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.
Denne historien er fra October 2018-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 2018-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TAKE YOUR TIME
Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
ON THE FRONT FOOT
The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire
NAKED AMBITION
In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve
ROCKET MAN
Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays
Revolution man
Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?
THE DIARY
17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex
All in a day's work
Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades
My favourite Sussex
Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope
