A book offering guidance for parents of young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has been relaunched.

The publication, which offers advice on supporting their child’s transition into adulthood, was released at a new conference facility recently opened at the Aldingbourne Country Centre.

‘Making Sense of Adult Life’ has been published Reaching Families, a West Sussex charity.

The book provides parents and young people with SEND vital information on a range of subjects including independent living, further education, health and social care, relationships, local leisure opportunities, and more.

It also contains a directory of more than 400 relevant local and national organisations, as well as an extensive jargon buster.

Reaching Families launched a second edition of the book at the Aldingbourne Centre on Thursday, November 1.

Commenting on the value of the book, Sue Livett, managing director of Aldingbourne Country Centre, said: “This is an essential resource which gives up-to-date, relevant and clear information in guiding and supporting young people as they become adults.”

The new edition, of which the charity will distribute to parents and young people for free, contains new information on a number of pressing subjects like mental health and employment.

The editor of the book, Sue McMillan, said: “The book gives you all the latest information and advice on key topics including an expanded chapter on employment and life skills and a diverse range of post education opportunities for young people with SEND in West Sussex.”

Making Sense of Adult Life is a companion guide to another published by Reaching Families entitled ‘Making Sense Of It All’, which is designed for parents of children aged 0-14.

This book covers a wide range of subjects including diagnosis, benefits, education, health, social care and local leisure opportunities.

Making Sense Of It All is firmly established as a must have guide for parents in West Sussex and it is sometimes referred to as the ‘parent bible’, said a spokesman for the charity.

Both books are available in hard copy and e-book format and available to download or order from the charity’s website, www.reachingfamilies.org.uk.

Around the world in approximately an hour isn’t a reboot of a classic novel for the benefit of fidgety attention-limited Millenials, it’s the basis of a fun new immersive Brighton attraction.

Phileas Fogg’s World of Adventures is a mightily impressive culmination of a two million pound project at Sussex House in Hollingbury, Brigthon (close to the Asda supermarket).

It’s billed as a ‘live theatre experience’ and inspired by the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

After spending time in a suitably atmospheric reception area, filled with bizarre Steampunk-style gadgets we stepped through the doors into a world of theatrical fun.

Following a brief visit to a Victorian station we were whisked onto a train carriage and introduced to our guide to the puzzles and problem-solving – Phileas Fogg.

The larger-than-life actor portraying the literary explorer took on the role with relish and explained that we were about to take an action-packed journey around the globe in order for him to win a £20,000 wager, while avoiding the long arm of the law in the form of Inspector Fix who was hot on our trail.

What followed was a thoroughly enjoyable romp through 16 rooms, all with some superbly-detailed sets, interacting with Phileas and supporting characters.

The whole experience was lifted by the efforts of the actors playing the various characters we met along the way.

From a suitably aloof artist in Venice, to a sozzled cowboy in a Wild West saloon, they gave it their all with some whole-hearted performances and a few cheeky ad-libs for good measure (one girl in our party was advised to make sure she dyed her roots before returning to the saloon!).

The majority of puzzles we encountered on our visit were on the fairly achievable side and wouldn’t necessarily tax experienced escape room goers but were more than-enough to get our noggins working.

But unlike some escape rooms it’s remarkably big and features a few good physical and dexterous tasks amidst the large detailed rooms,

For tickets or to find out more, visit www.phileasfoggsworldofadventures.co.uk.

It adds further pressure on a side already struggling with confidence and leaves the Robins searching for a turn in fortune as their cup journeys are now over for the season.

Bosham started brightly and as early as the eighth minute Max Terry found a route to goal only to see his stinging shot fly back off a post with keeper Guillermo Arestizabal-Gil well beaten.

Brighton began to show enterprise in their attacks with striker Joaquin Corrales Lopez De Lerma looking dangerous with his lightning speed.

Andy Reynolds, newly returned to the Bosham outfit, marshalled the defence with gusto, winning headers and putting in firm challenges.

Approaching the half-hour Drew Moore had another good opportunity for the hosts but, under pressure, scuffed his effort into the hands of Arestizabal-Gil.

Minutes later keeper Harley Redman was called into action for the Robins. Aidan Entiknapp found space in the midfield 30 yards out and let fly with a scorching effort but Redman pulled off a sensational save to tip the dipping effort over the bar.

