Thruxton Memorial Hall Report by Kate Christie Chair, Thruxton Memorial Hall Trustees. 20 July 2021 I think I can say, without fear of contradiction that this has been the most extraordinary 24 months of the Hall’s existence. This time last week, we would have been sitting 2 meters apart and compulsorily covered in face masks. Tonight however, although some will choose to maintain a social distance and many will choose to wear a mask, most restrictions on life have been lifted. The immediate implications for the Hall are obvious; once more we can offer to entertain our community and serve them in the way that our Trust Deed, written in November 1945 demands that we do. As you are aware, this report must cover the last 2 years as we, like many other bodies, were unable to hold our AGM in May 2020 – and even this one is 2 months overdue. Over this period, I have tried to keep notes of our major achievements and hurdles but if I were to go through them all, we’d be here till Friday. So I have picked out some highlights. As you will hear, financially the Hall is doing well and for this I must thank not only our very worthy Treasurer but also Her Majesty’s Government, without whom I think we, like many other community buildings, would have sunk without trace. Graham runs a tight ship and with his prudence we have managed to take on some major capital works without fear of the bank manager. The wall at the front of the building abutting the road has been completely repaired. To achieve this simple outcome took a mountainous effort by Nigel Beck who patiently dealt with the planning bodies at TVBC over a period that seemed to go on for ever and then oversaw every day of the work to ensure a perfect job. His effort was simply herculean and we shall be for ever in his debt. Fresh from sorting out the wall Nigel was then asked to turn his attention to the kitchen floor which at one point we feared was collapsing. Once again, our hero Nigel took on the might of TVBC and to cut an extremely long story short, we now have a wonderful new floor in the kitchen which is built on a solid foundation and along the way, we resolved a serious damp issue around the back door. Obviously, as soon as lockdown was announced in March 2020, the Hall was closed, but the Trustees were delighted to be able to offer ourselves as a storage facility for the Virus Volunteers. We then applied for, and received a lottery grant of £1500 which enabled us to buy a new wall boiler and start our Community Café, Thruxton Loves Cake. Janet Mitchell has been instrumental in helping to get this going and keep it running. She has now been joined by Brenda Jarman and Natasha Novak and every Wednesday morning, the bunting comes out and much cake is consumed. The café was designed to give our community somewhere to go that was local, where they could meet friends in a safe environment and enjoy a cup of whatever and partake in a few calories. The Trustees look forward to this initiative growing and growing as word gets round how good Louise Cushine’s cakes really are! Sadly events such as the Church Christmas Fair and the Remembrance Day lunch had to be postponed but they are already in the calendar for this year and we are looking forward to having them back. The Produce Show will also return to the Hall this year and we are hoping that it will be a great success. Lockdown has made all the Trustees doubly aware of the vital importance of lettings. Sadly our Line Dancing group are no more but we are actively looking for new letting opportunities from within the community. Andover Ladies Choir goes from strength to strength and The Trustees are always thrilled when they describe Thruxton as their ‘home;’. Lately they have been practicing in the carpark and to hear their wonderful voices drifting around the village on a warm summers evening has been a delight. Thank you Clare Oliver for all your support and especially for the fund raising activities you have performed for us. The Louise Vincent Ballet School are our major client and we are so grateful that Louise returns to us year on year. Her financial contribution to the Hall is vital to our continued existence and quite simply, we love having her with us. Other major works include a new dishwasher to replace the one in the kitchen that gave anyone, anywhere near, a bubble bath. Some work was done to the tree at the front of the building and in a couple of weeks time, the Hall will be closed for re-decoration. Also the chairs have been cleaned as have the curtains. We are also in the process of purchasing our own, much improved screen which will mean that we are able to show films of our own choice whenever we like. There are plans for Fred and Ginger afternoons, cine nights for grown ups and also screenings of children’s films in the school holidays. With our own state of the art equipment, the possibilities are endless. In December 2019 the Trustees took the plunge and hired a children’s entertainer for a puppet show. To see the look of wonderment on the faces of the children was magical and we are determined to do it again one day. Thanks to an anonymous benefactor, we were able to give every child, big or tiny, a Thruxton Christmas mug, hand delivered by none other than Father Christmas himself. In 2020, we ran a showing of ‘Polar Express’ which proved very popular and convinced us all that we could do it ourselves. There are rumours of a panto in 2022 but I think Andrew Lloyd Webber can sleep easily and without fear for the time being. At this point it is customary for me to thank all those who have helped and supported us over the 2 years. And in all honesty, I’m not sure where to start. I took over from Margaret Milner Williams at the last AGM in 2019 and perhaps my first thanks must go to her. Without doubt, she led the Trustees with extreme skill during her time and she has been a really hard act to follow - in 2 years I have never once kept a meeting to an hour! Seriously, I inherited a ship in good condition and thanks to Margaret’s hard work over the years, the handover was seamless (at least from where I was sitting). Next, I must thank my board of Trustees. Without fail, everything that I ask is accomplished and even the stuff I forget or know nothing of, gets done. In 2020, both Nigel Beck and John Noon resigned and we miss them both very much. You have already had a flavour of Nigel’s work for us but John held the mantle of Health and Safety for many years and steadfastly steered us so that