Sussex Local - Midhurst/Petworth - January 2019

January 2019

SUSSEX LOCAL

Midhurst - Petworth - Easebourne - Duncton - Heyshott

Local news and events through the door to 4,750 homes in this area every month

LITTLE LIFE SAVERS Lifesaving training for children

WHAT’S ON January Events

WIN!

Tickets to Prized Possessions exhibition at Petworth House Decluttering Session

GARDENS

Yin & Yang

NEWS

Community, School Council, Charity

HEALTH

New Year Resolutions

PLUS

Events, Local Walks, Recipe, Prize Crossword, Charity, Young Readers’ Puzzles, Local News, Gardening, Business Directory

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January 2019 Cover image Lavington Common www.robertmaynardphotography.com

Welcome... ...to the very first issue of Sussex Local Midhurst and Petworth edition. We are delighted to make your acquaintance and hope you will enjoy reading us every month.

So, what do we have to offer? The What’s On guide (pages 4 -10) has plenty of local events with many more to be found on our website. Local school news on page 14 with other local updates in the Charity & Community section starting on page 20.

This month’s main feature covers the amazing charity Little Life Savers, which was started in Storrington but is now rolling out across the country. Its purpose is to teach youngsters the basics of emergency first aid and CPR. See page 26.

We run regular reader competitions - this month we have tickets for the Dutch Masterpieces exhibition at Petworth Park on page 24 to give away; plus you can win a fabulous home de-clutter session on page 13 with hSpace declutterers.

4 ..........................................................................What’s On 13 .......................................................Win a House de-clutter 14 ............................................................Local schools news 16 ............................................Young Readers’ Puzzle Page 18 ........................................................................Local Walks 20 .........................................................Charity & Community 24 .............Win tickets to the Prized Possessions exhibition 26 ......................................Charity Profile - Little Life Savers 29 ...........................................................The Property Doctor 30 ................................................................Midhurst History 32 .................................................................Prize Crossword 33 ...........................................................Health & Wellbeing 34 ....................................................................In Your Garden 37 .............................................................Business Directory 38 ...........................................................Index of Advertisers February booking deadline 2nd Jan Kay Publishing Ltd PO Box 2237 Pulborough RH20 9AH info@sussexlocal.net www.sussexlocal.net

01903 868474

Established in 2007, we publish and hand-deliver seven editions free of charge to over 42,000 homes and businesses every month.

Display advertising starts at just £24 a month per edition.

Business Directory £10 per month per edition. We welcome reader letters and community notices which we publish free of charge.

Local historian David Johnston tells us about Lurgashall Mill on page 30, and our Health article on page 33 looks at how to get those new year resolutions to stick.

Whatever is your own particular focus for 2019, we wish you well in your endeavours.

Please do get in touch with feedback, ideas and, of course, your charity, community and club events and news, all of which we publish free of charge.

Kris & Jeff Quote of the month “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR Disclaimer - Whilst advertisements are printed in good faith, Sussex Local (Kay Publishing Ltd) is an independent company and does not endorse products or services that appear in this magazine. Sussex Local cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions or claims made by contributors.

The views and opinions of contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Seven editions across West Sussex Arundel - Arundel, Amberley, Burpham, Climping, Fontwell, Ford, Slindon, Walberton & Yapton Total addresses - 6,400 Barnham - Barnham, Eastergate, Westergate, Aldingbourne, Oving, & Tangmere Total addresses - 5,400 Chichester - Chichester centre & suburbs Total addresses - 7,800 Findon - Findon Valley, Findon Village, Nepcote, High Salvington, Clapham & Patching plus Salvington/Selden (south of A27) Total addresses - 6,200 Midhurst & Petworth - Midhurst, Petworth, Easebourne Total addresses - 4,750 rising to 7,600 from April 2019 Pulborough - Pulborough, Bury, Coldwaltham, Fittleworth, Marehill, Nutbourne, Stopham, West Chiltington village and Common. Total addresses - 5,500 Storrington - Storrington, Ashington, Cootham Thakeham, Sullington & Washington. Total addresses - 6,400

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What’s On

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What’s On

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Personal Local Travel Service

“Michelle is the most pleasant and helpful agent I have ever had the pleasure of booking our holidays through. Will definitely continue using and recommending her.” Susanne Stern 27/11/18

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What’s On

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10 What’s On

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12 Recipe

SUSSEX LOCAL

French Onion Soup Ideal for a cold winter evening Ingredients - serves 4 

75g butter



1 tbsp oil



450g onions, peeled and thinly sliced



Salt and black pepper



900ml -1.2 litres good beef stock



8 slices French bread



1 clove garlic, crushed



25-50g Gruyere cheese, grated

Method 1) Heat one third of the butter with the oil in a large pan and fry the onions very gently (about 20 mins) until golden brown and very tender. Add the seasoning and stock and simmer gently for 35-40 minutes. Occasionally skim off the fat with a large flat spoon.

2) Meanwhile blend the remaining butter with the garlic and spread it onto the French bread. Bake at 170C/325F/gas Mark 3 until crisp and golden, about 20 minutes.

3) To serve sprinkle the bread with the cheese and place one in each bowl of soup. If you use heatproof serving dishes you could put the bowls with their croutons under a hot grill until golden, just before serving.

