Posts Tagged ‘tilgate’

Jody is a World Class contender

Friday, November 11th, 2011

On December 4th in a venue in Essex, local kickboxer Jody Blunt could be making her mark for Crawley.

Jody:

Jody has been practicing kickboxing under the watchful eye of trainer Greg Bradbury for eleven years. Jody is match fit and has been hoping to get her break into the world title leagues for some time….and at an event a short while ago all her dreams came true.

A couple of weeks ago Jody defended her British kickboxing title where she defeated the her opponent in the second round. Off the back of this great win Jody was spotted by a promoter who gave her this great opportunity of a World title fight in Essex on the 4th December.

Jody’s Trainer & Manager:

Greg Bradbury had fought for around ten years in different disciplines but found kickboxing his forte, representing Britain in many fights. Greg, who is trainer and manager to Jody told us “Jody has been training with Gatwick Kickboxing for eleven years now and had been involved in semi contact fights for a while then had a break and came back to full contact. Jody has had a number of successful fights which has now led to her being offered a world title fight. The promoter who spotted Jody has been after her for some time now and was going to put her in for a British title but after seeing her perform in person decided she was ready for a world title.

Jody is passing on her skills by teaching a class at Gatwick Kickboxing on a Tuesday night.

The Gatwick Kickboxing Club:

Founded in 1998, the club is open every night of the week and Saturday mornings with classes for all levels of skill. a great way of keeping fit and loosing weight at the same time with a friendly supportive atmosphere. The club has a long history of successful fighters, Jody being just one of them. As well as Jody teaching, they have further British champions teaching on other nights too. For more information please visit their website here.

Jody would like to thank the staff and management at The Pelham Buckle who are her sponsors for this event.

If you would like to go and watch Jody in her World title fight there will be a mini bus put on at a cost of £15 per person. We will give you more information as soon as we get it.

We would like to wish Jody all the best. Jody is donating some of the money raised to Help Our Wounded Royal Marines.

To find out more about Jody’s World Title Fight Click Here…

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We want our pigs and donkeys back!

Friday, July 15th, 2011

One day last week three of the four iconic statues that welcome all visitors to Tilgate Nature Centre went missing.

The pigs and donkeys, carved from wood, have sat in their positions for over fifteen years. The many visitors to the centre are encouraged to make a small donation in the donations box which is held within the hollow of the carvings. The children love to sit on them and many a child has had their picture taken, smiling away whilst sat on the statues.

Sadly, one day last week three of the statues were removed from the park. Why, we don’t know for sure. All we do know for sure is we would like them returned. If you have any information contact whoever you feel appropriate so we can get these wonderful pigs and donkey carvings returned to their rightful position.

Here Shelley interviews Simon Woodard, Manager of Tilgate Nature Centre about the missing statues. Shelley then got to have a tour of the Nature Centre with Sandra who showed Shelley the new additions to the park, which make it such a great community attraction.

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Posted in Community, Days Out, Entertainment, News, News Bulletins | 1 Comment »

Free Family Bike Ride

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Free Family Bike Ride

This year’s Crawley Family Bike Ride takes place on Sunday 26th June – and includes free entrance to Nymans Gardens, owned by the National Trust.The annual ride is from Oriel High School in Maidenbower to Nymans Gardens in Handcross and back. Registration starts at 10am and the ride is suitable for all ages and abilities, although children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

The route, which follows National Cycle Route 20, is:

• Under the railway line to Furnace Green

• Through Tilgate to the Broadfield Stadium/Thomas Bennett roundabout

• Under the subway to Broadfield

• Up the hill to Pease Pottage

• Short stretch to Handcross

The ride is led by experienced cyclists. There is usually light traffic on the route and a slow pace ensures everyone can keep up.

Arrival at Nymans Gardens should be at about 12 noon. All riders will be granted free access to the gardens. The return ride starts at about 1pm with arrival back at Oriel High School at approximately 3pm.

For more information visit www.crawley.gov.uk/cycling or www.horshamandcrawleyctc.org.uk

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Crawley Walking Festival 2010

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Crawley Walking Festival 2010

The fifth Crawley Walking Festival explores many of the open spaces in the town and some of the beautiful countryside nearby.

