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Silchester is the Best Village in South England - It's Official!

Celebrating the Best of English Village Life
- Silchester revealed as South England’s Calor Village of the Year 2009 -

On St George’s Day – England’s national day – it’s time to celebrate all things quintessentially English. And, along with afternoon tea, red buses and Shakespeare, what represents England better than rural village life? Therefore, Thursday 23 April was the perfect day to announce the regional winners in the 2009 Calor Village of the Year for England competition.

In the South England region of the competition, it has been revealed that the village of Silchester reigns supreme. Silchester was recently visited by competition judges, who spent two hours in the village learning about what makes the village tick, with villagers showcasing their community across four key areas: Community – a better place to live, Business – a better place to work, Sustainability – a better future, and Communications – being in contact.

Having impressed the first round judges enough to be awarded the regional title, Silchester now goes through to a national final when the overall winner for England will be decided. A total of five finalists are in line for the national title and each village has a nail biting wait until July when they’ll receive a visit from the final round judging team, after which the top prize will be awarded.

Silchester is up against Kirkby Stehpen in Cumbria, Denton in Norfolk, Kingston in Devon and Hathersage in Derbyshire.

Calor Village of the Year manager Suzanne Weir said: “Congratulations to Silchester – our South  England winner! We know from our judging teams that standards in this year’s competition have been particularly high, so they’ve done really well to make it to the final stages. Just one more judging visit now stands between Silchester and the overall title for England, and we wish them the best of luck.”

First prize in the Calor Village of the Year for England competition is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are four category prizes of £500 within each region. The full results of the competition will be revealed later in the year.

To find out more about Calor Village of the Year, including full details of participating villages for 2009, please visit the competition website at www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

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Further press information available from:  Amaze PR, Emma Flinn on 0161 817 4221/ Rebecca Jones on 0161 817 4200, email r.jones@amaze.com 

Notes to Editors 

Calor Village of the Year®

Calor is the UK’s leading supplier of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), the versatile off-mains fuel for rural communities and businesses. For the past 22 years Calor has supported rural activities in England, Scotland and Wales through its Rural Sponsorship programme, spearheaded by the Calor Village of the Year competition.

About the competition

For 2009, Calor is sponsoring 39 county village competitions across the country. 

In  the Calor Village of the Year® for England national competition  the judges will be looking for sustainable communities that are responding to the current environmental and socio-economic challenges and which, irrespective of size, are making best use of local opportunities to enhance the quality of life for all residents. 

Villages are judged across four categories:  Community – a better place to live, Business – a better place to work, Sustainability – a better future, Communications – being in contact. 

Prize details

The prize money for the 2009 national Calor Village of the Year® competitions totals over £55,000. First prize in the English competition is £7,000 with £2,000 going to each of five regional winners. In addition, there are four category prizes of £500 within each region.

Please note that Calor Village of the Year® is a registered trademark and should be referred to in full in all circumstances.

For further information

For general information on the Calor Village of the Year® for England competition:
email: info@calorvillageoftheyear.org  or visit: www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For media enquiries relating the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Emma Flinn/ Rebecca Jones:
email: r.jones@amaze.com  or tel: 0161 817 4221

For general enquiries relating to the Calor Village of the Year® competition, please contact Brian Challis:
email: b.challis@ntlworld.com, tel: 01962 629768 or visit www.calorvillageoftheyear.org

For further information on Calor and its sustainability commitment please visit:  www.calor.co.uk

The full regional results for East England - to be announced.

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