Lindfield Times

January 2008 Issue 29

www.lindfieldtimes.org.uk Circulation 6,000

* RAM RAID ATTEMPT FULL PICTURES & STORY *

* POST OFFICE FUTURE NEEDS YOUR HELP *
* LINDFIELD ON TELEVISION AROUND THE WORLD *
* BLACKTHORNS ANNOUNCE COMPETITION WINNERS *

Cover image:
‘Festive Spirit in The Village’
© Lindfield Times 2008
Copydate for February issue of Lindfield
Times: 10th January 2008
Editor Jeremy Crooks
Design Editor Kevin Elliott
Email: news@lindfieldtimes.org.uk
www.lindfieldtimes.org.uk
Photography by: Picsnapper
www.picsnapper.co.uk
Printed by: Swan Press
To Advertise email
ads@lindfieldtimes.org.uk
Lindfield Times Magazine
Editors Comments
Welcome to 2008 an exciting year for the
Lindfield Times. We are developing a new
website which will allow the people of
Lindfield to communicate with each other
more easily. It will offer services such as
Simple Web site advice and construction
at very reduced rates for local clubs and
societies. We see the key to the future is a
link between this website and the
magazine where you will also be able to
look at Photographs and stories from
events that have happened in the local
area.
We will also cover Local events and take
professional quality images which can be
used for both Local and National press
should the needs be.
The Lindfield Times is appealing on you
to support the local post office. There is
an interesting article on the future of the
post office (pages 4 & 5). We will be
driving a campaign to keep our local post
office and urge you to write to the South
East Area Manager of ‘Post Office Ltd’ full
details can be found at the bottom of
page 5.
Well Christmas is over now, what next?
Please feel free to contact the Lindfield
Times at any time and lets make 2008 a
year of activity in the village.
Jeremy Crooks
editor@lindfieldtimes.org.uk
Following her previous sell out show
Katherine Jenkins
is returning to Haywards Heath next July.
The Lindfield Times has been made aware
that you can register for tickets at a reduced
price if you visit www.itsmagic.org.uk
We have also found out that the weekend will
be a star studded event with a top act on
Friday night too & we know who, do you?
Visit the website & register early.....
January 2007
 King Edward Hall
Diary of Events
January 2008

6th Ruwach Christian Church

Service
(Janet Hilton 459025)

9th Lindfield Horticultural RAM RAID HITS VILLAGE

Society Talk
(Sheila Hobbs 483396)
Our village was violently shocked at 1.30am
10th Country Market on Tuesday 11th December, after ram raiders
(Sheila Hobbs 483396) drove a 4x4 vehicle in to the local Post Office.

13th Ruwach Christian Church The thieves struck in the early hours by
Service driving a 4x4 vehicle through the main wall in
Lewes Road causing severe damage.
17th Country Market
Exclusive Pictues and Report p4, 5 & 6
20th Ruwach Christian Church
Service

23rd Central Sussex Cage Bird

Society AGM
(Don Hunter 235736)

24th Country Market

KEH Film Show

(Gillian Alderman 483181)

26th Mid Sussex Wine Society

Dance
(Mary Fennings 892385)

27th Ruwach Christian Church

Service

31st Country Market

30th Ruwach Christian Church

Service

31st Lindfield Club Dance

Issue 29 Page 3
 LINDFIELD POST OFFICE RAM RAID
By the time you read this the Lindfield Post Office ram-raid affair will be fading into history,
Christmas will be past and we shall all be getting on with a New Year. However, as a reminder
of what happened in the early hours of Tuesday December 11, here are some graphic pictures of
the hole in the wall taken by Kevin Elliott at the time.

Happily the raiders do not appear to have been very expert and had to flee empty-handed. It
was a blessing that no one was hurt, but the disruption to community life at a peak time for a
village Post Office, the inconvenience of having to try to get service in the Orchards or another
local branch (if you can find one which has survived thus far), not to mention the trauma
experienced by our dedicated Sub Postmaster, Alan Stamford and his wife, has been enormous.

