The annual KTS Garden Party took place in the North Garden of the Kemp Town Enclosures on Saturday June 28th this year. The weather stayed dry for us, though it wasn’t as sunny as some previous years – but that didn’t dampen the spirits on what was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
We were entertained by an excellent performance by the Jazz Jamboree Orchestra, and the raffle, licensed bar, book stall, and cake stall were all suitably busy. We also had a ‘children’s corner’ and a game of quoits for all to join in, and a mobile coffee van that was much appreciated.
Many people and households took the opportunity to join the Society on the day, and several dozen paid the entrance fee as a one-off. Unfortunately, some local residents were not aware that holding a key to the gardens did not entitle them to free entrance to ‘private’ events such as this (for which we had booked exclusive use of the garden with KTE). We will rectify, and clarify, before next year.
The final profit on the event was £2329.98 and, as usual, we are donating 25% of that to charitable causes. This year we decided to donate £400 to Support Ukraine and £200 to the Whitehawk Food Bank.
Sadly, this was the last Garden Party to be overseen by our outgoing chairman Simon Smith. His predecessor, Paul Phillips, made a moving speech to thank Simon for his efforts – KTS won’t be the same without him. Our vice chair, Vaughan Rees, is also stepping down and we thank him as well for all his work in the past.
Many thanks to the KTS committee (Simon Smith, Ann Wroe, Anne Boddington, and Jeremy Browning) for organising the event, also to Debra Erskine and her crew for running the bar and to the volunteers on the day – especially Rita McCormack for being in charge of the raffle and Keith Paulin for helping man the entrance gate. We also thank Marmalade café for their kind donations.
