Sussex

I apologise that the break between editions was slightly longer than anticipated! Tell God your future plans and all that….!

Anyway in a packed issue this week we hear about job vacancies (yes that was vacancies!) the problems with "high" fashion and celebrate an amazing victory for a local cricket team.

We are constantly hearing about job losses due to the economic recession - so it's probably surprising to discover that one employer is struggling to find the right staff. Indeed you could be forgiven for being rather worried as we are talking about a shortage of trained detectives with Sussex police.

Currently there are 60 full time vacancies - although this has come down from a high of 73!

So why is there a problem with recruitment after all I've watched

"Life On Mars" - it looks an exciting job! Well the Police Federation says it's a very stressful role and detectives can earn more - just up the A23 in London, working for the Metropolitan force!

So should residents of Sussex be worried?

Ben Duncan, a member of the Sussex Police Authority doesn't think so. "The reality is that every police officer is an investigator, they all detect crime and they are trained to do that, ultimately catching criminals. So if there is a shortage they can be re-deployed and it won't have such a big impact"

But what is the force doing to reduce the vacancy rate - which currently stands at five per-cent?

Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Cheeseman is the head of CID at Sussex Police he told The Buzz "as of today we have 22 successful applicants waiting to be transferred, a further five experienced detectives coming from other forces and 57 officers applying to sit the national detective examination."

We will keep an eye on their recruitment progress but hopefully the staffing levels will return to normal in the near future. Perhaps you know of another employer struggling to recruit despite the growing number of people without work? Please let me know at t thebuzz@bbc.co.uk

Members of the Trade Union Congress have been discussing a rather unusual topic.

No not working hours, workers rights or pay deals…it's the subject of ladies fashion!

Yes they've passed a motion about the size of high heeled shoes - which reads as follows "High heels may look glamorous on the Hollywood catwalks but are completely inappropriate for the day-to-day working environment."

There's a serious side to the motion. Lorraine Jones of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists told conference that many women shop-workers, cabin crew and other employees had to wear the heels as part of a dress code, but men did not.

Ms Jones a practising podiatrist says that seven times as much pressure was put on the ball of the foot, which increased the risk of injury - especially to the knees.

So what do you think?

Should female employees be allowed to wear sensible shoes and would they even want to?

Lorraine Monk, a University and College Union delegate from Nescott College in Surrey strongly opposed the move.

She said women should not be lectured about what to wear - telling conference "this well-meant motion will see the union movement portrayed in the media as the killjoy fashion police. Why is it only aimed at women? Hasn't anyone heard of Berlusconi?"

The motion was carried but what do you think?

Should every woman have the right to wear comfortable shoes to work or are the potential injury risks a red herring?

And where can you find decent six inch heels in size 9? (ahem!)

Let me know your thoughts here at thebuzz@bbc.co.uk

Glynde & Beddingham Cricket Club were crowned 2009 Village Cup champions after a thrilling village over Streethouse in the Lord's final.

The Sussex side won by just six runs in Monday's match. Glynde reached 207-9 in their 40 overs with Joe Adams reaching 79 and the man of the match told BBC Sussex: "It's every blokes dream really. It's always nervous but after five or 10 overs I settled in and it started to come back."

Mark Beddis, who got two key wickets in one over, added: "You don't understand what was going through our heads."

"At one point we're thinking we're cruising this when they're 100-odd for four, and then they started pushing the ball around, the captain came out, he really took control of the innings. Before you knew it they're they're 180-odd with five overs left and looking quite relaxed with it all."

The final twist was in Glynde's favour as they took important wickets in the penultimate over to secure the trophy. Captain Adam Davies added: "[It is] still surreal, that second half was just immense. I've never been under so much pressure as a captain and it was just so close. I'm so proud of the boys they bowled so well"

Congratulations to all the boys from us here at BBC Sussex & BBC Surrey.

Over eight hundred ladies (probably not wearing high heels) gathered late at night in Guildford earlier this month.

Why you might ask? Well they were raising money for the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. Organisers say their ages ranged from 16 through to 76, with some of them covering over 20,000 steps for the charity.

They hope to raise £75,000 for the hospice, which costs £10,000 a day just to keep open.

As you can see from the photo, everyone involved wore bright colours and wide smiles as they took part in memory of loved ones.

This picture shows Shoreham fort which as you can see is in a terrible state.

The fort which is located on the edge of Shoreham beach was built to repel foreign invaders.

Well, they never came and it was actually used as one of the first film studios in the early part of the 20th Century.

Now one local man, Gary Baine is fighting to get it restored.

Gary who is 29, used to play on the fort as a youngster and thinks it's a piece of local heritage worth saving.

Check out www.shorehamfort.co.uk Perhaps there's an historic building near you that needs some attention? Please let me know here at The Buzz, send me a photo if you can to thebuzz@bbc.co.uk

On BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey we love hearing people's stories and now the BBC is giving people from all walks of life the chance to have their story featured on BBC One next summer and even turned into a book.

My Story is a nationwide BBC competition to find the most compelling personal stories from people across the UK.

Everyone has a story to tell whether its triumph or tragedy and people will be able share their true-life stories on the BBC My Story website and enter the competition www.bbc.co.uk/mystory

15 of the most compelling stories will be told in a major series on BBC One and five people will each have their stories published in a book.

The My Story website offers tips and tools for story writing and you can also pick up a free My Story magazine from libraries, community centres and BBC Shops , or call the BBC Sussex Actiondesk on 0800 88 88 06.

That's it for this week's edition of the Buzz. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any stories, ideas or topics that I can cover for you. Get in touch. thebuzz@bbc.co.uk or call or text us on 07912 583273.

Next week I will go behind the scenes again at BBC Sussex & BBC Surrey to find out a bit more about the people that make our radio station what it is!

Oh and please continue to pass it on, after all the more of us there are, then the bigger buzz we can make!

Best

SIMON

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