OUT IN THE FIELD: Who buys a set of scales during lockdown?

Thanks to everyone who has been in touch regarding Norm, the man responsible for collecting litter from the beaches near Beachy Head and hauling them up the steps at Cow Gap so it can be disposed of. Thanks to Denise Hipgrave and Alicia Parris who is the latest. She writes, “I read the article in the Eastbourne Herald this week by Annemarie who spoke about a man named Norm who has been beach cleaning at Cow Gap. My family and I saw a man this morning on our dog walk, who I think could be Norm as he sounds like the man you described. We carried back plastic containers from the pile which had been washed up on shore down at Cow Gap, but I didn’t get his name. When we got back to the kiosk on the main road, I took a picture of him with the rubbish he had brought up from the beach and he was about to go back to get more. He wanted me to take a picture to pass to spread the word for more people to help. What an inspiration he is.” Indeed he is and keep up the good work Norm.

Lockdown life in Chateau Field continues apace and Himself and I are bumbling along in a state of complete madness. For many weeks now he has joked about calling the fire brigade to get me out through the door of the Westham News Bureau and last week bought a set of bathroom scales so we could ‘see how much weight we had put on in lockdown’. He’s lucky I didn’t bang them down over his head. And feed him to the pigs down the road. As well as the scales, He has also bought a bike and this week we went out on our respective trusty steeds. His is obviously a top of the range mean machine but mine is a bright purple bone shaker with a basket on the front. Imagine the wicked witch of the east from the Wizard of Oz shouting, ‘I’ll get you my pretties’, as opposed to that finely honed athlete Victoria Pendleton. You get the picture. On Monday this week I had to rise at Dawn’s crack and leave the comfort of my office at the kitchen table, put some ‘proper’ clothes on, brush my hair and even put make-up on to look at least half way presentable as I had a date with a journalist from BBC South East who wanted to interview me about how local newspapers are surviving in these difficult times. The message is clear: our valued advertisers are struggling because the lockdown has closed many of their businesses and as a result local papers are struggling too. Our news is trusted and produced by trained journalists working to exacting standards overseen by our independent regulator. We continue to cover all the local news in an honest and positive way - and support the communities that we serve at this difficult time. More people than ever before are reading our stories thanks to our free to access websites. But our message is to please buy a copy of the paper every week because this helps to fund our journalism. #buyapaper

Finally, another hero – Bill Plumridge who has just clocked up 30 years managing the Arndale Centre and The Beacon. Congratulations Bill and I am sure we will have a drink to celebrate your achievements when we come out on the other side.