Oct. 5 (UPI) — Officials are looking for two suspects in a possible arson at a mosque in Sussex Saturday.
No one was injured in the incident, but the entrance to the building was damaged and they are investigating the fire in Peacehaven, East Sussex as a hate crime but not an act of terror, Sussex police said.
“This was an appalling and reckless attack which we know will have left many people feeling less safe,” Sussex Detective Inspector Gavin Patch said.
Sussex police said they were called to the scene on Phyllis Ave. shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday to find parts of the building on flames. Video showed one person fleeing the building. Police said an accelerant was sprayed near the entrance to the building, which caused the fire to spread from the building to a car parked just outside.
“We are treating this as an arson with intent to endanger life and are continuing to pursue a number of lines of enquiry to identify those responsible,” he added.
Photos released by the police show one man carrying a black jacket with a Pre Londpn logo in white on the chest.
The second suspect is wearing bright red gloves.
Police have increased their presence at the church since the incident, and increased patrol at other houses of worship.
COPS have launched a hate crime investigation after reports of a suspected arson attack at a mosque.
CCTV footage shows two men with face coverings pull up to the Peacehaven Community Mosque, in East Sussex, on Saturday night.
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A burnt out vehicle in front of the Community Mosque in Peacehaven
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A masked thug appears to pour an accelerant over the entrance
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A man runs from inside seeking safety
The video appears to reveal one yob, wearing a black jacket, walking up the front steps holding a green container.
He appears to douse the entrance steps with an accelerant before they go up in flames.
Within seconds the car has also turned into a fire ball.
A man who was inside the mosque runs out in terror, seeking safety.
It is not known how many people were in the building when the inferno was sparked.
Fire crews were called out to the chaotic scene and a large police presence remains in the area.
Footage from the scene shows a burnt-out vehicle being dampened by firemen.
A member of the Mosque told The Sun Online: “There was an attack on the mosque, a few individuals came with balaclavas on and blew up a vehicle outside the mosque and set the front a light.”
“It was a targeted attack,” he claimed.
“There’s a large police presence here now.”
Sussex Police Detective Superintendent Karrie Bohanna said: “This is a fast-moving investigation, and we are urging anyone with relevant information to report it to us.
“This includes anyone with CCTV, ring doorbell, dashcam, and mobile phone footage in the area at the time.
“We understand the concerns this has caused within the community, and the impact that will be felt by the Muslim community as a result.
“There is already an increased police presence at the scene and there are also additional patrols taking place to provide reassurance at other places of worship across the county.
“Sussex Police takes a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime and there is no place for hate across the county.
“If you have concerns for your safety or experience any hate or criminal behaviour, please speak to an officer or contact us online or by calling 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.”
Anyone with information about the arson can report it to Sussex Police online or on 101, quoting Operation Spey.
Alternatively contact CrimeStoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111.
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Fire crews were called out to the chaotic scene at XXXpm
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It is not known how many people were in the building
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The car became a fireball in seconds
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Two men arrived in the same car they later set alight
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A large emergency service presence is at the scene
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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Police are still appealing for anyone with information that can help their investigation to come forward.
I make £30k in 3 days doing a job nobody wants to do
This includes any witnesses who may have seen or helped Tony in Westcourt Road between 7.20pm and 7.40pm on September 11.
Detective Inspector Amanda Zinyama, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with Tony’s family and friends.
“Through our initial enquiries, it has been established that the victim and suspect are known to one another and we want to reassure members of the public that charges have now been secured and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this investigation.”
Police presence will remain at the address as enquiries continue.
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Anthony ‘Tony’ Scarrott, 80, died on September 14 after he was taken to hospitalCredit: SUSSEX NEWS AND PICTURES
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There will be an ongoing police presence at the address as police enquiries continue
There are many ways to make an entrance, but lurching into a pub full of smartly dressed diners while windswept, muddy and more than a little frayed wouldn’t be my first choice. At 7.30pm on a sunny Sunday evening, the Welldiggers Arms – a country pub just outside Petworth in West Sussex – is full of people tucking into hearty roasts, the glass-walled restaurant overlooking glorious downland scenery, the sun all but disappeared behind the hills. For my husband, Mark, and I, it’s more than a stop for supper; the pub marks the halfway point on our two-day walking adventure along a brand new trail, the 25-mile Petworth Way.
