Catsfield

St Laurence Churchyard: Several months ago Helen Proctor of the Sussex Botanical Recording Society carried out a survey of our churchyard. She has now produced a list of all that she found and with a little persuasion has added the English names to that list. As it totals almost 90 different plants it is not possible to print them here. However a list will appear in the church porch. She was impressed with the high number of grass species and the ancient woodland indicator plants, especially the Goldilocks, Ranunculus auricomus. She was wondering whether a local person would be willing to record the butterflies in the churchyard next year. The churchyard will continue to be a conservation area so do not expect to see closely mown grass any time soon. Anyone interested in volunteering or who would like a copy of the list contact Mike Cooper on 01424 892681

WI: The October meeting of the Catsfield WI was held on Thursday 6th October. The speaker was Roy Calthorpe who brought his little rescue dog Sophie with him and came to tell us about ‘1066 and all That’. The meeting opened with the singing of ‘Jerusalem’, which our speaker joined in, brandishing his large replica Saxon sword at the line ‘Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand’! The President showed us the hand-held microphone that she’d borrowed to save her shouting the numbers when calling the raffle draw during tea and not being heard above the chatter. The minutes and financial report were read and the notices including the date for the Christmas Lunch at Ashburnham Place on 6th December. The menu from which to choose was circulated and names and payment of people wishing to attend will be collected at the next meeting. We heard that our oldest member, Ruby Kiley aged 96, has been given a ‘1066 Community Award’ for being a ‘Super Senior’. The Battle and District Social Club benefits from her energy, enthusiasm and ability to organise social outings, weekly meetings and talks for the members – no mean feat at any age – well done Ruby!

On the imminent 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, it was interesting to hear from Roy a potted version of the immediate history leading up to this most famous Battle and a description of the geography of Sussex at that time, which was completely different to the way it is now. We also heard how Harold had been defending N E England and was marching back south with his weary troops. This was immediately prior to the change in the weather, which had enabled William to set sail from France with 700 boats and a vast army set to conquer England. A group of enthusiasts is currently re-enacting that same march and now are set to return to Battle by the date of the anniversary today when Battle will be hosting many anniversary events and Roy will be there! We had a delicious tea awaiting us at the end of the talk and Ann used the microphone to call the raffle (in fact she enjoyed using it so much that it was difficult to get her to stop after all the tickets had been drawn!) The next meeting will be at the winter time of 2pm and will be the Annual Meeting at which a representative of the Air Ambulance will be presented with a cheque for over £1,000 raised over the past year.

Sport: Our footballers are raring to go for the first round of a cup competition tomorrow when they play Hollington 2nds away. The boys are buoyed after two wins, one against Hailsham Atheltico 8 - 2 and last Saturday they beat Battle Baptists 1 - 0 at home. The pitch is as hard as iron and the ball bounced all over the place, so the game probably wasn’t as skilful as usual, but a win is a win as they say.

You may have noticed there is a youth team using our ground this season on Saturday mornings, they are also full of enthusiasm and how nice it is to see their Dads running the team, so they can enjoy a traditional winter activity.

Mobile Library: The East Sussex Mobile Library will be in its usual place outside the Village Hall from 11.55am until 12.30pm today, Friday 14th October.

And finally – Farming: The newly planted rape and wheat fields are beginning to show.

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