AAH November 2012

November 2012

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In the end, it was the autumnal colours inthe picture of Jonathan Lucas at the Warnham Park Estate that settled it. Thered colours of the Museum were perfect and were even enhanced byJonathans rather bright orange trousers!It was not the intention to use this a covershot, as the original image was actually alandscape shape and showed much moreof the museum, decorated with deerantlers. We had really only decided to visitthe museum as the bad weather was

limiting what we could do in the park itself.Jonathan is pictured leaning against an1897 Fire Engine, which once made it allthe way to Shipley in response to a ?re atKnepp Castle. Toby did have to positionhimself so that the antlers didnt appear tobe coming out of the side of Jonathanshead!There were alternative options. Toby reallyliked the image of David Hellyers puppet,Pierre -even placing the puppets hat overthe AAH logo before I rejected the idea.

Lives Less OrdinaryI hate to name-drop, but then again, no Idont...I was fortunate enough to meet Sir TomStoppard, the writer who is perhaps bestknown for his work on Shakespeare inLove.He was talking to Christs Hospital pupilsin October. Ever since we put a featuretogether on the school last year, Toby hasbeen invited back on many occasions tophotograph various events. I tag alongoccasionally.Anyway, what was intended to be aproper interview with Sir Tom became aninformal chat about journalism. He hadbegun his career as a reporter on a localpaper in Bristol and he was keen to knowmore about AAH.It was interesting to hear his views. In aroundabout way, Sir Tom explained thathe has no plan when writing a new play,but that ideas develop and constantlyevolve. The next challenge is the nextline, he said. This was hugely reassuring for me, as Idont have a clue what well be doing oneday to the next...Nonetheless, weve somehow managedto cobble together another edition.Weve interviewed some fascinating people this month, all doing what theylove to do - something we should all aspire to. Whats the point otherwise?We met David Hellyer, who has created

Ben Morris (All AAH Editorial & Advertising) and Toby Phillips (All AAH Photography)

puppets used to entertain children all over theworld (page 16), chef Scott Hallsworth who haschanged our perception of Japanese cuisine(page 34), and Jonathan Lucas who hasdevoted his life to the pursuit of creating theperfect deer (page 48). I hope you enjoy reading about these remarkable people as much as Toby and I enjoyed putting the articles together.

This month, weve learnt that 50 points makesan ugly antler, that Su Pollard really does talklike that, that Hendrixs old guitars are worthmore than Claptons and that ?nding the right@eece fabric for a Kermit puppet is extremelydi>cult.If any of that sounds remotely intriguing, doread on...

Cover Story

Ben, Editor

Our Biggest Print Run Yet - Now over 12,250 copies

Editor: Ben Morriseditor@aahorsham.co.uk01403 878026 / 01903 892899

Advertising: Kelly Morrisadvertising@aahorsham.co.uk01403 878026 / 01903 892899

Photography: Toby Phillipstobyphillipsphotography.co.ukinfo@tobyphillipsphotography.co.uk07968 795625

ContributorsJeremy Knight (Historic images and text for article on Horshams Window Displays

Additional thanks to...

Jonathan Lucas of Warnham Park, Loti Dutton ofLori White PR, Ian Ford (Horsham Table TennisClub), Bens Mum and Dad for Proof Reading(please blame them for any grammatical errors)

Door-to-Door Delivery teamThe Paterson family, Geo? Valentine, AndrewPrice, Trish Fuller, Sarah Guile, Amy Rogers, LauraHarding and Cara Cocoracchio (all Horshamrounds), Anna Laker and Alex Besson (Billingshurst), Jamie Towes, Shaun Bacon andEddie Robinson (Southwater), Jack Barnett(Monks Gate/Mannings Heath), Karen Parnell(Warnham), Will Smith (Ashington), Roger Clark(Partridge Green and Cowfold), Reece Elvin (Slinfold), Ben Morris (Tower Hill, Rookwood, DialPost, Crabtree), Toby Phillips (Town Centre), Herbie Whitmore (West Grinstead), Bens

Grandma (Wisborough Green)AAH is available to pick up for free in stands atSakakini (Carfax ), Artisan Patisserie (MarketSquare) and Horsham Museum.

WebsiteRun by Mi-Store of Brighton. Read all of our editions at www.aahorsham.co.uk

AAH Magazine is an independent publicationowned by B. Morris and is based in AshingtonCopies of past editions of AAH (except July/

September 2011 and January 2012 - sold out) areavailable for 3 each (this includes postage). Pleasesend a cheque (payable to AA Publishing Ltd) of 3for each copy to: AA Publishing Ltd, 2 Viney Close,

Ashington, West Sussex, RH20 3PT.

If you would like to discuss Advertising in AAH, please contact Ben on 01403 878026. Eighth Page 50; Quarter page: 100; Half Page: 175; Full Page 300

26 Table TennisAfter the Olympics, table tennisthreatens to make a comeback!

48 Warnham ParkHow Warnham is world-famousfor its herd of Red Deer

6 News Round-UpWhats making headlines, including aMichelin star for Restaurant Tristan

66 How InterestingThe night that The Rolling Stonesplayed in Horsham town

10 My Story So FarMary Villiers Aew a variety of places including Spit@res during WWII

PuppetsThe Horsham family who make puppets for childrens shows

43 Group DiscussionThe volunteers providing news head-lines for the visually impaired

34 Meal ReviewWabi is still in good shape despite theopening of a new London restaurant

20 Guitar ManThe graduate looking to carve a career as a guitar maker

14 Ones to WatchTim Fi@eld relies on amusing and tragiccharacters in his one man show

62 Shop WindowsHorsham traders have held window display competitions for years

CONTENTS

16 56 ArtistArtistic husband and wife Keith andDebra Menear show their work

This month we welcome Cara Cocoracchio (Holbrook) Eddie Robinson (Southwater) and ReeceElvin (Silnfold) to our delivery team. New delivery

rounds include Merry:eld Drive in HorshamAAH

When people picture a vegetable box, it isnormal to expect kohl rabi, kale, Jerusalemartichoke, purple sprouting broccoli, Romanesco cauli@ower and perhaps someMexican tomatillo.Well, it is if you happen to be a customer ofRiverford...Riverford organic farms box scheme beganwhen Guy Watson started delivering vegetables to friends in Devon. The farmsnow deliver around 40,000 boxes a week tohomes from regional farms.Vanessa Bamford runs the local Riverford franchise, using a team of friendly drivers todeliver fresh organic fruit, vegetable andmeat boxes to customers around Horshamand Dorking.I was a Riverford customer for eight years,said Vanessa. I was changing my order onthe website one day and I saw there werefranchise opportunities. I was impressed bythe set-up and I was the right person forthem too, so I came on board earlier this year. There are ?ve Riverford-owned organicfarms, and some are suited to di>erent crops.There is a place in East Anglia where the carrots mature faster due to the micro-climate they have. We also work with a number of co-operativesso we have long term relationships withfarms across the UK and overseas such as banana farmers in the Dominican Republicand pineapple farmers in Togo.There is a huge range of boxes, from a 7.95squash box to a large vegetable box for18.85, and delivery is free. You can evenmake up your own vegetable box if you prefer. But from a customers perspective,Riverford appeals because the produce isfresh and high in quality.Vanessa said: We grow for @avour and notfor yield so everything tastes really good. The

big complaint Ive heard from people is thatthe produce they receive from supermarketdeliveries is stu> that the shop wants to getrid of it is not very fresh. Our produce all comes direct from the farmand there is less than two days from it beingpicked to it arriving on your doorstep.People are so much more interested in theirfood these days and they want to knowwhere it is coming from and there is moreawareness of the bene?ts of organic food. Riverford also takes great pride in givingfarmers a fair deal, both in this country and -

through our Fairtrade association in Africaand the Caribbean. Riverford has an ethicalapproach to farming and supply.The other bene?t is that the range at Riverford is seasonal and so youre constantlybeing surprised by what is in the box. Vanessa said: If youre used to shopping atthe supermarket you will tend to stick to carrots, broccoli and onions and have themthe whole year round. But at the moment wehave the Romanesco cauli@ower coming inand its lovely because we havent had themfor a while. We had tomatillo, which is agreen tomato from Mexico, and persimmonstoo. It makes cooking lots of fun!

