A wry look at Worthing

And while this winter is by no means the worst Jack Frost has thrown at us in recent decades, residents have endured several unusually bitter cold snaps, one either side of Christmas, when temperatures plunged to minus 10 C (14F) when the windchill factor is taken into account.

There has been the occasional flurry of snow, which presented a picturesque scene for a brief period, but not enough to get the shovels out of the garden shed.

However, the morning of Thursday, January 30, was ominously grey and by 8am flakes the size of 50p pieces started to flutter earthwards in substantial amounts.

Forty minutes later, rooftops around the town took on an Alpine appearance but the snow struggled to gain a foothold on pavements and roads.

All that changed at 11.15am when a five-minute blizzard transformed the town into a winter wonderland.

Sentinel overheard one woman walking across South Place piazza saying: "I've never seen it like this in Worthing before."

Sentinel hears that Ali Tremlett, wife of the new vicar of St Mary's Church in Goring, is training to be a painter and decorator.

Her husband Andrew comments: "She is perhaps not the person to ask to arrange the flowers but she is a dab hand at putting up a scaffolding tower."

Talking of St Mary's, Sentinel was very disappointed with the modern design of new footpath lights in the cemetery, which are totally out of keeping with the Victorian, flint-walled setting.

Sentinel shook his head in dismay this week when he discovered the Heritage Lottery Fund had allocated £12 million to upgrade parks around the country.

Bearing in mind the poor state of Liverpool Gardens, Victoria Park and Homefield Park, you would have thought Worthing Borough Council would have been aware of this fund and made applications for cash accordingly.

The money might have paid for a junior football centre in Victoria Park (now shelved), the renovation of the boating pool next to the Aquarena (a disgrace to the town), proper lighting in Homefield Park (a paradise for yobs) or the revamp of Liverpool Gardens (a playground for drunks).

But with no lottery officer employed by the borough council, there was no chance of Worthing getting a penny towards improving the town.

Which leads Sentinel on to the seafront, Worthing's most important asset, and the decision by the council to withdraw funding in 2003-04.

When the decision was announced, Sue Murray, chairman of Worthing Hospitality Association, voiced her disappointment and suggested the council had failed to explore external avenues of funding.

If memory serves Sentinel right, the Liberal Democrats, prior to being elected last spring, were talking of appointing a lottery officer.

So what happened?

At least there is light at the end of the tunnel for Liverpool Gardens, courtesy of a £100,000 bequest to the town which may well be spent on upgrading this neglected open space.

During a visit to Worthing Museum recently, Sentinel read with interest the following inscription on a jug in a display cabinet: "Be wise then Christian, while you may, for swiftly time is flying, the thoughtless man, who laughs today, tomorrow may be dying."

It's enough to turn a man to drink but during a trip to Findon, Sentinel was disappointed by the rather bland pub sign adorning the Gun Inn.

Surely the sign should reflect the magnificent murals of artillery in action during the First World War, which were discovered several years ago, during internal alterations.

While on the subject of pubs, the weather-beaten sign alerting motorists on the A27 to the presence of the Coach and Horses could do with a touch-up with a paint brush.

Not far from the Coach and Horses, in a field on the north side of the A27, opposite Castle Goring, is a gnarled old tree which has been dead for some years now but the branches stick out like a witch's fingers, presenting a most unnerving sight, especially in the twilight.

Sentinel has in the past voiced reservations about the Worthing Churches Homeless Projects, fearing hostels in the town act as a magnet to destitute outsiders who might not otherwise have come to the town.

But a recent visit to St Clare's, a hostel in Marine Place where fishermen once repaired their nets, proved enlightening to a certain extent and there can be no doubt about the sincerity of the people who work there, many of them voluntarily.

Since July, the hostel has served more than 4,250 breakfasts to homeless people who may go without a hot meal for the rest of the day.

Staff also provide clean clothing for their clients, much of it donated by supporters, although they have yet to find a use for several glamorous evening dresses.

St Clare's is linked to a hostel in Byron Road, which receives a steady supply of fine fare from none other than Marks & Spencer in Montague Street.

Sentinel has been a vociferous critic of the bland, meaningless Welcome to Worthing signs on the approaches to the town.

You know the ones, with those appalling blue, yellow and green blobs of paint.

So it was with some interest that while driving along the coast road through Saltdean and Rottingdean recently, he noted the road signs for those particular villages.

Saltdean's depicted a wonderful painting of its chalky cliffs while Rottingdean's showed the famous windmill, begging the question: Why can't Worthing show a bit of artistic panache now and again?

Sentinel was saddened to note the sale of Hill Barn, once the finest municipal golf course in the country, to a private operator.

But if it means the course, graced in the past by Tony Jacklin, Bernard Gallagher and Brian Barnes, is restored to its former glory, few of us can complain.

According to local folklore, the clubhouse was designed by a prominent member of the Freemasons and, viewed from the sky, represents a Masonic symbol.