Oliver Cunningham - high end hair salon - comes to Cuckfield

Oliver Cunningham, Cuckfield

There’s a new hair salon coming to the High Street in Cuckfield this month.

Oliver Cunningham will be opening its doors in the shop which was formerly Nicky C Lifestyle. “The visual look of my new salon is going to be classic with an eccentric twist, mixing period features with quirky pieces,” Oliver (right) commented. “I want my clients to feel at home in the space; not imposing or intimidating, more like a relaxed private members club or boutique hotel ambience.”

Oliver has been running his own salon in an exclusive and private location elsewhere in Sussex for the past three years but has now decided to grow the business and venture on to the High Street.

“I love Cuckfield. It is most definitely one of the prettiest villages in Sussex. I think it’s perfect for us. It’s very central for all our clients from London and Brighton. I hope to make the village proud and add something a little different to the already beautiful scattering of shops,” Oliver said.

All the team of stylists in the Cuckfield salon are London-trained and had long careers at elite salons.  The opening times initially will be Monday to Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 9am-5pm. 

Bolnore Village Primary School parents run for a life-saver

Bolnore Village Primary School wanted to have the safety of a life saving defibrillator on site and so asked the parents group – Friends of Bolnore Village Primary School (FOBVPS) if they could raise the funds.

Co-chair Amie Cheverst said: “We thought it was a great thing to get involved in direct fundraising for, and this time we felt we could appeal to the parents and community.”

Earlier in the month ten mums from the school competed in mud & obstacle events, crawling through the mud under barbed wire and wading through stench trenches up to our shoulders

The team event has so far raised £885! The fundraising is still open and all additional money is to go to first aid training for parents and carers and defib extras if we raise enough! www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Bolnoreschooldefib

Amie commented: “We hope that no one at our school or community needs to use the defibrillator, but we can all feel better knowing that we will have this amazing life saving equipment in our school soon.”

Nine things you never knew about Guy Fawkes

1. Guy Fawkes did not die from being hung, drawn and quartered

As he awaited his grisly punishment on the gallows, Fawkes leapt to his death. He actually died from a broken neck, although his body was subsequently quartered and his remains were sent to ‘the four corners of the kingdom’ as a warning to others.

2. Guy Fawkes was not the Gunpowder Plot’s ringleader

There were 13 conspirators in the plot, which was masterminded by Robert Catesby. But it was Fawkes who was caught red-handed with 36 barrels of gunpowder, and for two days he was the only conspirator who the King’s men had captured.

3. Guy Fawkes won the unlikely admiration of King James I

Even under torture, Guy Fawkes remained defiant. He withstood two full days of torture before he confessed to plotting to blow up Parliament. His steadfast manner earned him the praise of King James, who described Fawkes as possessing ‘a Roman resolution’.

4. Guy Fawkes was actually Protestant by birth

Despite becoming the greatest enemy of the Protestant establishment, Fawkes was, in fact, born into the faith. However, his maternal grandparents were recusant Catholics, who refused to attend Protestant services.

5. Guy Fawkes has an island named after him

To the north-west of Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, a collection of two uninhabited, crescent-shaped islands is named Isla Guy Fawkes, or Guy Fawkes Island.

6. Guy Fawkes liked to be called by an Italian nickname

While he was abroad, he adopted the Italian variant of his name, becoming known as ‘Guido’. This was thought to be an attempt to sound more continental and therefore more serious about his Catholic faith.

7. The Houses of Parliament are still searched once a year to make sure there are no conspirators hiding with explosives

Before the annual State Opening of Parliament, the Yeomen of the Guard search the Houses of Parliament to make sure there are no would-be conspirators hiding in the cellars.

8. The cellar that Fawkes tried to blow up no longer exists

It was destroyed in a fire in 1834 that devastated the medieval Houses of Parliament.

9. The gunpowder would have done little damage to Parliament

Some experts now claim that the 36 barrels of gunpowder had ‘decayed’, and would not have properly exploded even if ignited.