Twenty-five miles may not sound like much (I have keen walker friends who would do it in a day) but, for us, it’s the perfect length, with plenty of pubs along the way. The first leg, from Haslemere to Petworth, covers countryside we’re both entirely unfamiliar with; the second, Petworth to Arundel runs through landscapes I’ve known since childhood. Happily, the start and finish points can be reached by rail – meaning we can leave the car at home and set off with nothing but small rucksacks, water bottles and detailed printed instructions.
Things start easily enough; a brief weave through Haslemere’s residential streets before the first serious ascent, through fields and shady, fern-rippled woodland that opens out on to Black Down, the highest point in the South Downs national park. After the dim light of the wood, the heathland blazes with colours; bursts of butter-yellow gorse, purple heather and bottle-green pine trees, all set beneath an intensely blue sky.
It reminds me of Ashdown Forest, which inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, and Mark and I bicker happily about who would be Christopher Robin and who Pooh, before arriving at the Temple of the Winds viewpoint, where we sink gratefully on to the seat and soak up the view. It is spectacular; green velvet hills and blueish-tinged valleys, church spires and the odd country estate dotted between the trees, all of Sussex laid out before us, half drenched in sunlight, half darkened by ominous clouds throwing down grey mists of rain on the horizon.
Sunset over Blackdown. Photograph: Roy Wylam/Alamy
Keen not to miss lunch at the Noah’s Ark pub in Lurgashall, we set off again, at which point the bickering becomes slightly less good-humoured as we realise we’re going the wrong way. Ten minutes’ later, we’re properly lost, with an OS app on a phone that has unhelpfully lost all signal and directions that make no sense. Thankfully, a pair of local walkers point us in the right direction, and we make it down the hill, past vineyards and on to the pub, where we settle in with a couple of cold halves, some local salami and warm bread, eaten while watching a cricket match on the village green.
Fortunately, the next few miles are more straightforward, until a final ascent that leads into Petworth House’s great park; a glorious end to the day that makes us feel as if we’ve got this walking thing licked. That is, until we realise there are very few taxis in Petworth and we’ll have to walk the extra mile and a half to the Welldiggers, which, fortunately, proves to be a cocoon of loveliness; all soft clean linens, piping-hot showers, and staff who politely pretend not to notice our slightly catatonic state over dinner.
Next morning, fuelled by delicious shakshuka(poached eggs in a hot tomato sauce) and several buckets of tea, we hop in a taxi back to Petworth park to continue the walk across the Sussex Weald. The route drops in on a short section of the Serpent Trail – a 65-mile route from Haslemere to Petersfield that we pencil in for next year – before veering away past Burton Park, a grandiose, privately owned Greek revival mansion, all Doric columns and vanilla-hued walls. From here, the path heads downhill, which, we agree, is not a good thing, as it means going uphill is not far off.
Uphill is something of an understatement, and the pull up through the villages of Barlavington and Sutton was made even more challenging as the White Horse Inn, earmarked for a restorative half, turns out to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Fuelled instead by lukewarm water and half a Twix each, we carry on towards Bignor, the gradient steepening with every step. By the time we’re walking east along the South Downs Way, the 360-degree views – across a patchwork of faded cornfields and khaki grassland – are quite some reward. Even so, it’s a welcome change to begin the descent into Houghton village, where I know (because I’ve checked) lunch awaits.
The George & Dragon at Houghton. Photograph: Nick Scott/Alamy
It’s this leg that really reaffirms the joy of walking for me. As the Arun valley unfolds beside the wooded hills of the Arundel estate, I think of how many decades I’ve driven the road that runs alongside and how different the countryside looks when taken at a slow pace, with the chance to stop and look, rather than snatched glances through the windscreen. Thirty years ago, I’d sit over lunch with my mum and dad in the George & Dragon’s garden, watching hikers amble down the very hillside we’re walking on. I’ve not been back to the pub for many years and it’s lovely – if slightly lump in throat – to return and have my parents suddenly conjured up so vividly.