Cookery Courses for all Why not give a Voucher for the perfect gift?

Contact Alex 01243 532240 www.cookwithalex.co.uk

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Competition

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Win a three hour decluttering session with hspace Get organised in the new year!

Hspace is based in West Sussex and specialises in decluttering and organising homes and small offices. The business was started by Helen Clutton who believes that living in an ordered environment can relieve stress, save money and help people move forward in life.

Helen and her colleague Gilly start the process by removing everything from the target space. Everything is then sorted into categories which helps clients see how much of any one thing they own. Helen will then commence the decluttering process, by asking some simple questions.

Every single item is considered in turn and the client always has the final say about what goes and what stays. The discarded items are taken away for recycling or disposal and everything the client chooses to keep will be organised and returned to the room.

Hspace can help you: • Transform almost any space • Prepare your home for sale and photos

•Declutter and reorganise wardrobes etc •Prepare for downsizing from a large home •Sensitively sort through following a bereavement This system works in any room, whatever it is used for. Clients say that the results far exceed their expectations and they are thrilled with the sense of wellbeing that decluttering and reorganising brings.

Contact Helen: helenc@hspace.co.uk or for more details www.hspace.co.uk Sort your space, free your mind!

Win a decluttering session To enter the competition answer the question below: Q: Where is hspace based? a) West Sussex b) East Sussex c) Surrey Send your answer and contact details to: hspace Competition, PO Box 2237, Pulborough, RH20 9AH or enter online at www.sussexlocal.net/features/ competitions Winner drawn after 31st January 2019. Please indicate if you wish to remain on our mailing list.

SUSSEX LOCAL

14 Schools

Midhurst Rother College Petworth C of E Charity week

Ethos of learning

Midhurst Rother College has always been profoundly charity-minded in my experience; thinking back to my lower years in the school, we enjoyed the highly anticipated annual ‘Charities Week’ in which the usual excitement of ‘sponging the teacher’ and the fancy dress competition dominated the school week.

As a new year hits us it is great to reflect on a very successful autumn term, as well as look forward to the many events we have planned for the coming term. Our ethos at Petworth C of E Primary School is to ensure our curriculum engages every child and that there is not just a focus on English and Maths.

I fully understand why schools would focus heavily on English and Maths, as these are the subjects on which schools are judged, with the end of key stage tests and progression scores. In any profession in the world, if you are being judged on just three areas (in education it is reading, writing and maths) then why wouldn’t you focus on these areas? Businesses would not deviate and ensure they did nothing but what they are judged on. Thankfully we are not a business and we believe it is essential that children should learn essential skills in all areas of school life, be it the curriculum, social or spiritual skills.

The events have since developed with fresh ideas over the years and now, as a Sixth Former, I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to be at the forefront of this. Our first assignment as the fresh batch of Year 12 students was to organise the events of Children in Need back in November, so a group of us put our heads together and concocted a plan.

The cake sale and own clothes went down a storm, unsurprisingly, as the whole school swarmed to the stand to enjoy the treats which sold out incredibly quickly and all donated £1 to wear whatever they so wished. There were also some popular activities such as the Mario Kart tournament, crash mat surfing (which, for anybody that doesn’t know, consists of the students throwing themselves at a crash mat in an effort to push it as far as possible across the Sports Hall) and the three-legged teachers’ race- an extremely amusing phenomenon to watch as various staff members fought it out to become the winner to the delight of multitudes of students donating to watch the events unfurl.

Our first charity event as the new faces of the Sixth Form was complete and had been a huge success with a grand total of £1,300 raised for this vital charity. Now, all we must do is live up to the benchmark set out by ourselves and hopefully make every event even greater than the last to raise awareness and funds for the charities we support.

Sophie Cooke, Year 12 student www.mrc-academy.org

The origin of the word ‘school’ comes from the Greek word ‘skhole' and originally meant leisure, free time.

Therefore it is imperative that we try to make school fun and put in the foundations for children to want to learn, which will help them develop in all aspects of their life, including in their leisure time. That is why the activities we have planned for our children must have an element of fun, but be challenging, as even in our free time we want to be challenged of which there are endless examples e.g. participating in sport, reading a book, exploring a new computer game.

Sharing what happens in our school is essential, to give people an insight in to how different schools are in the 21st century. Therefore we are very grateful to have this opportunity to write an article for this magazine and be at the start of something very exciting as we share with a wider audience about life at our school.

John Galvin, Headteacher, Petworth C of E Primary School www.petworth.w-sussex.sch.uk

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Easebourne School

Charity work, tea parties & bats Every other year, a team of adults and our older children from the school join the Big Sleepout outside Chichester Cathedral to raise money for Stonepillow, a wonderful charity that supports the homeless in the area. This year was our third sleepout and we fundraised in earnest, raising almost £1,400!

In Key Stage 1, children from Hedgehogs and Squirrels held a tea party for their grandparents to find out about how their childhood was different from their own and share childhood photographs. The children wrote invitations and developed their cooking skills by making fairy cakes for the guests to enjoy. Our oldest two classes, Foxes and Otters, enjoyed their residential to Gaveston Hall and enjoyed a range of activities including river walking and climbing.

