Community News 198 Spring 2016.qxp_Layout 1 17/01/2016 20:55 Page 1 Spring 2016 Number 198 In this edition: Happy 40th Birthday to us! Special commemorative features inside Local Spring Events Community News is distributed free to Lingfield, Crowhurst, Dormansland, Dormans Park, Felcourt and parts of Newchapel, Haxted, Horne, and Baldwins Hill Community News 198 Spring 2016.qxp_Layout 1 17/01/2016 20:55 Page 2 Community News Team Contact E: mail@communitynewslingfield.co.uk A: c/o Lingfield & Dormansland Community Centre, High St, Lingfield, RH7 6AB W: www.communitynewslingfield.co.uk Editorial Manager / Chairman Edward Pearcey 07828 993 376 Editorial David Allonby 01342 832 514 Treasurer Michael Pocock 01342 832 685 Advertising Edward Pearcey 07828 993 376 Graham Marks 01342 832 529 Secretary Gillian Pocock 01342 832 685 Distribution Grace Porter 01342 833 841 Production Cox and Co Creative 01342 836 564 Community News is a non-profit making free newspaper published four times each year. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editorial team. Donations, although always welcome, do not guarantee publication of material submitted by the donor. Please note that all material sent is forwarded at the contributor's own risk. Whilst every care is taken with material, Community News cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage incurred. The editors reserve the right to edit material (reduce the length of an article) and rewrite or otherwise modify it if they deem it necessary. Material is reformatted to suit our house style. The next edition of Community News is the Summer publication. The deadline for submissions is Friday 8 April 2016 Please send submissions to the email or postal address above. Cover The original cover of Community News Edition Number One from March 1976, with various other editions scattered behind it showing a range of images and topics from our 40 years. This issue of Community News has been printed by: Eden River Press Ltd 01883 712 099 www.edenriverpress.co.uk 2 Community News 198 Spring 2016.qxp_Layout 1 17/01/2016 20:55 Page 3 Community News turns 40, and it’s still going strong th Hello and welcome friends and residents to our 40 Anniversary issue of Community News. Wow, what a journey we’ve all taken, and what an absolute pleasure it’s been for us to produce an edition celebrating such a wonderfully informative and useful newsletter. Over the next twelve months, we’ll be running a series of features to commemorate the four decades CN has spent serving the community, as well as highlighting the achievements of the publication’s longest serving contributors. So, where better to start than with our very own Graham Marks, who’s been with CN since the very beginning. “I remember clearly the production of the very first edition of Community News, in the home economics room (now the Allison Room) of the Lingfield and Dormansland Community Centre (then an adult education centre, among other things). Over 30 volunteers worked in rows to collate the edition, lovingly printed on a hand-powered copying machine.” “About three weeks prior to this, Surrey County Council had engaged two outreach workers — one in Leatherhead and one in Lingfield — to help engage the community with local activities.” “One of those workers was Keith Thomsett, then based in Town Hill. He had become concerned that events and services in Lingfield and Dormansland, and the surrounding areas, were not getting enough coverage from the local newspapers. And so, Community News was born. The first edition (the cover of which can be seen on the front of this edition) ran to 1,500 copies, using donated paper.” “Twelve groups were created to serve the local community, many of which survive today, most notably Meals on Wheels, Darby & Joan, the Brownies, several adult education groups, and of course our very own Community News.” “The cover of the second edition featured a pen and ink drawing of Keith. Sadly, Keith's sister, a well-know actress, informed me he died some 12 years ago, but what a wonderful legacy he left us.” What a legacy indeed Graham, and thank you for those wonderful memories and comments. Meanwhile, Jill Browning, former Community News worker and contributor, recalls how in the “early 1970s, I was working at the Lingfield Centre when it was run by Keith Thomsett and funded jointly by Surrey County Council’s Youth and Adult Education Committees. Keith came from a youth service background and was committed to developing community activities around the Centre.” “One of his concerns was the lack of communication between Dormansland and 3 Community News 198 Spring 2016.qxp_Layout 1 17/01/2016 20:55 Page 4 From Our Archive - Hot Cross Bun Recipe This recipe appeared in the very first edition of Community News in March 1976. If you have a go, we’d love to see the results � Email your photos to: [email protected] ! 