Local information, Doctors, Council, Sport, Halls

St Giles Church of England Primary School
Horsted Keynes,
Haywards Heath,
West Sussex.
RH17 7AY
Tel: 790240

Contact: office@st-giles.w-sussex.sch.uk

School web site: http://www.st-giles.w-sussex.sch.uk/

Headteacher Mrs. J. Francis.
Accommodates children from 4 to 11. After this most children go on to Oathall Community College in Haywards Heath. www.oathall.w-sussex.sch.uk . There is a bus provided by West Sussex County Council to take the children to and from school from outside the Post Office at 08.10 on schooldays. N.B. This bus had been somewhat unreliable in the past meaning that the parents had to organise a car rota, however things have improved dramatically and this bus is now very reliable.

Rector Fr. John Twisleton (Designate)    790317
Churchwardens    Richard Harrison        740570
                            Mrs Chris Wheatley    790467

Parish Magazine - Parish and Parishioner "P&P"
Editor Sally Lamb 01342 810814
Delivered free (a small donation is always welcome) to every house in the village this contains much more than church notices and the local adverts in the back of every issue are very helpful. We don't know anyone who doesn't hang onto the "P&P" as it contains much useful information for villagers of all religious persuasions.

St. Stephens Church (RC)
Hamsland, Horsted Keynes, Haywards Heath, West Sussex.
C/O St. Paul's Presbytery, Hazelgrove Road, Haywards Heath. 01444 450139

Village Youth Club at The Martindale centre
We are delighted to report that young people in school years 7 to 11 of Horsted Keynes now have somewhere to go on Wednesday evenings!
Activities planned include a drum session, “Junk 2 Funk II” show, bowling/Laserland trip, the Christmas Party and taking part in the Pink Variety Show as well as regular Club Nights. More details when we have them, but in the mean time if you would like to turn up at the Martindale Centre after school at 7.15 to 9.15 p.m. on any Wednesday you will be made most welcome.

Family Practioners who cover this area.

The Medical Centre, High Street, Lindfield. 01444 457666 Drs A. Harding, S. Alden,
A. Reader, J. Parsley and A.J. Lawrence. Appointments 01444 483411.
Although based in Lindfield 3 miles away this is the de facto main practice for the village. A village surgery used to be held at The Martindale Centre but along with many local amenities this has now ended.

Ashdown Forest Health Centre. Lewes Road, Forest Row, Sussex RH18 5AQ
Tel: 01342 822131 Fax: 01342 826015 Drs A.R. Del Mar, D.A. Martin, S.A. Miller,
S.J. Andrews & R.J. Baxter
Exemplary web site at www.ashdownforesthealthcen.co.uk
Rather more remote is the other surgery which covers some parts of the village and the total area to the North and North East.

The Princess Royal Hospital.
Lewes Road
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 4EX 01444 441881
The Princess Royal has recently reorganised which patients are treated there and which are "offloaded" to Brighton (yes 20 miles away!). You can find a press release about this "reorganisation" here. Our opinion is that you might do better falling ill in a different area, like Leeds or London or Liverpool or... ;-)

The Queen Victoria Hospital
Holtye Road,
East Grinstead,
Sussex
RH19 3DZ,
Tel: 01342 410210 Fax: 01342 317907
Web site which is extensive but fails to give some of the most basic information at www.queenvic.demon.co.uk/index.html Email queenvic@queenvic.demon.co.uk

Once again Horsted Keynes is in the middle, and is situated midway between two major hospitals. The larger in Haywards Heath has a full 24/7 casualty department and has a specialised neurological unit. If your problem is of a more minor nature then the A&E at The Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead (famous world wide as the home of Sir. Archibald McIndoe's "guinea pigs" during WW2 and known as "The Queen Vic" without an Eastender in sight!) is far more homely. Here you are likely to be seen by one of the National Health's new Nurse Practitioners who can do most of the jobs of a doctor and you often don't have to wait so long. The Queen Vic Casualty is only open from 9 until 6 each day but they are well able to set broken bones and put in the odd stitch. Beware if visiting The Princess Royal, their parking charges are astronomic, they don't give change on principal, and they have been known to clamp people who parked their cars without paying because they are bleeding on the floor! Just entering the grounds means that you have accepted their stringent parking terms and makes you liable to pay their parking fines and unclamping fees. The Queen Vic charges less, and are rather more interested in helping you than making money on the side running a car park!

