Holy Trinity Primary School in Cuckfield open a new outdoor classroom

By Jacqueline Elmore

Since lockdown began, forest schools and outdoor classrooms have become popular learning spaces and social hubs for children and teachers alike, not only for their socially distanced practices but also as an educational tool to help inspire children about the importance of open air adventure and the benefits that nature can bring. Holy Trinity Primary School in Cuckfield recently saw the official opening of its first outdoor classroom with school staff, pupils, the Parent and Teacher Association, governors and donor supporters all attending the special event.

The large, seven-acre site that includes woodland, a wildflower meadow, a shallow stream and pond invited local philanthropist Sir Richard Kleinwort to carry out the opening and while doing so he who spoke about the value of nature and of his grandfather, Ernest Kleinwort, who played a vital role in the formation of the World Wide Fund for Nature, now the WWF. Headteacher Ann MacGregor said: “Our children are so fortunate to have such wonderful school grounds, it is vital that we make them an integral part of the children’s day-to-day education. Ever since I became Head of Holy Trinity five years ago, I have dreamt of having a purpose built outdoor classroom, so we could make even better use of the outdoor learning environment. “This beautiful outdoor space will be put to great use, not only in educating our pupils, but also in supporting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and adults alike. We are so grateful for the incredibly generous donations and grants which have brought this project to life.”

Speeches were also delivered by four young ambassadors, who told guests what the outdoor facility meant to them and how lucky they were to be able to enjoy the space that so many had worked so hard to achieve. “I think this is wonderful and beautiful. It’s so good for climate change and for me personally, I aspire to be someone who wants to help with climate change; a bit like my dad,” said Luka.

Georgie and Lars, two other members of the young ambassador team, explained their reasons for feeling so connected the new site. “I love the outdoor classroom because one day we were using it I saw a robin perch on a tree nearby and I think that robin was there because it symbolised someone in my family that passed away. The outdoor classroom has become a blessing to me because I saw the robin,” Georgie explained. “I really enjoy the outdoor classroom because it allows you to get really close to nature without disturbing it,” said Lars.

Also in attendance was Dr Paulina Hechenleitner, a specialist in botany and horticulture and a member of the school’s dedicated grounds team. Paulina, alongside teacher Gaby Dobson has been delivering the PTAfunded Forest School sessions to the school children for almost a year now.

Advertising FAQs - Print ads don’t work any more, do they?

By David Tingley, editor and company director

We’ve been in the publishing business since 2009, and so we’d like to address a few questions that potential advertisers have for us, head-on. Right here. We aren’t in business to trick or hood-wink businesses out of marketing spend, but what we want is for local businesses in the area to making more money in sales from the advertising they do with us… Sounds simple, right?

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PRINT ADS DON’T WORK ANY MORE, DO THEY?

It’s true that not ALL advertisers who spend money with us in Cuckfield Life (or Kipper Life family of magazine titles) make a return on their investment.

That’s always gutting for us. But there’s no point lying.

Sometimes it’s not always obvious why the advertising hasn’t worked. While, for others, there were some warnings. Your advert needs to not only look good, but look appropriate for your target market.

Years ago, I had a builder whose advert I offered to ‘improve’ with a bit of ‘slick design’ to drag the advert and his business (I thought) into the 21st century. Having designed the revamped advertisement, we ran it for a further few months, until I took a call from the customer. He explained that his enquiries had dropped off since changing the advert design, and he’d like to revert to his basic, Powerpoint slide layout which he had been using for months beforehand very successfully. So, you see, as a professional designer - I learnt a valuable lesson that day about making the advert look right for the business and the target audience. They didn’t want a ‘slick’ builder!

Having said that, if an advert has way too much text on, and really isn’t legible in print - the advert just won’t work, if people can’t read it.

We hear from customers who sometimes say that their advertising campaign with us ‘hasn’t worked’, but when we ask how the customer finds out where their new enquiries come from - they tell us that they don’t ask! On this basis, it would be hard to measure the success of any advertising campaign in any media!

Of course, smaller adverts do have to work harder than full page ads. The bigger the ad, the larger the passing impact on the readers.

