Teddy and the Big C campaign update - Aug 2023

By Kat and Alastair Lichten, Teddy’s mum and dad

Teddy’s campaign has continued to grow and grow! At the time of writing, we have raised nearly £175,000 towards our £250,000-£300,000 target for Teddy to access ground-breaking cancer treatment abroad.

In September, we are pleased to be supported by the wonderful Hassocks Goes Gold appeal, who will be donating the proceeds from poster sales to Teddy this year. You can also still pick up raffle tickets until 13th September from de la Casa for a gorgeous Coatimundi soft toy donated by Hassocks Pet Centre.

During August, Teddy enjoyed a wonderful day out, organised by Thameslink. Teddy got to meet the driver of the train and then he got to sit in the cab while the driver drove the train to Three Bridges. Fortunately, Teddy was on top form that day and could fully enjoy his special experience. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us so far by donating, taking on a sponsored challenge or organising an event.

Scroll down to see some wonderful fundraising events you can join in on…

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Taste wine and fundraise for Teddy’s treatment

By Amanda Felix

An exciting new fundraising event has just been launched for Teddy and the Big C. Giles Cutlack of South Downs Cellars will host a wine tasting evening in Adastra Hall on Friday 27th October. Giles will take the audience on a lively journey through a range of wines with accompanying nibbles in aid of Teddy’s campaign.
Book early to guarantee your places on the online seating plan.

Thank you in advance for your support for Teddy and we look forward to welcoming you. Tickets cost £20 per head and are available online at www.buytickets.at/rathergoodevents or you can pay in cash at Bella & Megs Café on Keymer Road, Hassocks. If you have any questions please contact Amanda Felix on: amandajanefelix@ outlook.com.

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Green fees for Teddy

Burgess Hill Golf Centre is holding a fundraiser for Teddy on Saturday 30th September. There will be prizes for ‘nearest the pin’ on the course and ‘putting hole in one’. Jess Armstrong-Kerr of Burgess Hill Golf Centre says: “Join us at the Burgess Hill Golf Centre for a family fun golf day to fundraise for Teddy and the Big C. One hundred percent of green fees will be donated to Teddy’s cause!” This wonderful event will run all day, and you can book online or just turn up on Saturday 30th September. Jess explains: “Golfers can play the nine-hole course for £20, knowing they are donating money to Teddy’s Campaign with Solving Kids Cancer.” A children’s putting competition will also run all day and cost five pounds to enter, again with all proceeds donated.

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Role-Playing Games Day at Dice and Drinks Café

Reserve a space in your diaries for Teddy’s Role-Playing Games Day at Dice and Drinks Café in Burgess Hill on Saturday 14th October. Whether you’re a seasoned player or brand new to RPGs, there will be fun for all. Tickets cost £10 per person and there will be afternoon and evening sessions available - see Teddy and the Big C on Facebook for more info or scan the QR code.

Adastra Hall is looking for volunteers from the Hassocks community

Adastra Hall

By Chris Hobbs, Chair, Hassocks Community Association, Adastra Hall Management Committee

Long-standing residents of Hassocks will remember the concerted effort of Hassocks Community Association members in the early 80s to raise funds to get Adastra Hall built. A village lottery? The lottery ticket box on Orion Parade? Hassocks Fayre? Well, the team did it and 35 years ago, thanks to a great village effort, in 1987 Adastra Hall opened. Fast forward to today, and the hall is more popular than ever. All three rooms - the Main Hall, the Green Room and the Committee Room are in regular use for music lessons, group and club meetings, art classes, exercise classes, family parties, blood donor sessions, Jazz shows - you name it, and Adastra Hall can host it.