The Princess Royal now have a new money making scheme, personal televisions! Patients have a unit by their bed where they can make outside telephone calls which they will need to use if they want to watch TV. An organisation then takes your credit card number (yes, in hospital!) and then activates the TV set. The schemes' owners do however allow all patients to watch one hour of breakfast TV for free! Seeing as there used to be a free set in the corner of the ward this is not exactly generous. We would love to hear from a recent patient to hear what they think of this service - you can guess our views on making a profit from ill people already we hope!

The Princess Royal has its own radio station which is not that unusual, however this radio station can also be heard on your radio!
Provided you have a good receiver Mid Downs Radio can be heard in Horsted Keynes on 1350 KHz.
Contact them for requests if you have a relative in hospital.

Mid Downs Hospital Radio
The Studios,
The Princess Royal Hospital,
Lewes Road,
Haywards Heath
Direct telephone line 01444 441350 or via the hospital switchboard 01444 441881 ext 4139

There are National Health and private dentists and orthodontists in East Grinstead and Haywards Heath. The Main Haywards Heath Health Centre is located centrally in Heath Road, Haywards Heath. A very good place to contact for health information, child clinics, contraceptive advice (including "morning after" pill), chiropodists, N.H.S orthodontics, speech therapy, hearing tests, etc. etc. 01444 414767. The health centre itself can be hard to find first time but is actually underneath the large doctors' surgeries in Heath Road. A small car park adjoins but can get crowded and blocked, better to park in the road if you need to get away without delay.

You do not have to get the car out to get your prescription made up as there is a local service which will collect your prescription if you leave it at the shop, get it made up, and then bring the medicine to your door! There is no charge for this service which is provided by Abbotts Pharmacy in Lindfield. As this service is only provided on certain days obviously many people will prefer to get their 'script made up themselves so for you there are two independent chemists in Lindfield. The nearest Boots Chemists are in Haywards Heath and East Grinstead, both about the same size; whilst Sainsbury's in Haywards Heath have a pharmacy which is sometimes closed when it is expected to be open!

Abbotts Pharmacy 83 High Street, Lindfield, 01444 483130
This chemists shop have changed their name rather often lately which is confusing for some. They started out as "Abbotts", then went to "Harmony Pharmacy" for a couple of years when they tried to offer rather more than National Health fare with treatment and massage rooms etc. This seems to have died down a bit now and their latest sign has restored the name to one similar enough to that they used for the last century.
Opening times awaiting confirmation. Closed Saturday afternoons.

We have been serving Lindfield with pills and potions, perfumes and toiletries for over one hundred years. The remedies have changed but the old world courtesy and service remain. Cantassium vitamins and minerals, Homeopathic and herbal remedies, Aromatherapy Oils Animal Medicines, Horse Wormers, Pet foods and medicines Babies toys, clothing and accessories Prescription collection & delivery service.

Selbys Pharmacy 33 High Street, Lindfield, 01444 483614
Twenty doors away the other chemist in Lindfield is next door to the supermarket, a bit more modern and they seem to open later into the evenings until about 6.30 or so. Less health foods, more Chemists things. Take your pick!
Open 8:30 to 6:30 pm weekdays, 8:30 to 5:00pm Saturdays. Collection and Delivery service available.