The immediate reaction was to swing into action and see what could be done to get the show
back on the road. First reaction from Post Office Ltd was “it is a busy time of year, there is
nothing can be done until after Christmas”. Of course it is a peak time – which is exactly why
something needed to be done immediately!

Whilst Alan and Wendy Stamford were able to re-open the shop part of the building on the
second day, no postal facilities were available because the safe had had to be emptied for
security reasons and the computer system was damaged and down. The United Reformed
Church, a few yards up the High Street, promptly offered the use of a room for a temporary
Post Office. (below, pictures used by the BBC)

Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007

 A swift approach from the Parish Council to the manager of the South East Area of the Post
Office indicating that urgent action was expected eventually elicited a visit from Caroline Hoare,
from the Network Development Officer’s Office. After inspecting the damage and then looking at
the temporary alternative accommodation offered, she had to say that an early resumption of
service was not possible – because BT requires thirteen weeks’ notice to put in the necessary
secure computer connection.

“Even in an emergency like this?” we asked incredulously. It seems so. The quickest thing will
be to get the hole in the wall mended and the existing building sorted out. So, despite all the
efforts and goodwill to get something going to salvage a bit of pre-Christmas business and serv-
ice the community (which we thought naively was what the Post Office and BT were for), we all
have to be patient and wait whilst the insurers and builders and bureaucrats do their work.
Let us hope some bright spark in the Network Development (or should it be Demolition)
Department, who are busy trying to close the branch Post Offices in New England Road and
Franklands Village, does not hear about our problem and use it as an excuse to add Lindfield
PO to the closure list leaving us just with the grossly inadequate main office in the Orchards in
place of the six offices we had serving Haywards Heath & Lindfield in 2003.

In a way, it is in our hands – give your fullest support and encouragement to Lindfield Post Office
and its Sub Postmaster. As they say “Use it – or lose it”. Also write to the South East Area
Manager, Post Office Ltd, 5th Floor, 80 Old Street, London EC1V 9NN expressing disappoint-
ment that no temporary Post Office facilities could be made available over the busy Christmas
period and urging him to take swift action to get Lindfield PO up and running again.
Councillor Rev Michael Davies

Issue 29 Page 5
 BBC News 24
B B C
Broadcasts The Lindfield Drama NEWS 24
The morning following the Ram Raid attempt was pretty
busy for many people in the press. We knew these pictures
were important for press as this type of story is particularly
high profile in such a small community.
Within in the hour we had passed all 70 pictures to our
colleagues at the Mid Sussex Times giving them first option
of choice. This was then followed by the Evening Argus
taking 10 and in all the regional media, including the Mid
Sussex Leader, in all a total of 12 publications ran the story.

The pictures were travelling the wire and very soon the BBC
got wind of what was going on in the southern counties.
They spent the afternoon on the telephone with Jeremy and
I piecing together the facts and took several pictures from us
for their news rooms and websites.

To our surprise, on Wednesday, a BBC producer

telephoned us and asked for CAPS......this meant one
thing......Lindfield was going to be featured on a tv
programme !

For those of you who saw it, the BBC featured Lindfield on
BBC News 24 which is broadcast around the world via
satellite. The programme went out on Saturday December
15th at 15.30, then repeated on Sunday 16th at 10.30 and
23.30hrs. We had carefully spent the week communicating
with Michael Davies, before reporting the final facts for the
programme. The whole world would have heard our story
and seen the pictures, BBC News 24 attracts millions of
viewers.

We remember a few years ago we were talking to a fellow

photojournalist who worked for ITN. He told us that
photography and TV had no future because video cameras
were being used, he said there’s no place for stills anymore
and sold his equipment.