The second half was only minutes old when the deadlock was broken by the predatory instincts of the excellent Lopez De Lerma. Chasing on to a through ball, the striker looking to be coming up second best to the on-rushing Redman but Bosham keeper hashed his attempted clearance, allowing Lopez De Lerma to pounce and stroke the ball into the empty net to open the scoring.

Pagham take county cup bragging rights

Contrasting fortunes for Chi City and Selsey

Bosham regrouped and came at Electric with intensity but left things a little stretched at the back. Scott Berridge almost benefitted from this when beating a weak offside trap but Redman redeemed himself with an excellent save.

However with 20 minutes left there was nothing he could do to prevent Berridge from firing home having evaded defensive challenges.

Bosham fought and Alex Barnes came up with a moment of magic to fire into the roof of the net to give the Robins hope but Electricity held their nerve under late pressure to record the shock win.

Next comes a tough trip to face another new team, Copthorne, who won’t make things any easier for the Robins.

Bosham: Redman, Reynolds, Briance, Bishop, Moore, Hurst, Hargreaves, Bulbeck, Barnes, Terry, Hardman. Subs: Hiscock, Desi, Smith, Penton, Lewis.

He’s been a jockey - he’s been a trainer. Now Philip Hide has a new role in racing.

The popular West Sussex-based figure has been appointed trainee clerk of the course at Fontwell and Brighton – two racecourses he knows extremely well from both his days riding and training.

He had a successful career as a National-Hunt jockey which spanned 19 years, during which time he rode more than 400 winners for the likes of Josh Gifford and Gary Moore, with more than 80 of those wins coming at Fontwell Park.

His first response when presented with this statistic was “It should have been more” – summing up his humility and giving a reminder of why he is so well-respected within the industry.

Hide went on to set up as a flat trainer, saddling 18 winners at Brighton – for which he gave credit to the track for being lucky for him - before making the difficult but conscientious decision to bring his training days to a close in the summer.

Talking about Fontwell, he fondly remembered his win in the Sussex National – now the Southern National – during the early part of his career in 2001, when he claimed victory for Gifford and ‘a good bunch of owners’ on board 7/1 shot Lordberniebouffant - describing it as ‘one of the highlights’.

Less fondly, he also recalled a time in the days when you could re-mount a horse saying, “I had a horse odds-on and it turned over with me. I re-mounted and just got beat a whisker.” That horse was aptly named No Pain No Gain I.

On his knowledge of the hurdle and chase course at Fontwell he said: “I know it as well as jockeys could know a course. I always liked to walk it if I could before racing."

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He is a fan of the new all-weather bend, which he was not lucky enough to experience as a rider: “I think it’s a very good thing. When I started there was a common bend at the bottom and the top and you had the chasers going around it one way and the hurdlers the other [before the bottom was changed to one way] – it used to get really chopped up and trashed – but that was a step in the right direction and now the all-weather is there it’s even better.

“It is less maintenance but also for the jockeys, you can ride more of a race, because it was getting pretty slippy out wider and if you went three deep you were never really going around there as well as you should have been.”

Hide went on to explain that the bend isn’t as tight as it may look to spectators. He said: “It rides a lot better than it looks.”

He added: “The hurdle course is a very fair course, you can ride a race around there, and the chase course suits a lot of horses because you’re always on the turn – horses who like to be kept mentally busy, it does suit them.”

With his depth of knowledge, you can see why Hide has been chosen to take up the new role. For the next six months he will be working towards his official accreditation but is looking forward to the challenge.

* They race at Fontwell tomorrow (Fri Nov 9) - then it's all systems go for Southern National Day on Sunday 18.

An innovative and simple way of boosting much needed supplies to foodbanks is being trialled in Midhurst.

It is the brainchild of Midhurst artist and town councillor Jeanette Sutton, who has received the backing of the town’s Tesco store.

“I kept getting annoyed with myself when I was shopping at big supermarkets when I passed the foodbank box having paid for my shopping and realised I had forgotten to buy anything for the foodbank,” she said.

Jeanette put her mind to a solution which might also encourage other shoppers to put something in their baskets for the foodbank.

“It occurred to me,” she said, “that if a label was put by the food on the shelves, it would prompt me to remember to get something to put in my trolley.

“I put this idea to the food bank in Midhurst and then approached Dave Woods, the manager at the Midhurst Tesco.

“He went to his bosses and they have approved this in the Midhurst branch as a trial.”

