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March 2010

Lifestyle | Community | Business

Steyning Bramber Beeding Ashington Washington Storrington Henfield Small Dole Ashurst Partridge Green

A Fine

Vintage

Cool & quirky Sussex shops

Bolney Estate Winery A family love affair

Fitness gets personal Local ways to shape up

NEW! Garden Diary

Your monthly green-fingered friend

We review The Bull at Henfield

WIN a 3-month gym membership Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 1

17/2/10 10:35:41

2 • BACK IN TIME

Full H ead H ighlig Cut & hts Blow Dry

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throu g ho u Marc t h

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3 • BACK IN TIME

Contents 5

Welcome to March

6-8

Village News & Events

9

NEW! Garden Diary

11

Friends of Nyakinama

13-14

Inside Chalcroft Funerals

16-18

A Fine Vintage

A FINE VINTAGE 16

Cool & Quirky Sussex Shops 22-23

Fitness Gets Personal: Village Living volunteers for some personal training

24

Reader’s Restaurant Review: The Bull, Henfield

26

A Recipe from Cromwells: Seared King Scallops

29

Sussex in Season: Rhubarb

31

Wine Buff: My Sherry Amour

33

Drink Local: Bolney Estate Winery – a family love affair

RESTAURANT REVIEW 24

WIN a case of Hepworth real ales 35

Gardening: Thinking Big from the Big Plant Nursery

37

Talk Money: with Claire Cook

39

Mind & Body: Are you ready to quit smoking?

RECIPE 26

Where Can You Find Village Living? village Living Magazine is delivered to 10,000 homes and businesses in across 10 villages.

Editorial & advertising enquiries Melissa Love 07976 917363 melissa@villageliving.biz

Find us in Steyning, Bramber, Beeding, Small Dole, henfield, Ashurst, Partridge green, Washington, Ashington, Storrington as well as selected outlets in Worthing & Shoreham.

Production Toni Barrington The Magazine Production Company 01273 467579 production@villageliving.biz

We are increasing our circulation every month, so if you didn’t receive a copy through your letterbox, you will do very shortly.

© 2009 Village Living

Village Living is published monthly by Big Picture Projects.

Cornerways, Pound Lane, Upper Beeding. BN44 3JB 01903 814092 www.villageliving.biz

village Living is an independent magazine and does not endorse the products or services that appear in the magazine.

Opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily represent those of the editor or of village Living magazine.

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MEET ThE TEAM • 5

Welcome to March

W

ith Mother’s Day and Easter on the horizon, this month we’ve been hunting down the coolest and quirkiest independent shops in the area. Whilst we’re all wise to the benefits of buying local

food, sometimes our other independent traders get forgotten. Our round-up of hidden high street gems will give you the inspiration to keep buying locally (p16).

The first couple of months of the New Year seem to have slipped by without my tackling some important resolutions relating to health & fitness. When an invitation came my way to try some personal training at Chanctonbury Sports & Leisure in Storrington, I couldn’t put it off any longer.

I’ll be trying to stay on the straight and narrow over the coming months – find out how I survived my first challenge (p22).

And I spent a day finding out more about Chalcraft Funerals and the compassion and care they bring to a very difficult job. Our profile of Mike Chalcraft offers a rare insight into an unusual business (p13).

Finally, our new columnist, Louisa Bell from City gardens launches her garden Diary – a monthly to-do list for keen gardeners who need an expert helping hand (p9).

Melissa EMAIL ME AT melissa@villageliving.biz

P.S. Don’t forget to visit www.villageliving.biz where you can visit the Village Living message board.

Congratulations: To Sarah Stuart from Henfield who wins February’s case of Hepworth Ales

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6 • NEWS BACK IN & EvENTS TIME

10TH ANNIVERSARY FOR HEALTH WALKS

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orsham District Council’s health Walks scheme, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, has a range of walks organised across the horsham District over the coming year.

Jill Shuker, health Walks co-ordinator at horsham District Council, said: “This is our year of celebration; the horsham District health Walks scheme is 10 years old! We are organising extra special walks throughout the year, all planned to celebrate this important milestone. Our walk leaders work very hard to plan delightful walks for the walkers: their reward is your enjoyment of the walk, so please do come along and join them, they would be delighted to see you.”

The programme of guided walks enables people to take part in regular walks in a relaxed, friendly environment and, at the same time, explore the lovely towns, villages and countryside throughout the horsham District. All walks publicised are led by trained volunteers and are free to attend.

Three different levels of difficulty are offered within the walks programme:

Level 1 walks – Suitable for new walkers, those recovering from illness, accident or operation and walkers with limited stamina. No stiles on these walks.

Level 2 walks – Moderate walking speed, often stiles and inclines on the route.

Level 3 walks – Fast steady pace. The route could involve steep inclines, stiles and rutted terrain.

For more information and a list of the latest walks, go to http://www.horsham.gov.uk/leisure_and_ tourism/leisure_2102.asp

Henfield Scientist’s Paper Animal Magic

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rEATINg animals out of a single sheet of paper gave henfield scientist Brian Smith the idea for a new business.

One of his ‘Pop-ettes’ is a Pudsey Bear design which is being considered

by BBC’s Children In Need for this year’s fund-raiser.

Pop-ettes came out of Brian’s love for origami and the 47-year-old chemistry technician from Ardingly College has

launched a range of simple-to-fold animal heads, that can be finger puppets, which he believes will be popular with both children and adults.

“I’ve found that children love folding the designs into animal heads,” he said, “and adults are just as fascinated at being able to fold a figure out of a single sheet of paper.”

The material and inks used are all environmentally-friendly and Brian

thinks the ancient art of paper-folding will be a simple way to give people an introduction to a cheap art-form.

Details: Brian Smith on 01273 494483 or 0789 4904775 or email brian_craiksmith@yahoo.co.uk

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  March 2010 • Village Living

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www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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7 • BACK IN TIME

Sussex Food Awards Winners Announced

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elebrations were tinged with sadness at the glamorous Sussex Food & Drink Awards ceremony in February, where seven food and drink heroes received their trophies, but it was also announced that the Sussex Farmer of the Year, Simon Bishop from Battle, tragically died in a car accident last November.

Over 9,000 people voted for more than 300 Sussex food and drink businesses and personalities in this fourth year of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards.

Said Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Judges: “Sussex food and drink producers are now leading the way in the UK’s local food revolution and the food and farming sector here is becoming the envy of its colleagues in other regions of the UK. This year our winners come from right across the county and the quality is absolutely outstanding.”

West Sussex winners included Prosperity Brownies from Lancing and village Living’s own beer sponsor, hepworth & Co from horsham. Local favourite, the Sussex Produce Company was once again a finalist.

ROUND THE WORLD IN A WHEELCHAIR

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lthough she is in her seventies, Partridge green resident, Doreen Webster, has just published her first book.

When her husband Noel had a stroke in 1996, at the relatively early age of 68, they feared their dreams of a happy retirement in Spain and England would be shattered – especially when Noel was left disabled and dependent on a wheelchair. But with his own resilience and his wife’s no-nonsense devotion, they found that their travelling days, far from being over, were only just beginning The book tells the story of their adventures in places as diverse as Fiji, New Zealand, Singapore and China, Alaska and the Caribbean. More importantly, the book shows how, with determination, they proved some of the sceptics wrong as they went on to fulfil their lifetime ambitions.

Round the World in a Wheelchair is available from Amazon, Waterstones and can be ordered from all good bookshops.

Village Diary village Diary is a great way to publicise an event in your village. Charitable & not for profit events are listed free of charge. A small charge applies for commercial listings.