This has got to be arguable, only recently we have supplied

the beeb and regional press of coverage from the PRH,
local incidents and from within Downing Street......pictures
tell a thousand words. Images of the Ram Raid attempt
would not have been seen by many people in the village
because they would have been at or going to work......we
think there is a future for us after all !
We hope you liked the coverage for those who never saw
the real damage caused, sad as the story is we know.........
Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007
 Fencing Gate’sPatio’s Path’s
Hedge Cutting Rotovating
Stump Grinding Planting
Handy man services Turfing
Experienced | Insured | Reliable

For a free friendly quote phone Nigel Clough on

01825 723138 or 07722710329

Issue 29 Page 7
 Blackthorns
Christmas Fayre
Let’s get creative
On Saturday 8th December, Blackthorns CP School in Lindfield held their annual Christmas
Fayre. Once again, a good time was had by all - the children, their families and friends were
hugely supportive and despite the pouring rain the event was very successful and busy.
Amoungst a wide range of stalls and activities, the centre of attention, as always, was father
Christmas in his ‘Wwinter Wonderland’ Grotto ! We are grateful to the Haywards Heath Lions for
their continuing support of this event, and also to the emergency services who brought their
vehicles along for the children to see.

In the lead up to the Fayre the school ran two competitions for the children to enter. Firstly, Key
Stage One children entered the ‘Decorate a Christmas Tree’ competition. The standard of entries
was very high and it was very difficult for our judges to decide. The winner whose entry was
considered most imaginative was Jake Chrstiant (Year 2) (picture bottom left), with runners up,
Douglas Poor, Katy Piper and Charlotte Maslin.

Key Stage Two children entered a ‘Write a Christmas Limerick’ competition and again the entries
showed a great talent and had everyone laughing aloud ! The winner was Jake Ward (Year 3)
(picture bottom right) and the runners up were Madeleine Marsh and Phoebe Freeman.

Each of our winners received a book token kindly donated by Bookstop in Lindfield. Our grateful
thanks go to them for their kind support.

Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007

 ‘Atmosphere’
Disco
Great Entertainment

Weddings - Birthday’s
Music For All Ages
Atmosphere Disco provides
the very best entertainment
for any occasion
60’s 70’s 80’s Tribute Nights
Tel. 01444 891290

info@atmospheredisco.co.uk
Issue 29 Page 9
 Down the Garden Path

The anti-climax of January is hard to ignore. Less pounds in the pocket and many more on the
hips combined with dismal weather can make even the most dedicated gardener cling to their
armchair.

Positioning all your winter-interest plants so

they can be seen from indoors is fine for
those chilly months, but that doesn’t leave
much scope for summer. The obvious solu-
tion is to spread winter-interest plants
around. But it’s not much fun to splosh
across a saturated lawn. To enjoy a garden
throughout the year, it must be accessible.

Paths can be constructed for the hard worn,

regular-use trips around the garden.

When deciding which material to use, be guided by the style

and material of the house as well as the route it takes:
gravel is nightmare for wheelbarrows and paved paths
following a shady route can become like sheet ice.

Here in the south of England, we are blessed with

wonderful raw materials: heavy red clays that form our
bricks, soft pinky cream sandstones and matching gravels.
All excellent resources
for hard landscaping.

A path makes a journey

through the garden and
should lead somewhere.

You may need to go back and forth to the compost heap or

shed, but that route can be disguised by swerving the path
around your borders, sweetened by a wonderfully scented
Daphne or Viburnum and rewarded by a bench positioned
to take in a good vista. What more could you want? OO well, a hot toddy would be nice!

Haut Talk by Karoline Baird

Haughty Culture Garden Design: specialising in all aspects of design
Tel: 07742 731967 email: haughty.culture@virgin.net

Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007

 CALL THE FIRE BRIGADE OO

But don’t expect a quick response!

Today we almost take it for

granted that the Fire & Rescue
Service will arrive within minutes
of an emergency call. This has
not always been the case.

In 1899 the Parish Council

formed the Lindfield Fire Brigade
that comprised a horse drawn
cart carrying rudimentary fire
fighting equipment. It was
stored in a long shed beside the
school in Lewes Road.

