21 September 2011


 Pictured: Welcome to Nutsville were first in a line-up of great local talent at the Engineer Music Festival last Saturday

The Engineer Music Festival, held last Saturday, 17th September, has been hailed a great success, raising just under £2000 for the local charity, Searchlight.

The event saw large crowds turning out for the day's festivities, despite some poor weather threatening proceedings early on.

For a modest entry fee of just £3, all of which went to the charity, visitors enjoyed a packed line-up of entertainment, including live music from six local bands, barbeque, tombola, raffle, bouncy castle and kids games.

Bob Daniels, landlord of The Engineer and festival host said, "It was a great day with a good turn out and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The bands did a brilliant job keeping everyone entertained. One of the guitarists even put on a 'mankini' to raise an extra £50!

"The donations are still rolling in so it looks like we should reach the £2000 mark."

All proceeds from the festival are being donated to Searchlight, a local Newhaven charity offering a residential, day care and respite centre for adults with physical and learning disabilities.

Searchlight Trustee, Graham Amy, said, "Thanks to Bob's and the bands' generosity, we will have raised nearly £2000 towards a new state-of-the-art bath and facilities for Searchlight.

"The money will go towards a new £8000 hydraulic bath in Powell House, which will be able to lift our more disabled residents in and out, safely enabling them to bathe in comfort and dignity.

"We are hoping to start work during the next three months so that the new bathroom is up and running by Christmas."

For information on Searchlight visit: www.search-light.org.uk