Back to the West Sussex Page
- The Royal Connection
- West Sussex Eats
- West Sussex VIPs
- Richard Remembers
- Owlbut's Birdwatch
England has 39 historic counties.
These were the ones in use in 1899. For our journey we are using the ones in use now. However for our royal connection we are combining the two Sussex counties,
west and east, into the old historic county of Sussex but only for the Royal Connection. In other words whether you are on this page or the other Sussex one, for
this section you will read the same story.
This is because our royal connection is with the fact that Sussex has a dukedom. There is a Duke of Sussex. You probably know that Prince Harry and
his wife, Meghan, were created Duke and Duchess of Sussex on 19 May 2018, the date of their wedding. Their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born
on 6 May 2019, is the heir to the dukedom.
There was only one other Duke of Sussex and that was Prince Augustus Frederick, the sixth son of King George III. He was made Duke of Sussex on 24
November 1801. The title became extinct on his death in 1843. There are only 5 other counties who have a royal duke; Cornwall, Cambridge, York, Gloucestershire and Kent.
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This week we are highlighting the
Sussex Plum Heavies which may well in the past have contained plums but do not do so nowadays. They are basically small white flour pastries with currants
or sultanas. It is said that the local shepherds and woodsmen would carry them in their pockets as snacks and they were also given to children as treats.
I do have to check these things out because I found a recipe that required 1lb of flour and, so it said, 4lb of butter as well as lard, sugar
and currants. I think it should have been 4oz of butter although I do worry about the 1lb of sugar and 1lb of currants
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Seven random people who were born in West Sussex in the last 100 years:-
Jamie Theakston (TV Presenter), Tim Peake (Astronaut), the late Anita Roddick (Businesswoman and Activist), Romash Ranganathan (Comedian),
Dan Walker (TV Presenter), Ed Speelers (Actor) and Jon Snow (Journalist and Broadcaster).
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West Sussex fills the space
between East Sussex and Hampshire, Brighton and Portsmouth. Now I don't mean that in a nasty way but there are, in my memory, less places I can recall
in West Sussex. Worthing is the first resort you come to and I can't remember anything about it at all. I do remember that just inland from there is Arundel,
with its castle, and, rather weirdly I thought, it is the home of the Duke of Norfolk, who appears at some stage not to have made the right move. It was
also, in olden days when touring cricketing teams came to England for more than just internationals, the very first fixture on their list.
Bognor Regis is another resort and it was given the name "Regis" by George V after he stayed there while recovering from an illness. Selsey Bill
juts out into the English Channel but fails to jut into my memory. There are two places called East and West Wittering but again they are not in my memory
bank and I would just be wittering on to talk about them. I do remember that Chichester, very much the arts capital of the area, is a lovely town and it is said that
Harold Godwinson left on a journey to Normandy from nearby Bosham in 1064. He got shipwrecked on the way, was rescued by William of Normandy, promised
him the English throne, failed to keep the promise and changed the whole course of history.
Oh, and West Sussex is home to the Goodwood motor racing circuit. It was from here, in 1958 on Easter Monday, that I watched my first live
motor racing on television. That was the day a French driver called Jean Behra, driving a British BRM, failed to tenez enough droite as he entered the
chicane. Luckily he survived but the car and chicane were a bit worse for wear. I think he was leading at the time.
Goodwood is now famous for the
Festival of Speed, usually held in June, and the Revival meeting, held in September. It is the latter to which I would like to go. If I do, you will
have pictures somewhere.
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The redshank was cleverly named because it has bright orange-red legs. They breed in damp places like saltmarshes, flood
meadows and around lakes. Durng winter you can also see them around estuaries and tidal areas. Many of these wintering birds come from Iceland. In the UK we
have around 25,000 breeding pairs but 5 times this number may winter here. Redshanks eat insects, earthworms and shellfish. They find these by pushing their
long beaks into soil and mud.
Their feathers are brown, cream, grey and white and, as I said, they have long orange-red legs. Their beaks are black, orange and red, long and thin.
Redshanks are 28 cms in length, have a wingspan of 62 cms and weigh about 110 grams for males and 130 grams for females.
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Two extra sections, "It Happened Here" and "Now That's Weird", will appear on 21 October 2024
