Ellen Cheshire

E.F. Benson (1867-1940) made Sussex his home at a pivotal point in his life. In 1918, after years of travel, writing and public service, he settled in the ancient town of Rye, at Lamb House. He remained there until his death in 1940, and it was during these Sussex years that he produced some of his most enduring work. Rye offered Benson a place of continuity and containment, a town shaped by history and habit, where daily life unfolded on a human scale. Born in 1867, Benson c

Milne in 1922 By Emil Otto Hoppé - Shadowland, September 1922 (page 62), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58472213 On Christmas Eve in 1925, the first Winnie-the-Pooh story, The Wrong Bees , was published in the London Evening News. In celebration of this 100th anniversary, this latest blog in the Writers in Sussex  series explores the Sussex landscape that inspired A.A. Milne’s beloved stories and the enduring magic of Ashdown Forest. Ashdown Fo

Jamie Patterson, born in 1986 in Brighton, East Sussex, is a British filmmaker whose work is closely tied to his home city. He co-founded the Brighton‑based production company Jump Start Productions and in 2018 wrote and directed Tucked , his first feature film. Tucked  is a raw and tender drama about Jackie, an ageing drag queen given six weeks to live, who forms an unexpected bond with a younger queen called Faith. The film explores identity, grief and community, blending h

H.G. Wells With Sussex Day (16 June) around the corner, those who enjoy exploring places through literary eyes will find a wealth of...

One hundred and ten years ago this month, in March 1915, D. H. Lawrence found himself on the windblown coast of Bognor Regis in West...

On a wild and windy July day I took my pier themed handbag for a walk along the promenade at Bognor Regis, stopping for a drink at the former Pier Cinema and Pier Electric Theatre now Legends bar and Shieks Nightclub . We also passed by and admired the new (replacement) plaque dedicated to Tony Hancock outside the hotel where he stayed whilst filming Punch and Judy Man (1963). Bognor Regis Pier, Legends Bar and Shieks Nightclub The Royal Norfolk Hotel where Hancock staye

3 Years ago on the 23 April 2017, I was present at an historic event. After 30 years, director David Leland was reunited with Emily Lloyd, who had starred in his 1987 film Wish You Were Here , based on their early life on infamous British madam, Cynthia Payne. Cynthia Payne was born in Bognor Regis, but the film was largely shot in Worthing (with some scenes shot in Bognor), which is why I had been researching and writing about it for an HLF funded book for Worthing WOW, Elec