On Friday 29th April 2011 the world looked on as Prince William married Catherine Middleton.
After the very emotional ceremony the good people of Crawley went on to celebrate in style! Flags donned the streets along with lots of food and refreshments all in preparation of the street parties.
We would like to thank the lovely people at Malthouse Road for the veggie burger, all the residents of Matthews Drive for the chocolate and lemonade, the fab people at Furnace Farm Road for the shandy and burger (and apologies for smashing the glass….ooops). Drake Road residents supplied us with a yummy bit of BBQ’ed chicken and last but not least the pint donated by The Half Moon before we settled down at The Windmill, Gossops Green to relax and enjoy the rest of the day.
You all did Crawley proud. We look forward to the next street parties
St Georges Day/weekend came round for another year and the town was decorated white and red!
Disappointingly, Crawley did not have any real festivities for this occasion, so on Saturday 24th April, we ventured into Horley town centre where the day was being celebrated in style! With their own Mayor Simon Marshall accompanied by the Mayor of Crawley Brenda Burgess (who looked stunning in a red and white outfit), the community of Horley congregated around a mass of stalls, morris dancers and performances from various companies and schools. They even ceremonially released a mass of white balloons for the traditional balloon race. We were also honoured to meet the Queen! We had a lovely time and took some pictures for you.
Then, it was off to Broadfield Stadium for the Family Fun Open Day. There was food, drink, children’s mini fairground rides, bouncy castle and great displays of football by several of the junior and senior teams on the pitch. We were made to feel very welcome and had a lovely time (even got a bit of a tan as it was so hot). Again we took some pictures for you to enjoy. On the way home we bumped into our very good friends from the Bullseye Scooter Club who were taking a break on the side of the road. We look forward to seeing more of them at the May Day Fair in Ifield on May 3rd!
The day did not end there! We then went into town to the Railway to see a great performance from The Rightous & the Wicked and to say hello to Jackie Cook (Landlady) and friends.
We then made our way over to the Swan to jump to the sound of Highway Jones who even sang a song especially for us
The evening ended with our good friends, Sam & team at Bar Med. We bumped into a familiar face whom some of you may know as Skeggsy! It was nice to see Gordon out on the town and enjoying himself (although we nearly didn’t recognise him without his decks lol).
All in all a great day! We would love to see Crawley celebrate St Georges Day in some form or another next year, and will do all we can to make it happen, so watch this space!
We would like to thank everyone who made this weekend special and for being part of us here at Crawley Happy Times!
Did you do anything special this weekend? Then tell us! xx
Last Thursday Crawley Happy Times was invited down to the recently opened Cha Tea Room for a cup of tea and cake.
Pat Hollington, greeted us with a smile and politely showed us to a fine looking clean table and chairs where we sat comfortably.
This quaint, pretty room based in the George Hotel (to the left as you go in through the main doors and up a few steps) is just lovely. It holds a warm inviting atmosphere with great views out onto the High Street. The light streams in from the big windows filling the room, making it a perfect area to sit in with a good book whilst sipping hot tea and nibbling on a delicious cake. The menu also boasts of Bagels, croissants, gateauxs, paninis, toasted sandwiches and even beer and wine.
Crawley is missing a refined inexpensive peaceful area to relax in for a break from the hustle of the town. But no more! The Cha Tea Room fills this gap adequately. It makes a perfect addition to the George Hotels already well established services. Dating back to 1615 this former Coaching Inn, is steeped in history and character. The Cha Tea Room brings this character to life!
Pat told us Dawn, her daughter, runs the business but was unable to attend due to other commitments. Dawn was made redundent from Iceland leaving her at a loose end, when the owner of the George Hotel asked Pat if she knew anyone who might be looking to run a new venture. Pat instantly thought of Dawn and the rest is history. Along with Dawn’s father Marshall, who helps when he can, there is a real family feel to the business.
While we were visiting, we were joined by a couple who sat at another table to enjoy their first taste of the Cha Tea Room. They told us they thought is was a lovely concept with great service. The tea was hot and the cakes were delicious said the lady, adding, we will be back next week for sure.
Please show your support by visiting Dawn and Pat for tea at the Cha Team Room in the George Hotel. Any visit made in February will include a free cake with ever ‘pot for two’ bought. Please quote CHT3 when ordering and mention where you read about them
We end by thanking Dawn and Pat for their hospitality. We wish them all the best for the future and look forward to visiting again soon.
We interviewed Pat and spoke briefly to the couple visiting the Cha Tea Room
On Saturday we joined The Connoisseurs at The White Knight in Pound Hill for their charity fundraiser day. The sun shone, the music played, the food was eaten and the charity fund went up and up.
Getting the kids involved
The Beautiful Fuzzilicious Fresh
We had the pleasure of speaking to the guys who put so much effort into making the day a great success and they told us they felt there were not enough opportunities for youngsters to participate in fundraising. In light of this, they put this day together in a way they felt would attract the younger side of the community. They certainly got it right! You can hear more from the guys in the interview at the bottom of the page.
