Literature

Petersfield Oktoberfest

Never fear, we are bringing back Oktoberfest to Petersfield! The third Petersfield Oktoberfest will now take place on Saturday 24th September 2022 for one awesome session only.

As per the awesome 2019 event, expect the full Oktoberfest atmosphere, lots of beer, bench tables, dressing up, steins, sausages, table service and oompah! All the elements to make our very own awesome Oktoberfest Petersfield style party!

For one day only and one session only for 2022, Petersfield Festival Hall will be transformed into a Petersfield Oktoberfest beer hall with traditional theming, bench tables with our awesome team providing table service with both men and women decked out in authentic Oktoberfest dress, one of the UK's best oompah bands providing the musical entertainment as well as the traditional tastes of Oktoberfest with German beer, pretzels and sausages for all!

Petersfield Oktoberfest is fast becoming the most anticipated night of the year for the drink and fun lovers of Petersfield and we are so excited to return. Dressed to impress in lederhosen and dirndl, the crowds arrive in full spirits and leave full of beer after a few hours of pure unadulterated fun after quaffing steins a plenty!

As most people rolled their ticket over from the cancelled event in 2020 AND 2021, there are now only a few tickets left, get yours from https://www.petersfieldfest.com/petersfieldoktoberfest

Midweek Racing at Goodwood Tuesday 6 & Wednesday 21 Sept 2022

Enjoy two afternoons of competitive racing across September with the last of the summer sun. To the backdrop of beautiful surroundings, it's a chance to feast your eyes on the equine stars of tomorrow. The perfect excuse to escape the office - Study the racecard and watch the horses in the parade ring, make your selection and hope to reap the rewards as the horses cross the line. In-between races enjoy the energetic tunes of the soulful jazz band as you dance the afternoon away. Bring friends, family or work colleagues to enjoy the balmy September afternoons of sporting entertainment amidst the perfect surroundings of the rolling South Downs. Children under 18 gain free admission. Live Music - Dance the afternoon away with live music, Trips To The Start - Take a mini-bus to the starting stalls, Thrilling Racing - Enjoy all the excitement of a raceday, Under 18s Go Free - Enjoy a family day out at the races, Free return shuttle bus to Chichester Train Station. Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0P

Beer & Cider Festival Raceday at Fontwell Park

Calling all beer and cider lovers - Join us for our two day autumn racing weekend, a double header! Kick your weekend off in style with top quality racing and an atmospheric afternoon with friends and colleagues featuring a mouth-watering array of different local beers and ciders to sip on!

Free Shuttle Bus Our free shuttle bus service runs between the course and Barnham Station, from 2 hours from the first race and again from 5th race onwards, right up to the end of the after party.

Restaurant Package... The Land & Power Premier Restaurant Add a touch of luxury to your day and join us in the exclusive Land & Power Premier Lounge Restaurant. The Restaurant is located on the first floor of the Land & Power Premier Grandstand with access to a superb Trackside Viewing Balcony and Panoramic Views of our beautiful Sussex Racecourse.

Make your day extra special with Hospitality Have you thought about upgrading to one of our exclusive restaurant or hospitality packages? To find out the available hospitality, please call 01342 831 792 or click here to see our restaurant packages.

Friday 30th Event Schedule: Gates Open: 11:40, First Race: 13:40, Last Race: 17:10 Race Type: Jumps, Races: 7, Going: TBA

October 1st Event Schedule: Gates Open: 12:50, First Race: 14:50, Last Race: 16:10TBC Race Type: Jumps, Races: 6-8 TBC, Going: TBA

Children 17 and under go free to the races when accompanied by an adult (some exclusions apply for Festival fixtures and Live After Racing events).

Charley Supermog supercat, super read

Val starts her on-line interview by asking....”WHY do so many youngsters stay for hours in their bedrooms staring at small screens instead of escaping those four walls to enjoy fresh air and all that nature and the outside world has to offer? It’s so unhealthy - both physically and mentally”

Val Anne Lee, poet and author, has lived in and around New Alresford for fifteen years. Her popular and much-loved children’s books ‘On the Banks of Hatchet Pond’ and ‘Podge goes Splodge at Hatchet Pond’ feature Podge, an ugly old frog who wishes he could fly, and Dizzy a beautiful little dragonfly who flits around Hatchet Pond in the New Forest.

Humour figures largely in most of Val’s work although she says “To be honest, I didn’t have much to laugh about in those early days but my crazy sense of humour kept me sane”.

Her new full-length story CHARLEY*SUPERMOG is for older kids but Val says “It will resonate with those adults who enjoyed ‘normal childhood adventures before computers overtook the world”. Dedicated ‘For Cat Lovers Everywhere’ this crazy adventure story features a once-scrawny tatty-eared farm cat who by chance taps a boring old stone and gains magical powers, becoming totally humanised and taking his young owner and her family and friends on amazing and hair-raising adventures which vastly improve many lives.....even those of two nasty young village bullies! Many of Val’s words touch on current topics...for example she speaks boldly for the ‘Gingers’ of this world in her description of their “lovely richlycoloured hair which shines in the sunlight like burnished gold”, Val says her mother and two of her sister were auburn-haired - hence these words. The book also has its young characters enjoying the outdoor life....swinging on ropes dangling over rivers, collecting conkers, daring to skate on frozen ponds and borrowing a metal detector to dig for treasure and more.. At the time of writing, CHARLEY has yet to be released - having been kept in lockdown for the duration of Covid. However, subject to on-going negotiation with Anthony Oxley the owner of New Alresford’s prestigious bookshop Laurence Oxley’s, CHARLEY is soon to be launched..

In addition to her published and so-farunpublished portfolio of more than a dozen children’s stories, Val also writes for adults... mostly humorous poems based on everyday ‘gripes’. She says “My family think I’m slightly eccentric because I have a poem for every occasion and can give a recitation from memory ‘at the drop of a hat’.....such titles as ‘Stinky Old Billy’ the old goat once in her reluctant ownership with other animals - horses, bantams, pigs, fluffy white rabbits which often escaped their hutches to breed with the wild ones in the fields beyond.

In addition, when left to singly support her family of three kids, an added responsibility was the young calf which had been left tied to a plum tree! More of ‘Val’s Verses’ have been narrated monthly at a charity-fund-raising Breakfast Club for ladies including ‘The Rogue’ (the wonky shopping trolley), ‘It’s a Drag’ (“Smoking’s a disgusting bore” ) and many more.

Val’s three books were published by her talented illustrator, Simon Chadwick (CeratopiaBooks.co.uk) for ‘On the Banks of Hatchet Pond’, its sequel ‘Podge Goes Splodge at Hatchet Pond’ both priced at £4.99 plus P&P and ‘The Monkey Who Wouldn’t Eat Nuts’ at £6.00 plus P&P. Charley Supermog is priced at £8.00 plus P&P if ordered directly from Val who has sole ownership and limited stock (email val@valsimbooks).

Val has an extensive portfolio of unpublished rhyming and humorous stories for youngsters and has commissioned Guy Tomlinson of themarketingdirectors.co.uk to approach agents/ publishers on her behalf.....to hopefully gain sufficient interest to back her.

For more information or to purchase any of Val's books email: val@valsimbooks.com