Village Hall Trust Year End Report Dec 2009

The village hall Trustee Committee officially took over the hall in November 2008 and since that date, many work projects have been completed.

Due to the fantastic efforts of Mr Alan Humphreys and Mr David Rowse, grant funding of £9,989.00 was secured from "Awards for All” and a full Central Heating System now warms the hall. The porch roof was re-felted and a new ceiling installed.  Internal gable end walls were re-plastered.

In September of 2009 we also received a grant from the "Heart of England Community Foundation" of £4,921.00, this paid for the gas supply to the hall, new drains in the rear yard and replaced rotten floorboards mainly in the small room..

Again in September we were successful in securing a grant from "Wren Landfill Communities Fund".   Work began on repairs to exterior walls, including weatherproofing and repairs to the roof and chimneys. A damp course was installed and internal gable walls repaired.

A structural survey was undertaken, roof lagging, (with the help of volunteers) new guttering, down pipes, security lighting and fire extinguishers were all completed from our own fundraising activities.

Another self-funded major project in 2009 was to refurbish the boys’ toilet block, which was in a very dilapidated state.  Trustee Mr David Key undertook this and with a team of volunteers made up of villagers and Trustees, transformed the boys toilet block into a bright clean "new" ladies toilet, complete with hot water hand washing facility and tiled floor.

The hall trustees are indebted to Mr Robert Morrison who very kindly offered to donate and build a covered "Walkway" between the new toilet block and the rear door of the hall.  This was completed in September with a Perspex roof and cement floor adding to the comfort of all hall users.  The original toilet block, now the gents’ toilet, was fitted with a new tarpaulin roof cover.

1) January - "A Christmas Quiz "devised by our Chair person Mrs Sheila Lashford     
2) February "An Italian Night" when a full Italian meal was served to 70 guests.
3) June " Gemma Sings Summer Songs" a delightful evening with Strawberries and Champagne.
4) September "A Chinese Night” when the room was transformed into a sea of red and gold and a full 6-course meal was served to 72 guests.
5) December  "A Victorian Christmas with Gemma". Guests were greeted by our very own Butler and 6 serving maids all dressed in traditional Victorian costume.  They were served with mulled wine and mince pies and most took home a gift-wrapped parcel from the  "Secret Santa " raffle.

A very busy but rewarding year.  We have achieved a safe, secure, warm and dry hall with "indoor" toilet facilities.  Our next project will be to replace the old doors and windows; some quotes have already been sought. 

Once again the village hall trustees would like to thank all the friends, helpers, volunteers and supporters who have worked so hard and given their time freely to the various projects and fund raising activities.

Well done to the Committee for organising yet another successful event on 8 May.  The interior of the hall was decked out in American regalia and the waitresses were dressed as 'cow girls'.  The meal commenced with snacks and dips followed by Chowder (fish for sweet corn).  Next came the burgers, hotdogs and fries.  If weren't already full there was a choice of 4 desserts and seconds were also available!  The hours of work which goes into these fund raising events is quite staggering and our village should be proud that we have such a good hardworking team of volunteers.  In addition to the 4 course meal guests had the chance to win a bottle for a £1 a go and purchase raffle tickets.  In all a total of £504 was raised towards new windows.