Catsfield

Lent: The last course for Lent under the heading ‘A Course for the Christian Journey, Holy Communion’ will be held this Wednesday 10th April and it’s not too late to join in. The morning session will be at St George’s Church, Crowhurst at 11am and in the evening at the Rectory at 7.30pm, both lasting about an hour. This week it’s entitled ‘Do this to remember me’, how worship shapes the whole of life. If you would like tea or coffee please arrive in the preceding half hour.

Team Belle: An exciting ‘Eggtastic Easter Event’ is being organised to take place in the Village Hall on Friday next, 12th April from 12pm – 2pm. Join in with Arts and Crafts, Tea and Cake, Chocolate and Bottle Tombola. Face Painting, Eggxcellent Raffle, and the chance to meet and have your photo taken with the Easter Bunny. Entry will be £1 per child and adults free – including entry into the Easter Competition, with an Easter prize for every entry. Come and help raise more money for Belle.

Catsfield Horticultural Society: Not long now until the Spring Show will be held on Saturday 13th April from 2pm – 4pm in the Village Hall and schedules are available now. There will be the usual array of horticultural, decorative, cookery, handicraft, photographic and children’s classes all waiting for you to enter, so pick up a schedule and get planning! There will be a plant stall, raffle, cake stall and of course, refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon. Entrance for adults will be 50p and free for children.

Mothering Sunday: The church was full for the Mothering Sunday Service last weekend and it was a delight to see children, parents and grandparents streaming up the road heading for the church. There were about 150 adults and children altogether, including a Church Parade of Cubs and Beavers looking very smart in their uniforms. Father Michael explained that for this service, instead of purple for Lent, the colour was pink and he was wearing a pink stole and pink socks. The children were invited to come up and remove the (toothpick) thorns from the Crown of Thorns and replace them with flowers and they were told the story of the Simnel cake. The Junior choir sang beautifully and all the children happily handed out posies of flowers to all the ladies in the congregation – especially their mothers. Refreshments were served after the service and it was lovely to see so many families enjoying the whole occasion together.

Annual Meetings: The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place on Monday 8th April at 7pm in the church, to discuss church matters and the election of Church officers. All are welcome.

The Annual Parish Assembly will be held at 7.30pm in the Village Hall on Wednesday 24th April. There will be reports from the Parish Council on the past year, also the District and County Councils and the Police, as well as from the local Village groups and societies. Come along and find out what the Parish Council has done on your behalf and what is generally going on the village.

Farming and Sport: Like everyone else in the country, farmers are anxiously following the Brexit question, particularly in our area where farms are small and vulnerable to decisions such as what happens to the Common Agriculture Policy, subsidies and stewardship payments. Although grazing is prevalent, arable crops are grown and exported and the price they receive after harvest can mean the difference between staying in business or selling up. Sometimes, farmers are tempted to sell ahead or wait until they know their yield; a lot can happen between sowing and selling, particularly this year. However, they have to carry on with their seasonal work, hence you will see them harrowing the grass before spreading fertiliser, turning new born lambs out into the fields and fighting off the pigeons (have I mentioned pigeons before?)

The groundsman has also been preparing the cricket pitch, the first mowing of the wicket has taken place, the fertiliser ordered, tea ladies galvanised ready for the first match and anticipation mixed with worries about the state of the batting surface. No football again last Saturday, but tomorrow we play Robertsbridge away, hoping for another win. Meanwhile, all local footballers must be supporting Brighton in their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, talk about David and Goliath. They could just do it.