Progress of the last year.

Ground maintenance. Trims are now into the 2nd year of the five-year contract. They have made an excellent job of keeping the grass mown, applied weed killer and strimmed as necessary. Further to this they have marked out football and rounders pitches and have assisted with the upkeep of the cricket square. Many positive comments have been made by visitors with regard to the playing conditions of the field. A rope line has been erected along the grassed edge of the drive to prevent vehicles from driving over the grass. We are still waiting for David Dovey to fix gravel boards to the post and rail fence along the drive. The Croquet and Bowls Green has, also, been well maintained by volunteers and helpers. A special mention for Paul Passotti, Jim Woodley, and Wilbur Harris who have all helped with the continued development of the green.

Miscellaneous. The Billett Family, of Hill farm Camp site, kindly donated a 10m x 3m Portacabin; this is to be used as a changing room facility and is currently being worked on by Andy Jewell. Thank you to Andy for offering to undertake this project, to Kelvin Tongs who connected the power, and to Mervyn James who painted the portacabin. A container has also been purchased, £300, this is being used for secure storage leaving the small portacabin free to be converted into a tea-room. This container was also painted green by Mervyn James, thank you to Mervyn for making such a splendid job of both, helping to blend them into the surroundings. The metal girders have been erected for the retaining wall along Steplake lane side of the car park; we soon hope to have the concrete panels in place and then will back-fill to make a safer parking area. Our thanks go to Jim Woodley who helped with the installation of the girders. A new, more robust, marquee has been purchased to replace one that was storm damaged. Thank you to Mervyn James and Jake Cox for putting out the ‘wheelie-bins’ when required. 2 SERP newsletters were produced during the year; we are always looking for material and for volunteers to help distribute them.

Sporting Activities. The football pitch is getting regular use, last season Sherfield English Youth under 18’s team, finished 3rd in their division. This season they have moved up to the under 21 age group and a new under 15’s team has been formed, ensuring the pitch gets used most Sundays during the season. A village rounders tournament was held in sunny June, the winning team coming from Hill Farm Camp site. In early September the inaugural cricket match was held on the field, between the Village and the Manor. The Village team being the eventual winners, many thanks to the Cory-Wright family and to Ross and Vicky Bell for supplying drinks and a BBQ at the Manor. We would like to have a Cricket Team in the Village, we are looking for volunteers to manage this and the maintenance of the Cricket square, if interested please contact a committee member. The children’s play area remains popular, thank you to Marion Gregg for carrying out the required safety inspections.
Our next major project is to construct a hard court area for tennis and netball, to be located beyond the Croquet and Bowls Green. We have applied to TVBC for a grant of > £10K to assist with this project., and have been advised that the funds should be available in March 2005.

SERP 2000 WOULD AGAIN LIKE TO THANK THE PARISH COUNCIL, SCHOOL TRUSTEES AND VILLAGERS FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE IN HELPING TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN RECREATIONAL FACILITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY.

FUNDRAISING

This year, again, we have received some excellent donations; £250 from Anthony Cory-Wright, and £3000 from the School Trustees to help towards the fencing costs of the planned Tennis and Netball courts.

Bonfire and Fireworks Night enjoyed much better weather than the previous year; we were well supported by the Lockerley Acorn Pre-school group helping to boost the attendance on the evening, and making over £1000 profit, thank you to everyone who attended. Thank you to the Biddlecombe family for the use of their field and for building the bonfire, to Pains Fireworks for supplying the fireworks at a discounted price and to everyone who helped organise it.

A race night was held in early March, and again proved to be popular, it was well attended and realised over £1300, thank you to all who helped and/or sponsored races.

The 100 club is in its 2nd year with just over 100 members. Thank you to Elizabeth for organising this and encouraging the members to join. This is a good source of income for SERP and the odds are quite good for a chance of winning. (The £100 draw will take place after AOB this evening).

We are now receiving some income from the use of the field, and from Local Companies who are sponsoring advertising hoardings. (Still space available for more!)

The annual Rounders tournament was held on the Sports Field on June 13th. The weather was again good, 8 teams enjoying at least 2 matches each. The final was won by the Hill Billetts, who received the new shield donated by the Hatchet Inn. £78 was raised at the event.
Thank you to all the helpers, umpires and score keepers without whom the event could not take place.

The Annual Horse Show was held at Pilgrims Farm on Sunday 14th August, thank you to Louise and David Dovey for supplying the location, to Alan Dunning, Elizabeth Gill and the rest of her team for organising and running the Show. This Show is becoming more established, and was very well attended, making over £1600 profit.

The Annual Fun Day and Dog Show was held on the Sports Field on Sunday 22nd August. Thank you to Dawn Hedges and her volunteers who ensured the smooth running of the Dog Show again managing to attract a lot of dog owners from outside the area. The Fun Day was officially opened by local resident and Southampton Footballer Kevin Phillips. Richard Digance took the microphone and kept the afternoon flowing with an ‘it’s-a-knockout’ competition, family 6-a-side football and a ‘free-for-all’ tug-o-war.
Thank you to Richard, Ian Bradford for refereeing the football, the Hatchet Inn for running the bar, and to the Hayter Family who organised the grand draw, to everyone who helped on the day making it one of the most successful Fun Day’s to date, realising a profit of £3282.