St Peter and St James Hospice and Continuing Care Centre,
North Common Road,
North Chailey,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN8 4ED
Tel: 01444 471598 Fax: 01444 471088
www.stpeter-stjames.org.uk

St Peter and St James is set in 28 acres of countryside on the border of Wivelsfield Green and North Chailey and serves the towns of Lewes, Uckfield, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and surrounding villages. We provide in-house, day therapy and specialist community services. Currently, around two thirds of those in Mid Sussex needing specialist hospice care are being referred to St Peter and St James. Charity no: 1056114

We were not sure how to title this paragraph but if you have an aged parent and they live in sheltered accommodation you will most likely find them at The Abbeyfield Society (Mid Sussex) otherwise known as Westfield House. This recently extended building is divided into two halves with a nursing home on one side and small flats (called bungalows) on the other. Residents eat in a communal dining room and just make light meals for themselves. To be honest this is one of the better residential homes that we know of, the staff are kind and there is none of that shall we say "musty" smell that is the sign of a badly run care home. There are clubs and things to keep them stimulated and the whole ambiance is light and airy. Unfortunately to gain access one must still ring a buzzer, explain oneself and then ask to be let in, which reminds us of establishments owned by Her Majesty! We have never been sure why sane old people have to live behind such a rigid security screen. There used to be two care homes on the road to Lindfield, Paxhill Park was one of the most depressing places that we have ever visited (both our parents died there) and has thankfully closed down, the other is friendly and still open. N.B. Paxhill Park Golf Club which occupies the grounds of the former, is NOT to be confused with the previous sentence.

Westall House,
Birch Grove Rd,
Horsted Keynes
Haywards Heath
RH17 7BS
Tel. 791157

Sussex Police
The village used to have its own policeman who covered Horsted Keynes and Danehill on his push bike (the police house is still there) but to have a face to face meeting with the police (unless they come looking for you ;-) can be a little awkward in these cash starved times.
The nearest police stations are:

East Grinstead open 08.30 - 16.30 Mon to Fri and 09.00 to 13.00 Sat.
Haywards Heath open 08.30 - 20.00 Mon to Fri and
10.00 - 18.00 Sat and Bank Holidays.
Crawley is open 08.00 - 00.00 Every Day.
The only Sussex police station with a manned 24/7 front office is in Brighton
(in Kemp Town, just up from the Palace Pier).

Emergency ONLY dial 999 or 112
Non-Emergency 0845 60 70 999
(Local call charge but can be a queue after establishing that your call is not an emergency.)

Neighbourhood Watch
Coordinated by PC Geoff Bennett at Haywards Heath Police Station 0845 60 70 999

West Sussex Fire Brigade
Our nearest fire station is in Mill Green Road, Haywards Heath. RH16 1XQ
As usual in the UK the number for emergencies ONLY is 999 or 112
For non-emergency call 01444 414512

Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust
40 - 42 Friars Walk, Lewes, East Sussex. BN7 2XW

In addition several times a year on Sunday morning (much to the chagrin of church attendees ;-) you can bring household and garden waste to the car park by the British Legion free of charge courtesy of a deal with the Parish Council. This saves the car journey to the nearest council tips which are at East Grinstead and Burgess Hill. A welcome service which is well used, so get there early as the lorry leaves promptly when full. For weekly collections it is now necessary to leave your dustbin on the roadside with the lid closed. The men will not open gates to look for your bins. There is also a recycling scheme and you are given two different coloured boxes, in one you leave paper and newspapers, in the other you leave clean recyclable plastic. The boxes' contents are collected on alternate weeks so you need to get (and remember to stay) in sync with the current weeks collection schedule! The Parish Council ask that you bring your box in after the collection especially if the men have neglected to empty it. Newspapers blow everywhere, and there is no chance that the men will come back to see what they missed.

Information about the next visit of the rubbish tanker will be reported here as soon as received.