You can currently take advantage of a special o!er new customers booking a

regular order will receive a free copy of theaward-winning Riverford cook book, worth

16.99. QUOTE AAH12 with your rst order

www.riverford.co.ukContact Vanessa on 01903 892116

vanessabamford@riverfordhomedelivery.co.uk

Riverford Organic Farms going for

A fresh approach

We grow for avourand not for yield so

everything tastes good

1: Horsham Artists Open Studios host aChristmas Sale in The Park Barn on 24th 25th November at 10am5pm. Visitors canmeet local artists and makers showcasingtheir work, including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, wood turning, jewellery and cards.Visit www.horshamopenstudios.co.uk

2: Restaurant Tristan in East Street, Horsham,has won a Michelin star award. The awardcomes Cve years after owner and head chefTristan Mason was singled out as a Rising Starin the industry by The Observers renownedfood critic Jay Rayner. The AAH review of can be read at www.aahorsham.co.uk

3: The Horsham Matters Community CharityCentre in Guildford Road, Horsham, is nowopen for business again. The centre - whichsells a huge range of furniture, householdgoods, electrical items, toys, books, gamesand more - has been divided into two units toaccommodate a Co-Op store. The incomeHorsham Matters generates goes into delivering services for the local community.The store is open Tuesday to Saturday from

9.30am to 4pm.

4: A Remembrance Sunday service will beheld at the War Memorial in the Carfax onSunday, 11th November. The service willbegin at 10:50am led by the Reverend CanonGuy Bridgewater, Vicar of Horsham. The twominutes silence, in memory of the fallen, willtake place before the laying of wreaths.

5: An Osprey has been spotted on several occasions at Warnham Nature Reserve in recent weeks. It is the same bird that hasbeen spotted since August around the RiverAdur. One person reported seeing the Ospreytake a Csh from the Adur before eating it in atree near Lancing College. The osprey has alsobeen spotted at Woods Mill in HenCeld.

6: Two of the contestants from The GreatBritish Bake OB have joined Horsham Market.Cathryn Dresser and Sarah-Jane Willis bothlive in Sussex and made it through to the latter stages of the competition. Their newbusiness is named 'Carry on Baking' and willbe at the Local Produce Market in Horsham

every Saturday. For full details visit www.horshammarkets.co.uk

7: A new group comprising of local musicianshas been formed to promote original bands.A website has been created at www.horsham-rocks.co.uk with band proClesand an extensive gig guide, and a regularmusic showcase will be held at The AnchorHotel in Market Square, Horsham. The CrstHorsham Rocks live music night is held onThursday, 6th December, featuring Half HourHotel and The Gypsy Switch.

8: The 30th Barns Green Half Marathon, onSunday, 30th September, was won byEthiopian athlete, Yared Hogos. Over 1,500runners took part in ideal running conditionsthrough the scenic course with Hogos winning in a time of 1 hour 6 minutes 53 seconds. Hogos Cnished just under Cve min-utes ahead of the second placed athlete, lastyears winner, James Baker from ChichesterRunners. Third place went to local runner Andrew Robinson from Horsham Joggers. Thewomens race was won by Sarah Kingston of

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AAH News Round-up

Fittleworth Flyers in a time of 1 hour 25 minutes and 4 seconds.

9: The Crown Inn at Dial Post introduces anew menu on 5th November, as well as a newlook to the front of house. To celebrate this,owners Penny and James are oEering customers 20% oE food on Monday to Thursdaythroughout November (pre-bookings only).For more details call 01403 710902.

10: Farlington School PTA Christmas Fair isheld on Saturday, 17th November at 11am -3pm. There will be over 80 stalls selling jewellery, arts and crafts, clothing, beautyproducts, cards and toys. Children can enjoySantas Grotto and face painting. Tickets 1.Meanwhile, Ashingtons Fabulous FestiveMarketwill be held on Wednesday, 21st November at 3-8pm at The Scout Hall, ChurchLane, Ashington. Father Christmas will makean appearance, and visitors can buy freshproduce, handcrafted gifts, cards, deliciouscakes, sweets, breads and savouries. A barbeque will be held at 5pm.

11: A local computer expert is encouragingpeople over 50 to embrace the internet. IvorTarrant has been trained and appointed bySilver Training to provide one-to-one computer tuition service directly to people intheir own homes. Ivor teaches all the populartopics such as computer basics, Emailing andinternet shopping. He can even show youhow to make free video calls to friends andfamily all over the world. For details call 0800862 0666 or visit www.silvertraining.co.uk

12: Mary Crabb will be showing a collectionof woven objects designed and made usingbasketry and textile techniques at HorshamMuseum until 1st December. Although shecontinues to use traditional weaving methods,with some adaptations, she now uses a rangeof materials, from willow to wire. As part ofthe exhibition, Mary hopes to run some talksand workshops relating to her work on display. www.horshammuseum.org

13: The Greets Inn in Warnham has launcheda new Sussex Game Menu available until 24thNovember. You can try dishes such as Rabbit

Rarebit with Sussex ale, Three Bird Stew andRoasted Venison Sausage sourced from Warnham Deer Park. Theres also wine fromlocal vineyards. www.thegreetsinn.co.uk

14: Set4Success is holding a Gala Dinner atSouth Lodge Hotel on Monday, 26th November to raise funds for talented youngpeople in the area. The evening will include athree course dinner, inter-table sports quizand an auction of sporting memorabilia.Awards will be given to Hannah Patchett(water polo), Charlie Piper (rugby), KathrynSmall (trampolining), Haylee Miller (basketball),Matthew DuFn (ballroom dancing), JacobDean (baseball), and Meilitsa-Bo Abram- Foster (artistic gymnastics). Tickets are 35per person from Alison Saxby at SpoEorthson 01403 253282 or events@set4success.org

15: The Horsham Symphony Orchestra opensits concert season at the Capitol on 17th November with performances of BenjaminBrittens Four Sea Interludes, Gordon JacobsTrombone Concerto, and Edward Elgars orchestral masterpiece, Symphony No.1.

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I can only recall the visit of one writer duringmy school years, and that was when Val Biro,the creator of the Gumdrop childrensbooks, visited Chesworth (now Kingslea)School.I can still remember his explanation for starting Gumdrops engine (Gumdrop wasbased on a 1926 Austin vehicle.)No doubt the advice given by Sir Tom Stoppard in the theatre at Christs Hospital inOctober will have an impact on the lives ofthe schools senior pupils.The playwright, known for works includingArcadia and Rosencrantz and GuildensternAre Dead as well as for co-writing screenplaysfor Brazil and Shakespeare in Love, was interviewed by English teacher Doctor RossStuart before students asked questions.You might have considered the comparisonbetween Val Biro and Tom Stoppard a littleunbalanced, but it is not a comparison thatthe acclaimed playwright would be at all of-fended by. Sir Tom was keen to explain tothe pupils that there should only be onepoint of concern when judging various artforms.I believe in quality, he said. I believe inthings being good, not quite good enough,

middling or lousy. But its got absolutelynothing to do with categories. To write a brilliant farce is an achievement, perhaps amore diBcult achievement, than to write abeautiful drama in rhyming couplets. To be an outstanding circus performer anacrobat or a juggler is equally an achievement. Being an artist is somethingthat transcends categories; it is about beingvery good.Sir Tom, who has won an Academy Award(for Shakespeare in Love) and four TonyAwards, provided a fascinating insight intohis own writing methods and inDuences, butstressed the importance of allowing ideas todevelop organically.He said: What I like about writing for stageand Clm is that there is something hardedged about it. The next problem is the nextline at any given moment.I dont operate out of a set of principles. Idont have a programme for the ideal play.Some of the time, if you are lucky, the storyis telling you the way it wants to go. Whenthat happens its a great feeling.I dont consider myself to be a provocativewriter. Im very enamoured by what the English language is capable of doing and I

would have to say that that is my main interest.But its reassuring to know that - even for thegreats - sometimes the story does not tellthe playwright where it wants to goIm writing a piece for radio at the moment, he said. I went away in the middle of July for a month to really kick thisthing into gear and after this month in thecountry I was on page seven.Then I had to return to my life in Londonbut managed to escape for another tendays. After working really hard on it onceagain I was on...page seven. Im now on pagenine! I used to think that you had to know abouta play before writing it, but now I think theopposite. Your chances improve if you actually know nothing about it! Sir Tom Stoppards 1993 play Arcadia, acclaimed by many critics as a masterpiece,is currently on the curriculum at Christs Hospital, where his granddaughter attends. After a question and answer session, duringwhich many pupils were keen to uncovermysteries of the script, Holly Porteous, second monitor, presented a text to Sir Tom by Old Blue, George Peele.

