Morning, Horsham.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Tap & Vine takeover - an adult version of a football sticker collection. The Big Nibble was great too, with fantastic weather, samples of local cheese and mead, and someone dressed as a giant bee.

This week, the Museum is closing for four months, Swan Walk has reopened its first stretch, the Bishopric could be in line for a substantial makeover, and this weekend's rail link has apparently decided it would rather be a bus service.

We are going to have a great week, Horsham. Let’s do this.

Horsham Museum & Art Gallery is closed from today, Monday 7 September, until Tuesday 5 January for essential repairs to its historic roof.

When the doors reopen, there should be a new costume gallery, a refreshed Age of Discovery gallery telling Horsham stories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a new introductory space.

There will be a few chances to get back inside before January: the Museum plans Christmas shopping events on Wednesdays and Saturdays in December, with dates and details still to come.

And if today's closure leaves you needing a local-history fix, the Horsham Society's free town-centre heritage walks continue every Wednesday and Sunday at 2.30pm. They still meet outside the Museum and take about 90 minutes - history outdoors, where roof repairs are less of an issue.

Read the Museum's roof update · Join a free heritage walk

There is finally some movement behind the barriers. The Mall is now open from Swan Walk's Carfax entrance down to the Next and TG Jones area. It is the centre's first phased reopening since the full safety closure in July.

This is not the whole centre reopening. Safety netting is being installed in stages and Swan Walk has not yet announced dates for the remaining sections. The centre says it will share each phase and its timing as work progresses.

There is also a full-reopening event planned for the first weekend after the whole centre is open, although that date is still under wraps (or nets?). In the meantime, check with an individual shop before making a special journey: being listed as a Swan Walk tenant does not necessarily mean it can be reached through the reopened stretch.

The Council-owned Swan Walk car park remains open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Read Swan Walk's official update · Check the car park

The latest improvement plan goes before the Council's Communities and Place committee on Wednesday. It keeps the mature trees and waterfall, while proposing new paving, planting, seating and wayfinding, easier access to the northern shops, and more flexible space for outdoor dining, markets and events.

If the remaining approvals and technical designs line up, construction is expected to run from January 2027 to April 2028. In other words: a potentially much better gateway to town, but plenty of work to get it there.

Read the Bishopric update

Saturday and Sunday: all lines are closed between Horsham and Barnham. A mix of fast and stopping buses will run, and there will be no Southern trains between Three Bridges and Horsham for those jet setters hoping for a quick journey to London Gatwick airport. Tickets will be accepted on Thameslink between those stations. Victoria–Portsmouth services run to an amended timetable via Hove and the coast.

Check again before travelling. This is a weekend for reading the small print before you reach the platform with a coffee and misplaced optimism.

Weekend Horsham–Barnham closure

It is another two-match week for Horsham in National League South.

Horsham FC fixtures and tickets

The second consultation in Horsham District's Community Governance Review closes tonight at 11.59pm.

The draft recommendations cover parish boundaries, wards and councillor numbers across the District. In the Horsham area, the options include either merging Horsham and North Horsham into a larger town council or keeping them separate with revised boundaries and warding. Other proposed changes affect communities including Rusper, Broadbridge Heath, Slinfold, Nuthurst, Lower Beeding and Southwater.

This seems procedural until it impacts your street, your parish or your representation. The Council has an interactive map, proposal documents and the response form on one page.

See the proposals and respond

The North Parade junction upgrade is scheduled to reach the end of its main works on Friday 11 September (woo-hoo!).

The project covers the junction with West Parade, Hurst Road and Wimblehurst Road. It includes two controlled pedestrian crossings, refreshed signals, a contraflow cycle route on West Parade and a 20mph limit there.

Allow a little extra time during the final week — and, as ever, treat Friday as the planned finish rather than a binding promise made personally by the traffic cones.

West Sussex County Council project update

Ask Lucy Anything About Fundraising — 10am–11.30am, online, free. A practical Zoom session for Horsham District charities and community groups with questions about raising money. Details and booking

Horsham Heritage Walk — 2.30pm, outside Horsham Museum, free. A 90-minute guided walk through the town's history. No booking is required. Walk details

HSC Monthly Quiz — 7.30pm–10pm, Horsham Sports Club. It is £2 a head for teams of up to six, with no phones and a quizmaster who is, according to the Club, never wrong. Booking a table is essential. Quiz details and booking

Powered by Pints: Brolly Run Club — around 6.30pm, Brolly Brewing Taproom. Sam and James lead a sociable 5k starting and finishing at Unit 8, Redkiln Close. All running abilities are welcome, with plenty of opportunity for a post-run catch-up. It is a weekly club, but there is no standalone page for this Thursday, so check Brolly's feed before setting off. See the run-club format · Check Brolly's latest updates

Horsham Matters Quiz Night — 8pm, The Red Deer. A community quiz supporting the local charity's work. Two quizzes in two nights feels less like entertainment and more like exam season, but nobody is making you do both. Horsham Matters event details

The Italian Job under the stars — gates 6pm, film 7.40pm, Leonardslee. The 1969 original screens on the House Lawn with live pre-show music and food and drink on site. Tickets start at £10 plus booking fee; bring a blanket. Last entry is 7.55pm. Cinema details and tickets

Sussex Sounds — 1.30pm–4pm, Carfax Bandstand, free. Yasmin Mae performs covers and original material from 1.30pm–2.30pm, followed by Ashleigh Abbruzzese with songs from The Greatest Showman, K-Pop, ABBA and BTS from 3pm–4pm. Council event details

Horsham v Chesham United — 3pm. National League South football at the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium. Fixtures and tickets

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again under the stars — gates 6pm, film 7.40pm, Leonardslee. ABBA, blankets and a September evening on the House Lawn. Tickets start at £10 plus booking fee, with last entry at 7.55pm. Cinema details and tickets

Alf Shrubb Memorial races — Slinfold Cricket Club, children's races from 10am. The annual trail event has children's races plus 5k and 10k distances. On-the-day places are subject to capacity, so check the organiser's page before setting off. Race-day information

Autumn Bus Show — 10am–4.30pm, Amberley Museum. Vintage, classic and modern buses gather alongside rides on vehicles ranging from a pre-war open-top bus to the restored replica Worthing Tramocar. Bus and train rides are included with general admission; pre-booking is recommended. Amberley Museum event details

East Grinstead Concert Band — 2pm–4pm, Horsham Park Podium, free. Bring a chair if you like, but keep the paths clear. Council event details

Horsham Heritage Walk — 2.30pm, outside Horsham Museum, free. No booking is needed for the 90-minute guided town-centre walk. Walk details

Jim Causley at Horsham Folk Club — 8pm, doors 7.45pm, Normandy Centre. The six-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominee visits Denne Road. Admission is £10, or £7 for members; under-21s go free. See Jim Causley's official live dates

The weekend currently looks mild, mostly cloudy and fairly dry, with a risk of light drizzle rather than a full waterproof emergency.

That is layers-and-a-packable-jacket weather. Leonardslee cinema-goers will also want a blanket, partly for warmth and partly because sitting directly on September grass is an avoidable character-building exercise.

Latest Horsham forecast data

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Have a cracking week, Horsham — and raise a metaphorical tile to the Museum team.

— The Horsham Scoop