It’s tempting to stay all afternoon, but after a classic ploughman’s (what else?), we lace up our boots for the final stretch, past Houghton’s thatched, flint-walled cottages and along the River Arun, before one final ascent into the Arundel estate. Clouds glower, but we’re lucky; the rain holds off as we skirt the edge of Swanbourne Lake and pass the Hiorne Tower, built by architect Francis Hiorne in 1797, as part of his (failed) bid to rebuild Arundel Castle. When we pop out on to London Road and amble towards the familiar outline of the castle, we’re almost too focused on finding large slabs of cake to properly celebrate the fact we’ve arrived at our destination.
Later, once the train has taken us back to our corner of the East Sussex countryside, I think about how little I know, really, of the landscapes I’ve visited since childhood. We’ll probably never be long-distance walkers, but weekend trails like this prove you don’t have to be; a couple of days is enough to see a familiar landscape in a whole new light.
Accommodation was provided by the Welldiggers Arms, which has double rooms from £115 B&B
IT’S 3am at The Red Lion pub in Gatwick Airport and British Gas field engineer Sam Singleton is in a French maid’s outfit, waving a feather duster and clutching a pint of Guinness.
His 17-strong stag group is having the typical pre-flight drinks that have become a rite of passage for Brits jetting off abroad.
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The bustling pub is full of punters enjoying a spot of refreshment before they board their flightsCredit: Paul Edwards
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Sam’s frilly costume signals the start of his stag celebration at 03:00Credit: Paul Edwards
And it’s not just plentiful food offerings and the sociable atmosphere that are bringing in travellers in droves — terminal pubs remain one of the only places where it is socially acceptable to have a pint at 5am.
Sam, 34, from Crawley, West Sussex, says: “I’m dressed like this because I’m getting married in four weeks to my beautiful fiancee, Erin.
“We’ve had a few drinks and a really good laugh. I couldn’t imagine starting a stag in any other way, to be honest.”
The Sun on Sunday spent 24 hours at JD Wetherspoon’s The Red Lion in Gatwick’s North Terminal to see why Britain’s airside bars are hitting new heights.
This is what we found . . .
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Spoons staff prepare The Red Lion for the day’s rushCredit: Paul Edwards
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Birthday girl Nicole Briggs, centre, with pals at the pub before their flightCredit: Paul Edwards
Nicole Briggs, 29, from Essex, is heading to the Greek island of Mykonos to celebrate her birthday, wearing a pink cowboy hat and matching sash.
Her pal Danielle Grimes, 30, also from Essex, tells us: “Having drinks at this time is just the law of the airport. It’s the only way to do it.”
On the other side of the pub, siblings Alicia, Adan, 17, and Heart Evanelio, 20, from Medway, Kent, are tucking into an early-morning breakfast before they fly to Basel, Switzerland, with 20 family members.
Alicia, 27, says: “We come here because the food is always good. It’s affordable, comfortable, welcoming and the staff are fantastic.”
Wetherspoons Pubs at Gatwick Airport: A Traveler’s Haven
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Three stag party revellers at the pub start as they mean to go onCredit: Paul Edwards
Another stag party has arrived. Robert, James, Jay, Jimmy and John are in their 30s and from different parts of the UK, but they are all flying to Benidorm.
Robert says: “There will be 28 altogether and we’ve had a fantastic day and night already.”
Jay adds: “We came to Wetherspoons because it’s better value and you know exactly what you are getting.”
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David Green, left, and Sam Peters toast a newly forged friendshipCredit: Paul Edwards
Actor David Green, 58, from Brighton, and Sam Peters, 52, from Croydon, South London, clink pint glasses, having only just met.
Sam says: “The Red Lion is very different to the average pub where people are scared to strike up a conversation with strangers. No-one bats an eyelid here.”
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Factory worker Jay Law, 34, and Sasha Cross, 35, from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, are going to Malta for the weekend.
They eat eggs Benedict and drink coffee with Guinness and a bourbon. Jay says: “It is the rule at airports — have a proper drink with your brew.”
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Broker Lorna Stevens, 42, and special educational needs worker Amanda Sargent, 38, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, met in their local pub 20 years ago.
They are drinking pink gin and tonic before flying to Marrakech, and Amanda says: “We always take a photo of ourselves at The Red Lion — the start of the holiday, the obligatory picture.”
