Cuckfield Bonfire returns this November

After last year’s nightmare weather, Cuckfield’s legendary bonfire and fireworks to music are back with an even bigger bang on Saturday 4th November.

Following months of intensive planning, members of the Bonfire Society are more determined than ever to ensure this complex event will be back to its best — a traditional family night out not to miss.

“There’s no doubt last year was a bit of a washout, which happens once in a while, even so we were still able to put the show on and raise a substantial donation for local good causes. We’re determined to make a big comeback this year,” said chair of the bonfire committee Michael Moore. “We have also tried hard to keep prices down as much as possible, despite the fact that the actual cost of the fireworks has gone up by 30% this year,” he added. After last year’s trial the overflow car park facility at nearby Warden Park school will be available again which aims to ease the peak time traffic issues that can be a challenge.

The village event has been held since 1987 and raised more than £155,000 for local good causes, including Holy Trinity and Woodlands Meed schools, along with the Kangaroos charity among many others. There will be a range of catering options on the site including stands run by 1st Cuckfield Scouts and Holy Trinity PTA.

The ceremonial lighting of the bonfire will be carried out by the next village Mayor, following the big election night, run by the Independent State of Cuckfield at the White Harte pub on October 20th.

It may yet lead to a second term for serving bonfire mayor Jem Lee, who is required to stand again and has raised yet more charity funds this year. As ever, the bonfire event depends on the support of local residents and parents who volunteer to help out. “We always face a challenge in finding enough marshals, so we would be really grateful to anyone who might lend us a hand. It’s alway fun whatever the weather does,” said Mike Moore.

The main event at Cuckfield Park, opens on Saturday 4th November, gates open at 5.30pm. At 6.45pm sharp, the bonfire is lit and the fireworks to music start at 7.30pm.

Parking is on a first come, first served basis, so do plan ahead and consider making use of the extra facility at Warden Park school.

Tickets are available online (www.trybooking.co.uk/BGTK) priced at £28 for a family or £10 for adults & £5 for children. For anyone able to volunteer as a marshal, please send an email to: cuckfieldbonfire@gmail.com.

Cuckfield Music Festival prepares a Greek treat - 26th March at 7.30pm

The Cuckfield Music Festival will be back in June whether live, online or a combination of the two. But before we get there we have an immediate treat in store – to be precise at 7.30 p.m. on Friday 26th March.

Pavlos Carvalho is a multi-talented musician in almost any format who delights us throughout Mid Sussex – and well beyond. Who can forget that evening at the 2019 Festival when he and Plastikes Karekles had us all (almost) from ages 10 to 80 spiralling happily around the Church dancing to Greek folk music?

Pavlos has generously offered to return, online, this time with Rebetiki Seranata, to help raise donations enabling us to fund the June Festival. It will be an evening of songs exploring soulful Greek music between 1940 to 1952 in Greece with one or two winks to its influences from Smyrna and even Epirus.

With influences from North, South East and West, including the spices of tango and swing, it still remains uniquely Greek. Coloured by the sounds of violin, mainland lute, bouzouki, guitar, baglama and voice the evening will be filled with the sound of music to sing, eat, drink and dance to.

From 15th March tickets are available free of charge through Ticket Source at www.ticketsource.co.uk/cuckfieldmusicfest or through our website www.cuckfieldmusicfest.co.uk, where you can make a donation if, as we hope, you choose to do so.

In the unique conditions of the past year’s lockdowns, sponsorship has been in short supply (excepting the heroic support of Adelphi Holdings). The Cuckfield Music Festival is intended for the pleasure of all of us who love music, so please join us on 26th March and support our efforts to ensure it will happen again. Thank you, and enjoy the evening.

Bookfest is coming to Cuckfield (2017)

By Sheila Mortimer

The speakers are booked, the programme is printed and tickets will shortly be available for the first Cuckfield Book Festival. It opens on Friday 6th October 2017 with supper at Ockenden Manor, and then over the next two days there is a packed programme of talks, discussions and workshops, plus sessions for children upstairs in the Queen’s Hall. The range of authors who have agreed to come is remarkably wide: Adrian Tinniswood talking about The Long Weekend and recounting the tumultuous and scandalous history of English country houses during the years between the two World Wars; Andrew Lownie’s biography of Guy Burgess which the Daily Mail called ‘a more compelling page-turner than any spy thriller’ and Damian Barr who wrote a memoir of his childhood, Maggie and Me, about which JoJo Moyes said: ‘it should be required reading’.

Download the Cuckfield Bookfest 2017 programme here

We all remember the Great Storm of 1987, and Tamsin Treverton Jones has written a compelling portrait of this extraordinary event which she will be discussing with Sue Cook, the well-known broadcaster. Elly Griffiths, famous for her crime fiction, will be talking about The Chalk Garden, the latest in her bestselling series about Dr Ruth Galloway. 

Other writers include Gavin Mortimer, Harry Mount, Anthony Seldon and Anne Sebba. Two young authors will be discussing Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë, both of them as popular as ever.

The last event on Saturday features the renowned actress Harriet Walter, who will be talking about her book Brutus and Other Heroines, which explains why Dame Harriet has decided to tackle Shakespeare’s mature male roles.

Add to the mix, a book about the Impressionist world by Catherine Hewitt, an explanation of the art of ghostwriting from Andrew Crofts, moderators such as Julian Worricker, Sue Stapely, Alan Judd and Howard Leader, and we hope you agree that the programme is full of interest.

Two local children’s authors, Sally Symes and Jill Lewis, will run events especially for children upstairs in the Queen’s Hall and there will be fascinating sessions for all young dinosaur fans, held in conjunction with Cuckfield Museum.

As with all events in Cuckfield, the success of Bookfest will rely on volunteers, so if you are interested in getting involved, please contact Sheila Chasser at limetrees@hotmail.com

We look forward to welcoming you to lots of events. 

PS – Waitrose in Haywards Heath has agreed to make Cuckfield Bookfest part of its Community Matters in August, so do please support Bookfest in that way too.

www.cuckfieldbookfest.co.uk