On Thursday 17th November Santa came to town and bought a special guest with him.
Santa and his guest Scott Maslen (aka Jack Branning of Eastenders) lit up the County Mall when switching on the lights. Over three thousand people packed the County Mall to wait for the switch on, which was delayed for around forty minutes due to Scott being stuck in traffic on the M25. Scott came directly from filming on set. Santa, on the other hand was on time and full of joy. Treating the children to lots of gifts Santa once again put big smiles on all the little faces.
As always, the County Mall were supporting great charities. The Springboard Project, Age UK and The Army Benevolent Fund. With a Peter Pan theme in conjunction with the local Hawth Pantomime, there was also lost boy jugglers, tinkerbell and Captain hook characters handing out chocolate to all the good girls and boys. Mayor Carol Eade and her two wonderful daughters Sharon and Lisa also came in support of the event.
The crowd went mad for Scott and loved all the entertainment from Santa and Chris Oxlade, back for another year playing the wheels of steel and all the favourite Christmas classics with games for special spot prizes and giveaways.
The VIP winners were then invited to the management suite to meet Scott Maslen on a one to one basis. Scott was more than a gentleman, paying them lots of attention and even speaking to some of their unsuspected family members on mobiles.
We would like to thank everyone who came along….it was a long night in the end but we believe it was worth the wait. Thank you to the staff and management at the County Mall, Scott Maslen for coming to Crawley but most off all, thank you Santa!! See you on the eve of the 25th December….we have been good
Five men have come together to raise money for their chosen charity ‘Help Our Wounded Royal Marines’, formed by Chris Stubbings BEM in March 2010.
Quote from the facebook page:
HELP OUR WOUNDED is a fundraising arm for The Royal Marines Association, Charity Number 206003. HOW was formed on the 4th March 2010 because of the number of seriously injured Royal Marines returning from operational tours in Afghanistan Iraq and other areas of armed conflict. HELP OUR WOUNDED is a community based effort seeking to help the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund (Registered Charity No 1134205), meet it’s target of raising £6M by the 350th anniversary of the Corps in October 2014. A Campaign Board has been established to coordinate the Corps Family effort working towards this testing target and HELP OUR WOUNDED is represented on that board.
What, when and where
On December the 3rd and 4th Dave Lilburn MBE, Stuart Baldwin, Cai Ives, Stuart Bourne and Stuart Power will be pulling a sledge from London to Brighton to help raise awareness and funds for this great charity.
Quote from the facebook page:
Myself (Stuart Bourne, Regional Fund Raiser for the South Eat) along with David Lilburn,Cai Ives,Stuart Baldwin and Stuart Power will be pulling a sledge to rasie funds for HELP OUR WOUNDED ROYAL MARINES over the weekend stopping at Crawley where there will be a fundraisng event on the Saturday evening. We have also enlisted some Santa Helpers as traffic guides (Reserves) and these are : Gay Wise, Andy Hains, Dale Lilburn and Ashton Lilburn.
As well as raising funds we will be asking for donations of xmas presents so that we may pass these onto the children of those brave Royals who have given their lives and will not be around this xmas so please lets do all we can to try and raise a smile and show we do care and will never forget them.
We hope as many people will join in around the country and mirror what we are doing. We would like this to become an annual event, so take up the challenge and get pulling for HELP OUR WOUNDED ROYAL MARINES.
We wish them all the best
Shelley was invited down to the martial arts school Lumpini in Priestley Way, Crawley to speak to the men involved. We also spoke to John Jarvis who is a trainer at Lumpini who have offered to train the men to full fitness for the event. John told us they were more than honoured to help the men get fit for this feat and to support them in many more ways, including giving them a stall at their forthcoming Muaythai Boxing event happening this Saturday at Effingham Park Hotel. More details can be found here.
We would like to wish them all the best. We will be covering their arrival into Crawley on December 3rd. Please show your support in any way you can.
Shoppers can park for free on Sundays in Crawley Borough Council’s Town Hall multi-storey car park in the run-up to Christmas.
To help traders during the busiest time of the year, the Town Hall multi-storey car park will be free on December 5, 12, 19 and January 2.
Councillor Keith Blake, Cabinet member for Environment, said: “This is an important time of year for town centre traders so we do this to encourage more people into the town centre.
“Crawley has a wealth of shops, as well as lots of bars, restaurants, cafes and other leisure facilities to make it a great place to do your Christmas shopping.”
If you’re stuck for ideas for presents this Christmas, why not consider giving the gift of learning – with a voucher for an adult learning course.
The vouchers are offered by the West Sussex Adult and Community Learning Service and can be put towards the cost of any of the courses run by the service across the county.
West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Education and Schools Peter Griffiths said: “The vouchers are a novel but practical idea for a Christmas present.