Jeanette now prints out labels which are on the same paper as the usual Tesco price labels that go on the shelf fronts.

Mike and Chrissie Abbott, who run the Midhurst Foodbank, and other volunteer helpers then move the labels around, putting them by the particular foods or goods that are needed by the food bank each week.

“If this proves successful to both Tesco and the food bank, Tesco might roll this out over the country to support all local food banks,” said Jeanette.

“They are first interested to see how this trial goes.”

The idea was launched on Monday at Tesco in Midhurst when Jeanette was joined by Dave, Mike and Chrissie to place the first labels.

The foodbank at Midhurst is under increasing pressure to provide food and support to families on low incomes.

It faced unprecedented demand during the long summer holidays when children were not receiving their free school meals and more families are expected to need help over Christmas.

Police said Mark Goddard, 38, a roofer, of Birdham Road, Chichester, and a 15-year-old boy from Chichester, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have both been charged with the same offence and have been bailed to appear at Worthing Magistrates' Court on December 4.

The pair were arrested after reports a woman was assaulted in Birdham on Monday, October 8, according to police.

After the arrest in October, a police spokesman said: "Police and paramedics were called at 5pm to reports of an assault at Premier Business Park in Birdham Road, where the woman received treatment for facial injuries."

See also: Chichester bedroom fire: Sleeping elderly man saved by firefighters

Chichester car crime: Police launch new operation to stop thieves

Bracklesham holiday village homes decision returns to committee

The action starts at 1.15pm with the Winner Plant And Access Handicap Hurdle and continues until 3.55 and the Axio Standard Open NH Flat Race.

In total there are 48 runners declared for the card.

It's Fontwell's final fixture before one of their big ones of the year - Southern National raceday on Sunday, November 18.

Here are our tips for Friday: 115 Downloadtheapp, 150 Jet Set, 220 Shambra, 255 Commanche Red, 325 Hardtorock, 355 Alrightjack.

Meet the new trainee clerk of the course at Fontwell

Grand National bid for Sussex trainer Moore

Three of the four teams involved continue to struggle to remain competitive.

The bottom three teams, Portsmouth, Gosport & Fareham and Tottonians 2nds, have won just one game each while conceding an average of well over 30 points per game. The only team so far managing to hold their own is Eastleigh, whom Bognor have yet to play.

It was no great surprise then that Bognor, despite being far from full strength, swept aside a brave but ultimately outclassed Portsmouth side while scoring 13 tries, 12 of them by their impressive back-line.

The win consolidates their position of fourth in the table, which is a fair reflection of their rather uneven progress just over a third of the way through the season.

The home side dominated possession from start to finish and, when Jeremy Newton-Young touched down for his second try in the opening five minutes, it looked as if it was going to be a long afternoon for Portsmouth, who had not even touched the ball.

Paddy Burnett flew over for the third following good handling by his opposite winger Shane Stevens. The ever-improving Tom Orchard set off on a storming 30-metre run, allowing Stevens to grab the bonus-point try with only a quarter of the match gone.

Stevens scored his second two minutes later after an exquisite chip through from the evergreen George Castleton. Centre Sam Newcombe displayed strength and speed to scream over for the next try before his co-centre Josh Riggall cruised through for Bognor’s seventh.

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The hapless Riggall, still recovering from a recent hamstring problem, had to leave the field shortly afterwards with a shoulder injury.

Newcombe prevented a breakaway try from the visitors with a great cover tackle before Stevens crossed for his hat-trick, making the half-time score 50-0.

Bognor took their foot off the gas temporarily at the start of the second half and Portsmouth deserved the two tries they scored.

The visitors never gave up and continued to tackle their hearts out. But soon when Dave Sweeney went through a gap for Bognor’s first try of the half.

The fly-half quickly added a second to bring his overall tally for the afternoon to 26 points.

Newcombe scored his second try before Orchard capped a fine performance with a debut try, the only one by a forward all afternoon.

Newton-Young ended the match as it had begun, when he showed a real turn of pace to achieve his hat-trick.

Special mention must go to man-of-the-match Adam Knight, who put in some big hits from the unaccustomed position of second row, and Adam Groome, who had an impressive debut at hooker.

Bognor’s next league game will be a home match against old adversaries Fareham Heathens on Saturday, November 17 (2.30pm).

