Author: LocHist

Songs of the Dawn

Edward Lear enthusing about the song of the Yellowhammer
Edward Lear enthusing about the song of the Yellowhammer
Join Andrew Armitage and experience the awakening countryside between 7:00–9:00am on Wednesday 28th May or Saturday 31st May. Listen for the Nightingale, the rattle of the Whitethroat and the nasal song of the Yellowhammer. Watch out for deer and other early morning wildlife, followed by a cooked al fresco breakfast. Two miles, wear stout footwear. No dogs. Meet up at the grass bank by Mouse Cottage, just off Mouse Lane in Steyning [Map Ref: TQ173,114].
Must book: The Steyning Bookshop, tel: 01903 812062, cost: £7.50.

Tolly Rothwell at The Paddock

The Paddock in 2007

The Paddock in 2007
Eric Marchant built The Paddock in the 1960s, but lived in it for only a short time before selling it to Talbot (Tolly) Rothwell OBE (1916-1981). In WWII, Tolly was an RAF pilot. Shot down over Norway, he bailed out of his plane, was captured and held in a German prisoner of war camp, where he became well known and much loved for staging musical shows to entertain his fellow prisoners. On occasions he arranged special acts with particularly loud singing and laughter to divert attention from the sound of fellow prisoners escaping. After the war he returned to England and started to work for the BBC.


He was a well known script writer for film and television, perhaps best known for the ‘Carry On’ films and the TV show ‘Up Pompeii’ starring Frankie Howerd. He also wrote scripts for Frankie’s one-man TV and stage shows. Tolly was a frequent visitor to the Shepherd and Dog and it was soon discovered that he would buy anyone a pint if they could tell him a joke of any ‘colour’ that was new to him. It seems he had to purchase a great many pints, but he always had a good supply of jokes, many of which appeared in some form in his scripts.

The Paddock,Poynings Road, Fulking

Tony Brooks

Richard Linford (2008) Talbot Rothwell: Carry On Fulking. Pigeon Post March, page 2.

Robert Veitch (2017) Carry On Tolly. Sussex Living December, page 74.

For a full biography of Tolly Rothwell, see Mike Cobley (2012) A Write Carry On: The story of Talbot ‘Tolly’ Rothwell. London: Wholepoint Publications.

Frankie Howerd Up Pompeii poster

[Copyright © 2014, Anthony R. Brooks. Adapted from Anthony R. Brooks (2008) The Changing Times of Fulking & Edburton. Chichester: RPM Print & Design, pages 18 and 138.]

Photo added: 28th December 2016.
Poster addded: 6th January 2017.
Reference added: 9th February 2017.
PDF replaced and new reference added: 1st December 2017.

Finding, Identify & Surveying Invertebrates

Finding, Identify & Surveying Invertebrates
Two day course to be taught by Graeme Lyons at Woods Mill on 29th & 30th May. Attendees will learn different ways to survey invertebrates from field craft such as beating, sweep-netting, sieving and netting to sampling techniques such as light-trapping, pitfall-trapping and water-trapping. Inevitably some identification will be taught too but the emphasis will be on surveying and field craft.

Local high tech wins Queen’s Award for Enterprise

Delta Media Server Queen's Award for Enterprise Innovation
The West Sussex County Times reports:

Sussex creative technology business 7thSense Design in Upper Beeding has been awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation ten years after being founded. ..

7thSense is renowned for its Delta® Media Server product – a state-of-the-art video server and pixel management technology designed to take the highest quality films and content and plays back onto any giant screen or projected surface ..