I believe in qualitySir Tom Stoppard visits Christs Hospital School

Of the 659 pilots in the ATA, 169 of us werefemale. Sixteen of the women died.

I learnt to 3y the Miles Majister, a littlesingle engine plane, which was very niceand the training was very good. Theywere very short of pilots so they wantedus all to reach the required standard. In

truth it wasnt that di1cult.

I had to 6y many di5erent aircraft I think20 in all. I couldnt 6y any of them properly -we just had to take o5, be careful, and landof course!

When I 2rst went up solo in a plane I was

10

I was born in Kannur in southern India in1919. My father was out there for manyyears in Bombay as he was a broker in thetea trade. I have a lot of memories of myearly years in India.

We came to the UK when my father wason leave and I moved here permanentlywith my mother when I was abouteight-years-old. My father would returnfrom India every year. It took a fortnight for him to sail from India andhe would be here for a while and thenhead back.

My father was very fond of Indian people.There were very few in this country at thattime and they would sometimes visit uswhilst on leave and we would put themup in our home.

I remember my father had a very smartcar called an Arrol-Johnston. You putyour luggage on the side of the car andit would trundle along at about 30mph.Not many people had motor cars atthat time but there were numeroustimes that we were stuck on the side ofthe road with a puncture!

I went to Howells Boarding School inWales when I was 11 which I thoroughlyenjoyed. Some people wouldnt agreewith me but I think the happiest days ofmy life were spent there. Having movedaround so much up until that time I thinkit was the continuity that I liked.

I did secretarial training after schooland went straight to work for NatWestin Liverpool. I was there for about ayear when World War II broke out.

Like everyone, I wanted to join the war e5ort so joined FANY (The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) which was an all-female unit linked to the army. It wasmostly driving duties and I enjoyed it verymuch but then I had a chance to 6y.

One of my relations was in the AuxiliaryTerritorial Service (ATA) and he said Ishould give 3ying a go. I said I dontknow how to 3y! but he said that theATA would teach me. Men were involved but there were many womenin the ATA.

Some aircrafts were terrible to fly but the

Spitre was a ladyMary Villiers of Horsham - A Former A.T.A Pilot

My Story So Far

terri.ed. I was worried that Iwouldnt be able to get it down, orthat I would crash it, or if I couldnt/y maybe I would have to go andwork in a factory. But I was determined to make a success of it!

Our job was to ferry planes around thecountry. I went to Yorkshire to beginwith and I &ew mostly Sword%sh planesup to Scotland, which wasnt alwaysnice as it was so cold &ying them. I didnt really enjoy it, but I managed topull a few strings and moved to a di$erent ferry pool in Leicestershirewhich was far more pleasant as therewere more women there.

My log book is in a museum, but Ihave a copy of it so people believeme when I say that I used to /y! I /ewthe Barracuda, Hurricane, Fire/y,Harvard, the Lockheed Hudson andof course Spit.res. We were ferryingplanes from factories to the squadron and by the end we wereferrying old Wellington bombers tobe broken up.

Like most people, I do have myfavourite. The Spit%re was a lady! Someaircraft were pretty terrible to &y theBarracuda was a dreadful thing and theSword%sh was not at all popular. It wasmuch better to have a Spit%re as theywere cosy.

I had married Dennis Wilson in 1939.He joined the Territorial Army likemost people - everyone was so patriotic in those days. He was calledup for service and was made an o-cer and sent to South Africa. Hethen went up to the North of Africa

Mary and Dennis marry in 1939

and was killed. He is buried with anice tombstone out there but Ivenever been out to see it.

I didnt hear about his death until twoweeks after it happened. I received a yellow envelope from the army andthat was it. People say Im sorry butthe war goes on. It was happening allthe time.

Flying a Spit3re was one of thebest moments of my life.

The war wasnt enjoyable for me as awhole though. It left me a bit shattered. I had an easy childhoodand was well looked after, so to thenget married to someone and lose himwas shattering. I went numb really.

I went to Sri Lanka after the war asI had always wanted to go thereand I knew a lot of people there.Everybody wanted to get out ofEngland at that time. I travelledbetween here and Sri Lanka forseveral years and I got to know thecountry a bit. I met my second husband, Sandy, on my way out toSri Lanka.

We lived in London for a few years.Sandy left the Navy and got a job inthe city but I didnt like the city toomuch. Im a country person really. Sowe moved to Warnham and westayed there for about 30 years.

I have only 4own once since thewar. I went up in a light aircraftwhen I was 75 for the 3rst time in40 years. It was fun but it was a bitlike driving a Mini after youvedriven a Rolls Royce! But I do thinkthat 4ying is one of the best thingsyou can learn to do.

When Sandy died about 15 years agothere was no point staying there in abig house so I moved into a smallerplace in Horsham.

The ATA was based in Maidenhead.I went there relatively recently asthere was a display at an ATA Heritage Centre called GrandmaFlew Spit3res and it tells the storyof the women pilots of the ATA during the Second World War.

The work of the ATA was not recognised at all at the time. Its a bitlate for recognition now as most ofthe people have died of course. ButIm delighted that the ATA is still operating and that they have put together such a good exhibition.

7229(

Bernie Chevron Derek

Grace Reg Bertram

Maureen Vernon Elvis

During the day, Tim Fi+eld runs a web design business in Horsham. But he hasan alter-ego ten in fact and they allappear in his one-man show Not What IExpected which has been acclaimed byaudiences. Tim (and some of the othervoices in his head) talk to AAH...

I auditioned for the National Youth Theatrebut I didnt get in. I think it was probably because I was crap. I was very inexperiencedand shy as a young man but despite thatfailure I was always very interested in theatre and did quite a bit of theatre inschool and later in amateur productions.

Work took over and I got married and hadchildren and I only really returned to theatrewhen I was in my thirties. Im 49 now. I wasspoilt in so far as that I got the opportunityto work with very good people in Crawley,putting on quality productions by the likesof Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams.

I got the idea that I would like to write anddirect plays so I started writing comedy dramas. They were often set up as comediesbut would have dark resolutions.

I wrote a musical called Deadline, which wasquite successful, and over the last ten or soyears Ive been concentrating on writingplays. This compulsion to do a one-manshow came up and I started developingcharacters, ideas and monologues to fuelthe show.

In Not What I Expected I play ten characters nine humans and one disappointed dogcalled Vernon. Its all about peoples livesand how they can set o@ in one direction,only to swerve o@ into di@erent areas.

I have an 86-year-old called Reg, who haslived a fairly blameless life although thereare indications that he has had interestingdalliances along the way. He has been toldby his doctor that he only has six months tolive. He doesnt feel he has done everythingthat he wanted to do he feels unfulAlled.So when his new carer Madonna turns upand she is a drinking, drug-taking, sex-obsessed young person, he thinks Id like abit of that action. She invites him to a lock-in at a pub where he meets lots of interesting

people.

James is a bitter divorcee who is trying to come to terms with the fact thathe has split from his wife, the terms of loss ofcontact with his children and the disappointment of being in that position.

Then youve got Bertram, a gay, failed actorwho is dumped, very harshly, by his long-term partner Colin in Pizza Express, and hasto rebuild his life.

You learn that one character, Maureen Bateman, is widowed as her husband had aheart attack whilst watching Casualty (Ivebeen watching that show for 23 years and Icouldnt think of one thing to do). Its notmeant to be a joke but it is funny.

Essentially, people laugh at detail ratherthan scripted words. They laugh at familiarity.So the trick is to create characters that resonate for people.

in the Arst half of the show I introduce eachcharacter, and in the second half you seethem again, but the stories begin to startconnecting and characters crop up in eachothers monologues. That creates a Azzingdynamic in the drama which allows me todevelop the characters.

If youre doing monologue-based contemporary humour then you can forgetabout sitting behind a computer and writing a script. Youre using words di@erentlywhen you write.

The way I devise the characters is that I playwith language. So I would come up with aneast-ender for example and start talkinbout it and I would invent a life for him byendlessly talking around the character. YouAnd their voice and then you And a storywithin that. Its one of the most amazingthings as you dont know what youre goingto say next.