Bognor: Newton-Young, Stevens, Newcombe, Riggall, Stevens, Sweeney, Toone, Mason, Groome, Cox, Orchard, Knight, Castleton, Burgess(Capt), Bidwell. Reps: Teague, Archer, Bailey.

A man is reported to have fallen from a bridge onto the A27 at Hangleton, Hove, this morning (November 9).

The A27 westbound is currently closed after the incident at about 6.40am, approximately one mile east of the Southwick tunnel, Sussex Police said.

Emergency services are at the scene.

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “The A27 westbound is currently closed at Hangleton following a report of a man having fallen from a bridge.”

Motorists are advised to seek alternative routes for the time being; the eastbound carriageway remains open.

Sussex Traffic Watch said at 8am: “A27 westbound remains closed between the Dyke Road junction and Hangleton due to an ongoing police incident queuing traffic from Hollingbury. Local diversion routes also very congested.”

Original story: Incident on A27 at Hove closes road

Athletic Bilbao could make a January move to take Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente back to the club where he made his name. (The Independent) - today's Rumour Mill

Liverpool's owner is willing to sell the club, Manchester City target South American wonderkid and Chelsea plan £35m bid for striker.

Keep up to date with all the latest speculation and news from the Premier League.Refresh for updates

The Racecourse Association (RCA) hosted theninth annual RCA Showcase & Awards at Aintree racecourse and, not for the first time, Goodwood was among the winners.

The 2018 Best Campaign Award was won by Goodwood for the supporting campaign behind the Magnolia Cup at this year’s Qatar Goodwood Festival.

The judges were delighted by the emphasis placed on the competitors and their stories to help narrate this special event and drive both ticket sales and charity awareness.

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Magnolia Cup field set to blossom

The Showcase & Awards, partnered by Moët Hennessy, Racing Breaks, Racing Post and Great British Racing (GBR), celebrate excellence and innovation in racecourse customer experience.

As well as being named overall Showcase Champion, Hamilton Park racecourse also claimed the #TopSpot Award for their innovative elevators which are designed to replicate starting stalls, giving racegoers a truly immersive experience as they enter the racecourse grandstand.

There were a total of 15 awards handed out by special guests Sam Quek MBE and Katie Walsh.

Beginning the night, the two awards for individuals were presented. The Neil Wyatt Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Richard Osgood of Newbury Racecourse on account of his 40 years of service to the Berkshire course. Trudi Moulton of Fakenham was honoured with the RCA Outstanding Achievement Award for her continued excellent work and development as an integral member of the Fakenham team.

Cartmel Racecourse collected the Racing Post Readers’ Award, the only Award to be nominated by racegoers. Cartmel’s excellent customer service was recognised with the racecourse receiving over 300 submissions in addition to the winning one.

Bath’s Kids Takeover Racing raceday suitably impressed the judges in the Events category with its innovative approach in handing over the reins for the day to junior racegoers. Royal Windsor was also rewarded with a Highly Commended award in this category for their Choc ‘n’ Awe Willy Wonka-inspired firework show.

Always a popular category, Operational Excellence was awarded to Royal Windsor on account of the exceptional results gained from their re-imagined Monday night series. To demonstrate the depth of quality in this category,Goodwood and Newbury were presented with Highly Commended awards for the Richmond Enclosure redevelopment and Owners’ Club respectively.

Cheltenham’s new pan-Asian concept restaurant Theatre @ The Festival as a hit with the judges, who praised its bold direction and fantastic customer feedback as the winner in the Food & Beverage category.

Following a season of voting by ROA members, the judges had the final say in the Owners Experience category and crowned Wetherby the best in class for 2018.

In just the second running of the Love of the Sport Award, Sandown Park’s attempt to bring two racedays to their racegoers with the Tingle Creek/Becher Chase double-header was a hit with the judging panel who praised the concept of giving two important races in the jump season their rightful attention.

Uttoxeter’s powerful submission around prostate cancer awareness and prevention claimed the Community & Corporate Social Responsibility Award, with 75 lives being potentially saved with early warnings given after attending the racecourse clinic. Aintree, looking to win this award for an unprecedented fourth time in succession, and Ascot were awarded Highly Commended accolades for their wonderful efforts in this space.

The Digital & Social Media Excellence Award was reclaimed by Ascot thanks to their new mobile-first website which revolutionised the customer journey and resulted in a greater yield from online purchases.

