This is the latest newsletter from the chairman of the Catcott Village Association, Matt Tyler, reporting on all the events organised by the association during 2015:
It’s been a while since the last newsletter but we are delighted to report on what has been happening in our village over the last year.
The Spring Garden Judging took place on 13th April this year and we were fortunate enough to have Ian Jose from Oaklands Nursery in Street judging for us. There were some fantastic entries and the competition was very close as always. Flyers will be out in the New Year for the Spring Judging 2016 which will take place in April.
Our Village Clean-Up was held on 1st March this year and we collected over 20 bags of rubbish from the roads, gutters and ditches around the village. You may find it hard to believe but much of this was fast food wrappers and empty drinks cans!! Some people clearly do not understand recycling! This event was attended by many volunteers from the village who work tirelessly to help keep our village looking great. Next year’s Spring clean-up is Sunday 6th March 2016 and it would be great to see you there, litter pickers and gloves provided.
Our now annual ‘Safari Supper’ was held on Saturday 3rd May 2015 and was yet again a great success with over 60 people taking part. Most of these cooked at least one course of which the quality and attention to detail was better than we could have ever imagined. After much travelling around the village, meeting new people, the evening was rounded off at The Crown where events of the evening were shared. Please join us for the next one on Saturday 14th May 2016 and I promise you will have great fun and meet new people.
Our Open Gardens event was held on Sunday 5th July with 381 visitors coming from as far away as Australia & New Zealand. The 12 gardens that took part looked magnificent and everyone appreciates the hard work that goes into getting your gardens prepared for opening. Gerry Wheeler kindly provided the vintage cars again that make our event unique and draw many additional people. Gamma House beat off some tough competition to win The ‘Visitors’ Choice’ garden award but every single garden got a number of votes so well done to all who entered. This event takes a lot of planning and organising and many thanks go out to all those who volunteered to direct traffic, organise the car parks, make teas and coffees, etc. Without these helpers, the event would not happen. Please let us know if you can get involved next year when the event takes place on Sunday 3rd July 2016.
The Presentation of Awards Evening was held on Friday 11th September at Edington Village Hall and was again a very well attended and enjoyable evening with cups and trophies being given in recognition of all the hard work people put into their gardens. Peter and Hilary Mackay were much deserved winners of the Bernard Paul Memorial Trophy, being recognised for all their hard work and time given up over the years for the good of the village.
On Friday 9th October, we reverted back to ‘Curry Night’ from last year’s ‘Mexican Night’, and what a night it was. 
We had over 80 attendees who certainly got into the spirit of the evening with great food and Bollywood entertainment provided Asif Malik. The raffle, donations and auction that take place at this event are great fundraisers for the village and enable us to put on many other free events, so our deepest thanks to all who attended and contributed. We will be running a similar event next year and the date will be advised in due course.
Our final event of 2015 will be the Carol Singing which this year is being held at the war memorial at 7.30pm on Monday 21st December. Please come along and bring your friends and neighbours to enjoy a mince pie and music from The Burtle Silver Band.
The date for the Over Sixty’s Lunch will be confirmed by flyer over the next few weeks so please keep an eye out for this.
The Annual General Meeting of The Catcott Village Association will be held on Monday 22nd February 2016 in the Committee Room at the Village Hall Edington, starting at 8pm. It would be great if you can attend to hear about last year and if anyone is able to commit any time to the CVA then we would welcome you onto the Committee.
I think you will agree that, with your help, 2015 has been another great year for our village and long may it continue. I look forward to seeing even more of you involved with village events in 2016 and would welcome any new volunteers onto the committee.
Matt
Chair – Catcott Village Association