Hurstpierpoint Open Gardens - film for 2020

By Prue Heron

What a year it’s been – I don’t think anyone has remained untouched by the virus in some way or another and the world seems slightly surreal at the moment.

One such tragic result of the pandemic is that our local St Peter and St James Hospice will be lose £1m in fundraising because of cancelled charity events. The Hospice relies heavily on these funds and this year’s shortfall will have a huge impact on them.

Hurstpierpoint Open Gardens was just one of the victims of the cancellations. Having raised over £9,000 last year, our team was devastated to be unable to support the Hospice in its year of real need.

See 10 gardens in the village from the comfort of your own garden or sofa. Click here.

Desperate for a solution, our team of eight put our heads together and the result is ‘Hurstpierpoint Open Gardens – the Film’. If we can’t bring you to our gardens, then we will bring our gardens to you.

With the help of talented local photographer Richard Paice, we now have a collection of short films of ten stunning Hurstpierpoint gardens ranging from the majestic, with lakes and views to the South Downs, to smaller, imaginative and peaceful hideaways.

This year you can put the kettle on, make a cuppa, cut a slice of cake, put your feet up and still enjoy the delights of Hurstpierpoint Open Gardens on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. All in the knowledge that you are staying safe.

We have maintained the cost of access at the normal Open Gardens rate of £5 (to cover all ten garden films) but additional donations will be hugely welcomed.

The films have just been released and can be viewed via the website www.hurstpierpointopengardens.org.uk or the Facebook page Hurstpierpoint Open Gardens. You can choose to watch them individually at different times or sit back and have a marathon session watching them all in one go, which will last about an hour.

Thanks to 12 sponsors the funds are already coming in, and our dearest wish is to raise as much as we can this year for The Hospice, which has served so many of us so well in our own hour of need.

To those of you on social media, please will you share the publicity which has been posted as much as possible.

Maybe your relatives in Australia would like to see our little Sussex Village gardens? Maybe you could donate on behalf of a friend and send the link to them as a birthday present – saying you’ve paid? Care Homes may like to make a donation and show the film to residents to cheer up a grey day.

The possibilities are endless, and Hurstpierpoint Open Gardens won’t let a virus get in the way of its historical success in raising much-needed funds for our Hospice.

Andrew Marshall - Village People - Hurstpierpoint

by Michèle Copeland

There are many books and articles that touch upon illness and death, with more or less depth, but few will talk about those left behind, the bereft - the bereaved. One such book is My Mourning Year by Andrew Marshall published by RedDoor. 

Some of our readers may remember relationship therapist Andrew’s previous bestselling book ‘I Love You, But I’m Not in Love with You’, published in 2010. The book explored where relationships seemed merely defined by companionship rather than passion, and how he devised his own personal, unique programme, by offering couples a seven guided step map to recoup their attractiveness and uniqueness and thus resolve their marital issues.

A Hurstpierpoint resident for 30 years, Andrew has written 16 other self-help books, some of which have been translated into 20 different languages. He still has a practice in the city, and once a week he will see clients locally at the Sussex Osteopath Centre.

Though for many years he worked for Relate, a national relationship counselling organisation, he decided to stop working for them seven years ago.

He has contributed to many radio programmes and newspapers over the years, such as The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph and The Times, as a freelance journalist.

Andrew comes across as a very private person, and it is all to his credit that he has had the courage to publish his one year diary, following the death of his beloved partner Thom in 1997 after a long debilitating illness. 

[Excerpt from the full article printed in the April 2017 issue of Hurst Life magazine]