“If you know someone who wants to develop their job skills, retrain for a new career, or wants to learn a new hobby, then the gift of learning is perfect for them.”
The vouchers are available in £10 and £20 and come with a gift card.
They are valid for one year from the date of purchase.
For further information, or to buy a gift voucher, contact 01730 816683.
If you are looking for the perfect place to party this festive season The Hawth Theatre in Crawley has everything you need to make your party go with a bang!
The Hawth has two great options to choose from, so whether you want to just come along to a great party night or plan your own event, The Hawth can accommodate you:
Christmas Party Night: Fri 3 December 7.30pm – 12.30am
The Hawth’s hugely popular Christmas Party Night is the perfect way to celebrate the festive season in style! The night combines a sumptuous four course meal, a great disco with Hawth favourite Gordon Skeggs on the decks, and a wonderful party atmosphere – guaranteed to get you in the Christmas spirit!
Tickets are just £32 per person. For further information or to book your place contact Wendy Fowler, 01293 438155, wendy.fowler@crawley.gov.uk.
If you are looking for a lively, friendly, venue with a festive feel to host your own Christmas party we can cater for that too. With over 20 years experience, a special festive menu and music for that party atmosphere we can cater for parties from 40 to 200+ on selected Friday & Saturday nights in December.
Please contact Wendy Fowler on 01293 438155 or email catering@hawth.co.uk for more information.
On Saturday 12th December Xmas was officially launched by the performance of Cinderella at the Hawth in Crawley.
With a star studded cast and the talents of two local performing arts companies, it was a brilliant rendition of the classic, Cinderella. With Julian Clary as Dandini, Danny Bayne as Prince Charming and the beautiful Vicky Longley as Cinderella the show was bound to be entertaining and full of those great one liners which gave the audience the chance to shout at the stage “he’s behind you!” and “Oh no it’s not!”. But in our opinion the true star of the show came in the form of Joe Tracini who played Buttons. Some may recognise this extremely talented young man from BBC three’s Coming of Age and My Spy Family. Joe owned the stage and had the audience eating out of his hands (we did very well looking after his present). We found Joe to be a mix of Joe Pasquale and Norman Wisdom, in the greatest of ways! (Some may get the connection between these two Joe’s but we do not feel the need to highlight it, as Joe stands out all on his own).
Stages Performing Arts and Stagecoach complimented the star cast with such talent that you would think they had performed together for the whole year! The young performers, mostly from Crawley, were so proffesional it was hard to distinguish them from the leading cast members which we have no doubt the proud parents in the audience would agree with.
In the interval we met a gentleman who was watching with his daughter. He said she was getting a bit big for panto now, but he enjoyed it so much that he came every year and would probably come even if his daughter didn’t want to. The gentleman told us “my christmas starts once I have watched panto at the Hawth, it’s almost a tradition and get’s me in the mood”. We felt this was the case for most of the serial panto goers. In fact if you are not addicted before, this performance would have changed that. The scenery was just amazing, with two real shetland ponies used to pull the stunning carriage. The production crew should be very pleased with themselves. And, of course, the outfits were fit for a Prince
Cinderella runs at Crawley’s Hawth Theatre from 12th December 2009 to 3rd January 2010. Tickets are selling fast so call Box Office now to book on 01293 553636 or online at www.hawth.co.uk.
Also the cast are ‘out and about’ in Crawley this week. You can read more about where and when here…
Crawley Happy Times were invited by our friends at the Hawth to the after party where some of the cast made an appearance. We would like to thank Lorraine and Steve for their hospitality, which was exceptional. We took some pictures for you. Enjoy
Joe Tracini signs our ticket for us. Such a nice man!
Shelley and CHT finger puppet thought Joe Tracini stole the show!
Stephen Carlile was lovely. Here we found Stephen signing a programme for two young children
Stephen Carlile made two very excited boys day with an autograph while Mum watched on proudly
Our Shelley could not resist a picture with Stephen Carlile
Sussex Bootcamps are making it a priority to help those less fortunate than them over the Xmas period. And this is how they are doing it.
On Monday 14th, Wednesday 16th and Friday 18th December, Sussex Bootcamps are offering free sessions to their fitness classes for anyone who is interested. The only requirement is to bring some food to be donated to Open House in Three Bridges.
We spoke to Ben, senior instructor at Sussex Bootcamps who told us “We wanted to give something back to the community for all the support they have given us over the last year so we decided to do three free sessions which would help others in return. All you need to do is just bring some food and you can workout at Sussex’s leading fitness Bootcamp on December 14th, 16th And 18th for free. We are calling it “Turkey-Busting Workouts” because the session will burn off those pre Christmas calories. All food donations are going to Crawley Open House, Emmaus Homeless Charity, Brighton and Burgess Hill District Lions Club. We’re planning on making this an annual tradition here, as Christmas is such a wonderful family and friends occasion, and a time to show our appreciation for all we have, especially our health”.