For just the second time in the history of the Showcase & Awards, the judges exercised their right to award theOutstanding Initiative Award for a submission which transcended categories and was deserved of individual praise.Beverley’s Sign Language Raceday was heralded as something all racecourses should take note of for its inclusiveness and ability to genuinely change their raceday experience for customers hard of hearing.

The Racecourse Groundstaff Awards, sponsored by Pitchcare, Watt Fences and Fornells, come to their climax at the Showcase & Awards. Warwick Racecourse was crowned overall Groundstaff Champion, beating Ascot (dual purpose) and Great Yarmouth (flat) whom were already winners in their respective categories.

Gatwick Aiport is offering more flights to the home of Father Christmas this winter to meet demand from travellers.

There are 120 flights bound for Lapland in December.

A spokesman said: “The airport’s record number of services comes in response to growing demand from British tourists to visit Lapland – the northernmost region of Finland, famed for its association with Father Christmas.”

Last December, the number of British visitors was up 13.9 per cent.

Stephen King, head of Airline Relations at Gatwick Airport said: “It’s fitting that Gatwick now offers more flights to Lapland than any other UK airport, as this winter wonderland is the ultimate family destination and Gatwick is widely recognised as the ultimate family airport.

“The number of Brits travelling to Lapland for a winter escape is rapidly increasing every year and we’re pleased to be responding to that demand.”

See also:

Gatwick and Crawley route to get this electric double-decker bus

‘Despicable romance fraudsters’ steal £2 million from Sussex lonely hearts

Police warn: ‘leave a light on’ in burglary crackdown

Chichester made a cautious start to their winter indoor Sportshall campaign at Tanbridge House School, Horsham.

With fewer competitors than the other four teams in the division, they were never going to challenge for overall team honours, but there were many promising individual performances to act as a boost for the remainder of the season.

In her final season in this league before moving up to the under-17s next year, Fleur Hollyer was once again the star of the team with another speed bounce win with an amazing score of 84 jumps in 30 seconds. She will have three more attempts this season to break the league record of 87.

In the two-lap sprint, Hollyer was just pipped into second place but showed her summer form to good effect as she battled with top county runners from Crawley, Brighton and Horsham.

Elsewhere for the girls, the under-13 trio of Amelie McGurk, Lucy Hollyer and Grace Bishop showed good versatility on the track as well as shot putt, vertical, jump and speed bounce.

And they kept their best ’til last with a speedy 4x2-lap relay, bringing in Millie Dutton from the under-11s as the fourth runner.

Dutton was joined by Catherine Dudman and Hannah Holte in the under-11 two-lap sprint, long jump and speed bounce, all three showing promise for the future.

For the boys it was two of Chichester’s new crop of under-11s who made their mark with James Taylor and Henry Court both winning their two-lap sprint races with a good turn of speed.

With Sam Cato they also set good marks in the other three under-11 events and joined under-13 Joe Steyn for the relay at the end in the higher under-13 group and held on to the other teams with good effect.

Steyn, meanwhile, had set a good standard for the rest of the season in the four-lap on the track as well as shot putt and long jump.

With a six-week break until the next Sussex League match at the same venue on December 16, Chichester Runners & AC are putting on two trial events at Bishop Luffa School on November 25 and December 9.

These are open to members of Chichester Runners and non-members and will act as trials to select the team for December 16. The sessions will last from 2pm to 4pm with the doors open at 1.30pm for registration and warm-up.

Non-members of the club are asked to contact Phil Baker to book their place - email philbaker5@btinternet.com.

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Fun Run League

Chichester’s two regulars in the West Sussex Fun Run League made it a repeat of the previous week’s Steepdown Challenge at Lancing as they again led the club home at the Gunpowder Trot at Denne Park, Horsham.

Out of a strong field of more than 400 finishers, Jason Snow was once again fine form to lead the Chichester contingent home in 36th place overall, securing a near maximum nine bonus points in the process.

With Dan Busher in 55th, the third Chichester Runner home was Emma Hughes who once again scooped ten bonus points by being eighth woman home in 66th place.

She was joined by improving Sarah Morris in 96th, 15th woman, as Chichester’s only other ten-point scorer, with Nadia Anderson in 20th place another nine-point runner.

Overall, Chichester had one of their best team showings of the season with fourth place out of the 17 clubs in the league.

This was in no small part to gaining a maximum 25 participation points with the best turnout for several matches.

