As part of a movement to plant the capital with fruit trees, the London Orchard Project will be planting and harvesting a new variety of apple which called  'The Core Blimey' in 37 new community orchards this year. The rosy apple got its name through the imaginative entries of a 500-entry competition but the Cockney phrase dates back to the 1880's. It denotes surprise and resonates with cheeky cheerfulness ...

The smell of baking bread could sell ice to Eskimos, so an outward looking Arts Centre decided to harness the power of bread and use it as the focus for one of its Doorstep Art Projects. ‘Many people are put off by the idea of coming into an Art Centre because they perceive it as highbrow’ said Gayle Knight who runs the Oswaldtwistle Centre. ‘Doorstep Art Projects actually send artists to people’s doorsteps ...

If you are looking for the Big Society, go to the village of Rotherfield where last night they held an evening of carols, poems and musical entertainment. Upon arrival I looked in vain for an order of service. 'Don't worry, someone knows what's going on' said my friend. Indeed, why waste paper? Someone knew exactly what was going on, though it was not the vicar. The compere was one of the local highlights o ...

After a record breaking £16,000 raised last year, the Pink Car Rally is planning its next road run. Each year they take to the roads to raise money so that sick children can have real hair wigs when they are undergoing cancer treatment. This might sound like a little thing, but it is a huge thing to children who lose their hair when undergoing chemo-therapy. Most children still go to school between treatmen ...

A more joyful, less pretentious occasion it would be hard to find. It's the second Sunday in the month, the day when a tiny cafe encourages classic car owners to come and park up, wander around and have a chat. The Riverview Cafe occupies the old coal merchant's office - it's the only remnant of Forest Row's rail station on the London to Lewes line. It may be small, but the interior is covered with posters ...

Film star Greta Scacchi, pictured,  is leading her Fishlove campaign into new territory with an exhibition of naked celebrity portraits which opens next week. Launched in June 2009, the Fishlove Photographic Project is a series of striking photographs by Rankin, fashion photographer, designed to bring sustainable fishing into the public eye. 'At 50, I wasn't exactly enthusisastic about going naked, and it c ...

Not only did the Pink Car Rally reach Land's End to a hero's welcome on Sunday 19th August, the girls behind the wheels have also exceeded the target of £10,000 which they were hoping to raise for the Little Princess charity which helps children who have suffered hair loss. Some of the money has come from collections outside Tesco stores along the route and a sizeable chunk came from a very well organised a ...

It's a record breaking year for entries to this year's Rye Raft Race as the 'small raft' division spawns a new generation of  have-a-goers. The race now in its 34th year draws 5000 spectators who line the banks of the river to watch. Two-lads-on-a-barrel constitutes a team as far as small craft go as these must be crewed by 6 or less. It's a fierce competition in which you must not only produce a vessel and ...

A victorious skull and crossbones flew from the flagpole of Hastings Town Hall yesterday as it was announced that the town had swash-buckled its way to victory over rival pirates in Penzance. With a crew of 14,231 pirates gathered on the sea-front this Sunday,  they smashed the Guinness World Record for the "Largest Gathering of Pirates in one place". The pirate gatherings in Hastings were started three yea ...

The Ardingly Vintage Car Fair 2012 has never been so muddy or such fun. John Webster brought his rare Goodwood Motor Cultivator 300 miles from North Allerton to the joy of many vintage garden motor enthusiasts, since it is only one of three registered and surviving examples on the Vintage Horticultural and Garden Machinery Club register. It cost £125 to buy in the year of it's manufacture, 1948 and was a th ...