Meanwhile, children from Otters Class found a bat in their class bin! Mr Taylor, their teacher, called the local Bat Conservation Trust on loudspeaker and everybody listened in. The advice was to put the little bat in a shoe box or something similar and cut some air holes for him to breathe. The children added a milk bottle lid with 3 drops of water. An hour later, Martyn Phillis, a local bat expert, arrived to take the bat away.

We had daily updates from Martyn and an e-mail saying that he had put on a whole gram, so he now weighed 4.6g, and was ready to be released. That evening, Mr Taylor, some Year 6 children and their parents came to watch as Martyn released the tiny bat back into the wild. The clicks (‘barks’) that the bat made when he was picked up registered 55 kHz which told Martyn that he was a soprano pipistrelle.

Everybody watched, fascinated, as he swooped across the playground and into the forest. www.easebourne.w-sussex.sch.uk

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18 Walks

Local Walks - January These walks are supported by Chichester District Council, are led by volunteers and are designed to cater for all ages and abilities. No booking is required but please arrive 10 mins before the walk is due to start. Dogs are welcome unless otherwise stated but must be kept on the lead.

Timings are for guidelines only. If the weather is poor the walk may be cancelled, if unsure check, contact 01243 534589 health@chichester.gov.uk www.chichesterwellbeing.org.uk L = Walk Leader Tue 1st

10:30 am Slindon Woods L: Dominic New Years Day walk with lovely views. Generally flat, gravel path. Meet: National Trust car park, Dukes Road, Slindon

2 hrs

3.5 miles

Wed 2nd

10:30am Goodwood Trundle L: Bruce New year's resolution walk. Meet at Goodwood Trundle Triangle

2 hrs 10 mins

4.4 miles

Thurs 3rd

10:30am Midhurst & Cowdray L: Peter Circular walk past Cowdray ruins and Polo grounds to the 1000 year old oak (one of 50 Great British trees). Meet in main car park just north of the centre of Midhurst

2 hrs

4 miles

Fri 4th

10:30am Burpham & Wepham L: Jane Meet in car park behind George at Burpham, BN18 9RR

2 hrs

5 miles

Mon 7th

10:30am Petworth Park L: Gerald See the fallow deer, the Monument & a surprise Dog’s Face.

Meet a The Horse Guards Inn, Tillington, GU28 9AF

1 hr 30 mins

3 miles

Mon 14th

10:30am Wey Arun Canal L: Richard 1 hr 30 mins Meet in canal visitor centre car park behind the ‘Onslow Arms’ pub in Loxwood

3.5 miles

Wed 16th

10:30am Hooksway Devil’s Jumps L: Bruce 2 hrs Climb up to Bronze Age barrow graves and down to Monkton deserted village. Meet at Hooksway (nearby postcode PO18 9JZ)

3.7 miles

Thurs 17th

10:30am Drovers Estate, Singleton Meet in Singleton Cricket Pavilion

L: Fiona

2 hrs

3.5 miles

Sun 20th

10:30am North End of Thorney Island Meet at Thornham Marina car park at the end of Thornham Lane

L: Dominic

2 hrs 30 mins

4 miles

Mon 21st

10:30am Chichester Canal L: Helen Meet at Chichester Canal, Basin Road, Chichester PO19 8DT

30 mins

1 mile

Thurs 24th

10:30am Sutton Common L: Peter Through woodlands and sandy heathland. Meet: Lord's Piece car park, RH20 1HG

2 hrs

4.5 miles

Fri 25th

10:30am Tangmere L: Peter Flat walk via Aviation Museum to Tangmere C12th Church with WWII memories. Then around the old airfield. Meet in Oving park roadside on Church Lane

2 hrs

3 miles

Mon 28st

10:30am Chichester Canal L: Helen Meet at Chichester Canal, Basin Road, Chichester PO19 8DT

30 mins

1 mile

Tue 29th

10:30am Chichester Marina to Westlands L: Janet Meet at car park near Boathouse Cafe at Marina

1 hr 15 mins

2.5 miles

Wed 30th

10:30am Slindon Woods to Folly L: Dominic Meet in National Trust Car Park, Dukes Road, Slindon

2 hrs

3.5 miles

Thurs 31st

10:30am Iping Common Meet in Iping Common car park

2 hrs

4.3 miles

L: Bruce

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20 Charity & Community

Sussex Snippets The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is planning ahead for 2020 and searching for local gardens to be shared for just a few hours with fellow garden lovers, in aid of nursing, cancer and health charities. If you prefer to open jointly with friends or neighbours, you can coordinate community group openings. NGS will support you, provide help, offer advice, and ensure your garden open day is successful. To hang a "Garden Open Today" sign on your garden gate next year contact: Mrs Patty Christie, NGS County Organiser for an informal chat on 01730 813323 or sussexwestngs@gmail.com On Saturday 24 November, Worthing-based charity, Care for Veterans, held its third annual Glitter Ball at Fontwell Park Racecourse, and raised a total of £9,000.

An upgrade of CCTV systems across Bognor Regis and Littlehampton is now complete. This was carried out by Arun District Council in partnership with Sussex Police. Arun is the first local authority within Sussex to benefit from the upgrade, funded by £49,000 from Arun District Council and £15,000 from the Safer Arun Partnership.

