Ashingdon & East Hawkwell Memorial Hall

Ashingdon & East Hawkwell Memorial Hall

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25 Jul 2023
doors being realigned
doors being realigned

Kitchen behind the scenes

Over the course of a few weekend some volunteers came into the hall to add various pieces that were needed to bring the kitchen up health and hygiene standards.  We were inspected by the Health and Hygiene Officer from Rochford District Council.  The volunteers cleared and cleaned, adjusted and replaced, painted and varnished various areas to pass.

This is a temporary measure so that the kitchen could be reopened.  Though the committee decided after so much interest was received that the kitchen, that looked so battered and tired, would be more welcoming if it had a face lift.  This will be happening in August complete with the purchase of some new equipment and some electrical work.

I will blog the Kitchen's progress on this website.

7 Nov 2023

Even though we have not been in the hall, we have still been working hard on trying to find ways to move forward. Two of our committee members attended online training with ACRE to ensure that the hall is being run within the Charity Commissions guidelines, to make sure the books are being filled out correctly and to work towards making sure that the hall is serving the community well. 

A team of committee members have been working on a Grant to try and raise funds to replace the windows, doors and roof.  You may have seen some drone activity around the hall. These volunteers offered us the free use of their Drones to capture the poor state the roof is in. We are very grateful to them both. 

Currently, like a tag team, committee members have been checking the hall has been safe during the inclement weather.

The same team are in full flow at the moment preparing the once called committee room into a room for all the community to use, be it a Chess Club, Cafe, Crochet Circle, Coffee Natter Group, A Teenager’s Evening Coffee Shop or Prenatal Mums gathering for a support group. The grant hopefully will pay for some new windows and a rear outside door. It is currently being stripped of the old wood chip paper and will get a lovely fresh coat of paint.  What we’re struggling with is a name for it, it has, for the moment been playfully named ‘The Room of Requirement’

We look forward to seeing you all soon and we will be inviting the community to come and meet us and see what we’ve been up to. 
22 Mar 2023

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.

17 Nov 2022

What happened in December

We have had an upgrade to our sanitising stations around the hall. The toilets have received new soap dispensers and for the new mums with their babies a nappy bin service has been installed. 
The internal CCTV is now up and running. 
We are looking at new heating system so that the hall is consistently warm. This is taking a lot of head scratching and the whole committee and W.L.Copley & Sons Ltd are working on it together currently. 
The Room of Requirement and it’s toilets, the kitchen and all the loos have been plastered. The door leading in had been widened for disabled chair access.
A community Defibrillator has been installed in our porch too. 
We will be ready for our Christmas Break. 
12 Nov 2022

The Hall’s Committee Thank the Coop

Glen, David, Carol, Helen, Jamie (Guy Fawkes) and Danny.
Glen, David, Carol, Helen, Jamie (Guy Fawkes) and Danny.

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!  

11 Mar 2023

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 

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Comment:
4 Feb 2023

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

17 Dec 2022

Essex Deaf Children’s Society 

Learning to Sign Christmas Songs
Learning to Sign Christmas Songs

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.

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3 Nov 2022

Strictly Lines at the Hall

Practicing the Pasodoble
Practicing the Pasodoble

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

29 Oct 2022

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.

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Helen T England
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