Ive picked out elements of people I knowand have met. A lot of the scenarios arebased on things Ive experienced. Chevron,the 14-year-old glued to his X-Box, is basedon a teenager I know very well. I stood outside his door and listened to him playinghis computer games. You logged in mate?You logged in? Cover me! Cover me! Hangon, Ive just killed myself.

All of the stories are resolved. I love beingmischievous. I dont like nice, tidy rom-comendings as that is not life, so at the end a lotof the stories seem sad. Some are happy,but some are not.

I was tempted to create a show that wouldget people into a state of hilarity and thendrop them o@ a cli@ at the end.

Its surprisingly strange being on stage. Itsan outer-body experience. I absolutely loveit. Im nervous in that I dont want to panicand not know what to do but its never happened. Obviously you are nervous andthe adrenaline is pumping as you go on, butthere is something quite surreal about walking out on stage in front of an audience its a beautiful collision of time and circumstance. Theres nothing you can doonce youve taken those steps.

Ive done eleven performances of Not WhatI Expected with proAts donated to SCOPE. Iwas in Horley for six nights, in Crawley forthree and at the Capitol for two nights. Theplan is to take the show to the BrightonFringe.

15

Split PersonalityOne to Watch: Tim Field enthralls with his one man show

James

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David Hellyers videos have been watchedover a million times on YouTube.He hasnt had his 9nger bitten by his babybrother, invented a Korean dance craze or, asfar as we know, performed a duet with JustinBieber.Instead, his popularity is down to his puppets.Davids full time job is as a Youth Leader atKingdom Faith Church, but in his spare timehe runs Hellyers Puppet Workshop, creatingpuppets similar to those on Sesame Street orThe Muppets in a small studio at his parentsHorsham home.

Its a hobby that has attracted worldwide interest. He has sold puppets to customers inAmerica, sent a purple monster puppet to aChildrens Hospice in Canada, a reindeerpuppet to Australia, a parrot puppet to a 9lmmaker in New York, and one of his creationsis even on childrens television in Zimbabwe.It was inevitable that David would becomeinvolved in puppetry in some way. His parents Peter and Diane Hellyer are involved with Upbeat Puppets, and have performed puppet shows for over 20 years.They continue to do so, mainly at carehomes, schools and churches.

Diane said: Its all voluntary work, and theidea is to teach people about the gospelthrough puppetry. It is entertaining but itcarries a message.A lot of our puppet shows are set to music.We dont do plays or little skits very often aswe use parodies of well-known songs. So wehave songs such as Jailhouse Rock, which isre-written as Church House Rock. Older people who remember Elvis will like themusic and will enjoy it, but it has a gospeltheme to the song.It was Peter and Diane who introduced Davidto puppetry at Sunday School at what is now

Some things are more important than big

furry purple monsters!

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practice this for hours as a child!Davids puppets are all entirely hand-made.He uses two di3erent types of foam. Thereare two types of foam. Minicell Foam isdense and lightweight and provides a 5rmstructure, and Reticulated Foam, which is a6exible, low-density foam and di4cult to rip.Fake Fur is a popular material, but the thin6eece fabric used for puppets such as Kermitthe Frog is Antron, which is a much soughtafter material. It is reportedly only availablefrom one company in Georgia which onlyspins the fabric once a year!Its not often that David gives performanceswith his puppets, although he does still dothe occasional show through his involvementwith Kingdom Faith.Instead, it is his videos on the internet thatare his best advertising outlet. Despite his success so far, he is not

considering making puppet-making hisfull time job. I have been tempted in thepast, he said. In 2008, I did a stint with thestage production of Rainbow, as George, thepink Hippo. That was good fun. Until the BBC moved to Salford it wastempting to audition for them. I went tothe studio to watch my friends who operate Hacker and Dodge for CBBC - workfor a couple of days, and it was great butthey devote their entire lives to it.

I worked with young people at the YMCACentre for three years and I think whenyouve worked with people who have livedon the edge and have had endured realdi4culty, it changes your priorities. There are some things in life we have todeal with that are perhaps more importantthan big, purple furry monsters.

For more on Davids puppetry visitwww.hellyers.com and we also recommendhis YouTube channel.

Peter and diane Hellyer have performed puppet shows for many years

All About Horsham AAHmagazine isdelivered directlyto homes across the district. Residents in Mannings Heath, Partridge Green, Ashington,Cowfold, Slinfold, Warnham, DialPost, Monks Gate and WestGrinstead receive AAH. We alsodeliver extensively in Horsham,Southwater and Billingshurst.We do our best to ensure ouradvertisements stand out andare placed within interestingfeatures that will be read bythousands of people.If you are interested in marketingin AAH, do contact Ben. We candesign adverts at no extra cost,

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Lou has owned Strands for 15 years and worked very hard to establish a successful business and build her clientele.Now Lou is leaving for new adventures as she begins family life in Australia. She will be dearly missed by the staff as well as all of herloyal customers.But the Strands team are very excited for Lou as she is expectingher 5rst child in February! Jenni, who is a long-standing friend and con5dant of Lou's havingworked and jointly run the salon for 13 years, will now be managingthe salon. Jenni, an advanced stylist, will be supported in runningthe salon by established team member Brooke Hartley and new members Tracey Hudson, Helen Miles and Nicole Meer.

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Guitars can be worth an incredible amountof money, depending on who created it andmore importantly played it.The 1968 Fender Stratocaster played by JimiHendrix at Woodstock sold for $2million in1998, whilst a Washburn 22 series Hawkowned by reggae legend Bob Marley alsofetched over $1million dollars at auction.So if you happen to have a guitar owned byJimmy Page, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton,Stevie Ray Vaughan, Slash or Duane Allmangathering dust in the loft, it might be worthgetting it valuedGreat guitarists are not created overnight,and the same can be said for guitar makers.The likes of Gibson which creates theworld-famous Les Paul, Fender responsiblefor the renowned Stratocaster, and Rickenbacker a favourite of The Beatles,have been established for decades.Perhaps one day, JKB will be revered by guitarists around the worldJKB is a new guitar making company set upby Jacob Menear in a studio at his home inStorrington. The business is in its infancy,but Jacob is already demonstrating a skill forcreating inventive, experimental acoustic

and electric guitars. Jacobs desire to build instruments only developed in recent years. He said: I startedSixth Form wanting to be a doctor and sostudied Maths and Sciences at A level. Butduring my second year I couldnt Dnd a science course that I wanted to do. I found aguitar making course by accident and Ibought some books and read up on it. I found it fascinating and changed my planfrom there. I studied at London MetropolitanUniversity. In the Drst year there was morethan 30 of us but by the third year therewere perhaps ten of us that were still there.I got a First and decided to do a Masterscourse in guitar making to improve my skillsbefore I headed out into the real world andstarted making guitars that I could sell. Isaved money for a few years and invested insome equipment and a stock of materials soI was able to set up on my own quickly.Even for somebody who has excelled duringfour years of study, making instruments isnot easy. Each new guitar represents a newchallenge, every minor alteration bringswith it sound and tone complications, andthe diCerent wood varieties impact the

instruments performance in its own ways.There is so much variety in the way you cando things that will aCect the outcome that itis just so interesting, said Jacob. Its great toexperiment as no two instruments are thesame due to the diCerent materials or howyou shape a particular part.Youve got to Dgure out what kind of guitaryou want and the sound you are after as thatwill inEuence your materials. There are anumber of tone woods that can be used.Soft woods such as cedar are good for thesound boards as they are Eexible but oftenneed to maintain stiCness. Cedar will give adarker tone to the sound while spruce willhave a brighter sound. You can also use hard woods, such as mapleand mahogany and are more common forelectric guitars. Gibson Les Pauls, like theone that Slash (Guns N Roses) uses, are farheavier as they are primarily mahogany.The materials act diCerently under thesame circumstances. You have rosewoodwhich bends nicely whereas Bubinga woodbends like bulletproof glass. You have to testdiCerent materials in diCerent ways in orderto get the same result so a lot of it is trial and

21

Striking a ChordCarving out a career in guitar making

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error. So you choose your materials atthe beginning based on the sound thatyou want it to make.Jacob starts building his guitars withthe basic materials which must all becut, shaped and manipulated overmany months to create a -nished product. He buys the tone woods as un-cut blocks of wood, and also buysfret wire, bridges, -ngerboards andeverything else needed from luthiermerchandisers. The wood for the backof the guitars is also bought rough andthick but they are book-matched whenthey are cut from the log so they will besymmetrical. The challenge for Jacob is to create guitars with their own identity, butJacob feels he has the ability to forge areputation for high quality craftsman-ship and sound performance.Every guitar maker has criteria thatthey like to meet with their instrument.Some try and replicate vintage instruments such as a C.F Martin guitar,copying to a millimetre of how theywere built.Other makers try to be more experimental, and they will add extrastrings or make them longer or shorter,create di,erent body shapes, or inventthings like harp guitars with bass strings

added. Im in the experimental region as Idont like copying the guitar shapes of otherpeople. There are lots of people specialising in makingreplicas of Martin guitars or Fenders and Idont think the world needs another one. IfIm going to make an instrument I might aswell make it di,erent.Acoustic guitars have a fairly standard

structure that has been established for hundreds of years, and so it is through the useof materials that you manipulate the sound.But with electric guitars, although the woodyou use does a,ect the tone and sound, it iswith the pick-ups and hardware used that really puts the sound across. You can have a bit more fun without beingpenalised heavily in terms of sound.