Don’t forget to visit www.villageliving.biz to view a complete calendar of events or submit your own listing online.

“Thanks for the insert in the February issue of your magazine regarding Milestones Theatre Club. I thought you would be interested to know I have already joined two separate ladies as members and am looking forward to receiving more.” Frank Fiveash FARMERS’ MARKETS NEW! Ashington – Friday, 12th March.

9.30 – 13.30. Methodist Church, London rd.

Henfield – Friday, 19th March.

9.00 – 13.00. Library car park.

Horsham – every Saturday.

9.00 – 16.00. Carfax, town centre.

Pulborough – Saturday, 27th March.

9.00 – 12.00. village hall.

Shoreham – Saturday, 13th March.

9.00 – 13.00. East Street.

Steyning – Saturday 6th March.

9.00 – 13.00. high St car park.

West Chiltington – Saturday 13th March.

9.00 – 12.00. village hall.

Worthing – Saturday 27th March.

9.00 – 14.00. South Street Square.

SUSSEX WILDLIFE TRUST COURSES Identifying Flowering Plants Woods Mill, henfield Starts Saturday 6th March.

10.00 – 16.00. Multi-session course ending on 26th June.

Identifying flowering plants requires a wide range of knowledge and skills. Learn about flower structure & the botanical terms used to describe the parts of a flowering plant.

Cost: Full £180 / Concessions: £72 www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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8 • vILLAgE BACK IN DIArY TIME

Village Diary cont’d SUSSEX WILDLIFE TRUST COURSES Bird Boxes for Spring Woods Mill, henfield Saturday 6th March.

11:00 - 13:00 Build and decorate a bird box and make pine cone feeders for your garden visitors.

Take a walk through the woods to discover more about woodland birds.

Members: Adults £4 / children £5 / family ticket £12.50 Non-members: Adults £5 / children £6/ family ticket £17.50

musical direction of their new MD, Marc Yarrow. The choir will perform Faure’s requiem and Karl Jenkins’ Sacred Songs at Our Lady of England Priory in Storrington.

Sacred Songs is a new compilation of pieces taken from some of Jenkins’ most popular works.

Tickets, priced at £8 are available from the Card Centre in Storrington or phone: 01798 813088.

SAT 6 MARCH – Race Night for Steyning First Responders Come and help us raise funds for Steyning Area First responders, haiti and other good causes and have a great time as well. 7pm for 7.30 pm.

Tickets £10 each from Steyning Bookshop. Includes fish & chip supper.

Booking essential for all events. Please ring 01273 497561 or visit www.sussexwt.org.uk

SATURDAY 13TH MARCH – Warren Playgroup Good as New Sale – Henfield Village Hall, Henfield. 10.30-12.00.

EVENTS

good quality children’s clothes, toys, books, cots, buggies etc at a fraction of the retail price. Contact Bridget on 01273 493581.

6TH MARCH – Perrier Jouet Dinner at South Lodge This luxurious evening begins with a sparkly champagne and canapé reception. Each course is accompanied by a different champagne and explained by the very knowledgeable Julien Durand of Perrier Jouët.

Champagne and canapé reception, four-course dinner with wine. £75 per person. Special accommodation package available.

To book phone 01403 891711 or email enquiries@southlodgehotel.co.uk 18TH-20TH MARCH – Last of the Red Hot Lovers henfield Theatre Company will be proudly presenting “Last of the red hot Lovers” by Neil Simon, at 7.45 pm on the evenings of 18th, 19th and 20th March 2010 at The henfield hall, henfield, West Sussex.

Barney is a nice, ordinary, regular guy who has been married for 27 years to his childhood sweetheart. Then one day, concerned by his own mortality, he decides he wants to kick over the traces – just once, while he still can. Unfortunately for Barney, he is hopeless at seduction.

The use of his mother’s apartment for the assignations and his choice of women doesn’t help either... and so the hilarity begins.

Tickets, priced £6 and £8, will be available from the box office at Henfield Furnishings, High Street, Henfield, West Sussex, BN5 9DB (tel: 01273 492204) from 2nd March 2010.

27TH MARCH – Sandgate Singers in storrington Storrington’s local community choir, Sandgate Singers, are looking forward to an exciting spring season under the March 2010 • Village Living

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TUESDAY, 16TH MARCH – Storrington Film Night at Sullington Parish Hall Next film showing: “Julie & Julia”, starring Meryl Streep.

Perfomances at 7.30pm. Tickets £5, available from ‘The Card Centre’ in Storrington. Any unsold tickets will be available for purchase on the night.

For further information please contact Ken Collins on 01903 740745, or Tony Vaughan on 01903 740633 19TH MARCH – Charity Quiz Night in aid of the Mary How Trust Fittleworth Village HallSchool Lane, Fittleworth, RH20 1JB Teams of 4. £12 per head – includes fish supper & glass of wine.

For tickets call 01798 877641 or visit www.maryhowtrust.org 20TH MARCH – Music for Springtime Celebrating 50 years of Methodism in Storrington.

A recital of organ music and songs.

Tickets £7.50 available fromTrinity Methodist Church office – 01903 746390 and Michael Pirkis – 01903 743875 22 MARCH – 10.30-12pm C.A.M.E.O (Come and meet each other) Over 50s Group. Corpus Christi Hall, Tanyard, Henfield.

March’s talk is called ‘Creation and Splendour’ a presentation on Middle America by Steve McKie, pastor at Community Church henfield.

www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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9 • BACK IN TIME

Welcome to the new Village Living Garden Diary page!

Garden Diary Louisa Bell from City and Country Landscapes will be here every month to talk about gardens, plants, design ideas and answer any questions you may have about your own special space outside.

Send your queries to louisa@villageliving.biz

T

his mad March time of the year is always wonderful.

We really believe that Spring is on its way! Why does a clump of snowdrops make us feel so happy? have you lifted up the head of a snowdrop and looked to see what’s inside? It’s a little miracle, and I think it’s the size of snowdrops that make them so special and delicate. Lots of flowers are tiny at this time of the year. Is that to conserve their energy in the cold? Look at the crocus, the alpines, tiny dogs’ tooth violets, violas – they’re all works of art. Life gets so big and blurred around the edges sometimes, as we all rush around fulfilling our daily list. Looking at the detail in the wonderful plants that grow around us can bring us back to reality. Don’t worry what other people think – get down on your knees and really look at the plants in the ground. Lift up a snowdrop head, or a hellebore, and marvel at what’s inside.

Paying attention to the detail is what makes a garden really special. As we build and design a new space the big picture is critical for the paths, terraces and areas for planting and lawns but the detail is what makes all the difference. We’re working in hove at the moment, and the detail there is costing quite a bit as we’re planting wonderful cubed trees of hornbeam down both sides of the garden. I love visiting the large tree growers on behalf of my clients. There’s something about driving around acres of nursery in the mud, in a four wheel drive, just looking at trees. What a job! I can tag up the specimens I really love and then they’ll be dug up, wrapped up and put on a big truck. Some trees come from Italy and can only be lifted until the end of the month. After that it’ll be

Plants for March In March, all the new herbaceous perennials come into the nurseries. These are plants that come up year after year, and get bigger annually too. In March, they’re in quite small pots and cheap too. You should find plants ves for under £2. This is the time to buy them – in fi your into them plant and nines of course! – and garden. Because they’re tinies, they fit into a small planting hole so they’re easy to plant. As the season progresses, the nursery will keep potting them on into larger and larger pots and add £1 each time, until they’re big plants, in big pots with a big price.