Route 270 Runs sort of hourly to East Grinstead and Haywards Heath 6 days a week with just 5 busses in total on Sundays. www.metrobus.co.uk will show you the gory details. We have been contacted by MetroBus who tell us that the service is much better that it used to be, perhaps it is but busses still often run empty (apart from the driver;-). Shame as it's use it or lose it!
The main village bus stop is located on Station Road about 20 metres from the Post Office. There is under cover seating and public toilets. You will probably spend quite some time there waiting for the busses but punctuality has improved lately and the service is quite reliable. Some people who work in Haywards Heath, and even London, manage to travel regularly by bus for part of their journey.

We can't not mention Horsted Keynes railway station run by The Bluebell Railway. At present the line runs South to North from Sheffield Park to Kingscote a mile or so South of East Grinstead with Horsted Keynes in the middle (again!). When the line is extended to reach East Grinstead in 2008 (or 2009 or 2010...) there could be a very handy local service. The trip would be just 15 minutes and the new Bluebell station will be right outside East Grinstead Sainsbury's. So there is no reason why you won't be able to leave the car in the garage or at the station (free parking) -and get your shopping by train in the not too distant future! We must also mention that local residents get a very substantial discount on The Bluebell Details Here. This isn't particularly well publicised and you have to ask at Horsted Keynes station and show a locally addressed document to qualify but the discount card is worth getting. The Bluebell also own the line of the track from Horsted Keynes to Haywards Heath via Ardingly. Reinstalling this short line would be a real boon for commuters, but it isn't going to happen anytime soon! Parking in Haywards Heath is expensive at £5+ a day to park near the station! If you become a life member of the Bluebell you receive free First Class travel FOR LIFE on all services, at just £400 this could prove quite a bargain!

Until recently we were lucky to get a 2 Meg connection in the centre of the village. Fortunately after a lot of nudging from your web site BT have installed a mini exchange in the green cabinet opposite the Post Office. This means that most subscribers in the village who pay for a fast connection are now able to connect at a minimum of 4 Meg. We are right on the edge of the village but have a well configured system that gives us a speed just under 6 Meg. So if internet connection speed is important to you it can be done! Naturally some villagers don't get anywhere near these speeds. This can be due to a poor telephone line but is more commonly a result of using a cheap ISP. With broadband you do get what you pay for!

The phone box in the centre of the village does not take coins and may not even be there much longer. This is because of "lack of use". Trouble is this village does not have a very good mobile phone coverage so we think this loss a little unfair!

We think it fair to say that Horsted Keynes is not well served by mobile phone services. When one operator (Orange) tried to put up a new mast in the area there was an outcry. We think that if you use mobile phones then you should be prepared to put up with the resulting infrastructure. Oh well!

If you live in Church Lane or beside the church then you will have great difficulty connecting with a mobile whatever network you use. If you are thinking of changing provider then without doubt O2 give the best coverage. In many parts you can get an O2 signal inside your home. Perhaps not everywhere but standing beside a certain window or in a certain place which at least saves having to go outside in your nightie!. Of the other operators their service coverage goes (in OUR opinion) from best to worst, O2 (best), Orange, Vodaphone with the truly dreadful T-Mobile last of the list! The 3 mobile broadband package seems to work around the Green and the higher parts of the village, elsewhere it's probably best to use a landline.

Incidentally, Tesco mobile now use the O2 network so if you see a special offer phone on their network it is likely to connect well in the main parts of our village.

Our telephone exchange is located a couple of miles across the fields in Dane Hill but as mentioned elsewhere on this site there is a mini broadband booster exchange in the green cabinet opposite the post office. This gives a fast broadband connection to the village. The Dane Hill exchange has not yet been upgraded so you cannot yet take advantage of the cheaper offers for a direct line from the likes of Sky etc. The latest info that we have is for a planned upgrade in the latter part of 2010.

Cost of Calls
We get not a penny for writing this small section, it is just for the information of villagers.

