This month, Dallington Old School publishes our annual newsletter Old School News January 2021 to coincide with National Village Halls Week .
Organised by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), Village Halls Week is “a national celebration of the 10,000+ village halls which can be found across England, their volunteers and the difference they make to the rural communities they serve” – this years theme is “Celebrating 100 years of village halls”. Find out more about NVHW and the programme of events -sadly all online this year due to Covid restrictions – at https://acre.org.uk/our-work/village-halls-week You can also follow us on Twitter (@DallingtonOSVH) to see how we’re joining in.
We also have our own entry in the new Village Halls Domesday Book, which is creating an online record “to demonstrate how important these buildings are, and what is needed to make sure they survive in the future”
Do take a look at our newsletter Old School News January 2021 FINAL to find out what the Old School Management Committee have been doing behind the scenes to maintain and improve the fabric of the building while we are closed and to implement new procedures so we can re-open safely and confidently when permitted to do so. We can’t wait to welcome you all back as soon as possible
Ive just realised that the last paragraph on p. 1 of the newsletter is open to misinterpretation! I said there “If the hall is to survive it needs a new generation of residents to breathe life into the space.” This was absolutely not intended to undervalue the essential contribution of our older residents, many of whom continue to support the work of the hall in all kinds of ways, turning up regularly, running events and clubs and carrying out maintenance tasks. My point was just that it would be nice to hear from younger neighbours, even if your current work or childcare commitments prevent you taking on extra responsibilities. Please let us know what you have missed while we’ve been closed and what you would like to see happening once we re-open.