In the days before telephones the alarm had to be sounded by ‘runners’ and the first call-boy
was a lad called Ernest Welfare. One of his tasks was to call out the horses to draw the fire
cart. The horses were kept at a livery stable in Gower Road, Haywards Heath!

A new Merryweather Gem Steam Fire Pump costing £248 replaced the fire cart in March 1910.

This horse drawn appliance is

shown in the photographs. The
horses continued to be stabled in
Gower Road, certainly for a num-
ber of years after the new pump
arrived.

It is thought that the

Merryweather pump may have
been stored in the building in
Lewes Road behind King
Edward Hall that became the
Auxiliary Fire Service station dur-
ing World War II. There are also
suggestions that the Lindfield
Fire Brigade, which was disbanded in 1934, could have used the stables behind the Bent
Arms.

Do you have any definitive information or documents relating to buildings used by the Lindfield
Fire Brigade? If so, please contact:
Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group, 01444 482136 or email Rjbryant06@aol.com

Issue 29 Page 11
 PONGS FROM LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY
Until the arrival of running water and deodorants people tended, by our standards, to be mal-
odorous. There must have been high tolerance to smelliness; the Anglo Saxons for example
found no difficulty in siting their cess-pits immediately outside their front doors. On the other
hand, they gave us the most effective language in which to
talk about this subject - “smell” and “sweat” are better than
“odour” and “perspiration”; and the Old English “stenc” is
better still.

Accounts have come down to us from the year 1008 of

smelliness infamous even by the standards of those times.
A thousand years ago in the Christian East, Basil II occu-
pied the Byzantine throne. He is said to have been the
loneliest man ever to have done so, which is odd because,
thanks his military brilliance, the Byzantine Empire was at
its peak. Known as the Bulgar slayer, Basil once punished
15,000 captured Bulgar soldiers by blinding 99 out of every
100; to the remaining man a single eye was left so that he
might conduct the others back to the presence of their
King. But Emperor Basil was unloved by his own troops,
not for his extreme cruelty but, it turns out, because of his
extreme dirtiness.

Meanwhile in the West, Venice had also reached new heights of prestige and prosperity, as a
result of which the Doge had managed to marry his son off to the Byzantine Princess Marya
Argyra. Marya was far more Byzantine in her tastes than Basil. “Such was the luxury of her
habits” wrote a chronicler “that she scorned even to wash herself in common water, obliging her
servants instead to collect the dew that fell from the heavens for her to bathe inOHer rooms, too,
were so heavy with incense and various perfumes that it is nauseating for me to speak of them”.

However a terrible fate befell poor Marya. According to the same chronicler, “this woman’s vanity
was hateful to Almighty God; and, so, unmistakably, did He take his revenge. For He raised over
her the sword of his divine justice, so that her whole body did putrefy and all her limbs began to
wither, filling her bedchamber with an unbearable odour such as no one – not a handmaiden, nor
even a slave – could withstand this dreadful attack on the nostrils”.

That’s a good story, and maybe it contains a moral for us. Like Marya we surround ourselves
with perfumes - aerosol sprays of scented furniture polish, peachy air fresheners, perfumed disin-
fectants, dishwasher scents of lemon and honey, refrigerator deodorizers smelling of ersatz
orange or lemon or lime, and so on. Not to mention personal toiletry. Do we really understand
what this battery of chemicals is doing to our health and to the environment? A S Byatt makes
another more poignant point - “the smells that have invaded our modern lives are neither the
good smells nor the bad smells, but the guilty, masking smells. Smells that we use to cover
human smells.”

