Once more, the team at Camber Community Group find themselves saying a big “WOW, Camber, you did it again!!” Camber’s Summer Fun Day and Picnic in the Park on Jubilee Green was another spectacular community event!
It was amazing to see so many residents, visitors and businesses there, young and old, supporting the event and creating a fun-filled afternoon with an atmosphere of happiness, laughter and friendliness! The CCG team is always overwhelmed by the response of the village, and it makes all the hard work worthwhile to see so many of our residents come together to relax and enjoy themselves.
There were a variety of stalls and games, all provided by local businesses, organisations, charities and individuals. Raffle prizes were donated by villagers and village businesses. There were free games for children to enjoy, and refreshments served both outside and inside the Memorial Hall. It was an excellent afternoon, filled with fun and good cheer!
Preparations for the event began back in May. As always, there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes. So many people helped to make the day special – from giving up their time in the run-up and on the day, to providing treats, sweets and prizes. Well done to the Camber Community Group team who put it all together!
As usual, there was a raffle, tombola, plant stall (thank you to the Camber Gardening Group who gave away plants free to everyone), adopt-a-teddy, free books, children’s games, as well as music and entertainment – all alongside various local traders and artists who showcased their goods.
CCG would like to thank all the charities, organisations and traders who came along with their stalls and stands to provide an array of goods for everyone’s enjoyment. Food and refreshment were wonderfully provided by The Flying Fryer (fish ‘n’ chips), Homemade in Camber (delicious cakes), and Camber Residents Association, who provided tea, coffee, cakes and quiches inside the Memorial Hall. Other stalls included local artists, crafters, traders and fundraisers. As well as CCG, some of the charities supported by the stalls included RNLI, Ambulance for Ukraine, Camber Residents Association and a charity in Kenya that builds schools.
The raffle had some spectacular prizes, including a voucher for a meal for two at The Owl, 2 x £25 supermarket vouchers, champagne & wine, chocolates, lead crystal glasses, decanters and a fruit bowl, board games, kites, a fruit basket, house plants, accessories, and two beautiful bird boxes, hand-made by village residents, and various other prizes. There was even a 3-foot-tall teddy bear!
CCG would like to thank the following, for their financial support, for contributions to the raffle and tombola prize tables, and with help selling raffle tickets ahead of the event:
- The Owl
- Rye Bay Café
- Camber Active Friends
- The Camber Castle
- Pontins / NISA
- BJ’s on the Beach
- Camber Parish Council
- and the numerous local residents who generously donated prizes – thank you to you all!
The response to our call out for prizes was overwhelming and we can’t thank you enough! We would also like to thank the Parish Council for allowing us to use the Jubilee Green, and the Camber Memorial Hall Committee for their help with facilitating the event.
Thanks, and applause, are also due to those who provided the entertainment for the afternoon. Stefan Charles sang to us and ad-libbed, in his inimitable style, through any technical hitches. The Rye Rock Choir visited, having admirably battled their way through “Red Day” traffic, and sang for us in their unique style of performing rock and pop songs in a beautiful choir arrangement! Gaz Jones treated us to some hearty classic rhythm & blues and Jay Hood got folk on their feet, jigging along to his songs. The compѐre, Ian, kept us entertained spectacularly – not least when he climbed the boundary fence and sang Sweet Caroline to some of the day-trippers who were stuck in the traffic gridlock!
For the first time, Camber’s “Fete Day” coincided with a Camber “Red Day”. Up until now, we have been lucky enough to have good weather, but without the traffic chaos that a “Red Day” brings. Sadly, this year, some visiting motorists thought it acceptable to park on our pavements (as often happens on “Red Days”).
Ahead of the Fete, the CCG team had requested support from the ESCC Civil Parking Enforcement Team to help prevent pavement parking and, thus, danger to pedestrians. Despite two requests ahead of the day, and two requests on the day, ESCC did not help out at all, claiming they could not do anything to prevent illegal parking on Lydd Road.
The Coastal Officers in Camber were fully supportive of our plight, despite being under incredible pressure themselves. In the end, two off-duty members of the Rother DC car park team attended to the traffic problems and patrolled the area to prevent pavement parking which made the area safer for all pedestrians. Thank you to them – and shame on ESCC for not supporting Camber village when it was most needed!
The main purpose of the day, of course, was about bringing our wonderful community together. Any funds raised by CCG were given to Camber Community Newsletter, to help towards the ever-spiralling cost of printing. The day raised a whopping £840 for the Camber Community Newsletter! Here, at the newsletter team, we are bowled over by this!
There are so many people to thank – too many to list individually! The newsletter team is extremely grateful to the CCG team for their unwavering support. As ever, though, the biggest thanks must go to all of YOU!
THANK YOU, Camber! What an amazing community!
Fete Games
For some extra fun and competition, we included a leaderboard for the free games and here’s a big thank you to Claire Jackson who kept it running all afternoon! Both scoring games involved throwing balls or bean bags at targets, which was no mean feat in the cross breeze. There was a sticky bull’s eye target which Jack won hands down with 1370 points and the through the hole target was won by Lana with 110 points.
The hoopla stall raised a healthy £20 as well so thankyou to everyone who donated prizes and had a go! Well done everyone, it looked like it was fun.