It’s just so easy to buy them now, it’s easy to plant l them now and it’s easy to afford them now. They’l of out g stickin leaves green just look like little bits of a, mud – look for geraniums, alchemilla mollis, achille your of front the into them Put a. nepet & es poppi border and by June they’ll be spilling over the edges go making you feel like you’ve got a stately home. their grow that ies nurser t enden indep r to the smalle own and stock up! too much of a risk to transplant them as they all start to come into leaf and flower. Even the tiniest garden needs special attention to the detail: a small corner seat with oak posts covered in white rambling roses. A table laid for breakfast. A small path leading you on to discover... what? Yes, the summer’s coming and we’ll soon be outside again. There’s no excuse for an ugly garden – whatever its size.

01903 891441 www.wonderfulgardens.co.uk

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10 • BACK IN TIME

A BEAUTIFUL NURSING HOME DELIVERING THE PERFECT BALANCE OF CARE

At Sussexdown we work hard to provide the highest quality care in an atmosphere based on independence, dignity and a great quality of life.

Whether you have residential, nursing or dementia needs, our staff have the skills and experience to deliver your perfect balance of care.

An historic building like Sussexdown also offers beautiful surroundings with landscaped gardens and lovely views. This is country house living, with ongoing care for total peace of mind.

We’d love to tell you more about how we can help you and your family to arrange your care needs. Please call Sussexdown Home Manager Sue Bush on 01903 744221 for an informal chat, to order an information pack or arrange a visit.

sussexdown

WA S H I N GTO N R OA D, S TO R R I N GTO N, W E S T S U S S E X R H 2 0 4 DA T. 0 1 9 0 3 7 4 4 2 2 1 sussexdown@care-south.co.uk

www.care-south.co.uk S U S S E X D O W N I S PA R T O F C A R E S O U T H P R OV I D I N G Q UA L I T Y C A R E S E R V I C E S I N T H E S O U T H O F E N G L A N D H E A D O F F I C E : 3 9 C O M M E R C I A L R OA D, P O O L E , D O R S E T B H 1 4 0 H U T. 0 1 2 0 2 7 1 2 4 0 0

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11 • vILLAgE BACK IN PEOPLE TIME

Friends of Nyakinama The Rwandan orphanage with Sussex connections

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hen local girl, Maxine Silsby, left Shoreham to travel across sub-Saharan Africa in 2008, she didn’t expect to lose her heart there. In particular, Maxine and a group of her fellow travellers were so moved by the beauty of rwanda, the warm welcome they received from locals and the obvious needs of underprivileged sectors of rwandan society, that they resolved to raise funds for a particular community project in the north of the country, the Nyakinama home for orphaned children.

The rwanda genocide made world headlines in 1994. With an elected democratic government now in place and a nationwide reconciliation programme firmly established, the rwandan people are trying to put history behind them. One of the sad statistics of the genocide is that it left a large number of orphaned children and single parent families. Sadly hIv/AIDS and a high mortality rate of mothers in childbirth means that there are still a large number of children without parents. According to UNICEF, there are over 600,000 orphaned children under the age of 14 and nearly 3,500 living in orphanages.

The Nyakinama home is two hours’ drive from the capital of Kigali, close

to mountain gorilla country. It is a community-run project, looking after 34 primary and secondary-aged orphaned school children and it provides them with accommodation, food and the means to attend school. half of these children live at the home; the others are fostered to local families to sleep. There are another 32 children aged under 6 who receive nursery education at the home who come from low income families in the local community, many of whom are from single parent families and find it extremely hard to provide the most basic standards of living for their children.

Since their return in late 2008, the Friends of Nyakinama have achieved charitable status and, through fundraising, have already been able to make substantial improvements to the buildings and facilities, as well as equipping all of the children with new school uniforms, clothing, books and toys.

“Our priority was making the building weatherproof, installing doors and windows and buying new beds, but it was brilliant to bring some toys and basic sports equipment for the children to play with,” says Maxine.

“The children know that many of the parcels received at the home come

from ‘parents in England’ and they love to hear all about the people who are making contributions.”

One of the most successful fundraising tools has been pairing each child with a UK family, whose monthly contribution pays for day-to-day essentials like clothing, food and school uniforms, books and shoes.

The children and families regularly exchange letters and some sponsors are planning visits to the home later in 2010.

“There’s still plenty to do,” continues Maxine. “We are planning a new dormitory in 2010 and we want to buy more animals and agricultural tools for the home, as well as setting up a bakery which will be run by the older students and provide a valuable training facility for the community.”

Maxine is now living in Kigali, where she is helping to open a new hotel. her new role in rwanda means that she is now more involved in the daily life of the orphanage than ever.

“They know now that I am always going to come back each time I leave, and I really feel like one of the family.

It’s a very special place.”

Can you offer support to the Friends of Nyakinama? You can sponsor a child, set up a standing order or make a one-off donation to help with longer-term projects. For further information about the project, visit www.friendsofnyakinama.org or email info@friendsofnyakinama.org.

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Chalcraft Funeral Directors circa 1870

Long established & family owned business, dedicated to making traditional funeral services as personal & special to you as possible . . .

Chequers Yard High Street Steyning 01903 812656 info@chalcraftfunerals.co.uk www.chalcraftfunerals.co.uk Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 12

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13 • Chalcraft BACK IN TIME

Inside Chalcraft Funerals

A

ccording to Mike Chalcraft, being a funeral director is the ultimate conversation-stopper at dinner parties. When people find out what he does for a living, he’s often on the receiving end of a lot of curious questions.

“It’s become quite a taboo subject,” explains Mike, “Because people are living longer and jobs are much less dangerous, most people’s first encounter with the death of someone close comes relatively late in life.”

Chalcraft Funerals has been a fixture in Chequer’s Yard in Steyning for over 100 years and indeed, like many undertakers, it tends to be a profession passed down through generations.

And are there more Chalcrafts to carry on the family tradition? According to Mike, his own sons aren’t interested in continuing the family business, which is a shame because Mike can

trace his family business roots back to the mid-1800s, when the Chalcrafts set up business as carpenters and wheelwrights in the old workshops behind the Chequer’s Inn, then a coaching inn on the important London to Southampton stagecoach route.

In those days, the profession of undertaker as we know it today, didn’t exist at all. Most people died at hom, and were laid out on their own bed or in the hallowed ‘front parlour’, the sacred room reserved for births, deaths, marriages and visiting dignitaries. The local carpenter or wheelwright would be called upon to knock up a suitable box for the deceased, who would then be taken straight to the church for burial in a hired cart or a horse-drawn carriage, depending on how deep the family’s pockets were.

The great Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, which killed nearly 3% of the

“More than anything, we are here to support people through what can be a very long process, involving difficult decisions, at a distressing time,” world’s population, brought about the first big shift away from the traditional church burial. The danger of infection and the enormous number of deaths meant that graves couldn’t be dug quickly enough, leading to the introduction of cremation, which now accounts for 80% of all funeral services.

As towns became more populated and more and more people began to live in flats, the demand for storage

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14 • ChALCrOFT BACK IN TIME

of the deceased away from the home grew. Add to that the fact that modern families tend to be quite scattered, with mourners often having to travel long distrances, with the result being that the average time between a death and the funeral is now two weeks.

“More than anything, we are here to support people through what can be a very long process, involving difficult decisions, at a distressing time,” says

Mike. All the best and the worst comes out during the process of mourning and we know it can be incredibly draining.

We still get affected by it, particularly when the death is unexpected.”

I’m quite surprised by this. I had imagined that arranging funerals would make you uniquely qualified to accept the process of death and all it entails. “Not so,” says Mike.