John Usher (with apologies to the great John Julius Norwich)

Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007

 WEST SUSSEX CLOCKS
Antique Clocks
Paul Sewell FBHI
Restoration, Repairs & Sales

Call in and see my clocks at Tufnells of Lindfield

www.westsussexclocks.co.uk

01403 240069 or 07973 612311

E-mail westsussexclocks@btinternet.com

MRS JAET IRWI

EDUCATIOAL COSULTAT
& PRIVATE TUTOR

MATHS, EGLISH & FRECH

All ages & Stages, Children & Adults
01444 455081

Fun French Clubs Age 2+

www.janetirwin.com

Issue 29 Page 13
 IMPROVED CHRISTMAS COLLECTION SERVICE
Mid Sussex District Council will make sure that residents can recycle all their left over
wrapping paper and toy boxes this Christmas by employing special collection arrangements.
Christmas is a busy time for most households with parties, presents and family gatherings
creating much more refuse than at any other time of year. Most of this material is recyclable
plastics, paper, cardboard packaging, drinks cans and glass bottles and jars.

To encourage residents to recycle as much as possible, Mid Sussex District Council has
arranged for collection teams to pick up any additional
recycling that will not fit into the blue lid recycle bin.

The extra recycling can be placed alongside the recycle

bin in either a cardboard or plastic box (any recycling
placed in carrier bags cannot be accepted). Residents
will benefit from the Christmas side waste collection serv-
ice from Monday 17 December until Friday 11 January.

To pursuade residents recycle more and send less waste

to landfill, it was always intended that landfill (grey lid bin)
side waste would not be collected under the alternate
weekly collection system.

For a short period of time Mid Sussex District Council

arranged to collect side waste while residents were
awaiting the delivery of the wheeled bins. All outstanding
bins have now been delivered and there will be no further
collections of landfill (grey lid bin) side waste after
Monday 17 December.
For more information contact Mid Sussex District Council’s Refuse and Recycling team on
01444 477440 or email wastematters@midsussex.gov.uk

Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007

Issue 29 Page 15
Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007
 Happy
New Year

From

The

Lindfield Times

Issue 29 Page 17
 SHAPING THE FUTURE OF MID SUSSEX
A public consultation document on the Core Strategy for Mid Sussex was approved by the
District Council on Wednesday night. The Core Strategy is the planning document that sets out
the vision for Mid Sussex up to 2026, identifies broad locations for major housing, employment
and related development, and proposes strategic policies for that period.

The Council is urging residents, businesses, community groups and all others with an interest in
Mid Sussex to get involved in the preparation of this important document.

The Council is required by Government to prepare a Core Strategy to meet the requirements of
the South East Plan. Mid Sussex currently has to take nearly 15,000 new homes by 2026, and
this figure may rise when the Government publishes modifications to the South East Plan in the
New Year. This level of growth (an increase of nearly 30% in the current number of households)
will have a significant impact on Mid Sussex and will need infrastructure improvements, new
jobs and community facilities. It is vital that the community is fully involved in the debate on the
best way to manage this growth in the interests of the area.

The ‘Core Strategy Pre-submission Document’, will be published on 24 January 2008 for an
eight-week period, and comments on the document are requested between 7 February and 20
March 2008. These comments will then be taken into account when preparing the Core
Strategy for submission to Government in 2009. The Core Strategy Pre-submission Document
(and accompanying Sustainability Appraisal) and forms on which responses should be made will
be available on the Council’s website at www.midsussex.gov.uk/corestrategy and at public
libraries and help points. Response forms can be completed on-line, emailed to planningpoli-
cy@midsussex.gov.uk or posted to:
Planning Policy Division
Mid Sussex District Council
Oaklands
Oaklands Road
Haywards Heath
RH16 1SS
Any queries should be directed to Planning Policy officers on 01444 477322. Public exhibitions
will also be held as follows:

Unstaffed Exhibitions
Displays summarising the Pre-submission Core Strategy, identifying development options and
advertising the consultation period will be available in the following locations.
Haywards Heath Haywards Heath Library Thu 24 Jan until Thu 20 Mar.
Mid Sussex District Council Planning Reception Thu 24 Jan until Thu 20 Mar.

