Chairs report

March 14, 2020

Following the 2019 AGM, and after serving for over 8 years, Nick Charman stepped down as chair of the Trustees. We are delighted to announce that Jane Short, formally chair of the social committee, has accepted the position of chair of the Beech Village Hall Committee.

Jane, who lives in Wellhouse Lane works part-time as psychologist and is also a magistrate sitting in Portsmouth Court, a voluntary role that she enjoys a lot. She has three grown up children, one in Sidney, one in Cardiff and one in London. At home she has a mad springer spaniel (aren’t they all?) and four cats and now the Village Hall to look after!

Already seeking ideas and activities in her new role, Jane says she is looking forward to meeting you at the various village events and to contact her if you have any ideas, suggestions or concerns.

January 19, 2020

The Hall as a Social Centre

The Hall has successfully continued to play host to the many Clubs and Classes who use the Hall regularly, also as a wedding venue, and for parties and celebrations – both for the Village run by the Social Committee, and for private events. Coordinated by Peter Cox, he continues to provide his valued effort and time for the Charity.

Jane Short, and the Social Committee have also put on a lovely variety of events for villagers during the year. She will report later.

The Sound System

The impressive music, and lights system which we installed at the Hall last year has started to show its value. At the Christmas party in 2018, the lighting system was an entertainment in its own right, and kept as many watching the dancing, and absorbing the show, as those who were dancing. The dancing went on until midnight with great enthusiasm.

Since then we have also discovered that it works well for children’s parties, at a lower volumes, and with the children and parents  being entranced with the laser lighting.

This system is for hire with the Hall and will save the hirer the cost of a DJ, or hiring their own equipment for parties.

New Signboards for Village Events

The roadside signs in Beech for upcoming Village Hall events were changed this year. We decided to replace them with new – reminding passers-by of how the Village Hall is a great venue for events. You will have seen them – the signs will have backgrounds with images of weddings, parties, meetings, and dances. A recent client commented (entirely voluntarily, I promise): “Having now hosted an event at BVH after attending a number in the past, it definitely reinforces my thought that you’re the benchmark of all the locally available halls in the area, and would not hesitate to use you in the future, or recommend you to others.”

Village Hall Bins

On a more prosaic topic, I have talked about this in the Beech Newsletter. Some of you know Maureen Smith, often, in the past, seen walking in the village. Maureen is an unsung hero of the Village Hall, who, living near the Hall, would sort the rubbish, put the Hall’s bins out for collection every Monday, year in year out, rain or shine. Then put them back after they had been emptied. She is to be deeply thanked for this small but important bit of community work that she has helped us with for so many years. Sadly she is no longer able to do this work.

Replacing her role, and how to handle the Hall’s rubbish took up an astonishing amount of time this year. Sadly the wrong rubbish was ending up in the wrong bins, and they were being used as a public resource. In the end we decided to have the bins placed inside a small shed, available only for use for our own events. This shed will be locked by code, which will only be available to the Village Hall cleaner, volunteers, and the kind neighbours (Lucy Foxon and Cheryll Hallett) who have volunteered to put them on the road for collection.

The Annexe

I will not say much about this topic, other than the project is an ongoing target, regularly discussed at the Building and Estates Committee. It is for this project that we must continue to grow our available funds, as the work involved will be expensive, and involve a Grant or other external funding. This Committee with myself, Ian Gibson, Peter Cox, and Nick Sorby deal with managing the ongoing maintenance of the Hall and its grounds.

Management Committee and Trustees

Kim Eakers and Nick Sorby have stepped onto the Management Committee during the year and have already made valuable contributions. They have both indicated that they are happy to be appointed as Trustees for this charity, and we are pleased to welcome them. Kim has started working with Peter Cox on the matter of hiring the Hall and showing it to prospective clients. Nick has taken the role of looking after all the green spaces, and liaising with our contractors who deal with mowing, hedge cutting, gardening and so forth. We have stopped using a volunteer rota for the grass mowing, and that work is now being done by Simon Hodgson, our maintenance helper, on a contract basis. After the end of the financial year, June 2019, Nigel Sillick decided he would relinquish the Treasurer role and also his position as a Trustee. He therefore retires at this AGM, after presenting the financial report for the year. The role of Treasurer is an important part of the Charity, and we thank Nigel for his diligence, his time and effort in past years.

