Welcome to Viva Lewes, the new weekly what’s on guide for those who’ve chosen to live in the Lewes district. We say ‘chosen’ because whether you have moved here or stayed on here, you have decided to make this beautiful and vibrant part of the world your home. Viva Lewes is for local people and supports local businesses and products. We believe in actively promoting new ventures, and hope to be at the centre of the pro-active spirit which makes this district thrive. This edition is an early prototype of our weekly guide sent to a small number of carefully selected people. We would welcome your comments (to info@vivalewes.com), as we build what we hope will soon become a more comprehensive guide subscribed to (for free) by anybody who is interested in keeping abreast of what’s moving and shaking in and around Lewes.

Please forward Viva Lewes to anyone you think might be interested, anyone who you feel would agree with our motto: ‘the hills are alive’…

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• Cinema: Since Otar Left
• Classical music: A Cappella Choral Choir
• Dance: Egyptian dance class
• Exhibition: Lewes Bonfire Night
• Fair: Lewes Book Fair
• Football: Lewes v Eastbourne Town
• Market: Lewes Farmers’ Market
• Meeting: DOVE anti-Newhaven Incinerator
• Panto: Aladdin
• Party: Russian vecherinka
• Photography: Competition
• Restaurant: Needlemakers’ Cafe; Rainbow Cooksbridge
• Shopping: Bona Foodie; Threshers
• Theatre: Come into my Parlour
• Travel: Malaga
• Walking: Swan-Juggs

In December East Sussex County Council finally decided to give the go-ahead to the Newhaven incinerator, prompting a flamboyant reaction from protestors dressed in mourning and carrying placards outside county hall. The incinerators, designed to dispose of roughly 50% of East Sussex’s household waste, will have a devastating effect on the local environment. Not only will the incinerator release dangerous toxic fumes into the air; the residue of the burning process is a toxic ash which needs to be landfilled. What’s more the incinerator will lead to about 220 lorry movements a day, nearly a quarter of these coming between 9am and 10am when locals are doing their school run.

DOVE is an organisation set up to oppose the Newhaven incinerator plans. They have called an open town meeting tonight in the Town Hall to discuss what further measures can be taken to block the plans. Let’s hope it’s as well attended as November’s meeting about the Pheonix Quarter in Lewes.

Folk Concert - John Kirkpatrick

Talented singer, songwriter, composer, choreographer, Morris Man and above all legendary squeezebox maestro John Kirkpatrick is a folk legend and without doubt his whirlwind of a gig will be one of the highlights of this year’s season at the Royal Oak. Kirkpatrick has been a major figure on the folk scene since the late sixties, playing with such bands as Pere Ubu and Steeleye Span, accompanying such legends as Ralph McTell and Gerry Rafferty and performing thousands of times in his own right all over the country, night after night. He has worked on over 200 LPs over the years.

You never know what to expect at a Kirkpatrick gig, apart from high energy and entertainment. In his latest appearance at the Oak’s weekly folk night John stunned the audience with a startling rendition of ‘the Bells of St. Clements’ whirling his anglo-concertina around his head to produce a remarkable chiming bells effect. Not just for folkies this one: arrive early if you want to get in.

Exhibition - Bonfire Night

‘Come ye forth and witness a spectacle the like of which you have often wished for but never seen’. The highlight of this small exhibition in the Barbican Museum about the history of the Bonfire Night celebrations in Lewes is a collection of posters dating back to 1853 advertising the fiery celebrations which put Lewes on the world map. Best of all are those from 1905 when ‘Lewes Rousers and Roman Candles’ were banned.

The exhibition looks back at the historical reasons the gentle folk of Lewes get so vehemently anti-Papist once a year, namely the burning of 17 Protestant martyrs in the reign of Mary the Terrible, and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. There is also a rundown of the history and idiosyncrasies of the different bonfire societies, and a small photo exhibition.

Food - The Needlemakers Cafe

When they christen a lad Roman Grill it’s clearly his lot in life to start up a Mediterranean bistro. Roman, who has been running the elegant continental nick-nack shop Monsieur Cannelle & Compagnon in the Needlemakers for three years, will be serving ‘high quality Mediterranean food’ in the cafe section of the art and craft centre from today. So what are we to expect? “Organic puy lentils with caramelised pears, parma ham and pecorino cheese served in a bed of seasonal green salad leaves” he explains, when asked to describe a typical dish.

