September 1997 - Editorial
THE VILLAGE HALL
I was talking to someone about the Village Hall the other Day and saying how successful it was.
We have a wonderful new building, with a large main hall, which is big enough to play badminton in and short mat bowls, and can comfortably hold plays and dances. There is an additional room, called the Marigold Room, which is smaller and warmer than the main hall, and attracts the pre-school group, keep fit classes, and groups wanting a smaller dance room. And finally, there is a smaller room still, which is carpeted and is used mainly for meetings by the Community Association, the Parish Council and other groups.
The Hall has a large car park and is easy for Users to reach and park their cars. We have a good team running the Hall, who care for it and who make sure it is maintained regularly, and a cleaner who looks after it as if it is her own house. We also have Users who respect it and follow the rules and leave it in the same condition as they find it.
We have a lot of people using the Hall. We have so many regular Users in the main hall during the week, that there is hardly a spare slot for anyone else who may want to hire it for an occasional or even a regular booking. The Marigold Room has been a boon here, because it has enabled new regulars to come in to the Hall, and for some of our other Users to switch from other rooms into the Marigold Room, if they wanted to.
We have a wide range of people coming into the Hall, women and men, girls and boys, people of all ages, people from inside the village and some from outside it, those wishing to play games and keep fit, those wanting to meet and discuss matters, those wanting to learn and pass exams. Our hire rates are very competitive and we are managing to pay our way. We have some money in the bank and manage our affairs very tightly.
This all sounds fine and positive. So where is the problem?
Are we doing the right things for the village? What about all the people who do NOT come into the Hall? What do they want? How could we persuade them to use the Hall? Should we be concerned about them in any case? Perhaps they do not want to use the Hall. Perhaps there is not a single activity that goes on in the Hall that they are interested in.
But they could try something new, something that is not being done already in the Hall. They could organise a new activity. What sort of new activity and when could they do it if is almost full at the moment? There are lots of things that could be done that are not happening at present - all sorts of courses, clubs, such as bridge or whist, social activities, such as bingo, tea dances. There are also many opportunities to hold these sessions, especially during the day, when there are some available slots, and when the Committee Room (the smallest room) is hardly used at all.
How do you judge success? How do we know the Hall is successful? By you telling us. You tell us now when you use the Hall. Please tell us if you don’t use the Hall and why. We can always be better and we want to be. The only way we can do this is by you filling in the missing information and telling us where we are going wring and what we could be doing better. Please tell us.
MILLENNIUM.
After the article in the last Marigold, I received a wonderful letter and some other positive comments from several people about the Millennium. As a result of this, the Parish Council has decided to host an open meeting to which all members of the village are invited to discuss ideas about the Millennium.
It will be very much a relaxed affair and is designed to throw ideas about and try to sound out people’s wishes, to discover what people really want. It is at a very early stage at the moment, but the longer we have, the better chance we have of achieving it. I can promise that anyone who turns up will not be press ganged into doing things. We want to find out what people want to do. If no one turns up, we will assume there is not much interest.
The meeting will be held in the Church Hall on Tuesday 16th September at 7.30 pm. It will be advertised around the village and will be in the green Parish Council newsletter.
IN AND AROUND THE VILLAGE HALL
The painting work and floor resurfacing that was mentioned in the last Marigold have both gone ahead as planned. Not surprisingly, with a project such as this, we managed to get some things wrong and I apologise to anyone who was inconvenienced by it. But overall, it worked very well and I am grateful for all those who were involved and who put a lot of effort into it.
We are all unpaid officers of the Association and we work very hard on behalf of the village. We appreciate any help and understanding that you can give us in running the Hall, especially at critical times, such as this project.
As well as this, our cleaner has been round the Hall cleaning everything in sight. So we will look really smart for the start of the new year in September.
SUTTON SIX AND FUN RUNS
The annual Sutton Six and Fun Runs will take place as usual this year. They will be organised by CEPAC ( the Chester and Ellesmere Port Athletic Club) and will be held on Sunday September 21st finishing at the Village Hall. The first race starts at 11.00 am.
The format for the day will be the same tried and tested formula, with CEPAC organising and preparing the races and the Community Association providing the Village Hall and laying on refreshments, a barbecue, a cake stall and some games. So it is real family occasion, with things to do for all members of the family.
All the usual races are there - the 10K for adults, on a well marshalled course around the village, the three mile race for all members of the family around a shorter course, and the junior race for children aged 7 - 11 on a one and a half mile course around Oaklands. Entry forms for the main run are available from CEPAC members or from Derek Hughes (47 Oaklands). Runners in the 3 mile and Junior races can enter on the day and please remember to turn up in good time.
Just a note for people living near the Village Hall and those going to the shops on that morning. The car park will be closed for the morning and will remain closed until all the races have finished and everything has finally been cleared away. So please have patience with us on that morning and park away from the Village Hall on September 21st.