Taking over the role from Peter Cox, I became Chair of the Trustees in March 2012. I am amazed. Nearly eight years ago. Long enough indeed, and past time for a change of style at the helm. I have found a successor on the current Management Committee in Jane Short who will take the Chair at the first management committee meeting after this AGM, and with effect from today. Jane is well known to many in the Village, and I am certain that she will be a very capable, warm and engaging Chair of Trustees. I will be happy to continue as a Trustee, supporting Jane and the team, and will specifically now take over the role of Treasurer for the charity.

I want to thank the current team on the Management and Social Committees, and all those who have been part of those teams over the past eight years for their work, and time. Also the many villagers who quietly help with one-off roles, and regular events like the Fireworks evening. These are far too many names to mention here. This role as Chair has “had its moments”, but for the far greater part, it has been rewarding, interesting, and fun to have been at the heart of this community Charity.

Nick Charman

October 2019

October 28, 2018

Annual General Meeting of Beech Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity

26th October 2018 at Beech Village Hall

For full report, including pictures, click here

Summary

We have continued to be a very popular Village Hall.  Its use by the regular social events, clubs, classes and celebrations has grown, and this has resulted in a good level of Hall Hiring income, managed by Peter Cox. This income has also increased our funds, which is deliberate.  We do not want the charity to become “rich” for its own sake, but to enable us to achieve a good rebuild of the Annexe when we have enough money to commence the project.  For the same reason we have not undertaken any major property improvements during this last year.   We have made some small investments such as replacing the old sound system with a modern facility, allowing Hall users to have high quality dance music, with haze and lights, for their celebrations.  We have also purchased some planters to allow some decoration of the front of the Hall.

Annexe

The Annexe is an old single skin brick building.  It is damp inside and expensive to keep warm.  While it remains functional (for example, as the regular Parish Council meetings venue), we know that a good replacement is needed.  The facilities we would like to have are:

• better meeting and small conference facilities,
• a social seating area,
• covered access from the Hall, to allow it to be part of a party or function in the main Hall,
• making better use of the pretty outlook across the green,
• good storage,
• a small kitchen facility,
• and a good small toilet facility.

We would also like to make better use of the ground to the rear of the Hall and have a linked hard standing and covered area to the side of the Hall on the Medstead Road side.

We are aware that Grant funds are currently very hard to come by, and as a major work like this will take perhaps £80,000, by rough estimate, we will need to have at least £50,000 of our own funds (assuming a 50% grant might be found, and assuming an ongoing working capital “float”).  We may be able to start this project in around two years time.  If any villager has any good ideas or connections for grant funding for this, we will welcome the news.

Hall Hiring

Peter Cox, has kept the Hall’s income running, and is an excellent manager, introducing the Hall to new users and administering the system.  However, Peter and Sally moved to a new house during the summer and, while still living nearby and still on task, the ability to meet new hirers at the Hall needs help at times.  So, we are on the lookout for a more local person who would like around two hours or so per week, acting as a stand-in for Peter when he cannot be here.  The job would entail meeting prospective Hall Hirers and showing them the facilities.  If you would consider this role, for a small stipend, or can think of a neighbour who might like the role, please let me or Peter know.

Communications

The Hall hiring has been helped by improved communications on Nextdoor and Facebook, and good word-of-mouth introductions.  This is all assisted by Ruth Dewing’s efforts in keeping the Hall’s facilities and activities on social media, as well as the usual flyers posted through doors co-ordinated by Jane Short, who also chairs the Social committee.  Do not forget the Village Website as a resource to find out more about the Hall and the Village.  This is maintained by John Emmerson, with the help of others in the village.

If you are a member of Nextdoor, you will see that we have started a fairly regular monthly information post under the title of “Did You Know?”.  We are aware that how the Hall functions, and what it can offer the villager is not always known by everyone in Beech, and we are keen that all Beech inhabitants are aware of what this charity can offer them personally.