West Sussex County Council have created West Sussex Connect to Support – a website which brings together a wealth of information and resources that

SUSSEX LOCAL you can access with just a few clicks. Whether you want to find out about a particular condition such as dementia or mental health, buy products or services or look for an activity in your local area – you can do all this at www.westsussexconnecttosupport.org St Barnabas House is offering challenge seekers the opportunity to brave an abseil down the iconic Emirates Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth on Sunday 24 March 2019. Soaring 555ft above sea level, abseilers will be able to witness breath-taking views over Portsmouth Harbour and the Solent before descending 320ft. Find out more or register at www.stbh.org.uk/abseil It is the Government’s ambition for at least half of new cars to be ultra-low emission by 2030, and all vehicles to have zero emissions by 2050, but what does that mean for residents in West Sussex? Until Friday 11 January 2019, West Sussex County Council is conducting an online survey to gather residents’ thoughts on electric vehicles and charging points to help inform and shape its strategy. The survey consists of 11 questions and will help to give the council a flavour of what residents currently think about electric vehicles and what they would like the charging infrastructure to look like across the county. To take part in the initial survey, please visit: www.westsussex.gov.uk/evsurvey Rockinghorse children’s charity has launched its appeal in support of the Sussex Community Midwife Team. The charity is raising funds for bilirubin monitors to help midwives detect jaundice in newborn babies during home visits. These monitors will be used by a team of 75 community midwives. Jaundice can be very common in the first few days of life as a baby’s system adapts to life outside of the womb.

Early treatment can make all the difference. To find out more or to make a donation, visit www.rockinghorse.org.uk or call 01273 330044.

An otter was spotted swimming in a river in central Sussex. Sussex Wildlife Trust Living Landscapes Advisor Fran Southgate said “This is extremely exciting, as it was only two years ago – almost to the day - that a live otter was first caught on camera in Sussex, marking the return of this species to our county after an absence of almost five decades. Having waited for the otter’s return for so long, we are thrilled with this latest evidence that they are slowly but surely recolonising Sussex.”

We welcome your charity & community notices and reader letters which we publish free of charge. Please email info@sussexlocal.net. Events to our website www.sussexlocal.net

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Pet of the Month This month's Pet of the Month is beautiful torti lady Soraya. Soraya is now 14 years old. She is an amazing cat. This is her second time at The Centre after being rehomed only a year after her owner sadly passed away. Soraya is a very loving, quiet girl who loves to sit on your lap and get lots of attention. She still plays with her toys and would love to find a home with a garden to explore. She would prefer to be the only cat in the home as she wants to have lots of attention.

Soraya does have an issue with her kidneys which she takes medication for. The Centre treats Soraya for her kidneys on a part foster basis and covers the cost of her medication. She will comes to The Centre's vet for her kidney treatment.

Older cats sometimes are overlooked so If you think you may be able to give Soraya the new home she deserves please give The Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre a call Monday to Friday from 9am-4pm on 01243 64140. Or you can visit www.crrc.co.uk

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The Gr8 Support Movement The Gr8 support movement began back in May 2017.

Seven staff from across the Aldingbourne Trust, a local charity near Fontwell who support adults with learning disabilities and/or autism attended the launch day and signed up as seven of the 120 founding members of the movement and one of the 21 organisations nationally! The Gr8 support movement has since been launched nationally and the Trust has signed up to be members. Over the last few weeks more and more staff at their support living, Milton Lodge have signed up, which is great to see.

The Gr8 Support movement was set up by Paradigm, and came out of a longstanding wish to do something great for, and with, support workers, and to try to promote the positive side of support work to counteract the negative attention in the media. The network will connect support workers across the country to share ideas, challenges, stories and best practice, and aims to change the ‘face’ of support work .

Gr8 support is not like any other resource out there. It’s run for support workers by support workers. It’s fun, interactive, and encourages us all to be the very best we can be. It’s current, and is about what is important to support workers and the people they support right now. It enables support workers to ask those questions they may not do otherwise, discuss the things that concern them that they may not feel comfortable doing elsewhere, and to draw on the experience of others If you want to find out more information please visit www.paradigm-uk.org/gr8-support-movement

£2.1 million to increase homeless accommodation A £2.1 million project to increase the amount of much-needed temporary accommodation for people facing homelessness in Chichester District has been approved by leading councillors. The property to be redeveloped was purchased by the council in December last year, and up until now has been used to provide four one-bedroom flats for temporary accommodation. The council is now proposing to redevelop the property to provide up to 21 units of additional short term accommodation for homeless families and single people who are vulnerable.

Once completed, the property will complement the existing accommodation and will be managed by the council’s accommodation team. The council is aiming for work to begin in November 2019, with the properties ready for occupation the following autumn.

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SUSSEX LOCAL

Have you ‘Got a Minute’ for Marie Curie

and on high streets especially during the Great Daffodil Appeal in the Spring. They also look after our collection box campaign regularly popping in and out of stores with our bright yellow collection tins and Great Daffodil appeal boxes.

Between them they have raised an unbelievable £35,000 since they first formed 4 years ago. They also have a lot of fun organising local events and representing the charity whenever they see an opportunity.