4 Community News 198 Spring 2016.qxp_Layout 1 17/01/2016 20:55 Page 5 Lingfield (then with a single Parish Council) and he had the idea of a community news magazine to be delivered to every house in the civil parish. This seemed an impossible aim, but with a lot of goodwill, lobbying and hard work the first Community News was produced and delivered.” “This was a very amateurish affair, typed on stencils and produced on a hand- operated Gestetner, with the pages collated by an enthusiastic group of people who passed a page from their pile to the end where it was stapled … and not always very accurately.” “This task often went on into late evening and the group were kept going with Nescafe and biscuits. Collating turned into a sort of party, and when we became a little more professional people missed the fun.” “It’s amazing to think how far the production has come in what feels like just a few years! We did not even have photocopiers then and I am so impressed with the highly professional appearance of the current issue. Well done to the many people who have kept it going.” Thanks Jill, we do our best! And finally, there are more recollections from long-time colleague, and local resident, Sheilah Celebrating Gray. Take it away Sheilah: 40 years “My first memories of Community News were when I became Lingfield Community Centre Secretary in 1975, and had to type the newsletter on wax sheets for the Gestetner machine. A messy business, as any typing errors had to be mended with something akin to nail varnish, and the sheets used were also quite fragile.” “Each sheet was rolled off by the handle, of Community News producing mountains of paper, which was then ! collected and taken to the home economics room for the team of collators to produce the CN. I think that originally it was on foolscap sheets.” “My next recollections are from the 1990s, when the publication was organised from Carol Holgate’s house, with Betty Rees typing most of the copy and myself mopping up any late bits. We had pages of little pictures for the different seasons and subjects: garden tools for horticulture, dishes of food for Lunch Club, and so on. And then at Christmas lots of holly, sleighs, Santas, angels and reindeer.” “We would then cut out each article and paste it onto A3 sheets which we would then take to Ken (who lived just off the A22) and he would pull it all together and print it for us.” 5 Community News 198 Spring 2016.qxp_Layout 1 17/01/2016 20:55 Page 6 “In the late 1990s Patti Hennessy joined us and when Ken became ill, her husband, Peter, taught himself DTP and took over the production of the proofs. This was a major work for the pair of them, taking up hours and hours, as stuff was always coming in late. It was a relief when it went off to the printers. And, when it came back, Betty Rees and Barbara Bridger sorted it out in the centre.” “As time went by, Patti and Peter became even more involved trying to sort out the list of distributors [the souls who actually bring the thing to your door, and do so beautifully we might add] as well as helping Barbara get 4,000 copies out to the local community.” “We were all very grateful to hand over to the new editorial team in 2014 and I do congratulate them on our still interesting and informative Community News.” Thank you Sheilah, and it was — and is — our pleasure to pick this baton and run with it. We hope our readers like the changes we’ve made over the past couple of years, and can be assured that Community News is in very safe hands. We’d like to wish our readers all the best for the coming year, and here’s to another 40 years! The Community News Team The Cage BARBERS Experienced and professional men's hairdressers The Cage Cabin, Plaistow St, Lingfield, Surrey, RH7 6EY 01342 837 814 Open Monday to Thursday, 09:00 to 17:30, Friday 09:00 to 18:00, and Saturday 08:00 to 16:00 VOUCHER - £1 off any haircut when you bring this voucher to the premises 6 Community News 198 Spring 2016.qxp_Layout 1 17/01/2016 20:55 Page 7 Your Letters Dear Community News, This letter is for all the inconsiderate people who feel it is acceptable to park on the KEEP CLEAR sign at the entrance to St Christopher's. My concern is that if an emergency vehicle was required and there was a car in the entrance it could create a serious problem.