The remainder of the squad finished as follows: 73rd David Pike, 74th Tim Brown, 87th Mike Moorcroft, 90th Marcus Hammerton, 109th Jon McElhill, 133rd Tony Cooley, 140th Tom Blaylock, 142nd Elizabeth Robinson (28th female), 149th Kevin Lockyear, 165th Amanda Godfrey (F37), 166th Julia Hammond (F38), 202nd Sue Barty (F50), 213th Peter Anderson, 215th Nicola Jolly (F56), 221st Tracy Lockyear (F59), 229th Jeremy Harrison, 239th Sue Baker (F69), 249th Peter Shaw, 267th Trevor Baker, 303rd Martin Fryer, 346th Jill Renson (F130).

Cross-Country preview

Saturday (November 10) brings the opening fixture in the Sussex Cross Country League over the grassland and downland paths of Stanmer Park, Brighton.

Chichester’s men will need to be on their mettle having returned to division one, while the women will be hoping to challenge for top-division medals for the fourth consecutive year.

Much interest, too, will be focused on the junior age groups with all ages having a chance to impress Sussex selectors before the Southern inter-county match at Oxford in December.

The programme starts at midday with the under-11s and parking will be at the AMEX Stadium.

A team is set to work its way through Kingley Vale Nature Reserve to check for ordinances left from the Second World War.

The army and bomb disposal teams have been called to the reserve before as in the case of a ten-year-old boy who found a mortar shell in the woods last year.

Now DEFRA has asked for more clearance work at the former military training area near West Stoke and Funtington.

Steve Marner of Fellows International Ltd said he and two other people would be walking through the forest checking for bombs and other devices but would call the army and police if they found anything.

He said: “We’re going to search up and down in the woods and in the area for unexploded ordinances.

“It’s a very interesting place to be honest, it was used as a military training area for quite a long time.

“There’s been some clearance done but things are still turning up, so DEFRA have contracted us to do some clearance and that’s going to start in the next few weeks.”

He said the work would take about five weeks to complete and the team would be clearly dressed in high-visibility jackets.

Anyone who sees what could be an old munitions device in the area is asked to not touch it, to mark its location and report it to the reserve manager and police.

Cuckfield Cricket Club have a habit of having former overseas players go on to play Test cricket with 16 past players playing at the highest level of the game.

And New Zealander Will Somerville could become the 17th if he plays for the Kiwis against Pakistan after being called up to the squad at the age of 34.

The Wellington-born off-spinner was drafted in as a replacement after an injury to leg spinner Todd Astle.

Somerville took 35 wickets and scored 345 runs for Cuckfield in the 2009 season.

Fellow New Zealander was the 16th player when he arrived at Cuckfield in 2017, South African Keshav Maharaj, who played for Cuckfield in 2013, was the 15th

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People from across West Sussex have shared their personal experiences to help tackle the stigma surrounding mental health.

Residents from Chichester, Worthing and Crawley, who have experienced mental health problems, came together to celebrate their achievements at the Time to Change West Sussex event at Chichester College.

The event, on Wednesday, October 31, included the support of county councillors, West Sussex County Council staff, the libraries, the teams from Coastal West Sussex Mind and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Some mental health champions then shared personal stories of the mental health challenges they have faced and how they became involved in the Time To Change campaign.

Activities were then held to help raise awareness of mental health issues, including pebble painting, stride and sketch walks, pom pom cheerleading sessions and various craft sessions.

The workshop not only marked the end of the funded partnership but also gave everyone the chance to pitch possible ways to sustain the important work of raising awareness about mental health.

West Sussex County Council cabinet member for adults and health, Amanda Jupp, said: “I was very pleased to join the workshop which included a number of volunteer champions who go out into our communities and spread the word about the importance of mental well-being in the workplace.

“It was a really engaging morning with excellent input from the voluntary sector and well-being agencies and we have come away with some good proposals to move forward.

“We all have our part to play in changing attitudes and removing the stigma around mental health.”

So far a total of £5,663 has been awarded to 15 Time For Change events.

For further details on the mental health champions fund, other events or to get your own event funded email ttcwestsussex@coastalwestsussexmind.org or visit the {https://www.coastalwestsussexmind.org/get-involved/time-to-change-west-sussex |click here}.