100 Club

Originally started by Saman Jayalath, the 100 Club administration has been taken over this summer by Stella Charman.  It has become a regular way to raise funds for the Hall, with a side effect of offering some fun and a monthly chance costing £5, to win £200.  It is clearly a lottery and a chance to win money, but its main purpose is a way in which villagers can contribute to this charity in their village, serving their community.  Most members of the scheme recognise this, and so it is proposed to offer members an easier facility for renewing the annual membership.  We might do this by the route of Bank Standing Orders for future payments. This will mean completing a Standing Order form (which we can supply) once, and we can send it to your bank.  This proposed method will allow the considerable annual effort by the administrator of the scheme to be devoted more to making 100 Club membership available to new villagers, and other users of the Hall, in turn making its membership wider (but not more than 100!).  It would also save the regularly renewing members the effort of making payments each year – but clearly cancellable if they wish to cease their membership.  I should like to test opinions about this proposal with you, after the formalities of this meeting are done.

Weddings – and drones

We have become a popular wedding reception venue.  And as always with such events, photographs are important for the happy couple.  Small drones at these events have become popular as carriers of cameras for videos and photographs.  We are aware that the Village Green has houses and gardens quite close by, and that there is a level of concern about the possible invasion of privacy that drones above the Village Green might pose.  For this reason, we are imposing a new condition on Hirers of the Hall – that drones may only be used by Hirers with specific and prior consent.  In effect this will mean that we are not banning their use entirely, but that they can only be used by properly licensed users on behalf of Hirers.  In turn this will mean that the regulations about their use will be observed.

The Village Hall Bar, and Socials – the rota system

Following the sad resignation of Alan and Elaine King, in their role of managing the bar for many years for the Village Hall, we elected to follow a different system.  The management of the stocking of the bar, and the sales pricing has now been taken up by Saman Jayalath – thank you to him for his energy.  The selling of drinks at Village Hall social events (the monthly social, quizzes and so forth) is now being undertaken successfully with a rota of volunteers.   Stella Charman keeps this rota going, along with a rota of volunteer cooks for the monthly social.  This is a great way of participating in these social events and is fun in itself, and being publicly thanked, generally to the raucous applause of those attending the event.  Thanks to those who have volunteered in this way – and if you are new to the village it is a great way of becoming involved. Please tell Stella Charman if you would like a slot on the bar or cooking rota.

Defibrillator

The Parish Council has recently funded the installation of a defibrillator on the front of the Hall, for the safety of villagers and visitors to the Hall.  Please make sure you know where it is and familiarise yourself with its instructions for use.  Look around to the left when you come out of the front door and you will see it. Much better to do this when you are not panicking, than wait until the stress of the moment.

Volunteers and Committee

As always, the life blood of this community charity is the people who take part.  This is not only the Management Committee, but also the Social Committee who keep a good list of fun things on the Village Social calendar, those who cut the grass with the Mower in the summer, who interest themselves with keeping the Recreation Ground in order, who regularly empty the dog-poo bins, who put our bins out for rubbish collection, and the many who assist at major events like the Beech Fireworks (29 volunteer villagers involved last year!), and in other ways.  We also have some paid helpers, including the bookkeeping, the cleaning of the Hall and Annexe, and maintenance.    These people should all be thanked and acknowledged by the Committee and the village;  the Village Hall is the heart of the Beech Community, and the spirit of taking part and joining in keeps the heart beating.  It is also fun!

This year the Committee is as set out on the Agenda for this meeting, and I will later turn to the formal matter of asking for votes to re-elect those who have agreed to be Trustees for the forthcoming year.  If you would like to consider joining this Management Committee, and perhaps becoming a Trustee, please let me know.

Nick Charman
Chair of Trustees, Management Committee
Beech Village Hall and Recreation Ground

November 1, 2017

Annual General Meeting of Beech Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity

27th October 2017 at Beech Village Hall

For full report, including pictures, click here

The Hall as a Hub for Beech

As I write this we are coming into the busy season for the Village Hall – and it’s a fine tradition that the Village Hall works even harder for the village community in the darker days of winter when there are fewer opportunities for outdoor activities.