the Hall was always safe and compliant in every way. Earlier this year Carolyn Currie had the temerity to leave the village and move to Bude. Carolyn and her marvellous husband Alistair were wonderful supporters of the Hall. Carolyn could always be relied on to knock up the odd Jumble Sale and organised many of our other successful fund raisers. Alistair was always behind her, ready to help with putting up Christmas decorations or whatever needed doing. They are both much missed but have promised to return from time to time. A year ago, Margaret Davis decided that it was time to give up on being the Booking Secretary – having taken over from her I can well see why! Over countless years Margaret has been a stalwart Trustee for us and has helped with anything and everything that was asked of her. A huge vote of thanks must go to her for all that she has done in the past and we are delighted that she has agreed to remain on the Board as her knowledge of all things Hall-related in invaluable. It also must be said that she and husband John Davis have for many years amongst other things sorted out the heating in the hall. This has now been taken over by Gill and Graham, and for the sake of all our hirers I wish them luck! Sadly, this afternoon I learned that Bob Hodges will no longer be standing for re-election to the Board of Trustees. Bob has been with us for over 14 years and in that time has been a source of advice and support to so many people on so many issues. His is a tremendous loss and suddenly, the words thank you seem utterly inadequate. Full tribute to Bob and all that he has done for us will need to be made next year – but for now “Thank you Bob”. Our new Trustees terrify me. They are so enthusiastic, Nick is charged with getting our movie offering up and running and together with Cat and Annabel and our newest recruit Jo Lees, they are putting their heads together to come up with new events that will hopefully bring lots of new people through our doors. Gill and Bob have the maintenance torch and are brilliant - getting not only the big jobs underway but also the little ones that so easily slip under the radar. Keith is beavering away at Health and safety and is doing brilliantly and thank goodness, turns out to be very handy with a screwdriver. The wonderful Graham Harris continues to be wonderful and I have high hopes of persuading him of the benefits of internet banking sometime time before 2028! I must also thank our newbie Trustee Jo Lees and we all look forward to Jo becoming a full member of the team and working with her over the years to come. I also need to thank my long-suffering daughter who has become our minute taker over the last year or so although this will not be permanent and we are actively looking for someone to volunteer for this onerous task. The other people I need to thank are the partners of the Trustees. In their own way, each support the Hall in so many ways, Will Odling has, by default, become our odd-job man. He does a wonderful job, never complains about what we ask of him and we are all very grateful and promise not to take too much advantage of his good nature. Ella Hodges runs the Bonus Ball with Bob and helps out at all the community events. Over many years John Davis has been there for us and once again, we are very grateful for his continued support. And poor Peter has to put up with me and without his continual and constant support I don’t think I would be capable of anything. Nicky Beck was always there for Movie nights and she and all the other partners have earned our respect and thanks for their forbearance. Ours is a small village and in 2019, it was an absolute thrill to be awarded “Hampshire Small Village of the Year”. It was an accolade that the village thoroughly deserved and demonstrated the coming together of all the organisations in Thruxton; the Village Association, Parish Council, Sports Trust and the Memorial Hall. The Trustees are determined to build on this relationship over the coming years and are committed to working alongside all these bodies to offer our residents the best living environment we possibly can. Plans are already afoot for the Queens Platinum Jubilee – but more of that next year! The future for the Hall has never looked brighter. We have enough money to undertake some more capital works, improving the physical condition of the Hall – something we feared could only be undertaken over a period of many years. We have new Trustees who are bursting with ideas for future events and can’t wait to get started. On a cautionary note, the Trustees are very aware that the Hall remains extremely expensive to run and maintain and we must never relax from fundraising activities. The Hall stands in the heart of the village and our sole purpose is to maintain the Hall to the highest standards but also to make sure it fills the needs of the community which we serve. **Thruxton Memorial Hall** ## **– Income and Expenditure March 2020 February 2021** ## **INCOME** |Lettings|£ 5,647|**Lloyds Bank**| |---|---|---| |**Account**||| |Fund Raising|£ 1,210|1st March 2020| |£ 14,160||| |Grants & Donations|£ 20,921|28thFeb 2021 £| |21,724||| |Bonus Ball|£ 3,197|Change £| |7,564||| |Other|£ 1,028|| |**Total**|**£ 32,003**
|**CCLA**| |**Accounts**||| |**EXPENDITURE**||1stMarch 2020 £| |49,627||| |Electricity|£ 4,400|28thFeb 2021 £| |52,228||| |Cleaning|£ 847|Change +5.2% £| |2601||| |Maintenance|£11,662|| |Safety & Fire|£ 462|| |Water Costs|£ 225|| |Fund Raising|£ 1,213|| |Capital Expenditure|£ 43|| |Insurance|£ 1,765|| |Admin Costs|£ 00|| |Licences|£ 220|| |Bonus Ball|£ 1,300|| |Other Items|£ 368|| |COVID 19 Costs|£ 1,934|| **Total £24,439** Note *** All amounts to the nearest pound.** TIUIVXTON WAR MEMORIAL CHARrrABLETRV FiffoytLryolStsttpMentfw12Moxths to 28FebMary 2021 9-20 2ffi￿20 Fundr￿$ IAW20 3,197AKI S￿625 17287 121D. 7AII 767.39 IA67 I￿53 11,442.01 3,6n.44 269 81 itrtére51 21.74 19211.48 Flte >hty Waterrates 461. 224.95 1,765.W2 19759 1,949.41 8 29,338 411 CoFld 19 31Jk&62 8.12624 £41.026h2 I29￿8 £n,02&62 Q9J38 s14t￿l￿#0YFh1IIS 26,903. 27258 8,126.24 FLttds atl,32020 5urplvslDeba't2019-201 ,T25.thS 13,26456 4052 L15,030.14 £26, 13fj61 13,243 Funds at 2&2. SSC40.14 £2fi Wethe Undersip￿t￿£e￿ty thai Il*Above w>un15 otThn￿vII1o8¢ Eloj fortl*yearto28 Febrw 2021 correct and compicte lo thebe51of our>nowkd8eand belief. G.J.Vetity. 201 COIFCThariths Investll￿t FundAccumulationUrlltsheld irlt￿n3tlle0f TWklH at£403A4 at 28FeTrrfuÈry2021. IVa]ue al 292.2020£363851