Author: bavhadmin

Hall kitchen and bar refit

~ bavhadmin

As reported in the Autumn newsletter, we have been successful in obtaining a grant of nearly £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to put towards the kitchen and bar refurbishment. Since the award of the grant, work has stepped up to enable the project to go ahead. The committee has approved the budget and plans, and has given the project leader – Helen Harding – the go ahead.

Helen has engaged the relevant trades and the hall will be shut for just over two weeks in the spring (15th February to 4th March inclusive). You’ll be able to see the finished kitchen and bar at the March pub night. While the hall is closed, redecoration works will also be carried out to the inside of the hall building.

As you can imagine this is a complex undertaking, involving a number of trades – kitchen fitter, builder, plumber, electrician and decorator to name but a few. Helen is endeavouring to use local, trusted tradespeople – the kitchen fitter, for example, has undertaken similar kitchen renovations at other local village halls. We have visited and/or made contact with several other local halls in preparation.

One of the challenges discovered so far is that the parquet flooring in the hall extends under the kitchen (but not the bar area) and needs to be taken up, damp proofed and back-filled before a new, more hygienic, flooring surface can be laid.

The kitchen and bar area desperately need some TLC and this will be paid for from a combination of Big Lottery and BAVH reserve funds. The committee would like to thank our regular hirers for their patience and understanding during the refit. The refurbishment will hugely improve facilities for existing and future hirers, hopefully securing the future of this valuable community asset.

Christmas parties for young and not so young

~ bavhadmin

On the first weekend of December, the village hall was transformed into a festive wonderland for the benefit of residents at both ends of the age spectrum.

Approx 37 children attended on the Saturday and the ages ranged from 1 – 11. DJ Carl Pearson (Fire and Ice Entertainment) did a fantastic job of keeping them all entertained. Some parents also stayed. They all seemed to enjoy participating, especially in the game of musical bumps. Late afternoon they were treated to a visit by Father Christmas who left them all a small gift.

Some 11 “seniors” attended the three course Christmas lunch on the Sunday. They had a (supposedly!) non competitive quiz over dessert/teas & coffees. This was a picture quiz of villages and buildings around the Chilterns, which caused much comment and friendly rivalry between the three teams. A fun, light hearted way to end the informal lunch.

As always, no events like these can happen without the hard work and dedication of a team of volunteers. Thanks must go to:

  • Christina Field, Natalie Brewer and Alf and Sally Field for organising (and tramping up and down the villages to find out who might be coming – there’s no substitute for face-to-face contact!)
  • St John’s Church for a donation of £100 towards the costs.
  • Jakki Matthews for donation of the voucher for the Christmas tree.
  • Michael Bowden for donating the turkey.
  • Mark Shaw and everyone else who helped out in various roles.

We hope to run the event again next year, on the same weekend, so look out for information in the autumn. Everyone is welcome, no matter how long you have lived in our villages!

St John’s Christmas services

~ bavhadmin

St John’s Church would like to invite you to “Welcome to Bethlehem”, an after-school drop-in session on Friday 15th December from 3.30-4.30pm approx.

Children and their carers, mums, dads, grandparents are welcome to drop into St John’s to see our Nativity scene, to find out more about Christmas and join us for refreshments, craft and Christmas music.

Our other Christmas services are as follows:

  • 17th December 10.00 Service of Nine Lessons and Carols (St John’s Church)
  • 24th December 16.00 Carols at Christmas (Huge Farm)
  • 25th December 10.00 Christmas Day Communion Service (St John’s Church)

Sage advice for shoppers this Christmas

~ bavhadmin

Stop! Think! Don’t swim with the Loan Sharks this Christmas! They never let you go!

From the Community Safety Officer at Chiltern District Council

As the Christmas shopping season gets into full swing, Chiltern and South Bucks District Council’s Community Safety Team are asking people to think again before borrowing money to avoid debt spiralling out of control.

At this time of year it is all too easy to get persuaded to use high cost ‘buy now pay later’ catalogues, payday loans, doorstep lenders and even loan sharks. All these sources of credit will lead to high interest rates and in the case of loan sharks, intimidation and possibly harm. Check out the following advice:-
Most loan sharks start out friendly, but their behaviour changes when payments are missed.
Few loan sharks advertise; they are often heard of by word of mouth.
Most loan sharks offer little or no paperwork.
Many loan sharks will refuse to tell you how much you owe, how long you will be paying off the debt
Many loan sharks will increase the debt and add additional amounts.
Many loan sharks take items as security including passports, bank cards or benefit cards.
Many loan sharks resort to intimidation, threats and violence. REMEMBER if you have borrowed from a loan shark you have not committed a crime, they have.
If you do need a loan to help with the cost of Christmas, you could join your local credit union, M for Money. Credit unions offer safer, affordable loans to people who may turn to high-risk borrowing like payday lenders. As well as providing excellent value for savers, the community bank also helps support people with poor credit history, or those who find managing their finances difficult, to prevent them falling prey to loan sharks and high-interest loan companies. The scheme enables members to save small amounts at favourable rates of interest, and borrow when necessary.

You can join the credit union at www.m4mcu.org or emailing admin@m4m.cu.org or phoning 020 8756 3866.

If you believe you have borrowed from a loan shark, contact the England Illegal Money Lending Team in confidence. There are a number of ways you can contact the team, by phoning the 24/7 confidential hotline on 0300 555 2222, by email to reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk or you can find out more from the webpage which is http://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/

Before committing to ‘borrow’ always read the small print. Ask any lender to explain the total cost of paying back the money borrowed, including any hidden charges.