Walkers will pass through the varied Wealden landscapes, with ancient woodland, heathland, historic parks and buildings.

The Crawley Walking Festival is organised by Gatwick Greenspace Partnership and Crawley Borough Council.

The walks range from two to nine miles in length, and take place between September 4 and 19. Some of the walks involve a pub lunch, so booking is essential for these by calling 01293 550730 or emailing barrywildish@sussexwt.org.uk

The full list of walks are below and can also be found at www.sussexwt.org.uk/community/index.htm

Walks:

Saturday September 4, 9.30am – Old Crawley (six miles). Ancient woodland, meadows and a water mill, without leaving Crawley. Meet at Goffs Park car park, by the level crossing on Horsham Road. Lunch at the Goffs Manor pub afterwards.

Sunday September 5, 10am – Gatwick Woods (four miles). A walk around this lovely site and then a stop for a bite to eat. Meet at the Parsons Pig pub, Balcombe Road.

Tuesday September 7, 9.30am – Buchan Park circular (two and a half miles).

Meet at the visitor centre, Buchan Park, for our regular level two walk, which takes about one hour.

Wednesday September 8, 2pm – Pound the parks (three and a half miles). A circuit taking in Grattons, Worth and Crabbet parks. Meet at Grattons car park, St Mary’s Drive, by the railway bridge.

Thursday September 9, 10am – Worth Abbey (nine miles). From Tilgate Forest Golf Centre car park, cross Worth Forest to reach the Abbey grounds. Bring a packed lunch.

Friday September 10, 10am – Slaugham stroll (five miles). Meet at Slaugham Church in the centre of village.

Saturday September 11, 10am – Willoughby Wander (four miles). Meet at Crawley Rugby Club, Ifield Avenue. A lovely circuit through some beautiful meadows.

The following two walks can be combined for a great day’s walking, with a pub lunch.

Saturday September 11, 2pm – Ifield circular (four miles). Meet at the car park behind The Plough pub, Ifield. A walk through the rural landscape west of Crawley.

Sunday September 12, 10am – Beyond Bewbush (eight miles). Meet at Buchan Country Park. Through farmland and woods for a pub lunch at Lambs Green and back.

Tuesday September 14, 9.30am – Tilgate (two and a half miles). Meet at the car park on Gainsborough Road, off Titmus Drive, for our regular level two walk.

Wednesday September 15, 9am – Worth Way (seven miles). Meet at bus stop D, opposite Crawley Station, to catch the 84 bus which leaves at 9.15am. Walk back to Crawley from East Grinstead, stopping for a pub lunch along the way.

Friday September 17, 10am – North of Gatwick (four miles). Park on Povey Cross Road, Horley, heading away from Longbridge Roundabout and meet at the crossroads by the van hire centre. A surprisingly rural walk taking in a section of the River Mole.

Saturday September 19, 2pm – Tilgate trail (five miles). Meet at K2 Crawley leisure centre. Explore the outer bounds of Tilgate Park and Tilgate Forest.

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What a day to play!

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Mayor Brenda Burgess officially opened the new play park at Tilgate lakes with the sun proudly beaming down on a fantastic day.

On Friday children from all over Crawley made their way to Tilgate for the launch of the new play park. The ribbon was cut by Mayor Brenda Burgess who also tested out some of the play apparatus to make sure it was up to standard.

The new equipment includes a 2.2m-high tube slide, rope tunnel and bridge, sliding pole, monkey bars, basket swing, snake swing, boulders, giants causeway steps, cradle seats, play net, rotating and rocking bouncer, swinging steps and a balance log.

Crawley Borough Council’s Play Rangers were on hand to organise games and fun for all the children, who had a wonderful day. We feel the council have gone a long way to setting up such a great play area in the park. Councillor for Tilgate, Nigel Boxall told us “we feel we have really accomplished great things with this new park, and that is not the end of it. We have plans to install an outside gym-like area and to put a track all the way around the lake. We would like to get the pub and restaurant opened again, but this is up to the brewery, who hold a long lease on the property. We are also trying to reduce the cost of the car parking fee to £2, which is a much needed fund for the park and the animal farm. We never want to charge for the people to enjoy the farm so this is the only way to help with the upkeep”.

