Cuckfield Bookfest

Welcome to Cuckfield Life’s Cuckfield Bookfest event page. Here you will find our most recent information for everything Bookfest.

As a community interest group, Bookfest relies on the generous support from sponsors, benefactors and friends to help them host brilliant writers and new talents every year.

See also, Cuckfield Bookfest

Cuckfield Bookfest 20206 is confirmed for 2nd-4th October.

Bookfest returns

This year’s festival is shaping up to be our most varied yet and the first event over the opening weekend is the supper held on Friday 2nd October at Ockenden Manor with Jeremy Hunt MP, whose latest book ‘Can We Be Rich Again?’ will be published in June. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer sets out a credible case for optimism in his book when it comes to the future of Britain’s economy.

Jane Rogoyska, author of Hotel Exile, Paris in the Shadow of War, joins us on Sunday. Her latest book tells the true story of how one Paris hotel came to hold the weight of a century. Hotel Lutetia on Paris’s Left Bank, was a meeting place for Europe’s bohemian artists, a headquarters of the Nazi occupation and a shelter for camp survivors.

We are also running a very special joint literary event alongside Hurst Festival on Wednesday 16th September, where best-selling author Zadie Smith will be at Holy Trinity Church in Hurstpierpoint discussing her historical novel, Fraud. Set against the real-life Victorian scandal of the Tichborne Claimant, the book spans literary London and Jamaica’s sugar-cane plantation. There are several references to local places including a chapter entitled Cuckfield Park, so there’s a very local connection.
Tickets to the event will be available in July on the Hurst Festival website www.hurstfestival.org

Bookfest tickets go on sale in August from: www.cuckfieldbookfest.co.uk

Help Mid Sussex Scouts reach the world

Five local Scouts have been selected to represent Mid Sussex at the 26th World Scout Jamboree in Poland and are busy fundraising for their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity.

The jamboree is a global event held every four years, bringing together more than 40,000 young people from around the world for an international camp focused on cultural exchange, adventure and leadership development.

The Mid Sussex Scouts include Ben Wickenden from the Lindfield Trident Explorers, who will be joined by Alfred, Evan, Harrison, and Sam; fellow Scouts from Haywards Heath and Cuckfield.

The Scouts are fundraising collectively to ensure they all have the opportunity to attend. All funds raised will go towards their fees, travel, essential kit and training camps ahead of the jamboree in 2027.

The boys are looking forward to meeting people from around the world, learning new skills and representing Mid Sussex on a global stage.

“It will help us build confidence, resilience, and independence, while developing leadership skills that we will bring back to the local community,” said Ben. “On our return, we will support Scout groups across the Mid Sussex district as Young Leaders, passing on what we have learnt to younger Scouts.”

So far, the Scouts have been actively fundraising in the community, including running stalls at local events, including the Cuckfield Christmas Street Festival and Lindfield Village Day. They have also organised Christmas tree collections and carried out practical jobs to help local residents.

“We have also been supported by the Mid Sussex Lodge Freemasons, and we recently attended a presentation where they presented us with a generous donation of £500,” added Ben.

The Scouts are currently undertaking a sponsored challenge to ‘travel’ the distance from Haywards Heath to Gdańsk, covering the miles through running, walking, swimming, skateboarding, and roller skating.

Supporters can follow their journey and donate via their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/mid-sussex-scouts

Charity number: 305841

Cuckfield’s new Men’s Breakfast Club

The newly formed Men’s Breakfast Club held its first gathering at the Wheatsheaf pub last month. A sincere thank you to Gary and his team for their warm hospitality, providing a relaxed and enjoyable opportunity for everyone to take some time out and start the day together.

Our next meeting will be held at the Rose and Crown on Saturday, 1st August. All meetings begin at 9am.

If you are interested in joining us, please contact reader@holytrinitycuckfield.org or phone 07544 852415. As places are limited, venues appreciate advance notice of numbers wherever possible.