Rodmell and Southease

ACCIDENT: The village had a nasty shock when they heard a well-known and well-liked villager was involved in a terrible accident at Herons Ghyll on July 3. It was featured in last week’s Sussex Express, so readers will have read the details. We are all thinking of the family and send our best wishes to Jenny for a speedy recovery. Herons Ghyll has, I believe, had a great number of bad accidents over the years and is well known as being an accident area.

COPING DURING THE WAR: It’s over a month since the terrible fire at the high rise flats in London. In a strange way, it brought home to me how people had to cope during the war. My own mother and her family were bombed out three times in Brighton and had to find refuge with friends and relations in the area, as everyone was willing to help, and people were only too grateful to have a room of any kind and a roof over their head. They had no choices and couldn’t turn any shelter down in the circumstances, they just got on with it and coped. Amazing people, so resilient.

COACH TRIP: I had another day off from caring on Monday July 10 and went off on a coach trip to Legal London, Inns of Court and the Inner and Middle Temples. This was especially interesting for me, as my great grandfather was at 3 Lincoln’s Inn and also at 4 Grays Inn and his divorce from his first wife, which went on for a very long time, took place at the court there. Evidently, it was a big scandal for the Berkeley family to cope with. We were there when the Charlie Gards case was taking place and it was quite a problem getting in and out through the barrage of photographers and journalists from all over the world, and the protestors and supporters were extremely noisy. On the whole it was a most interesting day. To me, a person who does not go to London very often, it seemed to be less busy than Brighton, and I was told that’s because of the various changes to drive through areas, the 20mph areas and the fact that so many people now ride bikes or motorcycles to get around the city.

PARTY: I was invited to a lovely party at Anne of Cleves House on Saturday July 8, a friends’ 80th birthday party. It was one of the best parties I’d been to for a long time. It was a lovely evening, it was easy to park and it was from 6pm to 9pm, just long enough. Janet looked stunning and only about 50 and she is so active. It was held in tents in the garden and then we had a Moroccan meal, served inside at tables. The food was delicious and the company very pleasant. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

ARTHRITIS: So many people seem to be suffering from arthritis in their hands at the moment, yours truly included. It is in my family, and I consider myself very lucky to get to my age without having been struck down with it in younger years, as my mother and grandmother were. We had a discussion about it recently, and it appeared that the people suffering the most were those who had spent years typing, writing and were artists. We also wonder if the young people of today, will be stricken at a young age in the future, because of the times they spend on mobile phones and computers, which really strain the fingers. Also very young children, from as young as 3 years, now use toy type phones and computers, and their bones surely have not finished growing yet so how will it affect them. I am having acupuncture treatment at the moment, which do help me to get a night’s sleep, because as those who suffer with it know, it flares up at between 3am and 5am quite often. I also find soaking my hands in warm water with two tablespoons of Epsoms Salts in it helps to calm the pain. Try it if you suffer in the same way.

FARM SHOP: The Sussex Peasant Mobile Farm Shop appears to be doing very well. It is based in our pub car park every Thursday from 10am to 1pm. It’s run by Ed Johnston who sells 100 percent seasonal Sussex produce. Ed buys direct from local farms, sells to you and shares with our farmers.

FRUIT AND VEG: Our orchard is again loaded with fruit, and the pears seem to be doing especially well. Since I had it pruned last year, I didn’t expect it to be so fruitful this year. My tomatoes are also giving me a lot of fruit at the moment and as they are the small varieties, they are really tasty. Runner beans are in full flower and beans are appearing and potatoes must be dug up soon. I’ve already had one good harvest and some of my visitors have gone home with some plus blackcurrants.

MUSIC FESTIVAL: The Bimble Bandada Musical Festival returns to the valley July 28 to 30. For details see www.bimblebandada.com. Locals get a discount on tickets.

BAD BEHAVIOUR: Like many people, I’m appalled at the bad behaviour of a few people at the Raft Race, who tried to spoil it for the many.

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