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Team leader Megan Gardner loves the job she’s done at the pub for the past seven yearsCredit: Paul Edwards
Team leader and mum- of-two Megan Gardner, 23, from Crawley, West Sussex, does four seven-hour shifts a week at The Red Lion.
She says: “I haven’t a bad word to say about working here — that’s why I’ve been here seven years.”
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Tasha Clements, 28, from Horsham, West Sussex, has been a bar worker at The Red Lion for two years.
She says: “Every day someone makes the same joke — ‘It’s five o’clock somewhere!’. And it is.”
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Jhonny Da Corte has been the pub’s kitchen chief leader for five years. He is overseeing 13 people today.
Venezuelan Jhonny, 30, from West London, says: “We go through around 20,000 eggs per week.
“Our most popular dish in the morning will be our traditional breakfast and, at lunch, burgers take over as the top sellers.”
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Steve Norman of Spandau Ballet, right, enjoys a pre-flight pint with his pal JayCredit: Paul Edwards
Over a pint of Doom Bar, he opens up about his ambition to reunite the band.
Steve, 65, says: “It would be great, before one of us pops our clogs, to be in a room together at the very least — and maybe, who knows, do a last farewell tour.”
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Dad Zesh Sadique, 46, and his wife Sadia are en route to Bodrum, Turkey, for four days with their children, Zidane, eight, and Arya, three.
Tucking into fish and chips, Sadia, 37, from London, says: “We came here because there is a great range of food. We’ll be back.”
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Electrician John Penny, 38, and his wife Lucy, who live near Crowborough, East Sussex, are celebrating their first child-free holiday in 12 years.
They’re off to sunny Palma, Majorca, and John is celebrating with a pint, while community helper Lucy, 35, is content with a Pepsi.
She says: “We always come here with the kids, too. You order on an app, so it’s easy.”
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Beccie Simms, 47, and her nine-year-old neurodivergent twins Poppy and Ethan are having pizza and chips before flying to Crete.
Maternity ward worker Beccie, from Surrey, says: “This suits the twins. It is relaxed and has a great choice of food. The twins are very picky!”
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Alice Richardson, Millie Parker, Poppy Davinport and Hannah Wilson drink to their Majorca holCredit: Paul Edwards
Portsmouth students Poppy Davinport, Hannah Wilson and Alice Richardson, all 21, together with Millie Parker, 20, are heading to Majorca.
They are drinking Proseccos, gin and tonics and apple juices. Millie says: “The plan is to get tanned, drink and eat lots of paella.”
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Londoners Olivia Moris-Brown, 19, who works for M&S, and her partner Jason Pham, a 20-year-old insurance broker, are off to Pisa in Italy to celebrate their sixth anniversary.
Tucking into chips and curry sauce, a spicy Korean chicken bowl and fish and chips, Jason says: “We love Spoons, we are fans. The food is always banging.”
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Tthe Ojukwus visit the pub before jetting to Majorca for their anniversaryCredit: Paul Edwards
Guinness-drinking Leon Ojukwu, 43, from East London, and his wife Abbie, 40, are primary school teachers.
They’re celebrating their tenth anniversary in Majorca with kids Esme, eight, and Zac, five. Abbie, who has had a Prosecco, says: “We always come here before a flight.
“Everyone has a smile on their face, the drinks come quickly and you don’t need to dress up.”
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Ian Gordon, 62, is waiting for the Inverness flight, heading home to Lhanbryde, Moray, after a work trip.
Tucking into a ham and mushroom pizza, the salmon fisherman says: “The Guinness is good at Wetherspoons.
“I just came back from Iceland — you’re paying at least double for a pint there.”
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Nicola, in hat, is off to Portugal with nine mates for her 40thCredit: Paul Edwards
Wearing a sparkly hat, facilities manager Nicola Sandhu is heading to Vilamoura, Portugal, with nine friends for her 40th.
Nicola, from Bexleyheath, Kent, says: “We’ve got wines, Prosecco and lemon spritzes, nachos, fish and chips and an ultimate burger to set our trip off on the right note.”
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Five pint-sipping friends from Selsey, West Sussex, are en route to party capital Prague in the Czech Republic.
Yet NHS service manager Mike Brooks, chef Ryan O’Hara, builder Riley Evans, all 25, carpenter Jenson Holden, 20, and carer Will Jenkinson, 26, insist they are “going to see the local sights”.
