Jeanette Peatie

Hallmark November 1991. What's Happening at Your Village Hall. By Jeanette Peattie, the new Village Hall Secretary

Ray Hewinson has put half the world between himself and the Village Hall in an effort to recover from the stresses and strains of being Chairman of the Village Hall Committee – New Zealand was thought far enough.

His place has been taken by Mike Richards – which part of the globe will he choose as a refuge I wonder? Seriously though, we wish Ray a very happy holiday, and would like to thank him for all the hard work he has put in for us.

Thanks to the success of the Village Day Committee in raising a substantial amount for the hall, a major refurbishment of the kitchen is now in progress. The part existing wooden floor is being replaced by a new concrete one, covered by a non-slip vinyl surface. At the same time a trench has been dug through the existing concrete so that Gerald Smith can lay drains to the new sink position. The first stage of the work involved a great deal of backbreaking labour – moving hard core, tearing up the wooden floor and mixing and laying concrete. Gerald Smith (Plus Grandson) and Andy Stone was ably assisted by the usual gallant band of helpers that we see at the Village Hall whenever there is hard work to be done. Most of them are approaching senior citizenship, or are already there (from the way they put their backs – good or bad – into it, you would have thought none of them a day over 30!?) No doubt the same group will again be putting down the topping before you read this, followed by cleaning the kitchen, waiting for the concrete to dry out ready for the vinyl to be laid on 22/23rd February and the replacing of the kitchen units the following weekend.

Those of us who have washed up at the hall, and suffered backache as a consequence (because the height and depth of the basins are totally unsuitable for anyone not of average height) can now breathe a sigh of relief because a false bottom is being fitted – in stainless steel!

We apologise to users for any inconvenience during the next few months caused by this major kitchen refurbishment, and trust everyone will understand.

The next major job that needs to be done is the replacement of the damaged cladding on the outside of the Hall. As a temporary solution our Chairman has injected polyurethane foam into the existing cladding to make it both rigid and watertight. A permanent repair will be the next major project to be undertaken, unless anything unforeseen turns up.

As you may know Randall Evans obtained a Portacabin from the Palmer and Harvey site, for only the cost of transporting it to the rear of the Village Hall, which to those who for years have had to cope with the difficulty of storage space, has proved so indispensable. Through misunderstanding planning permission was not applied for and after neighbours objections a retrospect application was submitted, and granted temporally for one year.

The cabin will be painted and generally made to look more presentable by putting up trellis-work, shrub planting etc; any other suggestions for improving it's appearance will be welcome, in the hope that planning permission will be extended to relieve our storage space problem until such times as funds make possible a permanent building.

I'm sure we have noticed the new curtains kindly sewn for us by Brenda McLeish – what a difference they make!

The Barn Dance on 9th November was a most enjoyable evening – what a pity the Hall was only half full. Pat Smart and helpers were responsible for the food, which was delicious; the Haywainers were excellent, as ever.

Finally we would all like to thank Derek Woodbridge for all his work for the Hall – not only does he do all the bookings etc. but he also lends a hand whenever he can spare the time from running the Village Store – itself a full time job.

If you have any suggestions, or indeed criticisms of the way your Village Hall is run, please tell the Committee member representing your organisation.

Editor's note

It is hoped that Jeanette will keep us informed in each issue of "What's happening at your Village Hall", here some of the same subjects are mentioned as by Mike Richards in his Chairman's Message, but we were anxious to present both our new officers in this Christmas issue.