Catsfield

St George’s Day: On Sunday 22nd April Catsfield’s parish church of St Laurence will be strangely quiet as everyone will be having a lie-in before attending the later combined service at Crowhurst to celebrate their patron saint St George. The service of Holy Communion will start at 11am with a combined choir and a blessing of red roses. No doubt as is usual on such special occasions, there will be refreshments served afterwards.

Concert: There will be a Spring Concert held at St Laurence Church on Friday 27th April at 7.30pm. The prize winning St Laurence Church Choir will be performing and some local guest artists too. Tickets cost £7 each to include a light supper and are available from the Village Store or on the door.

Malcolm Moss: It was with great sadness that we heard this week of the death of Malcolm Moss, only four months after his wife Joan died. This is the third couple living in – or associated with - Catsfield that have died within such a short time of each other. Malcolm (like Joan) was a renowned judge at local horticultural shows and attended other Catsfield events too, he will be very much missed. We haven’t heard yet when the funeral will be.

Catsfield History Group: Catsfield History Group will present their exhibition on Thomas Brassey senior the Railway Builder at Catsfield Village Hall on Saturday 5th May from 11 am to 4 pm

The exhibition centres on Thomas Brassey the railway builder who commissioned the building of Normanhurst as the Brassey family home and who is buried in Catsfield churchyard. The Brassey family were great benefactors to the parish, they donated the Village Hall and gave employment to many people living in the village.

Thomas Brassey senior was a contemporary of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and George and Robert Stephenson. The exhibition gives a small insight into the world of a man of whom many people in the village have never heard.

Like the railways themselves from his humble beginnings he would go on to become perhaps the most important civil engineering contractor of the nineteenth century, laying thousands of miles of track across the globe.

No Victorian hero of comparable significance is so unsung today as Thomas Brassey

Christian Aid Plant Sale and Coffee Morning: On Saturday 19th May in Catsfield Village Hall the annual Christian Aid Plant Sale and Coffee Morning will be selling a large selection of plants for your garden, both annuals and perennials and is always well worth a visit. Be warned, arrive early, this sale has a great reputation for quality and plenty of people get there early to grab a bargain!

WI Centenary Quiz Night: The WI centenary celebrations continued last Saturday with an exceptionally clever John Overall quiz with a question for each of the 100 years. He covered all sorts of subjects mixed with music, even finding a clip from the first Micky Mouse film. He also played a bit of Elvis to please the President, had several difficult WI questions with pictures and only mentioned Arsenal once! Those in the Hall born nearer 1918 were doing very well until the 1980s when the younger quizzers came into their own. Jane assisted him with some complicated calculations and the winning team included two WI Committee members. The Hall was extremely noisy and full with 71 contestants eating, drinking and enjoying being together, as we do.