Riley says: “We will be in bed by 10pm, reading our Kindles.”
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Bella Caesar, left, and Millie Horner enjoy a pre-flight drinkCredit: Paul Edwards
Teaching assistant Millie Horner and HR worker Bella Caesar, both 21, from Hedge End, Hampshire, are eating chicken strips and are on their third round of vodka lemonade and rum and Coke.
They got here early for their Ibiza flight and Millie says: “It’s a debrief before the main event begins.”
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It’s all been too much for one travellerCredit: Paul Edwards
The passengers have all gone, and now The Red Lion worker Holly Taplin, 19, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, is mopping up after a long shift.
She says: “I am a bar associate, which means I host, clean, serve, make drinks — the whole lot.”
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Bar worker Holly Taplin gets the place tidy againCredit: Paul Edwards
Ollie Wilcox, 29, from Crawley, West Sussex, is a shift manager at the pub.
He says: “We stay open until the last flight goes, then we get ready for the morning shift.
“Passengers start coming through at 2am, and by 4am, the pub’s chock-a-block — there is a queue all the way down to WHSmith.”
Situated on an inlet of Chichester harbour, this picturesque village is considered one of the most beautiful and historically significant ‘chocolate box villages’ in the country
Holy Trinity Church in Bosham is considered the oldest place of known worship in West Sussex(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
England’s ‘chocolate box villages‘ are some of the country’s most distinct and charming elements. Though each village is slightly different, they are all typically defined by thatched cottages, cobblestone streets, quaint pubs and a tranquil atmosphere.
The term ‘chocolate box village’ refers to the picturesque cottages that used to front the classic Cadbury boxes. While there are plenty of these beautiful villages across the country, a new round-up has named a seaside town in West Sussex amongst the best.
Bosham is a small coastal village on one of the small inlets of Chichester harbour. It was inhabited by the Romans and so perfectly combines historical significance with natural beauty. This after news that an abandoned UK Butlin’s site is now seaside town’s ‘hell hole’ hotel.
Bosham is well-known for its beautiful village setting and its sailing community(Image: Getty Images/500px Plus)
Chichester harbour is renowned for its photogenic nature as a sanctuary for migrating wildfowl, shellduck, and many more and so Bosham is an ideal location to explore the area. From Bosham you are also within convenient distance to West Wittering and East Wittering beaches, as well as Selsey.
Adding to the natural wonder of the area, Bosham is home to historic architectural gems and a peaceful atmosphere that has seen it named one of the country’s most beautiful chocolate box villages.
In a ranking of these honorary villages by Independent Cottages, Bosham in West Sussex came in sixth place. The ranking was based on several key factors, including the number of historic buildings in each village, the oldest recorded age of the village (a measure of the depth of its history), its status as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and its prevalence in internet searches and TikTok.
Bosham was recorded as having 73 listed buildings and its suggested age according to the publication is 731AD. The village is also a designated AONB and received modest internet interest because of the Bosham Inn.
The Bosham Inn is a former vicarage that has been painstakingly restored. Not only is this country pub set against a beautiful natural landscape, but it offers a range of delightful cask ales, wines and seasonal dishes for visitors to enjoy.
Be mindful of the high tide at Bosham Quay(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Another important fixture that reflects Bosham’s impressive history is the Holy Trinity Church: a Grade I listed church and the oldest place of known worship in West Sussex . It is located at the foot of the South Downs National Park.
In addition to being known as a chocolate box village, Bosham is a prime sailing hub. Visitors are likely to see many boats and yachts moored at the harbour and the dinghy sailing taking place.
At Bosham Quay you can take in the people, the boats, and the natural wildlife at leisure. The only catch? When the tide comes in, it usually floods the road immediately next to the harbour so take care with where you park.
The Sussex Beacon has made history with its latest LGBTQIA+ initiative.
On 16 July, the Brighton-based charity announced that it was “refreshing its approach to palliative and end of life care services,” by becoming Britain’s first hospice dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Under the “landmark development,” The Sussex Beacon will offer inclusive care with expertise in specialist HIV care.
While the organisation is setting up a new one-of-a-kind hospice service, it has decades of experience offering accessible health care for those living with HIV.
