Catsfield

Henley Down Cottage

The Catsfield Flower and Produce Show takes place tomorrow from 2pm – 4pm in the Village Hall. Entry is free and there will be teas, cake stall and a raffle with 1st prize of £100! This will be followed in the evening by the Village Dance. Ricky Adelaide entertains at 7.30pm in the hall.

Tickets £5 available from the shop and on the door, please bring your own refreshments. There will not be a bar.

It will be interesting to see if the quality of flower show entries has been affected by the recent spell of very hot weather and drought, followed by some pretty heavy rain last weekend. Although the quantity of rain was less than expected, it has settled the dust a little and maybe the lawns might begin to turn from brown to green again.

Two reports follow from our sports correspondent, Ann Davey.

A pleasantly hot day and meticulous planning by Ann Clegg ensured a coach load of WI members and friends enjoyed their outing last Wednesday. A coffee break at Blackbrooks – yes, we did need one having travelled all the way from Catsfield! Then on to Bodiam for a wonderful steam train ride to Tenterden, enjoying the bird watching by the drainage channels in the valley, smelling the steam and listening to the changes in the engine noises as it chuffed up the hill to Tenterden. During a break for lunch in Tenterden some of us sat in the sun while others managed a meal in an Italian restaurant and some shopping in the High Street. On then to Beckley Village Centre, where we enjoyed meeting their WI members who gave us an excellent tea. The next WI event is the garden party at Beryl Bodey’s house on 8th August at 2.30pm, please contact any committee member if you need a lift.

We were unable to get a team to play our cricket match on Sandhurst on Saturday, but as nearly all the games played were abandoned due to bad weather, it was perhaps not such a loss. Sunday however, saw a nail biting draw at Ashburnham played in perfect conditions against one of our old village rivals. Ashburnham batted first finishing at tea with 204 for 8, all their batsmen falling to catches, 2 each for Keith Cook, David Pratt and Derek Fuller, one for Ed Malins and David Taylor. Catsfield used five bowlers with two wickets each for Nick Gurr, Connor Earl (in his new boots) and Ed Malins. Tea was taken with both teams sitting on the grass in a gentle warm breeze listening to the nearby farm animals. Ashburnham captain Bernard Baker changed the field placings and bowlers frequently as Catsfield got closer to the target with Tim Pitman scoring 50, some fine strokes from Nick Gurr at 38 and powerful hitting from Martin Gurr 20. Finally, Ed Malins and Tom Wisden held out stoically for a draw at close of play 165 for 9.