Meet long time Hassocks resident Judy Tilbury in our Village People feature

By Deirdre Huston

After having lived here for 58 years, Judy, aged 81, must be one of Hassocks longest residents. She was born in Framfield, near Uckfield. She remembers: “My father was the head gardener to Lord and Lady Fisher of Framfield Place, and it was phenomenal, reminiscent of Kew Gardens.” Judy hoped to get into grammar school, but she was ill on the day of her interview so instead, she stayed at the village school until she was 13, then progressed onto Uckfield County Secondary where she became Head Girl, and Head of the School Choir. She remembers singing live on Glyndebourne stage, in the finals of a Sussex singing competition. Sadly, Judy’s father was asthmatic, and he died young, leaving her mother with six children. Judy was sixteen, and along with her sister, she left school to work in a dry cleaner’s, shelving hopes of further education. At the dry cleaner’s, she learned how to hand press cocktail and evening dresses.

“My mum loved the sea, and we often went to Brighton or Eastbourne on the bus,” recalls Judy. “After my father’s death, she decided she wanted to move to Brighton.” The family moved to Hove, and Judy’s mother found work in a Jaeger factory, making coats and Judy helped while she waited to start a new job. Judy learned many sewing skills from her talented mum, who made absolutely all the family’s clothes, and her mother often recounted how, at age four, Judy asked to have a go, and her mum said: “You’ll prick your finger!” Judy took to it immediately, and sewing has become a lifelong endeavour. She began sewing for other people as a teenager in Framfield, making full circular skirts with can can petticoats to go dancing in. She used to make them for all her friends, and soon, someone asked her to make a dress, “It took off from there,” says Judy. “It was a great way to supplement our income.”

Judy still loves sewing today and makes personalised birth samplers, ring cushions and poems to order. She also makes samplers for the royal babies and is proud of letters of thanks she’s received. During lockdown, one of her swimming colleagues asked if she could make masks. The friend found a pattern and Judy made two. Then she made three for another friend. And it snowballed! “Sometimes, I was in the workroom at 5am.” All in all, Judy made 5000 masks, raising £8000 for Headway. The masks were a pound each, but many people donated extra.

If anybody would like to support her and make a donation, please go to www.justgiving.com and search for Headway Sussex

To read much more about Judy’s life and her connection with the village pick up a copy of January’s Hassocks Life magazine.

Village People - Keren Ghitis

Keren Ghitis

From the earliest days people have been telling and recording their stories. These stories provide us with valuable links to the past and bring history to life. But life stories can also be a powerful tool in raising awareness of injustice, inequality and suffering. Hassocks resident Keren Ghitis has spent 15 years travelling all over the world capturing stories of ordinary people faced with unimaginable adversity. She now lives in the village and works as a psychotherapist in Brighton and Hassocks.

By Claire Cooper

Keren was born in Israel into a Latin American family. “My dad is Colombian, my mum Brazilian and our spoken language was Spanish,” she said. “I was brought up in a Latin culture in the Middle East!” With her multicultural upbringing, Keren knew from an early age that she wanted to work with marginalised communities. “As I grew up I became aware of the many different kinds of social injustice and the divide between rich and poor, particularly in Colombia and Brazil, which made me determined to work in those areas,” Keren recalled. “The political situation in Israel had also sparked my interest in social justice and human rights.” The opportunity to make a difference came when Keren joined PANOS, a London based company leading the way in using media and communication for development, shedding light on unreported issues and providing a voice for the poor and marginalised. Keren was a member of the Oral Testimonies team. “Our role was to equip people to record their life experiences and present their stories to inspire change,” said Keren. “I worked with people living with HIV and Aids, victims of war, survivors of trafficking, domestic slavery and communities in poverty. “When people tell their stories it has a huge impact on raising awareness and conveys a reality stronger than statistics.” Keren’s work with young people living with HIV and Aids in the Dominican Republic highlighted the spread of the virus and its impact on the poorest people. “I worked From the earliest days people have been telling and recording their stories. These stories provide us with valuable links to the past and bring history to life. But life stories can also be a powerful tool in raising awareness of injustice, inequality and suffering. Hassocks resident Keren Ghitis has spent 15 years travelling all over the world capturing stories of ordinary people faced with unimaginable adversity. She now lives in the village and works as a psychotherapist in Brighton and Hassocks. with one young girl living with HIV whose grandmother refused to use the same cutlery and dishes. The girl lived in a room away from the rest of the family. As you can imagine, this experience of constantly being rejected affected her very deeply.” Keren travelled all over the world gathering stories. “We would teach local people how to document their life stories, starting with how to use a tape recorder and progressing to videos. “When you consider that many people we trained had never seen a television, learning to hold and use a video camera was a completely new experience! We would transcribe the recordings into English and show the videos at global conferences and in international media to promote change and policy innovation.”

To read more please find the article in this month’s (July) issue of Hassocks Life!