“You still don’t think it will ever happen to you. And besides, Steyning is a small town and we are very involved with the people here. We think of them as our flock and losing someone is always hard.”

Whilst Mike ensures that all runs smoothly behind the scenes – there is an inevitable mountain of paperwork to complete – his colleague Maggie roach provides direct support to the families involved. With experience as a Samaritan, Maggie is uniquely qualified to help people who are suffering a bereavement. “I started here to help Mike with the computers nearly eleven years ago and I’ve never left”, explains Maggie. The third member of the team is Maggie’s dog, Badger, whose friendly face only adds to the welcoming atmosphere.

To be honest, Chalcraft Funerals isn’t quite what I expected. It’s relaxed, informal and a very comforting place to be. “We’re here for the people who are left behind,” finishes Mike. “They’re the ones who really need us.”

Contact Chalcraft Funerals on (01903) 812656 or visit www.chalcraftfunerals.co.uk

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15 • BACK IN TIME

SHAPE UP FOR THE NEW YEAR – in the comfort of your own home

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16 • A BACK FINEIN vINTAgE TIME

Lilywhites, Steyning

Mary’s Retro & Vintage, Steyning

A Fine Vintage

Sussex’s cool & quirky shops need our support

O

ur awareness of the importance of buying local food and supporting local farmers has never been so high but sometimes our other local shopkeepers can slip under the radar. Whilst big British retailers reported bumper sales over Christmas, smaller, more rural retailers haven’t been so lucky. hit hard by the big freeze, some shops were unable even to open in the lucrative week before Christmas or benefit from New Year sales.

Of course it’s easier to do a one-stop shop at a big outlet like Ikea, or bag a bargain at Primark, but as with most large retailers, it’s an empty transaction, lining the pockets of faraway

shareholders and putting little back into the local community.

In case you haven’t taken a stroll down your local high street recently, we’ve set out to uncover some hidden gems, whose carefully hand-picked and even hand-made stock is worth making a special trip for.

My first port of call is newly opened Lily Whites Crafts, in Steyning’s Cobblestone Walk, run by 22 year-old, Jade Diable. Lily Whites is a treasure trove of beautiful handmade craft items, homemade cards, clothing and accessories as well as all of the ribbons and buttons any keen crafter would need. Even at such a young age, Jane

American Folk Art

already has 5 years of retail experience under her belt but I can’t resist asking her why she has chosen to open a shop now. Aren’t we supposed to be in the middle of a recession?

“I live in craft world,” Jade tells me.

“I absolutely love it. All I do is make things and think about craft projects.

I could talk about it all day long and I love it because people come in to show me things they’ve made and have a good chat about it.”

Jade’s passion for crafting and making lovely things is what makes her little shop so special. The stock is a refreshing change from the usual identikit Cath Kidston copies. She’s now planning to launch regular craft lessons so she can share her knowledge and enthusiasm with other crafters in the area. her enthusiasm is infectious and I come away with a bag full of buttons and a promise to attend the first craft session.

My next stop is her neighbour, Mary’s vintage & retro, a tiny shop which oozes old-school glamour, selling bags, gloves, hats and all manner of vintage accessories. Like Jade, Mary fell in love with vintage clothing at a young age.

    

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Nifty, Storrington

Bo Belle, Storrington

Inspired by a necklace given to her by her grandmother on her eighteenth birthday, Mary was soon hunting down treasures of her own in vintage shops and markets. Indeed, she still has many of the items she bought in the 1970s which once again are coming back into fashion.

“That’s the lovely thing about vintage,” says Mary. “Things get reused and loved again. It’s the absolute opposite of disposable fast fashion.

Even the things I can’t sell in the shop, such as broken jewellery, gets sold on Ebay so that someone can re-use the stones. People even buy spoiled leather gloves to turn into dolls’shoes.” It strikes

me that shops such as these, where the stock is made or recycled must have a much lower carbon footprint than the usual pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap high street chain.

“It’s hard, because you can’t just pick up a catalogue and order in some stock - you have to go out and find it, continues Mary, “but it can be thrilling when you discover something special.

It’s romantic. Last year I found an old-fashioned makeup compact with a 20 year-old train ticket tucked inside.

Who was she? Where was she going with this beautiful compact in her handbag?”

Mary and Jade are just two of the traders doing things a little differently in Cobblestone Walk. Wendy’s Dress Agency, the second-hand boutique, specialises in evening wear, and Flicker rose, the shop at the very front of the arcade does a nice line in the kind of shabby chic accessories that make you want to redecorate your whole house.

On the way to my next stop in Storrington, I make a quick pit-stop at a personal favourite, American Folk Art at Sandhill Barn, just off the Washington roundabout. Sheila Boreland’s shop is just a few metres off the main road but its tucked away location meant that Sheila was hit hard by the bad weather and couldn’t even make it in to open the shop for the Christmas rush.

“Things are picking up again now,” she tells me, “but it’s been hard. I didn’t sell any of my Christmas stock.” This is a terrible shame because Sheila’s carved

wooden objects and shaker-style craft items are totally unique. She makes much of it herself or commissions local craftspeople to make her designs.

My last visit is to Storrington gallery, Nifty, owned and run by artist, Nigel Emery. Located at the bottom of the high street, Nigel’s huge oil paintings in the window are often a traffic-stopper. he works on his original pieces in the gallery and workshop area upstairs and has filled the shop area with handmade decorative objects, in a variety of different metals and carved woods.

The canvases are stunningly vibrant, and although Nigel is from Brighton, spending time in Storrington has really influenced his style. As well as his trademark fish and seascape paintings, he is now starting to produce more nature-themed pieces which reflect the Sussex countryside.

The thing that has struck me the most on my Sussex shopping tour is how carefully and thoughtfully the items in these lovely shops are sourced.

For the most part, the stock comes from small craftspeople, is recycled as vintage or handmade by the shop owners themselves, giving back to communities all along the supply chain and it’s a refreshing change from big business superstores. Interestingly, many of the retailers I’ve met can’t afford to work in their shops full time, even though they clearly have a passion for it. But all of them are hoping that as with local food, local people’s commitment to supporting high street businesses will grow and grow.

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   www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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18 • a fine vintage

Further afield...

NICHOLAS GENTLE PICTURE FRAMER Family Framers Since 1950  Fine

I

f you can’t find what you’re looking for on your doorstep, you can still spend your money in Sussex by heading off to one of the county’s best-kept secrets, Trading Boundaries at Fletching, East Sussex.

An easy 40 minute drive from Steyning, Trading Boundaries is an interesting blend of shopping and leisure.

Set in a collection of old brick and timbered buildings, it’s home to an eclectic selection of shops, a gorgeous cafécum-restaurant and a beautiful green courtyard space with a tasteful children’s playground.

Trading Boundaries in the brainchild of friends and business partners Michael Clifford and Tracy Thompson, whose mutual love of Indian culture led them to start importing some of the beautiful pieces they had discovered on their travels.

The pair opened for business thirteen years ago, selling their furniture from the main building, which was previously the Sheffield Arms pub. They soon expanded into the ramshackle collection of farm buildings next door, which they have painstaking converted into beautiful wooden barns grouped around a central shopping courtyard. There is a glamorous new furniture showroom, Logic, showcasing contemporary wooden furniture and my personal favourite, the Elephant Toy Shop, which has a brilliant selection of traditional wooden toys and the kind of craft kits.

Clothing boutique, Leaping Hare, does elegant country fashion whilst neighbouring shop, Miss Magpie, offers a good range of retro homewares. Loxfield Garden Centre completes the lineup with a range of funky garden accessories.

