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News and Reviews

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Minutes of Pudleston Village Hall Management Committee AGM

13th May 2024

Present. Robin Clarke, Helen Clarke,  Keith Arrowsmith, Sarah Arrowsmith,  Linda Fryer, Roger Fryer, Roger Thompson, Judy Thompson, Vicky Connop, Janet Village, Rupert Anton, Margaret du Feu, Andy Offer, Frances Offer, Jane Turvey, Amy Wells & Stephen,  Richard Nield, Judith Nield, Rachel Bailey, Graham Bailey, Sarah Williams, Ryan Price, Rolando Ciaravaglia, Sylvie Pastore

Apologies.  Emma Hayton-Lee, David Hayton-Lee

Minutes of last meeting.  Minutes were agreed and Signed by Chair Linda Fryer

Matters arising.  None

Chair's Report.  This year has been one of our most successful ever and the hall is in a strong financial position and is in a sound condition.

The committee have run six films this year each with bar service and a welcome jacket potato. We have also enjoyed the performances of four bands, Grey Wolf, Trig, Swing from Paris and Bandangle at the hall. Our excellent media coverage has ensured each event was a sell out and offered the community jazz, americana or traditional music. In addition, we had our fastest ever selling event, a supper talk with Simon Sherwood! We also held a Heartstart training session, a hilarious Bingo evening, 2 quiz and curry evenings and regular coffee mornings. We have raised money for three charities this year, the Injured Jockey Charity, H&W Animal Rescue and St Michael’s Hospice. We are also pleased that our regular Yoga group continues to meet on a Tuesday morning. As Pudleston is “off the beaten track” we have struggled to bring other regular groups to the hall. Similarly, lettings are rare despite the opportunities the hall has to offer. We continue to note that much of our support comes from outside the village as well as our regular local support.

Welsh water spent several months resolving a major water leak on our land involving the major water main. They have reinstated the site as agreed. We have continued as a Community hub provided free by Gigaclear. However, they have failed to repair the box on the verge which was damaged by a feed lorry, so this remains a concern. We now have a smart meter installed and the Parish Council organised and paid for a Village Hall sign to be erected on the triangle at the end of the lane.

Last year I reported we planned to improve the accessible toilet. The grant we obtained from the Godson Trust did not cover the costs at the time. I am pleased to say we have now obtained a further grant from the Lottery Awards for All. The Trustees now have almost £7000 to undertake the planned improvements in the coming year.

All of this has been achieved whist we have been preparing for the retirement of eight members of the committee. Ensuring a team is in place to hand over the trusteeship of the hall is so important. The Hall is a Charity set up for the benefit of this community and it has been essential that it can continue to provide a pleasant and lively hub for the people of Pudleston, whilst raising the minimum £4,000 to run the building.

I wish to thank all those who have contributed in any way to providing events in the past year. All the Trustees have played an important part in the success, and I believe we have had fun doing it! As a team we have all helped maintain and improve the site and facilitate all the events the community have enjoyed.

I would like to thank Rupert Vicki and Janet in particular, for leading the work to engage additional Trustees and Supporters for the coming year.

I must thank those who are retiring as Trustees tonight.

Keith, has for 20 years, ensured our finances are impeccably managed and has ensuredour charitable status is secure. Sarah has worked hard to put Pudleston Village Hall on the map!how great it is to go somewhere and be told “oh yes Pudleston you have a lot going on there!” Roger and I have both enjoyed the parts we have played in the development of PVH and being part of this amazing team.

Finally, Robin & Helen, Judy and Roger have each served for 37 years and have been leaders, painters, gardeners, bar staff, cooks, to name but a few and of course writers and performers in the famous pantomimes. You have all made a fantastic contribution to this community. Thank you.

It may well feel these are big shoes to fill, but new people will bring new ideas and energy to the hall. I therefore thank, in anticipation, those of you here tonight who will bring a new “buzz” to Pudleston Village Hall and to assure you, those of us who are retiring will support you in any way we can. We wish the new team of Trustees and Supporters every success in the future.

Treasurer's Report.  So, this is my 14th and final presentation of PVH’s accounts. In that time revenues have more doubled, fortunately faster than costs have risen. We have raised £85k in grants to fund upgrades to the hall fabric and operating surpluses have funded new equipment and built a healthy bank balance.

Through the iniatives & hard work of the committee and other PVH supporters 2023/24 was a great success financially.

Revenues in 2023/24 of £18k and expenditures of £9.3k led to a surplus of £8.7k. A grant application was approved by from Awards for all – National Lottery for £5,900 and Godson trust gave us £1000 - both to fund the toilet upgrade work to be done this year. If you strip out the £6.9k grants, and the rear door project credit of £162, the operating surplus for the year is £1.6k, compared with an operating £1k surplus in 2022/23.

