BUILDINGS AROUND THE VILLAGE: The premises formerly occupied by Mishon Mackay is now occupied, so I think there are only two shops still vacant which is good news. I’ve noticed how quickly ‘For Sale’ signs on houses change to ‘Sold’, which emphasises how many people choose to come and live here. One new resident told me that she had received such a warm welcome from new neighbours and was amazed at how many different groups and organisations there are to choose from in order to get involved in the village.
PARKING: I’m keeping this article in for another week, to make the point that antisocial parking is still happening. Sadly, some heavy vehicles, and others not so heavy, still sometimes park on the pavements, which is not only very dangerous for pedestrians, but also damages the kerbstones. One stone, near the pedestrian crossing, is completely upended and very hazardous – my photo of it was included in the print edition of the Middy last week. Another driver insists on parking with wheels on the pavement outside the pharmacy. Several kerbstones are loose as a result and we really can’t expect the local authority to keep dealing with our bad habits!
MID SUSSEX SINFONIA: Saturday, 7 June, 7.30 pm. Holy Trinity Church. Tickets from www.midsussexsinfonia.com/tickets, £13 in advance, £15 on the door. Under 18s free. A wonderful programme from our excellent local orchestra, conducted by Andy Meyer, who always introduces the music with humour and very helpful background information. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with soloist Jay Bevan, Emilie Mayer’s Overture No.2, and Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony.
HURST OPEN GARDENS: Sunday, 8 June 1 pm – 5.30 pm. A wonderful afternoon visiting gardens throughout the village and getting ideas about what to do with your own! The £6 entry fee, which you pay at the first garden you visit, all goes to St. Peter and St. James Hospice. The organisers ask that you bring cash to pay, ideally the exact amount. www.hurstpierpointopengardens.co.uk for the list of ten gardens to visit. Teas will also be served at Hurst Bowls Club in South Avenue.
HURSTPIERPOINT SOCIETY: Founded in 1962 as a registered charity, the Society’s aim is stated as ‘Respect the past, embrace our future’. It does a wonderful job in encouraging good development and recognising all the excellent ways buildings in the village are maintained and improved. This year’s Design Awards are detailed in their elegant newsletter and include improvements to buildings, walls and even the Swift Box Project. The newsletter starts with a fascinating article on the three almshouses charities in the village, founded in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. www.hurstpierpointsociety.org.uk. If you are not already a member, do consider joining.
EARLY EVENING MUSIC IN HOLY TRINITY: The spring season ends with hugely popular keyboard virtuosi Simon Anckorn and Michael Dolovich, on two pianos, on 21 June. If you saw them at last year’s Hurst Festival, you will remember what fun we all had at their performance! You can book ahead, which is helpful to the organisers in order to stock the bar, but please just turn up if you feel like coming out on an early Summer evening. £8 per head, doors open 5.30 pm. margaret@112a.co.uk. And if you have favourite performers you would like to hear again, please let us have contact details. We’ll start again in October and aim to have something Christmassy in December.
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH: All the usual service times are on the church website. An additional event this weekend is a celebration and reflection on Pentecost, at 6 pm on 8th June. The church is open all day every day. Everyone is welcome to the building, just to sit in the peace and quiet, and of course to attend services. A small neighbour asked me the other day ‘Who lives in the church Margaret?’ which was quite a challenging question to answer a five-year-old. Details of all services are on www.holytrinityhpp.org.
HURST PLAYERS next production, on 8 - 12 July 2025, 7.30 pm, is ‘Sylvia’. It looks like a really fun evening! The subject is "Sylvia", a dog, the couple who adopts her, and the resultant comedy. Greg is a man of middle age, a restless empty-nester, tired of his job in finance, looking for meaning in his life. Sylvia is an exuberant and beautiful lab/poodle mix, astray in Central Park, looking for a new home. It is love at first sight for Greg, but his wife Kate is less than thrilled by the clever and coquettish canine who jumps, slobbers, sits on her couch -- and takes Greg's attention away from his marriage. Booking will open shortly.
HURSTPIERPOINT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY SUMMER SHOW: 2.15 pm Saturday June 21 in the Village Centre. Summer flowers, vegetables, fruit, cookery, handicraft, photography and children’s section. All welcome to exhibit. Full information in our schedule available from Rhubarb greengrocers in Hurst High Street or email hhs1886@btinternet.com. Home-made cake and tea, raffle and end of show auction.
‘BEFRIENDED: MAKING A DIFFERENCE ONE SMILE AT A TIME’ Befriended is absolutely delighted to bring the community choir to Holy Trinity Church in Hurstpierpoint for the summer term, every Tuesday afternoon from 2-3.30pm in the lovely Long Glass Room, this is the perfect opportunity to come together, enjoy the joy of music and make new friendships. And of course, we’ll have tea and cake. Everyone is very welcome.
Thank you for reading this column. I am so glad when people take the trouble to tell me that it is useful to them. If there is anything that you would like included, just let me know. It is also available online on www.yourworldnet/sussex/west-sussex/mid-sussex.
Please keep the information coming so that I can keep people in touch with what is happening. It’s particularly useful for people who don’t use social media or the internet.