But the star of the show is the main showroom and café. There is room after room filled with stunning original Indian and Thai furniture and handcrafted accessories. The café is buzzy and beautifully done, just like the rest of the complex and it opens every Friday and Saturday night for dinner, live music and dancing.

With a jazz band being laid on in the courtyard over Easter and dogs welcome as well as children, it’s a trip worth making.

March 2010 • Village Living

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Art Trade Guild Commended Framer  Next day service available  Plenty of free parking

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DON’T MISS…

Flicker Rose & The Dress Agency in Cobblestone Walk, Steyning Bay Tree Trading & Henfield Antiques & Home, Henfield

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17/2/10 10:37:21

SAMnews Alex

Born and raised near Liverpool, Alex is a young, dynamic musician currently based in Brighton, having graduated with a BA in Music from the University of York and currently working towards an MA in music at the University of Sussex. he stumbled across music from a very young age rifling through his parent’s CD collection and working out how to read music via a hand-me-down Casio and some beginners keyboard books. he took up the saxophone aged 10, the flute at age 16 and since then the clarinet and both classical and folk harp. Not to mention singing! he believes the strength of his musicianship stems from his thorough classical training and grounding in the repertoire, combined with his breadth of knowledge and experience across many other genres, from jazz to pop to gospel, musical theatre and opera.

As an instrumentalist he has performed extensively both solo and with various orchestras, jazz ensembles, contemporary music groups, and in pit bands for numerous community and university-level musical theatre productions. he also currently performs as part of Brighton-based collective The Little Big Band.

As a singer he has studied under Yvonne Seymour, Peter Seymour, Marcia Bellamy, James gilchrist and Louise gibbs. he has performed both solo and as part of choirs in performances ranging from chamber repertoire, large choral works, gospel and in several musical theatre productions, most recently playing the part of Jamie in Jason robert Brown’s The Last Five Years as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe 2009.

Alex is also currently working as a freelance composer.

Book a lesson with Alex or one of SAM’s many qualified tutors on 0800 756 9411 or www.sussexmusic.com

Why is OOMOO organic?

M

ost people believe in the benefits of organic food, but don’t think twice about using strong chemicals on their skin and hair, even though skin is the body’s largest organ and absorbs anything we use to treat it. I’m so passionate about the benefits of organic and natural products that it made sense to me to find the safest and kindest products available without compromising on quality. The result is OOMOO – a salon where you can be pampered from top to toe and still know that every product we use will be good for you.

Our stylists and beauty therapists have also noticed the difference – soft smooth hands and no nasty chemicals to breathe every day. More importantly, we’ve also noticed that our organic hair colour ranges give consistently better results than conventional colour treatments, in terms of depth of colour and shine. They are the best products I’ve used in my 25 years as a stylist. recently I’ve teamed up with Trevor Sorbie’s charity, My New hair, which helps women suffering from cancer to get appropriate hair treatments and bespoke wigs. As a fully-trained My New hair stylist, it’s even more important to me that I can look after everyone who comes to the salon using natural products that really work.

The organic theme is continued throughout the salon. We might be organic but we love a bit of indulgence. Our Chocolate Therapy room is full of naughty but nice treatments and delicious chocolatebased products and our new therapists, Alison and Carol, are waiting to welcome you, including any OOMAN who might need a bit of TLC. And is organic OOMOO more expensive than a conventional salon? Surprisingly, not a bit. We look after you with all-natural products in our friendly and discreet salon while you look after the pennies.

Don’t hesitate to give Julie or Christine a call to discuss your requirements or drop in to make an appointment. Our door is always open and you’ll receive a warm organic welcome.

Visit Oomoo Organic Hair Salon at www.oomoo.biz or call 01903 745616

OOMAN! Don’t be shy.

We offer a range of specialist men’s skin & hair treatments. www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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Village Living • March 2010

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21 • BACK IN TIME

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22 • try BACK something IN TIME new

Fitness Gets Personal Editor, Melissa Love can’t avoid her New Year’s resolutions any longer

I

f the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then my road to the gym is littered with Christmas chocolates, too many roast dinners and a few glasses of wine at the weekend. I’ve certainly run out of excuses for not going and the old “it’s just baby weight” argument doesn’t really wash when you’ve got a nearly two-year-old.

So it has to be done: diet, exercise and clean living are on the agenda. But I know myself well. I’ll be full of enthusiasm for a few weeks and then one day, it will be raining or I’ll feel too tired and I’ll tell myself it’s ok to stay at home and anyway, who eats a salad in the winter… and the rot will set in.

There’s nothing for it but to shame myself into persevering with the new regime by making a public declaration of intent and where better place to start than right here? Like all journalists, I work better with a deadline looming, so I have decided to put my money where my mouth is and sign up for the Great London Swim in July – a one mile thrash through the waters of Canary Wharf, hopefully raising a bit of money for charity along the way.

Rather embarrassingly, a veritable army of trainers, nutritionists and coaches have stepped forward to offer their services to me (I’m clearly a desperate case!) So join me on the road to fitness over the next few months and if you see me in the gym or in the pool, don’t hesitate to give me a hard time if I look like I’m taking it too easy.

March 2010 • Village Living

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Session 1 It’s the first of my sessions at Chanctonbury Sports & Leisure in Storrington with my new personal trainer, Alex. I’ve got mixed feeling about personal training. I can’t decide if it’s the kind of thing a pampered celebrity might indulge in or whether it’s for people who are too lazy to exercise without someone standing over them. I suspect it’s the latter and as I dig out my old gym trainers, I realise that the last time I put them on was during an ill-advised bout of military fitness in Hove Park in 2007. This is not to say I’ve not been active, but work and running around after small children doesn’t really count as training.

Luckily for me, it’s a gentle start, as all courses of personal training start with a fitness assessment. I’m actually a bit nervous about the whole exercise/tight-fitting clothing/ fitness-test-thing but when I walk into the gym at Chanctonbury Leisure, I start to relax immediately. It has all the latest kit, but without the usual lycra-clad fitties trying to do outdo each other. In fact it’s the least intimidating gym I’ve ever been to. For a start, there’s a great mix of ages and everyone is dressed casually in comfortable clothing. There’s not a leotard in sight.

Alex starts by taking my vital statistics – blood pressure (fine), weight (unprintable) and percentage of body fat.

Considering the amount of roast potatoes I’ve eaten over Christmas, I’m pretty sure that the fancy-looking machine that Alex hooks me up to is going to reveal I’m halfwoman, half lard. Surprisingly, it’s only 28%, which squeaks into the normal range. All is not lost.

We work our way around the equipment, testing my strength and co-ordination.

In fact, it’s all pretty relaxing and when we come to do a few stretching and balancing exercises, I feel quite smug when Alex tells me that my bendiness and balance is above average. He goes on to explain that with no obvious weaknesses in my general bodily fitness, there will be no need to go easy on me at all.

Gulp. Still, although I haven’t actually done any exercise yet, I feel all wholesome and healthy, and on the way home I buy a packet of sunflower seeds to eat instead of crisps and keep my trainers on till bedtime. The small children in my house are very impressed by this and keep asking me if I am going running. They’ve obviously never seen me in exercise clothing before.

Oh dear.

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17/2/10 10:37:25

23 • BACK IN TIME

Session 2 It’s my first session of proper training and I’m feeling confident. After all, I am only 28% fat and apparently quite bendy. Alex has used a secret formula to work out exactly the right amount of punishment – I mean exercises – I should do and we dive straight in with the cross-trainer. It’s a kind of no-impact running machine and I manage the requisite 5 minutes fairly well, then complete 500 metres on the rowing machine without too much huffing and puffing.

