Catsfield

Henley Down Cottage

There’s only one more week until the Catsfield Horticultural Society’s annual Flower and Produce Show on Saturday 3rd August, which is being held this year in the Village Hall. The schedules have been available in the Village Shop for a while now and will need to be handed in with entry money to a committee member by Wednesday next, 31st July, details and rules for entering are to be found on the schedules. The hall will be open for viewing the results of the competition from 2 – 4pm and there will be a raffle and cake stalls with teas available all afternoon.

The Village Dance will be held in the hall in the evening from 7.30pm – 11.30pm and there will be dancing to Ricky Adelaide, with music from ‘The Rat Pack’ with a bit of disco in between. Tickets are available from the Village Shop at £5 each, please bring your own refreshments.

An organiser with delegation skills is urgently needed in 2014 to enable the great annual event of the Village Fete to take place again next August on the Playing Field. There was great disappointment all round that the fete had to be cancelled this year, especially as there are so many local people ready to participate and help to ensure that a good time is had by all. If you feel able to take on this role and ensure that this popular Catsfield event can return next year, please contact the Horticultural Society’s Chairman, Vanessa and come to the AGM in October. You will be given support and assistance and will make an awful lot of people very happy!

We managed to get two cricket matches in last weekend, although the weather at Eastbourne on Saturday was fairly cold and extremely windy. A few of us were able to join in a celebratory barbecue provided by Southbourne, which turned into a 60th birthday party for one of the opposition. We lost by 13 runs despite some excellent running between the wickets inspired by Nick Gurr 15 not out aided by his father Martin with 13 runs making a total score of 124, Southbourne getting 136 for 4.

On Sunday we played a weakened Crowhurst side at home where we won by 4 wickets. It was glorious weather with the breeze for once being kind to us. Keith Cook batted well for 28, Andy Williams scored 35 runs and took 3 wickets for 15 runs. Derek Fuller got 24 not out and Tom Hammick 12 not out, being the winning partnership. John Ferdinand took 2 superb catches and Tom Wisden’s figures were 2 for 26. All the tea ladies appreciate the cool, well equipped kitchen in the pavilion, recalling the suffocating heat of our old wooden hut, decorated as it was with a quantity of well developed spiders. We play Ashburnham away on Sunday 28th July and perhaps a pint afterwards at The Ash.

The next meeting of the WI will be at 2.30pm on Thursday 8th August and will be the Garden Meeting, held at the home of the secretary Beryl at Hawkswood, Steven’s Crouch. If you need a lift, contact a member of the committee and it can be arranged.