Since 1994, The Sussex Beacon has been a prominent and cherished resource for local residents in the Brighton and Hove, as well as the surrounding Greater Sussex communities.
In a statement, CEO Rachel Brett expressed her excitement over the charity’s incredible feat.
“The LGBTQ+ community built The Beacon, and now we will be giving it back, stronger and more inclusive than ever. It was originally founded to offer care in a safe, accepting space for people dying with AIDS-related illnesses,” she said.
“Thanks to advances in HIV treatment, our focus has moved to ensure that people across local communities are getting the help and support they need. Further to this, we are delighted that we can use the fantastic facility that we have to refresh our offer of hospice care for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Fortunately, the new inclusive palliative care will be delivered with the support of the NHS. However, to achieve long-term sustainability, The Sussex Beacon will be relying on charitable funding.
“It’s fair to say we need our community behind us now more than ever. The next few years will be challenging as we make this transition, but with collective support, we’ll create something truly transformative,” Brett concluded.
In a separate statement, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at NHS Sussex, Amy Dissanayake, showcased support for The Sussex Beacon, writing: “We are delighted to be working with The Sussex Beacon as they make this step to enhance the high-quality service they can provide to the local community.
“In addition to the hospice care, their experience in providing specialist community care for people living with HIV is invaluable and fully supports our ambition to bring care out of hospitals where possible, and into communities, either in people’s homes directly or in their local neighbourhood at community hubs.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the team at The Sussex Beacon to make this a reality for our population.”
In addition to offering inclusive palliative care, the longstanding charity will serve as a national resource to other hospices seeking to enhance their services for LGBTQIA+ patients.
For more information on The Sussex Beacon and their new LGBTQIA+ inclusive initiative, click here.
How best to bond with a teenage boy? When my son, Hugo, finished his A-levels, I knew I wanted to “take a journey” with him, to have some sort of final trip before he left home. Ideally a journey that would leave both of us with a few happy memories.
Easier said than done: a midlife woman and a teenage boy are completely different beasts. I wanted to walk. He wanted to be driven. I wanted to get up early. He wanted to sleep in. I wanted unusual food. He wanted pub grub. I wanted to be safely active. He wanted to lie on a sofa or scramble along a vertiginous precipice. I wanted conversation. He didn’t (at least not with me, hour after hour). The problem of where to go seemed insurmountable.
But there was one activity we both enjoyed: making and building things. Could this be the answer to our “bonding” trip? When I suggested we do a three-day stone-carving course on the South Downs and then a wood-turning class deep in an East Sussex forest, he nodded.
We could spend our days together, but not conversing. The start time would be somewhere between his and my preferred rising hours. Our creative endeavours could be interspersed with eating at pubs that catered to each of our food preferences. And the travel requirements were minimal. We would base ourselves at my mum’s in Lewes (but there’s a great choice of local accommodation, including a youth hostel in a converted Sussex farmhouse in Southease on the South Downs that offers options from private rooms to bell tents). To boot, we may come away with more than just a few memories. Conran-ish wooden bowls and Hepworth-ish stone sculptures swum before my eyes. Yes, this could work, we agreed.
Annabel Abbs and her son’s creations. Photograph: Annabel Abbs
And so, with a little trepidation, we turned up at the Skelton Workshop just after Hugo’s last A-level exam. In a hidden crevice of the South Downs, not far from Hassocks, the Skelton stone-carving studio is near the home of the eminent, deceased sculptor and letter-cutter, John Skelton (students can visit Skelton’s nearby sculpture garden during courses). The vast barn-style workshop looks over slanting vineyards which also contained – to our surprise and delight – a very cool wine bar and restaurant. The Artelium wine estate offers vineyard tours and tasting sessionsand, having discovered that the wines had won multiple awards, its alfresco terrace became our lunch spot (charcuterie boards and homemade bread) for the next three days.
Artelium vineyard and restaurant
But first we had to choose whether we wanted to carve letters or sculpture. We both opted for sculpture. We then had to make another decision: what sort of stone? Hugo chose a beautiful green granite, while I selected a large block of Italian soapstone. Being disorganised, neither of us had arrived with any ideas. The course tutors provided books to inspire us and – after a little discussion with our eight fellow students – we both decided to go abstract. After three days of open-air chiselling, hammering, sanding and polishing, we had sculptures deemed good enough for the end-of-course show. To our (continued) surprise, a crowd arrived for the “private viewing” in which our sculptures were publicly praised by the tutors. We celebrated with an evening meal in The Gun, a gastropub in Chiddingly that serves stone-baked pizzas and something it calls a “gut-loving burrito bowl” composed of sweetcorn, black beans, guacamole and all the other things anathema to Hugo but much-loved by his mother.
