While the S&VA’s main events this month are the Bags2School collection on 31st March and termly meeting on 24th March (to be reported on next month), there has been a lot of planning going on in relation to future events, Feast Week and a new marquee – further details of many of these should appear elsewhere in this issue. We have also been involved with hosting the school’s Zambian visitors from its partnership school. Mrs Nsama (the head) and Mr Bwalya were experiencing their first taste of England and we hope they enjoyed their trip – we certainly all learned a lot about their vastly bigger school and the challenges faced by some of the children without parents or with HIV.
As for the new smart marquee, it will enable us to maintain the village marquee team with its camaraderie and community spirit and also broaden the range of potential bookings particularly outside the village, a key part of the S&VA’s fundraising. It will require some substantial expenditure, however, which we are financing through a combination of grant funding and S&VA reserves and hopefully through additional fundraising/donations. We are delighted to have already got the ball rolling with the promise of some very kind donations from villagers and marquee team members past and present and we do hope others will want to support this long-standing village tradition. If you would like to make a donation, of whatever size, please contact Fleur Clegg, Neil Harris, Roger Swain, Scottie Hawkes or Chris Mills (and keep an eye out for donation forms) – every little counts when totted up! If you are a taxpayer we will also be able to claim gift aid to increase the amount donated by 25p (28p before 5 April 2011) for every £1 at no extra cost to you.
Finally, don’t forget the Royal Wedding Party being held around the church/green on Friday 29th April.
Posted by drydraytonsandva 
