Catsfield

Gwen’s Coffee Morning: On Friday 26th September Gwen will be holding her annual fund raiser for Macmillan Cancer Support and taking part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning from 9am – 12 noon at Glebe Cottages. Be sure to get there early for one of her famous meringues, widely known for being the best in the universe!

WI Meeting: On September 4th Catsfield WI held it’s special ‘At Home’ meeting, which was the members’ tribute to WWI and it turned out to be a moving and memorable event. Two long tables were laid down the length of the village hall, suitably decorated with Union Jack tablecloths and the meeting began in the usual way with a rousing rendition of ‘Jerusalem’, accompanied on this special occasion by David Wilson. The President welcomed the visitors and after the usual business matters were dealt with, the meeting proceeded with members taking turns to tell everyone about stories of members of their families who were caught up in ‘The Great War’. First there were interesting extracts from the 1914 edition of ‘Kelly’s Directory’ about Catsfield and its residents at that time. Our President then told of a member of her family who was killed in 1918 and has his name on the Catsfield Memorial at the church and of three other family members who ended up in Hellingly Hospital, suffering from the mental and emotional effects of their horrific experiences. One of them was buried alive three times and on one of those occasions was dug out by another Catsfield soldier. Our French member told of her grandfather, who served as the secretary to Marshall Foch and how terrible the experiences of the ordinary French people were during the war. Another member read out a beautiful poem that she’d written about the war and many of the listeners were close to tears. A Cavalry sword from the relation of another member and various items of memorabilia were from different families were on display, as well as a couple of boards from the History Group’s recent WWI exhibition. After these moving stories, we lightened the mood and launched into some of the songs of the time with the words of the old wartime favourites printed on song sheets, excellently accompanied by David Wilson on the piano and Gloria Jones gave a lovely solo performance. Everyone was more than ready for the wonderful tea, prepared by members and served by the committee and our Treasurer had made a delicious cake for the occasion. It was a ‘home-grown’ and memorable meeting enjoyed by everyone.

Harvest Supper: The WI is hosting the Harvest Supper in the Village Hall on Saturday 4th October at 7pm for 7.30pm. Please buy your tickets now so that we know numbers for catering, they cost £7.50 each and include a complimentary glass of wine. There will be a bar available and a Grand Raffle in aid of Demelza Hospice Care. Tickets are available from the Catsfield Village Stores and Nicky Block on 01424 830576

Sports News: The Playing Field looked in very good condition, but perhaps the heavy atmosphere on Saturday affected the footballers as they lost 2 - 4 to Herstmonceux. We hope for a better result tomorrow when they play Eastbourne Rangers away. It nearly always happens that the end of the cricket season sees the best of the weather and this year is no exception. However, Sunday’s warm weather benefited all those competing in the St Michael’s Hospice horse show at Horns Corner and the many children enjoying the play area.

Situation Vacant!: A new Treasurer is needed to take over to keep the accounts of the Village Hall. It involves receiving and banking hiring income monthly from the Booking Clerk, there are no bills to be sent out. An account of all transactions is kept in an analysis book or it could be done on a computer, paying the cleaners and other bills, reporting to the Village Hall Committee and keeping track of the deposit account. A simple one page balance sheet has to be prepared at the end of the financial year, which is audited by the Parish Clerk and presented at the Annual General Meeting. Plenty of help is available if necessary and the position presents the opportunity to join the Committee and help run the Hall, which is a vital part of village life. If you think you could be interested, please contact Ann Davey, Hon Secretary on 01424 830477

Jill Jarrett

Broadview, Bexhill