The next day, we drove 30 minutes east, to a privately owned woodland just outside Battle. Here, we hoped to master the ancient art of wood- turning using pole lathes, now a heritage craft. Green woodworker Amy Leake – youthful, petite, impressively muscled – had set up our pole lathes beneath the shade of a vast, spreading oak. After introducing us to our lathes (simple contraptions Amy made herself, in which sawn branches, rope and a treadle turn the wood), she showed us how to axe an enormous chunk of wood into something that would ultimately become a bowl. As sunlight poured through the green foliage above us, wood chips whizzed through the grainy air and sweat ran from our brows. Turning on a pole lathe requires strength, stamina and skill. Thanks to Amy’s expert guidance, by the end of the day we were the proud (if exhausted) owners of two beautiful bowls.
Crazy golf in Hastings. Photograph: LH Images/Alamy
To recover, we headed to nearby Hastings for fish and chips on the beach followed by a game of crazy golf on the sea front. Tired after all that treadling it was then back to Lewes for some well-deserved sleep.
I’m looking at our (proudly displayed) sculptures and bowls as I write. They always make me smile. Not because I see the embryonic makings of two artistic geniuses, but because they remind me of the connection Hugo and I made while working with our hands, of the shared blood, sweat and laughter. Besides, the bowls are perfect for serving crisps. I’ll take that over a string of digital photographs any day.
Skelton Workshops is running a three-day beginner’s workshop from July 29-31 for £216 including all materials. Amy Leake runs a range of green woodworking classes(£200 for two people per day) including brush-making and spoon-carving
It has been a dreadful start to the season in the County Championship for Lancashire, who named former T20-winning captain Steven Croft as interim head coach, with no wins from their seven games.
Jennings had already resigned as red-ball captain and the club apologised to its members before Benkenstein’s exit.
Back in charge for the T20 Blast, Jennings brought up his 50 off 30 balls and put on 79 for the first wicket with Luke Wells.
But a brilliant catch in the deep from Ethan Brookes removed Jennings and halted Lancashire’s progress, and the hosts lost five wickets for 22 runs to keep the target to under nine runs an over.
When Kashif Ali smashed 39 off 21 balls, the Rapids were well over the required rate and on course for an away win.
But the loss of captain Brett D’Oliveira (30) and Adam Hose (13) to reduce Worcestershire to 93-4 after 10.1 overs changed the complexion of the game.
From there, Lancashire turned the screw and with the visitors needing 15 runs off the last over, Tom Aspinwall conceded just seven to deliver a morale-boosting first win of the season in any competition.
AN OAP has died after drowning in a canal as a coroner issues an urgent warning to council officials.
Doreen Turner, 91, tragically lost her life after driving her car into the body of water in Chichester, West Sussex.
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Doreen Turner, 91, died on November 1 last year
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The OAP tragically lost her life after driving into the canal in Chichester
The horror crash happened on November 1 last year and sparked a police investigation.
A coroner has now ruled West Sussex County Council must install more safety measures along the road.
A probe found there was no forensic evidence of any mechanical issues in Doreen’s car.
Officers also concluded the 91-year-old had suffered no impairments that would affect her driving.
However the kerb at the end of the road was found to measure shorter than the standard height requirement.
A council spokesperson said: “We are currently reviewing this site in consultation with Sussex Police and will be responding to the coroner accordingly.”
Coroner Joanne Andrews could not determine the exact reason why Doreen’s car left the road.
But she warned the council “action should be taken”.
“In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe your organisation has the power to take such action,” she said.
This incident marks the second fatal crash in the same area within the past five years.
The coroner said the inquest heard there were “no devices present to prevent a vehicle which passes over the kerbstones from entering the canal”.
Beyond the kerb there is a five-foot section of grass before the canal starts.
West Sussex County Council has until June 25 to respond officially to the coroner’s concerns.
