Catsfield village voice

The CADS Pantomime is now chosen and cast!

Aaron Vitler will direct his first pantomime for us, ‘King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table’ will be performed on Thurs, Fri and Sat 6th, 7th and 8th December. Posters will be out at the end of October and tickets will be on sale from 1st November in the village shop. Rehearsals are underway, twice a week Tuesdays and Thursday in the village hall 7.30pm. So if anyone is at a loose end and has got a cake to offer....please pop along and make the tea!!

The Communion Service at the Parish Church of St Laurence this Sunday will be at the usual time of 9.15am.

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News of the Bike Ride on Saturday 8th September from Mike Cooper. Eleven adults and six children set off from Snargate in glorious autumn sunshine. We sampled as usual the excellent bread pudding at Brenzett and visited the lovely, but redundant church at Snave and then it was a relief to find that Newchurch now has a loo! We then technically departed the Marsh to visit churches at Bonnington, Bilsington and Ruckinge, where the latter does provide a very good ploughman’s lunch (or should that be cyclist’s lunch?). A cooling breeze helped the run to Ivychurch and after crossing the busy A259 we returned to narrow quiet lanes to reach Brookland. A final detour to the iconic church of St. Thomas Fairfield (it even gets its picture in The Times) and then back to tea and cakes at Snargate.

The primary object of the day is ostensibly to be raising funds through sponsorship to be divided equally between The Sussex Historic Churches Trust and St. Laurence’s. However it also a great reason to get out on your bike to enjoy the wonderful 5th continent of Romney Marsh and the opportunity to make, renew and refresh friendships with other people from Catsfield and beyond. We visited 10 churches and the majority covered 32 miles (some of the less speedy took a short cut or two) Thanks to Linda & Ros who drove the broom wagon, fortunately not needed! There is still time to retrospectively sponsor us all please as the closing date is not until the end of this month.

The celebration of Harvest Festival at St Laurence Church will be on Sunday 7th October and gifts of flowers, foliage and all harvest gifts will be gratefully received on the morning of Saturday 6th when the church will be decorated in thanksgiving for the blessings of the harvest and all the good things in our lives.

As well as the usual Communion service at 9.15am on the 7th, there will also be a Harvest Festival Evensong at St. Laurence’s at 6 pm with a difference. In the archives in Lewes there are some old music manuscripts from Catsfield church from the days when there was no organ, but a band of self taught musicians and singers who used to gather in the (now no longer there) west gallery. These laboriously and beautifully handwritten manuscripts have been edited and formed into a book called ‘The Singing Seat’ - another name for the west gallery. Some of these will be rehearsed in the Village Hall from 2 -5 pm (with refreshments) by Sussex Harmony, a group based in Lewes dedicated to reviving this old style of singing. They are quite different from modern day hymns, possibly more like religious folk songs accompanied by oboes, clarinets, violins, flutes, recorders etc. Everyone is welcome to the service and or to the workshop in the afternoon; although it would be helpful to know numbers for the latter to make sure we have enough copies of the music to hand.

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Enthusiasm is much more important than accuracy or a beautiful singing voice so come and experience something different for harvest. More details from Mike Cooper on 01424 892681 or [email protected]

Still on the subject of harvest - such an important time in the rural community - don’t forget to buy your tickets for the Harvest Supper from Ann Davey, priced at £10 each. This will take place on Saturday 6th October at 7 for 7.30pm in the Village Hall and will be hosted this year by Catsfield WI. There will be home-cooked cold meats, a vegetarian option, salads, baked potatoes and a complimentary glass of wine, followed by home-made apple pies. There will also be some entertainment, a grand raffle and the opportunity to meet up with each other to celebrate what we hope will be a successful harvest after a difficult year for the farmers.

Anyone who needs to learn or brush up on their Emergency First Aid skills might be interested in accredited courses to be held in the Village Hall at Crowhurst on Saturday 13th October or 10th of November 2012 from 9.30 – 16.00. The cost will be £45.00 to include a 3year Accredited certificate, tea / coffee and a sandwich lunch. The full day must be attended to achieve certification, please bring personal identification.

Call 0800 032 9192 or email [email protected] Fees must be paid in advance.

Jil Jarrett, Henley Down Cottage