From the Cuckfield Mayor's Table...

Claire with ‘Sad Dads’ (pre lockdown)

By Claire Bellamy 

Well – where do I start? March has been possibly the most surreal month I’ve ever known. Covid-19 has seen changes to all of our daily lives and, whilst we are facing such uncertain times, it is wonderful to see a community co ming together to help.

Only this morning a local resident, Pauline, requested donations of unwanted children’s duvet covers so that she could turn them into theatre gowns for children at The Royal Alex Hospital. On my daily walks around the village I have seen boxes of books on doorsteps for people to take away and read. I’ve also heard that the Sears children have been making bracelets and selling them to raise money for the NHS, who are doing an amazing job whilst under such immense pressure. The clapping and whooping in a show of appreciation for the NHS last week was so loud throughout the village and so lovely to hear!

Shortly before our social distancing rules came into play I was invited to the Sad Dads ten year anniversary and awards party, held at The Talbot. A genuinely brilliant evening with hilarious awards such as the ‘The Most Social Only Member’ (Fraser Bellamy), ‘The Award for the Sad Dad with Actual Talent’ (Steve Barlow), ‘The Gold Award for 100% Attendance and Longest Continuous Member’ (Andy Burton) and ‘The Prince Charles Award for Next In Line to Lead Sad Dads’ (Will Nice). Under normal circumstances, Sad Dads meets weekly in the village and new members welcome.

Like everyone else I am looking forward to life returning to normal, but in the meantime stay at home, keep an eye on those around you and stay well. I think that a village celebration will be in order – perhaps a street party where we can not only socialise but also support the village businesses. But for now, follow the rules or I will be forced to dust off the Mayoral stocks and use them!

Cuckfield Life magazine print production on pause - 14th April 2020

By David Tingley, editor

With the continued pressure on businesses during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is with much regret that we have taken the decision to temporarily halt the printing and distribution of Cuckfield Life magazines. 

Whilst we would dearly love to continue to bring residents news, information and features as we have done for the last ten years - in reality we are a small business, just like many of our advertisers, and we cannot sustain ‘normal service’ while our income continues to fall. 

However this is short term - and when this is all over, myself and the rest of the team will be raring to go; business as usual. So, watch this space and please bear with us. We’ve already had lots of supportive reactions to the news from our amazing advertisers, which we are grateful for. We hope you, our readers, also understand. 

‘We’ll be back!’ 

Watch this space and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, if you don’t already. 

Local volunteer force springs to life

By Jacqueline Elmore

What began as a small community support group, the Haywards Heath Covid-19 Mutual Aid Group, has now more than 650 volunteers who have registered and are offering their services to all areas around Haywards Heath, Lindfield, Cuckfield and beyond.

Redwan Chowdhury, who last month posted a simple message on Facebook asking people if they required any help during this period of isolation, has since been inundated with messages of support from people in the local area. “Last week alone we received 760 calls from people either requiring support, offering to help or just calling to say thank you. Up to today I think we helped over 200 households either with their shopping, emergency supplies or prescription deliveries. Mostly we’re providing support to people in the local area but we did do a run over to Saltdean the other day to someone who needed urgent help.”

In addition, Haywards Heath Town Council, Cuckfield and Lindfield Parish Councils have now helped to distribute 12,000 ‘COVID-19 Mutual Aid UK’ leaflets in the local area to cover 60,000 people to let them know that there is support out there for anyone who is feeling isolated during this difficult time.

Redwan continued: “Despite the generosity that has been offered, there is still so much more that can be done to help. Whether that is volunteering or donating we want to help as many people as we can. For instance, we are trying to reopen The Trussell Trust Food Bank in Haywards Heath to try and gather as much funding as possible to help those who do not have any other means of support right now.”

Redwan and some of the other organisers - Barbara King (Cuckfield), Amie Cheverst (Bolnore Village), Jo Lee (Rocky Lane), Rosie Lewis (Lindfield), Lee Goodeve and Kirsty Roo (Haywards Heath) – who were very much involved in helping to kick start the Haywards Heath COVID 19 Mutual Aid Group have been overwhelmed by the kindness offered by local people.

“We never expected the amount of support and generosity that has been extended to us over the last few weeks. Thank you for stepping up and coming together as a community. We really can do beautiful things by working together. Please pass the message on, and keep the positivity and resourcefulness flowing!”

The Support phone line is: 01444 635002 or email: HaywardsNeedHelp@gmail.com.

Volunteers please get in touch via: haywardsvolunteers@gmail.com or search Facebook for more information. Financial donations can be made here.