Clive Agrans monthly investigation of Sussexs hidden past turns homeward as he visits Bodiam, Northiam and Ewhurst Green.
Followers of this series will be familiar with the format. After the editor tells me which town is next, I seek out the individual who knows most about the place and then try to persuade him or her to accompany me on a fact finding stroll around the streets with no bigger incentive at my disposal than a half-pint of shandy when it’s over.
After nearly two years travelling from Battle to Bognor Regis and plenty of places in between, not only is the formula looking as durable as Desert Island Discs but I’m also acquiring so much information that, were I ever to be a contestant on Mastermind, I might drop Spurs, 1961-2001 as my specialist subject and substitute, Little-Known Facts About Sussex, 1066-2018. Then, possibly sensing complacency on my part, the editor hurls a wicked curve-ball in the shape of Bodiam and Nearby Villages before sloping off on maternity leaving me, if you’ll pardon the expression, holding the baby.
My first problem is geographical – which nearby villages? The second is even more serious – I can’t find an expert! Fearing reprisals from irate readers, I’m reluctant to reveal precisely where I live but – let me put it like this – Bodiam isn’t all that far away and since I’ve been living where I am for 25 years perhaps I know enough to manage this assignment on my own. After much agonising and with sincere apologies to residents of Roberts bridge, Hurst Green, Staple cross and Cripps Corner, I shall be focusing my attention on Northiam and Ewhurst Green as well, of course, on Bodiam.
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