Staplefield Village Fête

There’s no doubt that Staplefield was the place to be on Bank Holiday Monday when the village staged one of the most successful fêtes in its history. 
     Hundreds of families descended on the village green to enjoy an afternoon of traditional events and activities, from a Punch and Judy Show to classic cars.
     “It was quite extraordinary, and definitely one of the most successful yet,” said committee member Elspeth Montgomery. “It was a lovely busy, buzzy day and we were all delighted with the turnout!
     “People have described it as a ‘Downton Abbey’ type of Fête, with lots of bunting and a very traditional feel.”
     The event, which raised more than £10,000 for St Mark’s Church, the Village Hall and other Staplefield charities, was opened by local MP Nicholas Soames. Local celebrity Susannah Constantine also made a welcome return to judge the popular dog show.
     Families were kept entertained with fairground rides, a chance to meet rare owls, stalls and sideshows, and food and drink including a popular Pimms and strawberries tent and hog roast.
     Others enjoyed stepping back in time and exploring the dozens of vehicles in the classic car show, from police cars and buses, Rolls Royces and an impressive range of Morris Minors. 
     “The classic car show gets bigger every year, with the first Morris Minors arriving on the green at 8am in the morning!” said Elspeth.
     New this year was the Arts Inclusive Festival run by the Circles Network, which provided opportunities for all members the community to enjoy creative activities, from designing lettering to transforming old books into works of art.

See all pictures from the day on pages 16/17.

Remembering Horsgate House

Among them was Rosemary, who started working at Horsgate House in 1955, and colleagues Bobbie Taylor (now Freeland), Ann Reeves (now Small) and Jenny Harper (now Hartfield), who were all delighted to attend the reunion and share their stories.
     The nurses have fond memories of life in the grand house, particularly the sweeping, highly polished staircase which dominated the hall and the beautiful gardens. “The building had so much character,” said Rosemary. “Our toddler room was the former billiard room.”
     All the nurses remember being on their hands and Remembering Horsgate House knees polishing the wooden floors and having to the make perfect beds, complete with ‘hospital corners’! “Which I still do today,“ said Rosemary!
     Staff were on duty 24 hours a day, and the morning shifts starting with the first feeds at 4.45am.
     Older babies were fed sitting at a semi-circular table, designed so the nursery staff could feed several at one time. “It was a great design as we were able to sit as a family group but it was also easy to feed the children,” said Ann.

Read full article on pages 12/13.

By Claire Cooper
Memories came flooding back to a group of visitors to Cuckfield last month when the Museum played host to a very special reunion.
     Twin sisters Anna and Mary Kelly were reunited with some of the nursery nurses who cared for them at Horsgate House when they were just two years old. The museum is currently running an exhibition on the history of Horsgate House and invited the group for a private visit.
     The twins spent a year living in care at Horsgate House after their mother became unable to look after them. Although very young, the sisters made a lasting impression on the young nursery nurses, particularly Rosemary Bird (Birdy) who followed their progress after they were fostered and has kept in touch over the last 60 years.
     Horsgate House was built in 1865 by the banker Robert Bevan. In 1947 the house was bought by East Sussex County Council and became a temporary home for 12 babies, 24 children and a team of six students and four staff nurses.
     

Joshua Raven - Village People

By Claire Cooper
An exclusive interview with Bill Gates would be the pinnacle of many journalist’s career – but for Cuckfield’s Arif Mohamed nothing beats the moment when he laid hands on his first published novel.
     “It’s incredible – the best feeling a writer can have,” says Arif. “We were so excited and the children were all dancing round the kitchen!
     “Seeing my work in print, and welcoming my family and friends to my book signings has been a dream!” 
     Arif, who writes under the name Joshua Raven, is the author of the 5fingers series of supernatural thrillers. ”It’s a quintet of five books – the first three, 5fingers: initiation, 5fingers: vortex and 5fingers: trinity have been published and the fourth is well underway,” he says.
     Aimed at teenagers and young adults, Arif’s books have been hugely successful, with many readers eagerly awaiting the publication of the fourth, due later this year.
     For Arif, it’s the culmination of a dream which began when he was an avid young reader, spending many hours devouring books in Crawley Library. Inspired by Tolkein, Tolstoy and Dickens, among others, Arif started writing when he was 15. After leaving school he studied English Language and Literature at Leeds University before training as a journalist in Portsmouth.

He went on to become a news reporter working on high profile publications, including The Times newspaper and Director Magazine, travelling extensively and interviewing high profile business leaders including Bill Gates and Michael Dell while working for several leading business/IT magazines. “My scoop on Gates got syndicated around the world,” Arif recalled.
     After meeting and marrying wife Phoebe, Arif changed direction. “We embarked on our ‘American Adventure’, moving to North Carolina to run counselling workshops in the Blue Ridge Mountains,” said Arif.
     “It involved taking married couples and teenagers into the mountains to spend a week with us getting counselling, confronting events from the past and ultimately healing. It was an amazing experience for us all.”
     On returning to England, the couple settled in Haywards Heath before discovering Cuckfield. “We moved to Cuckfield after the birth of our second child,” Arif recalled. “We were attracted by the feel of the village and the sense of community.”

Full article available on pages 16/17.