Females get funky
It really was a wonderful day. From 14:00 onwards, each DJ took it in turns to play their selected preference of music, ranging from happy house to heavy drum and bass. First up we had the pleasure of the beautiful Fuzzilicious Fresh. A local female DJ, who told us that, to be any good, you must know your music and what your audience will want to hear. Fuzzilicious Fresh played some brilliant garage tunes for us.
Cherry… fly?
Next up, we were honoured with another female DJ who goes by the name of Cherry Fly. Cherry Fly wore an amazing black & purple outfit and blasted out some great house tunes. She told us she feels that a good education is a great asset to have, even when DJing: Cherry Fly went to college to advance her music knowledge along with her mixing skills and would encourage others to do the same.
The wonderful Cherry Fly
Filling our tums
Meanwhile, the hot dogs and burgers were flying off the grill. Dave Winbolt was the ‘chef’ for the day, assisted intermittently by Scott ‘Ronson’ Clarke. Dave created some delectable food at a reasonable cost, with all proceeds going to the nominated charity of the day, St Catherine’s Hospice.
Dave Winbolt & Scott 'Ronson' Clarke
Baby steps to dance diva?
My burger was cooked to perfection: I thoroughly enjoyed it! Everyone seemed to be having a whale of a time; one particular lad stood on the steps ‘cutting’ some moves to the tunes, especially as he could only have been about eighteen months old!
Cut Swifty mixing it up
Keefos on the decks
Dan Gee bangin' out the beats
Vibrant duo Del Santiago & Pierre Monnoit
Cut Swifty was the next DJ to entertain the ever growing crowd of supporters. Followed by Keefos, Dan Gee, Del Santiago & Pierre Monnoit (Multiplayerz), then last, but not least Marcus Lee, this was a night to remember.
The White Knight: Management
Marcus Lee making his mark
In amongst the revellers, running around keeping everyone happy and the place clean and tidy, were landlord and landlady of the White Knight, Bridgette and John. They have supported this event from the start and were honoured to have it held in the White Knight.
The White Knight public house is a splendid place to hold this type of event due to the space and atmosphere of the building. There are pool tables, darts and large flat screen TVs for the sports enthusiasts and a neat dance floor, with a stage for the DJs which also includes a convenient communal area around the dance floor which is great for private parties. We found the toilets were consistently clean and tidy and the service prompt and friendly. Bridgette and John told us all about their involvement- they told us it was a brilliant way to raise money for such a worthy cause, and they look forward to hosting other similar events in the future. A highly recommended location, in our humble opinion. For more information on the White Knight and its management, please watch the interview below.
So.. how much £££ did they make?
Always service with a smile
The White Knight, Pound Hill, Crawley
As the day drew to an end, the donation buckets started to fill up with donations from those jingling any change in pockets. We are pleased to announce the total amount raised for St Catherine’s Hospice came to a whopping £470! Dan told us that they hope this is the first of many fund raising events; we think they may be on to a winner and hope to be invited to the next one. Well done!
P.S. I believe Dan is already planning part two… watch this space….!
This Saturday, 15th August, marked the third event for Harvester’s fundraising events for The Make A Wish Foundation. The staff donned their uniform-themed outfits and entertained the visitors while they dined. Their aim is to raise £800 by the end of August. We spoke to the manager Lisa.
The Harvester’s previous events have included a Country and Western theme night: staff dressed up as saloon girls and cowboys to name but a few, and there were children’s cowboy hats available to purchase. All proceeds were donated to the Foundation and will be again this year. They also held a cake sale. Claire Halton, who works at The Harvester, told us “staff cooked or provided cakes and cookies for customers to purchase. There was face painting available for the children. This proved to be a lovely day for the whole family, though desserts weren’t popular on this day… I can’t think why not! Everyone had a wonderful day and we are hoping this year will be just as much fun; along with funds being raised for the Make A Wish Foundation“.
In this photo: – Claire Halton (Policewoman), Lisa Wood (Secretary), Cheryl Halton (Policewoman), Scott MacArthur (General Manager), Cullum Stuart (Builder), Sham (Footballer), Joanna (Policewoman), Milan Jaros (Life Guard), Tony (pilot), Sam (Nurse), Luigi (Russian Army), John (Chef), Dani (Foxy Cheerleader), Paul Jacob (Fred Flintstone), Anna (Army Personnel) and Trisha (Hawaiian Waitress)
Claire continued: “Make A Wish Foundation is such a fantastic charity. The Harvester set a target of £800 to raise and they are half-way to this target right now. It would be brilliant to see some new faces showing support, and you will get fed well at the same time. We are raising money throughout August, so if people can come down and make a donation, this would be greatly appreciated”.
All of the staff and management team have put time and effort into organising and carrying out these events and are proud to be doing this for Make A Wish Foundation.
Why not release yourself from the shackles of the kitchen and take a trip down there tonight?! You won’t regret it!