The surplus of £1.6k on revenues of £11k is not that large and shows just how hard we have to work on fund raising events to cover the hall’s overheads. The surplus allows PVH to purchase new equipment and build reserves for a rainy day and leaves us dependant on grants to fund major PVH upgrades. It emphasises the importance of the hall committee/community carrying out works themselves wherever possible, to reduce maintenance costs.

The event fund raising came from 7 films, 5 concerts, 2 quiz nights, a supper talk and 4 coffee mornings – 19 events in total, which is an amazing effort by the committee and other supporters. Three of the concerts netted ie, profit, of over £600 each, as did the popular supper talk The quiz and curry nights remain lucrative with profits over £500 each. Film nights ranged from a small loss for less popular films to a £200 profit for Borderline films. The bar, drinks, potatoes & ice creams, provides from 50% to 100% of film night profits. It is between 15% & 35% of profits at other events.

The profits from these events fund the increasing overhead costs of running the hall, with maintenance, incl mowing and cleaning £2,200 insurance £830, utilities £650 and admin & website £620 - £4,300 in total.

Hall hire contributed a vital £1,280, but use of the hall, either for one off or regular events, hasn’t grown significantly over the last couple of years and is less than the 2 years before Covid.

We end the financial year with £7.7k in the savings account, increased from £6k the previous year end, effectively with this year’s surplus. Hopefully this will allow PVH to meet any surprise costs that occur in future years, which, note, often do not meet the criteria for grant funding ie, they are repairs - eg. The new floor required 3 years ago which cost of £10k.

The current account at year end had a balance of £11.2k of which £7k, of grant funds, is earmarked for the toilet upgrade project.

Rolando complemented the treasurer on the presentation of the accounts and asked for some clarification, which was provided.

Roger Tasked for clarification of the working capital.

Keith confirmed that in recent years this was approximately £4000. This covers all running costs, unexpected costs etc. Judy pointed out that without Keith obtaining grants the hall would not be the attractive well equipped building that exists now.

Rolando asked about the ownership of the building. The building is owned by the community but the Trustees have the responsibility to maintain it.

Election of Officers.  Linda said a huge thank you to all the Trustees for the support and pleasure they have provided for the community over the years.

Linda then declared all the Trustees would resign. Rupert, Janet and Vicki declared a wish to remain as Trustees. At this point the retiring Trustees(Judy and Roger Thompson, Robin and Helen Clarke, Keith and Sarah Arrowsmith and Linda and Roger Fryer) left the meeting. As they did so each couple received a gift as a thank you for their efforts a lovely surprise and much appreciated.

The remaining Trustees then took the Chair and 6 new Trustees were appointed and a Chair person (Rupert Anton) Secretary (Vicki Connop) and Treasurer (Amy Wells) were elected.

Our project to upgrade the accessible toilet.

Over recent years we have become very aware that our accessible toilet facilities are not as easily accessible as they should be. A number of village hall users have asked us to upgrade the toilet and have suggested ways we can make it more user friendly. We've listened carefully to suggestions and we're applying for funding to make substantial changes. Watch this space for more news!

Tales of Desert Orchid in a lively evening with Simon Sherwood

Thursday 23rd November 2023

Our latest Supper Talk was an evening 'In Conversation with Simon Sherwood'.  Simon was a highly successful National Hunt jockey who is best known for his association with the iconic grey and one of the most famous racehorses of recent times, Desert Orchid.  A packed house listened to Simon talk with Rupert Anton about his life and career as a jump jockey and his association with Desert Orchid.  Interspersed with clips from Desert Orchid's most famous races, Simon talked about what it was was like riding the nation's favourite horse, the pressure he experienced and what made Desert Orchid so special.

After a break Simon and Rupert then talked candidly about the challenges facing racing right now.

It was a highly successful evening with Simon being an excellent speaker, all enjoyed in a convivial environment with an excellent dinner and an informal format.  

Rupert Anton

SWING FROM PARIS

Friday 27th October 2023

Another inspirational musical evening! On Friday 27th October we welcomed Swing from Paris and maintained PVH's reputation for presenting the best of acoustic music.  A sellout enthusiastic audience enjoyed an evening of jazz and swing music from the golden era of Django Reinhardt and his contemporaries performed by four talented musicians at the top of their game. A wonderful evening.

Roger Fryer

Pudleston Emergency Life Support and AED update with Herefordshire Hearstart

Monday October 16th 2023

We had a really successful two hour session at the Hall, actually on the eve of World Heartstart Day.

This was our first refresher session since purchasing the AED/ defibrillator in early 2017. The ten who attended were led by Marie Robinson, county co-ordinator, and Nicky Stock, nurse practitioner at Ledbury Casualty.    

We started by covering- how to approach a casualty who might be unconscious, -to summon help and then check breathing, - and getting the casualty into the recovery position, it’s easy when you know how. Then secure the airway and start chest compressions until professional help arrives. Much has changed in the detail of all this- we needed to know the current advice.

