We can’t quite believe that the March 2023 issue of BN5 is our 200th! It’s been an absolute pleasure to publish a magazine in Henfield for the last 18 years.
Back in 2005, when my children were very tiny, I bought a laptop and set up BN5 on my dining room table in Church Terrace. With a background in the fashion industry, no publishing experience (which was quite evident now I look back on those early copies!) and a healthy dose of misplaced enthusiasm, I completed a crash course in a publishing software and sold my first advertising. Royal Mail was the backbone of distributing in this very rural area and the magazine flourished, with me juggling two small children and attempting to keep on top of all the happenings in a thriving and growing village.
The BN5 team grew as we gained more advertisers and after a period of producing a sister magazine (thirteen8, covering Cowfold and Partridge Green for 100 issues) we then expanded to take on the publishing of two national directories focussed on the highways industry; Spinfish Publishing. It’s now me plus four others; some part time and some full-time, but all really talented, funny and very lovely people to work with. I am enormously grateful for their support, enthusiasm and creativity.
Here's some highlights for us over the last 200 issues...
November / December 2005 – Launch Issue
BN5 Magazine launched. With a mix of local news, events and features, the graphics were a little creaky and the writing style rather enthusiastic, but it was out there! Whilst both the magazine and the village have evolved over the years, it is lovely to see that many of the businesses that supported us in that first edition are still going strong and supporting us today: big thanks to Braziers, Coles Automotive, Henfield Leisure Centre, Moore Kingston Smith and PHB Contractors have been with us all 200 issues, thank you all.
May 2008 – Henfield Fantastic No Plastic
Being just the second high street in the UK to ban free plastic bags, BN5 Magazine helped promote this successful local environmental campaign. The specially designed cotton bag, which was posted into every household, is featured on the front cover together with an article on the benefits of going plastic free. Much like the magazine, many of these original Henfield bags are still going strong today!
October 2010 – James Herbert
Back in 2010 we were fortunate to interview the true Godfather of horror writing; Henfield author James Herbert. Each of his 27 bestselling books increased his phenomenal success as he broke all the rules and taboos of horror writing and with it took the genre into mainstream popularity. We learnt a lot about James’s upbringing in the East End of London and how he loved family life in Woodmancote, where he was a great supporter of the local community and where his car with its iconic ‘Rat’ numberplate was a common sight around the village. Sadly, James passed away in 2013, but his family remain in Woodmancote.
July 2012 – Jubilee Fun & Games
This feature brings back lots of lovely memories from the June 2012 bank holiday weekend when locals celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. The lack of blue sky didn’t deter the festivities and Henfielders came to the unveiling of the Jubilee Flower Baskets in the High Street, the Brass Band Concert and the children’s picnic in their hundreds. A historical and memorable weekend which was repeated in 2022 for the Platinum Jubilee!
September 2019 – Chelsea Pensioners
It was a huge privilege to meet some of the Chelsea Pensioners who visited Henfield Bowling Club in July 2019 for a friendly competition and it gave us one of our very favourite front covers! The pensioners, who are instantly recognisable in their unique scarlet tunics, are British Service veterans from all over the UK and we loved chatting to them and finding out more about their history.
On the day, the Henfield Bowling Club gave the Pensioners a typically warm welcome, a delicious cream tea and some really good competition which the visitors won!
May 2020 – Stay Safe Rainbow Edition
Some of the magazines we produced in the depths of lockdown are the ones we are proudest of. We launched our ‘Care for Carers’ campaign, supporting those who were keeping us safe and working so hard during the uncertain times of the pandemic. Now that life has returned to some normality with social distancing and masks a distant memory for most of us, we can look back on how the village pulled together. BN5 carried on publishing with skeleton advertisers and we’re really grateful to the local businesses who continued to support the magazine.
November 2022 – The launch of our new website
It was just back in November but we’re over the moon with how our website is growing and becoming a true reflection of our printed magazine, but with even more information! The events pages in particular are absolutely full of great things to do, with 185 current listings; we have 375 local businesses listed and 125 local clubs and groups. It’s a true reflection of our vibrant and beautiful village, so if you need some positive news, take a look at www.henfieldbn5.co.uk to see all the good things about Henfield and the people who live here.
Finally, thank you for reading and contributing, we couldn’t do it without you.
Emma Cole, Editor