AND THE ARTS
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T: 01273 961334
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99 Western Road Lewes BN7 1RS
Andrew Wells_Viva Lewes_AW.indd 1 25/06/2012 09:05
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lake larks
This Reeves photo is from 1900, and is entitled ‘Vinall’s Boat, Mr G side view’. It’s taken from beside
the Pells rec, looking across the main island where the pond turns a corner. Money donated for schemes
to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 led to the creation of the Recreation Ground –
which we gather was Lewes’ first public park. The Pells was a key leisure area for the town, the lake used
for boating, the islands planted with flowers. The brick wall we can see behind the attractively coiffed
merman is the New School, then the Pells school. This was probably one of a number of ‘Venetian’ fêtes
held on the ‘Pells Lake’, featuring pageants with floats, organised by Lewes Rowing Club. These took
place on summer evenings; hundreds of candles in jars were hung on the islands, surrounding trees and
floats themselves. It must have been magical. Lewes Town Band played, and there was a competition for
the best-decorated boat. Two things of current interest – one is that the islands on the Pells, which have
become increasingly overgrown over the years, have recently been trimmed back. This is part of scheme
to improve the habitat and water quality – reducing for example the green algae bloom. The ducks
certainly seem to like it – they now stand in sunshine on the islands rather than the outside of the pond,
and we were assured that there were no nests disturbed. The other interesting news is that the Rowing
Club are helping organise the 40th annual Raft Race to Newhaven, along with the Lewes Round Table.
This is due to take place on 19 July, with a 70s theme, as part of a big Regatta on the Ouse the Rowing
Club are organising. Rather excitingly, for the first time, the Raft Race route will go through the town.
Thanks to Reeves for permission to use this photograph, edwardreeves.com
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