“Where possible we will use vegetables and meat from local producers, cooked in a Mediterranean style. All this will be well presented in chic surroundings.” Austrian-born Roman, who will run the cafe alongside local chef Tonia Tapson, also has plans to start up a weekly local farmers’ market in the Needlemakers before spring.

Needlemakers Cafe:
(t) 01273 486258

There are 40 stalls, mostly run by private enthusiasts only selling at this fair. Expect to find anything from James Bond first editions to Victorian dictionaries: if you’re looking for paperback novels head to Lewes’ many charity shops instead.

Classical Music - A Cappella Choral Class

A cappella singing (and that’s the correct way of spelling it, it’s Italian for ‘in the chapel’) started up in the 15th century and reached its heydey in the following century, influenced by the groundbreaking work of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. So it’s no surprise that the A Cappella Choral Class of Lewes are paying homage to the Italian maestro in their Christmas concert, starting their set with his Canite Tuba. Renaissance liturgical music might not be your idea of a wild night out, but the choir, run by theologian Gregory Atkin, have acquired a good reputation in their ten years of existence and the Westgate Chapel, dating from 1662, is a fine venue, with its wooden panelling creating good acoustics.

They will also be performing works by Jakob Handl, Orlando Gibbons and Boris Ord. Proceeds from a collection will go to the upkeep of the chapel.

Theatre - Come into my Parlour – a Night of Victorian Excess

Is it Viva’s imagination, or do we sense a Victorian revival coming on? Dickens on the telly and radio, magic lantern shows in the Royal Oak, and now a melodramatic farce at the All Saints, featuring, amongst other characters, queen of the silent screen Kitty Deliphez, Miss Fay and her troupe of pigeons and Huntley and Palmer’s miraculous escapology act. Come into my Parlour opened in Hastings before Christmas to rapturous applause from an audience mostly dressed in period costume. Paul Alborough stars as Professor Elemental, rapping fin-de-siecle stylee as he attempts to evade the clutches of the psychopathic Miss Fay.

There is tightrope walking, music hall singing, and a Jekyll-and-Hyde version of ‘I’ve got you under my skin’, all sepia-tinged with post-modern irony, of course. Put the clock back a century, put on your top hat and corset, leave your cynicism at home, and enjoy the pantomime.

Advance tickets from
Lansdown Arms:
(t) 01273 480623
(w) www.thelansdownarms.com

Walk - Pint-to-pint walk

A bracing two-hour walk from Lewes to Kingston, the long way round. Take Juggs Way over the by-pass, looking behind you for an interesting view of Lewes, with the prison dominating the foreground. Pretty soon you are on Juggs Hill, with a sea view down the Ouse Valley. Cross over the main road at the bottom and walk along Kingston Ridge past Nan Kemp’s Corner where a medieval witch was hanged for serving her baby baked in a pie to her husband. Bear right onto the chalk path after the crossroads, and walk up to the crest of the hill. At the top turn left admiring the view down to Rottingdean.

After 300 yards or so take a left down the hill to Kingston, walking past the natural arena carved into the hillside. Walk through Kingston woods, over the stile and down into the Street, the oldest part of Kingston. Fifty yards beyond the village’s 13th century church you’ll find the Juggs Arms, and a pint of Spitfire Ale.

Panto - Aladdin

An Arabic tale of a street urchin who dreams above his station and attains those dreams thanks to a magic lamp and a friendly genie, despite the dastardly efforts of an evil prince. But a tale with a local twist: the St Mary’s panto company pepper the plot with local references, so it might well be a red-coated traffic warden who’s behind you. Oh yes it might. This is the company’s 40th panto; some of the actors are the third generation of Nevill locals appearing in this traditional Xmas farce-for-all-the-family. Recently they have been joined by members of the Lewes Operatic Society.

Plenty of audience participation, then, and plenty of wide-mouthed wonder for the kids. Runs till Saturday, though there is no performance on Monday.

