Catsfield

Henley Down Cottage

The next fundraising event for the parish church of St Laurence will be at 2.30pm on Sunday 14th July and will be a Family Fun Sponsored Stroll around the outskirts of Battle town. It will start from Gaynes Cottage, Netherfield Road, Battle TN33 0HL and will cover an approximate distance of three miles, ending up back at Gaynes Cottage for refreshments. Sponsorship forms are available from Sandra Shoobridge or from the bookcase at the back of the church. On September 7th the next church fundraising event will be a Quiz Night to be held in the Village Hall.

Carol Hodgson writes a report on the School Fete on behalf of the PTA. What a wonderful day! The sun shone and so many people from the School and Village came along to support and enjoy the activities on offer. The day started off with The ‘Great Village Bake Off’ which attracted around thirty entries across all four categories. Jacequeline Kemp very kindly performed the judging, which felt like forever for those awaiting the results. The children entertained us later on with two songs from ‘Oliver’ which is their end of year performance to be staged at the school on July 17 and 18.

In between the entertainment there were plenty of attractions including bouncy castles, beat the goalie, face painting and tattoos, pony rides, Guess Which Baby? (where you had to guess which member of staff,) games provided by the Crowhurst Scouts, hair braiding and a teddy tombola - provided by the Catsfield Under Fives. Food was a-plenty with a choice of a barbecue, a cone of chips, ice creams, Pimms and beer tent, cakes, teas and coffees and sweets. Classes five and six held a very successful chocolate tombola and for those interested in a little tipple there was a bottle tombola also. No fete is complete without a tug-o-war and to see the determination of the boys’ team beating the girls’ team! The day finished with a fabulous raffle with a host of 26 prizes which had all been very generously donated by local businesses.

The fete was a major success for all those who took part and for those who came along to enjoy it. The feedback was really good and the PTA would like to thank all the volunteers, performers, stall-holders and people who supported the fete in so many ways. Events like this take a lot of organising and so many people had to pull together to make it happen - and as an added bonus to all the fun - an amazing £3,000+ was raised! (With the support of Barclays and Lloyds Bank match-funding on two of the attractions.)

Ann Davey, our Sports Correspondent writes - Cricket news was very disappointing last weekend with the cancellation of our only fixture against Crowhurst on Saturday. Several members of the club were involved with the school fete and others were on holiday or unavailable. This situation appears to happen frequently with village sides, as some players are committed to play in the league on Saturdays and are only available on Sundays. We hope that with David Taylor’s Colts sessions starting this summer, the boys will progress to village sides when they are old enough and we won’t lose them to the league sides. So a lovely weekend and no cricket. The Playing Field was let out to a local church group on Sunday, so it was being used. If anyone is interested in hiring the field, please speak to the Parish Clerk, Carol Hodgson, since all hiring income goes to help defray the costs of running the Playing Field. The next match for the Catsfield team is on Sunday 7th at home to Bexhill.

On the other hand, the Mixed Stoolball side are thriving with two wins in the week. On Sunday July 7 the ladies team have an eight-a-side tournament at Icklesham and two mixed matches at home on July 9 and 11.

Last Saturday also saw the Powdermill Trust walk and wildflower identification talk, a long walk in an ancient wood in pleasant company, what could be nicer?

Vanessa says that the schedules for the Horticultural Society’s annual Flower, Produce and Handicraft Show will soon be available in the Village Shop. There will be all the usual classes and it will be held in the Village Hall this year on Saturday 3rd August. It will be followed by a dance in the evening with Ricky Adelaide performing, the tickets will cost £5 and will be limited, so be sure to get yours early. Those of you who have seen Ricky Adelaide before will know what a good evening to expect, with great music and plenty of laughs.