Kingsclere netball tournament for village charity huge success

Held at the Fieldgate Centre, involving eight teams, the tournament was organised by landlady of the George and Horn pub in the village, Clare French, to boost funds for the Rodney Lawrence Trust.
The trust aims to support children of the village and from the surrounding local area, in memory of Rodney Lawrence, who drowned on May 9, 2010, in his family’s garden pond.
Rodney’s mother, Marie Lawrence, said afterwards the tournament raised £1,050 and she and her husband, John, had been overwhelmed at the support, after the whole village turned out::
“It was such a good atmosphere,” said Mrs Lawrence.
Victorious were The Clere School - better known as the monkeys, with teams nicknamed after Rodney’s favourite animals.
Funds were boosted by a further £280 from the proceeds of a car boot sale, organised by Rodney’s grandmother, Teresa Gundry, while the barbecue sold out, with villagers turning up with cakes and requests to purchase the trust’s t-shirts
Teas, coffees, scones and cakes were served up throughout the day by Julia Sopp and Sharon Florida: “They worked all day - they were troopers,” said Mrs Lawrence.
An official launch of the trust is planned on Saturday September 14, at the Holding Field in the village, including an evening dinner dance under marquees.
Mrs Lawrence said they had enlarged the capacity, after initially selling out of tickets - then sold out again, and were trying once more to increase capacity: “People are saying: “If we can’t have a table, we will turn out with a picnic rug,” she added.
On Monday evening (Jul 1), Kingsclere Parish councillors unanimously voted in favour of leasing the field to the trust free of charge, on the proviso any accidental damage was repaired afterwards by the trust.