Sussex Bootcamps Turkey-Busting Workouts are open to all Sussex residents and their family and friends on Monday 14th, Wednesday 16th ,and Friday 18th December in : -
Haywards Heath (6.15am, 8.30am, 9.30am, 6.15pm and 7.15pm
Horsham (6.15am, 8.30am, 9.30am, 6.15pm and 7.15pm)
Crawley (6.15pm and 7.15pm)
All Camps are 45 minutes long and you can attend every session that week, two sessions or just the one. We understand that this time of year is probably your busiest so it’s up to you how many session you want to do.
The worshipful the Mayor Brenda Burgess is going to make a guest appearance at the session on Monday 14th December at Hazelwick School on the 6.15pm session, joining in on the training. Open House is the Mayor’s chosen charity so was happy to join in for this great cause. Ben said “we are really looking forward to seeing Mayor Brenda Burgess on Monday. We feel it is a great cause and really appreciate the Mayor’s support and participation”.
Shelley from Crawley Happy Times will also be attending the three free sessions, so do register your place soon!
Please visit here to register your interest and save your place. Spaces are restricted so please register as soon as you can.
It’s a blast
Ben told us “As you can see, everyone has a blast at Sussex Bootcamps regardless of age and fitness level. And we’ll make sure you do too. There’s no need to be anxious about coming to camp if you’re a little out of shape, we’re not going to make you do anything crazy – that would just defeat the purpose.
All we want you to do is come out and have fun, burn off some pre Christmas calories, and feel great while helping those who could use some help this Christams (just one can of food goes a long way)”.
Because NOTHING makes you feel better, more alive and more engaged (so you can really enjoy your Christams) than getting your body moving and your heart pumping…and helping those less fortunate at the same time.
Here is some footage of previous classes, which are a lot of fun as well as being good for your health.
A very Merry Christmas from all at Sussex Bootcamps
As Christmas approaches, it can be a sad time of year for many people who have lost someone close.
In recognition of this, St Catherine’s Hospice is holding a special event to give everyone the chance to reflect and remember someone special.
The main Tree of Light service will be held at the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley on Sunday 6th December from 4pm. Everyone is welcome, regardless of whether their loss is recent or some time ago, or if the person being remembered was cared for by St Catherine’s or not.
Tree of Light in remembrance
The service will include carols, readings, time for reflection and lighting the Tree of Light. The service is followed by refreshments and the chance to speak to staff from St Catherine’s bereavement team.
There will also be smaller, additional services at:
• Our Lady & St Peter’s Church, East Grinstead at 4pm on 6th December
• St Bartholomew’s Church, Horley at 5pm on 6th December
• Trinity URC (with St Mary’s C of E Church), Billingshurst at 5pm on 6th December
• St Mary’s Church, Oxted at 4pm on 6th December
• St Phillip’s Church (with St Mark’s, Reigate Methodist and St Mary’s Churches), Reigate at 5pm on 6th December
• Redhill URC, Redhill at 6pm on 6th December
• St Paul’s Church (with Dorking Churches Together), Dorking at 6pm on 6th December
• Trafalgar Road Baptist Church (with Holy Trinity), Horsham at 6pm on 6th December • Christ Church URC (with Trinity URC, Ifield), Pound Hill at 6.30pm on 6th December
• St Mark’s Church, Horsham at 6.30pm on 6th December
• St John’s Church, Felbridge at 6.30pm on 13th December
As well as attending a service, there is the chance to remember a loved one by sponsoring a light which will shine on the St Catherine’s tree. Anyone who sponsors a light will also receive a candle decoration, which can be hung up at home or placed on the special trees at the service. All names sponsored will be entered into a Book of Remembrance which is displayed at the service.
For further information about the services or sponsoring a light, please contact Cat Boulter on 01293 447364 or visit St Catherine’s website at www.stch.org.uk
Christmas is coming and it’s time for the community of Crawley and all their friends and family to get ‘into the mood’. It’s also time for the annual christmas concert to get you in the christmas spirit.
For tickets please call 01293 574179. Also sold at Toy Barnhaus in the County Mall, Crawley. On Sunday 29th November and Saturday 5th December between 14:00 and 16:00 tickets are available on the lower ground reception in the County Mall. Priced at only £5 each or a family ticket of four £18 it is great value for a wonderful evening for the whole family, so get yours NOW! Alternatively you can purchase them online via the payment button below.
Sponsored and supported this year by HH Design and Crawley Happy Times. Both are Crawley companies, dedicated to looking after local people.
This is going to be an awesome event but can only be great with the support of the community, so we look forward to seeing you there :-) xx
