Bohemia Village Voice

By John Humphries (Jul 2006)

Betty Barnett wants to sell her house. It has been on the market for a couple of months with agents Alan Stace at £140,000. But so far, no takers. The house itself adjoins the Wheatsheaf pub, has three bedrooms, a shower room, a bathroom, through lounge and a small shared courtyard at the rear (see picture below). The property has double-glazing throughout and is amazingly quiet considering the amount of traffic passing by. “I’ve been very happy inBohemia,” said Betty, 65, “but this house is too big for me now.”

Betty has lived in her house for nine years and since she sold her business ‘Masquerade’ in Bohemia a couple of months ago, has decided she would like to live near her daughter in the country.

 Betty is a well-known figure in Bohemia– she ran her fancy dress business at the corner of Newgate Road and Bohemia Road for nearly four years prior to selling up earlier this year. “I started the business about 25 years ago, in Bexhill. At first, I didn’t have premises and just made up costumes at home. I’d advertise in the local paper and when anyone phoned up asking for a particular outfit, rather than say I didn’t have it, I’d say it was out on loan but would be ‘back by Thursday’. And, of course, by Thursday, I’d have run it up on my ‘Newhome’ sewing machine – which I’ve still got.”

How did she come to be in the dressing-up business? “All my family (the Casson family) have theatrical connexions and one is the architect Hugh Casson.

I actually started out as a self-employed book-keeper, and then began doing a little bit of fancy dress and ‘nearly-new’ clothes. The fancy dress side just grew and grew, so I let the book-keeping side, which I didn’t enjoy so much, slip away until I only had one client left – a builder in Bexhill. I still do his books once a year.”

Anyone interested in viewing Betty’s house, please contact Alan Stace on 01424 428966. Ask for Helen or Richard.

PICTURE 1: Betty’s house at 170, Bohemia Road – for sale at £140,000 

PICTURE 2: Betty Barnett pictured in the courtyard of her house at 170, Bohemia Road [20 Jul 2006]

Mr Katanga writes (Jul 2006)

Dear Sir, has that nice lady [Betty Barnett, 170, Bohemia Road] sold her house yet? The fact that its still on the market may have something to do with its being rather close to the ‘Wheatsheaf’ and Cornfield Terrace being popular with groups of rebarbatives*. Mr Katanga, Bohemia.

*[rebarbative ree-BAR-bah-tiv, adjective: Serving or tending to irritate or repel. Rebarbative comes from French rébarbatif, “stern, surly, grim, forbidding,” from Middle French rebarber, “to be repellent,” from re- (from the Latin) + barbe, “beard” (from Latin barba).]