OUT IN THE FIELD: Boo hoo to the no booze brigade

Having been a Hampden Park resident last year while my own house purchase rumbled on, I was sad to see this week parts of the village resemble a war zone. Brassey Parade has lovely little gems of independent shops but a stretch of it is being allowed to fall in to a terrible state with roller-shuttered fronts and smashed and boarded up windows. The Eastbourne Spruce Up Squad has offered to try and put right the situation after a request from the council's Neighbourhood First Team and Hampden Park Neighbourhood Panel but has met with resistance from some quarters. Much money has been available to Devonshire West, the town centre and seafront but sadly this shopping area has been allowed to wither and has little hope of recovering while in this very sorry state. Let's hope a solution comes up and soon.
'Part of Brassey Parade looks like a war zone and something must be done''Part of Brassey Parade looks like a war zone and something must be done'
'Part of Brassey Parade looks like a war zone and something must be done'

As an ex-Cavendish pupil, I have watched with interest how Bishop Bell has turned itself around over the years since I was at school in the 1980s. It went from being the worst school in the town to the most successful and over-subscribed with parents falling over themselves to get their little darlings in there. It’s had a serious run of bad luck in recent years but thanks to new head Mark Talbot the school is being rebranded and that means a name change too with two preferred options: St Catherine’s or St Edward’s. While Edward the Confessor was a gentle, loyal and devoted king who built Westminster Abbey, Catherine was recognised for being honest, standing up for what she believed to be right, a peacemaker, charitable and demanded nothing for herself. Girl power rules and I like St Catherine’s.

I love the optimism of new year and well done to those doing Dry January. My view of January is it’s possibly the worst month and one of the longest to give up the booze. So, no, I will not be banning the bottled grapes. Nor will I will be growing a moustache in the name of charity.

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