Throughout the year the Village Hall provides an annual rhythm for villagers; a sort of metronome of the seasons. As has been repeated in many other villages in England for many years. So, not surprisingly I can report that the year 2016 to 2017 broadly followed the same pattern.

Summer 2016 saw the Queen’s Birthday lunch and tea, when we were graced by a visit from ‘Her Majesty’ (royal impersonation is fortunately no longer a hanging offence, else we would be short of a Hirings’ Manager). It was heart-warming to have villagers from all the generations there – most senior (90s) to most junior (still in arms).

In the autumn of 2016 the Beech Gardeners ran that most traditional of shows, the Garden Show (as fans of the Archers will be all too aware) with Beech villagers gently competing for prizes with their fruits, flowers, photographs and handiwork; so appropriately an autumn event. As is the immensely popular Beech Quiz. Run annually by Beech’s Bembridge family, it is always well organised, well attended, and accompanied by fish and chips!

The popular Bonfire and Fireworks event follows in early November, with the atmospheric torch-lit procession along Wellhouse Road. Last year we sold some 310 tickets! It has a reputation for being the local fireworks event where families come and have some participation (in a safe way, I must hastily add). This is more fun for all than many firework events, where only distant viewing is allowed. This event was run with a cast of 29 villagers in he organisaiton.

Just before Bonfire Night, the unattractively titled ‘Annual General Meeting’ attracted last year, as now, many in the village together to talk about how the Village Hall Charity is serving them, and what can be done better. This works as a sort of Client-Feedback session. It is followed by the regular monthly social – the get-together every month (always the last Friday except December) which in effect is an informal and inexpensive supper party for up to 60 villagers.

Winter arrives, and Christmas immediately appears on the agenda. Decorating the Hall was followed by all the organisation for the Christmas parties, for adults and children.
The winter ended in 2017 with a Murder Mystery evening; much hilarity trying to guess the perpetrator, with impromptu acting from audience members purloined for the cast, in costumes provided for the parts.

Spring 2017 saw our other Quiz Night, run by Peter Cox. Again, this was very popular with the hall packed to bursting.

While this seasonal pattern of events continues, all the while, during the week, regular hirers of the Hall come to use it. They provide a variety of clubs and activities for Beech residents and the surrounding area, and the Hall is also the setting of many week-end parties and weddings. We are a busy and flourishing Village Hall community.

Looking after the Hall

Following the refurbishment of the toilets in 2016, no other major improvements have happened at the Hall during this year. We are working up to a big refurbishment to the old Annexe, and this will take some time to plan, and then raise sufficient funds. However, the ongoing cleaning, maintenance and mowing in summer has kept a few of us busy – and that in itself is a valuable communal activity.

Thanks …

As I have said in the past, all these activities and village entertainments are only possible because of the kind spirit of the people in the community who help. As I say, I counted 29 villagers involved in the staging of the Bonfire event last year. I shall not try to list all who help on the few committees, or by taking charge of various aspects of the maintenance, or staffing social events. They know who they are, and I thank them for their time and effort. I hope it is very much appreciated by the village, toward a thriving community in Beech, and its warm heart. However, I will take this opportunity to thank one person particularly who has been carrying one of the more serious, but less glamorous and visible roles on the Village Hall Management Committee. Anne Whitaker has been the Treasurer for the Village Hall since 2013. When she took on this role, as well as agreeing to become a Trustee of the Charity, she was still in full time work. She has had personal commitments which have been demanding in the period. It is a sign of her kind and patient personality that she has always found time to provide good advice, and looked after the financial aspects of the Charity so well. She has now handed the Treasurer role over to Nigel Sillick as of 30th June, but (happily for us) stays on the Committee and as a Trustee. I wish to express our deep thanks and have the village recognise the time and effort she has put in for their benefit, during her period of office in that role for this Charity.

