There is something rather special about a village day.
In a world that increasingly feels rushed, digital, noisy and disconnected, events like Lindfield Village Day quietly remind us that communities still matter. Real ones. The sort built on conversation, volunteers, local businesses, families, laughter, slightly unpredictable British weather, and people giving up their time because they genuinely care about where they live.
This year, I am proud to be attending Lindfield Village Day alongside Mid Downs Radio.
I will be there with a full-sized Space Ranger Fred, signing books, meeting families, talking to readers, and hopefully causing at least a small amount of intergalactic chaos in the middle of Sussex.
More importantly, 50% of the profits from book sales on the day will go directly to Mid Downs Radio to support the work they do across our local community.
That part matters to me.
A lot.
Local Voices Still Matter
We often underestimate the importance of truly local media until it disappears.
Mid Downs Radio is not some giant faceless corporation broadcasting from a distant office block. It is local people speaking to local people. It is volunteers, presenters, producers and supporters giving their time to keep communities connected.
It covers local events, local charities, local successes and local challenges. It gives a voice to organisations and people who would otherwise never be heard beyond a church hall, café or village noticeboard.
That matters enormously.
Especially now.
Modern life has become strangely disconnected despite us supposedly being more connected than ever before. We scroll endlessly through global news while often knowing very little about the people living ten minutes down the road.
Local radio helps bridge that gap.
It keeps communities human.
And frankly, Mid Downs Radio has been incredibly supportive of local people, local events and local creativity, including my own work with Space Ranger Fred.
Supporting them through Lindfield Village Day felt like the right thing to do.
Space Ranger Fred Is Landing in Lindfield
For those who have not encountered him yet, Space Ranger Fred is a children’s book character who somehow went from a silly idea in my head to becoming part of school visits, STEM conversations, literacy events, podcasts, radio interviews and increasingly ambitious projects involving animation and educational ideas.
Which still feels slightly surreal if I am honest.
Fred’s adventures are designed to make children laugh first.
That is important.
Children should enjoy stories.
They should get messy with imagination. They should ask ridiculous questions. They should wonder what would happen if an exploding cake was launched into orbit or why an alien emperor cannot tie his shoelaces properly.
The learning comes afterwards.
Almost by accident.
That has always been my philosophy with writing for children.
You do not force curiosity into children. You unlock it.
At Lindfield Village Day, families will be able to meet a full-sized Space Ranger Fred, browse the books, chat with me about the stories, and hopefully encourage children to see reading as something exciting rather than something educationally imposed upon them.
There is a huge difference.
Children know instantly when something is pretending to be fun.
The challenge is making reading genuinely enjoyable again in a world competing with endless screens, notifications and algorithms.
Reading Is Still One of the Greatest Superpowers
I speak in schools quite a lot now, and one thing has become increasingly obvious.
Children still love stories.
That has not changed.
What has changed is competition for attention.
Reading now competes against platforms designed by some of the smartest technology companies in the world to keep children endlessly engaged with short bursts of stimulation.
That is difficult for books.
A book asks something different of a child.
But the reward is enormous.
Reading builds vocabulary, communication, empathy, confidence and imagination in ways very few other things can replicate. More importantly, reading teaches children how to think rather than simply what to consume.
That matters deeply to me as both a writer and someone who spends time speaking with schools, teachers and parents.
If Space Ranger Fred can help even a few children rediscover excitement around reading, then the project is doing its job.
If Lindfield Village Day helps create those moments, then even better.
Villages Need Events Like This
There is also something else worth saying.
Village days are not small things.
They may look simple on the surface. A few stalls. Entertainment. Food. Community groups. Families wandering around with ice creams while trying not to lose children somewhere near a bouncy castle.
But underneath that is something more important.
These events hold communities together.
They create memories.
They give local organisations visibility.
They help charities raise funds.
They remind people that communities are built physically, not digitally.
Especially after the past few years, I think people value that more than ever before.
Lindfield has always had a strong sense of community spirit and Village Day reflects that beautifully.
It is easy to become cynical about modern life. Easy to believe everything is becoming impersonal, automated and transactional.
Then you attend something like this and realise people still care very much about real human connection.
That is encouraging.
Come and Say Hello
So if you are attending Lindfield Village Day, come and find us.
Meet Space Ranger Fred.
Browse the books.
Talk about stories, writing, schools, imagination, aliens, exploding cakes or whatever else happens to come up during the day.
Most importantly, support Mid Downs Radio.
Every book purchased helps contribute towards keeping genuinely local broadcasting alive and supporting the people behind it.
And if you happen to see a six-foot space ranger wandering around Lindfield looking slightly confused by Sussex village life, that is probably us.
Please do stop and say hello.
We would love to meet you.
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