N hal38

No 38: May 2013

Published by Rothay House, Mayfield Road, Eastrea.

Eastrea Village News

OUR TECHNICAL TEAM met recently at the Nag’s Head in order to finalise arrangements with members of the Eastrea Village Hall Trust committee.

(L-R) Ms Tina Arnold (trustee), George Nutt (trainee committee member), Mr Alan Green (trustee), Charlotte Graham, (trainee), Pete Gibbons (Lux technical, our stage lighting specialist), Mr Darren Tuck (Walters of Fengate, our furnishing contractor), Kayla Neacy (trainee), Amelia-Rose Daniels (trainee), Tegan Green

(trainee), Mrs Tracie Daniels (co-opted committee member), Mrs Sue Taylor (former committee member, now coopted), Ross Green (co-opted), Mr Duncan Jackson (our solicitor from Buckles), Mrs Noreen Smith (trustee), Cameron Graham (trainee), Mrs Jan Ford (our minutes clerk) and Jonathan Gamble (our new trainee).

The meeting discussed the various responsibilities of each member of the team and agreed to appoint them as our advisers and contractors. Martin

Brunning has also been chosen to handle audio and digital cabling for the new building. In the event, Martin was unable to attend as he was fitting a digital cinema installation in London and was held up on site until 11 pm that night.

Michael Lane of Eastrea heads the electrical team so Martin, Pete and Darren will report to him. Committee member Ross Green lectures on DJ skills and could also be involved in the way the control room is set up.

RESIDENTS are all invited to design a poster for the Eastrea Centre Heritage Festival, to be held at our new village hall, on Saturday 20 July and Sunday 21 July 2013.

Events planned for this weekend will have something for everyone: music and dance, a hog roast, stalls

showing local craft and with an exhibition of our village heritage and pictures by local artists.

There are no age limits or any other restrictions. Prizes for winning posters will be awarded to different age-groups. Your entry can be submitted by email to mail@eastrea.net or delivered to:

1 Kelful Close, 20 Thornham Way or 5a Mayfield Road. The closing date is the end of this month — 31 May 2013.

Do remember to include your name, address and age (if under 21). We will professionally print the winning entry for display around the district.

Join our Poster Competition

No 38: May 2013

VIEWS THAT NOBODY WILL EVER SEE AGAIN!

View towards the easterly end of the village hall (above). Those floor-to-ceiling windows will flood the hall with light. Looking back from the far corner of the upper floor (below) we can see how it could be developed. For the present this space will house our stage control-room: it is sufficient to provide more rooms.

BOOK SPACE TO SHARE YOUR HOBBIES AND ENTHUSIASMS ARE YOU AN ARTIST? Do you have music, craft or collecting as a hobby?

Come and show your achievements during our heritage festival in July.

The inaugural Eastrea Art exhibition is being organised by Mrs Noreen Smith (tel 202852).

Stalls and events are being arranged by Tina Arnold (tel 203734) and Tracie Daniels (tel 205692) so call them if you wish to be involved.

Now that the guttering has been installed (above) the hall is filled with the specialists who are fitting the heating and lighting, with plumbers and digital

Contact by telephone: 350888

experts and the stage and audio technicians, while the land around the hall is being levelled, ready for landscaping. A reminder: doors open on 17 June.

VILLAGE HALLS in England are traditionally too small. From the start, the Eastrea Village Hall Trust resolved to make ours spacious enough to accommodate years of additional activities for the future.

The first requirement was a hall that is large enough to seat 120 people comfortably at large tables (the idea was to provide space for wedding receptions). As it happens, our first booking enquiry was from an auction company who asked for exactly 120 seats!

The upper floor over the kitchen and changing rooms (shown in the top photograph) will accommodate a control room for sound and lighting for the stage when we open. But in future, there will be space for two upper floors with more rooms and offices. There could even be space for a balcony viewing area.

Access will initially be via a dropdown wooden ladder, but room for a permanent staircase has also been incorporated into our planning. The joists have been specially installed

by Rose’s, our developers, so that fitting a staircase in future will be relatively simple. There is even the possibility for a separate ceiling if it is decided to fit under-cloaking within the existing roof.

If you go up onto the first floor and look back towards the hall you can see just how large it is (lower photo). There is space for two upper floors where we could construct more rooms that could function as offices or provide space for other village activities.

The front of the building could in future be fitted with a porch, and there has even been a proposal to feature wooden shutters that could one day be fitted on the windows.

The main design principle has always been to allow for further development so that our future generations will have the space to expand — within the footprint of the original building.

Email: mail@eastrea.net