If you use BT for your telephone calls then they have just increased the cost of connecting you - each and EVERY call that you dial even a quick "hello" now costs 7p PLUS VAT just for connection. When you add the minimum cost of the time component then the cheapest that a call will cost you is probably 11p! That is each and every call INCLUDING those where you just dial the local number without the 01825! We have found that many villagers, particularly those who are older do not realise this. So what can you do? There is an excellent service provided by www.18185.co.uk . Register with them (it is FREE and there is no obligation). Then dial 18185 before each and every call and you will be astounded by the savings that you can make. 18185 charge just 5p including VAT for connecting you and then charge much less or even nothing for the time. For example at present ALL UK fixed line calls are FREE after the 5p is paid! Yes, dial 18185 and then the full number that you want to speak to and you will be charged just 5p for a 1 hour chat to anywhere in the UK! Overseas calls are extremely cheap too, just 1p per minute to speak to Australia or half a penny a minute to speak to a mobile phone in America! We understand that this may seem unbelievable but it does work and the call quality is perfect - often clearer and louder than BT! Don't be misled, these are NOT internet calls.

Their service even tell you how much your call will cost just before they put you through. For example calls to mobile phones are at present 6p per minute in the daytime and 3p a minute at weekends. So you hear "6 pence per minute" just before the call rings when you dial a UK mobile.

To repeat we have received nothing for mentioning 18185 but as many local readers tend to trust us we are passing on this information. We would love to hear how you get on with this service.

So far two positive reports from villagers, both mentioning the extremely good call quality. Another says that it's cheaper on some other services - yes but they are probably internet calls which are of lower quality.

Horsted Keynes is supplied by EDF Energy (the new name for Seeboard). Whoever you actually pay for your electricity it is through their wires that your supply comes and it is these overhead wires that can give problems. It is not at all uncommon to have power cuts lasting several hours especially in Winter. In the calendar year 2005/2006 we had 10 power cuts, the shortest lasting 90 minutes, the longest 8 hours. The last substantial power cut on 17th. January 2007 lasted for 6 hours.

The village is supplied with electricity from two directions which splits it very roughly into South East and North West halves - the dividing line is across the green between the two pubs. It is almost unknown for both halves to be off supply at the same time so whilst your neighbour may be tucking into their meal you might well be huddled around a candle, and of course vice versa! The upshot of all this is that many residents have their own portable generators to keep the central heating pump and a few lights going, others use rechargeable batteries with inverters. The problem got so bad recently that the local old persons housing had their own full size mains back up generator installed in the garden - you have been warned, prepare for winter (or adopt a granny at Westall House! ;-)

Electricity Emergency Number
0800 783 8866 - it is pre programmed into our 'phone!
DO ring them if your power goes off as they have no automatic detection equipment for small blackouts in this area
and rely on being told about faults so that they can get the engineers out.

For the sake of completeness we should mention that there is no mains gas supply in or near the village, nor is any connection mooted. There IS a high pressure underground gas supply line a couple of miles to the South which carries the main UK gas grid but we don't recommend a drill and long hose pipe ;-). Quite a number of local houses run their central heating and cooking from a bottled gas tank in the garden. A surprising number of homes still cook using kerosene.

Horsted Keynes is at the extreme range of all the television transmitters so it will entirely depend on which part of the area you live in which television service you will receive. Most parts can get signals from the Heathfield transmitter meaning that they will get the Meridian East ITV service together with the "Tunbridge Wells" BBC local news. Others have a tall aerial pointed at Crystal Palace so they get the London ITV and BBC stations albeit with rather a lot of aircraft flutter from Gatwick Airport. There are even a few nooks and crannies to the West where the only usable signal is from Midhurst, meaning that these viewers have to watch stories about Southampton and the New Forest before all else! Unfortunately Channel5 is NOT available to any terrestrial viewer in Horsted Keynes without using Freeview*. In Summer continental interference can virtually close down all TV reception (including Freeview*) for hours or even days on end so for a good service Sky satellite, which is not affected by this sort of interference, is to be firmly recommended.

* If you want to watch the new digital "Freeview" channels then you may well need an aerial upgrade. Despite the Heathfield transmitter being only 20 or so miles away it seems that due to the range of channels used by the new services older aerials just aren't good enough to get all the Freeview services. With an older aerial you may well just get the main BBC channels losing the extra ones.