Food - Bona Foodie

The name might be a bit corny, but Bona Foodie is a welcome addition to the little row of shops which serves the top end of town in Western Road. It’s a delicatessen, basically, the third in a mini chain linking onto the success of their stores in St James St, Brighton (opened 2000) and Palmeira Square, Hove (2003) where you can buy succulent foodstuff if you don’t mind putting your hand in your pocket. You can get porcini and Shiitake mushrooms, fair trade basmati rice, wholemeal couscous, honey mustard and snails. You can get locally-made pasties and pies, lumpfish caviar, a selection of olives and a variety of rich cheeses. There is pesto and interestingly shaped pasta, and tuna in extra virgin olive oil. If you believe the secret of good cooking is in the ingredients, you won’t go far wrong here.

They also serve take-away fair-trade coffee; there are plans to open a cafe serving breakfasts and lunches later in the winter. Bona Foodie? A bona fide godsend to uptown Lewes.

Food - The Rainbow, Cooksbridge

The Rainbow used to be a great old country pub: we remember banger sandwiches and a bottle of pop on the way back from trips to the Isle of Thorns. Two years ago it turned into a gastro-pub. In the winter it's a good place to have a midweek meal in front of their real wood-burning fire. An underemployed teenage waitress, dressed in black with a bling belt, brought me and my partner passable moules marinieres (£8.95) followed by a fresh swordfish steak served on a bed of cous-cous (£14.95), without kicking up a fuss that we were sharing both courses. Around us a youngish clientele drank pints of cider and talked about how nice it was to be in the country.

The decor is a bit stuffy (faux book-spines, framed etchings of country scenes) but that fire warms the soul as well as toasting one side of you raw. Some pleasures don't come without pain.

Dance - Egyptian dance classes

Once a week you can step out of the freezing winds whooshing through the bottleneck and shelter in the warm Nile Delta breezes temporarily floating round the seemingly incongruous setting of the Lewes YMCA. Here, if you are willing to shake off your inhibitions (and lose a few Xmas-accumulated pounds, to boot) you will be taught the ancient Middle-Eastern art of Raqs Al Sharqi, otherwise known as the belly dance, or Egyptian dance.

Tonight is a taster night to see if you take to Egyptian dance: if you do, you can sign up for a 12-week course. After this, Viva can assure you, you will have quite a party trick up your sleeve. Sounds like a pretty neat New Year’s resolution to us.

Football - Lewes vs Eastbourne Town

The Rooks will be confident of beating Eastbourne Town at the Dripping Pan to reach the semi final of the Sussex Senior Cup: Town are in the Sussex County League, three rungs down the non-league pyramid. Not that Lewes ever make things easy for themselves; they reached the quarter-finals after a laboured 1-0 win over lowly Wick in December, and will need to overcome something of a slump in recent form to get past what is likely to be a robust challenge from their local rivals. Town, managed by Ady Calwell, are actually the oldest football club in Sussex, and have scored 13 goals in the first three rounds of the competition: their main danger men are striker Bobby Godfrey and midfielder Mark Goodwin.

The Sussex Cup may not sound a big deal, but Lewes have only won it three times, and will be hoping to at least get to the final this year, which they should do so if they can avoid Crawley in the semis… and beat Eastbourne tonight

Lewes FC:
(w) www.lewesfc.com

RIP Unwins

You might have noticed that the Unwins store on Lewes High Street has been taken over by Threshers. This is good news for those who found themselves unable to buy a bottle of comfort over the Xmas period after the supermarkets had shut.
Unwins, until recently a family-run company with 400 outlets in the south of England, started finding themselves in trouble as people’s booze-buying habits have been changing, with more people favouring supermarkets and ‘booze cruises’ to France.
The company was sold in March to private equity firm DM. Problems came to a head in the months before Xmas as suppliers refused to deliver stock unless they were paid up front.

The result was a rather depressing scenario whereby empty shelves were filled with empty boxes, and skeleton staff had to patiently tell customers that, no, they didn’t have any alcohol or cigarettes for sale. This left many a dinner party wineless over the Xmas period.