Holy Trinity Church though the summer

All sorts of fun throughout summer

Despite the unpredictable and sometimes disappointing weather, there was no lack of fun at Holy Trinity Church this summer.
The first week of the holidays saw the return of the popular theatre club, and the children were kept busy writing, rehearsing, singing, prop making and generally having lots of fun working together towards the lively and totally unique production In My Shoes, performed to an appreciative audience made up of family and friends.

The fun continued later in August with Holy Trinity Church’s CrystalFactor-Krypton-Maze. After a grey and overcast morning, around 40 parents, grandparents and children all met on the playing field at Holy Trinity Primary School for an afternoon of fun & games in glorious sunshine! Following an expertly-led warm up, the contestants organised themselves into teams with suitable team names before the first challenge… the dressing-up relay (let’s just say that shirts are difficult to button when you are wearing rubber gloves!)
Other challenges included a dribbling-the-football race, an egg-and-spoon race, even a grown-ups race. There was serious attempt to break the volleyball keepy uppy record, before playing ‘catch the water balloon before it bursts’, resulting in some soggy t-shirts!

The afternoon was rounded off with an assault course, with yet more water followed by squash and cake! Everyone left festooned with stickers, full of delicious cake and a bit out of puff – it was a wonderful afternoon and much enjoyed by everyone who took part. Looking ahead we will be celebrating Harvest Festival at the end of September, with a Harvest Supper for all the family in church on Saturday 30th from 5.30pm until 8pm and our harvest services the following day.

The boss and the bartender - the story of The White Harte, Cuckfield

Jordan and Kevin, at The White Harte, Cuckfield

By Jacqueline Elmore 

The growing trend of pubs being sold to property developers and turned into houses, flats or shops has been on the rise for years. More than 150 pubs shut for good in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2023 with a heavy portion of them being snapped up by developers the minute they went on the market. 

We only have to look at the Ship Inn on Whitemans Green to see how that turned out; once a traditional family owned pub that closed its doors in 2014 and was then converted into a Co-op store. 

There are now only four public houses in Cuckfield, all important in their own unique way and each one of them catering to a different audience. 

Over the years, I have interviewed a number of publicans in and around the area; some new to the business and some who have been at it for years. 

In early 2019, I spoke to pub keeper Jim Ayling, who at the time, with his partner, Jackie had skillfully served the community as landlord of The White Harte in Cuckfield for almost two decades, before brewery Hall and Woodhouse sold it to an independent party. 

Last month, I finally got to sit down with the pubs’ new owner, Kevin Smith to find out how he, a retired helicopter engineer found himself in possession of a 15th century coaching inn and how, with the help of Bar Manager, Jordan Johnson have managed to turn the local drinking den into something of a destination pub. 

Kevin explains: “It must have been around Christmas time, about ten years ago when my friends and I got chatting to some of the locals who were talking about how the pub was going up for sale, and the person that wanted to buy it was a property developer who was planning to turn it into houses. Well that didn’t really sit right with us, given the pubs long-standing history, and its place in the community so my friend and I put in an offer in the hope that we could purchase it before it was sold for good.” 

The developers ended up pulling out of the sale leaving Jim and Jackie to hang on to the pub for a few more years. 

“Once the sale had fallen through, we asked the brewery that if ever they decided to sell the pub again that they come back to us to let us know. And that was exactly what happened. One day I got a call out of the blue from Hall and Woodhouse asking if we were still interested in buying the pub.” 

[This is an excerpt from the full article, published in the August 2023 issue of Cuckfield Life]

New seasons of rugby at Whitemans Green, Cuckfield

Haywards Heath RFC has a long-standing tradition of developing players of all ages and supporting their journey whether with Heath’s seniors, colts, juniors, minis or girls squads. Heath is built on the values of inclusivity, accessibility and fun with a strong family and community spirit – so whatever you are looking for in playing the game of rugby, Heath can provide the environment for players of all ages and abilities to flourish and develop skills, fitness and a passion for the sport. 

The Club is recognised as supporting the largest mini and junior squads in Sussex and offering players of all ages - boys from U6 to U16 and girls from U6 to U11 in mixed squads and a dedicated girls’ squad at both U12 and U14 – the opportunity to learn new skills and make new friends in an inclusive and supportive environment. New supporters and rugby lovers also welcome - first seniors’ home league match of the season takes place on Saturday 16th September. 

The Club is currently running pre-season training for seniors (18+) and colts (U17 & U18) in the evenings throughout the summer, meaning now is a great time to come along, meet other players and the coaching team and find out what playing at Haywards Heath RFC is all about. The new season for U6 to U11 (minis) starts on Sunday 3rd September. There is also a one day girls’ only rugby camp for ages 11 to 16 on Thursday 31st August free to all – to register visit www.hhrfc.co.uk or email rugby@hhrfc.co.uk. 

Awaiting planning permission from MSDC, the HHRFC Clubhouse Project is working towards building a state of the art multi sport facility at Whitemans Green providing improved facilities for the benefit of rugby, other sports and the wider community. The Club has already raised over £1.9m itself and is exploring all available options to make sure the remaining funding gap of just over £300k can be filled and the project breaks ground this year. And with the Rugby World Cup on the horizon in September (all England matches will be shown LIVE on the big screen in the Clubhouse, it’s a great time to get involved on and off the pitch – meet like-minded people, have fun and make new friends. 

If you can help the Club reach this goal please contact rugby@hhrfc.co.uk