Jacob in his new workshop

23

My style is to have a shorter lengthof body. Usually they are longer andcover more of the 0ngerboard. Ihavent really seen anything like thehead shape I use and I also shape thebody into the neck. With most guitars you have 24 frets,but it is uncomfortable to play past acertain point without hitting a bigsquare. I have tried to make it ascomfortable as possible to use.At the moment Im making them fordemonstration pieces so that when Igo to shows people can come alongand have a go and see if there is anything here that suits them. Guitarists will often have instrumentshand-made because they will 0nd itvery di/cult to get the sound thatthey want from a shop. Most manufacturer guitars are verymechanical. All the tops and sound-boards are cut to the same thickness.With the cheaper instruments youwill have a veneer of cedar wood andthe rest is made out of a muchcheaper material and the soundquality of the wood on the outside isnot going to be carried through theinstrument.Whilst Jacob is trying to create hisown style, he does cite the work ofan American guitar maker called FredCarlson as an in1uence. PerhapsJacobs most unusual guitar adopts asimilar technique used by Carlson tocreate an acoustic with a sound similar to that of an Indian sitar.He said: Carlson is very experimental.His designs are far di.erent to whatanybody else is creating at the moment and I too would like to create individual instruments. I have made a guitar based on oneof his ideas. He blended sympathetic,resonating strings with an acousticguitar. The sympathetic strings arenormally found on instruments suchas the sitar and also in baroque instruments.

You chooseyour materialsat the beginningbased on thesound thatyou want to make

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You tune them to a scale, a chordor notes that you want to pick outfrom a song, and when you matchthose notes on the /ngerboardthey will vibrate to give more resonance. I have gone through/ve di.erent versions of this instrument, each one trying toovercome a new problem!The /rst one had 18 strings altogether and was really heavy atthe top. So we had to make itmore balanced. The sympatheticstrings were also inside the guitarinitially and there was a door youcould open to adjust them, butthat was tedious work. So I angledthe neck forward so all of thestrings run over the face of thesoundboard. You dont stop learning.Jacob will be spending the nextfew months in his studio workingsolidly and hopes to build upsome stock so he can tour guitarshops and craft shows with hisproduct. He may also soon exhibithis instruments at GJs Guitars inStorrington.He also hopes that as an instrumentthe guitar becomes as popular asit did around the turn of the

century, when productionreached an all-time high. Newcomputer software may haveturned people away from instruments, but it could also inspire a comeback.I think that the whole GuitarHero thing didnt help, he said.The idea of pressing a button togenerate a sound made somepeople put down their instruments,which were of course harder toplay. But there are now new learning devices such as Rocksmith,where you can plug in your realguitar to a games system and playsongs as they would be played. So computers dont have to signal the end!In terms of my instruments, Iwould like to get to a point whereIve got a selection of maybe /veor six types of instrument that Iam able to make well with peopleable to view videos online and sayI want this but can you make itlike this and with this material? Then hopefully, rather than coming to me and asking for areplica guitar, they will ask for mystyle instead!For more visit www.jkmguitars.com

You can read about Jacobs artistic parents, Keith and Debra Menear, on Page56

Canreallybe cool?

Ping Pong

27

What we are offering through the college is the concept of come along and play

It would appear that one of the more unfashionable sports is making a comebackin this country.When Boris Johnson, in a typically Jamboyantpre-Olympics speech said I say to the Chinese,that Ping Pong is coming home it was all ingood humour. After all, there was nothingto suggest that any of our home-grownplayers were going to deny China of gold.In the end all four gold medals went toChina. Nonetheless, all signs point to a revival ofthe game in this country.Oddly, the game has suGered a slide in popularity in the UK since it became anOlympic sport in 1988. China, Japan andSouth Korea have gone on to dominate theworld stage, with Sweden and Germanyconsistently fronting the European challenge.Now the game is taking oG in UK cities, primarily through an increasing number ofoutdoor tables. The Ping Pong Parlour, atemporary table tennis caf, has beenlaunched in London and 100 tables havebeen installed in the capital as part of anEnglish Table Tennis Association (ETTA) initiative.Here in Horsham, the game is set to beboosted by the launch of a new Friday nighttable tennis club for all held at Collyers College. The scheme is funded by a 10,000Sport England grant, which will pay for top

quality tables.Horsham Table Tennis Club is driving it, withstrong support from other clubs includingStorrington and Horsham Spinners.Alex Morrison, Chairman of HTTC, said: Theperception of Table Tennis is changing butits a slow process. Its really a sport that hita peak in the 1970s and the 1980s. I used toplay in London and a lot of banks hadsports clubs, so there were a lot of businessteams. Here in Horsham, we had Royal and Sun Alliance and they had their own club at Holbrook club. They tended to encourageemployees to participate in sport, but a lotof that business participation has fadedover time and that has meant there havebeen fewer facilities and opportunities.Leagues have tended to become smallerbut now we want to reverse that trend, particularly after the Olympics as there is abit more interest in table tennis. You areseeing outdoor tables I saw several tableson Brighton marina recently and it was verypopular. We want to be able to have somethinggoing on in Horsham which is much moreinformal. We want to be more like a golfclub -you can play as a member or you can,if you want to, just turn up and have a gowithout any commitment to play again.What we are oGering through the college is

the concept of come along and play. You can turn up and the organisers willtake a look at your game and put you into ateam of two or three and well have little informal competitions. Itll be like a leaguenight but without the formality. Its an easyIrst step into table tennis competition.Ian Ford, Sports Development OHcer atHorsham District Council, said: Sport England have said, whether you agree withit or not, that they have improved sport par-ticipation amongst young people at primary school age, so lets switch the focusto retaining young people in sport.Therefore the 14-25-year -old bracket ofwhich colleges are right in the middle of isnow the priority. Thats where they arethrowing their funding towards. We arebringing the game to them, rather than asking them to go and Ind it.There is a bit of a revival for the game. Lotsof people have played it in the garage orback gardens in the past and its getting abit of a second wind. We want to tap intothat.Horsham Table Tennis like the game in thiscountry is showing signs of improvement.It has maintained a high level at competitionand continues to focus on its junior section.The club was founded in the 1938/1939 season, as an oGshoot of the Horsham LawnTennis Club. Over the years it has played in

- Alex Morrison

Horsham Table Tennis Club

various venues, including the former BlackHorse Hotel on West Street, the Albion Hall,the old Y.M.C.A, The Barn in the Causeway,and in 1972 the old army hut at BroadbridgeHeath.In 2003 the club started to use GreenwaySchool alongside Broadbridge Heath Sportscentre and one year later moved all of its activities to the school. Horsham was instrumental in setting up the Horsham andCrawley League, in which it is well represented.The Horsham Club has Bve teams in the Premier Division, and they play against fourteams from Tilgate based club The Foresters,two Crawley community teams, Holy Trinity Aand a separate club called Horsham Spinners,based at Forest School. Alex said: Traditionally the league has operated on a home and away basis butabout four years ago we tried to change thatand move the local table tennis set-up to anew level. So now on a Thursday night at K2in Crawley we have nine tables and all thepremier teams come together and playunder one roof. There are 13 teams withthree players each, so we have to provide Bfteen very good players each week.Everybody plays each other, so you eachplay three matches and each match is thebest of Bve games to eleven points. Outsideof the premier league there are another twodivisions, and we have one team in the bot-tom tier. They play matches on the traditional