Marie Curie provides support for people with any terminal illness, of which some 70% will have cancer.

This ranges from essential information about living with a terminal illness, to hospice services, to expert nursing care in the home. They provide around 20 nurse locally in the County and some 2,000 nationally. The care the nurses provide is totally free to people with any terminal illnesses and who want to be cared for at home. Their nurses go where the need is greatest. They have been described as bringing “light in the darkest hours” The latest Marie Curie’s national volunteer recruitment campaign asks ‘Have you got a Minute?. Okay, we can’t do much with 60 seconds, but making the effort to volunteer and then helping out at a local collection or events for an hour or so will help to raise money, more money means more nursing time. This small effort can provide surprisingly large sums of money which go towards making a real difference to people living with a terminal illness.

They have an amazing local fundraising group who look after many activities in Pulborough and the nearby villages (see photos above). You may have seen them out and about organising collections at supermarkets

Anybody who is interested can get in touch and have an informal chat about how you can get involved (You don't have to join a group to help) Please contact Rosalind Hooper at ros.hooper1@mariecurie.org.uk or on 07525 800 812.

We welcome your charity & community notices and reader letters which we publish free of charge. Please email info@sussexlocal.net

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24 Competition

SUSSEX LOCAL

Win a pair of tickets to Prized Possessions Exhibition 26 Jan to 24 March 2019 at Petworth House Exclusive to Petworth, see additional works on loan from the private collection of Petworth House and a new exhibit that highlights the wood carvings of Anglo -Dutch carver Grinling Gibbons in the Carved Room.

Running from 26 January to 24 March 2019, winners can choose the date of their visit. We have 3 pairs to give away. Tickets £16 / £12 for National Trust members. Book on 0344 249 1895 or online at nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth

Prized Possessions at Petworth House and Park celebrates the enduring British taste for collecting Dutch paintings and explores how and why this style of art was desired, commissioned and displayed.

Bringing together Dutch masterpieces of the seventeenth-century, collected over 300 years from National Trust Houses, this National Trust touring exhibition includes works by celebrated artists such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Lely, Gabriel Metsy and Cornelis de Heem.

Win tickets to Prized Possessions Exhibition To enter the competition answer the question below: Q: Which century is the art on display from? a) 17th b) 13th c) 20th Send your answer and contact details to: Prized Possessions Exhibition Competition, PO Box 2237, Pulborough, RH20 9AH or enter online at www.sussexlocal.net/features/competitions Winner drawn after 31st January 2019. Please indicate if you wish to remain on our mailing list.

Those leaflets aren’t going to deliver themselves you know You know the ones. The left overs from the last print run.

The ones in the cupboard, just by the envelopes and last year’s accounts...

Let’s get those leaflets working for you. We can deliver them for you with next month’s Sussex Local for just £40 per 1,000 (minimum quantity 2,000 - you can pick specific areas) or £35/k for quantities over 10,000

Lazy leaflets. Don’t put up with them.

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01903 868 474

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26 Charity Profile

SUSSEX LOCAL

Little Life Savers

Conservation students

Inspiring the next generation of life savers by Kris Thomas Little Life Savers is a national charity set up and based in West Sussex giving free life saving training to young people across the country.

It all started in 2016 during the junior doctors strike.

Rather than see local junior doctors out on the streets picketing, Little Life Savers founder Dr Barbara Stanley arranged for some doctors to give free lifesaving training to a group of children in Ashington Village Hall. Word spread and a local head teacher made contact requesting training for their school and thus Little Life Savers was born.

Trustee Kieran Moon has been part of the charity from the start. He told me, "There is a real need for these skills, survival rates for out of hospital cardiac arrests in the UK are just 1 in 10. Evidence suggests 1 in 4 could survive if significantly more young people were trained in life saving but only 22% of people in the UK would be confident in performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation - also known as 'heart massage') on a stranger". If someone drops down in the street with a sudden heart attack, without imme-

Dr Barbara Stanley teaching choking management diate treatment 90-95% will die. This is a frighteningly high percentage and when you consider that 60,000 out of hospital heart attacks occur every year in the UK that's a lot of people dying needlessly. Kieran told me that if effective CPR is performed within three to five minutes including the use of an AED (automated external defibrillator), survival increases to 74%.

It's not just elderly people who could be helped by receiving basic life saving treatment. 270 children die in the UK every year from a cardiac arrest at school and a high volume of adults of all ages. Many naturally assume that there will be somebody in proximity who can deliver this training but this is not always the case. Wouldn't it be reassuring to know that a significant number of children were also equipped with the skills to help a school friend, parent, friend or grandparent if the need arose?

Tragically thirteen year old Christopher Sears died when he had an epileptic seizure on his school bus in Guildford in November 2014. He was sat upright in his seat and from the report it appears he stopped breathing as his airway was obstructed due to his upright position. None of his fellow pupils (or the bus driver) knew how to help him. Christopher's mother said she did not blame the driver, who had received no training. At the inquest, the coroner expressed concern at the lack of training for school bus drivers and called for new protocols for medical emergencies. The Department for Transport said it was considering the coroner's comments. If just one of the other children on the bus had been able to put Christopher in the recovery position, he may still be alive today.