The park definitely has a rejuvenated feel to it and we look forward to seeing the new plans being put into action.

We had a lovely day and is it was a joy to see all the little faces light up with each different apparatus being tested and pushed to its limits. We took some pictures and video of Mayor Brenda Burgess, Cllr Bob Burgess and Cllr Nigel Boxall reliving their youth on the amazing slide, which is one of a kind in the UK.

Were you at the opening? Have you taken your children to the park yet? Please let us know what you thought of it by commenting below :-) xx

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Posted in Community, News | 2 Comments »

It’s all in the sequence

Monday, October 26th, 2009

On Thursday 15th October, ’09 Crawley Happy Times had the priviledge of attending the Crawley Sequence Dance Club in Tilgate,

We met Douglas Moyse while reporting on another event. Douglas told us about a group of ladies and gentlemen who meet every Thursday at St. Bernadettes Church, Tilgate to trip the light fantastic with classics like the tango, foxtrot and many other beautiful dances.

This Thursday happened to be their 56th Anniversary for the club. A few other clubs had joined them in thier celebrations. Douglas and his wife, Diana (who met at the club) have been attending for 25 years. In fact Douglas told us many of the couples present had , in fact, met at the dance club. The social side of the club is very important to those who attend. Diana Moyse said “the music is good and the exercise keeps the brain active”. Douglas Moyse told us “the alternative of sitting at home in front of the television is not very inviting”.

The visitors from the other clubs attending on this anniversary evening were having a wonderful evening. There was wine and cake especially for this special event, which was enjoyed by all. We spoke to one of the visitors Don Knight who said “it’s a wonderful evening. I have been here a couple of times before. I am the Chairman of Henfiled and Hurstpierpoint Sequnece Dance Clubs. I think it is a great past time. You get to know everyone and to make some great new friends”.

The club is always looking for new members. We asked who would be suitable to attend and were told anyone can join. Single, couples, expert dancers, new comers, young, not-so-young, anyone who wants to meet some wonderful people and get some exercise at the same time. The dance club meets every Thursday with an admission fee of just £2.50. Bring your own refreshments!

Crawley Happy Times would like to thank the Douglas Moyse for inviting us down. We had a lovely time and would encourage anyone who has a free evening to pop down to join in. Thank you for the wine and cake! :-)

VIDEOS


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St Catherine’s are on the run

Thursday, September 17th, 2009
Last year more than 600 people entered the race

Last year more than 600 people entered the race

On Sunday 18th October folk from in and around Crawley will be donning their running shoes for a massive 10k race in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice.

Last year more than 600 people took part, raising over £30,000 towards much needed end of life care. Let’s see if we can beat that this year.

The Course

This years Crawley 10k charity race will take place through the beautiful scenic Tilgate Forest which will be fully marshaled with clear frequent signs and water stops. The race starts at the K2 Leisure Centre running track, following forest tracks, paths, playing fields and a road. Experienced and non-runners are all welcome. You could even walk the course if you just wanted to be part of the event. Unfortunately the course is not suitable for pets or wheelchairs due to the uneven ground covered. All entrants receive a medal with an award being presented to the winning team, man and woman.

Who are St Catherine’s?

St Catherine’s are a well deserving charity, caring in so many different ways for our loved ones who are terminally ill. St Catherine’s also give so much back to the community by holding such great events such as the recent Dragon Boat Festival and the Midnight Walk (Horsham). It is definitely a givers gain philosophy which enriches the entire community.

Who can enter?

Catherine from St Catherine’s said “experienced independent runners are frequently present as were on previous occasions as well as running clubs but this year we would like to encourage more businesses to get involved. They only need a team of 4 to enter and can even enter more than one team if they wish. We are really looking forward to this years race and hope to raise a lot of money for the charity which needs around 5 million pounds a year to maintain”.

Runners in last years 10k charity race

Runners in last years 10k charity race

How much does it cost?

Advanced entry fees range from £10 to £12 with fees on the day at £15. Places for entry are limited so it is advisable to enter as soon as you can. You can do this by filling in a form online or emailing catherineboulter@stch.org.uk. For any further queries please call 01293 447364.

Crawley Happy Times will be covering the race and interviewing the winners. If you are not entering the race please do still come down and say hello and support the runners.

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