Chairman’s report to the 2023 AGM of the Woodborough Community Association re 2022 Meeting held on March 8[th] at The Nags head Public House NG14 6DD
We began 2022 still under the shadow of the COVID pandemic and we and many of our villagers, were still cautious about bringing people together inside so we chose, for the second year, not to hold the Over 65s meal, we were delighted however to be able to hold the Annual Pancake Races on Roe Hill. The children filed up the pavement on Roe Hill and, thanks to the school’s organisation of the children and the WCA volunteers managing the road, holding the finish line, and judging the winners (not always an easy task but ably completed by Kate), we were all able to enjoy the spectacle of children racing and cheering on their friends. Even the adults got a go!
Roz and Ivan gamely re-organised the coach trip to the Salford Quays, that had been cancelled last year, and a great day out was enjoyed. There were technical difficulties with the bus’s air conditioning which meant the people in the first few rows of seats got an unexpected shower – but we didn’t charge them any extra! The bus made a necessary stop to await a replacement and soon the trip was able to resume. These trips were initially promoted for our senior residents, but we now invite all residents, regardless of age to enjoy the outings, (children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult). Any seats still available nearer the time can be sold to others outside our village boundary. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Ros and Ivan for taking on the responsibility and practicalities of this event.
Our Majesty Queen Elizabeth the II made history in February 2022, by achieving her Platinum Jubilee. The main celebrations were held in June, when the Big Lunch and an additional bank holiday heralded a weekend of celebration and community spirit. Unfortunately, no one told the weather, and on the day of our planned our village celebrations, the rain came down, and how! Not to be deterred we relocated inside the village hall and did our best to celebrate. Whilst we couldn’t use the fairground swing boats, we were able to set up the Hook a Duck in the committee room and enjoy our picnics in the hall. Children and their families gamely completed the treasure hunt, and we even had a few contenders for the new position of Town Crier, but we really need a much bigger audience to make this position a reality. The Queen kindly posed for many photos with those who attended (thanks Stewart for inviting her) and all in all, in true British fashion, we did our best to enjoy the event despite the weather.
Our major fundraiser in the year is our annual Summer Fair (formerly known as the Street Market). Here again the weather played a major part in the day – by being excessively hot. Temperatures reached 40oC in some areas and the sun shone brightly to the point that the fantastic fair rides we had managed to book, were almost too hot to be comfortable to use. A terrific range of food, craft and charity stalls were set up on the field. As this was our second time hosting the event on the field, we were able to build on the phenomenal
success of last year’s event, adding an extra hour to the show. We had a display of vintage motor cars, and the events ring was a constant source of excellence and skill as we had demonstrations and entertainment from a rich variety of groups. We had purchased a professional quality marquee which gave essential shelter from the sun for the band. On this occasion we felt the weather was so hot many people only visited for a short time, if at all, which was a pity given the amount of hard work that the team had put into creating this. We still managed to raise approximately three thousand pounds though, as the raffle has become the major source of funds. It takes the combined efforts of many volunteers to make this and every event possible but special thanks go to Stewart, Liz, and Kerry for all their hard work.
One of my personal favourites came next, the annual firework show, and what a show it was. Step forward Monty and his reliable rocket man, Pete. They gave us an outstanding display. This time the weather, such a volatile member of our crew, gave us the weather we needed, and the sky was clear. So clear in fact that Stewart had us all waving up at the moon. The sight of a full field waving their sabre lights and hands up at the moon was one to treasure. We again invited the PTA to join us in the hope we could help them raise funds and help us to attract more families, which they certainly did. We also had food and drink on sale from professional food trucks, and lastly, thank you to the St Joh’s ambulance for providing volunteers for the show. I just wish they were a little quicker with their billing as we have only just received their invoice for the summer fair and are still awaiting their invoice for the firework display.
Our final event of the year was the Christmas Lights’ Switch On, organised in collaboration with the Parish Council and supported by the PTA toy and bar stalls. We were thrilled to start the Christmas season with songs from Just Sing and the school children. The new marquee had its second outing, now part owned by the parish council. Thanks to them for providing £1000 to reimburse half our costs for this, and for turning out to help erect it and take it down the next day, along with our own volunteers.
The creation of the new driveway and doors to the telephone exchange have taken a large part of our funding and caused me to gain quite a few grey hairs in recent years, since taking over from Laura as the lead on this project, but I am delighted we can now again, safely access our store and all the equipment which is vital to the work of the WCA. The County Council came up trumps by still paying out on the Local Improvement Scheme funds they had granted us, despite the works having gone over the deadline for accessing the fund. This along with all the other donations and funds raised this year, has enabled us to restore a healthy bank balance of around £10,000. I now feel we are well set, moving forward to be able to confidently plan events, knowing we can meet any shortfall in funding such as for the upcoming coach trip. I hope we can also continue to modernise our equipment, perhaps purchasing more lights or sound equipment, time will tell.
I announced last year that I would be standing down as chair tonight. Having had no one show any interest in the role, and having met with Liz I have been persuaded to stand again as chair for the time being, but, having checked our constitution, I am reassured that as chair I can stand down at any time and the trustees can elect a new chair at any time in the year, provided they follow the protocol as set out in our constitution. So should any trustee feel ready to step up now, or in the future, that would make me very happy. I feel the way we now work, holding approximately quarterly trustee meetings, and planning events in sub-committees has worked well. We would, as always, benefit from some input from new trustees, but so long as 1 trustee is involved in a sub-committee, we can work with other volunteers and interested groups.
As always, I can’t thank you all enough, trustees, the Parish Council and all volunteers who show up time and time again to plan and deliver events to enhance the lives of those in our community. To our trustees, Liz, Monty, Stewart, Kate, Kerry, Marie and Bob I thank you as you are the back bone of all this work, and share in the responsibility with me, of running the WCA in line with all our constitutional and policy standards. Thank you.
Linda Taylor Chairman of the WCA 2022
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