Some advertisers have a seemingly brilliant advert design (bold, colourful, large headline, clear call-to-action), and they haven’t been stingy on the size either. And it still doesn’t generate the results for them. I wish I knew why this was. We had a mortgage broker who had completed an advertising campaign for six months with half page ads, and they had had no clear leads from the run in our magazine.

Conversely, and more positively, we have one customer who runs a few quarter page ads per year, and the results from it, keeps them busy for the season! And the ad is even at quarter page size!

Fortunately we have plenty of happy advertisers, many of whom have been advertising with us for years and years. You can see Claire Nash of Claire Nash Solicitors talking about her long term success with our magazines here.

So, can I guarantee that advertising with Cuckfield Life will bring in new customers? No, of course not.

But I will guarantee that me and my team will do our absolute best to make it work for your business. Whether that’s helping with the ad design, giving you a premium spot for a special month, a bit of editorial copy or even a cheeky size upgrade when we’ve got some extra. We really do just want advertising with us to work for you, so you stay a customer for years - just like Richard and Adam and the dozens of others.

Cuckfield Life peeks behind the counter at Jimmy's Barbershop in Cuckfield

By Jacqueline Elmore

The barber shop business has long played a significant role in the male grooming experience. Its origins date as far back as the middle ages where they used to perform routine surgeries and even dentistry. Today, the barber shop is still seen as an important social space, providing customers with a safe place to meet, to relax and enjoy a bit of hearty conversation while having the latest buzz cut. Throughout the pandemic, hairdressing salons, stylists and barber shops worked hard to keep their customers groomed, coiffured and everything in between, but with strict lockdown measures firmly in place, getting a short back and sides was not always an easy task. Now some six months later, with the lifting of restrictions, having a professional rescue your hair from a fate worse than doom is no longer the problem; it’s getting that appointment.

As local barber Jimmy Philippou explains: “After we reopened in April, it was crazy. Our regular customers returned in their droves and we ended up taking on a number of new clients too. And even now as the weather gets colder and we approach Christmas, things are still just as busy, if not busier.” Jimmy who owns Jimmy’s barber shop in both Cuckfield and Haywards Heath advertises his business as a place with old fashioned values where you will be given a warm welcome and a fresh haircut. “That’s exactly what we want to portray; a place where people feel at home, relaxed and well looked after. That’s what a barber shop experience should be about; care of your customers.”

Jimmy is a South London lad who was born and raised in Streatham. When he was seven his parents moved the family to Brighton to set up a fish and chip shop and the flat above it became his home. He attended a local school and went to Hairdressing College in Brighton. “Even back then when I was doing the course I knew that is was barbering that I wanted to do. In my second year I got lucky and was offered the chance to become an apprentice in a salon in Portslade. It was an old ladies salon and the guy who had taken it over wanted me to do the old ladies’ perms and wash off the tints, but I just wanted to do men’s hair. We eventually came up with an agreement where he would work with the ladies and I would work with the men.” Jimmy remained at the Portslade salon for 18 months to help gain enough experience to allow him to move on to a place where he could cut men’s hair professionally full time. “I ended up in a relatively well known barber shop in Haywards Heath, which funnily enough both my brother and my sister worked for too, but in different locations, so it worked out really well. I stayed there for ten years until I finally got the chance to open up my own barber shop on South Road in 2009.”

Three years ago Jimmy opened a barber shop in Cuckfield. “I found out that the old barber shop was looking for a buyer. It was the one that I’d always loved, in the village that I’d always loved. There was a sign outside with a mobile number that I left a message on and six weeks later they returned my call and said ‘are you still interested in buying the shop’ and that was that. I opened the shop in 2018.” The building that Jimmy now owns is Grade II listed and dates back to the 16th century. Paper records show that in 1968 Roy Herbert Francis, a gentleman’s barber, took out a 14 year lease and that the existing deeds go back to 1926. “I inherited quite a few of John’s old customers and that’s been lovely. The people here have been consistently warm and welcoming. We always try to get involved in village life as much as possible and that often means going to the school fetes, Christmas markets, village fairs and helping to support some of the local charities.” As far as the pandemic is concerned, Jimmy has his feet firmly on solid ground. Like so many others, that was a difficult time for him, but in the face of it all, he still managed to find that silver lining.