The main news this month is that the VE Day celebrations at the hall went extremely well with an excellent turn-out for lunch, teas and the dance in the evening. We have received a gratifying number of compliments on the various parts of the day and I should like to thank all those who helped out, but particularly David and Alison Vallance who masterminded it all.

The exhibition was also well attended throughout the day, with fascinating exhibits, including a map used by the Luftwaffe bomber navigators to mark-up targets and routes to them. Thanks are also due to the members of the Memorial subcommittee who put all this together and who are also working on gathering as much information as possible on what happened in and around Platt during the wars. Also during the exhibition there was the opportunity to view our website www.plattwarmemorial.org to see the biographies of those who died and a list of others who lived in the parish and were in the forces.

One interesting aspect is that a number of names have come to light which, we feel, should be included among those who died that we remember each year in November. The Hall Committee has agreed that when the war memorials are moved to the new building, an additional plaque should be added with those names displayed. If anybody knows of someone he/she feels should be included on a new plaque, please contact us so we can carry out research into whether that person may have been recognised at a different war memorial.

An unexpected side-effect of the VE day celebration was that two people came forward with a suggestion that they might be prepared to join the trustees. This has been followed up and invitations to attend our next meeting have been issued. If anyone else would like to join us on the management committee, please let me know. It should be an exciting period – why not join us as we build the new hall?

On that point, we are reviewing offers for the existing site which has the benefit of planning permission for 4 detached houses. The plans for the new hall are now being put up for Building Regulation approval and we will shortly be seeking tenders to build the new hall. We therefore hope to start construction in the late summer/early autumn!

Sandy Mackay, Chairman of the Trustees