Lindfield Village Day 1982: one of the hottest on record

Nobody could miss the fact that the previous Saturday, was an important day, for everything from the decorations round the pond to the early morning bell ringing alerted passers-by.

The big white hardboard swan on the pond never seemed more appropriate as a herald of Village Day, with six new cygnets on the water.

For once, the weather more than co-operated and the ice cream sellers - not to mention the pubs - did a roaring trade.

The festivities started with the happy sound of the bells of All Saints’ Parish Church ringing out as a team of bellringers got going high above the village.

From early morning the common was crawling with activity as more than 50 stalls went up.

By the time the stalls were cleared, the arena events had finished, and the crowds had gone home, organisers agreed that the 1982 Village Day was a one for the record books and not just because of the weather.

Mrs Gwen Newcombe, one of the committee member, said that the amount of people that arrived, looked like the setting of a record occasion.