Cuckfield's Rose and Crown holds successful block party

By Jacqueline Elmore

As colourful revellers of the Notting Hill Carnival took to the streets of London over the August Bank Holiday weekend, Cuckfield residents enjoyed their own mini festival at local watering hole the Rose and Crown, where hundreds of people gathered for a day of food, beer, music and laughter. Pub landlord, James Clark also joined in the fun as he served drinks to his thirsty customers as they queued up in front of his wooden cabin bar. “This is the second year we have run this event and the place is jam packed. Last year was the first one of its kind and we decided that it would be a good way of bringing everyone together after nearly two years of being locked inside due to the pandemic. It was our way of saying ‘it’s now time to let your hair down and have some fun.’ I can’t quite believe the amount of people that have turned up today and the music hasn’t really started yet. It’s going to be quite a night,” said James.

The free event saw the return of many mobile street food vendors like Pizza Oven selling their handmade woodfired pizzas, La Crepere with their made to order crepes, as well as Sussex Coffee Trucks serving their best frothy coffee. And to top it all, the pub cooked some delicious BBQ food and tempted customers with their sticky pulled pork and dirty fries.

The outdoor stage played host to a number of vocal bands including, Kirsty Bishop, No Strings Attached, Kat and Travis, Real Time who closed the event and the one and only Band of Dads, who performed some of their favourite hits to the dancing crowds that cheered through each of their sets. “We’ll definitely be coming back to party next year. It’s been a cracking day all round,” added James.

Cuckfield's Rose and Crown carpark welcomes The Sussex Peasant

The Sussex mobile farm shop that sells freshly grown produce from a converted horse truck outside the Rose and Crown pub are all about supporting local communities. “We’ve had a pitch here in Cuckfield now for three months and we sell all sorts, from organic pasture fed meats, organic vegetables, fruit, breads and cakes. The common thread is that everything we sell is farmed or produced right here in Sussex,” says business owner Edward Johnstone.

The idea for the Sussex Peasant started four years ago when Edward used to visit local schools selling just a few Sussex grown vegetables and a desire to change the face of food retail by trying to promote local farms and its produce. In that time the business has grown exponentially and is now looking to develop a fish operation just as they have done with meat, dairy and vegetables. “Our aim is to again create something local to Sussex whereby fisherman would go down to the boats in the morning and sell to our markets within hours of catching the fish ready for us to sell.”

The Sussex Peasant also sells its organic produce in and around Brighton and many of the surrounding villages in the area. “We are a small but hugely passionate team that pride ourselves in selling produce that is both convenient and accessible to everyone. I believe that good locally grown food is an integral part of the social and cultural glue that keeps a thriving community and society together.”

The Sussex Peasant now holds a regular spot outside the Rose and Crown pub every Friday from 9am to 4pm. For further information please visit www.thesussexpeasant.co.uk

Poster campaign to slow drivers down

At the beginning of April, the Rose and Crown pub ran a children’s poster competition with the aim of trying to help reduce the speed of the traffic on London Road. The reason for the campaign was due to the concern expressed by local parents at the speed in which some of the cars seemed to be travelling through the village during the ‘stay at home’ period. They then suggested that perhaps some of the local children might like to design a ‘Slow Down’ poster in the hope that their efforts would encourage drivers to reduce their speed when driving through the village. Owner of the pub, James Clark explained: “The idea came from a discussion that I had with my parents one evening over dinner. We were talking about the traffic on the roads and how, although it appeared to be quieter in lockdown, the cars that were driving through the village were driving much faster. So we contacted the Parish Council to ask for their help after which we joined heads and asked the children in the village to create some colourful posters that could be put up around the area as part of a speed awareness poster campaign.”

Read more in July’s issue of Cuckfield Life Magazine.