Running the hall is the ‘hobby’ of a volunteer management committee of seven, led by new Chair Chris Hobbs, who is now looking for additional support. The group meets monthly for a business meeting, then work continues in between sessions with each person taking a specific project forward. Already this year, the team has installed free Wi-Fi, replaced all the lighting for LED, had the floor re-varnished and launched a new website at www.adastrahall.com

On the project list are new hall curtains, new stage curtains, a revamp of the “Green Room” and much more... But to keep the hall going and make it the best it can be, the Committee are looking for three new volunteers - someone to help manage the property task list, someone to help develop the community clubs the hall runs, and someone who has project management skills to help lead a potential front-of-house refurbishment in 2023.

Do you have some hours to spare and want to give something back to the community? In the first instance, drop Chris a line - chris.hobbs@adastrahall.co.uk to find out more.

Play Days on Tour is coming to Hassocks

The Mid Sussex District Council Play Days on Tour Summer 2022 programme will visit ten locations across the district twice a week throughout the school summer holidays. This programme delivers free activities for children and families, providing a range of activities including music, arts, circus skills and sports. The target age is under 10s but all children and young people can attend.

On Tuesday 26th July, Play Days on Tour will be in Adastra Park from 1pm to 3pm and there will be lots of things to do! Sussex Clubs for Young People will have their purple bus and will offer various arts and games activities. DJ Neel will be playing great music and running DJ workshops. Circus Allstars gives an opportunity to learn new circus skills. Jolf Golf will set up a 6-hole golf park for families to play together. Little Kickers encourage under 5s to have a go at learning some football skills. Poponin, who runs creative clubs and workshops in Hurstpierpoint will offer an art experience. There will be a trail around the park organised by Liz. MSDC Recycling Trail gives families a chance to solve clues. More activities are being added all the time, and if you can’t make this date, remember Play Days will visit other villages in Mid-Sussex, too, so check out the website: www.midsussex.gov.uk/playdays

It's curtains up for the Star Cinema - an HCO project Hassocks

Star Cinema is back

The Star Cinema and the Hassocks Community Organisation are excited to announce the start of a new cinematic season.

This November we are starting with Dream Horse, a true story following Jan Vokes, a small-town Welsh bartender and her aspirations to breed and train an unlikely racehorse, Dream Alliance. Played by Toni Collette, Jan has little experience or money to compete against the racing world elite. However, she is undaunted and has high ambitions to win the Welsh Grand National.
The Star Cinema presents this Welsh adventure on Friday, 12th November at the Adastra Hall. Doors will open at 7pm for the opportunity to enjoy refreshments and chat with your neighbours; the film presentation will start at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £5.50 (£5 for those over 60).

The ever-popular raffle remains - five tickets for £1 - and wine, equally popular, will be on offer. Important, please bring cash as The Star Cinema does not yet have a card payment facility.

After losing the Orion cinema in 1964, many considered the closure a significant loss to both Hassocks and surrounding communities. The village needed a replacement. However, with Knights Budgens now occupying the original Orion’s site, a new location had to be found. At a meeting in 2002 where the Village Action Plan was undergoing review, Sherrian Guest surprised herself by volunteering to create a pop-up cinema at the Adastra Hall. Soon to be joined by fellow volunteer Janet Everest, they together made plans to show the first film, Chocolat in January 2003.

In 2004, Sherrian and Janet launched a competition to name the cinema. From the many entries received, actress Gwyneth Powell picked the name Star Cinema. Submitted by (the late) Lorraine Langridge, it communicated a connection towards the Latin translation of Ad Astra: ‘to the stars’.

Our next blockbuster showing will be A Christmas Gift from Bob. Continuing the story of Bob the Cat, this adventure was originally scheduled for its UK release in Christmas 2020. You can see this at the Star Cinema on Friday 10th December.

If you would like to know more about the work of the Hassocks Community Organisation (HCO), or would like to take advantage of the Village Discount Card (accepted by 35 High Street businesses) head on over to the HCO website at www.hassockscommunity.org.uk

Adastra Hall and the history and community that built what it is today

Janet Bell throws light on the past, present and future of this community focal point.