Horsham Table Tennis Club meets at Greenway School

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home and away format. But its great to play at K2. When you haveyour matches on one regular night you canplan everything else around that. You canplan your coaching schedule, and everythingis more organised.In addition to the local league, HorshamTable Tennis Club is represented in the Senior British league over four weekends of aseason with teams in Division 2 and Division4. The best cadet (under-15) and junior

(under-18) players also compete at a numberof events across the country over the season.Over the years, the club has had some verygood players connected to the club andwere once as high as second in the premierdivision of the English league when the likesof Richie Venner were playing at their peak.Now, it is down to a Slovakian coach, MartinJezisek, to develop the next generation oftalent. He is supported by Sri Lankan CoachAmila Thilikarathne who has been in the top

I am approaching everyone thesame and trying to get them up totheir maximum potential

- Martin Jezisek

29

5 of the Sri Lankan mens rankings.Martin said: Im trying to bringeveryone to their maximum poten-tial. Im teaching them what theycan do and protecting them fromthemselves as well. You have to bequite strict but I am always fair, supportive and encourage them.Here in the UK, I think kids aremore bubble-wrapped. Children arenot brought up to :ght for every-thing - they are used to being giventhings. If we are really thinkingabout champions, which I am always, never mind who I amteaching I always have the visionthat I am looking for the one specialplayer who will put everything intoit and perhaps be a champion atsome point.Im not elitist as I am approachingeveryone the same and always trying to get them up to their

maximum potential, whatever theirown personal limit may be. All I askis that when they play they givetheir all.Amongst Horshams promisingyoung players are Dan Barna whowon his group in the Junior OpenSingles (U18s) at K2 recently, andHolly Holder who won the CadetGirls Under-15s Band 1 event at amajor tournament recently.The club has also combined wellwith Horsham District Council overrecent years to run table tennisbased projects including coachingin residential homes (Silver Pingersproject), activity in the Y Centre,running school holiday camps andproviding coaching for people withlearning disabilities. One person tobene:t is 16-year-old Stuart Cutler,who has autism.Stuart said: I started o9 with the

Amila Thilikarathne coaches a young player

Coaches Martin Jezisek and Amila Thilikarathne

Bigger on the inside

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Horsham Table Tennis Club

Aiming High group, which was a governmentinitiative to get more disabled young peopleinto sports, about two years ago.I found that table tennis helped me with handeye co-ordination, and its helped me to be active which is great. Now I come along to thenormal club nights to play and last month Icame

How did you get GillianWright on board?I have worked with Gilliansagent in London before. Duringthe casting process he contactedme out of the blue and saidhow do you fancy Gillian playing Horsham? I had seenher in panto two years ago inEastbourne and met her sociallythrough her agent. So we negotiated the fee and eventually we got her.

How does that work with EastEnders $lming?It was back in February that wehad our ;rst discussion, but itwas all on the premise thatGillian could take a break fromthe programme. If Gillian wasallowed ;ve weeks o9 shecould do it. Some were notgiven the time o9 ShaneRichie was one of them. I hadto wait until Easter for EastEnders to reach the point

Dear Santa

From the author of DEAR ZOO

Rod Campbells

FromSanta

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where they could make a decision.Thankfully for us they did allowher to take the break. It was a di:cult time as I could not doany casting until I knew if Gilliancould make it, which was scary.

When does she arrive in town?Gillian ;nishes ;lming for EastEnders on the 2nd December.She comes here a day later tobegin rehearsals and we openten days later. She has seen thescript and likes the way I havewritten it. Its charming, verychild-friendly, and there is nosmut unless she wants to putsome in! She has been to see us,loves the venue and will be staying in the town during therun. Gillian knows we have agood reputation for pantomimeand she will be lookedafter.

But shes taking on therole of a villain?Gillian really wanted todo it. She has played aFairy before and wantedto do something di9erent so theWickedQueen role isideal.

Can shesing?She says shesnot a West Endmusical diva but shecan more than put anumber across. Herbackground is as aproper actress andshe co-founded the

Pilot Theatre. The reason she hasjust won the Best Actress at theInside Soap Awards is that shes avery talented performer.

In recent years youve tendedto bring in childrens televisionpresentersWeve had a run of childrens entertainers, with Justin Fletcher,Sarah-Jane Honeywell and AnnaWilliamson, but not too long agowe had Mark Curry and ToddCarty. We do still have a childrensentertainer with Jane Deane,who plays Dee Livery in JustinsHouse on CBeebies, in this yearscast.

What other characters do wehave?Michael Neilson from last yearspantomime Jack and TheBeanstalk will be Herman theHenchman and West Endsingers Daisy Wood-Davisand Bradley Clarkson playSnow White and ThePrince. We also have aspecial guest as the Lady

in the Mirror

Do tell!It is Su Pollard (Hi-De-Hi!). Iveknown Su as

a personal friendfor about 25 years.

I have tried to gether to do pantomimeonce before, but it didnt work out. . Iasked her agent thisyear, and this time Suagreed! Gillian was

This Christmas, The Capitol in Horsham will bestaging not one but two self-produced festiveshows. Award-winning EastEnders actressGillian Wright stars in Snow White, whilst aunique adaptation of Rod Campbells childrens classic Dear Santa returns. AAHspoke to Michael Gattrell, General Manager atThe Capitol, about the busy festive period

Its Silly Season

Michael Gattrell writes the Capitol pantomimes

cock-a-hoop about it. As theWicked Queen she is quite straightlaced and that works well with thisvery amusing lady in the mirror.

You write the script yourself?We have produced the panto in-house for many years as I enjoy it,and it saves the council a lot ofmoney which is important and isbecoming increasingly so. It costsa lot of money to bring in a production company to stage apantomime. Its a new script,which I have written from scratch.

Are you pleased with it?I had writers block for a while butwhen you get script approval fromGillian and Jane and the peoplethat you work with, its very satisfying. Its not as easy as youmight think to know if whatyouve written is any good. Its allabout how the audience receivesit and you never can tell untilopening night. It has to be visualand requires good interpretationfrom the cast. Justin (Fletcher) always told me never to use longwords as you lose the children.The last thing I want to do is a production where the adults arelaughing and the kids dont knowwhat they are laughing at.

What will be providing thewow factor?

The dwarfs we are using are cute,funny and quirky. We are not usingactual dwarfs as they are in suchdemand during pantomime season and of course only a selectfew theatres can a;ord their services. So weve come up with afun alternative that is fun and really engages with the audience.We cant use anything Disney because of copyright so we havecalled them Chief, Dandy, Dozy,Snooty, Perky, Clumsy and Weepy!

Have you chosen the songs yet?I have - we have a bit of Glee,some Madness songs, a few well-known hits from musicalsand a couple of numbers fromSmash, a programme on Sky.

You also put on Dear Santa overChristmasWe do. A couple of years ago weengaged a production companyto put on A Night Before Christmas in the studio. But withthe need to save money I thoughtI could =nd a story that I couldproduce myself so I scoured theinternet looking for stories whichcould, potentially, be adapted forstage. I found Dear Santa by RodCampbell.

How did the stage adaptationcome about?I emailed Rod and we met and I

told him about my idea. Becauseits only a 16 page pop-up bookwe had to come up with a story-line. We exchanged ideas andcame up with Dear Santa andheld the world premiere here atThe Capitol in 2010.