On another television point you can't miss the fact that Horsted Keynes is on TV in one shape or form (usually Horsted Keynes Bluebell Railway station) almost every week (and sometimes several times a day if you watch the Satellite Channels ;-). Occasionally they need film extras at short notice; the best way to join in is to join the Bluebell Railway as a member. The film people are very good and usually do their best to clean up very well after themselves, although there are exceptions. Our office still has a broken window caused by them "blowing up a train" with a massive explosion on two nights in succession at 2 a.m. for the movie Charlotte Grey. This crew were extremely arrogant and didn't even try to let villagers know what was happening. We lost two nights sleep, didn't even get free tickets, and the film flopped. (moan over!)

Unlike many (perhaps most) of our neighbouring villages Horsted Keynes still has a shop and Post Office available to all. Before getting the car out therefore please don't forget that unless these businesses are used our green will become like many others, houses (owned by weekend residents), parked cars, and little else! The businesses in the village between them stock most regular things that a family needs and after taking petrol or fares into account shopping locally for day to day items can work out cheaper than driving into town.

Horsted Keynes Village Stores
Open every day including Sunday mornings, sell food, drink, wine and newspapers. Newspaper delivery service.

Horsted Keynes Post Office
Open Monday to Saturday for pensions, benefits, cards, stationery etc., as well as the usual Post Office items, and yes you can tax your car there!
Monday to Saturday 9.00 to 5.30. Closed for lunch 1.00 - 2.15.
Closes for the day at 1.00.p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday.
Telephone 790360

Haywards Heath and East Grinstead both have the usual rather limited range of shops. In East Grinstead Woolworth's have gone but W.H.Smith, Sainsbury's, etc. are in both towns although Haywards Heath tends to have larger stores and also a small Mark's and Spencer store in the "Orchards" shopping centre. "Shopping Centre" is something of an exaggeration as there isn't much else there! Tesco have a small store in Haywards Heath round the corner from Boots the Chemist. With their limited range of goods there's not really enough for a weekly stock up, and they can't at present compete with Sainsbury's who tend to exploit their monopoly with some of their prices, apparently one of the most expensive branches in the country!

East Grinstead has most of the above shops as well as an Argos store, together with some smaller specialist shops.

In contrast Crawley has the South's largest indoor shopping centre right in the town centre at County Mall. If a shop isn't found in or next door to County Mall then it isn't worth visiting anyway! Vast car parks giving easy access to the shops with reasonably priced parking. Crawley is about 15 minutes drive away from Horsted Keynes if you keep to the speed limit. This is highly recommended as Crawley's 30 m.p.h. speed limit (otherwise known as "The Crawley Crawl") is well enforced even at 2 a.m. with cameras a plenty. You have been warned!

The Ravenswood (www.theravenswood.co.uk) hosts top-quality national and international live music acts put on by highly-regarded local organisation, Acoustic Sussex. All profits go to charity. Visit the website for details at www.acousticsussex.org.uk. Their owners are meant to be due to take over The Crown Inn before too long but remedial work after the serious fire there seems rather slower than expected.

Women's Institute
Monthly meetings at the Village Hall.
Secretary Veronica Griffiths 790401
President Jennifer Cowderoy 790333

There are 3 "Men's Institutes" in the village. The Crown, The Green Man, and the British Legion ;-)

Halls for Hire
The Village Hall Mrs C Wilson 791505
The Martindale Centre Mrs V Griffiths 790401

Rotary Club
The local Rotary Club is held in Lindfield at The Bent Arms Hotel.
More details can be found at http://www.rotarysussex.org

Golf
There are many golf clubs within a short drive of Horsted Keynes, (joke ;-) the nearest is

Paxhill Park Golf Club,
Lindfield,
West Sussex.
RH16 2QN
01444 484467 Fax 01444 482709