Photo by Deirdre Huston

Adastra Hall is owned by registered charity, Hassocks Community Association, with its day-to-day management delegated to a committee of volunteers. Several of the original cohort of visionaries who were involved with the task of raising funds, and commissioning the building which is still in existence today, remain active on the committee, although one can’t be surprised that they feel ready to hand the baton on. Val Purdew, now the Chair of Hassocks Community Association, and an active member of the committee, is retiring from her role at our AGM. She was heavily involved in all the initial fundraising, as was Stella Jenner, the Treasurer who still has an eagle-eyed overview of our finances. I asked Stella for anecdotes about the early days - and what a mine of information she is…

The original motivators were a local couple, Dick and Bett Hall. Hoping to replace the wooden hut in the park that was then serving as a community space, they got elected to the Parish Council (who own and manage Adastra Park) to make their case. In 1976, a first public meeting was called and Mr B. Hewer, a representative of Hurstpierpoint Village Hall, came to talk about how our neighbouring village had achieved their smart new building. That got the ball rolling and so began ten years of community effort to raise funds. Hassocks Community Association was registered with the Charity Commission and an executive committee was formed.

Local professionals, an architect and a solicitor in particular, gave the benefit of their skills and contacts. A couple of local councillors were also very supportive, and able to offer guidance about government grants. There was still a need for significant funds to be raised by the good people of Hassocks and it was important that there was local buy-in. I don’t imagine you could have lived in Hassocks at the time and not known there was a campaign on to replace the village hall!

Pick up a March issue of Hassocks Life to read how the community came together to fundraise for their adored Adastra Hall. Also, more amazing old photos.

If anyone has a bit of time to spare and thinks they can offer anything to the committee, we would love to hear from you!
To find out more, see: www.adastrahall.co.uk or contact Janet: 01273 842527 / janetb545@gmail.com

Hassocks Adastra Park Play Areas - Covid-19 Guidance

By Parish Clerk
Hassocks Parish Council has worked hard to complete the play area improvements within Adastra Park and to put in place Government guidance measures to open its play areas. The new play areas have been safety inspected ahead of their opening, but we cannot guarantee that their hard surfaces will be coronavirusfree. To allow everyone to enjoy the new play areas as safely as possible, the Council strongly advises that all reasonable precautions are taken to ensure the safety of yourself, your family and other users by following the guidelines on this page. These rules are in addition to the normal rules of the play area.

Important Covid-19 guidance for using the Adastra Park play areas:
Please ensure you maintain social distancing in line with current government guidance

• If the play area is busy, please come back another time
• Parents/adults should wipe down equipment before and after use
• Please ensure only one adult enters the play area with their child/children
• Please be considerate in the amount of time spent on equipment so others can use it
• If a piece of equipment is taped off, please do not use
• If a piece of play equipment is being used that you wish to use, please queue whilst maintaining social distancing
• Please ensure you and your child/children do not touch faces, put mouths on equipment or hands in mouths
• If you have to sneeze, please sneeze into a tissue or arm when a tissue is not available
• Please use hand sanitiser before and after using each separate piece of play equipment
• No food or drink should be consumed within the play area
• Please wash your hands after using the play equipment
• Please place litter in the bins provided. If a bin is full please take your litter home. Thank you for your co-operation in helping towards making the play areas safe for everyone to enjoy.

Adastra Park Play Area

New play equipment in Adastra Park

Norma opera comes to Hassocks

Touring operatic company Heber Opera is once again playing at Adastra Hall with its current production of Norma.

According to Heber: ‘Bellini’s Norma is an opera that is not performed very often but has a strong story and lovely music, including, of course, one of opera’s most famous arias Casta Diva (or in our English version Sacred Goddess)’.

Heber’s production will be sung in English and performed in the round, and it will feature the talents of local performer Steve Hawksley (pictured) from Hassocks.

This tour is made up of just five dates, including 7.30pm on Friday 24th May at Adastra Hall in Hassocks and Sunday 26th May at nearby Hurstpierpoint’s Village Centre where the show will start at 6pm.

Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 07503 783403.