February 2022

With our small store/office extension now 99% complete with just snagging items outstanding, we have been working on making good use of the extra space. Although this is ongoing we have relocated the storage racking to the new store which allows for the stage to be placed on its storage wheels and now fits in there nicely making it much easier to access. Storage of the bowls equipment has also been made easier. We are now also looking to set up our small office which will now be home to the CCTV equipment and more.

Whilst Covid has meant some booking cancellations in and around the Christmas period, in general, our hall is very healthy with regular users and party bookings on the up again, we did however in the end cancel our NYE party as there was much uncertainty during December leading up to Christmas and the New Year. With this increase and wedding bookings on the up we have decided to purchase some round tables and tablecloths to complement our available equipment for hire, we hope to have these within the next few weeks.

To help ease the burden on trustees we have moved Saskia into more of a caretaking role, she will now deal with all individual one-off parties/bookings during each week along with all aspects of cleaning and hygiene, supported by the trustee rota as a backup.

The acquisition of the land strip between us and OTG is still ongoing but not because of any problems simply that the solicitors are dragging their heels. As soon as this happens we will get a new fence erected along this new boundary compliments of Baxalls. We are also to receive some hedging compliments of the Woodland Trust at the end of February which will be planted along this boundary.

Over the last couple of months, our gardening team led by Jane Jewitt has planted and prepared new beds along the new school boundary fence along with a hedge plus many new trees some of which will bear fruit. This year as many of you know is the Queens Platinum jubilee part of which is the Queens Green Canopy initiative encouraging people to plant trees as a lasting legacy to her leadership Apart from the trees we have planted the fundraisers have contributed also by paying for two flowering cherry trees which we hope to plant on the front lawn. If you would like to contribute a tree to our garden through this initiative please let us know.

Our next gardening Saturday will be the 19th February, do join us for an hour or two for light gardening and a chat between 9.30 -12 pm refreshment are normally served.

Two dates for your calendars, we have set Monday, March 28th as our Hall AGM. We were unable to hold one last year so we hope for better luck this year.

The second date is Sunday, June 5th when we have provisionally set a date for a village street party to be held at the hall. Many of you will remember 10 years ago at the very wet Scout hut when we celebrated the diamond jubilee, let’s hope the weather will be kind to us this time.

David Vallance, Chairman of Trustees