The Little Life Savers training focuses on the core life saving skills; management of choking, CPR and the recovery position for children and adults. Kieran told me that the ideal age to learn basic lifesaving skills is 9 years and above. He told me, "We will teach younger children but performing CPR involves pressing up and down on the casualty’s chest. This helps pump blood and with it oxygen to the brain when the heart can’t and can be physically difficult for younger children." He continued, "younger children don't al-

through the door ways have the attention span or maturity to benefit fully from the training but it is never too soon to teach your child how to dial 999".To date Little Life Savers have trained a total of 3,800 children, "Our aim is to create a 'nation of Life Savers'�

Kieran told me.

Just two years after starting the charity there are 20 Little Lifesaver groups set up across the UK and around another 50 new groups waiting to launch.

Each group has a local coordinator and all volunteers are DBS checked. Some groups need volunteers and some are waiting for equipment to enable them to get going. The equipment needed is mostly the CPR manikins which the charity purchases in adult and child sizes.

The manikins are designed to be as realistic in look and feel as possible to provide the most accurate training and therefore the best real life CPR outcomes. The face/head of the manikins tilts to teach students how to open the airway during CPR, the manikin's chest also compresses in a similar way to a real person. Of course practising on a dummy in the comfort of a school hall with adults around to help is a far cry from a genuine emergency situation but statistics show that people are three times more likely to perform CPR if they have received training.

The charity received a significant publicity boost in May 2017 when they were featured on ITV breakfast show 'This Morning' and then again on ITV Meridian in October 2018 where the programme talked about West Sussex sisters Summer and Lacey Terry. Whilst outside playing, Lacey began choking on some crisps.

Luckily her older sister knew what to do as Little Life Savers had just visited her school. ITV Meridian filmed Little Life Savers founder Dr Barbara Stanley giving training to a group of school children. Barbara told the reporter, "it's all very well me knowing these skills but I'm not going to be there if one of these children collapses or chokes but the people who will be there are their classmates and colleagues so if we can show them how to be safe and call for help and take appropriate immediate action it empowers them to feel like they've done the very best they could".

CPR training is not currently part of the school curriculum but there are plans to introduce it next year to Primary and secondary schools. Kieran told me he thought it would be fantastic if this were to be the case and that Little Life Savers would be happy to be a training provider for as many schools as possible."We believe it makes a real difference and the

Charity Profile

27

The Recovery Position

children we teach love the training. It feels good for anyone to have these skills and to know that they could help save a life in an emergency."

Little Life Savers have their office in Storrington and founder Barbara, Kieran and Sarah meet quarterly to discuss plans for the growth of the charity. They have

SUSSEX LOCAL

28 Charity Profile recently taken on their first paid role, a part-time administration assistant so of course fundraising for the growing operation is vital. As well as individual and group donations, Little Life Savers have benefited from the Tesco Bags of Help, Coop Community Causes and Waitrose Community Matters Schemes and this year were also chosen as a charity partner for the organic children's clothing company Frugi (welovefrugi.com). Each year Frugi give 1% of their turnover to charity and Little Life Savers is one of three charities that Frugi's customers can nominate when making a purchase. Kieran told me, "The Frugi contribution is going to make a massive difference to us, we hope to receive a contribution of around ÂŁ40,000 over the next year which will go directly towards equipment, teaching aids, promotional material and charity development.

Practicing CPR

Little Life Savers also have places in the Brighton info@littleLifeSavers.org if you would like to sponsor Marathon on Sunday 14th April and the Vitality Big Sussex Local editor Kris Thomas who is running for Half taking place in London on Sunday 10th March.

Little Life Savers in the Vitality Big Half please visit "We are looking for people who would like to run for https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KrisThomas1 us in either of these great races next Spring" Jewellery forsaid beginners class Kieran "we are asking for sponsorship of at least ÂŁ100.00 for the half marathon and around ÂŁ250.00 for the Brighton marathon". Entries for both races are now closed to the public so if you are looking for a challenge and to raise funds for a worthy cause this could be your opportunity. For more details see: www.littleLife Savers.org call 07753 755923 or email

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Property

29

Seagulls

By Chris Ennis FRICS

Here in Worthing, seagulls are no strangers! I was reminded of this only recently when on one day I had three encounters. It started badly when I went to my car only to find that it had been bombed overnight.

Birdlime can be difficult to remove when it is dry, and can damage paintwork if left un-cleaned. I then went into the town and noticed gulls squabbling over the contents of a split refuse sack. The younger bird standing doggedly in the middle of the highway, giving me ‘the eye’ as if challenging my right to be on the road.

Then, during the course of my inspection, I watched a potential problem being enacted in front of me.

As I walked up the path of the semi-detached bungalow, I saw him on the roof…. cocky, confident, fearless. He was a large male herring gull. In the garden below my client looked up and threw his lunch up towards him. The bird sprang to action and swooped into the garden squawking his approval and thanks.

Other gulls nearby joined in the bun fight, and it was evident that this was a regular ritual.

I looked up to the roof and, just as I suspected, the chimney was constructed just below the roof ridge thereby forming a welcome platform for the construction of a gull’s nest. Notwithstanding the array of bird

spikes visible the chimney ‘back gutter’ was blocked with twigs, polythene and vegetation. Some of the debris had become detached and was blocking the rainwater gutters below which were evidently over flowing.