We thank Nigel Sillick and Jane Short for kindly agreeing to seek election as Trustees for the coming year. The Management Committee meetings will also be attended by Peter Cox, our Hirings Manager and Elaine King.

Nick Charman
Chair, Management Committee and Trustee
Beech Village Hall and Recreation Ground, October 2017

January 11, 2017

Annual Report of the Charity, for the year to 30th June 2016

Malcolm Grace
Early in 2016, Malcolm Grace, one of our Trustees, fell ill while on holiday, and is now unlikely to return to the Village. He has been a Trustee for a number of years, and was always a willing and cheery volunteer for various tasks around the Hall. So it is with sadness that we must report that he is not being re-elected as a Trustee at the AGM. However, I would like to note our appreciation for all he has done for the Village Hall and for Beech, in the years he has been living here. We wish him well.

We now seek a volunteer to specifically fulfil one particular role which Malcolm managed – looking after and checking the catering and kitchen equipment that the Hall has for its hirers and for social events.
To understand more about this, please make contact with any of the Management Committee members that you know.

Improvements to the Hall over the past year
The building and maintenance work set out here was led by Ian Gibson and his small team.
We have refurbished the Toilets , out of our own funds, with no grant or other assistance. This was achieved under budget, but it has cost close to £20,000. We are much happier with the standard they are now at, as being suitable for a modern facility for the village. With the tile finish, it should last many years, with simpler cleaning.
We have installed Wifi in the Hall. We came to do this because WiFi is a facility that is expected nearly everywhere these days, and we believe that users and hirers of the Hall should have it, rather like running water, as a normal part of the Hall’s facilities. We have not properly explored the full opportunities that this represents – for example using the Hall for viewing films, or sporting events, as a community or social event. We did advertise the Annexe for use by villagers who have very poor internet speeds, as experienced by those connected to the Medstead exchange. The idea was that it might be used as an internet office facility for a small cost contribution, so called it the Annexe Internet Club. The aim was to provide a facility for those villagers who would like to work at home from time to time, but have difficulty with their own broadband connection. So far the take-up has been very low, however. This does not matter in itself, and it is still available for those who might like it.

We were warned by the Police and the local Neighbourhood Watch, that the Green outside the Hall was vulnerable to being occupied by Travellers. In response we have put up stout oak posts to deny unauthorised access to the grass. This was funded by our Parish Council, and also a small grant accessed for us by Mark Kemp Gee, our Hampshire County Councillor. Clearly we did not want this Charity to be responsible for the distress that such an event would cause our neighbours, quite apart from the damage it might do to the Hall as a community facility.
We also have acquired a new marquee for the use of the Village Hall, and for hire. The two old ones had reached the end of their lives, and so we have replaced them with one of a higher quality. The new one was up on the Green for a few weeks in the summer, but attracted the attention of some thieves who must have been disturbed as they were dismantling it. Nothing of it was actually taken away, but sadly it shows we cannot be complacent about the honesty of all in the locality. As the Hall is popular for weddings and parties, the new marquee will be a useful asset, both for the Village, and for hirers.
In early 2016 a storm brought down a nearby oak tree across Medstead Road, and as our oak beside it was of similar age and size, and on the Hall’s border, we have had to have it felled, as it was also deemed to be in dangerous condition. This has been an unexpected call on our funds. There are still oak logs at the back of the Hall, by Medstead Road which can be taken by any Beech villager who has the equipment to safely handle them. This must be on a first come-first served basis.

We will soon have more Play Equipment installed on the Green, 80% funded by Veolia and a grant contribution by Tony Costigan (our East Hampshire District Councillor). The remaining balance was met by the Hall’s restricted fund for play equipment. The existing play equipment on the Green has been very popular with villagers for entertaining children in the village. This was installed in 2013, and is for children of a young age. Of course, the main benefit of having this on a communal space is so that users, parents and grandparents, can meet there and use the equipment as a community and social event. We have responded to a request to provide something for the older child in the same place, so as to allow something for all children up to the age of 14. Clearly families will have children of various ages, so we are sure this will be a benefit for many in Beech. We have been careful to lay it out so that it will not restrict the lovely open space that the Green provides. A new bench (suitable for adults) will be installed near the new rope climber at the same time. In addition to the new rope climber and bench on the Green, our attention has also turned to the Recreation Ground, and a picnic bench will be installed on the Recreation Ground at the same time. This work for the children of Beech has been led by Management Committee members Ruth Dewing and Anne Whitaker.