Then down to the hands-on, two per dummy, to practice the chin lift and sternal compressions.

Next, an opportunity actually to use a defibrillator practice box– switch on and follow the instructions. Every-one practised till perfect. Easy when you know how. (Our live box is on the wall by the VH front door. Tell your friends it’s there.)

We finished off by briefly covering heart attack and stroke and what to do.

We made a contribution to HHStart funds. They are entirely volunteers, and we are very grateful they gave up their evening for us.

And so- out into the night and home- more confident we might save the life of someone close, old or young.....

Roger Thompson

TRIG

Friday 1st September 2023

Kim Cypher Quartet

Friday 11th November 2022

Another packed hall and another fab concert! This time there was a professional music journalist in the audience. Ian Mann, who writes a column for 'The Jazz Man', gave Kim and her quartet a super write up. He was also very complimentary about our village hall. You can read what he says here ...

Angus George and Forbes ....

Friday 15th July 2022

...were a fantastic success! On a balmy (but thankfully not too hot) summer evening, these three remarkable young guys, who are about to begin their studies at university, entertained a packed village hall with their musicality and professionalism. 

After enjoying drinks and a barbeque on the lawn outside the hall, the audience took up every available seat inside, with several late-comers finding standing room only. A few people were still chatting outside when the music began, but the strains of traditional Gaelic or Celtic-style ballads and dances drifted out of the open windows and doors, enticing them to creep in.

Angus, George and Forbes played like total professionals. Their chatty, relaxed links between tunes had the audience smiling, and their mix of instruments was perfect for their Celtic/Gaelic inspired repertoire. Playing a variety of stringed instruments, whistles, melodean and percussion, the boys took us on a nostalgic musical journey that evoked the Scottish highlands and islands, or brought to mind a mystical Irish past. It was an evening we shall all remember. 

Thanks so much for coming to Pudleston, guys. We wish you lots of luck and good fortune with your studies and your future careers. 

Pudleston Village Hall AGM May 2022

This year's AGM was held on 16th May in the Village Hall. The Chairperson, Linda Fryer, reported on a year of successful fund raising events in which £2130 had been raised to support the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, and another £650 for the Midland Air Ambulance Charity. There had been a gradual opening up after Covid restrictions. The new sound and projection eqipment had contributed to a successful autumn's film season, and the Quiz and Curry night had been particularly well attended. Linda thanked various members of the committee for their contributions and handed over to the treasurer, Keith Arrowsmith, for his report.

Keith reported that the hall finances had been helped by government grants during the pandemic, and that he had been successful in securing funds from Awards for All for accessibility projects, but he warned that the current level of income from hall events would not meet the ongoing costs of runing the hall. For the last two years the hall had run at a deficit of nearly £2000 a year. The committee would need to consider ways to promote the hall to hirers. 

Linda Fryer, Keith Arrowsmith and Roger Fryer agreed to continue for another year in their roles as Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary respectively. The rest of the committee was also re-elected with the only change being that Vicki Connop will take over the duties of booking secretary from Linda Fryer who had been acting as temporary booking secretary.

Pudleston Supports Ukraine!

Our small community of Pudleston cum Whyle is over 2500 km from Kyiv but, as with almost anywhere in the Western World, there is tremendous strength of feeling and support for the people of Ukraine. Over a period of three weeks the community came together to organise two fund raising events at the Village Hall, and a staggering total of £2130 was raised for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

A Perfect Musical Evening with Grey Wolf

supported by

Pudleston's own Bandangle

Saturday 27th November

But though Jim was missing, Martin, Ben and Andy seamlessly adapted their repertoire of traditional Americana, old-time, country and folk-dance music. With a variety of plucked, strummed and bowed instruments including an Appalachian dulcimer, and not forgetting the harmonica, their set ranged from the contemplative and dark ‘Fire in the Sky’, to Ben’s foot-stomping rendition on fiddle of ‘Half-past Four’ and the trio’s evocative take on the traditional Appalachian spiritual ‘Bright Morning Star’. Particularly memorable was Martin’s own composition ‘The Long Walk Back Home’. Inspired by a Scottish hermit, and with fiddle and guitar in wistful conversation, the melodies and harmonies spoke nostalgically of all things Gaelic, recalling the remote beauty of the Scottish highlands.

To finish, Bandangle joined Grey Wolf for a lighthearted rendition of ‘Down the Road’. With the audience joining in, this was a perfect way to end a thoroughly entertaining, though thoughtful in parts, musical evening. Thanks guys! And please come again!

Gypsy Jazz and More!

Remi Harris on Guitar with Tom Moore on Double Bass

Saturday 27th October 2021

Pudleston raises a 'staggering amount' for Midlands Air Ambulance