We tackle arms first using all the different machines. I’m definitely pushing myself a lot harder then I would on my own and there is no dallying between exercises. I’m properly warmed up now and Alex takes me into the weights room. To be honest I’ve never really fancied the weights room in a gym before. It’s usually where all the grunting, barrel-chested muscle types hang out, but here there are just a couple of exceptionally polite teenagers, chatting and lifting weights. hmmm, the equipment in here looks fairly innocuous. Alex leads me to a set of coloured steps and hands me a small weight for each hand.

The exercise is simple. Step on the box, step off the box, working each leg in turn. By the sixth step-up I’m a bit wobbly and by the twelfth and final step-up I’m the one doing the grunting. Now I have it do all again on the other leg.

It’s straight on to some squats with a Swiss ball balanced between me and the wall.

We do this step-up and ball sequence several times, but to be honest it all passes in a bit of a blur, and by the end I’m glad to have a lie-down whilst Alex helps me with my stretches. I’m even bendier than before and I feel amazing.

I go home and eat a salad.

The Day after Session 2 Can’t walk down the stairs.

Even my toddler walks to school faster than I can.

Session 3 Due to bad planning and a complete lack of forethought, an hour before I am due for my third session of personal training, I’m at a wine tasting at Bolney vineyard, sipping delicious English bubbly in the watery winter sunshine.

If ever there was a moment to skip a workout, it’s now.

The problem is I’ve grown to really like Alex. he’s quite the politest young man I have ever met and I can’t bear to let him down. This is a big step for me, because I’m pretty sure I have never been to a gym session before when I really didn’t feel like it. And it turns out I’m the first client he’s ever had who’s come straight from a wine tasting. To keep me on my toes this time, he saves the step-up-and-ball business until last. It’s still bad and I have heavier weights this time. I’m only doing it for Alex.

Afterwards though, I feel great and it’s already clear that I have achieved more in just two sessions than I would have done in a whole month of working out on my own. Alex is more than just a celebrity accessory – I need him!

Alex’s report card Melissa is typical of mums who lead busy lives juggling family and work. With so little time to exercise it’s really important to be doing the right things – quality is better than quanity! her biggest problem will be staying motivated and thinking she is too busy to keep it up. One of the best ways to keep on track is to book a regular Personal Training session.

I’ve seen Melissa make real progress in a very short space of time. Seeing the surprise on Melissa’s face as I performed a PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretch on her hamstring was probably one of my highlights. Don’t worry about her slacking off from her new healthy training schedule. I’ll be keeping a close eye on her!

Personal training can help you break through barriers that seem almost impossible whilst training alone It’s a great way to decrease body fat, increase strength, develop core stability, tone up & relieve stress. £23 a session – Elite members don’t pay an entry fee Pay as you go members £4.80 Concessions £3.80 Non members £7.50 For further information, call Chanctonbury Sports & Leisure on 01903 746070.

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               

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www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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Village Living • March 2010

17/2/10 10:37:26

24 • rEADEr’S BACK IN TIME rESTAUrANT rEvIEW

Reader Review

The Bull Henfield

Grace, aged 4½

A

fter five separate recommendations from appreciative parents, I was very keen to visit The Bull, located just outside henfield on the road to Partridge green. Not only does The Bull have a reputation for being particularly child-friendly, it’s Sussex’s only pizza pub.

If a review is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly, so armed with a variety of toddlers, four year-olds and several slightly frazzled parents, we headed over to the pub to see if it could hold the attention of our motley crew.

The Bull isn’t a newly-madeover gastro pub; it’s got real character.

With exposed brickwork and a lovely traditional bar, it’s buzzy and friendly and clearly popular with local families.

Cleverly, most of parties with kids in tow were seated in the airy extension – good news for child-free drinkers.

The menu is Italian from start to finish, with an offer of olives as you are seated. There are plenty of garlicky breads to keep children satisfied until the food arrives and the house speciality is the wide range of gourmet pizzas, all cooked in a traditional pizza oven. With pizzas for one person around the £6 mark and the large size around £11, the menu is well priced for a casual family meal. There are plenty of old favourites – Four Seasons, Meat Feast etc – but intriguingly there were a few more March 2010 • Village Living

Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 24

experimental combinations like the ‘Quackers’ pizza, which featured crispy duck and hoisin sauce. We weren’t game to try it, but we did plump for the daily special of ‘Spanish’ pizza.

Spaghetti with Meatballs and ‘Build your own’ pizza were perfect choices for the kids and in a bid to give the wider menu a fair go, we also ordered the BBQ rack of Spare ribs.

The Bull has been owned and run

by Brian and Zoe Snell for nine years, and despite Zoe being hospitalised following a skiing accident the week before, Brian still found time to pop out and say hello. he and Zoe have worked hard to improve the pub over the past few years, installing a children’s play area and a traditional skittle alley in the adjoining function room which is proving a big draw for family parties and nights out.

Our food arrived to cries of ‘yummy yummy’ and that was just the adults.

The pizza toppings were generous and the ingredients used clearly of very high quality. grace, 4½, declared

her children’s pizza to be ‘full of tasty things’ and ‘just the right size’ and the BBQ rack of ribs was a big hit with the grown-ups.

I’m sorry to say that some bad behaviour resulted in the withdrawal of ice-cream privileges for certain members of the party, but the dessert menu is extensive. As well as naughty-looking children’s banana splits which we saw passing our table, we would have been tempted by the Ultimate Chocolate Cake and the Icky Sticky Toffee Pudding if time and tantrums had allowed.

As it was, the young and very helpful staff coped admirably with our noisy table and didn’t even flinch when two members of our party decided to do their colouring-in under the dining table. I suspect The Bull comes into its own in the summer with the large garden being the main attraction, but on a wintry February day, it still hit the spot with young and old alike.

Could you be next month’s food reviewer?

In 50 words or less, write and tell us why you could be our Michael Winner. Send your entries to info@villageliving.biz or to the address at the front of the magazine.

www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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3

25 • BACK IN TIME

Jamie’s Italian Black Lion Street, Brighton.

BN1 1ND. 01273 915480

OF THE BEST… PLACES TO TAKE KIDS

Friendly, bustling & with impeccable Italian credentials in the form of genaro Contaldo, Jamie’s Italian has raised the bar when it comes to smart casual dining in Brighton.

Surprisingly child-friendly, the theatrical layout and the fact that the wholesome but tasty kid’s menu is presented in the form of an old-fashioned ‘viewfinder’ keeps families coming back for more.

Teddy’s Café East Street, Shoreham-by-Sea. 01273 441186 A Shoreham institution, Teddy’s Café, with its window full of teddy bears and its to-die-for cake is a haven for local mums and local businesspeople popping out for light lunch. The menu features plenty of organic snacks perfect for children. The only thing missing is the large teddy bears who used to be strapped to the bollards outside until a local resident complained.

Wiston Tea Rooms Hole Street, Wiston. 01903 812736 Part tea rooms, part farm, part post office, Wiston Tea rooms is a curious mix, but a surefire draw for kids who need to let off a bit of steam. The tea rooms serves traditional sandwiches, cakes & kid’s fare but backs onto a lovely tiered garden with an assortment of farm animals looking on, toys to play with and ducks paddling in the stream running through the garden.

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        

 

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 www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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Village Living • March 2010

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March 2010 • Village Living

Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 26

www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

17/2/10 10:37:42

27 • BACK IN TIME

I

’ve chosen this dish for Mothers’ Day because every mum deserves a treat and this tasty elegant starter will be sure to do the trick. Add sauté pototoes and a lovely little leaf salad to turn it into a luxurious main course.