Ruth has also set up a Facebook page for the Hall, which in addition to our pages on the Village website, is for informing many villagers as possible of the social and fun events at the Hall, and the opportunities for socialising with their neighbours and friends in Beech. The Facebook page has proved quite popular with many in the Village who are Facebook and social media users.

Other matters
The hiring of the Hall, managed by Peter Cox, has, as usual, been the main successful revenue source for the Charity. During the year, we have lost two regular hirers due to their own financial issues, and are still looking for a regular hirer for the Wednesday evenings.
Please make Peter aware if you know a group or club who might like to hire the Hall on that day.
As many villagers will know a claim for compensation was brought against the Hall by a visitor to the Hall in February 2012, who slipped in icy conditions. We can report that early in 2016 this claim was settled, by the Hall’s insurers, for an undisclosed sum. We have ensured that our ice and snow clearance policy is in place so as to reduce the risk to visitors in slippery conditions. Clearly, however we cannot entirely eliminate such a risk, nor the risk of litigation on the Hall.

Thanks and appreciation
This year the Hall has been the beneficiary of two public-spirited villagers making substantial monetary gifts to the Hall. Both wished to remain anonymous, and both donated similar sums, entirely independently of each other. The anonymous donors know who they are, and this is a moment when we can express gratitude to them, on behalf of the Hall Management Committee and the Charity, and on behalf of the villagers of Beech – as the money is of course used for the benefit of the community. Clearly when we benefit from such a gift, it is enormously useful to help the Hall make improvements and keeping up the maintenance, for the benefit of the Village. It is perhaps also a sign of how successful the Hall is, as an asset for the Village’s community spirit, that villagers wish to make such a gift as appreciation.
We are also grateful for the generosity by one of our village neighbours who paid to have the Hall gutters professionally cleaned, at the same time as their own. This assistance with the Hall’s running costs is very much appreciated. This is an opportunity to thank formally the Beech Parish Council, East Hampshire District Council, Hampshire County Council and Veolia, as well as the village donors, for the gifts and grants awarded to the Beech Village Hall.
In the early summer, Saman Jayalath set up a 100 Club, where a £60 ticket buys 12 chances of winning a £200 prize, drawn monthly at each Village Social. This has proved popular, and the winners to date have been very pleased that their £60 ticket has gained them a £200 prize. We plan to repeat the monthly draw next year. Of course, it also raises funds for the Village Hall, and so we must thanks those who have taken part, as well as Saman for all the energy used in selling the tickets.
Turning to the many Volunteers who do so much for the Village and its Hall, we must also thank them again for their huge efforts this year. Last year this Annual Report focussed on them, as individuals and the work they do. We also know that such community work brings its own rewards, and is enjoyable as activities shared with neighbours and friends. This includes
the many Social Events for the Villagers, set up and run by the Social Committee, including the people manning the kitchen and bar at such events,
the hiring of the Hall, and marketing it as a venue for clubs, classes, parties, and weddings
the cleaning and maintenance of the buildings and grounds by the Maintenance and Building team, and the Mowing team
the work done to keep the books and finances of the Hall in order
the fund raising efforts of Saman Jayalath for the 100 Club
the communications work on the Village Website and Facebook
the constitutional and regulatory work for the Charity
The Trustees of the Charity for the year have been Nick Charman, Ian Gibson, Anne Whitaker, and Malcolm Grace. Malcolm Grace will not seek re-election for the coming year, for reasons explained earlier. Ruth Dewing has kindly agreed to seek election as a Trustee for the coming year. The Management Committee is also attended by Jane Short (for the Social Committee) and Peter Cox (Hiring Manager). Myles Scott resigned as a Management Committee member in the year, due to his developing career, and we wish him well. This small Management Committee, and the Social Committee, cannot do all that is involved for the smooth running of the Hall, and its Social events. This involves that much larger group of individuals who contribute their time and effort towards the Hall.
We know that such activity is (mostly!) fun, and a reward in itself, and we will always welcome help from villagers who would like to “join in”. We particularly invite those new to the Village to come to our monthly last-Friday community socials , to share and see what a special and welcoming community we have, with the Village Hall at its heart.

