Racing, Sussex in colour, Lewes on rise?

The E Sussex newsletter you need in your inbox...

News: the Sussex agenda

Post Office scandal: Sussex man’s 'absolute torture'

He was one of over 700 people convicted in what became known, in British legal history circles, as the most widespread miscarriage of justice when it became clear the Post Office's accounting software was to blame.

It took an ITV drama to put the controversy to the top of the news agenda all this week.

Sussex-based Sami Sabet owned three post offices in Shoreham-by-Sea and Brighton. Here is his harrowing story.

***

The waiting list for oral surgery in South East England has risen by 27 per cent in the last year, according to research. East Sussex has over 2,500 individuals awaiting treatment, while one of the largest lists in the UK is West Sussex, which has a waiting list of almost 7,000.

On the doctor’s front, Daily Mail columnist Dominic Lawson had this to say in his 2024 predictions: 

JANUARY: Baroness Mone wins the contract to supply the England football kit for the Euro 2024 tournament. It's unusable and the team have to play in their underwear.

FEBRUARY: Two people in East Sussex claim to have actually seen a GP, but it's later discovered to have been an elaborate hoax.

A hand clap for the founder of the ‘Wetherspoons drinking game’ had a go himself - and produced 200 dinners for the homeless. Chris Illman came up with the craze where punters share their location and table number on Facebook and wait for strangers to send them food and drink. Illman had a go at The Bright Helm pub in Brighton and accrued 200 portions of bangers and mash. Four bin bags were also filled with snacks as fans sent £3,000 and delivered to the homeless. Chris said: "I was emotional."

On your doorstep: The future of racing

Last year, a band of racing "heavyweights" approached the sport's governing body with plans for a Premier League-style shake-up. One with greater prize money focussed on racing’s elite level.

One of the instigators was Peter Savill, also owner of Plumpton’s track. Thus, the course was the second to stage a Premier fixture as part of a two-year trial of around 170 meetings. Last weekend saw the most valuable race ever staged at Plumpton.

So, how did it fare?

“This is National Hunt racing's heartland, and nobody ever expected to see it reclassified as 'Premier' sport, which is meant not as an insult but a compliment, wrote Sussex-based sportswriter Paul Hayward. “The undemonstrative but hardcore Plumpton crowd knows what it wants on a cold January Monday, and none of it corresponds to what you might call glamour.

Meanwhile, the Racing Post had this to say:

“While there was little more visually to mark this meeting as anything different to last year's, there was an additional £90,000 in prize-money - making this the most valuable fixture in the track's history - and that resulted in a strong card with good fields and talented horses. A big marketing effort and bracingly cold but, more significantly, dry weather resulted in a bumper crowd, which Savill said was up 40 per cent on recent figures.”

The day did also see a quite remarkable feat of rescue riding from this winning jockey: 

Sussex in colour

An image of autumn leaves resting on a snowy landscape, described as "spellbinding", has won the South Downs National Park annual photographic competition.

The shot, below left, called Snow On Wolstonbury was taken by Matt Goddard, from Hurstpierpoint. A runner up is below right. "My love of exploring the South Downs started during childhood and hasn't stopped since,” said Matt.

In the media

• Flowers everywhere? England’s ambitious scheme to restore wildlife hangs in the balance. The Guardian heads to the Ilford Estate, E Sussex.

• A wildlife podcast on iconic Ashdown forest has proved to be a big hit. Head to the Ashdown Forest Centre website or on your podcast platform.

• Final decision on East Sussex immigration detention site 'delayed' - More in Sussex Express

On the market

The Grange, Crawley Down, above. Nestled in a village tucked away in the NW corner of the county, a mile from the border with Surrey. Listed with Hamptons for £5,95m

• 4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale, Hurspierpont. On at £1.1m

• “Through Crittall doors lies a beautiful garden with a magnificent flint wall at the rear” - Hanover Terrace, Brighton, pictured above. On the market at £575,000

• There has been a house on this ancient site since The Domesday Book, but the existing graceful manor house dates back to the 1830s - This 7 bedroom house is listed at a cool £10m.

• Stunning Barn conversion opportunity near Uckfield, below. Guide price £1.25m, with Hamptons

Food, Drink & Places

Could The White Hart in Lewes change the town once reopened? Brasserie Bar Co – behind Raymond Blanc’s high street chain Brasserie Blanc – undertook a rebrand last year to become Heartwood Collection and was soon in business by purchasing the E Sussex venue. There will be a new orangery and 23 redesigned rooms and suites. Once opened - there really are very few options, Premier Inn comes to mind - it is set to be a real focal point and could spark a rise in independent retail with the new influx. Due to open sometime this year.

• Tom Parker Bowles reviews Squisito in Lewes, a restaurant which has garnered some decent fanfare elsewhere too. 

• The Bell in Ticehurst one of the best pubs for lunch and a winter walk, says The Argus.

Where to walk

• CNTraveller has put the Charleston Farm & Firle Beacon Walk as one of the UK’s loveliest British winter walks that end in cosy pubs

• As if you didn’t already know given that Sussex is full of walking wonders, here are nine more places for winter walks in the county.

What’s On, Upcoming:

Arts: There is a new look at the 60-year career of the late Raymond Briggs, creator of The Snowman, Fungus the Bogeyman etc. The exhibition Bloomin' Brilliant: The Life and Work of Raymond Briggs opens in April at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft.

Football: Brighton v Wolves, Jan 22

Racing: Next Plumpton meetings Jan 16 and 29

Darts: The Premier League comes to Brighton in March

Music: Squeeze celebrate their 50th anniversary, Brighton Centre, November 2

Letters to Newspapers

In response to the lady from Hove (Daily Mail letters) who said power cuts were unlikely, I live in a small village in the same county as her, a 30-minute drive away, and we had 19 power cuts last year. There were also 19 power cuts in 2022; and 21 in 2021.
Andre Wells, Plumpton Green

An underrated spot for a fish and chip feast? A Telegaph reader responds…

SIR - I cannot agree with Ed Cumming about the food in Wetherspoons. I have eaten in the Eastbourne branch several times and the fish is fried to order, with a beautiful crisp batter. The pub is always very full, with happy customers munching away.
Tessa Boots St Leonards-on-sea

Tales from the tabs

La Bella Vista in Hastings has accused diners of walking out on a £425.38 bill. According to The Mirror, the quartet skipped taking their wallets, although the restaurant did “frogmarch” one of them to the cash machine, where only £60 was recouped.

Overheard on Southern….

It’s still early in the year for the commuter run, but this corner of Social Sussex aims to be led by reader contributions. Did you overhear a particularly funny line on your journey, a spicy Sussex story, or witness shenanigans at East Grinstead or an eccentric city type mouthing off about local schools? Send in your tips.

For now, we offer you this in response to most famous people met:

And why we are launching this section? Southern does at least have something to offer…

Until next fortnight…