Staffed Exhibitions
Officers will be available to discuss the Core Strategy and answer questions at the following
venues and times.
King Edward Hall, Lindfield Mon 4 Feb 3pm - 7pm
The Orchards, Haywards Heath Sat 9 Feb 10am - 1pm
Dolphin Leisure Centre, Haywards Heath Tue 12 Feb 3pm – 7pm
King Edward Hall, Lindfield Tue 19 Feb 3pm - 7pm

Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007

 Town and District Councillors will staff these additional exhibitions and officers will not be in
attendance.

Councillor Susanna Kemp, Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment, said:

“This Core Strategy deals with a wide range of policy areas and development issues, all of
which will be key for Mid Sussex in the future, including general policies relating to the built and
natural environment, sustainable resources and biodiversity, employment, transport and
housing, and most importantly infrastructure.

“The numbers that we must provide for in the future are very significant. 15,000 new homes is
the equivalent of a town at least as large as Burgess Hill is today. This is a very challenging
target for any District, but is even more so here given the very high quality of the environment
and landscape of Mid Sussex.

“The distribution of the new strategic housing allocations will be the subject of further
consultation and debate with the community of Mid Sussex. “

The Core Strategy is about managing change in the best interests of the area and the
community while accommodating the housing allocated to Mid Sussex by the South East Plan
up to 2026. In drawing up the Core Strategy, a number of key issues have been considered.

• the need to create and maintain an attractive and healthy environment that supports
sustainable lifestyles and addresses the issues of climate change
• the need to provide the amount, mix and tenure of housing in the right place to meet
the needs of the community into the future
• the need to support a healthy and vibrant economy by revitalising the town centres,
protecting and improving existing employment areas and providing new employment areas
• the need to ensure that new development is accompanied by necessary and timely
infrastructure to build sustainable communities
• the need to support and enhance rural communities; and in particular to provide
affordable housing for local people.

The Core Strategy proposes a number of broad locations for new homes up to the year 2026.
Taking into account existing commitments (including the 2,500 homes at East Grinstead), the
Core Strategy identifies locations for about 7,000 homes.The Core Strategy document supports
development on brownfield sites in urban areas, including homes provided as part of the revitali-
sation of the town centres. It further proposes that 3,700 additional homes are located around
Burgess Hill, 1,700 additional homes are located around Haywards Heath, and about 600
homes are spread around the villages. The document also proposes contingency locations in
the event of under-provision of housing and a mechanism for delaying the release of greenfield
development if sufficient ‘windfall’ development is delivered on brownfield land.

The Core Strategy’s vision of Mid Sussex in 2026 is that of a desirable place in which to live,
work and visit. It will have sustainable, balanced communities and people will have access to
good quality living accommodation. There will have been sustainable economic growth, includ-
ing the provision of improved and vibrant town centres, and the necessary infrastructure will
have been provided. The attractiveness of the District and the individual identity of its settle-
ments will have been protected and enhanced for future generations.

The Core Strategy is expected to be submitted to Government in November 2008, with exami-
nation during 2009, and if approved, adoption by June 2010.
Issue 29 Page 19
Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007
Issue 29 Page 21
Lindfield Times Magazine January 2007
 Lindfield on a quieter day
Picture by Jeremy Crooks

STEPHEN GALLICO
S O L I C I T O R S
Stephen Gallico Solicitors Stephen Gallico Solicitors is a specialist practice
Merlin House providing a personal and professional service to
private individuals, families, executors and trustees,
6 Boltro Road
particularly in the areas of personal, financial and
Haywards Heath estate planning together with residential and other
West Sussex property matters, and also in employment work.
RH16 1BB
Based in Haywards Heath, West Sussex the firm
Tel: 01444 411333 occupies offices just two minutes walk from
Haywards Heath mainline station which has direct
Fax: 01444 440604 links to the City of London and the West End. Clients
DX: 300 311 HAYWARDS HEATH and professional contacts are welcome to visit our
offices; alternatively we are happy to be available in
Email: enquiries@sgallico.co.uk
London and elsewhere as required

Issue 29 Page 23