This must have been a toughchallenge?Its di

When Wabi opened two years ago, Horshamreacted like a town that had collectively wonthe lottery.The celebrated Australian chef ScottHallsworth, who had been instrumental inturning Nobu London into one of the capitalsmost stylish Japanese restaurants, was makinga commitment to the town.Wabi ate up column inches as local newspapereditors were enthralled by the story of the chefwho had previously cooked for Bill Clinton andDavid Beckham and was now leading a newmillion-pound project.But the goodwill, seemingly on tap initially, randry. The backlash began almost as soon aspeople saw the prices. A critic from TheGuardian commented more on the drab dcorthan the food, and closed the review by revealing that the jelly)sh in the lavish

Does Wabi geta raw deal?Review: Wabi, East Street, Horsham

36

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aquarium had all died within days.Locally, there were those willing to giveWabi a try, but whilst the quality of thefood was rarely questioned, its price andwhether or not it actually 0lled you upregularly was. Disappointing, those spouting what hadseemed an embarrassingly parochialopinion that Horsham town was notready for 0ne Japanese cuisine have to adegree been proved right.In the last few weeks, Scott Hallsworthhas been making the transition to thesecond Wabi restaurant opening soon inHolborn, London. Gone too are the twoexperienced sous chefs, Paul Kanja andMark Morrans. The menu has been dramatically altered, with many of themore lavish and expensive dishes suchas sashimi (thin slices of fresh raw 0sh)pulled.It has all been done to make the Horshamrestaurant a viable business, from a0nancial perspective. Quite simply, notenough people have been ordering thedelicacies to justify their place on themenu. Scott said: Over time, weve come to understand the business in Horsham alittle better and know what people wantto eat. Sales of sashimi and sushi (raw vinegared rice usually with a raw 0sh or

seafood 0lling) were nowhere near hot foodsales and its more expensive to produce sushiand sashimi dishes, because of ingredientsand the wages to put a sushi chef on. We had to take a bit of expense out of therestaurant so it can wash its own face. It hasntbeen easy since day one 0nancially, but werein a really good position now.

We can still do good, tasty food, and for themost part I dont think the changes have beentoo detrimental. Were still using really goodbeef 0llet and I dont think weve reduced anyquality in terms of the ingredients. We justdont buy high end tuna, for example, or wedont buy Foie Gras like we used to as supplierswere knocking us on the head for prices down

Lubo Kovar is now in charge of the kitchen at Wabi

here.We have seen that the sushi barisnt required as much as the drinksbar. If you are here on a Friday orSaturday night you cant get to thebar. People would like to be herebut they will go somewhere elsejust to get a drink. Ive seen it happen too many times so Ithought what do we do about it?So the downstairs sushi bar will beslightly modi5ed so we can servethere at the weekends.If people want drinks give themdrinks, and they dont want sushiso knock it back. We have foursushi rolls on at the moment, andyes, we do have regulars who areasking for a bit more of that andmore sashimi. We might be able to do that asour talent improves but at the moment we have to be carefulhow we play it as we need thisbusiness to survive.It ties in with the whole idea ofbeing an Izakaya - a drinking placethat also serves good food. Thereare many of them in cities and theyare more casual, more approachable,and thats what we are trying to dohere in Horsham.

The new chef in charge at Horshamis Czech-born Lubo Kovar. Lubohas only been at Wabi for 18months. He started o4 as chef-de-partie but impressed the seniorchefs with his attitude.Lubo said: I walked past with mygirlfriend one day and saw Wabi,but didnt know what it was. Itlooked quite posh from the outside,and I walked in and tried one oftheir Bento boxes and I fell in love. I was so excited, as I had neverknown Japanese food before. The6avours were amazing. I broughtmy friends and family here for ameal and then I thought I wouldapply for the chefs job.Scott said: Lubo didnt have asuper strong background but whatis amazing is his attitude. He has anopen mind, is a hard worker, andhe can facilitate all of our needs. Ifwe say its going to be like this heis going to make sure it happens inthe right way.We were not looking for peoplewith a Japanese background wewere looking for people to followwhat we are trying to do and Lubodoes that. He is solid and trustworthy.Mark and Paul are with me in

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December Menu:19.95 (2 courses)24.95 (3 courses)

The Tatami room can seat up to 16 people

There is now less sashimi and sushi on the menu

Review: Wabi

38

London as they deserve the opportunity, butif we have a big party or a function in Horsham one of them will come down tostrengthen the team. Otherwise its going really well. Horsham has been a great schooling. I hadthe cooking skills but knew nothing about business. Going through the wringer is agood experience and Im taking it away withme.But for me its good to be back in the bigcity. Its where Im most comfortable andwhat Im familiar with. Its a huge buzz.In London there is far more sashimi on ourmenu as theres a huge demand for it in the

city. Itll be a little more experimental andwell be able to a1ord the top end food. Cooking skill is vital but ingredients are reallyimportant and well be able to do thingsthere that we have not been able to do herein Horsham for a while.If much of what has been said doesnt comeacross as being particularly promising for theHorsham Wabi, then you can take some comfort from a few positives.From a food perspective, the quality on o1ermay have dropped but only from such a highlevel. And whilst visiting for this review, wefound Wabi to be a more relaxed environment.

We took our seats up in the 12 seat Tatamiroom. Tatami is a type of Japanese mat (usually made of rice straw) you sit on, havingleft your shoes at the door. The room is stillvery popular with large groups. We would certainly recommend the Tatami(or one of the three smaller booths) to enhance your dining experience as whilstthe dcor of the rest of the restaurant is notbad it isnt particularly enthralling either.The food however, still excites, with everydish promising a talking point, every bitesupplying a fresh 3avour, every last crumbleaving you wanting more. It was di2cult to hide the fact that we were

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putting together a food review(due to the dual-light, power-pack fuelled two camera set-updominating the room) so wewere treated to an extended version of the Deluxe Tastingmenu. The usual menu costs 55per person, and is one of themore popular options for Arsttime diners and those wanting toshare. But not all of the dishes detailed in this review are part ofthe Deluxe Taster menu.The Arst dish was Edamame(young soybeans in the pod witha salt coating) with soramametempura (deep fried fava beans)and pork scratchings. It was a delightful Otsamuni (snack)which provided an intriguingblend of the healthy and thenaughty.Next we sampled Beef FilletTataki with Onion Ponzu and Garlic Chips (12.50). Tataki is amethod of searing the outside ofthinly sliced raw beef. Its onlygoing to provide one shortmouthful, but the beef and citrussoy-sauce (ponzu) make for a few

sweet, scintillating seconds.The Crunchy Salmon Tacos(6.75) carried great colour andBavour; then came the SearedSalmon Sashimi (9.25). The layersof Ash were so thin they couldhave been prepared with a potato peeler, and tasted divinewhen dipped in a Jalapeno saucethat kicked you Armly in themouth without leaving youbruised. Scott had earlier told us that thesalmon quality has actually fallenrecently, as they could not justifythe prices set by who he considers to be the best supplierin London. We can only assumethis supplier is a Grizzly Bear, asthe salmon here was excellent.Next came the Dragon Roll ofPrawn Tempura (deep fried),Grilled Unagi (freshwater eel) andWasabi Mayo topped with slicedAvocado (8). Like eating Avechocolates from a tin of Roses,only to And youd created the ultimate sweet, the Dragon Rollwas a beautiful symphony ofBavours. Accompanying it was

Crunchy Soft Shell Crab Maki (8)with Fresh Kimchee, Avocado andTobiko (Byish Ash roe). It was further proof that it is indeed acrying shame that more peoplehave not ordered sushi styledishes in the last two years.The Pork Belly Steam Buns withSpicy Peanut Soy and CucumberPickle (7) and Crispy Squid Kara-Age (deep Aeld in oil - 9.75) aretwo of the more popular dishes

and its easy to see why. In termsof appearance they have the lookof western dishes, with the precision of Eastern cuisine.Also on the table was Sweet CornTempura with Sweet and SourPonzu, Onions, Coriander andChilli (6). Its an interestingproposition battered sweetcorn but when it comes to deep friedfood I remain a cod or haddockman!

Dragon RollCrispy Squid Kara-Age

Pork Belly Steam Buns with Spicy Peanut Soy and Cucumber Pickle

Review: Wabi

40

From a presentation perspective, perhaps thetoast of all of the delightfully arranged disheswas the Tea Smoked Lamb Chops (13) withSweet and Sour Nasu and Spicy Miso Sauce. Itsa sublime o8ering and other than its shape,most unlike any lamb chop youre likely to haveexperienced before. And lets face it, at thatprice it ought to be.If there is a hearty end of the meal, we hadreached that point as we sampled the moreishChicken Tsukune (meatballs) with Yaki-Niku

sauce (a soy sauce mixed with Sake) for 8.50.Yet there was still room for dessert. We hadwarm chocolate Harumaki (spring rolls) withSoft Serve Ice Cream and Passionfruit (6). Wealso tried the White Chocolate Brulee withGreen Apple Sorbet and Sesame Mikado (6)and Mochi (sticky rice cakes) for 5.50. Wecouldnt :nd fault with any of it.Stretched out, entirely bloated on a thin matmade of rice, wondering if anybody had takenmy shoes, it was di9cult to grasp the fact that

Wabi may actually have been evenbetter a few months ago.However, whilst Wabi may have losttheir three most experienced chefs,there is a new team in place andtheyre keen to make their mark.Whilst some crave the opportunity inLondon, others are evidently eager tograb the reins and succeed wheretheir much-hailed predecessors have in a business sense not been aroaring success.On previous visits I have found thesta8 to be a little aloof, but on this occasion the service sta8 were verypleasant and informative - only toohappy to talk about the food theyhave obviously been trained to knowabout. Wabi has failed to realise its dream ofbecoming one of the countrys toprestaurants. That may happen in London time will tell. But here in Horsham weve been leftwith a rather pleasant Izakaya aJapanese bar serving magni:centcocktails and serving what is still, atleast by small town standards, stunningfood. Toby believes it is as good as any foodwe have eaten at an AAH review - andweve been to two Michelin starredrestaurants.It may have taken some knocks, butWabi still packs a punch.

