A wry look at Worthing

The high-pressure hose it uses to blast the offending gunge into oblivion cannot cope with the sheer volume of gum deposited on pavements.

Now there is talk of putting boards around the town centre, where people can stick their gum.

Other towns have done the same, using the faces of unpopular people such as Lord Archer to attract "custom".

Sentinel has a few suggestions for a local rogues' gallery, if the council would care to get in touch.

Goring has become a mecca for kitesurfers, with more than 20 airborne at any one time, either out at sea or on the greensward.

They provide a welcome splash of colour but just how competent are they, in an area where so many walkers congregate?

Sentinel asks the question after recently witnessing near disaster when a novice, unable to control a giant canopy, was almost dragged into the road by a fresh but not particularly brisk wind.

The kite-flyer tried desperately to stop himself but had absolutely no chance of checking his progress as the kite spiralled violently above him.

At one point, the canopy hit a lamp post and swooped just a few feet above cars travelling along Marine Crescent.

He was only saved by a companion, who released the harness, leaving the kite to thud with breakneck speed into the gardenof Drummond Court.

Had the kite hit somebody, such as a child or a pensioner, Sentinel wonders what the consequences might have been.

Sentinel hopes readers will join him at Gifford House in Boundary Road on Saturday, July 12, when the Queen Alexandra Hospital-Home for Disabled Ex-Servicemen is staging its hugely-popular open day.

Former MP and TV news reporter Martin Bell, otherwise known as "the man in the white suit", will peform the 2pm opening ceremony, which will be followed by a concert on the front lawn by the Band of the Welsh Guards.

Last year Mr Bell gave a highly informative and entertaining speech at the Dome cinema on behalf of the Worthing Combined Ex-Services Association.

This year the talk will be by ex-Welsh guardsman Simon Weston, who suffered horrific burns during the Falklands War when the troopship Sir Galahad was bombed by Argentine jets.

He was just 20 at the time and has since undergone 59 operations and has endured untold pain and mental anguish.

Proceeds from the Dome talk, which takes place on Tuesday, September 9, will go to the Royal Star and Garter Homes, of which Simon is vice-president, and Gifford House.

Tickets, costing £6, are available from the Dome or Gifford House.

Being a townie, Sentinel must admit he is not in tune with the countryman's love of fox hunting, so it was with a mixture of interest and horror that he read a report relating to a meeting of the Southdown Hunt, which regularly galloped over hill and vale in the Worthing area.

The report, dated 1884, recounted a hunt which began at Portslade, where "a large and fashionable attendance" assembled to wave the riders off.

It added: "They found a fox, which gave a very exciting chase of about two hours' duration. He led them by ingenious designs to Poynings and to keep out of their way he entered the old and renowned church and ascended to the pulpit but, there being no outlet for him, he retired into the vestry and entered a cupboard and was there captured and thrown to the pack, which made short work of him."

Talking of foxes, Sentinel hears a vixen and her cubs have taken up residence near Worthing Yacht Club's boat compound, where they play frantically after dark in the bushes.

Sentinel has long regarded Worthing people as among the frendliest he has ever met.

It may take a little while for them to loosen up on occasion but once an acquaintance has been struck it is generally the basis of a lifelong friendship.

Years can pass without bumping into old pals but a chance meeting generally results in amiable conversation as if you only spoke to them yesterday.

So Sentinel was somewhat surprised to stumble across a debate which caught the public's attention in 1916, when one newcomer to the town, commenting on the frosty reception he received, said: "The Worthing sky may be sunny but the Worthing face is painfully gloomy and repelling."

On a further nostalgic note, whatever happened to the tradition at weddings where guests would stand outside the church after the ceremony, forming an arch for the bride and groom to walk under?

All sorts of implements were used, ranging from oars for rowers, truncheons for policemen, notepads for reporters, hockey sticks for hockey players and even, on one occasion, bicycles for cyclists.

Sadly, it would appear that only naval officers are still honoured in this way, with colleagues using their ceremonial swords to form the archway.

Sentinel felt the passing years recently when he heard a girl of about ten pointing at a vinyl record and asking: "Mum, what's that?".

Time flies frighteningly fast, so Sentinel was interested to learn that when new-fangled telephones were first unveiled in Worthing, circa 1887, the following report appeared in a local paper: "The other day a conversation took place between one gentleman in Navarino (East Worthing) and another at Lewes, a distance of 18-20 miles, sounds being distinctly audible."

Driving along Lyndhrust Road, Sentinel's gaze is always distracted by Farncombe House, headquarters of the St John Ambulance, which was obviously a grand family home in bygone times.

Can readers shed any further light on its history?

Trawling through old newspapers dating back to 1978, Sentinel was struck by the number of beauty competitions in the town, ranging from Miss Fiesta to Miss Beechams Research Laboratory, which is a title to conjure with.

Press photographers of the day were under orders to get alluring shots of the girls, wearing nothing but a bikini and a smile, which all seems to be politically incorrect 25 years on.

Some of the girls in the photos are still around, now in their 40s, with children and grandchildren in tow and one wonders what goes through their minds when they look back at the fading black and white newspaper cuttings?

Sentinel caught the 702 bus in South Street recently and was most impressed at the English ability to queue in orderly fashion but it wasn't always so.

During the Second World War, there were complaints of people almost coming to blows as they battled to board buses in the town centre.

So much for manners being on the decline.

Once aboard the bus, Sentinel was struck by the animated chatter among passengers as it motored along Mill Road towards Shaftesbury Avenue.

And finally, May was a most disappointing month weatherwise, but in the dying days the sun burst forth and temperatures soared to 25C.

The balcony of the Burlington Hotel was packed, and with the cordylines opposite and the lights twinkling, it must rank as the finest chill-out spot on Worthing seafront.