I knew that the real problems would manifest themselves during the nesting season between March and September. These birds can be very aggressive and very noisy. They create mess and can be insanitary.

And don’t think you can eject them from their nests…… Oh no! They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 whereby it is an offence to interfere with an active birds’ nest.

To reduce the nuisance from gulls, don’t feed them!

It’s antisocial and they will keep you and your neighbours awake at night! Chris Ennis FRICS is a Chartered Surveyor. Call 01903 261 217 email surveyor1@talktalk.net or see: www.propdoctor.co.uk

SUSSEX LOCAL

30 History

Lurgashall Mill By local historian & artist David Johnston What was that remote world like for the old Lurgashall miller in bygone days? For the answer to this we must look briefly to other regions; other millers – for instance, the old Barford watermill that once belonged to my grandfather back in the late Victorian days, a short description of which he passed down through the family: “The pond is fringed round with rush and flag, willows and alders of low growth – the haunt of the heron, and the home of the moorhen and the rail. Generations of millers have lived here; a silvery tint, the flour-dust of many years, has settled on it; the very slabs and tiles on the roof, even the chimney-stacks, are grey.

“Noble elms at the back, close to the mill-yard, throw the old buildings out in relieve: it is a place to lull one to rest – a very sleepy man’s hollow, where poet or artist might dream the days away. There is no noise of traffic to and fro – only the rumble of the millers carts as they occasionally come in and go out, and the soothing click-click-clack of the old mill wheel”.

The slow, unhurried way of life that this sketch conjures up must apply to most of the old water mills of long ago, and no less so than Lurgashall Mill, when considering the very isolation of the place where once it stood. In wandering down by the old millpond, even in these fast moving, noise polluted times, there are few outside sounds that can be detected beyond the trill of birdsong. Take for example this extract from my book: ‘A Sussex Wayfarer’s Nature Notes’.

“23rd May, 2003. We drove to Lurgashall and took a walk down by Mill Farm, and along by the river. Quite beautiful – many damsel flies about. Heard the nightingale. Saw the burnet moth and several peacock butterflies. There seems to be more butterflies about this year”.

The ancient site of Lurgashall Mill is now nothing more than a grass bank set below the embankment of the former millpond. Budgen’s 1724 map, mentions ‘Lurgashall millers’ William Warner (1698) and John Mills (1713) in the Sussex Marriage Licenses.

From 1845 until 1874 the mill was run by the Cooper family from which George Payne and A. Smeede each took over for a short period. By 1882, James Wrighton operated the mill and stayed until 1895 at least.

It was during this period that the mill stopped working commercially and reverted to grinding animal feed mainly for the adjoining Mill Farm. John Anstey was certainly using the mill for this purpose between

1905 and 1938 (and probably later) before the mill closed down in 1950.

In its heyday, the mill had two overshot water wheels, each wheel driving its own independent set of machinery – ‘millstones’. The wheel and machinery next to the upper millpond had long since been dismantled and only the decayed wooden water wheel shaft and the upright shaft leaning against the wall survived in the mill’s last days at Lurgashall. The tail water wheel was used up to the 1930’s Photographs of the mill in 1949 indicate that it was of early 18th century construction (later modified in the 19th century) which contained wooden machinery. A SPAB report in 1954, stated that the mill was in a poor condition, while a later inspection in June 1971, revealed that the interior was liable to collapse. In 1973 the mill was ‘saved’ when it was presented, by the Leconfield Estate, to the Weald and Downland Museum at Singleton near Chichester.

In 1977 the mill was painstakingly dismantled brick by brick, together with the machinery, and transferred to the museum site where it was erected three years later as a working exhibit. The preservation and reconstruction of Lurgashall Mill, at the Weald and Downland Museum at Singleton near Chichester, is a breath of inspiration and is seen and appreciated by the many visitors to the popular museum.

David Johnston is an author, artist and photographer.

If you would like to purchase any of the images that accompany this article contact him on: david.rg.johnston@googlemail.com or you can visit www.davidjohnston.org.uk

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Health & Wellbeing 33

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New Year’s Resolutions That Stick

By Heather Smith, Personal Trainer Christmas is over, and we’ve been left with that overfed, bloated, tired and less-than-energetic feeling which reminds us how much we want to feel better.

So, we come up with some New Year’s resolutions, in the full knowledge that we’ll probably be part of the 80% of people who have given up on their resolutions by the end of January. How about, this year, we make changes the right way to make them easier to stick with for the long term.

The first thing to accept is that although it is easy to believe that this time you will stick with massive changes; you won’t. Not because you’re weak-willed or lacking motivation, but because you are human.

Your focus will shift, and those big changes will become too much to keep in your mind. Everyone is the same. The solution – choose the smallest, easiest, changes which will give you the biggest result. Keep things simple, understand where your problems lie and plan from there.

Perhaps you struggle to make lunch before you head off to work in the morning. The likelihood is that you’re not going to suddenly find the time and inclination to

do this for the long term; but perhaps an easy change would be to buy a protein and veg based lunch rather than the sandwich or pasta salad you usually buy; and to make sure you eat enough to keep the hunger monster away. This is an example of a small, easy change which will give you a huge result.