On Sunday November 11 this year the minute’s silence, which millions of us have impeccably observed since we were old enough to tie a woggle for the annual cub or brownies’ parade, will be that little bit more poignant.
Remembrance Sunday has always been special in our house but the centenary of the ending of hostilities in the Great War brings the sacrifice made by many sharply back into focus.
My family and I will be in church on the day along with many others who consider it to be one of the most significant dates on the nation’s calendar. Rolling news channels will devote round-the-clock coverage to commemorations and newspapers, including this one, will mark the anniversary with numerous special reports.
There will be no escaping the landmark date this year and rightly so as we are a nation which honours its war dead properly.
Being Britain, there is bound to be at least one fresh controversy involving a public figure, probably a former boyband member who few of us remember, probably for refusing to wear a poppy while appearing on telly. There will be headlines, an afternoon of frenzied trolling on social media, calls for the person in question to be sacked from a job that nobody previously knew that they had and 24 hours later it will all be forgotten.
We have already had two such controversies already in recent weeks, both of which involved student unions and, inevitably, made a lot of already very angry people even angrier.
The first remembrance rumpus involved those very clever young things at the Cambridge student union and its started when two undergraduates suggested that the university could do more to promote the commemorations on campus. Their proposal was rejected by the union and replaced with an amendment which encouraged students to engage “productive criticism” of conflict, with one bright spark criticising language which “valorises war”.
Obviously it didn’t go down well within certain sections of society. Neither did the second controversy, which this time involved the president of the student union at Southampton University.
The official in question landed herself in hot water when she took to Twitter to tell her followers that she would ‘paint over’ a mural within the university which depicted lots of white men in gowns. This, she argued, flew in the face of the university’s inclusivity policy but she clearly hadn’t realised that the artwork in question was a tribute to students from the university who died in World War One and were unable to collect their degrees.
Although she did apologise pretty soon afterwards, that didn’t stop the obligatory online petition calling for her to be removed from her paid post.
While she was clearly wrong, I don’t regard her outburst as anything more than the folly of youth. Our war heroes took up arms to defend our country’s future, warts and all, including freedom of speech, which is what the students in question were exercising.
It is also worth remembering that most young people change their opinions as often as they do their dungarees, another reason not to be at all annoyed with what comes out of their mouths.
This Remembrance Sunday will be a very special one - it is right we focus on the fallen and are not distracted by nonsense.

A woman from Pulborough has won a national social influencers award.

Grace Carnegie-Brown (66) and Annabel Simons (60) have been named the winners of a social media award for their online magazine CountryWives.

Grace lives near Pulborough, while Annabel lives in Henley-on-Thames, between Reading and Oxford.

The two ladies won the Social Influencers award in the ‘Amazing Women 50 Over 50 Awards’ run by Woman and Home magazine which celebrates women making a difference.

Other category winners honoured at the awards ceremony held at Claridges in London on Wednesday, October 17 included Mary Berry. Annabel and Grace set up CountryWives as a weekly inspiration for women over 50, eight years ago. Annabel and Grace started their online magazine upon retirement in February 2010, when they moved out of London as a way of staying in touch and sharing experiences of their new rural lives.

Annabel and Grace said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won this award for CountryWives and it was so wonderful to be part of this event which celebrates amazing women over 50. We were inspired by numerous older women when we set up our online magazine which share’s all that’s positive about being older women.”

Southern Rail has said train services in Sussex could be impacted by 50mph winds this evening (November 9).

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for high winds and gusts exceeding 50mph across Sussex and Kent from 7pm.

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Rail operator Southern said train services could be affected on the following routes:

- Between Hastings, Eastbourne and Brighton – including to and from Seaford

- Between Worthing, and Havant – including Littlehampton and Bognor Regis

- Between Oxted and Uckfield

- Between Redhill and Tonbridge.

A Southern Rail spokesperson said: “High winds can cause a number of problems for the railway, in particular, obstructions caused by downed trees and other debris blown onto the track.

“In exposed coastal areas, where gusts are strongest, high waves may also cause damage to tracks and ballast (the small stones which tracks rest on).

“Network Rail, who own and maintain the railway, will have additional staff in place ready to respond to potential problems. They will also have specialist chainsaw trained teams ready to remove fallen trees and branches.

“Network Rail will proactively be checking for trees that may be affected by this adverse weather prior to this forecast weather, and some early morning trains may be altered or cancelled if any lines are found to be blocked by fallen or blown debris.

“We advise you to check before travelling if you are planning to travel early on Saturday morning.”