Nick Charman
Chair, Management Committee, and Trustee.

November 2016

November 14, 2015

Annual Report by the Trustees

as presented at the

Annual General Meeting of Beech Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity

30th October 2015 at Beech Village Hall

Click here to download a copy of this report in printable (pdf) format

This is the 2015 Annual Report of the Trustees of the Beech Village Hall and Recreation Ground. It is true that some of the people who help run our village hall, are noted at the Charities Commission as being the formal Trustees. They meet with others at regular intervals through the year, and we call this the Management Committee. At these meetings we (including the Trustees) make decisions about the way that the Hall is run and how best to spend money which we have collected from the various social events and hiring of the Hall.

This Hall is only a physical thing – so much brickwork, tarmac and grass – it is when we work together that it comes to life. The Village Hall would not be a shadow of what it does and represents for this community without a very wide involvement from many individuals in Beech – among whom there are a few Trustees.

This year, we should like this Report to recognise that much wider involvement, and all the energy which goes into the Hall’s

• social events,
• its use by the community in clubs, associations, private functions and weddings,
• the use of the Green and Recreation Ground, and the Play Equipment, for fun, by our children and adults,
• its use by local business,
• its maintenance and upkeep,
• and the improvements which we make as they can be afforded and organised.

For much the greatest part, that wider involvement is for the fun in itself, and creating a sense of belonging to the Village where you happen to own or rent a house and live. We are not going to try to mention all the people involved during this past year, as such a good intent usually inadvertently attracts the irritation of those who you forget to mention, and so we shall try not to fall (for the most part) into that possible trap. However the many villagers who contribute are very much appreciated. We hope they all derive that fun and sense of belonging too.

Social Events

The Social Committee for the Village Hall has again, this last year, put together a good mix of events here for the Village.

The regular Social evenings (last Friday of each month) have done an excellent job of providing a venue to meet your neighbours and enjoy their company, without any formality, and with a very small expense. We have no pub, and I believe it is unusual to find this regular event in villages. This regular Social evening is only possible in this format, because there are those who are happy to come once in a while and do the cooking (“mass catering”, is perhaps a better term) for us all. The rota for this is run by Stella Charman, and the main effort comes from among our local cooks, who all do a fantastic job.   We know it is not always the favourite task, but we also know how very much it is always appreciated, ably and loudly expressed every time by their clients on the night. We should also like to underline that appreciation, here.

The current Social Committee, Sally Cox, Sarah Castle Smith, Jane Short, Stella Charman, Sara Varo, Jo Schneider and Nikki Tomalin (recently joined) arrange and plan most of the other regular amusements and parties arranged for the village. They meet to work up the list of future events and take on the organisation for them. Each event in turn involves another range of much appreciated volunteers. Sadly Sally Cox, who until recently was chairing the Social Committee has had to step aside for a while, and we thank her for what she has done, and look forward to her return to the team. The Social Committee do not these days have a formal “budget” expectation or target for a surplus, but nonetheless always succeed in making a useful contribution each year from the small surpluses that the majority of the Social events create.

That surplus is always augmented by the Bar takings at such events, and I cannot pass from this section without mentioning the loyalty and unstinting effort that Alan and Elaine King put into stocking and running the Hall’s Bar, in itself a micro-business.   They have been doing this job for many years now, assisted from time to time by volunteers who take over the running of the Bar, when the Kings are away on holiday. Their humour and tolerance behind the Hall bar are a major contribution to the enjoyment at our social events, quizzes, and so forth.

The Hall is also the home of events for the village which are arranged by Beech Gardeners, or Beech Ladies. Helen Lamb is another whose energy and effort for this village is remarkable, and although not formally part of the Village Hall organisation, to differentiate on those grounds would be trivial.