If you’re pretty sedentary at work every day and struggle with the motivation to go to the gym on the way home, it’s probably not realistic to think that you’ll just strike up that habit all of a sudden. An easy change which would give you a big result would be to simply commit to parking further away, taking the stairs and never the lift, and going for a short walk at lunchtime.

I truly believe that small changes are the way to start your quest for improved health and fitness. Once you’ve mastered the first change, its easy to add in another. Before you know it, you’ll be able to look back and see how those small changes have added up to something huge.

Heather Smith is a fat loss specialist Personal Trainer. www.fitbiztraining.co.uk

SUSSEX LOCAL

34 Gardening

In Your Garden Monthly gardening ideas and tasks

by Andrew Staib, Principal Designer of Glorious Gardens Using the ancient Chinese philosophy of life to appreciate our gardens this January Most simply, the theory of Yin and Yang describes a world being made up not of opposite and opposing forces, but an experience in life where events and things are actually connected, sometimes complimentary and more often interdependent. So Winter is not the opposite of Summer but they are two sides of the same coin that transform into each other and rely on each other. One is not bad and the other good, but that they are two experiences that we can bring ourselves into alignment with.

If Life and Death are lovers, January is their secret rendezvous.

Originally from Australia my first Winter in England was overwhelming. I saw everything dying around me and the light was shrinking each day. When I saw my first cherry blossom in the Spring I felt reborn! So, I realised, things die back in the Winter so that they will survive and be stronger for the next Summer.

The decay we see in our gardens are forming the compost and rich soil for next year’s plant needs and the beds becoming fertile for the dormant seeds of Nigella, Nasturtiums and Marigolds.

The cold season brings about the deaths of some plants that have had their time and new plants will grow into the space left behind. Plants that have lost their leaves have drawn inside themselves for protection and to conserve water before any possible freezes. The vibrant sap that plants and trees have been building up all Summer has fully descended into their roots. Indeed the only sap left in the trunk and branches of trees is higher in sugar content forming a kind of anti-freeze as the sugar syrup has a lower freezing point than water.

We often want to tidy up our gardens in January but just like order and disorder were seen as interdependent in ancient China, one leading to the other and back again, so to we can see mess and cleanliness in that way. The chaos of leaves, windfalls and storm scattered twigs are vital homes to the bumble-

bee, woodlice and hibernating hedgehogs. It is not until Spring sounds its trumpets that we need to get rid of the old to help bring in the new.

One quality of Yin is stillness. We can enter our garden and be affected by the quietness of life. The world spins more slowly on its axis and so can we as we move about. All our Yang efforts over Summer,

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Gardening

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come, giving us a clearer understanding of what we need. A fallow feeling that tells us what is most precious.

the endless stimulation of the internet and TV, can fall away and we can be awash with the silvers and blacks and deep wet browns of a garden no longer full of restless and reproductive energy. It can be a time of contemplation where we can concentrate on where we have got to in our lives and relationships, what we achieved last year and for a minute let go of future hopes and plans. It can be a time of loneliness and, if we can allow ourselves to feel this most difficult of emotions, from this place a deepening can

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We can enjoy the skeleton of branches that reveal the growth history of the trees and the windy forces that bent them and the sunlight that seduced them in particular directions. The seed heads of perennials, hanging like small empty purses, robbed of their seeds by birds and squirrels and the frosts that enliven the patterns of leaves and greenhouse windows. Most of nature had gone downward.

Summer’s wonderful electric expansion is a dim memory, seen in a few frozen grapes on a vine.

We can prepare for Spring gently. Pruning fruit trees, also roses, grapes, figs and wisteria knowing, as we cut off Summer’s excited growth back to fat fruiting spurs, that these places will be exactly where the plant will squeeze it’s juices and form its fruits in the year ahead.

And then the very first daffodil, or a burst of yellow from the spidery flowers of Witchhazel or bright

SUSSEX LOCAL

36 Gardening / Business Directory Aconites in the woodland part of our garden. Even in the Yin there is Yang. Pink Cyclamen grow proud amongst the dry old roots of a Yew tree.

January tasks

Janus, the Roman God of Transitions and Doorways, often thought of as the origin of the word January, is a two headed deity, looking to the past and also to the future. The world is momentarily suspended, Yin and Yang is in balance, they become indivisible, our garden becomes the theatre for this ancient stillpoint.

Where to visit this January If you want to walk off those extra Xmas calories you can take a trip up to Kew Gardens. They have such a huge range of trees even in the middle of winter there is so much to see. Plus you can hang out in the cafes or Tropical Greenhouse for a warm break. They also have after-dark tours. Or visit a local forest!

 Pruning. - The biggest job this month is the pruning of deciduous plants like Roses, Wysteria and fruit trees. The best way to learn proper pruning methods is to ask a professional gardener, the RHS Pruning Manuel or Youtube!

If you type in “Pruning a small apple tree” you will get all sorts of well meaning gardeners showing you what they do. Choose to listen to an expert though there are different options. Try RHS first. Also make sure the apple tree looks like your one as there are different types.  Sow in your greenhouse - all sorts of vegetables ready to be transplanted to your plot in Spring.  Force your Rhubarb by placing as big a pot as you can find over the heads.

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