Seared King Scallops with a slow roasted tomato compote & vanilla butter Nick Cain

Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Lift out and place in cold water. Once cold, the skins should peel off easily. halve, scoop out the seeds and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, scatter over sliced garlic & thyme leaves, sugar and salt & pepper. Bake in a very slow oven until the tomatoes have reduced in size by at least half and are very soft and gooey, for at least 2 hours. Pulse in a blender & leave to cool.

Sear the trimmed scallops in a very hot pan, with a little olive oil.

Place them presentation side down to get the best result. Don’t shake or move the pan, but after a minute place a knob of the vanilla butter in the pan. Let the butter bubble, turn the scallops & cook for another minute.

Scallops, trimmed, 3 per person 500g tomatoes 3 garlic cloves Thyme leaves Sugar Unsalted butter mixed with the scrapings of a fresh vanilla pod Olive oil Salt & pepper

Place the tomato confit on the plate, arrange your scallops & garnish with crème fraiche & some dressed leaves.

Recipe courtesy of Cromwells at Golding Barn, Henfield Road, nr Small Dole. Tel 01903 815999 www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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Village Living • March 2010

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Advert.qxp:Village Living 2009

14/10/09

13:03

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50 High Street, Steyning • 01903 815045 www.thesussexproducecompany.co.uk Open: Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm Saturday 8.00am to 4.00pm

Award Winning Veg Box Scheme Available Prices start at £12.50. Phone or pop in for details.

“A simply fabulous shop” BBC’s Carol Klein

Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 28

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29 • BACK IN TIME

29 • SUSSEX IN SEASON

Rhubarb Nick Hempleman Owner of The Sussex Produce Company, award winning produce store in Steyning, West Sussex.

T

he shocking pink stems of forced rhubarb are a welcome sight in March and the very best is grown

by Oldroyd & Sons, located in Yorkshire’s famous ‘rhubarb triangle’. rhubarb is actually a vegetable rather than a fruit and clever chefs have paired it successfully with oily foods like pork or mackerel but for my money, nothing beats a rhubarb crumble.

Forced rhubarb is grown outside and then transplanted into forcing sheds when it is two or three years old and when it has never been cut. This ensures that maximum energy is stored in the roots.

Once in the forcing sheds, all light is kept out and the growing stems take on a wonderful pink colour and a sweet flavour. harvesting is done by hand and by candlelight so as not to taint the other plants. rhubarb, like wild salmon – another pink British delicacy – pays for its gastronomic qualities with its life.

The shocking pink stems of forced rhubarb are a welcome sight in March and the very best is grown by Oldroyd & Sons, located in Yorkshire’s famous ‘rhubarb triangle’.

Once it has been ‘forced’ the root is so exhausted that it dies.

All of this of course makes forced rhubarb more expensive than rhubarb grown outside, which appears later in the year, but the sweet taste and the colour lift our hearts, especially when we compare it to the colour of the sky above!

For more information visit: www.yorkshirerhubarb.co.uk

www.villageliving.biz | tel: 01903 814092

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Village Living • March 2010

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17/2/10 10:38:05

31 • hENNINgS WINES

My Sherry Amour

h

ow did you spend last Tuesday?

Working, shopping, a day off perhaps? I was working, but not by everyone’s standards – I had the pleasure of attending a wine tasting held by one of our suppliers. however many tastings one attends the format is generally the same: a purposefully impressive location, some tables covered in temporarily white cloths, an assortment of palate cleansing snacks and lots of wine. Sometimes you’ll get to meet a heroic winemaker and try one of their legendary wines and you’ll invariably have to duck and dive out of the way of sales reps trying to get you to try the ‘next big thing’.

Working my way around the room I tried a vast array of wines – some good, some bad. I tasted and analyzed them all, taking great delight in noting their merits and shortcomings. In reality I was biding my time, waiting for my opportunity to pounce on something that I was aching to try. Was it the 1987 Barbaresco or perhaps the 1988 Chambertin? It may surprise you to hear that it was neither. It was in fact a table of sherry.

Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 31

Let me get one thing clear: there is mass-produced sherry just like there is with all other wines and then there is real sherry. real sherry is crafted with meticulous care around the town of Jerez de la Frontera from the Palomino Fino grape. The soils here are not dissimilar to those of Champagne and just like those soils in France, it is the chalkiness that gives sherry its special character, along with the traditional manufacturing process.

This collection of sherry was a table of beauty, elegance, style, grace and purity. Offering the sort of value that anyone who enjoys drinking wine craves, I began to taste. First up was the Fernando de Castilla Classic Manzanilla (£10.99), a wonderfully clean, fine dry sherry that has a salty tang thanks to spending its infancy in the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Moving onto the Classic Fino (£10.99) I have to say I was amazed. What a glass of wine. It was crisp, dry, yeasty, tangy and had lovely nuttiness – best consumed like a white wine, chilled and within a few days of opening! My next taste was of the Fernando Antique

Matt Parkinson Olorosso (£22.99), an old Fino that has developed in barrel without a protective covering of yeast. Wow! rich, nutty, complex with aromas of raisins and an old house! I moved through the entire range of around 10 wines, every one of them superb including the spectacular award winning Antique Palo Cortado.

After exalting these wines I had some lunch, waited a little and went back to try them again – a first for me at a tasting. As we search for new and exciting wines from far flung corners of the globe there is a danger of overlooking the quality that’s on our doorstep. A world-class wine that will match so many foods for £10.99 – how can you possibly refuse?

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17/2/10 10:38:08

33 • BACK IN TIME

33 • DrINK LOCAL

The Bolney Wine Estate

at Bookers Vineyard

I

t’s taken a while for the general public to catch on to English wine, but it turns out we’ve been making it here for nearly 2,000 years. Along with straight roads and indoor plumbing, the romans also brought grapevines which flourished in the then-balmy English climate. A nasty cold spell lasting a couple of hundred years and a snobbish obsession with French wine put paid to all of that – the last of Britain’s vineyards was finally grubbed over for food during the first World War. They might have been gone, but they were not forgotten. In 1972, Sussexbased businessman, rodney Pratt bought Bookers’ Chicken Farm near Bolney and turned it into a vineyard.

Convinced that the British climate was similar to germany, rodney planted Muller-Thurgau, Dornfelder and the hardy Siberian rondo across his three acres. Within a few years, he was producing 8,000 bottles a year for his family and friends, with a few left over to sell to local wine buffs.

It wasn’t until daughter Sam expressed an interest in joining the business that the vineyard began to expand. A stint at nearby Plumpton College to study winemaking convinced her that other wine styles could work

Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 33

and the family set about acquiring and planting a further thirty-six acres with a range of grapes including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Although the vineyard is now ten times its original size, it’s still a family affair, with a small team of permanent employees. During harvest the grapes are picked by hand and processed that same day. Winemaker Sam confirms that harvest sees the team working flat out for three weeks to make sure the grapes are pressed at their peak.

“It’s very demanding,” she says, “but we all pull together and although working with your family has its moments, we’re able to support each other during tough times.”

After a luxury tour of the vineyard and winery, we sit down for a slapup lunch and the chance to try some award-winning wines.

As do most Sussex vineyards, The Bolney Wine Estate produces very

high quality sparkling wines, with this year’s rosé, Bart’s Bubbly, tipped to win some prizes. Unusually for the UK, the Estate produces several decent red wines, their signature red being Dark harvest, a smoky blend with plenty of raspberry flavours. My favourite though, is their fruity white, Autumn Spice. A dry, german-style wine with grapefruit aromas and a hint of elderflower, I can imagine it would be the perfect accompaniment to spicy food though I seem to be quaffing it quite happily on its own.

