Ashingdon & East Hawkwell Memorial Hall
28th March - Possible Telephone Outage
We have been contacted by our telephone provider that there are works commencing on the network in our area today. There is a possibility that our phone could be offline.
If you cannot get through please contact us on bookings@ashingdonmemorialhall.uk
Strollers Raise Money for Cancer Research
Strollercise Rayleigh collected for Cancer Research UK during lockdown and donated a huge £1,503 and so we decided to collect again this year for the same charity throughout March!
Any newbies that have joined through the month we have donated their £5 entrance fee … I wanted to boost the “pot” and ran a class this morning with all funds being donated straight into the “pot” raising a whopping £400 in just that hour! So far this month we have raised £500 plus £400 from this morning! We still have 7 more classes to go … so could we make £1000k … how amazing would that be!?
Lin Green
Chair
Ashingdon and East Hawkwell Memorial Hall
Supporting our Community with a Funeral Service
We were very honoured to be able to support some members of our community at a very difficult time in their lives.
On 22nd March, due to the back log of funerals in our area, we welcomed a humanist funeral ceremony into the hall. The family chose a Woodside Burial after the ceremony and returned to our hall afterwards for the wake.
Our Chairlady and Bookings Manager were on hand the whole day to orchestrate proceedings with Stibbards Funeral Directors for the funeral and Seasons in Thyme for the Wake.
If we can help any of our community in this way while there is such a backlog please get in touch and we would be happy to help.
A wonderful way to raise money for the ECDS.
Our new Chair Lin welcomed Carol Cook and her signing choir Hands4Voices into the hall on Saturday 4th February to help raise money for the EDCS. All moving and a grooving doing Cha Cha Cha, Rumba, Waltz, Charleston and finishing off with a barn dance over 40 ladies and gentlemen had a wonderful time. You can see how beautifully the hall copes with such a large group of dancers.
Lin holds many dance classes around the community Strollercise, Couples Ballroom and Strictly Ballroom and also in our hall. If you fancy learning you can contact her here.
Carol Cook is the Choir leader for Hands4Voices and Founder of Don’t Shout Out, a company that teaches accredited British Sign Language. If you would like to learn BSL or join her choir you can contact her on her website here.
Essex Deaf Children’s Society
The signing choir Hands4Voices run by Carol Cook came to the hall on Saturday 19th November to teach the children from the EDCS how to sign two Christmas songs. ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’. The parents enjoyed a beverage of their choice and a cheeky little cake in our new Room of Requirement while the children were in the hall with the choir. There was such excitement and joy. At the end the children performed the songs to their parents and grandparents and left to go home full of Christmas cheer.
The Hall’s Committee Thank the Coop
A total this year of £3615.67 has been raised by you, our community, to help with the refurbishment of our kitchen when buying from our Coop. Our Committee met with the Coop at The Golden Cross to gratefully receive the donation.
There is so much our kitchen will give; a teaching space, a cafe, a place to prepare food for parties, celebrations and functions, a community cooking hub to support the needy, to name but a few. We are on our way, and if any of our community has any ideas or can offer some expertise on how to go about this refurbishment we would be truly grateful. Please contact us either by texting 07307 692889 or email.
Thank you all again for supporting us and supporting our Coop!
Gaynes Park Allotment and Gardens Association Fund Raiser is welcomed to the hall.
On Saturday 29th October we welcomed a new hirer to our hall, The Gaynes Park Allotment and Gardens Association. They held their annual quiz night to raise funds for the Association. Around 70 people attended and enjoyed a fun night which included a fish and chip supper halfway through the evening. Our Vice-Chairman, David Catchpole, organised the evening being a member of the Association. He said it was a very enjoyable evening and many of the members complemented him on the choice of venue. They particularly liked the Air Purifier units which was quite a talking point having never seen them in any local halls.
Strictly Lines at the Hall
This class, as you can see, is proving to be very popular. Comments received so far have been.
‘I actually feel like I’m dancing’
‘I don’t feel like I’m exercising this is so much fun’
‘you’re saying if I’m asked to dance, I can?!’
’where did that hour go?’
With discussions on Strictly Come Dancing and dancing to some of the tunes used too. The class is inclusive and offers a feel good factor. Why not contact Lin and join the ladies and do a Rumba, Paso or a cheeky Salsa?
Contact Lin Green on 07414 572866
ECDS Fundraiser Takes Over The Hall
On Saturday 8th October the hall was filled with a group of wonderful people raising funds for the ECDS (Essex Children’s Deaf Society). Carol Cook from ‘Don’t Shout Out’ hosted a quiz night with members joining from her BSL signing classes and her signing choir Hands4Voices. As you can see we used our new tables for the first time and how wonderful do they look? 96 people seated comfortably with plenty of room to move around.
We are Volunteers
This Hall is run by Volunteers in the Community for our Community. We are available some of the time. If you wish to make an enquiry about the hall please send us a text or an email and we will endeavor to contact you within three working days. Or if you wish to make a booking please use our online booking system.
For Bookings
Text 07307 692889
A little about our hall....
Ashingdon & East Hawkwell Memorial Hall is a large beautiful village hall situated between Rochford and Hockley close to Southend. It is available for hire for up to 200 people in safer times. It has been completely overhauled to meet Covid-19 guidelines and has recently had the floor renovated, which is perfect for dancing and exercise.
A new committee has recently bought the hall to the forefront of the community, by holding community events to help families celebrate certain occasions through 2020 that couldn't have happened due to the Covid-19 Government restrictions. See our Halloween, Remembrance and Christmas Drive Thru event pages.
The Committee have many more plans they would like to bring to the hall like craft fairs, a teaching kitchen, a pantomime, a café and an internet café. None of this can be achieved without the hard work of the committee and the support of our community.
The hall also needs some renovations, the roof needs repairing, the heating needs updating and the kitchen (is closed) needing urgent refurbishment. Even though we were in lockdown the committee still achieved so much. A more detailed list of achievements can be read on our blog 'A Story of a New Committee Member'.
Our hall makes an Ideal Venue and is suitable for Children's Birthday Parties, Business Meetings, Fitness and Dance, Classes, Corporate Events, Quiz Nights, etc. It also has many added extras that make it such a user friendly hall to hire. A Sprung Maple dance floor, Stage area, Bar area which doubles as a serving area for food through its hatch to the hall (it has a microwave, coffee machine, Kettle, coffee cups and sink) Wheelchair accessible Disabled toilet, Children's play area behind hall (King George’s Playing Field), Large free car park, and free Wi-Fi.
We will soon have a separate room called our 'Room of Requirement' this will be for smaller meetings, classes, meditation, craft clubs, health support clubs, and as an extension to the hall should it be required.
