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As the elated audience filed out of the Memorial Hall at the end of a superb “Wartime Weekend” concert, presented by the wonderful “Miscellany”, one of our team was apprehended by a local resident who, full of laughter, remarked, “I remember coming to the first concert you held here several years ago. At that time you nearly had to pay us to come in, now you can’t keep us away. We have to get our tickets really early or we can’t get in!” This is the kind of comment that makes all the hard work by the small team of staff and volunteers worthwhile. On “Wartime weekend” Saturday, when we held our annual “British Restaurant” and the aforementioned acclaimed concert, our home made food at the restaurant earned much praise and our day’s efforts raised £3,400 towards the upkeep of this unique community facility. One may have thought that after this record success, the volunteers would then take a well-earned rest, but this was not so. As I write, Joy Andrews and her team of helpers are in the throes of organising their renowned Halloween party which serves to give local children an exciting and positive way of spending their time on 31st October. Geoff Otterburn is organising an evening of archive film on the 30th October and Betty Hood continues, as always, to arrange the ever popular “Night Owl” sequence dances, the next of which will be held on 28th November. As reported in the last edition of “The Beacon”, we are hoping to look at ways in which we can improve the Hall’s main kitchen. It is a very awkward shape and has several problems relating to the positioning of load bearing walls but, with our usual optimism, we do believe that we can make it much more user-friendly than it is at the moment. We welcome input in this task from all those who have used the kitchen and would like to see an improvement. In early December we will be having a meeting at the Hall, to listen to everyone’s ideas over a cuppa or glass of wine. If you would like to join us on that occasion to have your say, keep an eye out for the date, which will be advertised on the town and Hall notice boards. The Hall is very well booked already for the Christmas season with lots of community events in the pipeline. As well as the usual WEA and other courses, Slimmers’ world meetings, yoga, friendship groups and aerobics events, there are some very exciting Christmas Fairs and celebrations. Many of our private customers, who book the Hall for family celebrations, are often surprised to discover that, for local people and local charities, prices begin at as little as £6 per hour. Even the very large Whistler Hall, suitable for dances and weddings, can be hired for only £12 per hour. This compares extremely favourably with other similar venues. However, the only reason that we are able to keep our prices so competitive is because of the extremely hard work put in by enthusiastic volunteers and staff We desperately need to enlist people who may be willing to volunteer to help from time to time. We need a younger cohort who want to see the Hall continue to function and are prepared to take an active part so that the Hall has a future. If we cannot do this then there must be a question mark over the Hall’s future. We really do need your help. Anyone interested in supporting us in any way please contact the Hall any weekday morning between 9am and noon, (telephone 01751 477522) Mal Danks.
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