The Bolney Wine Estate at Bookers Vineyard run tours & tastings most weekends throughout the year, with added mid week dates in the summer and autumn months.

Book a place or order a case by calling 01444 881894 or visit www.bookersvineyard. co.uk.

Beer For A Year!

Hepworth’s will be keeping the readers of Village Living in beer for a year. A different winner each month will win a case of 12 Hepworth’s ales. To be in with a chance just answer the following question: Name 3 grape varieties grown at Bookers Vineyard.

Send answers to info@villageliving.biz or to the address at the front of the magazine for your chance to win. Closing date 31st March, 2010.

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F

35 • BACK IN TIME

35 • gArDENINg

Air miles Bruce Jordan from the Big Plant Nursery

I

helping sustain poor communities that otherwise have little or no other source of income. Environmentally you are encouraging local people to value some of their natural resources and manage them in a sustainable way.

Secondly moving goods around in shipping containers is one of the most carbon efficient forms of transport.

Sometimes small quantities are shipped by air but even then we are sharing space with scheduled passenger flights.

I’ve also been accused of tearing across Europe burning up valuable fuel to collect plants from Spain and Italy but we’re usually filling space in trucks that have already delivered and are empty and looking for a load to bring back to the UK. There I’m feeling much better now I’ve put pen to paper. I do confess having to fly around the world visiting fellow colleagues at their nurseries on my continual quest to have such a wide range of wonderful plants available for your garden. It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it!

t would be wonderful if my nursery could produce and grow everything we sell but due in no small amount to the vagaries of the British climate and constraints on time, we are forced to search for supplies elsewhere.

Increasingly this journey has taken us overseas. Our ever shrinking planet and the relative ease in dealing in the global marketplace is helping us make contact with fellow growers abroad. I’ve just been totting up where we have sourced from in the last few years: Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Israel, Morocco, Thailand, Spain, Italy, Belgium, germany, holland, Canada and Chile spring to mind.

Shocking! I hear you say. What about all the fossil fuel being used, creating ugly carbon footprints everywhere? I’ve pondered this matter many times and have spoken to others more informed than me about such things and a number of interesting points came to light.

Firstly, by buying plant material direct from growers you are often

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Ta

37 • BACK IN TIME

37 • TALK MONEY

Talk Money

Claire Cook from independent mortgage and financial advisers Talk Money, gives essential advice...

Is it time to remortgage?

S

ince the Bank of England reduced the base rate to 0.5%, the remortgage market has changed. Many mortgage borrowers have finished on their fixed rates, and have seen a big reduction in their monthly outgoings. Many have reverted to tracker rates, which track the Bank of England base rate.

Others have gone onto their lender’s standard variable rate. Either way, many have seen a good reduction in their payments.

This has changed the market for remortgages, as many people have no longer sought the next deal. In fact they have been better off staying where they are. Things could be changing though.

The Bank of England has not increased the base rate, however, you may be surprised to know that some lenders have increased their own standard variable rates. So, depending which type of rate you have, you could see your payments increasing more quickly than expected.

Tracker rates If you are on a tracker deal, your rate will follow the Bank of England base rate. This cannot be altered by your lender, they have to abide by their original offer to you. So, for example, your offer could say that when your fixed rate ends your mortgage would be charged at bank base rate + 2% for the remaining term of your mortgage. Your lender has no choice but to honour this, meaning that your mortgage would currently be charged at 2.5%. Your rate is in the hands of the Bank of England, not your own lender.

Standard Variable Rate These are the rates which the lenders can control, they set the rates themselves. Normally they rise and fall broadly in line with the Bank of England rate, but in recent times lenders have been very different in how they have dealt with the rate cuts. Some passed the full rate cuts on, and others did not. Now, some are actually increasing their rates. The people this will affect are borrowers on discounted deals, or borrowers who have finished their initial rate, and are paying the standard rate.

So, if you are on a variable rate deal, which is not a tracker, you could

find that your lender may make an increase. Is it time to start looking at your options?

How long to stick at base rate?

It has made financial sense for people to stick with the variable rates, but there always comes a time for a review. Many people will be prompted when their lender actually increases their payments. There will be a point, however, when it would be wise to fix your mortgage rate for the future, whilst rates are low. Currently many new borrowers (purchasers) are taking fixed rate mortgages. I wonder when existing mortgage holders will start jumping on the bandwagon.

If you need advice on mortgages or any other financial matter, please call me Claire Cook on 01273 224667.

We offer a free initial consultation and independent financial advice.

Buy to let mortgages are not regulated by the Finanicial Services Authority. Talk Money is a trading style of Best Practice IFA group Ltd, which is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. If you prefer to pay a fee for advice this option is available, the exact amount of the fee will depend on circumstances but we estimate it will be 0.5% of the loan amount. Where a rate is quoted the rate will depend on individual circumstances and not all borrowers will qualify for acceptance of the loan (or similar).Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

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17/2/10 10:38:13

39 • MIND & BODY

Mind & Body Chris Jones Cognitive Therapist and Mind Coach, Southdowns hypnotherapy

Are you ready to quit smoking?

M

arch 10th is National No Smoking Day. I have read that some 40% of smokers would actually like to quit, but do not believe that it is an achievable aim.

Many people turn to hypnotherapy, once they have unsuccessfully tried patches, gum, willpower etc. The reason why hypnotherapy can be so effective is that it deals with the mind at a sub-conscious level, which is where the psychological factors that prevent individuals from quitting exist.

During the questioning session, various factors are identified, such as why previous methods have failed.

The most common reason is stress; usually a very stressful event, during which the individual concerned still sub-consciously believes that a cigarette will calm him down and thereby solve the problem. hypnosis can be used to change beliefs and attitudes to overcome this.

It is common for clients to never again have to face cravings, or withdrawal symptoms, as the power of suggestion can be used to eliminate them permanently; making the transition to smoking easier than most people would believe possible.

Individuals’ motivations and fears can be used in the process, by getting the client to imagine a future either as a smoker, or as a non-smoker and get a taste of what either option could bring in the medium to long term. This becomes a very powerful motivator. habit patterns also have to be addressed. Take away the average 20 smoking periods per day and you leave 20 gaps. This opens up the possibility of snacking, or creating a feeling of missing something, so measures have to be taken to create new healthy habits instead of the old. hypnotherapy needs to treat every aspect of the smoking habit for it to be effective and permanent. Suggestions are implanted that will anticipate and prevent any potential side-effects; such as weight-gain. however, it is important that the individual is ready and in the right state of mind to quit, because, contrary to public belief, it is possible to reject suggestions made under hypnosis. however, the results can be remarkable.

I have had many clients who comment that the transition to not smoking was easy and painless.

Chris is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist, NLP Master Practitioner and Sports Performance Mind Coach.

He became involved with mind techniques while practicing martial arts in his younger days.

He subsequently became interested in the concept of using them to help people and found that Hypnotherapy provided the ideal tools for this work. He is based in Storrington, where he works alongside his wife, Cathy (also a Hypnotherapist), who specialises in weight-loss.

Visit: www.chrisjones.uk.com or contact him on 01903 745606.

Chris Jones

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17/2/10 10:38:14

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         

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      

             

                    

 



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

 

  

  

      



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         

   

 Village Living 6 40pp AW.indd 40

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  



                                    

            

    

   17/2/10 10:38:18