The Hall Hiring

The clubs, associations, private functions, weddings and businesses that use the Hall, pay for that use, as a way of contributing to the costs of running this facility. The organisation of this and the collection of the rent is the work of Peter Cox. He is supported by Nikki Tomalin, when he is allowed leave, but Peter spends much of his life, in Beech, with prospective hirers, dealing with the deposits and rentals, answering queries, raising invoices, and spotting and sorting out problems. His journeys within Beech alone, en route between Hall and home, must constitute fully half his annual mileage. This management task results in the large financial contribution to the Hall’s revenue, and it allows us to keep up with the maintenance and improvement costs, and to use the Hall for village activities for a minimal cost. His knowledge of the Hall, and the villagers are so valuable. This last year has been no exception, and the Hall hirings income has held steady as a result of his much appreciated work and energy.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Because the Hall is so heavily used, we have to ensure that it is always as clean as possible; the supplies of cleaning material, paper towels, toilet paper, soap, washing up material, tea towels and so on, have to be kept at adequate stock levels, not to mention the plates, cutlery, cooking and kitchen equipment which have to be kept in place and operational.   We recently invested in a machine to make the floor cleaning task more effective and quicker; and also a new dishwasher, as the old one had ceased to be reliable. The two individuals who make all this happen are Myles Scott, who does the actual cleaning work, and who also sits on the Management Committee, and one of our Trustees, Malcolm Grace who oversees the Hall’s organisation of the stocking of all the materials, and maintenance of the equipment.

Building and land – maintenance and improvements

Ian Gibson, and John Tomalin are two key people for this aspect of the Hall’s life. The village hall has been often likened to a famous Scottish Road Bridge, and the upkeep of its fabric, land and facilities is a continuous task. That work in part involves paid help, but also involves management and lots of unpaid help. The grass is kept short in season, by a team who are recruited and managed by John Tomalin (and now thanked by the Management Committee!). Nick Sorby is another name who should have a place in this report, as he is often seen in a haze of dust and grass while mowing, or looking to his new meadow circle on the Recreation Ground, or building the bonfire and lighting fireworks for the November firework event.

The upkeep of the buildings and external equipment is mostly done and managed by Ian Gibson, using subcontractors when appropriate.   This task too takes a lot of time, and Ian’s red Skoda can often be seen at the Hall, while one job or another is being dealt with. The improvements we decide we would like to make also involve planning and then supervision; the car park, finally finished in this past year, and which exhausted our funds at that time, has been a good example. Future plans are afoot – including the refurbishment of the toilets as the most urgent and substantial job.

Communications

Ruth Dewing has joined the Committee team in the past year; she has joined to bring her communication and design skills to bear, in helping the Hall with staying in touch with the village, and ensuring that the villagers are aware of all that is going on and the opportunities that the Hall can bring them.

The Website continues under the overall aegis of Helen Davis, with help from various contributors in relation to the various aspects of the Village life and activities. The Village Hall features prominently in the website, and provides an excellent record of the many events that are planned and that have taken place in the Hall. This work too is spread among a few trained website hands in the village – and their contributions and work is much appreciated.

Finance

The Treasurer, Ann Whitaker, is now helped by Sheron Gillard (who also acts as the Management Committee Minute Secretary), in keeping the bookkeeping and accounting straight – in itself the Hall is like a very small business, and the VAT and accounting needs are real and complex enough. Anne has also worked on improving our grant funding; this is an increasingly difficult environment for fund raising for a small charity as this; we wish to thank the Parish Council for assisting with the cost of the car park build. Anne will report on the Accounts for the year ended 30^th June 2015.

Trustees

Lastly, for re-election as Trustees this forthcoming year, we now have myself, Malcolm Grace, Anne Whitaker, and Ian Gibson. Myles Scott is not seeking re-election as a Trustee. We are on the alert for new members of the Management Committee, and this may result in a new Trustee being “co-opted”, if we find someone!

Nick Charman
Chair of Management Committee, and Trustee

Click here to contact Nick by e-mail