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of England. Our company, HearcentresLimited operates each individual hearingcentre while ensuring they retain their local,independent identities. We also have a sister company in Horsham,Hearing Electronics Limited, which manufactures and supplies specialist custom-9t earpieces for a wide range of applications.From earpieces for TV presenters at the BBC,ITV and Sky, to communication earpieces forthe Vodafone McLaren Mercedes FormulaOne team, we have the expertise and experience to deal with any ear-related requirement.I have always kept to my original philosophythat we are in business to help people tohear better and that it should be a long-term relationship with our customers. It istestament to this core philosophy that wesee many clients who have been with ussince the early days, now wearing their thirdor fourth pair of hearing aids, still coming inregularly for their check-up appointments.

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The Roundabout Talking News is a volunteer-run registered charity which has provided afree weekly recording to the visually impaired since 1978.A team of 50 volunteers are involved in theservice, providing about 150 listeners a 30minute reading with the best of the newsheadlines from the West Sussex CountyTimes, as well as the obituaries and key entertainment listings.A further half an hour is 9lled with a varietyof informative and occasionally humorousarticles, sourced by the volunteers from magazines, specialist publications and theinternet.For many years, the recordings were madeonto cassette tapes, but in recent timeslisteners have been given the news on memory sticks. The sticks are played on easyto use stereos given out free of charge.Chairman John Dean said: Were limited to

4,000 words as that is the maximum we can9t on to the one hour cassettes, which a fewlisteners still use.When we have completely switched over tomemory sticks it will be more open-ended,but still, we dont want to drown them innews! There is very little sport as most of thelisteners are not interested in it. Some are,but you cant do bespoke recordings. Wekeep the articles quite short and snappy byediting them down to about 250 words perstory.The West Sussex County Times has beengood to us over the years. They agreed to ourrequest to use their articles. We have alwaysmet up on a Thursday night and did thinkabout moving back another day when theWest Sussex County Times started publishingon a Thursday rather than a Friday, but wehave 50 volunteers working on this and sothe Thursday routine is well established.

There are several teams involved in the production of the Roundabout Talking Newsevery Thursday. Firstly, a Preparation Teamarrives at about 4.30pm to sort the postalwallets returned from listeners which containeither tape cassettes or memory sticks.Meanwhile, an Editing Team selects articlesfrom the newspaper and edits them downbefore the Readers digitally record the newsin the studio. The Magazine Team comes in shortly after6pm to record their articles. Sound Techniciansthen create master copies of the recordingson cassette tape and on memory stick. TheFast Copying Team arrive the followingmorning and use fast copying machines tocopy the recordings on to cassette tapes andmemory sticks, before placing them all intothe postal wallets.We spoke to some of the volunteers aboutthe service they provide...

Its Good to TalkRoundabout Talking News

43

If you know someone who is registered blind or partially sighted and would like to know moreabout Roundabout Talking News, visit www.roundabouttalkingnews.co.uk or call Secretary

Martyn Field on 01403 891306 or Chairman Jon Dean on 01403 266924.

Group Discussion

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We have received some statistics fromWest Sussex County Council that state thatthere are about 2,300 people in the Horsham area that are visually impaired. Iwould suggest that about half of that number are long-term visually impaired.So there are potentially about 1,200 people who could bene2t from what wedo. So our challenge is to get the messageout to more of them. Thats di1cult as youhave to rely on the friends and family of avisually impaired person to let them knowabout the service. As well as the local newsheadlines, we have a magazine sectionwith light-hearted messages too. The OldieMagazine is a good source for articles and we also use the internet to 2nd somearticles about the visually impaired. Every-one here is a volunteer so funding is im-portant. At the moment we are doing okay,but if it does take o0 and we get 1,000 newlisteners, we would need a lot of newspeaker systems as we give those out forfree, as well as more memory sticks, andthat would require funding. Theres nodoubt that its worth doing and until thelast listener goes well keep going!

Martyn Field

About 18 months ago we switched over tomemory sticks. We used cassette tapes upuntil then. Its so much easier with the memorysticks and the quality is so much better. Everylistener gets a stereo for free and you just putthe memory stick in the top and listen. Wehave about 15 people who still use tapes andwere busy transferring them all over. Somepeople have problems with new technologybut once they realise how easy it is to usethey are happy. There are 119 memory stickusers now and only 15 on tape. We also havea couple of people who listen on the website.On Thursday, a small team prepares the walletswith all of the addresses attached to themand then another small team comes in on aFriday morning and transfers the 5nishedrecordings to memory sticks. We have a computer that can copy the news to elevenmemory sticks at a time and it does this in lessthan a minute. A memory stick is then putinto every wallet and they are all put in themail bag and taken to the sorting o4ce. RoyalMail delivers them for free and the listenersusually receive them on a Saturday morning.They send the wallets and memory sticksback to Collyers and we collect them fromthere.

Howard Brake

45

Ive been involved here from the start 33years I think. There was an advert in the localpaper when they were setting it up. I remember going to an audition and they gotenough readers and put us in teams of four.Thats been the set-up ever since and I am in ateam that reads on the third Thursday of eachmonth. I trained as an elocutionist, so I speakwith clarity and I am careful at the beginningand ends of sentences. Reading the news isquite serious and were not supposed to inject anything that would lead people tothink one way or the other. It is important tobe neutral. The listeners do get to know yourvoice. I have met some of them at the committee meetings, which is interesting. Isaid to one Hello, my name is Barbara and hesaid yes I know, Ive been listening to you readfor years! I still enjoy doing it I wouldntthink of giving it up!

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Group Discussion

We are appealing to people who know someonewith a visual impairment whomight like to receive a copy ofthe Talking News. It does centre on the West SussexCounty Times and if you dontwant to read that its notgoing to be of that much interest to you. But I am partof a team that works on the magazine which forms thesecond half of the service. Wedo half an hours worth of justabout everything. We talkabout where weve been on

holiday, and pick out stu5from every kind of publicationyou can imagine. We try tokeep the magazine parts quitelight-hearted. This evening Imreading an article on the typeof long-life bulb that gives thebest light and on my last visit Iwas talking about a visit to Osborne House, so its very diverse. Im in Team Two andwe all bring in articles and Idecide the order so its very7exible. Other teams are farmore scripted, but were quitespontaneous!

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I came here to help from the start.There was a steering committeeinitially and they set the wholething up, getting the money fromHorsham Round Table. The 6rstRoundabout Talking News wasbroadcast on December 15th1978. Social services knew thatthere were a number of visuallyimpaired people in the HorshamDistrict and one of the things theycouldnt obviously get was thelocal newspaper, so these Talkingnews groups were set up all overthe country. There are about 500now and we are governed by theTalking Newspaper Federation. Wefund it through donations. Somedonations are from the visually impaired people who receive thenews, as they are very pleasedwith what we give them. We alsomake money through street

collections and at this time of yearcharity Christmas cards help too.We used cassettes for many yearsbut now of course we have memory sticks. That meant a biginvestment but we managed toget a grant for the memory sticksand the stereos for them. We sendthem out quite quickly, but it usually takes a couple of weeks forthem to come back so we needabout four memory sticks per person. So with 150 subscriberswe need about 600 memory sticksto ensure we also have plenty instock. Its a very important servicefor our listeners. One lady I wentto see said she doesnt get to talkto many people during the weekso she listens to the Talking Newsseveral times over. Over time thevoices reading the news becomevery familiar to the listeners.

John Dean

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