Belstone Village Hall 2023
Belstone Village Hall Chairman’s Report 3rd May 2023
Ladies and Gentlemen, our Village Hall may not be the biggest but it is the best!
You have only to glance at a week’s bookings to get a flavour of the range of activities on offer – classes for yoga, Pilates and art, postal services on a Tuesday and Community Cafe every Thursday.
Over the past 12 months The Hall has hosted events as varied as Tom Greeves’ talk on Early Dartmoor Photography, Wedding receptions and last Saturday’s Dawn Chorus walk. It is the centre, the fulcrum, the hub of village life.
There are 2 very popular annual events I want to pick out. The Village Fair which last year had a sub- committee of Sharon Cooper, Kelly Gilbert and Edwina Hill. They did magnificently last year and will need all our support in July. The Craft Fair in November was as successful as ever but sadly the last to be organised by David Gundry. This year it will be under new management Sophie Goodwin-Hughes and Alison Hastie.
Like the Craft and Village Fairs, Thursday’s much loved Community Cafe relies on many other members of the community not just this committee. It’s an important weekly event in the village because it attracts people to a social event who otherwise might not go out at all. A big Thank you to those who bake the cakes and make the teas for this event and to Chris Walpole for putting out tables and chairs.
The success of our Village Hall does not happen by accident…For the day-to-day running we are indebted to Edwina Hill. I think we all know that Edwina goes way beyond any job description for a Hall Manager.
Everyone on the committee has worked hard but I particularly want to mention the office holders.
1. The Treasurer Sharon Cooper. This is a role that gets bigger year on year, it requires hard work and painstaking accuracy. Most people wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. Sharon does it outstandingly well.
2. The Secretary. I’m indebted to Sally Fullwood whom we are very lucky to have in the post. It’s her speed and diligence that enables the smooth running of the committee. As you all know Sally is secretary to several other organisations. How does she manage to keep so many plates spinning at once!
3. Huge thanks are also due to Jane Taylor whose fund-raising skills earned us £18,000 in lottery funding. This has enabled us to fit new heaters (that can be controlled remotely), a hearing loop and loft insulation.
Work to replace the external doors, and thus reduce some of the drafts, will take place in the autumn.
I have enjoyed being Chair for the last 12 months. This has only been possible because of the dedication and commitment of this committee. In particular Robin Hill has been who has been so generous with his time and advice, keeping me pointing in the right direction.
Chris Townshend
Chairman
Belstone Village Hall